#and don't even get me STARTED on episode stills

[princesssmars]

it's getting sticky!

a little vi x reader

wc : 1.166

inspired by this tweet. don't look at me.

contains : boxer!vi ib this, fem!reader, scissoring, vi's a horndog wbk.

a/n: can't wait for act 4 to drop next week don't worry they just took a week's break guys. pitfighter vi changed my life i had to keep pausing the episodes to scream into my hands baby girl come home.

ever since vi had met you, she had been discovering quite a few new things about herself.

she is apparently an active sleeptalker, has a habit of biting her lips when thinking, and once she gets you in bed she needs to keep going until she passes out.

she’d always known she had a soft spot for pretty girls, constantly flirting with and taking home the girls who showed up to her matches with her face plastered on their shirts and phone cases. but eventually, she started to grow a bit bored with the routine of a night of rough sex with a stranger before parting ways, never to meet again. well, hopefully. unfortunately, some of the girls could get a bit obsessed. one of the cons of being too good with a strap.

but like a deity above heard her secret prayers she spots you in the crowd at one of her shows, oh-so-pretty face stuck staring down at your phone as a girl she assumes is your friend looks on to the match with glee. as cliche as it was, she was instantly intrigued.

she had no choice but to come up to you after the show, black leather jacket slung over her shoulders as she greets you with a flirty smile and one of her most trusty pick up lines to make you laugh.

you aren't impressed. you do call her cute, which is a win in her book. luckily your friend is a huge fan, and manages to persuade you into giving her your number for an autograph. she swears she hears the girl call her hot when your friend drags you away, and she doesn’t hear you disagree.

you make it very clear at the start of the relationship that you know about her reputation with other women, and that you don't want to have sex until you are sure she is committed to you. and while she obviously respects your boundaries, taking the care to make she never goes too far whenever things do start to get a little more intimate, she has to admit it’s a bit of a struggle to keep it in her pants. she swears after a few weeks you start teasing her, hugging her from behind when you're in a towel fresh out of the shower and wearing tops with lower and lower necklines.

and once you finally do tell her you're ready to go all the way? the girl is stuck on you from sunset to sundown, wringing countless orgasms from you until you have to use the last of your energy to tap out.

she adores how you can keep up with her, especially after she successfully wins a match. the adrenaline from the fight is still pumping through her veins, sweat and bruises dotted over her skin as she rushes over to you once she’s cleared of injuries and lifts you up in her arms, twirling you around until she starts to get dizzy. the sound of your squeals and giggles as she bites and kisses at your neck one of her favorite sounds in the world.

it can only be paralleled by the noises you’re making now, desperate and pitched-up whines and gasps as you sit across from her, eyes drooping and head falling back as you grind your hips into hers. she had been so desperate to get her hands on you that she couldn’t be bothered to pull down either of your underwear, the friction from her boxers and your panties making her eyes roll into the back of her head. she’s sure the grip her hand has on your leg propped up next to her is too tight and sure to leave a slight bruise, but you only subtly push it closer to her grip, biting your lip when her nails dig into your skin.

“come on, come on pretty girl, keep giving it to me.”

her hoarse voice pants, tilting her hips just the slightest to the side so that her clit rubs even harder on the wet fabric below, brushing against yours the slightest bit to make you let out a needy moan. normally her dirty words are enough to send you into overdrive but she can tell that tonight the euphoria is getting to you, too deep in the experience to register what she’s saying. her other hand that's not gripping onto you for dear life reaches over, her breath hitching when her cunt presses even harder into yours, and gently but firmly grabs you by the back of the head so your head is upright again.

“vi, ‘h my god-” your moan is cut off by her plush lips harshly pressing into yours and sticking her tongue in your mouth, muscles massaging each other before she pulls away and watches the string of spit that connects you to each other. a dopey grin grows on her face before she ever so slightly tilts your head down, laughing at the strained gasp that leaves your throat.

even with fabric there you’re obviously both soaked, dark and light materials stained by yourselves and each other and only growing more intense by the second. it creates a perfect blend of embarrassment but arousal in you that forces you to grind yourself into her harder, chasing that high for the both of you as you hear the audible noises of your bodies meeting.

as you both get closer you start to get clingier, your trembling hands resting on vi’s shoulders as a subtle hint that she picks up on immediately. she helps you to wrap your arms around her shoulders as hers moves to your back, squeezing your sides and rubbing over the skin when your teary exhausted voice calls her name over and over as you get closer and closer to the edge.

