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tigerdrop · 4 years

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Cringe is dead, talk to me about the funny half-life men and their relationship

okay here is my essay. it is titled These Guys Actually Like Each Other, and Gordon Freeman Is Just Kind Of A Dick*

(disclaimer: these are just my 2 cents. dont take me too seriously! im just some guy online who has watched this shit too many times.)

first things first. these guys actually like each other. this is a key aspect of their relationship. benrey, obviously and textually, digs gordon freeman - you dont flirt that heavily with guys you arent into, and so much of what he says and does is geared around making gordon crack up. thats pretty gay.

but the counterpart to this is that gordon freemans pretty fucking gay for benrey, too. you may say, “oh, but word of god says its not requited!” and to you i will say: bull shit. gordon is uniquely obsessed with benrey compared to all the other characters. if gordon didnt like the fucking guy, he wouldnt giggle with him and share in-jokes with him and bring him up every 5 seconds when benreys not around. thats concern, bro. thats worry. thats real shit

but i cant blame people for thinking that gordon freeman genuinely doesnt like benrey. benreys partially responsible for some of the worst things that have happened to him, the Arm Thing among them. and gordons very insistent afterward that he doesnt like benrey. he even goes so far as to try to kill benrey a couple times. to this, i must argue that gordon freeman is just kind of a dick.

lets talk facts here. canon. Lore. from the moment we hop into gordons shoes, we can see that he is a jerk to every npc on his way into black mesa. this is his default: a dude who just runs his mouth and says rude shit. he calls tommy a freak within 5 minutes of meeting him. he infantilizes the guy and barely considers him a real scientist. he doubts that bubby is a real name for like no fuckin reason. in “real life”, this is because its funny, and wayne is trying to make a funny half-life stream. in a textual sense, this is because gordon “hlvrai” freeman is a dick. this is the way he acts, consistently, throughout the series.

(brief aside: this is why the whole “gordon is a nice guy and a great dad” characterization baffles me. the way he actually acts in canon is, in short, bitchy and lacking in self-awareness. and i love that for him, i really do. it makes the moments where he just tries to be a nice guy stand out. but thats the thing: his intermittent moments of decency and kindness are not the whole of his personality! this dude kind of sucks most of the time!)

the way that gordons general asshole attitude extends to benrey is complicated. in fairness, benrey makes it his job to annoy the shit out of gordon as much as possible, and that warrants a negative attitude, but gordons pretty paranoid and ends up blaming benrey for nearly everything that happens to him, regardless of if its warranted. this is a pattern he exhibits both before and after the Arm Thing. its a little bit of a dick move! especially considering that, prior to the whole “betrayal” subplot (which was not exactly planned very far in advance), benrey is no more malicious or annoying than anybody else gordons having to travel with.

(okay, this is kind of a subjective evaluation, but still. my point stands that benrey is not any more of a hindrance to his progress than anybody else in the science crew, and neither is he particularly more violent or murderous. hell, gordon freeman has probably killed more guys than benrey. benrey just tends to get.......special treatment.)

all that said, i am still convinced that gordon really fucking likes benrey. please consider with me the following: it would be remarkably easy for gordon to just ignore him and do what he has to do, but he doesnt. he could stop engaging. he could stop thinking about benrey. he could stop bringing benrey up to the rest of the crew every time benrey leaves to do his own thing for awhile. but he doesnt. and, again, yeah, the extra-textual reason for this is “two guys are doing an improv comedy thing and bouncing off of scorpy is kind of the point”, but within the text it reads to me as gordon not being about to get the dude off his mind.

and this is in addition to all the times we see gordon being genuinely nice and receptive toward benrey! its in the little things: laughing the hardest and longest at benreys jokes. only ever reciprocating that stupid underwater “BBBBB” thing with benrey. trying to catch benrey when he falls, despite his insistence moments earlier that benrey should hop in the wack ass crystal generator and get hypermurdered. fondly remarking that benreys sweet voice sounds beautiful. his sort of flustered responses to most of benreys overt flirting. none of this is the way normal people react to a guy they hate. this is all fuckin gay to me, man.

its this combination of the outward insistence that gordon hates benrey with his inner eagerness to be around him and think about him and engage with him that gives off strong “repression” vibes, to me. for whatever reason - pride, embarrassment, resentment - gordon maintains a front of hating the guy and wanting to kill him for a lot of the series, but it doesnt gel with the way he fucking giggles and plays along half the time that benrey starts fucking with him. its a game, and that game is one of the only ways gordon knows to manifest affection for him.

(remember “oh my god, hes got a knife!”? that was the gayest shit i ever seen in my life. tittering like a schoolgirl while benrey chases him around like “im gonna get you haha”. insanity.)

the cool thing about repression is that you can have it manifest in a lot of ways! and this is where things like “headcanons” and “my own personal affection for repressed bisexual men” come in. a lot of how i characterize their relationship is an extrapolation of a lot of things like gordons canonical insecurity issues/anxiety, gordons whole anti-bootboy thing screaming “internet wokeboy who means well but probably has a lot of repressed baggage” to me, etc.

how do you get massive amounts of sexual repression out of what you see in canon, you might ask? well. if wayne would stop having gordon talking about being jerked off by the suit, or talking about chugging a 40-gal drum of potion and having to hold his piss, or worrying about being eaten by benrey the moment he sees benrey at setscale 10, maybe i would have a higher opinion of gordon “hlvrai” freeman and whatever latent psychosexual issues hes got going on. but here we are

i havent even touched yet upon how benrey feels about gordon. this one is helpfully made a little more plain by the fact that benrey very much wants to suck his dick in canon. (i dont even have to go into details. we all know.) but IMO the best part about this ship isnt just that they dig each other, but how. benrey gets overtly flirtatious in the second half of the series, but IMO his preferred method of flirting is just fucking with gordon: chasing him with knives, shoving him around in a bathroom, trying to get scans of his feet. but all in like a slapstick, giggly, fun-and-games sense, you know? at least when it works.

a lot of the time, though, it doesnt work out that way. he clearly just likes doing it whether or not gordon responds positively. which is, you know, Weird. not very nice. but also in line with the way everybody else treats gordon freeman. gordons kind of the universes chew toy in any given universe, and the same holds true here. hes kind of helpless......subjected to 4 demons attempting to make his life as difficult as possible. in a way its cathartic.

sorry. i got sidetracked. anyway, benrey very much likes to mess with him and unnerve him and demean him and i will be perfectly frank with you: that is hot. i have problems and illnesses and one of them is that i am a masochist who goes crazy for that kind of thing. calling gordon a “dirty lil boy” and telling him to “look at the mess [he] made” is some straight up kink scene shit.

i like to imagine that a lot of this behavior isnt caused just by the guy who played him wanting to be funny and antagonistic, but by benrey as a character not really understanding what constitutes “pushing a joke too far”. hes not human, and whatever he is doesnt have a very normative way of understanding the world around him, full of people who actually get hurt for real and die for real. benrey expresses what seems to be genuine surprise and distress after the Arm Thing, as if he didnt know that his actions would have serious consequences. and it doesnt seem to fully sink in afterward, either.

it reads a lot to me like hes used to video game rules and treating people around him like NPCs. if they get hurt, its no big deal, because its not real. he likes jamming random buttons on gordons interface and seeing what comes out. its probably a lot of fun for him, the same way that seeing a streamer or a youtuber suffer for our amusement is fun. its like, you know, in my opinion, gordons very cute when hes frazzled. hes also cute when hes laughing. pushing gordons buttons has a 50/50 chance of either of these things. and this is how he ultimately flirts with gordon: by pulling his pigtails.

but at the same time, benrey does legit care about gordon and knows some boundaries. benreys the one most often shooting at enemies to protect gordon, and he spent most of the last act trying to convince gordon to turn around and not fight him because they were friends (best friends, to be specific). he just lacks a lot of the emotional intelligence it would take to express the feeling of “he digs gordon and likes seeing his face get all red and sweaty regardless of the cause”. and gordon lacks the emotional intelligence it would take to express the fact that he doesnt know if he likes or hates benrey and hes scared as hell that its the former

because, lets be real. unironic benrey-liking is a sign of problems disorder. just look at all these words ive written about it.

can you imagine? this bizarrely powerful, non-human entity that can shrug off gunfire and grow to the size of a building has decided that youre his new plaything. benreys the bored guy booting up skyrim and fucking around in the console, and gordons the hapless favorite follower that hes taken a liking to. its a really fun dynamic IMO

after all this, its safe to say my title is a little misleading. the asterisk stands for * and So Is Benrey, Actually. they are both kind of awful dudes who thrive off of teasing each other and they deserve each other. and i am crazy about it. thank u for coming to my TED talk

#asky #careposting

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r3volutionary-queen · 4 years

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Trivia Tuesday

Creators: give a “behind the scenes” look at one of your works. This could be things that got removed or changed, the origins of ideas/details, whatever you like!

(Thanks @ao3commentoftheday for the header!)

-+-

I haven’t done one of these in a while. After having a pretty deep Ignition chat with @unlimitedhappylife last night, I thought it might be fun to share some insight.

One thing, if you read with a magnifying glass, you’ll notice in Ignition is that it has layers. Layers on layers on layers. I also love playing with parallels. One of my favorite examples is the dynamic between Steve and Darcy. Prepare for a long post below of an author’s ramblings.

A big theme in this story is sacrifice. In the start of Ignition we see it play out where Steve is willing to put Darcy at risk by taking her on a secret mission in order to bring back the TeleThor. When they get back to the safe house, successful but with a close call, Thor and Steve have a big argument over it because to Thor, the idea that Steve was so willing to put Darcy, who is infinitely precious to him, in danger is enraging. In their argument, we see Steve state that it was Darcy’s ultimate choice to take the risk and that she has that right.

And Thor struggles with that reality because he loves Darcy like a little sister—she is all he has left.

Later, after Thanos threw down the ultimatum to the Avengers demanding they turn themselves in or he starts killing 50 random citizens a day, we see Steve getting ready to turn himself in to Thanos. He’s ready to sacrifice himself so that 50 citizens can go free because one life for 50 is worth it to him. And we see Darcy have a major issue with that (basically having a similar stance as Thor in the first argument over the idea of sacrifice).

“And if I willingly choose to sit back and let fifty people—fifty lives—be snuffed out, what will my life be worth then?” Steve’s voice was hard and unyielding. “It’s a selfish thing to want to trade fifty innocents for our lives.”

“Says the man who wouldn’t be left behind to drown in the grief,” she snapped, slamming down her mug.

And a little later in their argument...

“Steve, you’re asking me to do the very thing you are unwilling to do: knowingly stand back and let a sacrifice happen. If we’re—you said we’re friends, right?”

He gave her a careful nod, like he was waiting for the trap, and Darcy pressed on.

“Then stop asking me to be okay with losing you.”

And then, later on when the Soul Stone comes into play, I flip the script. Steve gets to experience firsthand what Darcy felt in that kitchen—what it’s like for someone he cares about to decide to put their life at risk.

And suddenly, Steve is no longer okay with the idea. It makes you wonder if the Steve we see later in Ignition would have been as open to the idea of sneaking Darcy out on a secret mission as the earlier Steve was.

Also, everyone loves to get pissed at Clint and I get it, he’s a bit of a dick. But I wanted to write Endgame Clint (minus the Murder spree) and have him be an alternative view on things. And, whether we like him or not, he speaks some pretty hard truth. He calls Steve out on his shit (in an asshole kind of way lol).

“Darcy.”

Clint slid a dangerous look at Steve who was leaning forward trying to get her attention, his hand closed in a tight fist. The archer lifted one cool brow, his voice turning mean. “Yeah, you’re going to get over that coddling shit real fast, Cap. We’ve all got tough decisions to make and a part to play. We’ve known since the moment Loki brought back the stone that there would be a sacrifice and—”

“—and it’s not you being ripped open by an infinity stone every time you touch it.” Steve bit out with real venom, his eyes flashing.

“Maybe if you weren’t just interested in getting your dick wet—”

Darcy flinched, shame washing over her, turning her face a bright red.

And a few paragraphs later...

Steve’s jaw ticked. “I don’t want us to fight, we’ve got a big enough enemy already. We don’t need to add more amongst ourselves. That being said, you do seem awful eager to spill blood that isn’t your own, Barton. That’s where I have my problem,” Steve tried, his tone less defensive.

Clint snorted humorlessly, still clearly riled up. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse, barely more than a rasp, like he had screamed it all out.

“That’s easy for you to say. Didn’t you sneak her off for a fucking mission back at the safehouse? What, now suddenly things are different—you care?”

Bottom line: I love gray areas. I love decisions that aren’t black and white, things that make you think.

Darcy is their only hope at that time of bringing back half the universe. One life for half the universe, is it worth it? Clint doesn’t know Darcy like Steve or Thor do, to him, she is the key to bringing back those he loves and so in his mind, it’s worth it.

Steve had this same conversation with Vision in Infinity War and remember, Vision was okay with sacrifice but Wanda was not (again, it’s different when the sacrifice is not yourself but someone you love).

Anyway, congrats if you read all of that. Welcome to how fucking complicated the storylines and characterizations are in my head. It’s a hot mess most of the time, but I also love this kind of shit.

If this is something folks like, I’d be happy to share any other sort of behind the scenes insights to the story or characters.

Annnnd I’m done 😂

#ignition talk #steve rogers #darcy lewis #clint barton #Thor #characterization #parallels #my writing process #behind the scenes #ao3 #trivia tuesday #sacrfice #writing themes #did this make any sense #probably not #beware #rev is getting philosophical today

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imstillworkingonit · 4 years

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CR AU: When Jester was not there to answer the door

I fell into the widojest hole about a month ago (literally reactivated my tumblr to follow the tag) and had some FEELINGS about yesterday’s episode and the potential conversations that could have been had if things had been a little bit different. I’ve never attempted fanfiction before, but here’s the AU oneshot for if Jester hadn’t been there to answer Fjord’s knock. I wrote it directly after the episode through the night, so please excuse any glaring characterization errors or typos. This is just what my brain needed to do. (Also, no hate to the budding romance between our handsome half-orc and adorable tiefling—they’re not my favorite ship but they’re still friggin precious.)

>>>>>>

It was not a sudden realization. Jester’s incessant flirting had waned over the past months, and while her initial words had sounded childish to him, the lack thereof was jarring. Fjord missed it. Then came the little moments, where Jester’s light shone so bright it blinded him, even through closed eyelids. She was, indeed, very charming. Hard not to enjoy her company, really.

So when he saw her, frozen in the middle of those stone statues, his world stopped. What is a world without her smile, her laugh, her brightness? Her constant joy that had helped tear him away from the darkness that was his past?

But she came out of it. Shocked, scared, changed, but alive. And then the fear came. The bitter winds of Eiselcross tore through his winter coat, but his body was too warm. The adrenaline that typically came with a fight kicked in, and he began triaging. Gathering information that had cost too much. All the while, in the back of his mind: “I could have lost you.” and “I have to keep you close.” and “I need to tell you how dear you are to me.” So he began rehearsing.

Words had always come easy to him, but there was too much he wanted to say. “I promised your mother I would protect you.” “I don’t want to see you throwing yourself into danger.” “I want to keep you close and never let go.” How far is too far? It took longer than he expected after dinner and the evening’s events and interrogations to properly finalize what he wanted to say. It was the fear in the pit of his stomach that allowed him to spend only a brief few seconds considering what Jester’s response to his declarations would be. Fear, and perhaps a lack of doubt about her response.

Fjord made his way up to the bedroom floors of the tower, and he knocked on her door. “Jester?”

There was no response. He waited for a breath and a half, face hot, and head down, then knocked again. “Jester, are you in there?”

He waited for another minute or so, resisting the desperate curiosity. Is she in there and just doesn’t want to see him? That wasn’t true, was it? But if not, where could she be?

…

After Jester left the tower’s dining area, she went directly to her bathroom. Without looking in the mirror, she carefully shrugged the layers of her winter clothes off and daintily folded them beside her. One at a time. They felt different on her now, somehow wrong. Once they were all removed, Jester slowly brought her eyes up, and made eye contact with herself in the mirror. Moving slowly, she traced the lines of her face. The difference between one’s early twenties and their late twenties isn’t a lot, especially for blue tieflings with pretty rockin’ genetics. It is, however, a lot to see at once.

Her horns were indeed ¾ of an inch longer than they were. She pulled at her hairline, checking for… yes. There they were. A smattering of shimmering silver hairs interspersed with the blue. Not too many, just a couple on each side, but noticeable to her. Her fingers traced down her face. Some of her remaining baby fat had gone—she finally saw her mama’s cheekbones on her own face, and there was also something in her more defined jawline that reminded her of the Gentleman. There were, in addition to the cheekbones, lines on her face for the first time. The tiniest of crows feet, some smile lines around her mouth. Those… those would take some getting used to.

Her hands moved downward, poking and prodding at the skin of her collarbones and down her arms. Her skin feels different. Less hydrated, less springy. Older. Her breasts were fuller, perhaps her hips were as well, but everything just… off. Unrecognizable, even to an artist’s touch.

Her fingers stopped prodding and started scratching, itchy in a blink. This skin, this body, is not really mine. It belongs to some older woman, who just looks exactly like me.

The panic came not just from the change in her body—it also came from the loss of what she could have done with all that time.

How many pranks won’t be pranked because I lost the years that I was going to do them? What if my brain is different too, and that this new future Jester brain, when it catches up, won’t love painting, and dicks, and pranks? What if the Traveller doesn’t bother with me anymore, decides I’ve changed and I’m not fun enough? I got my statue question answered, but how much am I going to lose? Oh... Traveller. What if the Nein only kept me around for my smile, my sunshine? Will I lose that?

This will pass. This feeling has to pass.

She found herself curled on the bathroom floor, staring into nothing, eyes aching with unshed tears. In half a moment, she was on her feet, groaning with new pains, and grabbing a nightgown and robe. Not her usual, ostentatiously and horrendously pink ones, but a peach-ish set. She stared around at her room, at the winter clothes she’d paid a fortune for, at the corner of the secret Nicodranas painting on the canopy over her bed, and even that felt wrong somehow.

Imposter.

She picked up her sketchbook, but couldn’t find it in herself to open it. What could she say to the Traveller: “Hi Artie, guess what, I just lost five years and I’ll never get them back. I had really great plans for all of my time on the earth and now I’ve lost part of that. I’m still here but I’ve lost part of me. I’m haunted by what the statues gave me and what they took. I can’t get the image of what they showed out of my head, and I’m afraid to show any of my friends anything less than my best new smile because that’s all they need from me.” Yeah, that conversation would go well.

The Traveller wouldn’t understand. No one could. Except… someone who had lost years themselves.

She found herself at Caleb’s door.

…

Caleb couldn’t deny that he appreciated what age had done for Jester’s appearance. She had always been a beautiful woman, but now it was shockingly apparent. He had foolishly blurted that out twice too many times upon the discovery of this change, this loss, as well. But it’s something that she needed reinforced, because gods she’s young—so young—and five years at that age is fifteen for anyone else. Not that he would know, he’d lost that time too.

She seemed fine, though distressed at first, and was back to her cheerful self in short order. The rest of the Nein followed her lead, and all seemed well throughout dinner. Caleb was not keeping a closer eye on Jester throughout dinner, he wasn’t. He couldn’t help but notice that, whenever Jester thought there weren’t any eyes on her, her eyes went dark. Her smile became increasingly hollow as the meal progressed, and she departed quickly. Caleb’s ever-sharp mind immediately reminded him that this was Jester’s facade cracking, just as it had done after the Iron Shepherds. Her steps, as she moved away from the tables, were fragile too, as if she wasn’t sure she could rely on her own feet.

