#aaron’s character was absolutely ruined and i stand by that

[euphoricvampirism]

headcanons/idk what splurge about mcd aaron & aphmau BECAUSE I SAID SO.

i need to talk about them because i just do. my thoughts on them need to be heard.

btw!!! typing this at work during my break so thoughs WILL be completely disorganized and there will be constant run on sentences!

first i’m going to talk about aaron because OH MY FUCKING GOD.

he could’ve been such a interesting character if he wasn’t reduced to aph’s love interest once again and if jess and jason could’ve shown more of his character.

i truly believe that jess was trying to do some shitty indirect characterization and flesh out his character by not outright saying it, but she done a really shitty job; the only reason why being her target audience at the time was younger and she didn’t want to expose them to more “mature themes” or some shit.

aaron is not a well written character at all and tbh all i see him as is “woah, ‘sexy’ (not really) mysterious man” who has absolutely not character depth. i wish jess could’ve delved more into him being a lord, a father and husband, and his vendetta against zane to give us more insight of his character. jess gave us little crumbs and pieces about him (like him being a broken human or some shit like that??? would’ve been cool if she incorporated some magic shit into that). he’s just so bland and boring and he needed so much more character development than he got.

time for aarmau…

SO. first off, aaron and aph’s relationship came out of fucking no where. it literally feels like jess pulled that straight out of her ass hole because of how random it was to me when i was younger. once again, i believe that the reason for it that is that jess is really bad at foreshadowing and shit, so the relationship came out of nowhere (also bc jason is really weird but we’re not going to talk about that…). it’s just so weird that jess made their relationship such like, a secret thing, in s2 but gave it so much more light on s3 like we knew everything about it?? which i guess i can kinda excuse because she didn’t even like how she was taking it, but it’s still super weird.

ok, done with that rambling…now for headcanons about aaron and aarmau :3

aaron is in his late mid to late 30s, possibly early 40s

he is BUFF. like buff buff.

and tall, super tall. like tbh i think he’d be like 6’5-6’6

SCRUFFY!!! he has a little beard that he doesn’t have time nor the energy to shave off

actually kinda shy—he’s only seems so mysterious bc he’s traumatized and also pretty shy

i don’t wanna talk about him anymore so aarmau now

they were never in love.

yes i said it.

i wholeheartedly believe that they had a fling

aph was stressed w/ lillith, garroth still being in the irene demension, laurance struggling with the calling, the phoenix alliance, and the whole weird goddess powers shit that she needed comfort in someone

aaron was the one she chose

he understood loosing everything in less than a day, he understood her feeling if loss, so she latched to him

aaron on the other hand, was reminded of his late wife by aph; they acted so similar and there was just a touch of resemblance that drew aaron to aph

all of this mixed together led to and accidental kiss and hookup in the woods that night it was ���took dark to go back”

the kiss right before aaron’s sacrifice was not one of love to aph, but one final kiss to his wife that he wished he could’ve gave to her

aph struggled with his death because she didn’t love him like a lover, but because she had lost one of her closest friends while garroth and laurence were gone: the only one who she believed could truly understand what she was going through

so sorry that was a lot 😭

[euphoricvampirism]

to me, jess and jason tried to do the development of aphmau and aaron’s relationship/aaron’s character in the background since the supposed target audience at the time was young and they thought they wouldn’t understand that relationship and what was happening: but it really just really turned on them to not go the right way and just made no sense.

this makes no sense sorry for talking out of my asshole pls let this make sense to anyone who reads this

aphmau's attachment to aaron is so random. she had so much build up with laurance and garroth and didn't fall for them, but then this guy shows up, she knows nothing of him and is all "oMg wHEre iS PooKiE??? 😰😰" FYM "POOKIE"???

forever upset with jason and what he did to the story.

[alottiegoingon]

hc! first date & movie nights with van

van palmer x fem!reader

summary: first date with van and my personal movie related headcanons!!

pls let me know if i made a mistake, it's my first time writing for a non binary character and i dont wanna mess it up <3

warnings: van is non binary!!, established relationship and marriage (you lucky bastard), slightly domestic life at the end, cursing, no crash but huh..., reader and van being two awkward idiots at first, spoilers of movies i guess?, all the girls are friends, fluff, english mistakes and not proofread

- of course that your first date with van consisted in going out for movies and you were both SO excited!!

- you knew that van had a tough relationship with their mom and instead of going to their house to pick them up, they showed up at your door wearing a blue windbreaker jacket over a striped shirt and brown cargo pants, holding a vhs with a collection of vhs with movies that reminded them of you <33

- safe to say that you were both sweating like crazy and giving each other awkward smiles or saying nonsense just to fill the silence

- sometimes you or van would say the stupid shit ever. while waiting in line for tickets, a bunch of teenage boys walked by you carring footballs and van said "boys always have balls with them, don't they?"

- "what?" you ask, pursing your lips to avoid laughing like crazy

- "nothing."

- van would always be willing to have the entire movie theater experience and i think they would be happy to buy some popcorn and a lot of sweets if you liked it. but ever since their teenage years to adulthood, in movies like a quiet place, they would buy absolutely no food to avoid noises and would give people the death stare because they were chewing too loud (so right)

- either way, van wanted everything to be special and didn’t want to sound like a movie freak. surprisingly, this once the movie didn’t matter. it wasn’t the main attraction. you were.

- you chose primal fear with richard gere, trying your best to impress them. besides it was a crime thriller movie thing and if you ever get scared, you could ‘innocently’ hold their hand for reassurance

- obviously, van guessed the plot halfway the movie but didn't want to ruin it for you. in the last 30 minutes of the movie, you look at them with an invested look, whispering "i bet that aaron is a liar, he acts too innocent!" while nervously shoving more popcorn into your mouth

- van already knew that. but seeing you so focused on something they loved so much and actually excited about it made their heart melt "what? no way!" they try to sound surprised and do their best to pretend that they don't believe your theory.

- (they were so proud!!)

- "i can't believe you didn't saw that coming! it was so obvious, van!" you tease them as soon as you left the room, non-stop talking about the movie

- "shut up." but they didn't mean it. they were happily listening to your words and smiling the entire time, not being able to look away from you :(

- you and van went out for a milkshake after the movies and were discussing that first scene of scream where casey's boyfriend is tied up on a chair by ghostface. "that poot guy didn't even stand a chance!" you excitedly say as you sip on your chocolate milkshake. "it must be an awful day to die."

- "maybe you should tie me up!" van mutters with a sly smirk, knowing too well that it would made you blush

- you gasp, jaw dropped and pinkish cheeks while you tried to cover their mouth by leaning yourself from across the table

- standing in the porch of your house, van had their hands on your waist and your palms touch their face while you share your first kiss. you were both really nervous but their lips were so soft that you immediately felt relaxed. you could even taste the strawberry.

- when van and the girls would watch movies together, van would always beg to be the one to pick and make sure that it was the perfect choice. of course that perfect meant something longer than 2 hours and with a lot of social commentary or something considered weird. in horror, thriller or serial killer movies like scream, van and misty would be detective partners together and would probably figure what was going on in ten minutes and ruin it for everyone else

- (deeply believe that van would love the lobster in 2015 and would be happy to explain to you all of their theories or techniques used in the movie and why is it so good even though you were suspicious that they only watched it because of rachel weisz. you wouldn’t understand much but were always happy to hear your spouse talk about things they loved)

- that doesn’t mean that they don’t like some cheesy romcoms or something silly like but i’m a cheerleader or the duff. they were SO obsessed with biac when it came out and couldn’t stop talking about it for MONTHS!!

- “shit, shauna! that girl looks exactly like you!” nat gasped when all the girls decided to watch the movie with van knowing how much they liked it and how good it was for lesbians at the time. shauna rolled her eyes while everyone was laughing and chattering about how she was hilary’s lost twin or something

- “come on, you gotta choose!”when they finally agreed to watch the entire twilight saga, that was your first question as soon as the screen of your tv turned black. they had to choose between jacob or edward and you wouldn’t take no for an answer

- “are you serious? those movies are ridiculous! they are so unrealistic and stereotyped.” van adds, slouched on the couch. "and that weird baby looks exactly like rosemary's baby!"

- you and van lived together after getting married, duh, and every friday was considered movie night. van would close the video store earlier and you would run to the couch with big buckets of popcorn and cozy blankets

- “i know…” you can't help but giggle at the thought of that weird thing they used for renesmee. you also knew that your partner was right. but still, you needed an answer. you had spent hours of your day watching all of that nonsense and what hurt would do if they chose a side?

- “ok, fine.” they groan, wanting to make you happy despite all of their hate for those movies. “edward.”

- “yeah!” you celebrate van's choice, grabbing a bunch of popcorn with your hands. “i hate jacob, he’s so manipulative!” you add

- “okay, okay. don’t get all excited.” van gives you a death stare but you know that they don’t mean it when their lips are begging to curl up in a smile when seeing you excited. t hey disliked the movies, sure, but even though the movies and books were terrible van would always be happy to be near you all the time even if it meant to watch those stupid things.

- "that plot twist in the last movie was good. i'll give you that." and you smile at their attempt to compliment the movie and make you happy

- “but i don’t care about edward. i just don’t like wolves.” van shruggs and you look at themwith furrowed eyebrows. “what? why?”

- “i just have a bad feeling about them!” and you laugh.

[thespoonisvictory]

What's so deeply good about Colin Provolone as a character is not only how he slots so perfectly into the tone, genre, and world of Calorum, but the way his story is deepened by and also expands on the events of A Crown of Candy. He stands on his own as a kickass character, but there are beautifully subtle ways he interacts with ACOC plot lines without ever feeling heavy handed.

In The Ravening War, we're introduced to the Cheddars as the ruling house, putting their foot down on the Fontinas and crushing opposition. Rightfully, Colin is terrified of them, and their presence constantly looms over his head.

But we know the Cheddars from ACOC. There, they're represented by Annabelle Cheddar, badass Captain of the Colby, who renounced her claim the throne and ceded her leadership to sweet, supportive Duchess Primsy. We love Primsy! We love Sir Morris Brie!

Already, there's that great dissonance and distortion of pov so typical to the genre: in the eyes of the Candians, the Cheddars are historical allies, kind, and definitely not a threat. The "crushing a rebellion underfoot" aspect of them goes completely unnoticed, because it's irrelevant to the story, and as the ruling class, House Rocks would likely take no issue with this. Colin absolutely nails the commoner side of how noble houses are viewed in Calorum, sniping an underutilized viewpoint in ACOC.

But there's more. In the ACOC timeline we're informed that House Cheddar has been greatly weakened, both by the war itself and the lack of an heir. They aren't the threat they once would have been, and Primsy certainly wouldn't be hunting down loose Fontinas or melting them in the streets. Colin would only be in his fifties by the time that the threat on his life has pretty much dissipated, a fact that an observant audience member would be aware of as he's panicking about it during TRW. The grudge that ruined his family's life will likely have petered out entirely on its own, dying a slow, unimportant death.

When Colin tells Deli that he doesn't care about his secret anymore, it rings doubly true because the audience knows he's realizing what they already know: this game of royal houses and hunting families is silly and pointless. Colin is right not to be scared! The audience knows that in about 20 years, the ruling force he was scared of will be nearly irrelevant!

It's just so neat how his story fleshes out House Cheddar and the fate of House Cheddar fleshes out the thematic weight of his choices. He's such a perfect prequel character in that sense, subtly playing the same melody as the original story without ever even interacting with anyone from it.

To get really into the depth of this: He's Liam Wilhelmina a few steps over. Jawbreaker is to Rocks as Fontina is to Cheddar (rebelling against the ruling house with noble intention), and both of them are punished for actions of their family they didn't participate in. But the Rocks' kindness to Liam puts them in a position of mutual benefit, while the Fontinas and Cheddars are both respectively destroyed and weakened by the ACOC timeline. Then, Liam, parallel to Colin, courts and presumably marries Primsy, the person who marks the end of the threat on Colin's life and a shift in leadership for the Dairy Islands.