“vi, vi, ‘m so close, please, oh shit harder-”

“i know, i know, baby. just a little more, fuck you feel so good, prettiest girl, god prettiest pus-”

she smiles and bites into your shoulder when your orgasm finally hits you, the desperate grinding of your hips paired with the breathy whining from your throat right next to her ear sending her to nirvana right after you, broad hands pulling your overstimulated into hers so she can keep using your pliant body to carry her through her orgasm.

you sit in each other's arms for a minute, hands softly brushing through each other's hands and pressing kisses to each other shoulders. she loves these little moments with you where she can just bask in the fuzzy post-sex bliss with you. she loves it even more when she delicately rubs herself into you to test the waters, always met by your lovesick giggle as you hold onto her tighter and return the movement, ready to go as soon as she gives you a sign.

im pregnant and pifighter vi is the father

[summertimesadnessirl]

Nah. I don't think anyone will care when I die. I want to die because the same dumb shit keeps happening. Everyone else gets to have a stable life and build themselves out of poverty and all that. I wind up back at rock bottom every few years. I keep having to restart the way most people only do maybe once in their lives. I don't want to build myself a life again and have someone destroy it.

And the last time someone did it, they did it on purpose. The did it in an insane way no one would ever belive. A way I could not have prepared for. Then they gloated. Then they tried to claim I need to be "humbled." For finally believing I was allowed to have what everyone else is born into or allowed to build once and and I built 6 times. For not wanting to be poor my whole life. Then they gloated, told me I was crazy, then told me I need to be pushed to go after what I really want. What I want is revenge on a global scale. Like what I really want is for everyone who ever did this to anyone to literally instantly confess to all their crimes and die. Then I still want to die. I don't have a backup dream. I built the life I wanted. A life that also worked for the type of person I am and the type of lifestyle I can actually live- some fun. Some regular treats. Some things other people don't need that made things easier for me and compensated for a lot of my flaws and weaknesses. Some other things I did because I liked the people I did them with or for. I lost it. I don't want a backup life. I want to die. I am not getting tricked into building another life.

The truth is, there is no way that I could ever defend against what happened happening again every time my life makes me happy and works for me forever. So I am going to just allow the people attacking me... yeah. They are still attacking me... to kill me.

I know there's no explanation for why they are doing it other than sadism. They have made no demands other than many conflicting things that only seem to be whatever would be something someone else would want but would make me equally miserable as I am now even though it sounds like a reasonable demand if you don't know me...

Imagine if you were idk... diabetic and someone said they would stop bullying you if you ate a dozen cookies. And if anyone else did that, it would be a prank. Or if you have red wine triggered migraines and they say if you drink a glass of wine with dinner every day they'll stop. But you have to do it forever.

So I'm gonna let this destroy me completely and then kill me. I will not accept any other outcome. There is nothing I could be bribed with or convinced to take as a consolation prize.

I don't care anymore. 🤷 nothing will ever make me want to live now that this happened.

I know when it kills me, there's a billion to one shot that anyone believes I'm being gangstalked by a bunch of?? It doesn't matter. Everyone is going to assume I'm having a 4 year long psychotic break with the same delusions over and over and trying to f figure out or rationalize what's going on. If it wasn't happening to me, I would, too. None of the proof sounds real, all of it sounds like the crap you would hear in a shitty paranormal case, or a ufo investigation. Rokos basilisk. Indrid Cold is doing Havana Syndrome on me. The creature from Nope. Someone made a fake episode of last podcast on the left and added a bunch of additional information on Ester Cox. Bro idk. Dinky Earnshaw and Light Yagami are sending the world's slowest Tigers to constantly meow at me for 4 years. I don't give a shit, dude. It's happening. Good cops don't exist. No one is gonna solve the case. Even if some dead whore turns up, nobody will care but my imaginary boyfriend from when I was 15. I started imagining talking to him again because like? Whatever. Everyone thinks I'm nuts. Talking to a fake guy you made up as a thought exercise is actually normal. Lots of people do that. I know it's just a little game. I just stopped because I had friends. Highly unlikely that's going to solve my murder. So I literally do not know who is doing this. So I literally can't stop them or look for proof. They are never going to get into trouble either way. So instead, I'm gonna endure it til it kills me. Either they'll kill enough people that eventually someone will notice or they don't. But I don't wanna live anymore. Even if they quit right now and someone showed up at my door with like, a uhaul filled with 20 billion dollars and a litter of kittens, or full communism was declared, I will still want to die. So if they have to murder someone, it might as well be me.