He bid his own goodbyes to the remaining members of the group shortly afterward. He had research to do. For someone as full of life as Jester to lose her youth, her confidence in herself, to be haunted so deeply from the actions taken in the blink of an eye… he knew there had to be a way to reverse it, he just needed to figure out how. Of all the arcane tomes he’d devoured during his early days at the Academy, of all the snippets and scrolls he’d glanced through on the road or in random bookshops, something had to have the answer. He just needed to find it.

In the back of his mind, he was reminded: To show her you love her, but never say it.

“Georg, Cinnamon, Pancake, Rickon, please gather all the compatriots you can, and bring me all research in this tower that may include information on powerful restorative spells accessible to an arcane caster such as, ah, yours truly. Thank you.” The cats nodded in understanding and padded off in search of Caleb’s requested materials.

It was but a few minutes before a parade of amber-colored cats came back through the cat-flaps, each one carrying a tome, a scroll, or a report. Once the cats placed their selections near the small desk in the corner, they disappeared back through the cat-flaps, and Caleb settled down to work. It will be a long night of research, Ermendrud. Buckle in.

Caleb, after no more than twenty one and a half minutes, was broken out of his research reverie by a quiet, brisk knock at the door. “Caleb?” Jester’s voice whispered.

Ah, sheisse. Jester. What could she possibly want from the tower’s resident eccentric and broken old man? What could she possibly want that I have? “Coming.” Caleb quickly closed and stacked the research materials behind him, and opened the door a crack.

She stood in the doorway with doll-like eyes. Glassy and empty. Her body was slouched, nothing like the confident woman from this morning. She didn’t say a word.

“Ah, Jester. What can I do for you?” She shrugged, looking hollowly past Caleb’s shoulder. A smile flashed across her lips, but not for long. It was a cruel and empty smile, a smile found much more commonly on his own face than on hers. Jester’s facade had finally broken.

It wasn’t that long ago that that hollow look had been plastered on his own face. The Nein had not been together that long. Before them, Caleb had been a cruel and empty man. He knew those eyes, and he knew that smile. Because not long ago that he’d woken up in the sanatorium and realized that he’d lost eleven precious years of life, of learning, of youth. Of pain and suffering and truth and forgiveness. Those eleven years of his would not have been good ones, with the ripples of Ikithon’s effect reverberating, but he still ached with that loss. That loss for Jester, who had so much good, so much passion, so much enthusiasm...five of her years were worth fifty of his.

They stood together in the doorway, living their individual losses, for just over three minutes. Caleb, eventually, shook himself. None of that matters, Ermendrud. She’s here because she knows you’ve experienced something similar. She needs a friend that shares this.

He cleared his throat, voice hoarse with disuse or emotion. “Please, Jester, come in. I have...ah...another story for you. Not a children’s tale this time, but I believe it still has a good ending.”

A faint knocking floated up from the floor below, followed by Fjord’s quiet call of “Jester.” Caleb raised his eyebrows at her, locking eyes with her for the first time since her arrival at his door. Meeting her, hollow stare to hollow stare. She shrugged, shook her head, and moved forward into Caleb’s room, taking her seat on the couch. It hadn’t been too many days since he’d read Der Katenprinz to her, but it seemed like eons now.

Jester looked up from the couch, patting the space next to her. “Fjord, you know… he just wouldn’t really understand. I don’t want to explain it to him. I know I don’t really understand either, and I’m really confused about what I saw today, and what’s going to happen now that I’m… like this.” She gestured to her changed face. “But I don’t think I can talk to him about it without it seeming...childish. You know?”

Caleb nodded, and sat down. They stared off in companionable silence for thirty seven seconds, until he began telling Jester his own story. She’s heard most of it before, but not in order and not all at once. He didn’t skip over anything, but he did spend the most time on his time in the sanatorium, and the time that immediately followed. To share with her how it felt for him, to let her know that feeling the loss of that time was normal. Halfway through his story, her hands started shaking. Steeling himself with a breath, he wrapped his long fingers over hers. She was very cold, he could share his warmth.

Jester looked at him, eyes wide, still innocent, but with an incredible intent on deciphering something. “The change is hard and it’s shocking, Jester, and I’m sorry you must deal with it. I know you must feel wrong, uncomfortable in your own skin and unsure about everything around you.” If he was not holding her hands, he would be scratching his arms.

She nodded, and cleared her throat. “That is...yes. That’s part of it, I think? I know it sounds weird, but I think I might be mourning? Like… all I can think about are all of the things that I could have done with that time. And if losing it will change me enough that no one will like me enough to keep me around anymore. What if the Nein and the Traveller get sick of the new, old me?”

Caleb squeezed her fingers. “These are fair concerns. But no, getting sick of you, at the very least, is impossible. I refuse to speak for the rest of the Nein or your god but I swear I could never get sick of you. And if I did speak for them, they would say the same. You’re the group’s smile, Jester, but you’re also its heart. Its soul. You’re an incredibly powerful woman who can play tricks on and kick the asses of incredibly powerful creatures. I would fo-- hmmm.”

“Yes, Caleb?”

“Ah, well… I would follow you anywhere. I trust your judgement. You see the world and everyone in it in a unique light, and it is incredible to behold. I-- we are lucky to have you. It is difficult not to lo-- care for you, no matter who you grow into. And I will strive to ensure your days for the foreseeable future are filled with enough adventure and entertainment to make up for the lost ones. I can enlist the Chaos Crew to assist.” A wry grin appeared at the corner of his mouth, just for a second.

Jester looked down at her hands, completely enveloped by Caleb’s. They’re no longer shaking.

“And that is the short-term. I swear on my spellbook and on your holy symbol that I will do everything in my power to get the time back for you, to restore the years you’ve lost. I have already begun the research.” Caleb gestured back to the stack of pages and books spilling across the desk.

The ghost of a furrowed brow passed across Jester’s face, then something that resembled a smile. “Caleb, as your first act of helping me... will you please make your room look like Hupperdook, like you did while we were eating the other day?”

Three seconds passed as Caleb swallowed the request, then nodded. “Uhhh… ja, of course.” He used major illusion to again replicate Hupperdook’s tavern as closely as possible—with the exception of the fireworks. Some sparks were of pink dicks and green cloaks, some were red books and orange cats. There were some multicolored cats wearing cloaks, or playing with dicks. And there was a single book with a small dick in the corner of the page. The page for the spell “Friends.”

Jester’s eyes lit up the tiniest bit watching the animated illusion, and Caleb couldn’t help but admire how the illusory fireworks sparked and crackled in her eyes. A sudden courage gripped him as he pulled Jester to her feet. “As my second act of assistance, Jester… I would like us to revisit the waltz. So you can enjoy a dance with an individual who does not have two left feet, and who is not more booze than man, and know that you are still just as capable and as erapturing as you were those many months ago.”

A giggle escaped from Jester’s lips, and he could see her again, putting together the pieces and cautiously probing the new shape of the world. Caleb inclined his head to his dance partner, and she pulled his arms into the dance’s starting position. Caleb, with a nod to the tower surrounding them, started the music as the steps began. They danced in companionable silence for precisely eight minutes and twelve seconds, gazing contentedly at the illusion around them and at their dance partner before them. Caleb tried to avoid looking at Jester too closely, but he couldn’t help but notice a darker purple flush high on her cheeks. A trick, perhaps, or a product of the surrounding illusion.

On that thirteenth second of the ninth minute, Jester shifted her hand from cupping his shoulder to looping around his neck, and removed her hand from his, only to wrap it around his waist. Her head now rested plainly on his chest, directly over his fast-beating heart.

“You know, Caleb, you’re pretty okay for being a stinky wizard.”

Caleb froze, but only for a second. His arms moved to hold her in a light embrace, their bodies fitting together like a slightly-fractured puzzle. The dancers just started to sway in place. “Ah, I would like to think so. Okay is good. You know, you will be alright Blueberry.”

With her head to his chest, Caleb could make out her quiet words, and the true smile on her face: “It will take time, I think. And help. But I hope so.” She paused for a moment. “And Cayleb? This is a good ending to your story.”

#widojest #no hate just love right now #congrats to the happy couple and the smitten husband and wife #because i am here for it #i just have some feelings

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nightwingmyboi · 4 years

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I'll always remember Devin Grayson as the woman who wrote Nightwing getting raped by a supervillain and then tried to pass it off as "wasn't rape, just nonconsensual"...which is LITERALLY THE DEFINITION OF RAPE, YOU HACK!

MSL: Male rape is a topic rarely touched on in comics. Why is it suited to bring it into Nightwing?

DEVIN GRAYSON: For the record, I’ve never used the word “rape,” I just said it was nonconsensual (I know, aren’t writers frustrating? *smiles*) [x]

Yeah there is no other word for what happened in Nightwing #93 other than rape...I can’t imagine why she would say otherwise. She did technically apologize, but that was ten or so years later. So she eventually, finally did come out and just admit what everyone already knew, but she was still way too late to actually fix any of the damage she caused with how she completely mishandled things. I also don’t think her little apology begins to cover all the issues I have with her.

Devin’s characterization of Dick is just so, so freaking twisted to me. Really, I don’t think there is a Nightwing writer I despise more than Devin Grayson. The interviews I’ve read from her give me the creeps:

DG: The way I think about him [Dick], he likes everyone, he’s sort of a contact junkie - just this incredibly physical (and attractive) person who lives wholly in the corporeal plane and responds with - processes things in - his body before his head or heart. I imagine that he can be hypnotized by a touch the way other people can be stopped dead in their tracks by the sight of money or the promise of true love. I think he likes kicking and kissing in almost equal measure - except kissing edges out ahead because you can do it for longer and it leads to nicer things. [x]

Yeah that’s fucking unsettling. This is Devin being gross and projecting her sexual fantasy’s onto Dick. And she very much invented this extreme view of Dick as obsessively physical. Pre-52 Dick was always written as a master strategist, an unparalleled leader, one of the best detectives in the world, outside of Devin’s writing. Her fantasy version of Dick doesn’t mesh with that...Dick wouldn’t be capable leader if he’s “thinking with his body” (whatever that means) all the time. He’s survived this long because he’s intelligent and logical. Frankly, Devin’s take on things doesn’t even make any freaking sense. But it gets worse:

DDG: I’m writing a novel for WB right now that he’s in and I have one scene where Batman has to stop a fight before it gets out of control, and most of the people he can just yell or glare at, but with Dick, he just stands really close behind him and Dick freezes. That’s not supposed to be a sexual thing (though it is kinda hot! ::laughs::), it’s an understanding on Bruce’s part that his physical proximity will speak just as quickly and loudly to Dick as his voice, maybe even be processed faster.

What the actual fuck. You’ve probably guessed it based on how that little scenario played out. Devin ships Dick with Bruce.

DG: And now think about being a very physical and naturally gregarious and loving person and growing up with someone like Bruce. Then add in the confusion about his status - a “ward” is something you stop being the minute you turn eighteen. Having already lost his parents and then hurling into adolescence at the speed he did...in my personal version of the story, he develops sexual desire and social anxiety about the future at the same time, and this leads to tremendous confusion, on his part, about his role in Bruce’s life. He can’t be a ward forever, in the back of his head he knows he won’t be Robin forever...what is he to this man who is at once his best friend and personal savior, personal god? “Son” is what they eventually settle on, but I think when Dick was in his late teens, the idea of “lover” must have run through his mind (which means, really, as we’ve already discussed, it ran through his body).

Wild that Dick is usually written as incredibly intelligent and emotionally cognizant (was able to puzzle out Damian’s complex motivations and needs when no one else in Damian’s life could for example) and yet Devin thinks he’s not able to sort out that he’s not supposed to make sexual advances towards his father. And by wild I mean stupid as fuck. And, just fyi, Devin goes with the version of events where Bruce took Dick in when he was eight years old! So he’s pretty fucking young when this is all happening! Just when you thought it couldn’t get more disgusting.

Eventually, much later, Dick gets distracted by other relationships and is able to ease up enough on Bruce for Bruce to relax into his own comfort-level of kindness and affection again (once the threat of sexuality has been removed) and they carry on more or less unharmed. But the relationship remains incredibly powerful and intense for Dick, who ends up feeling apologetic, rejected, and confused on top of all the other issues we already know exist between the two of them. Dick responds to Bruce - or really I should say Batman, since that’s who his relationship is with - on every single level.

So, according to Devin, Dick views Bruce as his “personal god” and is incredibly submissive to and possessive of him. That’s why Devin’s writing is littered with scenes like this:

Gotham Knights #17

Where Dick acts incredibly awkward and “apologetic” about dating Barbara, because of how he previously made sexual advances towards Bruce in Devin’s fantasy world. Also with Devin, Dick spends a lot of his time stuttering every time Bruce is in the room, even though he’s usually a smooth talker, very chatty, and that’s because of the supposed “intensity” of Bruce and Dick’s relationship. And then there are scenes like this:

Gotham Knights #18

Where Dick uncharacteristically and disproportionately loses his cool at the slightest insinuation against Bruce and is reduced to an angry hot head. Dick has been noted to be incredibly level headed; he’s also famous for being a mediator among the hero community...this behavior is a complete departure from the way he would normally act under other writers. Dick’s also been one to level plenty of criticisms towards Bruce himself. This sudden personality change where Dick thinks Bruce can do no wrong, where no one can criticize Bruce in Dick’s presence without him absolutely blowing up, where he suddenly can’t control his emotions over the littlest things...it really exists primarily in Devin’s writing. It’s incredibly OOC behavior and it’s rooted in Devin’s sexual fantasies frankly.

Devin’s writing is also where Dick, despite being incredibly dedicated and monogamous in all of his previous relationships, suddenly became a womanizer. Literally, everyone was written as wanting to get into Dick’s pants: Rose Wilson was reduced to a giddy teenager because of Dick, random women in the streets would comment on how cute Nightwing was, a mob boss’s daughter who was only 15 years old was obsessed with Dick and made advances, Dick had a one night stand with Huntress because she reminded him of Bruce, Bruce called Dick “Hunk Wonder,” Dick undressed in front of fucking Deathstroke (and there was a newspaper with “Richard Wilson” on it as a sly little wink towards the audience), psycho vigilante Tarantula is obsessed with Dick to the point of raping him, the list goes on. If you want more samplings of how freaking disgusting and sex-obsessed Devin was when it came to Dick, look no further than her gross Inheritance book, where she ships Dick with everyone from Green Arrow to Aquaman (here are some quotes if you’re a masochist). And since Dick “thinks with his body” or whatever, Devin’d write him as receptive (or very oblivious) when it comes to this attention.

Gotham Knights #10

Nightwing (1996) #107

Another thing that made me extremely uncomfortable is how Devin would always have strangers and villains, especially older men--people who Dick very much did not know and wouldn’t appreciate being in his personal space--be all grabby with him. Please leave him alone.

Nightwing and Huntress #2

There Dick is, “hypnotized” in place by Huntress’s touch. Kill me. It is also especially messed up that Devin suddenly turned Dick into some sexual, warm-blooded hot head at the same time as she decided to introduce him as Romani.

Q: How could him being Romani be used to inform his characterization?

It reinforces his “otherness” where Bruce is concerned in what I think is a useful, interesting way...It also presents the opportunity for there to be a slight chip on his shoulder, which maybe speaks to his scrappiness. It also maybe gives him a slightly deeper way to relate to someone like Helena--someone who is white but other--and gives the people who love (or lust after) him a potential cultural excuse for feeling as bewitched as they sometimes do. I also just love the idea of Bruce occasionally calling him “hot blooded” just to mess with him, because Dick would of course deny being so in an extremely hot-blooded manner. [x]

Her feeding into the fetishizing of biracial individuals is just disgusting and wrong. If there’s a racist stereotype available Devin really goes out of her way to make sure she includes it in her writing huh.

Gotham Knights #20

And Bruce being a racist jerk is not charming Devin, it’s terrible. Barbara used slurs also, and was very dismissive of Dick’s reaction to Bruce’s actions...that was also horrible. It’s awful that Dick’s own family would apparently treat him this way. Obviously, Dick isn’t the only one that Devin would write out of character.

It’s all just so messed up to me, I can’t stand it. When I first read her comics, even when it wasn’t blatant like above, I would feel something subtly off...and once I read her interviews I can’t help but notice these horrible underlying insinuations in all of her work, in so many seemingly “innocent” scenes. There are a lot of big things she’s known for (her horrible treatment of Dick’s Romani heritage and his rape for example) but all these subtle, insidious little details that people don’t even really register...they are equally frustrating to me. Seeing sects of the fandom pick up these details (like, the idea that Dick doesn’t understand personal boundaries, the idea that he’s a hot head, the idea that he’s a womanizer, etc.) when I know a lot of it stems nearly solely from Devin’s crappy characterization and writing of Dick...it’s hard.

Q: Further to that, if Dick is gay, what kind of guy is his type?

DG: ...Type isn’t as important as passion and opportunity. Because of his psycho-sexual makeup, the other key factor would be a sense that he means something to that other man, that his “surrender” is making that man happy, allowing him to bring pleasure to someone (as he was never allowed to do for Bruce). There’s also a sense, if I may be so bold, of needing to be “caught” and “held down” - this going back to the trauma of losing his parents...being strong and passionate and heroic and virile and loving with a woman is fantastic, he lives for that. But he lost both parents. There is also a part of him that longs to be pinned down and loved a little bit savagely and hurt just enough to reassure him that he’s alive. Man, I’m totally gonna get fired when this comes out....

Literally makes me want to barf. That is supposed to be a professional, official writer at DC. Could go on forever.

#devin grayson #imma go vomit now #ask #nightwing #dick grayson #batman #rape #rape cw #comics #DC comics #character analysis #characterization #negative

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drops-of-moonlights · 4 years

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What are your issues with S3 of Winx Club?

Okay, so. I am going to get long and ranty and annoyed overall on this post. I shouldn’t even have to preface this, half of the people that follow me have critical thinking skills I hope, but you can have whatever opinion on S3 and all the things I’m gonna touch on this post, I do not care and you should not either, live your life however the fuck you want yadda yadda yadda. Now:

The first thing that comes to mind is the pacing, and just how fucking terrible it is. Every single event takes so long and its so slow for the first 18-or-so episodes (a lot of situations really did not require two episodes), only to be suddenly kicked into high gear and have 7 different “final” battles one after another. It felt like it was just happening to end the season already and so they could keep working on SOTLK, and like I get you’re working on both and all but you COULD have afforded to at least PRETEND you gave a shit, Rainbow.

Next topic is Valtor, who is my absolute least favorite villain in the series, and yes, I am including the S5-S7 villains on this. This is where it’s not much a fault of the character itself (well. not ENTIRELY a fault of the character), but a fault of both the narrative and (and for this I am petty) the fanbase. Valtor, to me, is the most generic villain in the franchise, a different flavor than Darkar but by no means less bland - Valtor is your standard “hot” prettyboy villain who tries to charm the protagonist to his side with the empty promise of answers, and THAT COULD HAVE BEEN INTERESTING... if the show ever bothered to do anything with it other than Valtor creeping on a senior highschool student for 26 episodes. Because it’s all a farce, there’s not an actual connection between them outside of Valtor feeding her lies about her retconned parent’s backstory (we’ll talk about this more later) and both of them having God’s power inside them. My second point on Valtor is that he singlehandedly ruined the Trix’s characterization to simply be your standard evil henchwomen that thirst after Valtor’s dick because truly they all have terrible taste in men, and nothing else, and it’s annoying as all fuck, ESPECIALLY when you compare the Trix as Darkar’s lackeys a season earlier, where they stayed mostly the same personality-wise and only allied with the Phoenix out of necessity and survival. And the worst part? Valtor doesn’t do shit in the season! Like, at all! He only ever gets Chimera, Cassandra and Diaspro on his side, blinds Aisha and that’s literally it as far as confrontations with the Winx go - outside of fighting them when they get the Water Stars and the three last battles, he spends most of the show’s time fucking around random planets getting weird magic and sitting broodily on a chair, and apparently this makes him a good villain???? Okay, sure.