Again: Two decades later, the successor of House Cheddar marries the son of a rebel against a noble house, the crime Aaron Fontina was killed for, also by House Cheddar. Call it the frivolity of noble conviction or a sign of genuine change, it's fun as hell either way.

I doubt Zac fully intended the depth of these parallels I'm losing it over, but I fully believe that his ability to play so well in the setting naturally lent itself to these fun complexities. He just displays masterful knowledge of the tone and genre of Calorum anytime he's in it, and it's fun to watch!

[welcometololaland]

Please pick your favorite or answer all, up to you because as you know very well, I cannot make decisions lol:

Top 5 Poets (and/or Poems) 📖

Top 5 Rom-Com Movies 🎥💖

Top 5 Logan Echolls Moments 😭 (#Justice4Logan)

Last but not yeast… 🥁

Top 5 Types of Bread 🥖

Sonia....you are an icon. Always seeking to go above and beyond. Which makes sense because (much like myself) you are the eldest child. Permanently tired, eldest child overachievers please raise your hands.

I'm gonna do the top 5 Logan moments (although they're more like quotes and parts of Logan that I LOVE) AND THEN I will do the rest via reblog (because I need to carefully consider my responses). By the way, I'm only doing seasons 1 and 2 because they're the best:

1 "I thought our story was epic, you know, you and me. Spanning years and continents. Lives ruined, bloodshed. Epic."

Obviously, one of the PEAK LoVe moments on the show - I was SO MAD at Veronica for running away from this. This was Logan at his most vulnerable.

2 "I'm sure I'll thoroughly enjoy them. Right up until my oesophagus closes up and cuts off my air supply and I shuffle off this mortal coil."

Aaron was absolutely responsible for Logan's trauma and I loved these moments where Logan let him have it (see also: "When is my birthday? Wow. You got a letter right.")

(couldn't find a GIF for this one but have Veronica and Logan kissing in the same location).

3 "Well first, I'd just like to say the other, uh, nominees are all such wonderfully gifted criminals. And I wanna thank my agent and my publicist for always shooting me from the left side."

Classic bad boy Logan humour - even when he's being locked up. I love that Logan's hatred of Don Lamb is equal to Keith's, Veronica's, Weevil/the PCHer's...even though he is a rich white boy.

4 "But if you're coming home, who will play dead hooker 2 on CSI next week?!"

He's so damn witty and sharp, and some of his best lines are when he's sparring with Trina (see also: "I just can't get him off my back"/"Did you try standing up?").

5 "You're not a killer, Veronica."

I mean I've literally adapted this line so I think it's obvious why I love it. Veronica is the main character she ABSOLUTELY needs no man - but I love the moments when Logan steps in as the voice of reason or helps hold her together.

BONUS!!!!

"well there was this one girl. blonde, petite. smelled like marshmallows and promises."

"promises? that's the name of my perfume!"

[miniimapp]

Aaron T Proposing

Gen ;; Fluff - Story

Warnings ;; Fuck it's fluffy in here, bit of crying and whatnot

Proofread + Edited ;; Meh, not really

Auth. Note ;; WELCOME TO DAY 4 OF THE 4*TOWN CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN !! We're gonna have a little series within this countdown of 4*town proposals as well so that's fun :))

Enjoy !! <3

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It's been an odd day today, you muse to yourself as you wait for T to come back with the promised ice creams. You'd woken up, fully prepared to spend the day in the warmth and comfort of your bed when you were rudely stripped of your blankets and pulled out of your haven. If you didn't love T so much you would have absolutely destroyed him, but as it stands you do so you've placated yourself by the thought of getting petty revenge over the next couple of days instead.

You've been pushed and led in all different directions today and, honestly, it's beginning to wear you down. If you'd perhaps had some time to prepare yourself for a full day out you'd be feeling a little more enthusiastic but you still long for your bed and cuddles from your beloved partner, is that too much to ask?

You spot T weaving through the crowd to get back to you, cones in hand. A smile finds it way back onto your face, though smaller than you would normally be able to conjure. Still, you're never without a smile when T's around.

"Hello, sweet cheeks." T grins, passing you one of the cones.

"Never again. Glad to see you came back with my one true love."

At your words T feigns heartbreak, pushing his free hand into his chest as if to hold his heart together, "Oh, how you wound me!"

You roll your eyes and hide your smile behind the ice cream you've already begun to demolish. "For goodne- just eat, Aaron."

"Yes, my love. Absolutely, starlight. Anything for you, angel." T laughed freely ask he ducked out of the way of your hand. "Sorry, sorry."

After a couple minutes of laughter and chatter and of course ice cream, the two of you finish and T starts rambling about what else you can do in the day. Unfortunately, after such a long day filled with various activities and food you felt tired and ready to go home and broke the news to T. He looks a little disappointed for a second before brightening again and pulling you up for the final time.

"Let us maketh our way to our humble abode, lest I get pummelled by my dear lover." You wince at the rubbish attempt at a Shakespearean English accent and speed away from T in hopes of escaping it.

On the journey back to your home you find your eyes flicking over to T lots, way over the usual amount of glances you tend to steal. Not that you can help it, every time you look away he seems to move just slightly enough to catch your eye again.

You can feel yourself frowning and your eyebrows furrowing in concern. Ever since you asked to go home he's begun acting strangely.

..Have you upset him? You hope not, you just aren't feeling up to doing anything else today. All you want is to spend time with T in the comfort of your own home, with nothing to do and no one watching.

However, he was incredibly excited to spend the day with you but would he stay excited if you trudged along, ruining his plans with a growing grumpiness. No, going home was the best course of action..hopefully a lot of cuddles will make up for the foiled plans.

Once you get home, T rushes inside leaving you wide-eyed and confused, standing in the doorway. You close the door behind and make you way further into your home, stopping by the sofa as you watch T flip through movies on netflix.

Soon enough you're halfway through the 3rd movie in your marathon, happily commentating and poking fun at the characters choices. This is exactly what you wanted and you're so content, you never want to leave the encompassing warmth that both T and the sofa provide.

"I'm just saying, babe, if he'd grabbed the gun a little earlier maybe they wouldn't be in this situation." T explains to you, arms flinging around and gesturing, "I mean, what kind of idiot put his teammates in danger like that?"

You hum, nodding along with his argument "Right, I get your point but he the only opportunity he would have had to grab it earlier would've been when little miss love interest was getting ambushed. And, for the sake of the rest of the movie, they couldn't really have her die like that or this early. They also needed him to have his little knight in shining armour moment."

T frowns, "Still, he should've been more prepared. At this rate his while team is gonna die but that's alright, at least his wittle girlfwend will be okay."

You gasp dramatically, clutching your nonexistent pearls, "Are you saying you wouldn't save me in that situation?"

"Babe, done even try to put me in that "wOuLD yOu sTiLL loVe mE iF i wAS a wORm" kinda situation, I don't have the brain space to answer that right now." T makes his voice as high pitch as he can and starts wriggling on the sofa like a worm.

You burst out laughing, wheezes and snorts wracking your body as you watch "What- what the fuck, T?"

Looking back up at T immediately makes you crease again. "What? I didn't even do anything this time?" You try to answer but can't get the words out between your snorts and wheezes.

After what feels like hours and 3 ab workouts, you finally begin to calm down, your eyes watering enough to create a whole new river. You look up at T and find him watching you fondly, "What?"

"Marry me."

You eyes widen and you sit up straight, "I- what?"

T's eyes widen too, perhaps even more so than yours, and he starts panicking, over-gesturing with and awkward smile on his face "I mean, well, will you marry me? Would you like to? You- um, I feel like we should, or, uh, could, if you want to.. that is.. um.."

He looks up at you eyes, brimming with panicked, unshed tears and his smile quivers, "I didn't mean to, um, do it this way. Had a whole plan but um, yeah. What, um, what-"

You cut him of with a kiss on the cheeks and cover both of his hands with your own, tears of your own brimming in your eyes. "Yes."

You feel him squeeze your hands, a disbelieving smile begins to crack across T's face, "Wait, really?"

You nod, tears now spilling over and down your cheeks, "Without a doubt in my mind, I would be honoured to marry you, Aaron."

The biggest and brightest grin you've ever seen breaks out across all of T's face, lighting him up with a kind of happiness you've never seen before. "Thank you!"

You smile just as brightly in return. "Don't Thank me, it's an honour to be your fiance, not a hard decision."

You throw your arms around his shoulders and squeeze him tightly, never wanting to let go. When his arms wrap around you in return your smile grows even wider. You've never been happier.

"Oh fuck, I left the ring in my coat."

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Hope you enjoyed !! <3

[tathrin]

Ahhhhh yes wonderful! That is A: absolutely the goal when I write something THANK YOU SO MUCH and also B: how I like my stories too. I would much rather have a story where I can see each step of the plot than one that just lurches in and catches me off-guard with a “ha ha surprise twist!” Especially when it’s something that’s implausible, shocking, or terrible: I want the mounting anticipation or dread more than just a fleeting moment of “oh wowserz didn’t see that coming!” which is so much less satisfying imo. Even if I didn’t cotton-on ahead of time, I’m still more delighted by a story where you can see the twist in retrospect than one that’s “surprising” because it never bothers to set the twist up at all.

See: soooo many modern action/superhero movies ugh. It seems to be a common fallback for some writers now to engender a moment of shock and awe in order to cover for the fact that they’re failing to establish a proper emotional arc or connection that would make people react like that even without the shock. (That’s why they’re so obsessed with “spoilers” now. If one single spoiler would ruin your whole film, it’s probably not a good film buddy.) We all know who Luke Skywalker’s father is now, and ESB remains a fantastic film because it’s got the same emotional weight regardless of whether the audience is gasping in surprise or not. There’s such a difference between “don’t spoil this twist so that other people can experience it for themselves” and “don’t spoil this twist because without it there’s no point to the whole damn movie” lol.

And apparently I feel rambly (I’m not procrastinating writing a scene, shhhhh) so I’m going to ramble about my thoughts on twists/surprises in stories a bit now. But I’m more just venting at the void now rather than talking just at you, so feel free to scroll past and ignore me as I soapbox XD

But take a Heist Story or a Mystery: what makes a really good heist or mystery is one where all the pieces fit together so that when you go back and read it the second time, you can absolutely see how it happens even if you didn’t figure it out ahead of time on the first read/watch — and that’s what makes the story good to read a second time, too. (The Rogues of the Republic series, which is basically Ocean’s Eleven meets D&D, does this really well, btw, if that sounds like something up your alley. To reference back to an earlier ask, that trilogy was also a big part of my slowly dawning “oh maybe you can have modern elements in a fantasy story without it sucking” revelation.) I don’t like Shock Value Stories where once you know the “twist” there’s not really any story left.

One of my favorites for keeping-people-guessing-but-not-too-much is Aaron Allston’s Star Wars novels. He’s mostly writing about fighter pilots-turned-con-artists-and-spies, so there’s obviously repeated “oh look at what they pulled-off to fool the bad guys with!” elements, some of which the audience gets clued-into ahead of time and most of which the audience is along for the ride on...but they always fit. He takes the time to set each con up, and then jumps ahead to the pulling-it-off stage, so that the audience gets to go “oh that’s how they did that, awesome!” instead of just standing slack-jawed in confusion on the sidelines.

The best twist I’ve ever experienced was the one in the first Knights of the Old Republic video game. I don’t know if you’ve ever played it — I don’t know if you’re a Star Wars fan at all — but to this day, it remains my absolute favorite game of all time. And it’s because the twist is so well earned, and packs such an emotional wallop when it comes...and it continues to maintain that emotional wallop even on a re-play when it’s no longer a twist. It’s why I’m so invested in that whole era of the SW universe, and in the character of Revan in particular. The emotional experience of that revelation cannot be beat.