[raayllum]

I thought maybe there was something we needed to know. But it doesn't matter. I told you not to come on the boat! You were crying, I thought something was wrong. Nothing was wrong. Either way, the sun's set and it's crazy cold out there.

[honey-tongued-devil]

I hate the latest episode... Now I'm stuck with silco on the brain

Imagine being a piltie that was doing research that required raw materials from zaun

Going to the bar to collect info, vander figures out that you're not from the lanes and asking silco to keep an eye on you

You can feel silco tailing you but you can't catch him. Eventually you tell him it's better to keep an eye out on you in person rather than remaining hidden... Feels like being part of a horror movie.

Overtime you and silco get along, you tell him about your research, you eventually get to know vander and Felicia as friends as well.

You get busy with your project so you don't come as often but still write some letters every now and then.

One day the letters stop and you never come back.

Cue the plot of arcane-

It isn't until silco starts gaining control over the undercity that he notices some pilties wearing/using the object you put all your research into.

What happened to you?

Turns out your research is being sold under the name of a man, a man that you were married off to, silco learns.

No one has seen you publically in over a decade.

It appears your family has sold off your research to someone rich in exchange for a wealthier life.

The agreement you have with your 'husband' is that as long as you continue to publish things under his name he won't try to be in a relationship with you, sexual or romantic.

Under Normal circumstances any potential relationship with silco would be long forgotten, but what happens when the shipment problems around the hexgates start affecting your husbands business? What happens when you decide to investigate it for yourself as an excuse to leave the house? What happens when you're kidnapped and brought before a man you haven't stopped thinking about ever since you were in your early 20s?

Sorry I just wanted to leave this here because I'm too much of a coward to actually write a full fic🫥

I’ll tell you the truth, my little friend—just days before, I was banging my head against the wall because I wanted an idea for a long fic with Silco. Then one morning, I woke up to your request, and even though it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, it gave me the foundation to start writing the first story (which, as of now, only has the first four pages of the introduction and is set in the mines).

However, a week later, Episode 7 came out, and I found divine inspiration, so I started another one called “Everytime It Rains.”

That said, I have to thank you because your request was what made me decide it was time to finally start working on the long fic with Silco.

[blossomthepinkbunny]

So the latest episode of Helluva Boss was really...not good.

It had some fine aspects. I didn't mind the song as much (at least from how it sounds, it's fine) the plot is interesting on paper, meeting Satan was kinda cool (though I'll get to how I actually feel about him later), Andrealphus was animated really energetically, it gave some room to have Stolas own up to his shit, the moments of care between Blitzø and Loona were kinda sweet.

But overall, it was just incredibly undercooked. I wanna start with the apparent fatphobia which was probably more prevalent in this episode than ever. We see Mammon literally stuff his face with food as all the skinny (sympathetic) sins watch with disgusted faces.

Even the sin of gluttony looks disturbed, because drinking, partying and eating excessively is apparently only cool when you're not fat (even though she has no reason to care). Also, it's truly incredible, how one of the few characters that is explicitly named as not wanting to be fucked by anyone is also the only prevalent fat character there is in HB. And the question is also, why that was apparently the only thing Bee had to rub in Mammon's face, when he was confirmed to be Asexual and has never seemed to care about that stuff. It sometimes seems like the only Insults Viv's characters can come up with are: "You're just mad I'm hotter than you" or "You're just mad, people don't want to fuck you". Really hurtful guys, really savage.

Moving on to Satan, he was hugely awaited and his debut just kinda eh. He has to share his debut episode with all of the other sins (which also includes the two sins we were anticipating too) as well as the awaited character of Vasago, another appearance of Striker, more development for Andrealphus, a huge turn for the Stolitz relationship and big emotional moments, which really overshadowed him, to the point he barely left an impact (at least to me).

When we look at the Asmodeus, Beelzebub and Mammon debut, while there were definitely other important moments that didn't necessarily revolve around the sin (esp for Asmodeus), there was still the feeling of some grand reveal. That just wasn't there for Satan. And since Leviathan and Behemoth were also just dropped in this episode pretty unceremoniously, I don't have high hopes for their official debut.

Satan didn't even get a Musical number or something to show his business and how he embodies the sin of wrath. Asmodeus had a song to explain his Sex club and the episode took place there, Beelzebub had a song as well and the whole episode showed the parties she was throwing and while Mammon didn't get a song, the episode in general centred completely around his business and competition. Satan was just kinda there. He is a judge apparently for whatever reason, how that relates to his wrath, I have no idea. Unless you want to say that he uses the trials to take his anger out on the subjects by punishing them, but he also has an anger management coach...why? Just to have a new ship between boss and employee to push? (Which would be the more cynical reading as opposed to something Viv didn't really think through or care to explain enough).