And since I mentioned them, let’s get on the Water Stars for a bit, and while yes, this is the one part everyone agrees on that was weak as fuck, it still brings attention because WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT. All this time there was this antithetical force to the Dragon’s Flame, super-mega-ultra powerful little thingies that could douse the Flame’s power almost permanently, AND YOU ONLY BRING THEM TO ATTENTION NOW AGAINST VAMPIRE AESTHETIC. Do you have any idea how fucking useful they could have been against the Trix in S1???? If they had gotten the little squishy motherfuckers two seasons earlier the War of Magix would have been over quicker. And it’s not like Bloom would have been in much risk, she barely had any Flame left in her.

In a similar situation, we have Enchantix, which is my second most-hated form after Tynix for similar reasons. One, where in the fuck were all the Enchantix fairies during S1? Fairy Dust is supposed to be this OP magic, and could have also been very useful against the Army of Decay. Two, the way to earn Enchantix, for what is retroactively just the final base fairy form, is far too obtuse and complicated for the average fairy, not to mention incredibly limiting - you just have to hope someone from your realm is in a dangerous situation so you can fling yourself into danger and probably die, and all you get for it are some opera gloves and a pair of barefoot sandals. Like sure a super powerful magic upgrade also happens but still, it’s such a specific situation to find yourself in that it’s no wonder no one ever graduates Alfea, it’s literally borderline impossible unless you like traveling. My last point on the transformation, and this one is a bit YMMV, 3 of the 6 Winx did not actually earn Enchantix. Bloom counts for this, but it’s an actual plot point (though it was terribly handled) so I let it slide most of the time, but Musa and Tecna? Musa didn’t even get to sacrifice anything, she just suddenly got the form and that’s it, GALATEA was doing more of a sacrifice to let everyone leave the burning library without her than Musa was. Tecna also got Enchantix without saving anyone from Zenith, and before you even type it out, no, it was never said Tecna saved the entire universe by closing the Omega Portal. None of the three English dubs nor the original Italian ever say this. That’s entirely just fanon. I have headcanonned it away as “some of the prisoners were Zenithian” to justify it for myself, but overall it was very obviously just shoehorned in because as always, the writers don’t know what to do with Tecna.

“But Drops! What about Nabu???” I can already hear you type, and no, I do not like Nabu. I don’t hate him either, outside of the fact I reject the idea of Aisha being into men in any way, shape or form, but he is very much worshipped as the Golden Child in the fandom and I’m tired of it. You can see a better description on my feelings about Nabu (as well as how the fandom loves to demonize Sky for the shit he pulled in S1 but hold nothing against either Brandon or Nabu, who pulled the same shit) here.

There *is* a part of S3 I like, that being the Solaria Usurpation arc, but it’s the one sole thing that I legitimately enjoy in the season and I’m not gonna stick around the fuckton of episodes that interrupt the arc just for that.

But what I hate the most about S3, above all this, is how goddamn irrelevant it is. Outside of getting the Winx Enchantix, NOTHING about the season is remotely relevant lore-wise or plot-wise, and the show itself acknowledges this! Even SOTLK pretends S3 never happened and the girls just got Enchantix somehow! Because of the drive Rainbow had to end the franchise’s original arc with fancy shitty CGI, they ended up making the original last season of the show, what was supposed to be the best thing before the movie, into the biggest waste of time instead. You can really just watch the episodes each girl gets Enchantix and then the final episode and you wouldn’t miss anything at all.

So the TL;DR for all this is “I hate S3 because Valtor sucks, Enchantix sucks, the pacing is garbage and there’s really nothing nice in it outside of like 3 episodes”, and I refuse to rewatch it ever again.

#Drops's rants and ramblings #Drops screams into the abyss for Winx #Winx Club

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bigskydreaming · 4 years

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Could Jason and Chris Kent have become friends? I know nothing about Chris or the comics from Jason's Robin era. I heard that Chris is the erased eldest son of Superman? I'm intrigued, but that means even the children of the biggest superheroes ever can be erased?

Ugh, I love Chris Kent and miss him (the pre-Flashpoint version of his character) a ton. And y’know, there are a couple ways you could manuever him and Jason into a friendship, though I don’t think they ever met in continuity. I don’t know how well they would have gotten along if you just went with the versions of the characters that both existed at approximately the same time, but they do actually have a decent amount in common, like with some tweaks it could work. Ironically, character wise they probably would have gotten along really well when Jason was Robin, but continuity wise, Chris didn’t even debut until after UTRH, though he rapidly aged from a young kid to a young adult after just a couple of years.

But lemme back up a bit because Chris is, umm, complicated.

SO. Christopher Kent was born Lor-Zod, the son of General Zod and Ursa, while they were held captive in the Phantom Zone. They were abusive asshats to him, and he’s not a fan. But for some reason which had to do with blah blah blah invasion plot blah blah, Zod made a spaceship from inside the Phantom Zone that he sent Chris to Earth in, because due to being born while in the Zone, Chris was actually able to take physical form, unlike the Kryptonians trapped there as a prison.

When Chris crashed on Earth, he was taken by a government agency aimed at monitoring extraterrestial ‘threats’ and treated as such. Cue Clark finding out that there was another Kryptonian on Earth, he was a kid, and he was being treated as a prisoner and it was like, See Clark Run. See Clark Mad. See Clark Raze The Department of Extraterrestial Affairs From The Earth With His Searing Hot Eyebeams Of Rage and Also Destruction.

And then Clark took Chris home to the Kent farm, and eventually he and Lois ended up adopting Chris and raising him as their own. Lois was the one who gave him his Earth name of Chris, which he’s always been shown to vastly prefer over his birth name just like he can’t stand his birth parents, as they are abusive asshats. He used to call Lois “Mama Lois.” It was adorable.

There’s a lot of back and forth about calling him Clark and Lois’ adopted son versus foster son, depending on various wikis and even issues, but its the same kinda thing that happens with all the Batkids at various points, and like, I remember issues that actually called Ma and Pa Kent Clark’s foster parents, so just do what I do and groan and sigh and accept that DC habitually employs writers and editors who just flat out don’t understand how fostering and adoption works. And its not that there’s anything wrong or lesser about fostering, and its absolutely the better way to go for some, its just foster son and adopted son are not remotely interchangeable, they are two different things, and DC has GOT to stop playing take-backsies with adoption, like just don’t do that, don’t make that a thing.

Anyway, for awhile it was Clark, Lois and Chris and they were quite happy together. Chris existed well before Jon Kent and they were never raised as Kents at the same time, unfortunately, and he did have some cute scenes with Conner, though this was mostly when Conner was characterized as seeing Clark more as an older brother and never really raised by him. (Similar to YJ-verse, but I have a lot of issues with that in YJ-verse because of HOW that played out, that I don’t have in pre-Flashpoint comics, where it felt a little more natural for Clark and Conner to have a brotherly relationship, mostly due to the fact that I don’t recall Conner ever expressing a want for the relationship to be otherwise in the comics, and having a strong bond with Ma and Pa Kent himself. I could be wrong here though as I skipped a lot of Conner’s writing when Geoff Johns is behind the wheel because I just....really miss 90s Kon-El who was practically a totally different character BUT I DIGRESS).

But then because comics gotta comics, eventually Zod escaped from the Phantom Zone to fuck all that up, and invaded Earth because he’s like I’m Zod and invading Earth is like, my entire personality, its the only move I’ve got in the deck, what do you want from me. And Luthor eventually cooperated with the heroes to stop the invasion by configuring some sort of cosmic vaccuum cleaner to suck all the Kryptonians with a connection to the Phantom Zone back into the Phantom Zone, but then this didn’t seal the Zone up again once all the invaders were back in and Chris realized its because even though he was just born there, he was technically connected to the Zone too and it wouldn’t close up again as long as he was outside it. So he sacrificed himself to save his father (Clark took quite a beating from Zod in this) and the world and dove into the Phantom Zone, which sealed up behind him.

BUT he was saved at the last second (and without anyone else knowing for awhile) by someone named Thara. She was the security chief of Kandor, and she took Chris to protect him from the revenge of the Phantom Zoners who would have blamed him for their re-imprisonment. And off-page, during the years between Chris getting sacrificing himself to seal the Phantom Zone before his reapparance, Chris had a comic-book style growth spurt uncannily like the one Jon Kent got when Bendis started writing him, resulting in an uncannily similar dynamic between Chris and Clark and Lois when they reunited as Bendis wrote Jon having with Clark and Lois when they reunited. Why do I emphasize this, is it because I think Bendis is overhyped and I’ll never stop complaining about how all his biggest story beats are blatantly just recycled story beats from less well-known writers and characters, no that can’t be it, must be something else.

Anyway, Chris eventually returns to Earth, now a teenager, and now going by Nightwing while Thara went by Flamebird. This was around the time Bruce was lost in time and Dick was Batman, and there was never like, any crossover. Which sucked because Dick would’ve been fine with it as Chris had more of a claim to the name than even him (it wasn’t like with the Nightwings in the Ric Grayson arc, who became Nightwing BECAUSE of Dick’s persona, but rather that Chris and Thara were basing their personas purely on their own Kryptonian myths and what they represented to the Kandorians who were now living on Earth at the time. Totally different situation). But really it was just missed opportunities, IMO, as I think Chris and Dick also would have gotten along really well and their paths just never really crossed.

Somewhere in there Chris got another random growth spurt and ended up in his early 20s, he and Thara ended up in a relationship which was not my fave cuz of all the aging shenanigans but whatevs, Chris kept having random aging growth spurts which had Lois really worried about him and she tried to get the hero version of Dr. Light (Dr. Kimiyo Hoshi) to help him thinking maybe it had something to do with light or radiation, but they never really got around to trying to fix it because Lois’ douchebag dad General Lane showed up and tried to capture Chris, and he and Thara fled. And then they ran into Supergirl, who at first tried to kill Thara because she hated her because Kandorian Backstory I honestly do not remember, but then Chris revealed himself and was like Kara, its me, we’re cousins, and then they had adventures with Kara for a time, then there was this whole thing where Thara and Chris were both briefly possessed by and then merged with the actual Kryptonian gods/entities of Nightwing and Flamebird and then the entities left them and were like okay, we’re all done with whatever that was, as you were.

Chris thwarted his evil birth parents again, blew up some stuff, there was more Phantom Zone shenanigans and then General Lane and Lex Luthor turned the sun red to try and kill all Kryptonians, Thara fixed it by sacrificing herself, Chris tried to join her but then the Nightwing entity hijacked him and was like nope, and then not long after, Chris sacrificed himself again to push Zod back into the Phantom Zone AGAIN (seriously, it was like they were on a loop at this point, ugh) and he ended up in the Zone himself, but for real this time....and for some reason that turned him back into the age he should’ve been if he’d been aging normally this whole time, and the last we saw of Chris, he was like ten years old and in the Phantom Zone and being helped by Mon-El, and then the New 52 happened and rebooted everything and wherever that was going no longer mattered.

And then New 52 Lor-Zod showed up at one point as like, Zod’s loyal little son-minion, and DC has never shown a hint of intending to pursue an actual Chris Kent storyline in the New 52, and I hate that lots and lots because its like lol, this character was an abuse survivor in his original incarnation and you guys were like, lol no big deal, we’ll just make Zod the exact same asshat he’s always been but now this version of his son is just like him and likes it, why would that be a problem. WHATEVER.

Basically, New 52 Chris Kent doesn’t exist, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Which is a fucking shame, because Chris and Jon Kent as brothers being raised together WITHOUT ANY WEIRD AGING SHENANIGANS with their cousin once removed, Kara, and their older sorta brother sorta uncle Conner could have been like. So great.

So anyway. There’s LOTS of directions you can take Chris, and he’s really a great character. If you’re aiming to make him friends with Jason specifically, my go-to there would be to just have the events that led Chris to Earth originally just....happen a lot earlier in the continuity of your story. So have Chris arrive on Earth and be adopted by Clark and Lois roughly around the same time Jason steals the tires off the Bat-mobile, and you’re pretty much in business.

(BUT if you do go this route, keep in mind that Jason died before the Death of Superman storyline, which is where Kon-El debuted, so even if Kon/Conner’s still older than Chris here, Chris would already be an established part of Clark and Lois’ family by the time Kon-El arrives on the scene, which would change dynamics there, not just between Chris and Kon/Conner, but potentially between Kon/Conner and Clark and Lois as well).

OR you can keep Chris’ arrival as happening roughly when it did in canon (2006 was the year he debuted), and just have him do a little aging up, like, as a treat, and so be his older self when Jason returns and starts interacting with the cape community again, with their first interactions being when they’re both young adults who for completely different reasons missed out on large chunks of childhood. There’s some potentially interesting angles to explore there too.

Just depends on which way you want to go with that.

(PS, I think aging up is an overused trope most of the time in comics anyway, but its not so much aging Chris rapidly to a teenager and then young adult that I had an issue with, so much as doing it largely to put him in a relationship with someone who first met him when they were already an adult and he was ten. Its the initial age gap being an established part of the overall dynamic with an eventual love interest thats the issue, not that an age gap existed before two characters ever met - if for all other intents and purposes - their dynamic treats them as if they both were effectively always around the same age).

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nuclidic · 4 years

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Given that a lot of us are stuck inside with all this COVID-19 stuff, do you have any good TimKon fic recommendations to keep us more happily occupied?

Haha yes! I have this list from years ago but it is way past time for an update.

Disclaimer: these are just things I like, please heed all tags and warnings etc. I'm also not reccing any WIPs because unfinished fics kill me every time.

Crystal Clear by Merit andAnd I'll Tell You No Lies by caecily

Two short takes on soulmate tropes that have to go first because I love them so much, I love soulmate aus, Tim and Kon are soulmates, the end.

Where There's a Wish by LeeayreBeing Robin’s vessel is hard enough: the exhaustion, the life-threatening late night activities, the bruises and bullet holes and broken bones. Trying to hide all that from his incredibly suspicious, incredibly hot new roommate while maintaining his studies and placating his parents? Tim has never had it so hard. Especially since said roommate doesn’t actually know he’s Superboy.

So the setup for this is unusual, I'm not sure if it's based on anything but: superhero identities are Personas, independent (basically magical) personalities created by the wishes of a person or groups of people who act through hosts that have the will to manifest whatever that persona does. Basically: Robin is an independent persona, Tim shares his body with him and when Robin manifests the costume and all the gadgets appear. It's explained throughout the story, but just in case you start it and are like wtf is happening. This possibly should go in the thirds section because the actual pairings in this are: Robin/Tim, Red Robin/Tim, Tim/Kon, Red Robin/Tim/Kon, Red Robin/Superboy, and Red Robin/Superboy/Tim. Red Robin can also be kind of dubconny so watch out for that if it's a concern.

Wing Beats in Reverse by firefrightJason Todd is the third Robin, not the second, growing up in shadow of Tim Drake's death. Despite this, he still manages to form strong bonds with his new family. Especially Damian, who wishes to atone for his past mistakes with Jason's predecessor. But when he's fifteen, a mysterious red hooded figure kidnaps Jason from the rooftops of Gotham, and after that his life will never be the same again.

A Robin reversal AU (ie Damian is the eldest, Dick the youngest) that's Jason-centric but of course that doesn't lessen the Tim angst. Or the Kon angst when he finds out Tim is alive. Hopeful ending, but it doesn't fix everything.Other pairings: JayRoy, StephCass (barely)

Time Flies by by LaroyenaJon Kent is Superboy. Tim's gut instinct tells him that's wrong.(Timkon fix-it where reboot!Tim misses Kon like a phantom limb. And then he gets him back.)

Sometimes you just need to cry over the lack of Kon in your life and this fic provides the PERFECT excuse. Heartbreaking and then happy. (Also brings Colin back UNLIKE DC.)Other pairings: implied Clex

Not Completely Powerless After All by ChimaeraKittenNobody was quite prepared for the kid who runs the company to visit, but they manage, in fact, they might be pleasantly surprised; they weren't expecting him to be nice. Of course, they weren't expecting him to be a possible ninja either, but you gotta take the good with the bad.

Outsider POV!!! I have never watched Powerless so you definitely don't need to be familiar with it, this is just a glorious casefic told by someone who doesn’t know it’s a case.

Matters of the Heart by DMWith Clark off-world as an ambassador to Earth, Conner has to watch over Metropolis. Though it should be straightforward, there appears to be something amiss with seemingly random crimes happening around the city. Conner has a hunch that they’re connected and calls in his best friend to help. But as the two of them spend time together working the case, Conner realizes that his feelings for Tim might not be what he had thought.

A long casefic with feelings, basically everything I ever want.

Stumbling Home by bewaretheboojumIn his mid-twenties, Tim moves back to Gotham City after several years living abroad. He's feeling adrift, unfocused and a little off balance as he tries to re-establish a life in his home town.Kon is a fireman by day and superhero by night. When mysterious fires start cropping up in Metropolis, all signs point to arson. Who better to help him get to the bottom of this arson case than Tim? And really, it seems like Tim could use the distraction...

Another casefic with older TimKon. I didn't like the initial setup with Tim having abandoned his friends for years but it won me over in the end.

the honesty in your body by LaroyenaLuthor's tech saved Kon's life at the cost of his mind. Tim must take a feral Kon across space to restore his humanity... which is just as difficult as one may think.(Batman Omegaverse AU: unabashed TimKon porn detailing their original get-together in their early teens to their definite get-together in their late teens. But mostly porn.)

Yep, this is mostly omegaverse porn and it's excellent and I love it, I really don't know what else to tell you.Other pairings: BruDick

I'm Alone Here, I Think by unluckylokiSuperboy is fighting robots in San Francisco and remembers something that wasn't.There's a new priest in the Naxos temple appointed by Dream of the Endless.Kon is missing something. Tim is missing everything.One day Krypto practically drags Superboy to a remote island in Europe and there's a dark haired guy smiling at Kon like he knows him.Maybe he does.

Sandman crossover but I haven't read Sandman in 500 years so you don't need to know most of it. Kind of identity porn, but more...fraught. Excellent Tim angst (there...might be a pattern here) and I'll be honest I'm not very into all the witches and stuff but overall very enjoyable.

Nowhere But Forward by MishaBerryIt shouldn't have happened the way it did.When Kon finds Tim in Paris, it leads to a night that neither of them will ever forget, for better or for worse. Tim is then forced to confront something he's been denying about himself for a very long time, and Kon begins to question some things about himself. The road ahead is full of twists and turns, but there's nowhere to go but forward.

I really love long fics, but tbh I found this started to drag a little towards the end. I still enjoy it overall with delicious Tim angst.

Plus One SectionSometimes when pickings are slim we can try food we wouldn't normally eat, and sometimes it's delicious. Which is to say these are fics with Tim/Kon/Another Person. Don't go any further if this upsets your OTP soul, I completely understand.

TimKonBartTroika by glitterandlubeThis is kind of written like crack and definitely won't appeal to everyone, but it's a fix-it of preboot where instead of living with the Kents in Smallville and becoming the country boy of Teen Titans (2003) Kon moves to Gotham and then scores with Tim and eventually Bart. Follows the previous canon's timeline almost to the start of Red Robin. Some (honestly warranted) bashing of Steph but also of Lois Lane (???).Also contains explicit Tim/Dick.Other pairings: Clex, JayDick

TimKonCassieTrymmetry by glymrWhy do they feel like something's missing?

Set in a universe where Kryptonians form triad soulbonds. Kon and Cassie have both always been thinking about Tim when they're together, and after Kon comes back they can no longer deny it. They have to find Tim. I wish this was ten times longer.

JayTimKon

Heart of the Hoard by firefrightJason is a knight on a mission to save a captive young woman from a cruel and vicious dragon. However, when Jason reaches the keep the girl is kept in, it quickly becomes clear that not all is as it seems with his quest. For starters, Lady Timothea is actually Lord Timothy, and - as Jason soon discovers - he's hardly a prisoner in his tower.