Or getting back to fantasy: have you done the Provost’s Dog series by Tamora Pierce? There’s a twist in the third one that is SO heartbreaking that most fans literally avoid talking about it openly online even with spoiler tags because they don’t want to spare anyone the pain of spoil anyone from experiencing it. But it’s set-up in such a way that you could see it coming...if you wanted to let yourself. But you don’t want it to be true, so you don’t let yourself think about it; you tell yourself it’s impossible; you ignore it. (Or so I judge is the general experience and not just my own, because most of the reactions I’ve seen to it that weren’t just wholly shocked have been along the lines of “I didn’t want it to be true!” or “I thought for sure she’d pull something else in the end!” etc. I’m sure there were people who did see it and who let themselves see it, but the bulk of us seem to have gone NOPE LA LA LA if/when we picked-up on clues.)

It is also really interesting to look at stories that you’ve known for so long and see someone else experiencing them for the first time, because we know all the twists...but they don’t. So it reminds you (or me, at least) of what it was like when those things were twists. Because Boromir trying to take the Ring isn’t a twist, Rohan making it to Gondor in time isn’t a twist, Aragorn sailing in on the boats isn’t a twist, Gollum biting the Ring away isn’t a twist...unless you’ve never read it before. I don’t remember the first time I read LotR, because it was so long ago. I don’t remember what it was like not to know if Merry and Pippin were alive! I don’t remember what it was like not to know that Gandalf would come back! I don’t remember what it was like to be surprised by anything in this story...but it is so much fun to see someone else be surprised by all the things that were surprising the first time you read them!

Anyway I don’t even remember what point I was trying to ramble my way towards anymore, I’m sorry. But yeah, basically: I like when I’m surprised by what I read, but I don’t like when I’m blindsided by it. If that distinction makes sense. I want to go “oooh!” not “wait, where the fuck did THAT come from?” XD

Also getting back a little more on topic to actually respond to you and not just screech into the void: I agree with your tags about shippier takes on Boromir’s sexuality, I have no objection to those (that is not a hill I will die on lol) but they always come across to me as “oh someone is doing something different with Boromir, okay!” because in my head? Yeah he’s hella ace. (Anyway I think that really, you could not have phrased it better if you had tried, because what is a better phrase to use when talking about Boromir than hills you die on?)

🎯 🤩(and my boy boromir for 🧠 please!)

From this ask meme.

🎯 Have any of your readers accurately guessed major plot points? Care to share which?

Oh gods, probably? I'm not much of a "twist" writer tbh. When I get "gasps of shock" out of folks, it tends to be less a result of a plot twist they didn't see coming, and more in regards to the specific details of how x-y-z happened. If that makes sense? There are a lot more "oh no, Tathrin isn't really going to...oh crap, we are! oh crap!" vibes happening in my comment section than there are "wow, I didn't see that coming!" ones, I think? I'm more interested in getting people invested in seeing what happens next than I am in surprising them with something unexpected, I guess. So instead I'll answer the other way, and say that I was surprised that more people did not anticipate the death at the end of this story, because I had assumed that it was a foregone conclusion based on what the story was ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

🤩 Who is your favorite character to write?

Boba Fett. (Original Flavor Boba Fett, I should say.) The only reason I don't write more of him is because he needs a story that deserves him, you know? And he's a pretty singular barve. But I love looking at the world(s) through his T-shaped visor.

🧠 Pick a character, and I'll tell you my favorite headcanon for them (for Boromir).

Oh damn, I don't know that I really have any significant ones honestly, since I don't really write him much (although I have been enjoying him recently and uhhh we're not ready to talk about The Zombie Story yet, but. well. there are thoughts happening and Plot Outline Possibility A has a significant amount of Boromir, so. I expect I'll be doing more of that soon shhh). So mostly thinking-out-loud here...I headcanon him as aromantic, because of the whole "delighting chiefly in arms" thing, and slightly baffled by everybody else's interest in all that sappy stuff, as he's always rolling his eyes affectionately at his little brother when Faramir goes off into some bout of poetry or whatnot. Also, I love a Slightly Baffled Boromir in relation to elves and dwarves (and Hobbits, too, but I feel like Hobbits are weird in a less bewildering way somehow) so the idea that he spends 90% of the Fellowhip's journey in a constant state of silent wtf-ing at whatever nonsense Gimli and especially Legolas are getting up to is a delight.

Thank you for making me think about Boromir more specifically!

[lebenspurpur]

headcannons that just make sense

|Michael|

⇝ Michael loves children. He wouldn't want any himself but he enjoys watching them since Michael loves their natural lively imagination.

⇝ He loves candy, especially gummies and candy corn.

⇝ Michael enjoys reading. He is a quiet person and very intelligent. Reading is one of his favorite hobbies to gain knowledge.

⇝ Michael definitely broke through the floor in the old Myer's house before.

⇝ Michael likes cats, surprisingly. He doesn't understand the idea of pets but cats are so independent and quiet. He tries to copy their moves a lot.

⇝ This man literally doesn't have an ounce of social intelligence. Small talk with him would be so uncomfortable and awkward. He doesn't know how it works.

|Vincent|

⇝ Vincent is stronger than Bo.

⇝ He secretly despises the mask. His mom technically made it for him to make Vincent understand that he looks like a freak. He wishes he'd be more confident and could live without it.

⇝ Vincent loves Bo with all his heart even if he's a narcissistic asshole.

⇝ Vincent is scared for Lester a lot. Since he's younger Vincent wants to protect him.

⇝ Vincent wants to learn an instrument. Piano would be his favorite but violins are a close second place.

⇝ Vincent secretly adores being with both of his brothers, even if one bullies him and the other one reeks.

⇝ Vincent doesn't like his father. They never had a close relationship.

⇝ The things Vincent has done for the aesthetic of them... God..

|Bo|

⇝ Bo would actually sacrifice himself for both of his brothers.

⇝ He feels bad about treating Vincent like he does but his pride is too big for him to apologize.

⇝ Bo doesn't actually know how to repair cars but he's learning.

⇝ Bo wishes he could draw like Vincent.

⇝ He is very lonely sometimes, alcohol is his best friend in these times. He's high-key alcoholic.

⇝ Bo was the child in elementary school that brought a knife to class.

⇝ He had a teacher that realized his abuse and subsequent aggression. She protected him and he saw her like a mother.

⇝ Bo sometimes wants to leave Ambrose and just discover what lays beyond his beloved America.

|Lester|

⇝ Lester loves Halloween, he makes the twins go trick or treating with him. Since nobody opens the door (what a surprise), he buys candy himself and places filled bowls all over town.

⇝ Lester has a very close relationship with Vincent. He stands up for him when Bo gets too harsh.

⇝ As a child he used to sleep in Vincent's bed when he had a nightmare.

⇝ Lester believes in true love which is absolutely adorable.

⇝ Lester has had emotional deep talks with his dog, Jonesy.

⇝ Lester was the child that actually loved his parents, he misses them a lot.

⇝ He used to run to the forest and looked for fairies and goblins as a child.

⇝ Lester likes to watch Vincent draw, it calms him when he's stressed.

|Otis|

⇝ Otis would never tell them but he loves his adoptive family, the Firefly family, so much.

⇝ He's sure that if they hadn't found him he'd be dead by now. Either because of drugs or suicide.

⇝ Otis secretly wants a dog.

⇝ He is very intelligent and if he tries he can actually be impressive when it comes to stating his opinions and beliefs.

⇝ Otis daydreams daily how his life would've worked out if he was "normal".

⇝ He overthinks his actions a lot. He doesn't feel bad about them but he analyzes the mistakes so they won't happen again.

|Baby|

⇝ Baby has had days where she just laid in bed and cried. She isn't always as happy as everyone believes.

⇝ Baby was very insecure about her body as a teenager. The other girls bullied her which led to quickly decreasing confidence.

⇝ Baby is very glad to have Otis as a brother, he's her ultimate idol.

⇝ Baby is scared by horror movies. She's not squeamish but she gets scared easily, especially when the subject's demons or supernatural horror.

⇝ Baby fell in love with a girl in her school once. Unfortunately it was a bully of hers.

⇝ Baby forced Otis multiple times to go and buy pads for her.

|Billy|

⇝ Billy is a little geek and we all know it.

⇝ Definitely a gamer though back in his time, video games just started developing.

⇝ Billy has comfort characters without knowing what that means.

⇝ He has thought about making out with Stu before.

⇝ Billy is a very emotional person even if he doesn't show it in public. The only one who has seen the emotional side is Stu.

⇝ Billy wants to dress more alternative but that'd ruin his "perfect disguise". He'd love some leather boots and dark eyeliner.

|Stu|

⇝ Stu is sure that he's bisexual though he hasn't outed himself yet. His closet is made out of glass let's not lie here.

⇝ Stu is actually a very empathetic character which is why Billy loves him so much.

⇝ Stu loves everything that involves rollercoasters, he's an adrenaline junkie.

⇝ He either has ADHD or ADD.

⇝ He is actually pretty tolerant with a lot of stuff. He'd definitely wear nail paint and a skirt, sure. He's all against toxic masculinity.

⇝ His room is so fucking messy.

|Brahms|

⇝ Brahms has porn magazines hidden in the walls.

⇝ Brahms really likes gardening. He's a huge fan of planting his own stuff.

⇝ He is terrified of wild animals. This man is literally scared of wolves even though that's the last thing that'd attack him.

⇝ Brahms doesn't like fire all that much. He usually sits far away from it.

⇝ If he had a camera he'd totally take creepy stalker pictures through the walls.

⇝ He knows how to cook, surprisingly. Though he himself lives off of toast and tea.

⇝ He isn't stupid but his intelligence mainly bases on literature. He couldn't solve a simple equation yet he knows "Romeo and Juliet" like he wrote it.

⇝ Brahms hates sports. Especially running. He will throw himself on the ground after two minutes and whine.

|Josef|

⇝ Josef either lives vegan or vegetarian.

⇝ He wishes he had a pet. He'd love a cat or a dog.

⇝ Josef actually loved his parents even if they didn't have a close relationship. They passed away which is why he has so much money.

⇝ Bisexual king. I mean come on, he wanted to seduce Aaron as well as Sara.

⇝ He knows a lot about healthy eating. Fresh vegetables as well as fruit are a must in his house.

⇝ He doesn't actually have a house, he rents apartments or tiny houses for a few months and then leaves again.

⇝ He wanted to study medicine when he was a teenager. His grades were good enough as well.

|Thomas|

⇝ Thomas loves animals a lot. He wishes he wouldn't have to slaughter them sometimes but at the time he didn't have a choice.

⇝ While he despises school he loves gaining knowledge. If it wasn't for the bullies he'd gone back to school.

⇝ He hums lullabies to himself while he works.

⇝ He has thought about killing Hoyt yet he knows that he isn't allowed to kill family.

⇝ Tommy never had the chance to understand what's so wrong about cannibalism. He kind of gets it though.

⇝ Thomas has a huge artisanal intelligence. He can craft very well, as well as repair things.

⇝ He makes little dolls and toys when he's not busy.

⇝ He too wishes he had a pet with fur so he could pet it.

⇝ He has stamina like an ox. Thomas is probably able to run for hours.

[utopia-and-broken-cynics]

Snapshots dump for the actor au:

“And, how long have you two been friends for?” The reporter asks.

“Just a couple of months.” Garroth gives her a grin, and Zenix laughs.

“We kind of hated each other back in school, but we’re all good now.”

-

“Why does that happen?” The reported laughs, and he sighs.

“My friends used to shove me whenever someone they thought I would be attracted to passed.” He shrugs. “Now I just trip on my own. People think I’m clumsy, it sucks.”

-

“How do you feel about your character's actions in the show?”

“Well, it isn’t quite in character for him to do any of the things he’s doing.” Garroth sighs.

“I love it. I get to make chaos.” Zane smirks under his mask. Aphmau sighs.

“I just want the war arc to be over…” Aphmau gestures with her arm. “I miss Zoey.” Zane snickers.

“Your girlfriend.” Aphmau reaches over and hits him, and Garroth laughs.