So Satan wasn't that good and neither was the revelation that HB has no serious main antagonist. This show can't have smart villains, it seems like it's just allergic to that. Fizzarolli and Asmodeus are good guys now, Verosika is not a serious antagonist/villain, Barbie has done nothing that would warrant her becoming a new main antagonist, the Agents of D.H.O.R.K are literally named after being unserious and stupid and they and the CHERUBs have not been shown to be intimidating or anything. And Crimson doesn't feel as important, since he has no real personal gripes with Blitzø or Stolas (who are pretty much the main characters now).

Striker is so stupid now that he can't even remember two lines of dialogue and who is mostly just a henchman for other, bigger villains. Stella has been consistently portrayed as stupid, not even remembering to mention probably the most important fact that could help her and her brother win their case.

Then there's Andrealphus, who was probably supposed to come across as the true mastermind (get it?), but he is also not really smart at all. What was his plan with the trial? Why wouldn't he involve Stolas in the trial if the whole point was, that he finally has something that he can use against him? Andrealphus was happy about the illegal stuff Stolas has been doing because he can actually report him to the authorities now and can take his part. So it makes no sense that he would make Blitzø seem guilty in the trial, cause that would just end in Stolas being seen as innocent. If the trial had worked out the way Andrealphus had planned, then Blitzø would have been executed and everyone would assume that Stolas is a victim. Wouldn't that go against everything Andrealphus wants? It would have been smarter for Stella and him to gather genuine proof of the illegal activities Stolas was assisting with and then they could tell the truth in the trial, which would lead to Stolas being found out and Andrealphus being able to get a deal as compensation.

The fact that Stolas showed up saved their whole plan, but it couldn't have been planned like this because Stolas showing up only happened because A: Stolas was conveniently watching TV and saw the trial happen; and because B: Stolas actually decided to show up at all. Two things that Andrealphus could have never predicted precisely, as to put them into his plan.

So Andrealphus' unfinished plan that doesn't make sense leads us well into discussing Stolas, which seems almost unavoidable when talking about any new HB episode. First off, the scene between Stella and Octavia was probably put there to portray Stella as a bad mother, but it didn't really succeed. The show needs to understand that there's a difference between being a bad partner and a bad parent. It isn't uncommon for people to be totally nice to their partner or child, friends or coworkers and be absolutely nasty to someone else in their life. Unless they show Stella being actively neglectful or abusive towards Octavia (as they have with Stolas), there's no reason to assume she's a bad parent. Especially since Stolas still allows Octavia to visit her, which you'd assume he wouldn't do if he was the good parent and she was super abusive or didn't care about her daughter at all. Also, Stolas is just fine with dying in this episode to save the Imp who still realistically doesn't owe him affection after his sacrifice. And all of this without even thinking about how Octavia would be left in Stella's complete custody, which would surely not be the responsible thing to do, if she was truly as abusive to Octavia as the fandom tries to portray her.

And in the end Stolas is finally the powerless, helpless victim that he's been pushed as. How nice. He confessed to some of the stuff he put on Blitzø, but it's done in a way, where it's now expected of Blitzø to immediately forgive him and take care of him. He can't have time to heal and make the decision to help Stolas, Stolas needs him now! Can't he go to some of the people that would be much more equipped to take care of him? Why not Asmodeus and Fizz? They don't seem to have a problem with him and they even have connections to Blitzø, so the two could still keep in touch while sorting out some stuff on their own. Why not some of the goeita that seemed to feel good towards him? Vasago could take him in and we could have him involved in the plot like that.

But nooo, Blitzi has to help him, he's his soulmate and just has to forgive him now! Stolas told the truth so now everything is fineee!! I can't be the only one who notices that Blitzø always has to deal with the stuff he causes in brutal ways, like being hated by his best friend for a long time, losing contact to his sister, having a whole party of people who lavish in their hatred for him, getting constant reminders of everything he does wrong and how much of a broken person he is.

And then Stolas has to face his consequences for once (in a way that isn't even as brutal as it could've been) and now he immediately has to be cuddled and coddled and everything has to be forgiven. I don't think the constant demeaning of Blitzø and the coercion will be brought to focus. Because everything is fine now and anyone who complains is just kicking someone while they're down I guess. Stolas even gets a goodnight kiss. A great way to forget about how Blitzø was nearly almost actually killed and can't continue his business in the same way now. And it's not as if Stolas bathed and tucked him in after that happened. How nice.