Perfect because Kon is an ACTUAL DRAGON though it does lean on his YJ cartoon characterization.

I (Don't) Want to Believe by chibinightowl and strikeyourcolors

FBI agents Tim Drake and Conner Kent are sent to Arkham Heights High School to investigate a series of unexplainable incidents that have both staff and students on edge. Tim's firmly of the opinion the school is haunted while Kon is positive the occurrences can be explained in a more reasonable manner. After all, he doesn't believe in ghosts.Right? Right?

Horror casefic where Tim had a previous thing with Jason but also a thing with Kon so sharing is the way to go, especially when you're more (or maybe just equally) concerned about being murdered by ghosts in a haunted former asylum.

Okay I am stopping now because otherwise I will continue forever. I hope this satisfies some hunger.

#timkon #fic recs #missdirect #jaytimkon #timkonbart #timkoncassie #long post

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thewebcomicsreview · 4 years

Note

So I've been following this one guy who gives really good writing advice, but lately he's been: telling people it's OK to skip the Intermission in Homestuck; defending bad writing as a "structural issue" (those poor writers, it's not their fault they've structured their story / writing process in a bad way); priding himself on making a half-assed "unfinished-on-purpose" comic review. This person was my main source of writing advice, so I don't know where to turn to. Any recommendations?

The only other webcomic review guys I’m aware of are the Bad Webcomics Wiki, but if you think I’m too nice on writers, they might be up your speed anyway and oh my god they just posted a review of a SpiderForest comic. Guess it’s time for

The Webcomic Review Reviews Webcomic Reviews

So, this is a review of a SpiderForest comic called “The Guide to a Healthy Relationship” which is a comic about LGBT people, and it’s being reviewed by the Bad Webcomics Wiki, so obviously there’s going to be a whole bunch of slurs, so consider that a content warning and I’m putting the rest of this behind a ReadMore

This is going to be slightly disjointed because the BWW review is disjointed, but I’ll do my best

We’re already in some factual trouble right on line one, since TGtaHR is a traditional webcomic and not a long-scroll mobile-friendly webtoon, nor is it hosted on webtoons.com. Is this nitpicky? Maybe a little, but we’re off to a poor start here.

This comic is just under 200 pages.

I feel like if you’re going to write a big thing attacking a webcomic’s story, you should try to have some kind of understanding of what that story is. I know what the story of Sinfest is, and Sinfest is a confusing nightmare.

Okay, so maybe the reason you think this story is bad is because it’s 2deep4u.

So, in the space of about twenty pages, we learn that Apollo had a friend named Julian who killed himself, and then we cut ahead to Julian drinking on the job, going to a party, taking drunks, and waking up naked in the bathtub covered in beer bottles, and the living room is full of too-hot-for-tumblr passed-out drunks. The Bad Webcomics Wiki calls this “Softcore porn that is never brought up again”, because the Bad Webcomics Wiki is written by high school dropouts for an audience they presume has never read the comic proper.

This debauchery is never brought up again because it’s not relevant to the plot, it’s relevant to the character. Apollo is fucked up because his friend killed himself when he was a teenager, and he deals with being fucked up by retreating into sex, drugs, and rock and roll. That’s what’s being established here. Also being established if you’re paying attention: Apollo has scars on his chest.

In chapter 1, Apollo goes to a party, the entirety of which is dedicated to him walking around naked, and we get a bunch of obviously sexual shots of his dick, clearly catering to the author's gay fetish. His boss goes to his place to check on him, and it is revealed he is a hoarder. This never comes up again.

1. In this scene, there are two panels where you can see Apollo’s penis, one panel where you can see someone’s vomit-covered dick, and two panels where you can see a woman’s breasts. None of these panels of flacid dicks or sagging boobs are sexual, though. The dicks are unpowered, it doesn’t make a bit of difference guys, the balls are inert.

2. What the fuck is a “gay fetish” and how it different from just “being gay”.

3. I don’t know the author, even though we’re both in SpiderForest, so I don’t know where Dani The Carutor lies in the whole gender spectrum thingamabob, but I will note that “Dani” is usually short for Danielle. So maybe it’s not a safe assumption that the author is a man? I dunno. That’s just me, guessing people’s genders by screen name is hard, so I try not to lest I embarrass myself.

4.So, when you say Apollo is a “hoarder”, you link to a page showing his room is disgusting and covered in garbage

Is your takeaway from these panels....that Apollo is some kind of fanatic garbage collector? That his room is full of garbage because he actively works at having as much garbage as possible because he wants it?

There are a couple pages explaining Apollo's purple special snowflake eyes with some snowflake "disability".

Apollo has Ocular Albinism, which is a real condition that really exists, and really does give you purple eyes. It also gives you major vision problems, which are the context in which it gets brought up, because Apollo needs help crossing the road because he can’t see well enough in the light. So I don’t know what the scare quotes around “disability” are for. He can’t see. You could, if you were so inclined, connect this plot point with the way the chapter titles are named after mental conditions, and start to formulate some coherent critique with the seemingly cavalier way this comic uses disability, but that would require thought. It might even require research into difficult topics, because you’d ideally not want to make a fool of yourself talking about things you didn’t understand well enough to talk competently about.

Chapter 2 is the most pointless, as it is basically there to confirm what we already know so the author can insert a cringy buzzword (see image below)

Okay, so a couple of things

1. In what fucking universe is “tranny” an SJW buzzword? What the fuck are you even talking about?

2. Having the protagonist of your comic say someone is “smart, for a tranny” is like the least SJW thing you could possibly do.

3. Perhaps “Apollo is asking someone for help but casually insults her causing her to leave” is some kind of “character” moment? The author of this review is so /pol/-poisoned that they have no ability to understand “context” or “characterization” or basically any thing that exists.

4.Your list of the comic’s characters includes this bon mot:

So what the fuck? That’s so stupid I’d think it was an intentionally hypocritical joke if I had any reason to believe you were capable of it.

Chapter 3 is dedicated to revealing the boyfriend shit

I should point out that Apollo and Julian being boyfriends is something the BWW invented, the comic itself clearly states they were “best friends”, not boy friends. Couple of dudes being prudes.

Apollo believes that Julian faked his own death, which fucked up Apollo for years, and now that they’ve met each other Julian keeps ghosting him. Apollo’s motives for chasing Julian around are extremely clear.

That’s a scene transition, bay-bee!

Apollo finally gets ahold of Julian. Julian blows him off and Apollo gives up. There’s then a clear scene transition to Apollo, at a restaurant, talking about what we just saw. This is a perfectly clear scene transition, with a transitory panel and everything to indicate that this is the next day. It’s certainly more clear than Apollo waking up in jail in chapter 2 which you skipped over. Are you actually reading this comic at all?

You are such a fucking moron, holy shit.

Julian got beat up for being trans. It’s unclear if he’s actually trans or just a feminine-looking cis dude, but regardless it was bad enough to traumatize him and this all happened when he knew Apollo, who calls Julian his “best friend”, and says things like

There’s literally two dots here, and you’re unable to connect them. Galia even has the same hairstyle as Julian to make it visually obvious This Is What The Reference and you still missed it.

Julian and Apollo walk around the woods in their underwear for no reason whatsoever. Julian takes some drugs or something, and passes out?

Hm. Why does Julian go outside at night? I wonder if that’s explained in the comic?

Oh, I see. He went outside to smoke. But why did Apollo go outside at night?

Oh, he was looking out the window and saw Julian mysteriously go off into the woods. I guess that’s explained, too. I guess you just missed those pages

Julian takes some drugs or something, and passes out?

Huh, I wonder why Julian was asleep

Oh, he has Insomnia, so he took something called Halcion. I wonder what that is.

Oh, it’s a prescription insomnia medication. And you shouldn’t take alcohol with it, wow Julian is dealing with a super pushy alcoholic I should file that information away for later, like how knowing Wellbutrin’s side effects in teenagers were critical to understand Drop Out. Luckily webcomics are comics, on the web, and I can look this up!

He is then woken up by the fatty side character punching him. Somehow, Julian destroyed the kitchen, even though he was passed out - this is never explained, and makes no fucking sense

Sigh.

So, here are some hints as to what happened.

Julian has bruises all over his body, which you have consistently failed to notice.

Daniel, Julian’s friendly boyfriend, has like no negative reaction whatsoever to Brandon, some random dude, punching Julian in the fucking face

He even takes Brandon’s side and basically implants the idea that Julian did it into Julian’s head, and that last panel is rather threatening.

Julian took insomnia medicine, and fell asleep, and then got wrongfully blamed for destroying the kitchen by Daniel, who know’s that Julian was passed out and couldn’t have done it. Who actually did destroy the kitchen is a mystery, but Daniel is the most likely culprit.

it transitions into this trippy bullshit with blood, and body horror, and Julian's hair is suddenly short

It’s short because it’s a flashback to when he was a teenager, and he had short hair when he was a teenager so that literate people are able to understand this without getting confuzzled.

Apollo turning into Daniel in this trippy dream sequence is also pretty relevant!

Also, we have random nudity and sexualization of this sick person.

No, we have reveals that he’s in worse physical shape than we thought.

By the way, in your character list, you describe Daniel as

Daniel (Side Character): He may as well be a wall. This guy has no personality whatsoever. No quirks, no interests, no purpose outside of causing superficial melodrama.

If you’ve made it all the way to this point and not picked up on Daniel being an abusive boyfriend and the primary antagonist of the story, you may be beyond hope.

The rest of the chapter is Julian being angsty, and SO ILL while everyone talks about how weird he is

Again, that’s very clearly and obviously not actually what’s happening in the story.

What’s happening isn’t “Julian is sick lol”, it’s “Daniel is working to turn everyone against Julian”. That’s why he destroyed the kitchen and blamed Julian for it; to ensure that the other boys all thought Julian was a nutjob and thus keep them from reaching out to Julian and providing Julian with a guide to a healthy relationship instead of the abusive one he’s currently in. Your inability to read even slightly between the lines isn’t just distressing in terms of your inability to think critically about stories, it’s maybe worrisome re your ability to think about the real world, too. How are you this dense? It’s like watching Star Wars and not picking up that the empire and the rebellion don’t like each other. No wonder you’re confused!

Chapter 5 is still in the works. It jumps the shark right away with Apollo getting drunk and sleeping with Julian's boyfriend. The author makes Apollo the guilty party and not the boyfriend

The comic is fairly clear that Daniel is the bad guy

This webtoon is so convoluted there is no saving it at this point. Each chapter is titled after some mental illness such as 'Monophobia', 'Anxiety', 'Psychosis'. You think they would have some thematic meaning with each chapter being about one of those things. Nope, they're just titled like that to show how EDGY this webtoon is! You can taste the cringe. Julian's mental shit has no rhyme or reason - he will act sick when the plot calls for it, and if it has anything to do with the chapter's title, it is also crazy inaccurate.

The author of this review somehow managed to read the entirety of The Guide to a Healthy Relationship without picking up that Daniel was an abuser. The comic thus seems convoluted to him because he thinks all the things happening are random events without rhyme or reason because he has completely failed to notice the whole plot, which is not subtle. Just....fucking staggering incompetence, as a critic.

Guess you’re stuck with me, anon.

#Anonymous #The Guide to a Healthy Relationship #bad webcomics wiki #The webcomic review reviews webcomic reviews

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valkerymillenia · 4 years

Text

@animecat33 tagged me for this

Rules: Name 10 characters from 10 different fandoms that you like, then tag 10 people.

I enjoyed this but... At first I thought, do I even have 10 I consider favs? And then I ended up with a list of, like, 25, and couldn’t pick 10 so I chose more or less at random. And I admit I cheated seeing as some kind of fit in the same fandom in some way.

It’s just too hard picking favorites.

Undercut, cause it’s gonna be a loooong post.

1. Morticia Addams (Addams Family)

My tattoo probably makes this one obvious.

I love Morticia so much, not only do I love her aesthetic, I just love her personality and attitude, not to mention her marriage is ‘goals’ and as a mother and matriarch she’s incredibly supportive and loving despite the unorthodox life the Addams’ live. I love a character that can be a mother without having it define her completely.

2. Catwoman/Selina Kyle (DC)

Selina was one of my OG crushes back before I even understood what I crush was or that being queer was even a thing (looking at you, Michelle Pfiffer).

I love her style and strength and personality (when she's well written), her grey morals and competence, and cats are just my thing, ok? Plus bisexual icon.

Have you noticed I have a thing for a dark women with grey morals?

3. Raven/Rachel Roth (Teen Titans/DC)

I kinda share a name with Raven but that's not why I like her. I've always loved the emotional complexity of this character, her incredible power (and how it's also her weakness), and style as well. I'm not too thrilled about some more recent incarnations of her but she'll always be an OG fav.

4. Nightwing/Dick Grayson (DC)

Yeah, yeah, DC again, look the other way, please (they have individual comics anyway).

I couldn't leave out my darling Dickie. I grew up with this dude and I love his backstory and relationship with his family. He's a beautiful ray of sunshine with a dark streak, a competent leader without being a broody bossy jerk like some and he's very well rounded and consistent in his characterization (plus that design is top notch). I know the Romani thing was a ret-con on something just vaguely implied in the past but honestly it was a good one and some much needed rep despite the constant whitewashing (though not as bad as others in his family).

Also, he drinks his 'respect woman juice', he's flawed without being edgy, and has been queer-coded and female-troped for decades which makes him much more likeable as a male character. He actually became an LGBT icon despite the cowards at DC constantly trying to shove heteronormativity into his storyline.

5. Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond (Steve Universe)

Is she problematic? Yes and that's part of the appeal.

I already loved Rose when she was this sweet, compassionate and wise old soul, this rebel and leader and mother with many secrets.

I guessed really early on that she was PD so that part didn't surprise me but when the backstory of her as PD finally appeared to give us so more in-depth knowledge I was surprised by the amount of hate the character got. To me, her flaws, pain, mistakes and growth were part of the allure.

Also, gorgeous and much needed plus-size rep. I loved cosplaying her more than anything.

6. Princess Leia (Star Wars)

Did I like her style or design? Nope, I much prefer her mother's but Leia is an immensely competent, wise, strong female character that takes no bullshit from the male-dominated plot around her, she deserved so much better. Honestly, she deserved her own goddamn movie.

Carrie Fisher was a feminist icon and an advocate for mental illness visibility. She's was also fucking hilarious. All this translated into Leia's character very well and she deserved so much better from society than being sexualized in a metal bikini and remembered that way forever.

7. Hela (Thor Ragnarok/Marvel)

I already loved Hela's character in the comics (except the arc where she sexually abuses Thor, that was shitty edgelord writing and I refuse to acknowledge it's existence) but Ragnarok gave her a whole new meaning.

Firstly, my God is she hot! Just.... Umpf! Step on me, queen.

Secondly, she's dark and evil but she has a goddamn point (people are hypocrites). And in the comics she's not even evil, she's neutral and only a villain because she opposes Thor on a personal level. She's also incredibly competent at what she does and if that isn't a turn-on idk what is.

8. Korra (Legend of Korra)

Korra will always be bae. There's a reason my behemoth of a fic revolved around her.

Not only is she incredibly well-rounded and fun, she's also very competent, has a fascinating backstory and is immensely powerful, plus she grows beautifully through her show. Not to mention she's GORGEOUS.

POC and LGBT rep, plus she showcased one of the most incredible arcs on disability and recovery that I've ever seen in a family show.

9. Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Marvel)

You can pry Wanda from my cold dead hands.

I'm not even the biggest fan of her movie version, I'm all about comic Wanda.

POC rep and an incredibly visceral portrayal of mental illness and trauma. And she's beautiful beyond reason, morally grey, and powerful as hell.

Most of all what I like about Wanda is how loyal and family-oriented she is without letting it diminish her as an individual or as a powerhouse character, so many female characters loose all agency and individuality when they have kids, they get delegated to role of mother and lose their heroics or become extensions of their husbands and children, Wanda was nothing like that. Her relationship with her brother is fascinating too (let's pretend the incesty vibes in certain alt universes don't exist).

I only hate that she and Pietro always get the short stick in adaptations and their origins keep getting needlessly retconned (Magneto's kids with his Romani wife, raised by someone else- that's it, stop trying to change it and then change it back over and over). That and how she's not allowed to have her well deserved relationship with her babies because of stupid old-fashioned comic rules that led to a needlessly convuloted and far-fetch story arc (the erasure, reencarnation and hyper-aging of her sons).

10. Jessica Rabbit (WFRR)

For most people, Jessica's appeal is "she's hot" and yes, this "pinup femme fatale" look really does things to me, I won't lie about that, but that's not why she's my favorite.

Jessica is fav because she's loyal and loving to her goofy husband, she completely turns the femme fatale trope upside down for love and doesn't give a damn about looks, she uses her appearance as a weapon and she's confident but she's clearly not vain ("I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way" and "He makes me laugh"). She's also hilarious in her own deadpan way.

Other worthy mentions to this list are:

Wednesday Addams

Mystique (Marvel)

Shuri (Marvel)

Maleficent (Disney)

Vanya Hargreeves (TUA)

Blind Mag (Repo!)

Venom (Marvel)

Lust (FMA)

Evelyn O'Connell (The Mummy)

Alice Lidell (Alice Madness)

Jessica Jones (Marvel)

The Kagamine twins (vocaloid)

Amon (LoK)

Sesshoumaru (Inuyasha)

Loki (Marvel comics)

Liadan (Sevenwaters)

Furiosa (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Crowley (Good Omens)

Jericho (Titans/DC)

Sadako Yamamura (from the Ring BOOKS)

Susan Sto-Helit (Discworld)

I tag... @dymosara @abnaxus @polyx @bluetalesoftheheart @adka2333 @shinladyanarki @i-have-all-these-freaking-uwus @frank-a-lank @fluffynexu @teddy-fluffnhugs

#tag game #10 fav characters

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sherlollydramoine · 5 years

Text

Welcome to the Tumblr-Dome Bitch! Pt 2

Warnings: Language, anonymous fake Tumblr death threats, some hilarity, and idk.. Just enjoy!

So here is part two. I hope you all enjoy because this was way too fun to write.

Word Count: 1823 (I really should have just written this as a fic, but I was feeling lazy and I’m tired) this part two. I’m going to have to write a third part to this and it’s going to be funny and hopefully we’ll get on to some sexy times in part three

(PART ONE)

You wake up several hours later and the first thing you did was check your phone. Unsure if you dreamt or hallucinated last night. Did Rami Malek really come to your apartment, find your smutty fanfiction and then get addicted to Tumblr while sitting on your couch?

Checking your Tumblr notifications you see you had several messages from Rami’s blog ItsMeRami.

ItsMeRami sent a post.“Wow people are so creative. I’ve never said or done shit like that in my life.”

“I just got six messages from people asking if my blog was the real Rami. I said ‘as if’. I’m cackling.”

ItsMeRami sent a post “Holy hell that was kinda hot, I think we should try something like that. Or maybe you aren’t into the possibility of calling me Daddy?”

“ItsMeRami sent a post. “What in the actual fuck is this weird shit?!”

It’sMeRami sent a post. “This is.. I have no words.”

“This Peen blog is fucking hilarious. I might have to specifically start wearing no underwear all the time, and whenever cameras are about start thrusting my hips.”

“Wow. I never realized just how visible my dick is when I don’t wear underwear.”

“Omg Free-Rami’s blog is hilarious. Some of these people on here are crazy but I love her sarcastic responses.”

“I hope you don’t mind. Since we follow each other now I started looking at some of your other blogs you follow… wow. Just wow.”

ItsMeRami sent a post. “This is pretty interesting, maybe I should role play as Snafu for you, that could be fun. You seem to like a lot of posts about Snafu. This piece was interesting. Maybe we should find a train and… “

ItsMeRami sent a post. “I’m.. what the fuck.. You warned me about this place being a hellsite, maybe I should quit while I’m ahead. This is too much.”