“We’re not dating!!”

-

“How do you feel about your character's death?”

“...I get to put on a shirt, and not help Aph with her sword work.” Aaron smirks, and Zane shakes his head. “I’m great.”

“And you?” “There are worst ways to go.” Zane shrugs. “I could be killed by Zenix.” The audience laughs.

Zenix shouts off stage. “Like I would waste my time on you.”

“Right, I forgot, you would only kill Gene.”

-

“How do you feel about knowing you caused so much pain for your brother?”

Gene slumps. “It sucks! Like, I would never do that to Dante, hell I wouldn’t do that to my worst enemy!”

“Aww, sap.” Zane leans forward. “Garroth deserves it.” Gene smacks him.

“Of course you would ruin your brother’s life.” Gene rolls his eyes. “I changed my mind, I would totally do that to Zane. He would probably thank me.” Zane shrugs.

“As long as you don’t erase me from the people I like, we’ll be all good.”

-

“CUT!!” The actors all slump from where they are standing. Teony shakes her head, and kneels in front of the dog.

“Hey, Zenix, what’s his name? He’s not responding to Storm.” The dog was supposed to be playing the skeleton horse in future episodes.

“Sir Pigglesworth, sit!” Zenix joins Teony in kneeling, patting his pup gently. “Good boy.” Teony laughs, and Kim scribbles down on her clipboard.

They were going to have to change some small things if they were going to make this work.

-

“Zenix is still mad he doesn’t have a backstory, or a motivation.” Garroth slings his arm over his ‘apprentice’s’ shoulder.

“Even Ivan has more motive than I do, it makes literally no sense!!” Zenix growls, glaring past the camera at the writer. “What were you trying to do with my character, huh?” He throws his hands up, and slumps into Garroth’s hold.

“There, there, if it helps, you're still my favorite minor character without a story?” Zenix just nods, and Garroth rubs his arm. “Do you want to go talk to Visher?” He releases Zenix to find their co-star.

-

“That hurt!” “Fuck off! I said I was sorry!” Zenix and Garroth were both lying on the ground, and Garroth kicks him.

“How’d you get it to fire?” Garroth whines. He was very lucky that the arrow was fake, otherwise he would be very injured.

“I don’t know! I did the motions just as we practiced, and it just fired.” Zenix rolls over. “Sorry again.”

“Never do that again.” Garroth groans, sitting up. “Please.”

“Absolutely. Swear on my sword.” Garroth rolls his eyes.

“Let’s go again boys!” They both grumble and get in position.

-

Aphmau rubs her throat, and accepts the tea Zoey hands to her. “Was that finally pained enough?” She croaks. Zoey laughs, rubbing her shoulders.

“I think you’re done for the day.” Both of them peer down at the weird crater.

“I think we should get lunch.” Zoey mumbles, guiding Aphmau away.

“Yeah? Whatcha thinking?” Aphmau’s eyes are sparkling. “Can we get cupcakes?” “For lunch?” Zoey shakes her head. “No, we get cupcakes for dinner, Aph, you get pie for lunch.”

-

“Zane Ro’Meave, along with his brothers and fellow co-stars.” The reporter waves at them cheerfully. “What’s it like, working with your brothers?”

“It’s… fine.” Vylad drawls, stretching out in his chair. “The peace and quiet I can’t get at home, I don’t get at work.”

“Vylad, you chose to live with Laurance.” Garroth rolls his eyes. “Nobody told you to.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” Zane snickers, and Vylad yawns. “You and Zane are always bickering, I never have peace. You guys are always High Priest Zane and Head Guard Garroth, mortal enemies and brothers. It’s really weird.”

Zane smiles. “As much as I dislike my brother, it’s fun to work together. I get to hit him over the head.”

Garroth scoffs, and slouches. “Jerk.”

“Child.”

-

Nana Ashida flinches as the cold dye is put into her hair. Nicole sits across from her, a brighter shade of red being put in.

“Y’know, Nana, I never thought you dyed your hair that shade of pink.” Nicole raises an eyebrow, and Nana gives a shrug.

“I liked that shade of pink, when I was younger, and then it just became apart of my image.”

“As Kawaii~Chan.” Nana nods. Nicole smiles. “At least pink is your color.” She glances back at the person doing her hair, who grins at her.

“Red suits you, Nicole.” Nana rolls her eyes.

-

“Sasha, how is it you and Laurance met? Did you two know each other before filming started?”

“We met when we were seven. He was drowning-”

“I was not drowning, I dropped something in the water-” “So I decided to to save him-”

“And then she shoves me-”

“And we’ve been friends ever since!”

“...no.” The reporter just looks between them, before giving the camera crew a sheepish look.

“Oops?” He mumbles.

-

Gene dozes in the corner as Dante whispers to Natasha (Nekoette) and Dmitri. The three have matching grins, and water guns in their hands. Sasha files her nails, leaning against a tree, while Zenix chats with Michi in the shade.

The two children and their pseudo-dad point the guns at Gene. His startled scream sparks the water war, leading to Gene and Dante tumbling into the lake.

-

“Erm, the viewers want me to ask, what’s the relationship here?” Lilian laughs nervously as she looks at her two co-workers, who seem to be arguing with their eyes (or eye, in Zane’s case). They were doing a livestream, answering questions, and playing games.

“What relationship?” Zenix clicks his tongue, twirling his pen in his hand. He had been drawing, scribbling intently as they fed him clues on what he was supposed to be drawing.

“They want to know what’s up with you and Zane.” She huffs. The clarification wasn’t needed.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Zane nudges Zenix, and gets a glare. “We don’t like each other.”

Lilian’s eyes scan the chat, not noticing the argument happening next to her, again. Some of the comments were standard (Sure/ whatever/ What’s the next game?/ Can we see the drawings?) but some genuinely shocked her (I think they’re secretly in loooove~/ Ew no Zane’s in love with Gene/ nooo don’t ship them they could SEE/ oop- dRaMa~). The chat was chaotic, and she turns away, glancing at her guests and wincing at the thunderous looks on their faces. Would nothing be calm?

-

Ivy dropped the scythe with a sigh. “CUT!” The director points at her. “Get it right. TAKE FIVE EVERYONE!” Ivy sighs again, grabbing the scythe off the floor.

“Ivy!” Teony calls, and the pink haired woman’s feet stop. She smiles a little.

“Come to finally teach me your ways?” Teony snorts, taking the scythe from Ivy.

“It’s not my fault you're stubborn and refuse my help.” Teony twirls the scythe regally, and Ivy’s smile grows.

“Of course, m’lady.”

[poisonousquinzel]

https://lady-ha-ha.tumblr.com/post/160715688748/is-that-comic-before-the-reboot-and-which-one-is

(I have not read this comic) Is this true? (if so, ivy deserves someone better).

Post

Kay, first off both of those people are Jarley shippers so take everything they say with a grain of salt and then some, cause no. that part isn't about how much Harley loves Joker and will always choose him over Ivy. Literally you can tell ops don't know what they're talking about cause her whole thing in those issues is going to kill him for years of graphic abuse but ultimately falls back with him once she’s face to face with him.

Like wow, congrats on missing the fucking point again but not surprised from people who ship her with The Fucking Joker.

also, ffs, can anyone please have basic comprehension skills and realize that Harley and Ivy are both fucked up sometimes because they’ve got issues and that’s not comparable to Joker’s long ass history of graphic and disgusting abuse.

Harley and Ivy are villains, they're not a wholesome cookie cutter, White Picket Fence, super vanilla ship with no bad moments. They're both bad guys with a fuck ton of trauma that they both have to work through, and have done so at this point. 

Gotham City Sirens was published between 2009 - 2011, Harley and Ivy weren't blatantly romantic at this point nor had they had anywhere near the development that they’ve had at this point.

Like don’t go into Harlivy content expecting them to be the perfect wlw rep with no flaws during their arcs from BTAS to current time cause that’s just not realistic. They’re both deeply flawed people who’ve got a fuck ton of trauma that they need to (and have) worked through. 

I have talked about the BTAS issues here and this post is good at explaining them too. 

X

X

Harlivy is not and has never been a purely wholesome, goody-goody ship. They’re messy, they have issues, and they have bad moments sometimes, but they both worked through their seperate trauma and came out stronger and better because at the end of the day, they care about each other. 

Harlivy has messy, toxic moments sometimes, but they’re not, and have never been, abusive. There’s a difference between unhealthy moments and a ship being abusive. 

That’s completely different to how Joker acts Constantly, because he does not care that his actions towards Harley are abusive, because he doesn’t give a shit about her. 

He enjoys hurting her. He enjoys ruining her. 

Jarley has always been intended to be written and shown as a domestically abusive relationship.

This is also the first instance where it's directly referenced that there's something more than platonic between her and Ivy, other than the reference in Batgirl Adventures. 

Gotham City Sirens is also not connected to any verses.

This didn’t happen in the timeline we’re in rn with Harley Quinn (2014)/(2016)/(2021).

Comic timelines and shit are stupid and make everything more confusing and awful and I hate it sdfjdksksdkjsd

-

this is gonna be a long post since ops wanna just cut and paste random bits of the issues like jarley stans always do (cause jarley never has good moments that aren’t entirely surrounded by him abusing her) I’m going to show them in full context. *added a keep reading cause it is a lot

(All panels shown are from #15, #18, #19, #20, #21, #23, #24, #25)

So, Harley's entire thing at this point in the GCS comic in that she's been triggered by flashbacks of Joker's abuse and she breaks into Arkham with the intent to kill him.

The entire thing in these issues is showing her smarts and how she knows people's trump cards to get under their skin so she can break into Arkham. 

She’s trained to identify these things in people and she's fucking good at pushing people's buttons. 

this is also just one of my fav Harley covers so I wanted to show it jsdjksdks

“Trump cards. Everyone has one. Places where the armor we build around ourselves is weakest.” 

She’s right. And it’s now shown that Harley’s willing to use those below the belt trump cards if she has to.  

And frankly, I’d say this is worse than what she says to Ivy. And I’m not surprised she did it. She didn’t want to, she tried to get him to just open the door - 

“Don’t make me do this, Aaron. There are some secrets that should stay hidden. Things you should never learn about your own life.” 

but she’s also entirely fueled by rage and the desire to kill Joker. She came here for a reason and she’s not leaving until she’s done it.

“I’m going to kill you. For everything you’ve done to me. All the times you’ve made me feel useless and small. For all the times I will never forget. For all the things I can never forgive. All the memories -”

“Hello, Harley. I’ve missed you.” 

“Memories. That’s all I have left. The past is gone and all I have is... memories. 

Memories.

Memory. 

Gone.

I guess I too have a trump card.”

“Oh, Ivy. You know exactly what my answer is going to be. But you’re hoping you’re wrong, aren’t you?”

She’s also right about this, they already mentioned this in #18.

“How did I become the bad guy?”

“You’re the one choosing a man over her girls.”

“Are you kidding me? You would never say that to Harley, and we both know she’d dumb us in a flat second if Joker called her.”

“Hey! That’s not fair-- Actually, that’s probably true.”

“The difference is, she can’t help it. You can. And she’s working on it. You’re not working on it.” 

“Too easy, Ivy. Too easy. I know your weak spots. Now I just need to push.”

This is exactly what she’s been doing since the starting point of this post. She’s still in that mindset and she knows she can’t beat her on a regular battle field. Neither of them can. 

“Like I said-- You beat me in any level playing field. But I don’t fight on those fields.” 

Harley’s biggest strength as a villain is her ability to completely mentally stall her opponents and learn their weak spots. She wouldn’t win against the majority of the Big Bads if she didn’t fight on a different field than they are. 

so, like yeah, out of context what she says to Ivy seems awful and completely screwed up, and it is, but it’s also built up really well and it’s completely in character for her at this point in her fall during these issues. 

Is what she did fucked? absolutely. It’s not painted that it’s not. 

Ivy Literally Goes To Kill Her For It.

In the end of this all three of them are recaptured by Catwoman and Batman and that’s where we’re starting off at again. 