[archivemyfic]

There isn't a better deepdive into everything wrong with this scene. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the writers didn't mean to break Meljay up (it would've been clear and specified otherwise) but they didn't handle that right. I think they were trying to wrap the last moments of their relationship by adressing the "problematic" circumstances in which it started, but by lack of time, (you can't deny that act 3 was rushed and that we still need closure/answers to many aspect of the show) it just seemed as if Jayce went off on Mel and that was their last shared moment (even though he apologized after). Also, an important thing not to forget is that the creators confirmed that Jayce was always meant to die with Viktor. People may think that the popularity of Jayvik changed the tragectory of his story, but that is not the case. It was planned from the beginning and the co-creators confirmed that even though it's a totally valid ship, Jayvik is just not canon (no shade to it's supporters, just stating facts to support my point). So knowing that they were going to kill him off, I doubt that allowing them a super romantic/heart-warming last moment together was the first thing on their minds. It would've been weird to do so just to kill Jayce the next episode. And once again, they might've still offered us that dignity, if it wasn't for the lack of time. My only hope is that since there is a monumental chance that Mel is playing an important role in the next LoL show, we get to see some unseen flash-backs of their last days together, or just of their relationship :).

okay so very long thinkpiece about meljay and jayce' treatment of mel / the writers treatment of mel and how i think that all things considered she hasnt really won as much as we think she did

the thing about this that makes me so mad or rather sad (both, actually) is that we learn in season 1 how mel was brought up, that she didn't get to be soft and kind, that her surroundings were hard and rough just like her mother was, that love isn't a thing she knows like that especially not in relation to vulnerability. now if you think about media in general there is a pattern we know. the black woman is always the strong woman, the independent woman, the woman who doesnt get to be vulnerable bc of the first two points. so here comes this man she's trying to use not just for her own endeavors but for the good of piltover, clearly having a different mindset than her mother, and he cracks her open just like that. he's vulnerable with her and he lets her be vulnerable with him and it allows this woman this kind of vulnerability that she was never allowed to feel. she feels and she loves and there is someone who holds her and looks out for her when things go bad. he is his first thought after the bombing and hes so loving and endearing unlike her mother who is concerned, of course, but straight back to business too. and oh what a lovely thing that was to watch as a black woman who to this day still doesn't get to see this as often as we really should

so mel gets to experience something she hasnt before and you can tell it means something to her because when she gets back in act 3 the first reaction to him is an excited, hopeful one.

this is the man she cares deeply for and it is also the man who shes comforted before many times. something she needs in those very confusing times too. something she might be looking out for. something she might hope to get herself. some comforting after what shes been through for months. someone to share what is going on with her and how confusing it is to find out all those lies and secrets about herself.

until she notices how changed he is, how different he looks, so instantly she is worried. of course! who wouldnt be! she very likely didnt even know he was missing since its the first time we see her back in the city so she must've assumed he has been here and well for the whole time being (does she even know how long its been?) but it isnt fine as we know. she puts herself second! immediately! (and rewatching that scene now it actually makes me mad how she does that. and how anyone can question any of her feelings for him when shes immediately all jayce. or how in general people think shes only interested in her own goals) she asks this man who has shown her to be vulnerable around him and it BEING FINE, what happened, shes opening herself up to him, again, over and over, and he not only tells her it doesnt matter (what happened to him) but TURNS HIS BACK ON HER. he is literally shutting her off. he is saying with his body she does not get to do that. and for someone who has grown up like this, with a mother cutting off any kind of displays of weakness, this must be a familiar feeling, something that goes off like a bell

but she still tries! she still tries! she sees something is wrong but she tries to get comfort anyway, because this is jayce, right, this is the man she cares for deeply, the man who has opened this door for her and the door she's let herself through, the man who has always had compassion for her. of course she tries again. why wouldn't she? so she starts that something has happened to her but he doesn't even let her tell him what happened (actually it makes me so mad seeing this again and how crazy hostile he is towards her, its like im looking at the mel hating part of arcanetwt and him repeating beat for beat what theyve been saying for years) he doesnt give her room to speak, just takes it for himself, prioritizing himself and his own feelings. and, yes, figuring out the bombing thing and wanting to talk about it is valid and i think in general this could've been a great angsty way to deal with this topic IF they would've had the opportunity to talk this out properly but what happens instead is that the man that makes mel feel safe starts INTERROGATING her like she is a criminal that should be held for trial FOR SAVING HIM something she doesnt even undestand herself. and suddenly she is in a whole different position and i think by now she knows that this kind of compassion and understanding and room for vulnerability isn't part of their conversation anymore

she loses her composure and that of course isnt a first because she has started to be less put together around him, allowing her more room to "sway" but this kind of destruction is a different one because she feels at trial, feels cornered, feels like she has to explain herself but - and thats what is important - isnt heard. and i think that is something she knows very well, something shes grown up with, trying to explain herself and not being heard.