“I hope to God we’re still on for later because I want to try some of this stuff with you. By the way, I really loved the pieces you wrote. The question is do you want it quick and dirty or slow and sensual? Maybe both? We could do both right? Shit, I need to get off of here for a while and actually go to sleep. This is why I don’t do social media dammit, and damn you woman, what did you do?”

“Hope you are getting some good sleep. Good night..er morning.. I’ll message you in a few hours. XOXO”

Finally having read through a majority of the messages you type a response. “Your responses to this place of Tumblr hell are the best things the internet could ever offer. I just woke up and I can’t stop laughing. I will look at all the individual posts later. You can always deactivate your blog later if you don’t want to keep it. Noone will fault you for that. As for tonight.. Bring it however you want, Daddy..or Sir.. or Rami.. whatever you want to be called. It’s alright. We can figure it out when you get here. What time were you thinking? I can make or order us some food and we can chill for a while.”

Your phone alert lets you know that there is another notification, thinking it was from Rami you picked it up. It wasn’t though it was from your friend @free-rami

“Hey girl, have you seen this new blog ItsMeRami?”

You almost choke.

“No. Why?”

“There is a rumor going around that given the title that maybe Rami is really on Tumblr.”

“I highly doubt that, it’s probably just someone trying to stir some shit or something.I thought Rami doesn’t do social media? Though Tumblr is fairly anonymous so if he were to pick any platform to actively use this is the best one do so undercover.”

“Yeah that’s what I thought but some of the stuff that’s been posted on there is interesting. It’s almost written as if it really is him or someone who knows him.”

“I’m about to shower, but I will def check it out when I get out”.

“Cool, let me know what you think. I’m curious….”

“Will do, though it most likely is just some crazy fan or something.”

“Probably. People on here are crazy as hell sometimes.”

You finished your shower and ended up checking out the ItsMeRami blog. What you found had you laughing your ass off. For someone not very savvy on social media, Rami sure took to Tumblr quickly.

A favorite thing of his, is apparently to go search for fan photos and reblog with random commentary about ‘I don’t remember this’ or ‘You look so happy’ or ‘What the hell is that guy wearing?’ or ‘Who the hell does this guy think he is?”

You are apparently going to have to have another conversation with him about the meaning of anonymous. Damn his inbox and message box must be full.

It wasn’t until you started to find his fanfiction reblogs that his comments really became hilarious.

``I don’t think I’ve ever ripped someone's shirt off with my teeth, but maybe I’ll have to try it. Any volunteers?@yourTUMBLRurl’

‘Why is she calling me Daddy? I’m not her father. That would be really inappropriate.’

‘Yeah sex on a beach is a no-go for me. Have you ever done that? Sand gets everywhere, including places you don’t want it to.’

‘My eyes are beautiful, aren't they? But I’ll never tell exactly what color they are, I like reading about other’s hilarious descriptions of them.’

‘Holy shit, you wrote about a character you guys haven’t even met yet?! That’s so cool, and maybe, just maybe, your characterization of this… Detective Cutie Pants is almost spot on.’

‘Wow. Benjamin fanfiction. This is.. That’s some old stuff right there!’

‘You all really love Snafu don’t you? He was a fun guy to play. I’m glad you all think he’s sexy.’

‘I’m not gay, but this is beautifully pornographic’

‘Wow that was quite a read. Personally, I’ve never actually had a threesome but it sounds quite exciting, and exhausting.’

‘This is just perfection. The setting, the writing, except those leather pants did not come off that quickly or easily.’

``I'm pretty sure my homie Elliot probably wasn’t as bold as he is here, but very creative fresh take on things. I’m going to pass this along to Sam to see what his thoughts on this are.’

Deciding to message your friend @free-rami back, all you had to say was “Whoever this is I highly suspect is just trying to do an impersonation. I mean isn’t his username for this the same as that email from the Rami Undercover Online piece from the end of the summer? Honestly, I just think it’s someone trying to rile people up.”

“I think you’re right, it’s just weird. Why would someone do this?”

Likes, attention, followers? Who knows? I’m pretty sure that it’s fake. There is no real information in the profile so it’s hard to tell, I think. No telling with the loons that are out there.”

“Did you notice that they reblogged nearly your entire masterlist?”

“Yeah I woke up to a ton of notifications. I’m going to send them a message and see if I can get to the bottom of this.”

“Let me know how it goes.”

“Will do! :)”

You message Rami again and hope that he will see it under the millions of messages that he may likely be receiving now.

“WTF!!! I thought you wanted to remain anon? Seriously? Those comments were fucking gold though but you’ve got the whole internet in a tizzy now! I’m sure this shit has already been tweeted, facebooked, snapchatted, or instagrammed. CALL ME WHEN YOU CAN AT 555-730-0054”

He messages back with “I’m not really sure what’s going on here but I have a ton of notifications and messages, I barely saw yours. Thankfully you are the only person I follow so I figured out how to message you that way. I see your other message now. I’m going to call in a second but yeah… I might have actually gone too far on some of those comments.”

He obviously hit send and then immediately called you because your phone started vibrating in your hand.

“Hey you!”

“Hey you too! Sooooo.. What the hell did I do last night?”

“Started a fan frenzy, a shit storm, a kerfuffle, chaos. I’m on my laptop right now and I’m watching my notifications go off like crazy all of a sudden. I’m thinking that people may have figured out that I’m the only one that you follow, and they may suspect that it’s me doing this. Hold on, let me pull some asks.”

Your ask box suddenly had 596 asks.

“Are you pretending to be Rami?” “How do you know Rami?” “Are you Rami?” “Wtf is going on?” “Are you Rami’s girlfriend?” “Eat shit and die bitch.” “You know Rami and you didn’t tell us?” “I think you are a slut. You should probably go slit your wrists.” “THIS IS INSANITY! RAMI JOINED TUMBLR AND RANDOMLY FOLLOWED YOU? WHY YOU? MY BLOG HAS BETTER CONTENT!”

You just let out a deep sigh as you talked to Rami for a little bit longer. He agreed to come over later and you’d make him dinner. You read some of the anon messages that you started to receive and he just kept apologizing.

You told him your plan and he agreed that hopefully it would work, but you were unsure if people were willing to take the bait.

The post you made said this:

I, yourTUMBLRurl, swear that I am not the individual going around and impersonating Rami Malek on Tumblr (ItsMeRami). I do not condone that behavior, but I think that it’s also best that at this time to withhold any speculation about who this individual may be. If it really is Rami Malek then let him make that known when and if he chooses to do so.

You then hit your inbox and deleted the hundreds of asks that you’d received mostly anonymously some full of hate and others just curious.

Okay, I had to break this up again (PART THREE)

@the-real-ramimalekpeen @mrhoemazzello @xmxisxforxmaybe @txmel @spacedustmazzello @ramimedley @hissom1933

#rami malek #rami malek fanfiction #rami malek fluff #rami malek hilarity

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gaygent37 · 5 years

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MeetMyOmega - JayDick

This was a story I was writing, but I don’t think I’ll finish because it’s all over the place, and I’m too lazy to fix it up, so I’m just throwing it on here.

3.7k words, Dick is a camboy, omegaverse, coffee shop AU, mediocre fluff

Warning: it may be exhausting and uncomfortable to read because the characterization is all over the fucking place :)

Jason always found himself sitting in front of his computer on Thursday and Sunday nights. He always had a box of tissues next to him. He always sat as comfortably as he could in his old computer chair. And his heart always sped up when the stream went live.

His name was Ricky.

And Jason was pretty much in love with him.

Ricky was a camboy on MeetMyOmega – a dating site that doubled as a porn site, if one paid the membership for it.

And Jason was not at all interested in any of the other camboys or girls on MeetMyOmega. Just Ricky.

Jason first saw Ricky in a 30 second clip in a compilation video on another porn site. Jason searched far and wide, asking all over for who the pretty omega was. Almost no one knew. Until Jason stumbled upon him again in another video, and someone finally provided Jason with an answer, leading him to that site.

And since that day, Jason has dutifully paid the monthly membership fee just to watch Ricky’s livestreams every Thursday and Sunday.

Ricky’s livestreams followed a pattern. When the stream started, Ricky would be sitting on his bed, usually dressed in an overly large t-shirt that covered just about everything.

He always waited five minutes for people who were joining in a little later. During that time, Ricky chatted with his audience while slowly prepping himself.

It was during those first five minutes that Jason had the hardest time holding back.

Ricky’s face was just so pretty, even over the pixilated stream. Jason loved the way Ricky would lean down towards the camera. Jason felt that he could reach out and caress Ricky’s head, pull him through the screen, and get those sinful lips around his cock.

“How am I doing today? I’m doing pretty well, thanks for asking! Woke up late, and barely made it to class on time, but it was overall pretty nice,” Ricky said.

Jason reached out with the hand not stroking himself and clumsily typed out a question.

“Aw, thank you, Hood! I just got back from the gym, so I’m not entirely sure how adorable gym hair looks, but thanks,” Ricky said, blushing slightly. “I major in criminal law, to answer your question. It’s fun.”

Ricky moaned softly as he inserted another finger into his ass, stretching himself further. He continued to read off the comments. “What am I doing today? That’s a surprise, now. Stay and watch the show.” Ricky sent a cheeky wink to the camera. “Oh, thank you so much for your donation! I- I haven’t even started yet, though.”

Ricky blushed harder at whatever compliment followed. It made Jason a little jealous.

Jason had never met Ricky in his life, and Ricky did not think of Jason as more than a viewer. But Jason wanted Ricky for himself. He dreamed about Ricky on a regular basis. When Jason jerked off in the mornings or late at night, it would be Ricky’s debauched face in his mind as he came.

Jason knew it probably was not a healthy obsession, but nothing about his situation was exactly healthy. He was a twenty-two-year-old, unmated alpha male (a virgin, nonetheless), and had been through ten ruts alone, and it was extremely frustrating. His body needed an omega, but his mind and his heart would not settle for just any omega.

Jason wanted Ricky to be his omega.

With his left hand, Jason quickly typed in an amount – twenty dollars, and sent it across the internet to wherever Ricky was.

You can sit there and talk all day, and I would still come and listen.

Jason hoped it was not too creepy, the message. He waited nervously for Ricky to see it.

“Ah! Hood, thank you so much for that generous donation! And, you’re so sweet. I couldn’t possibly sit there and just talk your ear off. You’ll get tired of me really quick.” Ricky laughed breathlessly, moaning quietly as well. He lifted his other hand to his lips and blew a kiss at the camera. Jason’s heart pounded loudly in his chest, and he knew he had a lovesick sweet smile on his face.

Ricky blew him a kiss. Specifically for him.

Jason came hard, his eyes seeing stars. When he opened them again, reaching for the tissues to clean up his mess, Ricky had taken off his shirt, showing off pretty blue panties. He had also turned around so that his ass faced the camera instead.

“So, I got a new toy this week,” Ricky was saying. “I’ve been kind of apprehensive about trying it out because… well, you guys’ll see.” Ricky reached off-screen and pulled something out of a box. He held it in front of the camera.

It was a thick dildo – dark red and orange, veiny, and thick. And on the end of it, there was a thick knot.

Ricky licked his lips, the only part of his face that was still in the frame.

“I’ve never taken something so thick before,” he said softly. “And it’ll be my first time taking anything with a semblance of a knot.”

Jason felt himself twitch at that thought. Ricky was a virgin. He had never been knotted by another alpha before. Could this omega get any more perfect?

“Hm? Why I haven’t taken a knot yet? I guess I’m just waiting for the right alpha to come sweep me off my feet,” Ricky laughed. He started lubing up the dildo. “God, the knot is as big as my fist. Maybe I’m biting off way more than I can chew,” he said with a nervous laugh.

Jason typed out a quick comment and donated another five dollars.

You’ll do amazing, whether you can take it or not. It’ll be good enough for me.

Ricky glanced at the screen where all his comments were showing up. “Aw, thank you. But… I want to do this. I want to be prepared for when I finally do this for real.”

Jason’s stomach twisted in jealousy at the thoughts of Ricky sitting on some random alpha’s knot. He jerked himself faster, imagining holding Ricky’s soft hips with his hands and pulling him down hard onto his own angry knot.

Ricky touched the tip of the dildo to his fluttering hole, gasping softly. Slowly, he started pushing it in, giving a play by play of what he was feeling.

“Oh… it’s so- it’s so thick,” he murmured, his voice almost muffled by the pillow in his face. “Fuck, it’s splitting me apart, but it feels so good!” His hips started gyrating in small circles. “Oh god,” he squealed when it touched his prostate. His small cock jumped at the sudden pleasure, and Ricky’s back arched.

Jason could feel himself growing close.

“Ah- Ah, it’s- it’s in me,” Ricky said, having taken the entire dildo aside from the knot. “It feels so good. I just- I just wish it were real.” He started pulling it out, then pushing it back in.

Jason watched with wide eyes as Ricky’s hole just sucked the thick dildo in and out of him. The muscle seemed to be stretched to its limit, so tight around the veiny cock. But Jason knew that male omegas had incredible elasticity with their holes. It took a lot to make them lose that.

Ricky’s breaths started growing shorter and shorter, his gasps getting more and more high-pitched as he sped up. His cock leaked copiously into his panties, and his precum was starting to drool through the fabric.

The sight was obscene, but Jason was determined to hold out until Ricky slammed that knot into himself.

He did not need to wait long.

Ricky was obviously getting close as well. His eyes were screwed shut, and he was moaning with no abandon. “Yes, yes, yes! Oh fuck! It feel so good! I- I want the knot, please- please give me your knot!” he begged to some invisible alpha.

Jason screwed his eyes shut and moved his hand faster, imagining that Ricky was talking to him. “You want it?” he asked under his breath. “You just wait, Ricky, I’m going to-“

“I’m coming!” Ricky gasped out, pushing the knot all the way into him as he did so. Jason came with a loud cry at the same time, his eyes flying open and watching as Ricky fell onto the bed, his ass clenching hard around the thick knot, trying to suck it into him more.

Jason grimaced as he reached for the tissues, wiping his cum off of the screen of his computer. He threw away the pile of tissues, and when he came back, Ricky had pulled the dildo out of his ass.

His hole was still clenching, and it was a lovely, rosy pink. Ricky slowly moved around, turning back to face the camera.

He removed his soaked panties, taking them to his mouth and sucking the cum out of the fabric.

“Thank you all for watching,” he said, giving the camera a little wave. “Thank you all for you generous donations that allow me to buy more toys for me to try for you guys. See you on Sunday! Mwah!” Ricky blew his audience a good-bye kiss, and then cut the stream.

“Hello! Welcome to Matcha Made in Heaven, what can I get for you today?” Jason asked cheerfully, looking up from the cups he had just finished restocking.

He froze, the smile on his face becoming unmoving. Jason could not move. He felt like he had been physically pinned in place by some unseen force.

“Umm…” the customer, who was Jason kidding, it was not any customer, it was Ricky, glanced at the menu and gave Jason a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I don’t drink coffee usually. I just… liked the name of the shop so I came in. What do you recommend?”

“M-Me?” Jason managed to stammer. “I- well, um-”

“Sorry, do I have something on my face?” Ricky asked, touching his cheek.

“N-No!” Jason said, feeling a flush rise up his face. He could feel his internal temperature rising with it. It was about to get really hot, really soon. “You’re- You’re beautiful! I mean, perfect! I mean- there’s- there’s nothing on your face.”

Suddenly, Jason was shoved to the side.

“Sorry,” Stephanie said. “Disregard my coworker. He’s got a stammering problem. What can I getcha?”

Ricky’s amused expression would haunt Jason forever. “Well, your friend was about to tell me his recommendation, I think?”

“Oh, Jason? Nah, he doesn’t drink coffee,” Stephanie snorted. “Don’t ask him. He’s a snooty tea person.”

“Oh? Do you have teas here?” Ricky asked, his eyes still on Jason, who just stared intently at the pile of cups he had just restocked. “What do you suggest for teas then, Jason?”

Jason’s soul nearly left his body when he heard his name leave Ricky’s lips.

“Uh- Um, try the- uh, raspberry rose hibiscus,” Jason managed to squeak out. God, he was making a fool of himself right now, but he could not pull it together. “It’s- It’s… the special…” he said, voice growing softer as he went.

“Alright, I’ll take the raspberry rose hibiscus then. Medium,” Ricky said with a laugh.

“Alright, $3.50, anything else?” Stephanie asked.

“Mm… how much would your friend’s phone number cost?” Ricky asked.

Jason was feeling faint now. He was swaying on his feet.

“You want this idiot’s number?” Stephanie snorted.

“I don’t know,” Ricky said. “He gave me a drink recommendation, so if he gave me his number, he’ll just have to give me something else to make it three. Three’s my lucky number.”

Jason took that wrong, wrong, so very wrong. He now had a raging hard erection under his apron and could not move away from the counter.

“Want to go start making that tea, Jay?” Stephanie asked.

Jason refused to move.

She huffed. “Fine, I’ll make it. You stay here and entertain the customer.”

She shoved it back in front of Ricky.

With robotic movements, Jason punched in Ricky’s order. “Th-That’s $3.50,” he mumbled.

Ricky handed him the money in cash, and Jason’s hand brushed his. Jason’s knees felt weak. Jason ripped Ricky’s receipt from the machine and slid it over.

“No number?” Ricky asked.

Jason’s head snapped up to look at Ricky. “You’re- You’re serious?” he asked.

Ricky nodded.

“I- Um, o-okay?” Jason said, grabbing a pen and scribbling his phone number on the back of Ricky’s receipt.

“Thanks. Jason, right?” Ricky asked, nodding at Jason’s nametag.

“Yeah,” Jason said.

Ricky held his hand out. “My name’s Dick. Richard, actually, but… Dick.”

Jason could barely breathe. He somehow lifted his hand and shook Dick’s hand. God, it was so soft. Jason wanted to kiss every single finger. How fucking creepy was that?

“Nice- Nice to meet you, Dick,” Jason said.

Just then, Stephanie pushed Dick’s tea across the counter. “Here ya go, mister! Enjoy!”

She waved as Dick left the store. Then, she rounded on Jason.

“What the fuck was that?!” she screeched. “You flat out lost it, didn’t you? Jason, what’s wrong with you?!”

“I… He’s…”

“Pretty, I know, but damn it, Jay! I’ve never seen you like this, and prettier people have walked in here before!”

Jason gave Stephanie a sad smile. “He’s different.”

Jason had nearly convinced himself that it had all been a dream. He told himself that he hallucinated all of it, and he pretty much believed it.

Until he got the text.

Hey, it’s Dick. You probably don’t remember me, but I came to your coffee shop a couple days ago, and weedled your number out of you? You probably don’t go on dates with strangers, but… would you go on a blind date with my friend? You’re exactly his type.

It was clear to say that Jason was pretty heartbroken.

But Jason, like the masochistic idiot he was, he agreed to the blind date. Dick’s friend was named Roy, and he was apparently a “sweet, fun beta”. Jason was dreading the date.

That Thursday, Jason watched Ricky’s stream for the first time completely clothed.

He was straining in his pants, but he refused to touch himself. In a way, Jason was punishing himself for acting so stupidly in front of Dick earlier that week. Jason knew it had been too good to be true.

Saturday, Jason found himself in front of a stranger’s house. Apparently, it was where Roy lived, and Jason had offered to go pick him up.

Jason walked up to the porch, and he rang the doorbell, waiting nervously.

A few moments later, the door was pulled open by none other than Dick.

“Oh, Jason!” Dick said, his eyes widening. “Oh…” he glanced behind him. “You didn’t get my text?”

“About…?”

Dick grimaced. “Roy’s sick. He can’t make it, sorry.”

“Oh,” Jason said, internally extremely relieved, but at the same time, crushed. What was Dick doing at Roy’s house, wearing nothing more than a bathrobe, and drying his hair like he had just stepped out of the shower? He quirked a fake smile. “It’s okay. See ya.” Jason gave Dick a half-hearted wave and started to go.