“Oh, Harley.

The only human I’ve ever called a friend.

To what lengths will I go? Where are my own limits? She is the Strangler fig. And I am the tree, choking underneath. 

Without me, she could never grow. 

But without her, I would fall if I grew too tall.” 

“Will she ever stand by herself? 

Will she ever be ready? 

She is in throes of madness. She sees him, her brain flooding with adrenaline, it makes her excited, nervous, then the feelings start to fade, and she needs more. And more. 

She sees it as passion. She sees it as love. 

But it’s not. It’s addiction. And she’s relapsing.” 

Ivy is well aware of the nature of their relationship. She’s not stupid and she’s been shown already to know that it’s something that takes time. It’s not a one off break up and it’s over. That’s not how abusve relationships work. 

What do I do?

I could use my pheromones to alter her brain chemistry.

I could leave her behind abandoning her to the wilds of her own mind.

I could kill her right now.

Show her how red Nature can be.

There's one other option.

It would require patience.

Even love.

Maybe I'm more human than I want to admit.

"You have one chance to answer this."

I know, if she agrees, she'll be doing it for revenge. For him.

"She put us behind bars."

But maybe if I get away from this place, if I give her something else to think about. Maybe she can break the cycle. But it has to be her choice.

"I'm going to kill her. Come with me."

So yeah, it’s definitely not a just “Harley hurts her and runs off with Joker and it’s just a plain ol’ her choosing him over everyone and that’s that.” 

Jarley shippers love to just reduce all her scenes and arcs down to their “epic love” and shit, but that’s taking away literally everything about her and reducing it down to the 3 panels that they’re “cute” in. Her arc in this part is fucking heartbreaking to read.

And Ivy damn well knows what’s going on with her. She’s smart and she’s the one that’s been there throughout all of this. She found her in the park after he shot her out of a rocket. 

And she knows it’ll take time for Harley to get over and through his manipulation, that’s just how it works with abusive relationships. 

But she’s also not forgiving at first, she’s mad and rightfully so, until she sees the sate of Harley’s cell and realizes how bad her addiction is at that time.

A lot of the unhealthy moments on Harley’s side when it comes to them are directly caused from the effects of being in an abusive relationship with Joker. Because she’s always in this area of her journey in those moments. She’s never fully over him or emancipated. 

And that’s realistic. It’s hard sometimes to be friends with someone who’s in abusive relationships like theirs, having to watch them return to that person time and time again and it’s frustrating after a while. 

I know from personal experience, it’s really hard to watch someone you care about go back or forgive someone that continues to hurt them. 

But abuse victims desperately need a support system outside of their abuser. It’s a crucial part of being able to escape, because when they do try to get out they need someone there or they’ll literally have no where to go but back into their abuser’s arms.

It’s heartbreaking and it’s really rough for everyone effected, but that’s just how it is most of the time. Especially in their case, as they’re not just regular folk dealing with this. 

If she doesn’t have Ivy, Harley has no one else to go to but Joker, on more than just an emotional level. 

She’s lost her job. Her income. Her home. Her livelihood. Her everything.

Most of the time she has no other choice but to return to a life of crime after she’s released from Arkham because she can’t get a job, she’s a notorious criminal and she’s got a lot of issues that don’t just disappear with a bit of therapy. 

She has no other choice but to return to Joker because the other alternative is the streets. At least she knows what to expect with him. 

And that’s not even getting into the manipulation, gaslighting and degrading abuse that he drills into her constantly. 

He’s made her believe she’s not anything without him. That she’s not smart or useful or anything. 

And that’s why it’s so damn important for her to have a support system and why he’s so damn against Ivy. 

Because Ivy is the good voice on her shoulder telling her he’s wrong and that she doesn’t deserve that. 

-

And on Ivy’s side, she’s aware she gets very near cutting off all parts of her humanity. 

She’s a plant goddess, she’s insanely powerful and she feels everything through the green. Frankly, she’s not even on the same playing field as these villains. She’s significanty more powerful than Harley and Joker. 

Her connection to Harley is what keeps her humanity in tack, because despite everything, she does care about her. She was the first person she let in, the first person Ivy called a friend. 

The person that was able to get through to her in #14/#15 when she was losing herself. The one that was able to get through to her that the dude was manipulating her. 

“Ivy, I know you think you love this guy... but you’re just gonna end up strapped to his rocket!”

She had to knock her out for the dude to trust her / not attack them anymore. But Harley got through to her by mentioning how they first met in the park when she saved her after Joker shot her off in a rocket.

And Ivy is understandable turned off towards humans considering her origin and trauma around that. 

She’s got a lot of trust issues.

But both of them work through their seperate traumas over the years because their affection for each other is stronger than the issues their trauma has given them.

-

and also, sometimes, they just have shit writers. that’s an issue overall in comic fandoms. Some writers just fucking suck at getting any of the characters right, let alone LGBT characters, who’re notoriously treated like garbage by DC. 

[reidingandwriting]

So This is Love...

Word Count: ~1,750 words

Ship: Spencer Reid x Reader

Warnings: Language, mention of ECT (it’s hard to explain out of context, but nothing detailed!!), and awkward!!reader

A/N: Soooo, this is my first Criminal Minds fic!! And my first fanfic in a while but we’re not going to talk about that. I’ve just started binge watching the series and I absolutely fell in love with all of the characters, especially our boy wonder, Dr. Spencer Reid. This fic plays out a bit different than the episode but this takes place during the episode where JJ and Will get married 🤍

“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride.” The wedding officiant spoke as he stepped away, and the crowd in Rossi’s backyard began to cheer and clap as JJ and Will finished their ceremony with a kiss. You stood beside Hotch and smiled, your eyes tearful as the duo walked down the aisle formed with hanging lights and flower petals- white roses to be exact. You felt someone’s eyes lingering on you and you glanced over to where Spencer stood. “I’m okay,” you mouthed when you saw the concerned look in his eyes. Spencer’s eyes crinkled as he smiled and you couldn’t help but return the gesture, and you only looked away when Derek nudged Spencer with a knowing look on his face. Aaron’s hand rested on your shoulder and you looked up at him, grateful for the distraction from the teasing you know you’d be subjected to after much longer.

“We should go take a seat for the reception.” There was a hint of a smile on Hotch’s face. God, you hated profilers. “Unless you want to keep longingly staring at Reid.”

“I was not longingly staring. He was checking on me, like a good friend. You should try it sometime.” There was no true malice behind your words and Hotch knew that. You walked together towards the tables where everyone else had gathered and took a seat as Rossi started a toast.

“They say that good things happen to good people. And today is one of those days. And these are two of those people.” Dave tilted his champagne flute towards Will and JJ. “We love you.”

“Cheers.” Everyone clinked glasses and celebrated the marriage of two of your close friends through drinks, memories, and laughter.

------

“What’s on your mind, pretty boy?” Derek asked as he stood beside Spencer. Spencer had been standing off to the side as he watched everyone else on the dance floor. Derek had just managed to break away from Penelope who was now dancing with Hotch, her head thrown back as she laughed. Rossi was with Emily, the smiles on their faces resembling a father and daughter’s as they danced across the dance floor. JJ was with Will, both of them looking off towards you. Of course they were, Spencer thought as he saw you. Henry was wrapped in your arms, rested against your waist, and you swayed with him. Yours and Henry’s laughter echoed through the backyard as you dipped him down, and his little hands latched onto your arms. One of your hands was tucked under his head securely, and you kissed his head as you stood back up straight.

“So, that’s what’s on your mind. Or who, more like.”

“Shut up, Morgan.” Reid mumbled as Derek laughed, which caused you and Henry to look in his direction. “Great, now they’re looking at us.”

“Is that a bad thing? You’ve been staring at her, so I think it’s fair.” Morgan said as you set Henry down, which led to Henry running to Spencer.

“Uncle Spencer!” Henry rushed over and crashed into Spencer’s legs. Spencer let out an “oof” before he knelt down to Henry’s level.

“Hey, Henry!” Spencer grinned as Henry started to ramble about you and him dancing together, and Derek took his leave. Little did Spencer know, you were watching him with the same look he was watching you with not even minutes prior.

------

“You should ask him to dance with you.” Emily offered a flute of champagne and you accepted it with a “thanks.”

“He doesn’t really seem like he wants to. I don’t think I’ve seen him dancing yet. And it’s gonna be hard to beat Henry’s dance skills.” You winked as you took a sip of champagne, and Emily laughed.

“If you won’t dance with him, you should come dance with the rest of us. Rossi won’t rest until he dances with all of his children.” Emily took your hand and led you to the dance floor, where you both began to dance. Throughout the night, you danced with everyone on your team. Hotch was after Emily, and Garcia took you from him. You then danced with Morgan who spun you over to Rossi.

“The man of the hour. Papà Italiano.” You curtsied before you stepped into Rossi’s arms, and he led the two of you as you danced.

“Mi figlia.” Rossi smiled.

“I’m impressed. You managed to put together a pretty awesome wedding with barely any time. Remind me to let you plan all of my parties.” You teased and Dave laughed as he twirled you.

“I’ll even give you the favorite child discount.”

“Favorite?” You gasped and held your hand against your chest. “I’m honored. I can’t wait to tell Spence he’s not your favorite child.”

“Speaking of our boy genius,” Rossi started and you cut him off with a groan. “What? I was just going to say you two haven’t spent much time together tonight. Usually you two are attached at the hip.”

“Everyone’s been trying to set us up all day today.” You admitted. “And I don’t know. He’s my best friend.” And I’m in love with him, but I don’t want to ruin our friendship if he doesn’t feel the same for me. Which he probably doesn’t, so why put myself out there and face the inevitable rejection when I can pine after him from here?

“Do you always think out loud when you’re nervous?” There was a sparkle in Rossi’s eyes and your cheeks burned. Shit.

“You can’t-”

“I won’t say anything.” You sighed and your shoulders sagged in relief.

“Thank you.”

“Of course, Y/N.” You looked over towards Spencer, who had been roped into dancing with Penelope. “You can talk to him.”

“Wait, what? Rossi!” Penelope and Rossi maneuvered a switch- Penelope was now with Dave while you stumbled into Spencer. “Hi.”

“Hi. I’m sorry for,” Spencer waved his hand in the air, “this.”

“Don’t be sorry. It’s just me. And you. Two friends, dancing. Like everyone else.” Okay, Y/N, shut up now.

“Yeah.” Spencer seemed to deflate a little. “Just like everyone else.” The music playing suddenly changed from upbeat to a slow song, and if looks could kill, Emily and Derek would have dropped dead by the DJ’s booth where they now stood with smug smiles on their faces.

“Do you want to dance with me?” You blurted out at the same time Spencer spoke.

“You don’t have to dance with me.” Spencer’s cheeks turned pink when he heard what you had said.

“I, uh, haven’t danced in a long time. I might step on your toes a lot.” You bit your lip and Spencer smiled that smile that made your heart melt. That smile that could get him whatever he wanted from you.

“I think we can manage.” Spencer took your hand in his and twirled you into him, and you wrapped your free arm around his shoulder while his wrapped around your waist, and his hand rested on your hip. “Is this okay?” You didn’t trust your voice to be steady, so you nodded. His eyes met yours and you couldn’t look away. The music took control and the pair of you began to dance. Neither of you spoke as you danced, and you lowered your head to rest against his shoulder. The smell of his cologne, along with the feeling of his arms wrapped around you, enveloped your senses and you looked up at your best friend.

“I’m sorry for dodging you until now.” Spencer hummed but let you continue to speak. “It feels like everyone’s been pushing for us to be together and no one really cared to listen to what we wanted. Especially today, since it’s a wedding and ‘love is in the air.’”

“And what do you want, Y/N?” Spencer asked and you felt your chest tighten and your heart began to race.

“I want you.” Spencer froze at your words.

“You… what?” There was an unfamiliar emotion in his eyes and you began to backtrack.