all of that happens while he is, mind you, still holding onto that hammer. something she surely notices too. the man who's usually quick to let down his defences around her, who isnt councilor talis or mister talis but just jayce around her, is holding onto that hammer like shes a threat. so he tells her he thinks shes lying and she asks him why he would think she'd do that, obviously, because her understanding of their relationship and their trust is a different one than his or at least this jayce that has come back from the arcane, because clearly this kind of understanding comes from somewhere and it comes from the times they've spent together alone throughout season 1 and a little in the beginning of season 2.

he throws at her that shes been using him, something that surprises her, because clearly she doesnt know what has happened, but she tries to explain anyway, because she doesnt know what has happened at least not in full (as you can tell by her reaction to viktor appearing, sensing the hostile mood between both, but also the way she reacts when viktor mentions the noxians intentions), and you can see that these thoughts of his are a result of months in the arcane alone with them and imagining conversations over conversations (although for me its still hard to understand how he grew that hostile towards her this quickly as if she were responsible for everything that happened but those are thoughts for a different post). he crashes out during that conversation, his face is warped with hatred and that is. all. for. her. to. see. and then BOOM goes the hammer off. mid conversation. a conversation that should feel safe with a man she should feel safe with but none of that is there. there is no space for her. (and yes i know hes aiming at viktors puppet but that isnt somethng mel is aware in that moment)

it all leads up to a fight and eventually they walk together and he apologizes, although very distantly and without much explanation, and despite it all, despite having good reasons to shut off and not share what she's feeling, she does. she talks to him about what is on her mind and they have a short, bittersweet exchange but it's just nowhere to what they've established in the first season. as a shipper of course that is super frustrating, but as a mel fan it's just sad to see that the person she felt safe enough to seek comfort in is just so closed off. but not only that, it's obvious they're parting ways and it's very obvious this is coming from his side and i think that is also why she so wilingly accepts it. she doesn't fight much back throughout their whole fight earlier either, she tries to explain herself, but doesnt demand that room for herself even though in this relationship she should be able to take just as much room for herself and her feelings as he does, but she doesn't. she just lets it happen and i understand it bc you have this man you trust and probably love and his first reaction to you is hostile when hostile has never been a response to her. he made a complete u-turn and of course that's off putting, maybe even scary, of course it shuts her down, makes someone who's so good with words and fighting just try to cause as little damage as possible because that is how she's grown up, isn't it?

and that is why i am sad about this. she learned that love doesnt have to look like her mothers and that being vulnerable isnt a weakness and its his doing but here she is met by this kind of hostility she only knows from noxus and it hurts even more that it COMES FROM HIM and over something as SAVING HIS LIFE when its clearly was an act out of love and not investment bc if i'd would've been just that than she would've saved viktor as well? but it wasnt about that. it was her subconscious making a decision and it was something her mother would describe as an act of weakness (theres a reason she gets renni to attack him bc she sees how fond mel of him is maybe even because shes been fond of a man herself once and she knows what itll do) and i think the worst part about it is that she doesnt ever get to truly articulate this or anything else and now that jayce is gone (dead? in a stone? who knows?) she won't get to ever probably. she won't get to say what she thinks and explain herself truly and she won't have anyone to confide in, to be comforted by or comfort. elora is dead, kino wasn't real and the real one is actually dead too, jayce is well whatever he is, and her mother died in her arms. yes, mel is a mage and that is fucking awesome and i was so happy to see her go off and get so many spotlights in battle, but shes also so fucking tragic actually. because here she is with a fuck ton of weight on her shoulders, the noxian army looking up to her, the whole name, not knowing who her father is or what any of her powers mean, the whole black rose thing, everything unresolved between her and jayce, the death of the people she loves, and shes all alone with it. shes all alone with it and she gets no one. man im just fucking sad that this woman got a glimpse of what it could be like to be loved and have someone to "come home to" just for her to have literally no one left like why do you hate black women so much why cant they get a fucking good ending and why cant they be fucking loved even when things get hard

also im lowkey mad that jayce got to find comfort in her lap so many times and not once did she get that in return, not even a squeeze of her shoulder, but dont let me get started on that....