“Wait, Jason!” Dick called.

Jason paused, his heart skipping a beat when Dick called his name. He glanced over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

Dick smiled. “Are you willing to wait ten minutes while I get dressed? Roy’s been bitching at me all day, wanting me out of the house.”

“Um…”

“Please? I promise I won’t make you pay for my dinner. My treat, even.”

Jason winced a little. “You don’t have to do that, R- Dick. Seriously.”

Dick’s face fell. “Oh. I guess I did just invite myself, huh.”

Dick’s sad face was way worse than Dick’s smile. It was heart wrenching to see him so sad. Jason swallowed hard, not knowing how he was going to make it through the evening. “I’ll wait for you in my car?”

Dick gave him a shy smile. “Really?” He sucked his lower lip into his mouth, and Jason wanted to bite it. “Just- Just wait for me, Jason!”

Jason made his way to his car and sat down, leaning his head against the steering wheel. “What are you doing?” he groaned to himself.

Jason knew perfectly well how this was going to end. Dick was going to find out that he was some creep who was obsessed with him, be horrified and disgusted, reject Jason, and Jason would just be left heartbroken.

Just then, Dick came running out of his house, slamming the door shut behind him. He hopped into the passenger’s side, grinning brightly.

“So, did you have any place in mind?” Dick asked.

“Well, there’s this Italian place not too far from here?” Jason said. “Do you like Italian?”

“I love Italian,” Dick said.

Jason clenched and unclenched his sweaty hands on the steering wheel, took a deep breath, and started the car.

“Hey guys, how’s your week been? Oh, I’m fine, thank you… Do I seem kind of sad? Ah, I’m sorry,” Dick gave the camera a small smile. “Just had a lot of stuff happen recently, I guess.”

Jason was once again sitting in front of his laptop, watching the stream. It was so strange to see Dick’s face on the screen, seeing everyone call him ‘Ricky’, and knowing that in a few minutes, he would be stripping down and showing his body to the world.

And now that Jason had met Dick, he felt that he was invading Dick’s privacy like that.

“What happened? Well…” He paused for a second. “I met someone. He’s- He’s really nice, don’t get me wrong, but… I don’t actually think he likes me like that, so I’m a little bummed out, I guess.”

Dick scanned the comments. “No, I met him last week. At a coffee shop, as cliché as that might sound. He was acting so cute, and could barely get a word out at me, and he reminded me of my little brother, actually. So I asked for his number, and when I got home, I realized that it was probably a huge mistake. And… I was right. I wasn’t sure if he liked me that way, so I pretended to set him up with a friend of mine. Then, I told him my friend was sick, and I would accompany him instead. Nevertheless, the date was a disaster. He wouldn’t even look at me.”

Jason pulled his knees to his chest, sighing when he heard Dick’s side of the story.

He could see why Dick thought that. On the drive to the restaurant, Jason had been so wound up with the fact that Dick was sitting in his car next to him that he did not say a single word to Dick. Throughout dinner, it was near silent as well.

Jason did not trust himself to say anything. He did not need Dick to find out that he watched “Ricky’s” streams. And it had been true that Jason refused to look at Dick as well. He did not need to get hard in the middle of a crowded restaurant.

Dick also made no move to say anything, just giving Jason occasional glances. The only time they really exchanged words was at the end, when Jason insisted that he pay for their dinner.

Then, Jason drove Dick back to his house. Dick had given Jason a small smile, one that Jason had thought was forced and insincere, and said he had fun. Jason just nodded, his heart having jumped up to his throat. Then, he left.

Jason honestly had not known that Dick felt that way. And now that he did know, Jason just felt worse.

Dick’s soft laugh brought Jason back to reality. “He doesn’t deserve me? Thanks. You guys are all so kind. I don’t personally know any of you, but I’m happy you support me.”

Jason shook his head, and he slammed his laptop shut. He grabbed his phone and left his room. Out in the hallway, he waited, leaning against the wall, phone pressed to his ear.

Several long seconds went by before the call was answered.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Dick,” Jason breathed, trying to calm himself down. “I- uh, I wanted to apologize for last night. I acted like a complete asshole, and I did not mean to do that at all.”

“Oh, it’s okay,” Dick said. “I understand.”

“Look,” Jason said. “I- I think you’re a great guy, and I kind of fucked things up at first, mostly because I didn’t believe that there would be a chance in the world you would like me… but will you give me another chance?”

“R-Really?” Dick asked. Jason could almost hear his smile. It made Jason smile as well.

“If you’d like. I want to properly take you out on a date. That is… if your, uh, friend doesn’t mind?”

“Oh, no, he’s fine with it,” Dick said quickly. “And I… I would like that. A lot.”

“Great!” Jason said. “When would be a good time for you?”

“Wednesday night?”

“Sounds good,” Jason said. He paused before saying good-bye. “Hey, I just wanted to say sorry again. I’ve been I mess the couple times you’ve seen me, and… just- sorry about that.”

“N-No… it’s fine. So, um, see you Wednesday?”

“Yeah. Good night, Dick.”

“Night, Jason.”

They did not make it to Wednesday.

Tuesday morning, the door to Matcha Made in Heaven opened, and Dick breezed in, wearing a dark blue coat and a scarf.

His eyes lit up when he saw Jason. “Hi!”

Jason reminded himself to control himself. “Hey. What can I get you?”

“Any new recommendations? I really liked the tea last time.”

“Well, if you’re a fan of mint, I’m personally really fond of the peppermint tea.”

“Peppermint?” Dick asked. “Sure, I’ll- I’ll take that. And, can I get a couple of chocolate chip cookies to go with it?”

“Sure thing.”

“And… maybe in one of those… cups?” Dick used both hands to make a large circle.

Jason could not help but be amused. “You want tea in one of those large coffee mugs?”

“Oh, are those for coffee? I didn’t-”

“Not a problem,” Jason cut him off. He made the tea and pushed it over the counter to Dick, who blushed and took it. Jason placed two cookies on a plate and pushed it over the counter as well.

“Thanks,” Dick said, smiling at Jason.

#jaydick #omegaverse #camboy dick #coffee shop au #welcome to the reject pile

82 notes · View notes

starsinursa · 7 years

Text

Destiel Fic Recs

I’ve decided to put together a rec list of my favorite Destiel fics....because I have read so, SO many fics in this fandom. All those times when I should have been writing? Or working? Or cleaning my house? Yeahhh, I was reading fics instead. I also tend to be a really picky reader, so I wanted to share a few fics that really made an impression on me, in the hopes that other people will enjoy them as well and maybe find some new fics they haven’t read yet. :)

I’ll do my best not to give anything away that will ruin the story, but be warned, there might be some minor spoilers – but probably not anything worse than you would find out just by reading the tags or summaries.

I will add to this list occasionally.

Last updated: January 13, 2018

List of fics is under the cut!

❤ = absolute favorites

CANON!VERSE FICS

What Has Eight Tentacles and Isn’t Allowed to Eat Pie?, 16k words, Teen

Dean watched an anime porn about this once, but real life turns out to be way less interesting.

Or, the one where Dean gets turned into an octopus.

This fic is adorable. It takes place in the bunker after Dean touches something he shouldn’t, and they have to find a way to turn him back. Dean’s point of view as he struggles to learn about being an octopus is hilarious, Sam is appropriately exapserated, and Cas is the biggest sweetheart on the planet as he helps take care of Dean. Bonus: there’s some wonderful Kevin inclusion in this fic, including him shrieking like a little girl.

❤ A Room of One’s Own, 94k words, Explicit

All Dean wants is a little privacy. Cas doesn't understand.

This fic is AMAAAZING. I’m sure almost everyone has read it because it’s very well-known, but listen, it’s well-known for a reason. Dean’s characterization is spot on, the fic is soulful and sometimes hilarious and sometimes a little angsty and really, really, really fucking hot. *fans self* Here is my absolute favorite quote from the fic, just as a teaser:

"Your exact words, as I recall, were 'Do not frigging come into the frigging bathroom without a frigging express invitation, you frigging pervert.'”

Cuckoo and Nest, 10k words, Explicit.

For a long time, Castiel thought that every earthly possession other than the immediately necessary was excess to requirement. But Dean – Dean who named his car, who keeps a photograph of his mother in his wallet, some thirty-plus years after her death, who still has the crumpled ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign with a sleeping pelican emblazoned on it from the Microtel outside of Roanoke where he first kissed Castiel, clumsy and unsure, under the unsteady fluorescence of an exhausted bathroom bulb – is sentimental.

It puzzles Castiel, where Dean draws the line between what is meaningful and what it is worthless.

This was lovely. Dean and Castiel are together, but nothing comes easy and they to have to learn how to compromise and how they fit into each other’s lives. The characterization in this story was spot-on, and it features a wonderfully nit-picky, clean-freak Dean, which I adore and don’t see often enough.

❤ I Dream of Deannie series, 71k words, Explicit.

While on a hunt, Castiel gets a dose of djinn toxin, and finally gets to experience what he's really wanted all along. Set vaguely S5ish. Shameless Destiel PWP. Continued in "The First Time, Again."

The first fic in this series is basically just smut involving Cas and djinn!Dean, but the rest of the fics are where it starts getting REALLY good. After being saved from the djinn, things start developing in real life between Cas and Dean, and it’s WONDERFUL. One of the most well-written, realistic ways that I’ve ever seen their relationship develop in a canon!verse fic, it really holds true to the characterization for me. Also, most amazing love confession ever. Also, really hot sex scenes.

Hesitation, 24.5k words, Explicit

Zachariah orders Castiel to seduce Dean in order to strengthen his allegiance to heaven. Castiel thinks it will be something to endure. Dean just thinks Castiel wants him. Neither one is right.

This fic...ughhh, what to even say, it’s wonderful and also heart-breaking. It’s basically as the summary says: Zachariah orders Cas to sleep with Dean, which he does, even though he doesn’t really want to... at first. Dean has no idea about Cas’ orders... at first. You might want to avoid it if you’re squicked out by potential dub!con, but I thought this fic was handled really well and I didn’t really see it that way. The dub!con is because of Cas’ orders, but Dean is never the one who forces Cas into anything and he’s very patient and wonderful, and things get worked out in the end.

Holy!Dean series, 120k words, Explicit.

Dean Winchester has grown used to God dicking around in his life the last couple years. But this crap? This takes the CAKE ... or pie, rather. Now he's been thrown a whole new curve-ball. The kind that has ended the Civil War in Heaven ... but resulted in Raphael taking over, and hunting for Dean's ass on a silver platter. Not to mention dealing with Balthazar acting like a self-righteous prick, Sam having some big damn epiphany on his big brother's sexuality, and Cas eying him up like he's the world's juiciest cheeseburger. All that mixed with the chance to fix it all and set everything to rights ... but only if Dean is willing to sacrifice himself. Again. Seriously, if he ever meets that bastard God he's gonna- ... oh hey, Chuck! What are you doing here?

This was so good! Chuck picks Dean to be his “successor” as God, so Dean has to learn about sacrifices, love, and how to use his fancy new mojo. Castiel, Gabriel, and Balthazar are all in the story, which I love, because angel shenanigans are the best. This series is hilarious most of the time and very sweet at other times.

Brother Lover, 4k words, Teen

"However- and it doesn't happen a lot- they have to invoke 'I saw her first'."

Dean thinks that Castiel is in love with Sam. Just a short fic involving a misunderstanding and some pining, but it’s very sweet and amusing.

AU FICS

❤ ❤ ❤ Living Broken Adjacent, 135k words, Explicit.

Hunt/Capture/Celebrate/Repeat. Dean Winchester’s world in four words: simple with no fuss. He’s not had a single, life-altering moment in the 13 years since he joined his dad as a professional bounty hunter. Why fix what’s not broken?

That is, until everything around Dean comes to a screeching halt, leaving him alone in new surroundings. Suddenly, Dean’s forced to live in his own version of the Cuckoo’s Nest with the biter, the licker, and the joker. Where angels abound, and his roommate’s haunting blue eyes make him wonder about all his past choices. He’s got this no problem, right? WRONG!

Who knew laughter and love could be found within the dull, institutional walls of a psychiatric hospital, teaching Dean that no one is ever truly broken, but sometimes you simply find yourself lost and stumbling through a life where you are living

…broken adjacent.

I absolutely adore this fic. It has EVERYTHING: Dean in eyeliner, Dean with tattoos, Cas with tattoos, multiple “angels” (Gabriel, Inias, Samandriel, Gadreel), angst, fluff, humor, sex, redemption... it’s wonderful. The author does really well portraying the mental health issues realistically - sometimes there is progress, sometimes there are set-backs, but above all, the characters are MORE than their diagnoses. I also love the relationship between Dean and Cas in this fic. Even though there are angsty parts because they’re all dealing with their own issues, the actual relationship that develops between them is so, so sweet and almost innocent. And last but not least, although kind of random, there is the COOLEST baby name in this fic, A+ for wordplay and puns.

❤ Love, Take Your Toll, 8.5k words, Teen

Cas sees hundreds of faces every day, but there's only one that he really cares about.

Cas works in a toll booth and Dean drives through his lane frequently. This is sweet and has some good pining, and honestly made me a little misty-eyed, Cas is just so genuine and lonely and I just want to hug him.

I love almost every fic by this author, so I’ve recced several of their fics in this post. Seriously, they’re all wonderful - charming, sometimes friggin’ hilarious, and they always leave me smiling. The only problem? I wish all of these stories were longer, I need more!

❤ The Return Policy, 13k words, Explicit

"Most of his visitors are academics. They come from universities all over the nation, sometimes beyond. Others write books. The man in the Reading Room today is neither. He’s a tall, irritated man with a federal badge."

The federal agent's partner is usually the one who does the research. And even though Cas doesn't think this man is a real federal agent, he's happy to help where he can.

Featuring still-a-hunter!Dean and Cas, who works in the Library of Congress. Let me just say one thing: hand kink. If you have even the slightest hand kink, you will enjoy this fic. The characterization is also wonderful and so true to the characters, including Dean’s A+ comebacks, so please enjoy this brief excerpt as an example:

It is in the archives that Cas realizes he has another condition. He scowls when he sees Dean handling a scarred leather album of Beckley’s with his naked hands. He reaches into his pocket and thrusts his extra pair of gloves at Dean.

“Have some care,” he says.

“You—have some…care,” Dean mutters mutinously as soon as he turns away, but at least he puts them on.

❤ The Request, 36k words, Mature

When Sam Winchester prays for his brother, Castiel is finally sent on his very first assignment. But what should be a simple love match turns into much more and Castiel finds himself risking everything to ensure the happiness of his extremely frustrating charge.

This is the cutest fic ever. Castiel is an angel who is the black sheep of his family, and he gets assigned to help Dean find his soulmate. They get a little sidetracked because Castiel helps Dean find some closure about an issue from his past, too. The interactions between Cas and Dean are wonderful, Cas is adorable and naive but still a bamf, and Sam is the best brother ever. I really love this fic, I read it over and over.

The Parts of Our Sum, 55k words, Explicit

Castiel, a former soldier, has worked for the Company his entire life. They've been good to him, providing clothes, shelter and new body parts whenever necessary. Now the Company's gearing up for a space exploration voyage, and Castiel's volunteered for the research team. During the preparation period, he meets Dean Winchester, who makes Castiel wonder about the things he's missed out on.

This is a great sci-fi fic! In a world where humans can be augmented and “improved”, Castiel has a few of these improvements and works for the “Company” that provided them. He meets Dean, who has some strong opinions and biases against the “Company”, even though he’s working for them too, and they develop an interesting and rocky friendship. Some good pining and a happy ending!

❤ Peanut Butter-Pumpkin Wedding Cake, 30k words, Explicit

Dean is a waiter in a strip club to put his kid brother through school. Castiel is dragged to the club as a part of his sister Anna's bachelorette party. Dean and Cas hit it off, but Dean thinks Cas is the one marrying Anna.

This fic is delightful - it’s basically a romcom, I could absolutely see this fic happening on the big screen. Everything starts with a big misunderstanding, but Dean is still drawn to Cas despite his better judgement, and things get worked out in the end. Sam is a big part of this story and he’s DELIGHTFUL, I laughed so hard at some of their brotherly antics and squabbles.

Heaven and Hell Escort Service, 123k words, Explicit

Loosely based on the film 'The Wedding Date'. Castiel Novak is a high class escort, and an expensive one at that. He likes to help people, and being an escort allows him to do that... barely. Dean Winchester is a mechanic/waiter who may have accidentally told his father he has a long-term boyfriend to bring along to Sam's wedding. Desperate times call for desperate measures... an escort service might not be what he wants, but it could be exactly what he needs.

I really enjoyed this fic. Another one that reads like a good romcom, with some humor, some pining, some revelations, and some hot lovin’. The attraction, pining, and UST between Castiel and Dean will keep you on the edge of your seat, yelling at them to just get together already.

❤ Broadway Musical, 12.5k words, Mature

This is the day that marked the Holy and Blessed Union of Dean Winchester and Jo Harvelle.

The merging of prominent bloodlines is always a grand occurrence, but breeding pedigree hunter families like Winchester and Harvelle is something to be rejoiced. It is also something to be meticulously planned, which thankfully the Host is very good at.

Or, the romantic comedy where Dean Winchester and Jo Harvelle are destined to get married, Castiel is given the task of playing matchmaker and fails terribly, the entire Heavenly Host becomes a sitcom audience, God warns against male pregnancy, and Jimmy Novak is incredibly unimpressed with angels in general.

Another fic that I have read several times, this one is wonderful! The angels are trying to get Dean and Jo to be together. Castiel decides to be more hands-on and steps in to help their cause, but nothing goes as planned. The fic is a delight and very funny the entire way through: Jimmy is still sharing Cas’ vessel and makes hilarious observations, the angels watch everything and bicker and squabble and make suggestions, and towards the end of the fic, there’s a cameo by Lucifer that had me DYING. Literally SCREAMING with laughter.

The Way to a Man’s Heart is Through Chlamydia, 89k words, Explicit

Dean doesn't expect to see his one night stand again, but then again he also doesn't expect to find out he has an STD. Sometimes life is hilarious like that.

This was a lovely feel-good story! It starts out with Dean going through a rather crappy time in his life, he finds out his girlfriend was cheating on him and they break up, and he finds a one-night stand (Cas) to get his mind off things. Turns out he has chlamydia from his ex, so of course he has to do the right thing and track down his one-night stand to let him know, and things with him and Cas go from there. It’s an interesting fic because it starts with sex first, but then the rest of the fic is Dean and Cas going more slowly and romancing each other.

Carnival Oasis series, 43k words, Explicit.

Castiel is a being that feeds on sin. Lucky for him, Dean has plenty of sin to spare.

Dean is still a hunter and he runs across Cas, a supernatural being that gets his jollies by “feeding” off the guilt of others. I enjoyed this fic because, despite what you might think, Cas is still mostly the earnest and dedicated Cas we all know, who just wants to be accepted and loved. Is there such as thing as a love!kink? If so, Cas definitely has a love!kink in this fic. Oh, and the sex in this fic was… whew. *fans self* Smokin’ hot. Lots of good sexin’ in there.

❤ Bring It On Home, 40k words, Mature

Multi-chapter Dean/Cas AU. Dean the Sales Rep just moved into the neighborhood, and his neighbor is a definitely crazy shut-in. Now complete! Ch. 30: Dean narrowed his eyes. "I'm not lovely. Knitted tea cozies are lovely."

This was one of the first Destiel fics I ever read, and it remains one of my favorites. Dean is more similar to Dean Smith - he has a house, a good job, a fairly stable life - and Cas is more similar to Endverse!Cas - he uses recreational drugs, reads auras, and is a pretty weird guy. That being said, this fic is actually really, really sweet, and hilarious at times, and there is some wonderful prose and writing, there are a few paragraphs and sentences that are simply gorgeous and beautifully written and full of imagery.