“No, no, no, I didn’t finish. I, I wanted you to know that before electroconvulsive therapy was used to treat mental illness, they actually used insulin shock therapy for schizophrenia. Patients would be injected with so much insulin they’d fall into a coma for weeks at a time. And they weren’t really conscious, so psychiatrists would call it successful for treating their patients. But it proved to be too dangerous, with brain damage and even death, so they started using ECT instead.” Spencer took a step back at the end of your rambling and the look on his face pained you.

“Thank you for the dance, Y/N, but I should go.” Spencer started to walk away and you panicked. It’s now or never, Y/N.

“Wait!” When Spencer turned back towards you, you gripped his jacket, pulled him into you, and pressed your lips against his. You pulled back when Spencer hesitated. “I’m sorry, I should have asked before I just-” You were cut off as Spencer’s lips met yours again and his hands cupped your cheeks. You relaxed under his touch and in that moment, it was only you and him. You broke the kiss a minute later, your cheeks flushed and breath labored.

“Yeah! Get some, pretty boy!” Derek called out and the two of you laughed, and you shook your head.

“I’m going to kill him. And I am going to enjoy it.” You muttered and Spencer shook his head, a playful smile on his lips.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but you did say you wanted me.” You glared at Spencer who raised his hands in mock defense. “If it makes you feel any better, I kind of told Morgan earlier that I was in love with you.”

“And Morgan told Garcia,” you started.

“Who told Emily.”

“And I told Rossi.”

“Who told Hotch.” Spencer finished.

“And they all felt the need to give us a gentle, totally subtle push in the right direction.” You chuckled and Spencer nodded as he brushed a strand of hair out of your face.

“We’re getting them back, right?”

“Oh, totally. But first.” You wrapped your arms around Spencer and began to dance with him again as the music sounded throughout the backyard.

So this is love, mmm

So this is love

And now I know (and now I know)

The key to all heaven is mine

So this is the miracle

That I've been dreaming of...

I didn’t know if I should tag my Marvel taglist so I’ll be tagging @spidey-reids-2003 and @ssa-sugar-tits 🥺 If you want to be added/removed from my Marvel, Criminal Minds, or any taglist, let me know!! Requests are open but will be completed slowly until I settle into my new school and routine 💕

This reader was written as a fem!reader but future fics will be neutral and physical descriptors will not be used unless absolutely necessary/requested ❤️

[slickbackdani]

Batman Movie Villains Ranked from Worst to Best

Recently, a YouTuber I follow by the name of Mr. Rogues released a list of Batman villains ranked from worst to best. I have nothing but the utmost of respect for Mr. Rogues as a content creator, but I took issue with his list because his long-standing biases were often the deciding factor in many of his rankings. So, I decided to do a list of my own.

I’ll be going over every Batman villain to appear in the movies, briefly analyzing their portrayals and ranking them on a scale of 1 to 5. To prevent the list from being too cluttered, I’ll be separating the villains by which movie series they’re part of. Here we go!

Burton/Schumacher Tetralogy

Bane: Perhaps the only villain in this series I’d call “bad.” The calculating tactician of the comics is nowhere to be found here; instead, he’s reduced to a monosyllabic, brain-dead stooge for the other villains. Overall, he does nothing that couldn’t be done by a random henchman. 1/5

Two-Face: A deeply layered villain in the comics, Two-Face sadly gets upstaged by the other major rogue in the movie, but that’s not to say he doesn’t leave an impression. Tommy Lee Jones gives him a manic and mercurial demeanor that, combined with his colorful design, wouldn’t be out of place in the Adam West series. The size and scope of his criminal organization make him a genuine threat, and there’s something darkly fitting about Batman’s former ally being responsible for the creation of Robin. 3/5

Poison Ivy: Mr. Rogues for some reason ranked her as the worst Batman movie villain of all time, and frankly, I don’t see why. Like Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face, Uma Thurman gives this character a delightfully over-the-top demeanor that combines with a colorful, comic-booky ensemble to make for another great “what-if-this-character-appeared-in-the-Adam-West-series” take. She does a good job juggling the differing facets of Ivy’s character: she’s the put-upon cynic, the craven opportunist, the radical eco-terrorist, and the suave seductress all in one package. 3.5/5

The Penguin: Fuck the Razzies. Danny DeVito made this role his own and set the stage for the character for years to come. He’s a bit of a departure, but a welcome one: far from the refined gentleman of crime Burgess Meredith portrayed, this Penguin is an animalistic thug warped by a lifetime of anger and hatred of the society who rejected him due to his deformities. His signature wardrobe, trick umbrellas, and Penguin gimmick are all there, but DeVito sells the role by showing amazing versatility: he can go from a comical and pitiable weirdo to a terrifying sociopath at the drop of a stovepipe hat. 4/5

Mr. Freeze: I honestly can’t say much about this character that my mutual @wonderfulworldofmichaelford hasn’t already. Arnold Schwarzenegger perfectly encapsulates both popular versions of this character: the flamboyant, pun-loving criminal genius from the Adam West series and the Animated Series’ traumatized scientist desperate to cure his loving wife of her terminal illness. Sure, the puns and hammy one-liners are what this version character is known for, but Ahnold definitely knows when to apply the brakes and give a greatly emotional performance as he tries desperately to cure his wife. 4.5/5

Max Shreck: Probably the only time you’ll see a movie-exclusive character on this list, and deservedly so. Corrupt businessmen are dime-a-dozen in Batman stories, and most of them have little personality outside of being greedy scumbags who either get defeated by the hero or betrayed by the other villains. Shreck, however, is different. Not only does he have an eye-catching fashion sense on par with any of Batman’s famous rogues, but Christopher Walken brings his signature manic intensity to the role, creating a character that’s as wicked and sinister as he is cool and stylish. You totally buy that the general public sees him as the good guy. His warm relationship with his son is also a delight to watch. 4.5/5

Catwoman: Michelle Pfeiffer does a lot to really make the character her own. She gets a lot of genuinely badass moments, but underneath all of her coolness lies the undercurrent that she’s a broken, traumatized character lashing out at the people who abused her and took her for granted. Even when she takes these ideals to unreasonable extremes, you never stop feeling like the retribution she brings on her enemies is at least a little warranted. Also, she has amazing romantic chemistry with Batman and her costume is fucking metal. 5/5

The Ridder: It’s Jim Carrey. 5/5

The Joker: This role is perhaps the one that set the standard for future Jokers to follow: Jack Nicholson’s humorous yet unnerving performance signaled to audiences early on that this would not be the goofy trickster of the Silver Age, but a different beast entirely. This Joker is a film noir gangster on crack: a disfigured mob hitman who quickly takes the entire criminal underworld by storm and unleashes his special brand of chaos and destruction across Gotham. He’s an artist, a showman, a charismatic leader, and the man responsible for ruining Bruce Wayne’s life. 5/5

Christopher Nolan Trilogy

Talia al Ghul: You know that recent trend in Disney movies where a side character we thought was harmless and inconsequential turned out to have been the villain all along in a twist with no buildup or foreshadowing with the reveal happening too late in the movie for this character to really do anything cool or impressive before being unceremoniously defeated? That’s Talia. DKR is the weakest of the three Nolan films, and I feel like it would’ve been much better received without this twist villain contrivedly shoehorned in. Also, while I could kinda forgive the trilogy’s whitewashing of other villains like Ra’s al Ghul and Bane due to the talent their actors display, Marion Cotillard doesn’t get a pass because she just doesn’t have the charisma or screen presence needed to pull it off. 1/5

Victor Zsasz: While the idea of redefining Zsasz as an over enthusiastic mob hitman instead of a serial killer is very interesting, it’s ruined by the fact that he barely even appears in the movie and doesn’t really do or say much of anything despite the buildup he gets. 1.5/5

Two-Face: Aaron Eckhart portrays Harvey Dent as a character of tragedy in a slightly different way than other tragic villains in superhero movies: he’s lashing out at a society he feels wronged him, but instead of being a lifelong outcast or put-upon loser, he was a handsome, successful crusader for the common good who lost everything he once held dear all in one fell swoop. You really feel for him even as he does horrible things. If I had to nitpick, though, I am slightly bothered by the fact that he plays some comic book movie cliches straight (i.e. they never call him by his alias and he dies at the end,) but it’s a solid performance overall. 3/5

Scarecrow: I’ll be upfront and admit that I’m more than a little annoyed that certain facets of the character had been changed in the name of “realism” — once again, they never call him by his villain name and he never wears a comic-accurate costume — but other than that, I can’t complain. Cillian Murphy plays the character with a smarmy, eerie charm that really makes his scenes stand out, his willingness to ally himself with other villains suits his character well, and the fact that he appears in three consecutive films with a different evil scheme in each really helps tie the movies together. 3.5/5

Catwoman: Much like other secondary villains in this trilogy, she really doesn’t get a chance to shine compared to the main antagonist — and, once again, it pisses me off a little that they do the whole “never refer to her as Catwoman but vaguely hint at it” thing — but she’s everything a modern Catwoman should be. She’s sly, manipulative, really holds her own in a fight, has great chemistry with Bruce Wayne... it’s all there. It’s also great to see Anne Hathaway break away from her usual type casting to play a role this dynamic. 4/5

Ra’s al Ghul: He’s a character that was in desperate need of mainstream exposure, and by God that’s what he got. Making him Bruce Wayne’s mentor adds a layer of personal tragedy to the climax where our hero has to stop the man who made him who he is from destroying Gotham with his admittedly brilliant plan. Add in a strong, captivating performance from Liam Neeson before we found out he was a racist asshole, and we’ve got one hell of an overarching villain. 4.5/5

The Joker: Everybody’s already discussed this version of the character to hell and back and likely will for years to come, so I’ll keep it very brief. He’s funny, he’s badass, he’s terrifying, he has great dialogue, it sucks that Heath Ledger didn’t live to see his performance reach the audience it got, and he basically makes the entire film. 5/5

Bane: Mr. Rogues actually ranked Bane higher than Joker on his list, and keeping it 100, I actually agree with him here. Finally, after decades of being dumbed down and misrepresented outside of comics, Bane is finally portrayed as the tactical genius from the comics. Tom Hardy plays Bane to perfection, being very believable as the peak of human physical and mental achievement, the man who broke Batman physically and emotionally. His design is iconic, his every line is quotable, his voice is weirdly fitting, and the memes are funny. 5/5

DC Extended Universe

KGBeast: Another point where I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Rogues. He is absolutely wasted in BVS, being nothing but a generic henchman for Lex Luthor. He doesn’t wear his costume from the comics, he’s never referred to by his alias, he doesn’t have his signature cybernetic enhancements, and he never does or says anything noteworthy. 1/5

The Joker: Ugh. I don’t know what’s worst: the tacky clothes, the stupid tattoos, the weird Richard Nixon impression that passes as his voice, the fact that promotional material hyped him up as a “beautiful tragedy” of a character even though he’s only in the movie for like 10 minutes and barely does anything, Jared Leto’s toxic edgelord behavior on set done with the flimsy pretense of “getting into character,” or the fact that he’s just trying to copy Heath Ledger instead of making the role his own. 1/5

Victor Zsasz: Chris Messina proves undoubtedly that Zsasz CAN work as a secondary villain in a Batman movie. He’s once again a mob assassin who enjoys his job a little too much, but unlike Batman Begins, he really gets time to shine. He’s just as sadistic and depraved as in the comics, but he also has this disarming, casual demeanor about him like he’s just indulging a hobby instead of slicing innocent people’s faces off. His close friendship with his boss Black Mask adds some depth to the character as well. 3/5

Killer Croc: Sadly, he doesn’t get much time in the spotlight, but he’s pretty cool nonetheless. The makeup and prosthetics used to create him look amazing, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s deep voice and imposing body language make him really stand out as an intimidating presence. He’s often in the background, which fits his role as an outcast by choice and a man of few words, but whenever he does get focus, he has everyone’s attention. It really would be a shame if this character’s only appearance was in a mediocre schlock action movie, but he makes the most of what he has. 3.5/5