[soulfulazrael]

Haven't watched Mastermind episode (and wont), but will talk about stuff I saw from it and heard about it

So... I as you who follow my ramblings here probably know (all 2 of you probably). I do not watch this show anymore because I don't care about it's story. Apparently this new episode is BEST OF THE SEASON, but since rest of the season at best gave me a feeling of pure apathy and at worst INCREDIBLE disdain and lack of faith in humanity I say good middle ground is talking about pieces I saw because at this point I don't think I can stand watching this show for longer than 5 minutes at a time.

I make my own story for HB/HH so I will make some comparisons to my own story and plans... Maybe one day I will do bigger post about how my versions of Sins and other things look. No arts though... no talent on my part. Eh... Or maybe... Eh we will see. Probably not, but... Maybe... I dunno.

Comparisons will be mostly about Sins. And the thing I reference is a fic called Song for the Quiet Bird that for now is center of my AU where I make things of Hellaverse in my own way.

So first off. Stella moment. Probably the first thing I saw from it when I heard about it. When I saw that scene I was like: Wow. Actually proper moment where Stella shows more of a character and maybe nuance aAAAAAAaaaand the smirk...

You are amazing at failing every expectation aren't you HB? YOU KNOW SHE LE EVIL!? YOU KNOW SHE BAD!? YOU KNOW STOLAS GOOD!?

Yes I do. I am deaf from the amount of SCREAMING you are throwing at me about this every other minute. Thank you. I am not a 5 year old. She evil. What you do with it? Also apparently NOW she has a brain compared all other times besides season 1 where she had more of a peanut there? What is it? Also incest with her brother? Great... Keep on going with this. I am sure at some point even completely blind AND deaf people will understand how evil she and Andy Magic are. I sadly missed the part where I am supposed to find them interesting. But HEY at least it gives such a great explanation of why Octavia sees Stella as better parent than Stolas which is clearly shown in some of that promotional material... entire one scene... that is not a minute long even and has no dialogue between them. No chemistry or anything... Let's be honest though. For most fans that's probably enough. Just slap one or two scenes later of Andy Magic and Stella saying how bad Stolas is and you are golden... Fuck my life as it is not even a joke. Jesus.

Okay. Besides that... tragedy? I dunno. There is also SINS! Leviathan and Belphegor...

Well... that's just amazingly underwhelming. You know there is a problem when I cannot tell if a character is even meant to be someone special. Because what the Hell (get it? HELL!) is this? They look like about nothing Demons. They are barely more interesting visually than any other shmuck we saw in this world. Ozzie keeps being the best design out of all of them with most distinct and accurate one and I am starting to feel like it is only because Viv took years in making it before hastily making ones for everyone else. Seriously, would you even be able to tell they are meant to be important characters? Because they look like everyone else in this world.

Now funnily enough I have my own concepts for those in my AU. Not exactly more interesting visually as again... not an artist and it is still more concept thing as I keep figuring things out, but this is the current form I want to get them across. I think they do the job on some level in terms of what they are meant to be. One is Leviathan. It is... interesting to portray it with 2 heads... a reason for that kind of eludes, but who am I to judge? But I know in my version it will just honestly a large beast swimming across endless waters of Envy. A giant sea monster that keeps itself in a giant form among domes of Envy where cities are with immeasurable wealth and power, a creature meant to be envied. But also a creature that envies deeper than any other over the loss of their partner at the hand of God, not being able to be close with anyone or even be understood. A creature who's deep resentment and pain created entire Ring around them.

If I made a scene like that with 'sins' meeting I think it would be with a High Demon that serves as a high priest/priestess of the Leviathan faith. As all very high rank demons like Sins, certain Goetia Kings and other VERY important figures have their own religion that Hellborn MUST adhere to, in a way choose their deity and in this case it would be a Demon from said church of Leviathan that interprets them... cluelessly.