❤ Shortskirts’ Verse, 22k words, Explicit

So, they're in high school, and then they're in college, and it's mostly not about Taylor Swift, except when it is.

Super sweet and feel-good! Dean and Cas start dating in high school, keep dating throughout college, and Dean plays baseball. Whenever I want a fluffy fic to cheer me up, this is the one I read. I really love Dean in this fic - he’s come to terms with his sexualitty and he’s loving and caring and doesn’t give a rat’s ass what anyone thinks about his relationship with Cas, and it heals my shipper’s heart. There’s also a hilarious misunderstanding with his baseball team.

Home is Where, 15k words, Explicit

Casual vagrant Dean Winchester blows into Palo Alto to check on his little brother. What is meant to be a quick visit ends up drawing out when he meets and accidentally ends up clicking with Sam's strange, grad student roommate Castiel.

Cas has Asperger’s Syndrome, and he and Dean are drawn together by a mutual attraction but have to figure out how to navigate each other’s strange ways. This fic includes a little bit of hot sex, plenty of misunderstandings, some hurt feelings, a lot of heart, and a happy ending. I thought that Cas having Asperger’s Syndrome was written wonderfully and with a lot of empathy, and the fic is actually told from Cas’ point of view part of the time, so it’s an amazing look into his world and what he’s thinking.

❤ it’s a lot like life, 21k, Explicit

There were rumors of liaisons between maids and their Ladies, of short-lived passionate affairs between servants and their masters, yes, but Castiel had never heard of anything that passed the test of time. Their lives were too different, and the world saw these relationships as a threat to the very foundation of society. There had to be those that had the power and those that served them, and love had a dangerous tendency to blur those lines. Castiel’s own thoughts were the best example. Lord Winchester had started to be a human being in his mind, a person he cared for not because it was his duty, but because he felt a bond to him.

Dangerous indeed. And impossible given Castiel’s proclivities. He didn’t think his Lordship would react well to his fantasies of bending him over his desk.

This is basically a Downton Abbey AU, and it’s SO, SO good! It feels a lot longer than it actually is, because it’s wonderfully written and the time flow and character development feels so natural. The relationship between Castiel and Dean is sweet and earnest and also really sexy. Seriously, this fic has a bit of everything - a semi-forbidden relationship, Dean in panties, and a wonderful, happy ending.

The Dove’s Long Journey to Champaign, 33.5k, Explicit

After four years of solitude on a remote island, Dean’s been through hell. But he’s home, he’s healing, and he has a very special gift for a man he’s never met. (Basically this is an AU of the movie Cast Away that takes place after the island.)

This fic is really sweet and funny - not too angsty, given the premise! Castiel is absolutely adorable, Dean is trying to figure out who he is and what his life’s supposed to be like after a life-altering experience, and Sam is supportive and wonderful. There’s hilarious parts, sweet parts, and touching parts. Possible trigger warning though: the fic does feature therapy, references to psychotropics and anxiety, and even discussion of past suicide attempts - but I thought it was all handled in a wonderful, inspiring way that helps show the importance of seeking help, minimizing stigma, and healing.

Now, here are some of my favorite random categories:

ANGSTY FICS/ FICS THAT MADE ME UGLY!CRY

Smoke in the Mirror, 50k words, Mature

It begins with the flier hung in the library: art model needed for thesis project, will pay. Castiel figures it's an easy way to make some extra money, but modeling for Dean Winchester ends up complicating his life far beyond anything he could have imagined.

Dean hires a nude model for his project, which turns out to be Cas. This fic is such a good slow burn, and the development of Dean and Cas’ relationship is natural and sweet and gratifying - until Dean’s project is finished, and they don’t see each other for the next 10 years. Oh my god, the pining. The angst. This fic shredded my heart. Don’t worry though, there’s a happy ending that will leave you crying with relief!

As You Pass Through Me, 30k, Explicit.

Cas has lived in this house all his life... and since his untimely death. The last thing he wants is a new roommate, but it seems he's getting one anyway.

Cas is a ghost and Dean moves into his house. Cas starts to fall for Dean, and despite all obstacles, Dean starts to fall for Cas too. There’s some dubious consent issues, since Cas kinda creeps on Dean before Dean is aware he’s there, so watch out for that if it squicks you, but the whole fic is really well done. There’s a lot of pining, but it has a happy ending and everything gets worked out!

Out of the Deep, 488k, Explicit

Stay away from the light-beds. Stay in the deep.

It is the first thing hatchlings are taught the moment their fans unfurl and they can swim without their parents to buoy them along. It is the first rule, the first law. It is the beginning of every boogey-monster bedtime story told when they settle against the cliffs to sleep.

Castiel should have listened better.

Another really popular and well-known fic, but I really enjoyed reading it. Even though I ugly cried through about 1/3 of it. There’s some slow burn and some sex and lots of feelings, but mostly there are just so many things conspiring to keep Dean and Cas apart, including the dumbasses themselves. I swear, sometimes I just wanted to fucking scream at them. But there is a happy ending and I was really satisfied with how everything finally worked out. Cas as a mermaid fin-kin is so awesome and beautiful - he sings, he glows in the dark, and he’s got sharp, badass teeth, what more could you want? Definitely a VERY LONG fic, so be prepared to dedicate a lot of time.

He Can’t Sleep, 19k, Mature

After Lucifer's possession, Castiel stops talking.

Ughhh, the tears I cried, so many tears. This fic is beautifully written and so poignant and it just really GOT to me, that these two idiots love each other so much but can’t seem to stop hurting each other, my heart just ached. There IS a happy ending, of course, but you’ll probably still sob the whole way through.

How a Righteous Man Raises a Rose, 5.5k, PG-13

AU in which the apocalypse and angels and demons never happen, and Sam and Jess and Dean live together in a suburban lifestyle -- and then suddenly, nothing is alternate universe at all. Told from Sam's POV. Dean is compelled to tend a dead rose garden, if only Dean could remember why; and remember why it is so important.

This fic killed me. I can’t even. It’s short but it packs a seriously powerful wallop. There’s a really interesting (but rather soul-crushing) twist, and there’s...not really a traditional happy ending. Definitely worth a read if you want a good cry, so just keep some tissues ready.

FUNNY FICS

❤ Mad at your Dad?, 7.5k words, Mature

Dean wasn’t sure why he was even scrolling through Craigslist. Especially not the casual encounters section. It was four days before Thanksgiving. Not like he was gonna try and hook up with someone before that shitstorm. After, sure, but not before.

He kept scrolling, though, not clicking anything until a title caught his eye.

Alone on Thanksgiving? Mad at your dad? I am a 28 year old male felon who has no degree, but has studied enough theologies of the world, behavioral psychology, and philosophy to set your whole family’s teeth on edge—no matter which way they lean, politically, religiously or in terms of neuroses. I drive a van the same age as me that’s got a mural on the side of an angel holding an orgy. I can play between the ages of 20-30 depending on whether I shave. I live off an inheritance, and sell weed on the side. If you’d like to have me as your strictly platonic date for Thanksgiving, but have me pretend to be in a very long or serious relationship (monogamous or polyamorous, whichever sounds most like it would freak out su familia) with you (and/or others), to torment your family, I’m game...

I laughed so, so hard. I can’t even tell you. Cas is DELIGHTFUL in this - snarky, sarcastic, and sometimes high. I don’t even have a favorite part in this fic because the whole thing was a fuckin’ riot. I’ve re-read this one multiple times and I still laugh.

Incredibly Single and Ready to Mingle, 3.5k words, Teen

Sam uses Facebook like the social media junkie he is. He's befriended literally every person he's ever had a conversation with since he got an account, which means that approximately—Dean checks—eight hours ago, he shared this horrible photo with something in the vicinity of nine hundred people. The caption below the picture reads “incredibly single & ready to mingle ;)” and roughly half of them have liked it.

Dean has never been so embarrassed in his life.

Short, sweet, and hilarious! Basically, Sam uploads a horrible picture of Dean to Facebook, and it ends up introducing him to Cas in a roundabout way. The description of Dean’s embarrassing picture had me cackling with laughter.

❤ The Fourth Wall series, 40k words, mostly Teen

In which Sam does another sort of research, and Dean is amused.

Basically, the boys end up reading fanfiction about themselves. This is HILARIOUS - Sam is mad there isn’t as much fanfiction about him, Dean has to explain the dynamics of ‘topping’ and ‘bottoming’ to Cas, and Cas just wants to know how the mpreg fic ends. The characterization in this fic is spot-on, and besides just the fanfiction crack, there’s a lot of other wonderful moments: Castiel is introduced to sweets, Sam gets tossed into a gross pond, etc. One warning though: this fic also features Sam/ Lucifer, if you’re not into that pairing...BUT that pairing doesn’t really occur until almost the end of the series, so I still highly recommend reading this and just skipping those parts if they’re not your cup of tea. Really, you won’t regret it. Just read the very first part and you’ll be hooked, I promise.

❤ An Exploration of Habitat, 11k words, Mature

Dean's afraid of heights, and Cas lives in a tree.

This fic is short, sweet, and a riot. There’s so many things and little details that made me giggle. There’s one part, however, that had me DYING. It took me completely by surprise and I don’t think I’ve ever laughed that hard about a fic. I still laugh when I re-read it. I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll just say: it’s the part after Dean comes down from the tree, and Balthazar is reciting a “letter” that he wrote.

DARK FICS

Sociopaths in Love, 24k words

Dean buys Castiel as a slave and has a fun time viciously breaking him in. But what Dean doesn't know is that this is exactly what Castiel wants.

(Or, two sociopaths walk into a slave auction...)

Yeahhh, this one is pretty self-explanatory. Castiel is a sadist and enjoys it when he’s being hurt, Dean is a masochist and enjoys it when he’s hurting others, and it’s a match made in Heaven. Or Hell, more likely.

Bone trilogy, 29k words, Explicit

When Dean (raised from hell by some unknown force) and Sam stop the last seal from breaking, heaven decides to bring its own apocalypse. Late in the war, an angel with dark hair and striking blue eyes is captured, and Dean – Dean is his interrogator.

This is definitely dark, but it’s also brilliant. Humans are in a war against Angels, and Dean tortures them for information. The fic makes an amazing full circle – Dean has never been able to break an angel, but for some reason, Castiel is different, more susceptible, easier to reach, able to be broken when no other angel could be broken before. Why? The answer will break your fuckin’ heart.

Red Right Hand, 85k words, Explicit

“You’re one microscopic cog in his catastrophic plan, Designed and directed by his red right hand.”

It all starts with the mysterious note left on Dean’s chair. It all ends with Dean coming to terms not only with what he’s capable of, but how much that knowledge doesn’t bother him.

Castiel is a serial killer who is infatuated with Dean. This fic is quite the wild ride, and it hits a lot of my kinks: protective!Cas, jealous!Cas, possessive!Cas, bamf!Cas. That being said, he’s a psychopath and he murders people, so yeah. Dean finds out eventually, and as it turns out, maybe he’s okay with it.

MOSTLY SMUT FICS

Unsolicited, 56k, Explicit

In which Dean Winchester gets an unsolicited dick pic from an unknown sender which is both totally not disappointing in that it's a really nice dick pic, and incredibly disappointing in that it's clearly a downloaded picture of his favorite porn star.

There's absolutely no way it's actually this porn star sending it to him, right?

Right?

Oh my god. Confident, tattooed, sexual, pornstar Cas is my JAM. This was great - lots of amazing smut, with some BDSM elements thrown in later, and of course, a good dose of feelings.

Dean Winchester, Straight Shooter, 15.5k words, Explicit

Dean Winchester, star of StraightShooter.com, is a gay-for-pay porn star with a huge following. Cas Novak signs on to do a scene with him, even though he dislikes "straight" porn stars on principle. But Dean is more complicated than he first appears, and after inadvertently learning his secrets, Cas finds himself falling for him.

This was surprisingly sweet for a fic about pornstars. Cas is earnest and wonderful, and Dean has his obligatory gay freak-out, but it all works out in the end.

Revealed, 11k words, Explicit

When a ritual backfires and Dean ends up with wings, they reveal things that he'd much rather keep hidden. Prompt fill.

An amazing wing fic that features both Dean AND Cas with wings. Damn. This fic. There’s some great possessive!Cas, lots of good wing kink, and a fascinating look at Heaven. Also it was really, really hot.

www.hardcorewings.com, 17k words, Explicit

When Castiel loses his job, he resorts to making wing fetish videos to make cash. Dean really likes them.

This is an AU fic where angels and humans live side-by-side, and some humans have a fetish for angels and their wings, one of those humans being Dean. Cas has enormous silver wings and goes into porn, and Dean finds his videos. Dean doesn’t know that Cas also has a crush on him in real life. This fic was great, I only wish it was a little longer, because the ending seems kind of abrupt to me. That being said, great read.

Except Thou Bless Me, 10.5k words, Explicit

Castiel is wroth, and Dean is having a great time.

This is a canon!verse fic where Cas basically beats the shit out of Dean, then fucks him, and Dean is totally on board for all of the above. There’s a good exploration of Dean’s time in Hell and his self-worth issues, but mostly there’s some really hot sex.

No Teasin’, Just Pleasin’, 7.5k, Explicit

The song is nearing its end as Dean pauses in the centre of the stage, fingers teasing at the waistband of his chaps. For the first time in his routine, he allows himself to look over towards Castiel’s table.

Gabe is watching with the air of someone who’s generally more interested in the feminine figure, but Cas?

Cas looks like he wants to eat Dean alive.

This was excellent! I love stripper AUs so much, and this one definitely stands out from the crowd. Dean’s characterization is wonderful and charming, and it was a fun (and hot) read all-around! (Did I mention it also features Dean in panties?!)

TRUEFORM!CAS FICS

❤ Cruel Angels series, 107k words, Explicit, WIP.

Well. The Apocalypse was one thing. Thousand-foot-tall multi-limbed horror-angels smashing up the planet was something totally different...

Fantastic series so far. The characterization is great, the writing is wonderful, and it’s got everything you could want in a trueform fic: grace-powered orgasms, wing kink, and a description of Cas’ trueform that will amaze and horrify you (think multiple limbs, wings with eyes, and a terrifying mouth in his neck). At the heart of all that, Dean and Cas are still themselves, trying to figure out what the hell they mean to each other, and Cas is still his lovable self, even when he’s an enormous creature.

The reach of human sense, 4.5k words, Explicit.

“You know what Jimmy Novak looked like. You think he was beautiful—gorgeous, hot, all of it. It’s him. Not me. This isn’t my face.”

“But,” Dean says. He doesn’t know where he’s going with it. Just that Cas’ face is right there, brows drawn together and cheekbones gleaming in the lamplight. It’s a face that’s made his heart skip probably a couple hundred beats collectively since they met.

And it used to belong to someone else.

This fic scratched my trueform itch soooo good. It’s always niggled at me that Cas is technically still using Jimmy’s appearance, and if Dean is attracted to him, how much is physical attraction simply to the vessel and how much is attraction to Cas? This fic addresses these issues wonderfully, and Dean is accepting and reassuring and there’s a little bit of praise!kink, and I loved it. Everyone should read this one.

A Beginner’s Guide to Communing with the Dead, 77k words, Mature

Maybe it's the little girl whose disappearance turned into a murder, and whose murder turned into a cold case, and who has now apparently decided to move in with him. Maybe it's the unacceptable hole left in his life when his dumb best friend and partner in (the prevention of) crime decided to go and get himself killed. Maybe it's his brother, whose high-profile career and fantastic girlfriend and first-child-on-the-way are steadily leaving Dean in the dust. Pick one. Pick all of them. The why doesn't matter so much as the what, and the what is this: Dean is pretty sure he's going completely, certifiably insane. Sure, he hasn't started wearing all his clothes inside out, and he still showers on a regular basis (anyways, that's not crazy, just a little eccentric); but there's no getting around the fact that he just threw away his life, his career, and his reputation by dragging out his mom's old necromancy book and summoning a Class A Forbidden Entity to his attic. A cranky one, too. With horrendous bed-head.

I had a hard time deciding where to put this fic - AUs? Cop/ detective fics? I finally decided on trueform fics because this fic has, hands down, my absolute favorite description of Cas’ trueform. The author really makes you visualize it, the absolute scale and magnitude and power and otherness of Cas’ trueform, and it’s awesome. I read that part over and over. As for the rest of the fic: Dean is trying to solve a case, he summons Cas to help him, and their dynamic is snarky and occasionally touching and delightful to read. This was such a cool AU too, with magic and creatures but still set in a modern-day setting.

DETECTIVE/ COP FICS

I am such a sucker for cop or detective fics, you don’t even KNOW.

What Once Was Sacred, 55k words, Explicit

Los Angeles detective Dean Winchester works tirelessly to atone for the sins of his father one case at a time. When his best friend Charlie drags him to visit Sam at his new job, Dean stumbles onto a bizarre string of deaths that brings him uncomfortably close to his past.

Dean can't stop thinking about Castiel, an enigmatic DJ who plays the sexiest music Dean's ever heard. A chance encounter at Castiel's house reveals that Castiel is an incubus, and Dean must face the lies and the reality of his childhood as a hunter. Dean comes to see that he and Castiel have more in common than he thought, and that guilt can be the hardest thing to cast aside.

Beautifully written and it sucks you right in. Dean is a detective and Cas is an incubus, but it’s really different than you might think - Cas doesn’t necessarily like the influence he has over people as an incubus, and he goes to great lengths to avoid hurting people. I love the whole concept, and when Dean and Cas finally get together? Hottest. scene. EVER.

Kiss You When It’s Dangerous, 57.5k words, Explicit

When his partner Uriel, betrays him, Federal Agent Castiel Novak is saved from becoming a ritual sacrifice by brothers Dean and Sam Winchester. Discovering the world of the supernatural and learning about werewolves, wendigoes, vampires and things that go bump in the night also leads to learning more about Dean and the strange life he and his brother lead. The more he learns, the more Castiel finds himself drawn into Dean’s world and toward Dean himself.

Until Uriel wants to complete the ritual he started.

I LOVE still-a-hunter!Dean and agent!Cas. This fic was wonderful because it reads almost like an actual episode - Sam and Dean hunting and doing what they do, with Cas getting roped into that world on accident. The attraction between Dean and Cas is wonderful, there are parts with Dean is adorably worried and protective, and Sam is fantastic. Great read all around.

❤ ‘never see it coming’ series, 12k words, Explicit.

“Sorry, sweetheart, but I’m going to need to borrow your car.”

This features still-a-hunter!Dean and detective!Cas, who gets caught in the middle and pulled along for the ride...until the second part, where HE is the one tracking down Dean. This fic hit every single kink in my repertoire, I’m not even exaggerating. Dean is resourceful and clever, Sam is exasperated, and Castiel is a fucking badass who literally stops at nothing. My only complaint? THAT IT WASN’T LONGER. I need another 100k words in this series, pronto.

#fic recs #my fic recs #destiel #fanfiction #deancas #fanfics #destiel fic recs

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nightglider124 · 7 years

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Night’s Review Time! - Teen Titans: The Judas Contract

Where to start... maybe I should set it out kinda bit by bit.

So, pals, the much awaited (by me at least) “Teen Titans: The Judas Contract” came out today via digital download. I’m telling you; last night I was a mess bc I was so on edge with wanting to see it. Time difference fucked me over bc by the time it was released digitally in America, it was like 5am here so ya know. I had to just “sleep” to pass the time. I know right? How lame.

Anyways, enough of me babbling about my first world problems.

Stop reading here if you have yet to see the movie and/or do not want it ruined. Because, needless to say... SPOILERS.

The Judas Contract in short centres heavily on the Titans, not too much on any one character but enough for us to be able to get an understanding of each of them that we lacked in the last film.