Deadshot: Another highlight of what would otherwise be a forgettable film, Deadshot is just as cool and competent as he’s always been in other media, but this portrayal stands out for one simple reason. Will Smith was a very odd choice to play the role, but it worked out for the best here because you get the sense he truly understands the characters. He’s ruthless and pragmatic, but has just as enough charm and depth to make him likable. 4/5

Black Mask: I, like many, was skeptical when I saw early trailers depicting Roman Sionis as a foppish weirdo who doesn’t wear his signature mask, but upon seeing the final movie, I really feel like he has the high ground over other DCEU villains. Ewan McGregor is endlessly captivating in the role, portraying him as a swaggering dandy who is nevertheless dangerous due to his boundless narcissism and explosive temper. Sure, those who deal in absolutes would be put off from the differences with his comic counterpart — who is far more cold and humorless — but from a certain point of view, this flamboyant take on the character isn’t so much a departure as it is an addition to make him stand out while keeping his role the same. Black Mask has always been a middleman between the traditional mobsters of yesteryear and the colorful rogues that plague Gotham today, and this portrayal perfectly encapsulates that. He works in the shadows, but isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty; he flies off the handle and gets reckless at times, but there’s no question that the whole operation was his idea. 5/5

Harley Quinn: Margot Robbie owns this role. She’s unbelievably dazzling as a badass, funny, sexy antihero who deals greatly with tragedy and proves that there’s always been more to her than her initial role as the Joker’s sidekick. Again, not much to say, but she’s almost perfect. 5/5

[nerdyfangirl67]

Once Upon A Time -  Criminal Minds Reader Insert

Pairing: Aaron x reader (previous),

Warnings: angst all the way, slightly cold Aaron, language

Word count: 1715

Reader used to date Aaron, but Aaron pushes the reader away. So the reader decides to marry someone else, and invites Aaron to the wedding, where Aaron realizes she is the one who got away

A/N: Here is the first part of my three part mini series. Reader does get with a character that many, if not all, of you know but I don’t want to ruin the surprise. This is an Aaron x reader fic though, despite the reader’s other relationship.

Your POV:

You stood staring at his apartment door, debating if you should even be here at all. Aaron hadn’t talked to you in days, unless absolutely necessary at work. He had stopped using your first name, opting instead for your last. He wouldn’t even sit next to you on the jet. Rather, he had taken to sitting next to, and across from, the other team members, making sure an empty seat was never available near him.

After two weeks of this, you had had enough. Hence the reason you were standing in front of his door now. After another moment of hesitation, you decide to go for it and give the apartment door a hard knock.

You hear shuffling behind the door, followed shortly by a loud sigh.

“Look Aaron, I know you are in there. I can hear you. All I want to do is talk.” You say, the thought of him ignoring you making your heart ache.

The door in front of you slowly opens and reveals a tired looking Aaron. He has bags under his eyes, his hair is wild, pointing every which way, and he has the top three buttons of his wrinkled dress shirt undone.

You slip in the door, an intense throbbing pain consuming you as you now stand in front of him and see him like this.

“Aaron.” His name falls from your lips, the tone of your voice betraying how you feel. His eyes, the ones that have brought you so much comfort, are cold.

“What’s wrong?” You murmur softly, moving to take a step closer to him. He matches your step forward with a backwards one of his own.

“We can’t do this anymore.” He says stiffly. “We can’t. It’s done.” He is looking anywhere but at you.

His sharp words instantly bring tears to your eyes. Of all the things you thought he would say, this wasn’t one of them.

“W-why? What do y-you mean?” You stammer out through the tears.

“I just…” His voice cracks, showing the first sign of emotion since you entered his apartment. The next words out of his mouth stun you into silence. “I have a reputation to uphold.”

The tears were flowing freely down your face at this point. You don’t know what to say so you turn and rush out of his apartment. You don’t slow down until you reach your car and once there you drive to the only person you could stand to be around right now.

You scramble up the stairs to his apartment, tripping up the last few at the top. Once you reach his door, you knock furiously, too broken to care that it is around one in the morning.

A husky “I’m coming” sounds from inside the apartment. Not a moment later the door opens and a sleepy Spencer is staring down at you.

He scans your face before pulling you into a hug. “Y/N?” Once Spencer pulled you into his arms, you were crying again.

When you are able to speak coherently, you lift your face and look into Spencer’s comforting eyes. “Spence, he dumped me. And he didn’t tell me why. Just said he had a fucking reputation to uphold.” You spit out venomously. Spencer was the only one you had told once you started seeing Aaron and he hadn’t told a soul, which you were very grateful for in this moment.

Stepping back from Spencer’s embrace, you quietly ask, “Can I stay?” Spencer nods his head and grabs one of your hands, gently leading you to the couch. He turns on one of your favorite TV shows before bringing you close to his side. You lean your head on his shoulder and try your best to focus on the show, in hopes of ridding your mind of thoughts of Aaron. You don’t recall much after that, probably due to the fact that you found Spencer’s one bottle of wine and drank almost the whole thing by yourself, Spencer having only been able to nab a glass.

You awake the next morning on the couch with a pounding head and a queasy stomach. At first you weren’t sure what woke you up, aside from the obvious hangover, but then you heard it. A phone, which appeared to be yours, was buzzing on the coffee table.

Groaning, you stretch forward and grab it. “Yo.” You say quietly, not wanting to increase the pounding in your head. JJ’s stern voice immediately fills your head, not helping at all with the headache you had. “Y/N, I’ve tried calling you three times. We have a case in New Orleans and Hotch wants everyone at the debriefing in 30 minutes.”

“Shit, sorry JJ. I’m going and I’ll be there soon.” You end the call and quickly get up off the couch. You stumble to the bathroom, searching for the Tylenol, which you pop two off in hopes of getting rid of your headache. Next, you move to Spencer’s bedroom, knocking on the door. You hear a muffled “What?”, before you open the door.

You smile as you take in Spencer. He is sprawled across his bed, his comforter half hanging off both him and the bed, and you could tell his hair was absolutely wild.

“Spence, we have to be at a debriefing in 25 minutes.” He shot up and was out of bed in ten seconds, rushing past you towards the bathroom, grabbing a change of clothes on his way out.

You turn towards Spencer’s closet, intent on locating your backup outfit that you had stashed there. Having established a standing Saturday night TV show binge, alternating between either yours or Spencer’s apartment, combined with the fact that the two of you had crazy schedules, you had taken to keeping a pair of work clothes at each other’s place. And over the last two years you had yet to actually use your backup outfit, until today.

After a few minutes of searching you finally found your clothes. Eyeing the outfit, you let out a squeak of surprise. “What the hell was I thinking with this?” You huff out in frustration.

In your hands was a fitted, navy blue pencil skirt, a sleeveless black blouse, and a pair of black heels. Hell, you couldn’t even recall the last time you had worn heels. These were obviously clothes you had just wanted to get out of your closet because you had no intention of actually wearing them.

You didn’t have time to get pissed about your younger self’s idiotic choices, so you stripped down to your underwear and shimmy on the skirt, followed shortly by the blouse. A gray cardigan of Spencer’s catches your eye.

“Hey Spence?” You shout. He yells back an acknowledgement to which you respond with a question. “Can I borrow a cardigan?”

He strolls into the room, towel drying his hair, already dressed and ready to go. You feel a small twinge of jealousy at the fact he showered and beat you at getting ready. He nods and you swipe the cardigan off the hanger.

It was a few sizes too big for you, despite Spencer’s thin frame and just covered your butt, causing you to let out a sigh of relief. You grab your phone, purse and jacket from Spencer’s living room and follow him out the door.

The ride to the FBI headquarters was uneventful and despite your best efforts, the two of you still arrived fifteen minutes late. Spencer was panicking because of how tardy the two of you were but you could care less. Frankly, it excites you knowing that by being late you would be irritating Aaron. Despite the feelings you had for him, let’s be honest, you were madly in love with him and had been for a long time, you were deeply hurt by his actions.

The two of you walk into the debriefing room, causing a few pairs of eyes to glance your way, including Aaron’s. He glances at his watch but doesn’t say anything, even when Spencer starts apologizing profusely.

You sit in the free chair next to Morgan, which just so happens to be across from Aaron. You hardly hear a word Penelope is saying because you are so focused on Aaron. You watch him through the entire debriefing, looking for any hint of the pain you’re currently feeling.

The team is dismissed from the round table with “Wheels up in thirty.” Hotch breezes out of the room, followed shortly after by Rossi.

You wait a beat before heading towards your desk to grab your go-bag. Spencer joins you and the two of you head to the jet early.

You don’t feel much like talking and Spencer doesn’t push you. When you arrive at the jet, Spencer sits at the opposite end of the couch, pulling your feet into his lap.

“How are you doing Y/N?” He asks softly, eyes searching yours. You shrug. “It just really hurts.”

He gives one of your feet a squeeze before pulling a book from his bag. The two of you sit in silence for a while before the rest of the team filters in.

As the pilots start preparing for takeoff, Morgan turns around in his chair to look at you.

“Dang mama, you’re looking fine today.” He whistles slowly. You blush at Morgan’s words before responding, “Well someone had to give you a run for your money hot stuff.”

Out of the corner of your eye you see Aaron clench his jaw and narrow his eyes. “Let’s focus on the case please.” He cuts off any further conversation.

The flight to New Orleans went quickly and Aaron sends you and JJ to the precinct upon landing. The drive there is short and as the two of you enter the precinct you are greeted by a handsome, New Orleans native.

“I’m Detective Will LaMontagne and you two beautiful ladies must be from the FBI.” He flashes the two of you a bright smile, which you find yourself reciprocating.

“I’m SSA Y/F/N Y/L/N.” You reach a hand as JJ introduces herself.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you ladies.” His comment has you thinking that it certainly was a pleasure and you silently thank your younger self for what you are wearing.

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (20-26 February 2022)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

🥰 Stardust - BBC Full Cast Dramatisation (Neil Gaiman, author; Dirk Maggs, adapter)

🥰 A Marriage of Ice and Fire (Mystrana, author; alby_mangroves, art) - 75K, medieval AU - enemies-to-lovers, forced marriage, bedsharing, bedsharing with an even smaller bed, well-written battle scenes

😍 What's in a Name? (levi_cas_tho, author; maichan, artist) - 85K, very satisfying post-WS recovery fic

🙂 A Literal Human Unicorn (starbunny, author; MsPooslie, artist) - 41K, shrinkyclinks AU with smol baker Steve and a mysterious unicorn

😊 Move Before We Lose It (dontcallmebree) - 59K, no-powers modern AU, office romance

😊 The Sordid Socialite (The Adventures of Nick & Carter #4) (Frank W. Butterfield)

🥰 The Man Who Died Twice (Thursday Murder Club #2) (Richard Osman, author; Lesley Manville, narrator) - another delightful escapade with the Thursday Murder Club and their found family. These are books you read for the characters, who are amazing, and not the plots, which are ridiculous.