In particular, it focuses in on Terra; the newest member of the team. She has a rocky attitude (ha I made a joke... sigh i’ll just leave) and tends to keep the others at arm’s length. There is of course a reason for this.

The plot is that of the Titans hot on Brother Blood’s trail and trying to bring him and his cult to a stand still. Meanwhile, Blood has a contract with Deathstroke for the Titans, to help him accomplish his plans of being an “almighty god”.

And anyone who is clued in on the gist of the Judas Contract will know exactly what is going on with our darling Terra.

So, let’s do this. Piece by piece.

I’ll be a good little film student and start with the structure and narrative of the movie. I honestly think it’s okay; I like how they split between showing us the Titans and their personal and professional shenanigans as well as showing us Blood and Slade’s interactions. At times, I felt it was a little choppy and didn’t always flow maybe as well as it should and/or could have. But, all in all, it’s well put together as much as an animated movie can be anyways.

The only thing I feel is somewhat... misplaced is the first scene of the original titans before our current kids. It takes place 5 years prior to the film and it just... I don’t see the point.

Or maybe I do; i’ll get to that in a second though.

We see Robin, Kid Flash, Beast Boy, Speedy and Bumblebee “puttering along” to use Wally’s words, only to be side-tracked by an apparent alien fight occurring nearby. You so know where I’m going with this.

As they near closer, tadaaa, we see our delightful Starfire fighting off Gordanians. So, it is literally a random kinda scene but it kinda works?

Like, I think the way it is just dropped in at the very start is a little random and gives me a sense of misdirection but at the same time, I can see why they’d want to include it.

It re-establishes the whole “titans together” kinda vibe and it gives some background on some characters. Well, Dick, Kory and Gar at least. And that’s what I think is the secondary reason. Starfire is the leader of the current Titans so it does seem fitting to show us where she came from and obviously, it gave a little more depth into where her alliance with Dick started and where their relationship bloomed from.

I really like the scene itself. It’s witty and action packed and for us shippers out there, we got the kiss. But more on that later.

It’s informative and it may have come in more at a thrust like here take this scene and run with it but, it does give an insight into the titans before and looking more into Kory’s origin which, in my opinion is always nice. So, good scene just wrong placement or at the very least, messy placement. It also doesn’t have much of a significant impact on the rest of the movie, itself but I like the... closure of it to be able to understand where some of our favourite characters came from.

Now, to talk about the characters because each of them get at least one moment where they’re explored a little more. I feel like the personalities and backgrounds were explained a tiny bit more with some of them. I honestly loved the characterization of each of them. They’re all individually interesting and throw them all together and you have an awesome team. I feel like no one was really left out or forgotten about too much which I felt did happen with “Justice League VS Teen Titans” which, let’s face it, focused mainly on Raven and Damian.

Speaking of the demon child, I’ll start with Robin first. Now, contrary to popular opinion that we all hate Damian... I do not hate him. I actually really like his character. People refer to him as being the whiny, bratty child which... yeah he is but he’s learning and this movie is definitely a show of that growth. He still has his little threats and glares at his teammates but you see a shift in this film from the last. He is more with the team this time, looking out for their best interests at heart. Even when he follows Terra when she’s going to meet Slade, he is checking on her... technically by spying but hey if he wasn't doing that, would he even be Robin?

He tries to empathise and tells her how much he understands the place she's at which... he really does understand. Like, really. They're talking about Deathstroke whilst Robin is catured and Damian says, "He's lying to you. That's how he does it. Mixing truth with lies. Let me guess, he kept you isolated, dependant, told you everyone was your enemy. Trained you, ruthlessly. And promised you exactly what you wanted." Now... show of hands who agree he is not just referencing Slade there. He has his own demons and he understands it and is trying to slowly but surely, come away from it. Not only does he understand that area, but he also understands coming into and being overwhelmed by the "team" as he's always been alone and had the same trouble adjusting to having people around him who are genuinely looking out for him.

As stated, he can be a little shit and definitely in previous films I have wanted to smack him myself but at the same time, the character is still a kid. Wiser than most but a kid nonetheless. He's settling and I like how they gave him time in this film. They didn't completely steer their focus to Damian, rather made him a small part of the plot. I liked that he was used to share the understanding with Terra too. It's not often we get to see Damian actually reflect like he does in this movie. It was a nice change of pace and honestly, Damian is funny in his ways. Even the way he congratulates Dick on his next step with Kory is a smidge reserved but he's playing nice and that's what counts. I personally love Damian's character and am glad he's being used in the DCAU.

Raven was probably the least looked into but at the same time, had an important role of being the one to sense something off about Terra. Not to mention, the first film was focused solely on Raven and Trigon and all of that so it was nice to still see her as an active character without her being pushed at you too much. Again, I love Raven's character, especially in the DCAU. She's witty and sarcastic whilst still caring for her teammates as a family. She's not all doom and gloom and "omg i'm so goth" which I hate. I hate when she is portrayed as someone who doesn't want anything to do with anyone. She's reserved but she's not a teenage nutcase. Jheez.

As stated, she is the one to pick up on the negative vibes from Terra and yet, still shows her caring side, offering to help her meditate to channel her control. Raven, in some media, I feel is overrated but in this, I think she is done just to the right point. Like, she is well gelled with the team and she has her place and uses and the team love and respect her. I honestly love this version of Raven. I can't expand on it more than that. She is less guarded but at the same time, remains a bit of a mystery.

Beast Boy... Ah, mon petit rayon de soleil. I don't think there is anyone alive who could not be in love with this munchkin. He's hilarious and adorable and you just want to hug him throughout the entirety of this movie. I love Beast Boy's character in all shapes and forms. Like from pieces of comics I've seen to Teen Titans (2003) to Young Justice. Every version is a blessing. He is constantly a ray of sunshine and renowned for being the comic relief of the Titans. There's no question. It's little things. Especially him being such a modern teen in this movie what with his continuous statements like, "Hey! I've got a million followers" it's just so pure and earnest. He literally wears his heart on his sleeve and I wish he was a recognised character more. I don't think he gets a lot of credit in any version really when he deserves so much. The character is so lovable and funny and yet there is an undercurrent of maturity there if you dig deep enough.

When he's talking to Terra and she's throwing stones across the water, he sheds some light on a more adult thought process of the way things are around him. He tells her, "I think pain is what makes a hero. It's like a pressure that either forms a diamond or grinds you into dust." And I love that that statement comes from the supposedly oblivious and funny member. He's childlike but he knows his shit. And your heart kinda just stays with him throughout the film. And after his kiss with Terra, he is flippin' adorable like I cannot even he just keeps cheering and aw, he's such a dork. But as things go grim, you just feel for him so badly like he is such an innocent and so happy-go-lucky that it's makes you sit there like why are you making my precious boy go through this? He is perfectly represented in this film and he may well be my fave from this.

Blue Beetle was a character I found myself drawn to during this movie. I've never really had much of an inkling about him nor have I really cared for his character that much. Like, not in a negative way, I've just been oblivious to his character in the past. Even in the last movie, I didn't connect with the character that much. However, oh boy does that change in this movie. I feel, if anyone had a big part to play in this it was Jaime.

There was such a sad undercurrent about his struggles that weren't touched on that much in the previous movie. I mean, we see him call his family and talk but there's the unspoken tension which allows you to understand there's a distance since the scarab fused to his body. It's horrible bc you can really feel the struggle and the sadness that he feels underneath it all with this movie. This of course also made his character extremely lovable. Vulnerable superheroes are my weakness. What can you do? But, along the same lines, you can see he is still having issues controlling the "bug" and that it greatly frustrates him, especially when he gets flustered around Traci and is in a closet trying to tell the bug to calm the fuck down. Ah, so many moments that made me smile.

Nightwing was delightful, as always in this one. I mean, I like his character throughout the animated movies. He's such a good mix between serious but also has his playful moments, something better explored in this movie, I think. I really liked how they focused on him at times. Obviously, towards the end I was happy it was him that came to the rescue kinda thing when I know a lot of people thought they would give it to Damian. And rightly so it belongs to Dick; he has a huge role to play in the Judas Contract because he dons the Nightwing persona. Now, this was slightly altered in the movie because he was already Nightwing but I like how they still gave him a suitable amount of spotlight to show he is an integral part still.

His personality is one of my favourite things in the entirety of this movie like to be completely honest. He's just so well portrayed in the sense he can be serious and focused and determined like he's trained to be but he can also be normal, like the rest of them and hang out with his friends and be jokey etc. I just really liked how they used his character in this one.

And lastly, my lovely Starfire, who you should be aware is my absolute favourite so excuse me if I gush. I love her characterization in this film. I like the fact that she is bubbly and positive. I like that she can have her defiant moments. I like that she is more confident. I like that she's flirty every now and then. I like that she's so down for her team like she loves all of them nuggets. I absolutely love that she is leader. I cannot stress that enough but I love the fact she is the leader because I feel she is that kind of character in the sense like she's not stupid; she is incredibly capable of doing a top notch job.

One thing I absolutely adore about how she was explored in this was looking at her insecurities of being said leader. Also, we see her sadly reflect on fleeing Tamaran and they're just subtle pieces to her backstory and ya know, it is sad for her because she's an alien still struggling her way through life on Earth and she probably does feel, more often than not, like an outsider but masks it with her happiness. She's unfamiliar with certain things even after a few years and tries hard to make the most of it and I admire her character for that.

The leadership issue was an amazing thing to see her feel insecure about. Like, she got a bit irked with Dick treading on her territory because he naturally would after being the leader for so long before her. But, she doesn't just do the cliché of not telling him about it and causing all kinds of tense drama. She opens up a lot about how she feels with being the leader because let's not forget, she followed Dick before he left so now that he's back, it's ridiculously unsettling because she'd be constantly comparing herself and second guessing whether or not she's up to the task and measuring herself to him. I really, truly liked seeing the vulnerable side to Kory which I also like that we only got to see her do in the presence of Dick. Notice, she may feel insecure about it but she isn't about to let it show to the team in fear of furthering her doubts of herself. All round love for Kory in this film.

And... we're down to Terra. Ahh, so many thoughts on Terra.

I have always been up in the air with Terra. I'm not sure just how she is in the comics because i've only ever seen bits and pieces and never got a good grasp of her character in that so my main judgment comes from Teen Titans series and this film, really.

But, I like Terra's character a lot. I really like the way she is in this too. She's an extremely complex character with a lot of boundaries and it's strange. She's guarded but she seems to let all the wrong people in and keeps all the right, influential people at a distance. I really enjoyed seeing the flashbacks on her backstory and how she was abused and mistreated by so many people around her. I've always wondered about her history because it's a little vague and never really goes in depth in the series at least. You just get the vibe she travels around with no sense of direction and with no home to go to so it was like getting closure to see her backstory and the struggles she's come through.

Only then, of course, to be found by Slade which makes me wanna scream. Like I feel like people forget that Terra is young and impressionable right and has always had people tell her she's a freak and never even had something that closely resembles a friend. So, when Slade reaches out, it's a no brainer she would accept. It doesn't make her a bad character; just someone who needed help and thought she would get that from this asshole. I like seeing the familiar lack of control with her powers again; it reemphasises the unstable nature within her as a person as well as with her abilities.

And you know, with Terra I feel she somewhere, deep down knows that Slade is bad and she knows she doesn't want to be a bad person. But, I think she is a character that is so desperate to be cared for in any way that she lets herself be used and tries to disparage the knowledge that she is in fact, being used. We can see that from the way she reacts to Damian flat out telling her what she knows is true but doesn't want to believe.

I think it's pretty self explanatory as to why she reacts kinda aggressively towards the Titans when they're trying to help and be nice to her and genuinely show care for her. She's never had that before so of course she's gonna get defensive and get her back up.

The thing with Terra, as a character, is she does things not everyone looks at in a different light. In my opinion, she makes a ton of bad decisions but in every variation I have ever seen, she kinda redeems herself in the end. Like, she does it as a last act of showing she is capable of doing good and that in the end, she could make the right decision.

Terra is definitely a character that I like in this and in general bc she's back and forth, unpredictable but in some ways, relatable regarding trust etc.

The relationships in this movie. Oh boy. Like there's such a good mix between familial and romantic relationships in this movie which I know is something they said at the wondercon panel that they were really putting effort into this time around. Like, I want to mention one which was more obvious in the first Titans film that really makes me happy and that's Raven and Kory. Like I really like how comfortable and sisterly they are? Like even in this one, I took silent joy in Raven sitting and meditating whilst Kory trains like the companionship is sweet. It's probably more so me because I really love them two as besties and sisters.

I secondly, like the little interactions with Jaime and Gar when he's all bummed about Terra showing next to no interest in him. I really like Dick and Damian's little interactions throughout like I just enjoy them tbh bc it's such a love/hate kind of relationship but they'll always have each other's back kinda thing. I found myself liking the dynamic between Damian and Raven. Like I lowkey love them as either just really good pals or even romantic. I don't know why but something about their interactions makes me smile and at the end when Rae brings out whom I can only assume is Titus; I found myself cooing. And shockingly, I found myself enjoying the Beast Boy and Terra relationship which weirded me out because BBTerra has always kinda been a notp. But it was sweet that she seemed to calm down and open up a little and let her guard down a little more around Gar. And their kiss was adorable if not just because of Gar's reaction afterwards. Nope this dope doesn't just play it off coolly; he's whooping and grinning and it's frickin' cute. I really enjoyed the interlaced relationships. They were heart-warming and made me connect easier with the characters and movie as a whole.

And of course, Dickkory is going to get a whole paragraph because what kinda trash shipper would I be if I didn't? These two in this film are to die for. Their relationship is so healthy and balanced in this which is the way it should be. Like, they really portray them in the best kind of way. They throw in so many dynamics that make the two of them work. There's the fact they are friends and teammates whilst being able to make little jokes to each other regarding their romantic relationship. There's the playful and flirty side which we've seen from their phone calls in the previous line of films without being distasteful. There's the trust and the worry and it's just all round tender and sweet. There are so many scenes with Dick and Kory in where they're being cutesy; it'd be hard to pick a favourite. There are a few up there though. The early scene of him being a dork and asking her to move in together in front of the others just makes me melt. The hug. The little box with the key inside. The fact Dick has this running thing of getting interrupted with Kory with literally anything made me smile. Like, let the boy have some alone time with his lady. Damn. The other scene is the training scene hands down because it's fucking hilarious. Kory is so direct and Dick has to quickly stop her from talking about their sex life. God, I almost cried with laughter. It's fluffy and cute. Like, I'm genuinely surprised with how much Dickkory DC put into this and like they also didn't fuck things between them by the end of it? Like, I'm still so shocked?

There were so many scenes and Dick was such a sweetheart in most of them, especially when Kory was feeling a little insecure. Like, the hugs were a big favourite I'm not gonna lie to ya, guys. It's just nice to see them like this in media tbh like domestic fluff with them is my weakness. They're very laid back in the sense they can make a remark about their relationship and not have it compromise a mission or anything and that's the shit I live for with this movie.

As for the story itself, I thought it was nothing too spectacular but it wasn't awful either. It had it's climactic parts and there was one part with Dick when I thought he was a goner. The fighting scene at the end with Blood and with Slade... all of it was wonderful; as was Terra's spotlight moment. It made me sad, it made it excited and it made squeal. So, all in all, I think the plot was good too. It wasn't a difficult or boring one to follow which always means better rather than worse.

The art style was something I wanted to mention, being the former art student I am. I actually really love the style of these films. Like, it looks more like Young Justice than anything else but it's cut, clean and crisp designs which is my frickin' drug. It doesn't look half assed or anything like that. The only thing I can never help but notice are the pinched brow lines on our batboys masks. Like they just continuously look angry and there's few times the lines chill out. And, gotta mention what I can only assume are stress/tired lines more so on Dick's face. Like, is it overdrawing or is it just Dick because he is continuously worn out. I dunno ya'll. Not saying these lines are bad, I just noticed them and thought I would mention it too.

Something I really like is the voice acting. I love all the choices for each character and think they fit with personalities really well. In particular, I found myself really loving Deathstroke because of his voice. Like, there was a gritty, oily sound to his voice which really worked well to mirror the type of character considering he is a badass villain. So, a big kudos to Miguel Ferrer who unfortunately passed away earlier this year. Rest in peace; you did the character justice, in my opinion. Deathstroke was morbidly funny too which I am always a sucker for. Like, sarcastic or wise-cracking villains? Gimme' em'.

Note worthy parts of the film that I highly enjoyed or at least appreciated was that first scene bc I am shipper trash and we got given the infamous kiss so it was always gonna win me over.

Another is the massive nudge that Wondergirl will be a part of the team in any future project as she was shown as the "new girl" at the end of the movie which makes me happy. I'm just hoping that they keep it as Donna because, let's face it, we all want it to be Donna.

Lastly, something I was more so... happy with was how they showed Slade and Terra together. I mean their "relationship" is gross in any shape or form but what I mean is, I'm happy they didn't go too far or do it too distastefully. It was somewhat diluted down so that we didn't get a repeat of the shambles that was The Killing Joke. I mean, it's still bleugh but it wasn't actually graphic or anything like that, at least which I appreciated because I didn't want that near me.

Some flaws I noticed or things I didn't get an answer to or just simply didn't like weren't that many things. One thing that does stand out due to being unanswered is Dick's red suit. It really doesn't bother me. Like red, blue; I don't care but I would have liked them to address as to why it is different. I mean, is it due to being New 52 inspired or is it something else like did he wash his suit with a red sock? What is it? This is probably the only thing I really questioned like whuuuut.

Another thing I was a little "oh." at was the amount of screen time that Joey got. I mean, I'm not about to start raging but if there's one thing I know about The Judas Contract, it's that he was a big part of it; a huge part in fact and it was a little disconcerting to see him on there for like a minute before getting shot in the head. I just think it's a bit of a poor choice on DC's end like he could have had more to do with the story at least a tiny bit more but alas, they did not go down that route. Though, I think a lot of people missed the ending. At the very end of the credits, Joey's head wound heals and his eyes begin to glow and he wakes up so if that's not a hint to another movie involving him more, I don't know what is.

Always remember to stay after the credits, kids.

My future predictions for another movie is definitely not concrete; far from it but it's just things I would like to see and wishful thinking. One thing I would like to see and am quite hopeful for, all things considered is that of Kory and Donna's beautiful friendship. Fucking love them ladies together so yes, that one seems like a simple ask.

Other things include maybe a plot regarding Kory heading back to Tamaran to deal with her asshat of a sister because we've heard mentions of Kom in both this film and the last so I'm curious if that'll lead anywhere. However, I do not want this shit turning into Kory getting married out of duty. Like, no. Keep her with Dick in their adorable apartment eating Chinese food and watching looney tunes.

And lastly, the biggest stretch of wishful thinking would be introducing us to Mar'i Grayson. Like, I would fucking love if baby Mar'i was or became a thing in this universe just because I'd explode from the cuteness. And think, we could get cute bits of Dick being like no, babe to a pregnant Kory wanting to join in on missions. Of course, I'm not naïve or stupid to think Mar'i will ever be brought in because let's face it, we were on edge about Dickkory with this movie. I don't wanna push my luck. But, she is a wishful thinking topic for future Titan films. Baby Mar'i would be acceptable, highly unlikely, but acceptable and very well received.

Overall, I absolutely loved The Judas Contract. There is not much about it I would change and I wrote this to showcase all aspects. As in, I'm not just saying I love the movie because it features Dick and Kory together. I love it for various reasons. In fact, I'm about to watch it again because I can and because I'm trash for it.

Hope you guys, if you made it all the way to the end, enjoyed my review. I really didn't mean for this to turn into an essay but here we are.

Oh and if anyone comments and tries to just be a dick about what I've written, I won't be dignifying it with responses. This is purely a review of my opinion. You don't have to like or agree with it but you do have to respect it is my post. Just sayin'.

Til' another movie perks my interest, guys. *peace sign*

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