😍You Are Responsible For What You Tame series: Part 1 & 2 (BlueSimplicity) - 125K (pts 1&2), post-WS canon divergent recovery fic - so, so good with Bucky & Steve renovating a rowhouse and learning to trust each other and heal and to love Puerto Rican food and churros and steamed buns. Part 1: The Hunt, 18K and Part 2: The Taming, 105K

💖💖+221K of shorter fic so shorter work shout out to these I really loved💖💖

a traditional courtship (Helenish) - X-Men: Cherik, 12K - brilliantly done a/b/o, absolutely fucking with status designation & presentation - highlights are the in-universe academic & pop culture articles/ads

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

The Brokenwood Mysteries - s1, e4

Agatha Raisin - s4, e4: There Goes The Bride

The Brokenwood Mysteries - s2, e1-4

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics - Medusa

You're Dead To Me - The Haitian Revolution

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Ponyhenge

You're Wrong About - CSI: Junk Science w. Josie Duffy Rice

Lore - REMASTERED – Episode 22: Over the Top

You're Dead To Me - Grainne O’Malley

You're Dead To Me - Zheng Yi Sao

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Sites of Vision with the Places Team

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Vermontasaurus

Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities - Ruined

Song Exploder - Sarah Kinsley "The King"

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Lake Karachay

Ologies with Alie Ward - Attention-Deficit Neuropsychology (ADHD) Part 1 with Russell Barkley

Shedunnit - A Second Century of Whodunnits

Richmond Til We Die: A Ted Lasso Podcast - BONUS: Reluctantly Charmed by Ted Lasso (with Nadia Bolz-Weber)

99% Invisible #478 - Art Imitates Art

Last Seen - Episode 5: Belly Up

Hit Parade - We Invented the Remix Part 1 & 2 - this was a fascinating trip through the history of remixes

Endless Thread - Dogs in Elk [shoutout to the staff at WBUR for dramatically reading the iconic Dogs In Elk thread]

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Feelin' Good in the '00s

Presenting Schumann

Presenting Lizzo

Fun & Funky

Presenting Sublime

Freaky Styley [Red Hot Chili Peppers]

Mother's Milk [Red Hot Chili Peppers]

Grieg

New School Divas

Presenting P!NK

Presenting Cardi B

Presenting Jennifer Lopez

Presenting Bach

I Love Me

Presenting Lenny Kravitz

[toonytoodles]

Here's another round of "these would be head canons except it's canon" or "random ideas I had and wrote down and I'm posting them to keep track of all my thoughts"

-

Sofia always gets a little nervous when walking up or down stairs, she's terrified to fall, unfortunately her room is upstairs, and no one knows of this fear

Pond has submechanaphobia (the fear of underwater objects)

Ponds younger sibling Brook has "nicknames" for her and her friends.

"Pon," "Avey," "Memma," "Fia," "Cememine," and the calls both the twins "Anby-n-Anby"

Pond can size shift in a way, being able to be small enough to fit in a glass, or be as big as a lake, she can change her size shape and form under the right conditions, but prefers not to

Andie doesn't swim- it's not that she doesn't know how, she just doesn't like getting wet, and she doesn't like swimsuits

Avery gets bored and thinks about random stuff a lot

The twins have done that cat nose boop to their friends, they were all touched by the sentiment, except for Avery who had to have it explained to her, then she happy-cried about it

Andie and Andy snuggle like actual cats do, often purring as they sleep

Andie is the older and more assertive twin

Every time Andie gets deadnamed Emma looms over the person with an angry look and just says "Her name is Andie." In a dead serious tone. It doesn't happen as often anymore, but I like to think after they run in terror, Emma checks to see if Andie is okay, then needs to be reassured that she's not actually that scary

Sometimes the others can't understand Avery due to her accent, to everyone else it's kinda funny, (though Emma does try REALLY hard to understand), but Avery gets kinda mad, especially if it's important or if she's already upset. Shes especially hard to understand if she's upset/panicking, it kind of sounds like gibberish at that point. That's usually when she gets pancaked by Em.

When Emma first met Sofia she PANICKED cause she had no idea what a dullahan was. Emma just started screaming and panicking, until Clementine and Avery calmed her down and slowly explained that she was fine, that she's supposed to have her head off. Emma didn't completely get it at first, but she's slowly adjusted to it and she understands it now, but then she was so scared. She's really really embarrassed by it, and feels bad about it, and Sofia was scared of her too, so it was just really awkward at first. They're cool now, but at first they wanted to run away from each other upon seeing the other

Avery doesn't like jewelry- it's too much sensory wise, she doesn't like the feel of rings, bracelets, or necklaces, and she can't wear earrings, they won't pierce through her scales

Avery absent mindedly lays on her stomach and is always wearing something that covers her stomach- she doesn't realize it, but it's a survival instinct, as her stomach is one of her biggest weak points. She's almost physically incapable of lying on her back, she can only do it when she's in a safe calm environment where she feels she can't be hurt. But again, this all happens subconsciously, she doesn't notice that she's doing it. Her other huge weak point is her tail, it's important to her balance, and it's directly connected to her spine, so should anything happen to her tail, it could be life or death. This one she is aware of, but there are other reasons she doesn't like people touching her tail in addition to the danger it puts her in. It's uncomfortable for her, it's hers and it's weird to her if you touch it. It's uncomfortable on a couple of levels, it feels uncomfortable and is literally uncomfortable, leave her tail alone. The only exception to this is Emma, and only because it can't always be helped, she might touch her tail some when she sits on her hand. But Emma tries to touch is as little as possible, as she knows how bad it bothers her. (also Avery can lay on her back in Emma's pocket)

Sapphire has a Scottish accent- that's where Avery got it from

Emma and Avery do eventually become a couple, they're just anxious and beat around the bush about it for a while. They're too nervous to tell each other, they're worried about rejection, ruining their friendship, and being good enough for the other. Once they're dating it doesn't change much, except they do call hanging out with each other dates and occasionally do couple things (and Avery does kiss her at one point, which Emma gets all flustered about)

Andie and Andy are identical twins

Andies enchanted flute can implant suggestions into people's minds, and she has the ability to talk to/understand feral animals, this is all she can do because she doesn't want to put in the effort to learning more, and 90% of the time she forgets she can do either

They all have a favorite ice cream flavor!

Avery - Moon berry ice cream with chunks of hot pepper and hot fudge on top

Emma - Chocolate with fudge chunks and chocolate syrup on top

Sofia - Vanilla

Clementine - Coffee flavored ice cream with chocolate syrup and marshmallows

Andie - Neapolitan, preferably in a sundae

Andy - Strawberry with strawberry syrup and when possible, strawberries on top

Andie is secretly scared of balloons

Emma's shoes are slip ons

Andie gets vocal training to sound more feminine, Andy pays for the classes out of his allowance

Emma's house has small platforms and walkways for beans. One of these elevated walk ways leads into Emma's room, where there's a small cubby hole that's a make shift room for beans. Emma set it up for Avery to give her some space when she comes over, she has a big family, and everyone in the family is big, and they all want Averys attention- it can be a bit much. When Avery is in the small room she's officially off limits, with Emma being close by to ward off her siblings. Emma worries about her small friends safety, and sanity, and tries to make accommodations for her, both with her size and her needs.

Averys stims/ticks are: Hand flapping, tail wagging, she has a pressure stim that helps her calm down, her feet claws dig at the ground absent mindedly, her leg bounces when she sits, she pulls on her hair, ocassionally grunts and/or whines, will scream at the top of her lungs when she's pushed past her limit, and rarely, but sometimes she randomly twitches/flinches, and hates when people point it out, like, she's not spasming on purpose, you don't have to be a jerk about it... Emma doesn't stand for it either, so people will shut up about it quickly. Avery doesn't have anything diagnosed, but it's very possible that she has adhd, a sensory processing disorder, an anxiety disorder, and/or is somewhere on the spectrum. I'm not going to officially diagnose her with anything, most of these things are based off myself, and I feel that they also apply to her. These seem very in character, Avery is impulsive, can't sit still, does things without thinking/ not realizing she's doing it, she can't stand certain feelings/sensations/ textures/ tastes, etc., she panics kind of easily, and it escalates quickly, she has several stims/ticks that she uses for basically every emotion, she likes to enclose herself in comfortable small spaces, she has certain people she goes to for comfort, this is all canon already, I've discussed most of it before, I just thought I'd try to list it all out for my own reference

In Averys particular subspecies, there's no way to tell what the sex of the draconic is before it hatches. Her parents debated on a while about various male/female names, but they didn't want to keep referring to the egg as "the egg," or "the baby," as they didn't just think of the egg as an object, so they decided wanted on a gender neutral name for the egg so it could work for either, eventually deciding on Avery

Emma has anxiety about accidentally hurting her small friends, sometimes causing nightmares and makes her want to distance herself from them

Emma doesn't like being upside down (she learned this when she accidentally shrunk herself down to borrower size and Avery accidentally picked her up upside down in a panic)

After buying new clothes, Sofia often sets her head on her bed then does a small fashion show to see how it looks on her- she finds it's one of the few benefits of being a dullahan

Clementine LOVES mind puzzles and being able to problem solve, anything that poses a challenge excites her

Sofia often carries her pet snake on her shoulders, wearing her ball python as a boa

Avery loves sour candy, Emma prefers chocolate, Clementine likes m&ms and small candies that can be eaten while studying, also she considers grass and raisins a candy, something that is a debate amongst her friends, Sofia likes gummies, Andie likes candy bars, and Andy likes hard candies, Pond doesn't eat, so she can't eat candy, but would absolutely love chocolate covered almonds if she could taste them

Pond can do impressions- she often likes to mimic Avery and Andie because she finds accents funny, for some reason? She doesn't really know what it is about them, she just finds them hilarious

Emma is determined to find a way to hug Pond, she will hug water, she'll figure it out someday...

Out of all their friends, Emma only trusts herself to help Avery when she really needs it. It's not that she doesn't trust anyone else, it's just that, well, she doesn't think her friends can handle it. Emma's little brother Aaron has a lot of the same struggles as Avery, so Emma's a little more knowledgeable and understanding than the others. Not to say that the others aren't understanding, but they're often confused or flustered or even scared of Averys behavior sometimes, whereas Emma sees her struggling and attempts to help. The others can't do much most of the time, whereas Emma can help her out by giving her a small squish to help her decompress, put her in her pocket when she needs to be alone, she's scared, upset, tired, etc.,and knows how to talk to her to help her calm down, and she's good at figuring out what it is that she needs/wants when she gets too elevated and is panicking and/or shutting down

[highfaepuckbunny]

Dystopian futures and enemies to lovers/love triangles are my FAVORITE tropes. This book has magic powers, a world cast in ruin, hot boys, a strong lead female and a witty, sexy best guy friend. 

This book series has been really good so far. There are 6 books with 4 novellas. I have currently read the first three books and the first novella. 

First, one word: Warner. Second: Kenji.  But we can get into the boys later.  So this being a YA novel, there is a respectable level of romance. And while I appreciate a good SMUT story, I was pretty pleased with the chemistry and romance between the characters. The lack of over descriptive sexual rendezvous gave me the chance to focus on the character developments and the world building. The beginning of the book was really sad because the main character Julitette was stuck in an asylum for the better part of a year with no one to talk to with heavy level of abuse and neglect. It made me feel so sad and sick to my stomach because I can’t imagine going through something like that. I was pretty pleased with her character development going from a submissive, scared young girl to a powerful, confident young woman. It’s always nice to read about a woman overcoming being helpless and absued and rising to a certain level of power in society and within herself. 

Now, back to the boys.  First, Kenji: what an absolute gem. I absolutely LOVE a good level of witty banter between characters. He loves Juliette with all of his heart and would do anything for her: and he does. But he isn’t her love interest, which I love. I adore a good, sexy guy best friend. 

Second: Adam. This character was not my favorite. I found this character to be broody, whiny and selfish. While he started out to be some what romantic (kind of), he slowly turned possessive, obsessed and over dramatic. I do feel bad for him given his childhood but still. Not my favorite character. I didn’t like how Juliette was with him.

Third and most importantly: Warner. (Aaron) What. A. Freaking. Babe. (Although I am not really into blondes-I prefer brown hair babes with wings but whatever) Even though his character is written to be an evil villain, I never thought that from the beginning. Warner had always been who he is. He has never and will never change himself for anyone and I think that is entirely respectable. Warner had the most horrific childhood and it makes me want to murder his father for what he made his little boy become.(his father gave him lashings for his birthday each year across his back- wtf.) Although, I respect Warner for who he is and what he stands for his methods are a little extreme, but I get it.  I LOVE how he is with Juliette. Even from the beginning. Everything he does for her is to make her be happy with who she is and embrace her powers rather than cower from them. And you can NOT top their chemistry. Jesus H Christ. But their chemistry comes a little later in the second and third book. Juliette is mostly in love with Adam in this first novel. (gags).