While Belphegor would not be much different as a creature that also is a larger than life being. But this one being like a giant, anthropomorphic crocodile like being similar to SCP 682, but more... static. Basically giant center point of a garbage heap that is Sloth in my AU. In some ways beautiful, but also incredibly toxic and dangerous to everything wasteland. Very bottom of Hell. Horrible place where you can be killed by some horrifying monsters with no real mind that prey on the helpless. As Belphegor itself (dunno if it even has gender) exudes aura of sloth where most Demons that come to sloth will be at some point forced to lay down and stay in place. "Bask under non existent sun" which is a term used in that version of Hell a bit to call someone lazy and it comes from that which can spell someone's horrid death.

Those are my ideas for those. But next one is the big boy himself. The Big S. Adversary. Satan.

He looks alright. Nothing you would not imagine a Satan to be. He looks dragon like, buff (even if he skipped leg day) and has funny horns of Imps. Also he has little therapist... which is funny because in my fic I also have a trial with the main judge there (in that case Lucifugus or Lucifuge Rofocale) who also has his own little therapist thing (alongside some other annoyances... and far more misery). It is funny how I guess both me and Viv kind of agree people in high political power in Hell would have their own therapist. In my version though he keeps them deep within the tower he resides in. But either way. Can't say his design or personality is something I did not see coming.

As for my version I will go with... yeah it will be quite different. Better or not. Your choice. A centaur like being that has 4 big arms, molten lava in his veins and skull on top of his body looking like a goat or dragon like being (still thinking on that). A demented monstrosity who's head went awry due to their perpetual rage who can now think of nothing, but drowning everything in so much blood that he will one day swim on that tide of gore to the Pearly Gates and smash them open in ultimate showing of their superiority over all of creation. Something his kin the Imps for the most part also believe and praise. A promise of sea of gore and glorious war. Not the kind of creature that would hold a trial. In that world it's more of a Lucifuge thing... or Lucifer if he is mood for jokes and tormenting some poor souls for their amusement.

Also I hear Stolas lost all his wealth and power over... NOT the shitty things that he did, just that he was forced to lie for the sake of I.M.P.... Eh... The avoidance of responsibility continues. Even when characters face consequences it can NEVER be over their own actions. It has to be something that can be proven wrong and goddamn will that probably be true with Via as well. Because let me tell you they are most likely going to make her be in the wrong for hating poor little Stolas baby and I hate it already. I know making assumptions is not good, but by GOD were they good at making those expectations of nuance low so far...

Actually what expectations? I don't watch this show anymore. But I am passionate about it's ideas... and that hurts me. A lot. I made this entire post because of those... and make a fic that has now few HUNDRED THOUSAND words. Damn. No idea if my version is better or worse... but it is one I prefer. It is different definitely. Even though in certain ways it's weirdly similar.

[rekino2114]

More ena x male reader would be so goated..a.......a

Taking care of a sick ena

Pairing:ena x male reader

A/n:The best part about writing for ena is that I can kinda just do whatever I want since every episode feels like an incoherent fever dream

You were just standing in your house with nothing to do,thinking if you should call ena when suddenly moony burst into your room destroying the roof

"Dude you need to come to ena's house asap"

"Why? What happened?"

"She's super sick, and it's soooo annoying. She's switching like every second and is whining so much about how she wants you there"

"O-oh ok, I'll go now"

Worried for your girlfriend's health, you immediately went to her house where you found her in bed looking miserable. You felt so bad for her and went to her side when she saw you approaching ena gave you a weak smile

"H-hello my dearest, i-i'm so glad you're here"

You could hear her voice was glitchy and lower than normal, even repeating some words like a broken record

"It's the least I could do, I love you ena"

"Awwww i-i love you t-too my sweetest and adoooorable-*glitches* waaaaahhhh I don't deswerve this, you should just let the sickness take-take mweeee"

Her sudden switch surprised you as she usually didn't change forms this quickly, but you assumed it was a syntom of her illness and hugged her for comfort

"W-wait dwooont you'll get sick toooooo"

"No, don't worry, I don't think it's contagious. It seems specifically made for you, I guess. Plus, even if it is, I don't care about getting sick as long as you're ok"

"Y-you're so wonderful my darling, I could never find a boyfriend as perfect as you even if I wanted to"

You giggled and smiled back at her, happy that she was back in her normal form

"That's great ena, I'm gonna check if you have a temperature"

You put your head on her forehead and immediately pulled it back when you saw how hot it was. It felt like touching an overheating computer

"Ouch! Y-yeah yo definitely do"

"NGH! HOW DARE THIS VIRUS MAKE MY BODY SO HOT THAT IT HURT YOU, I'LL DESTROY IT!"

"C-calm down babe, if you're in this form with such a high fever I'm scared you'll burn something"

Ena switched back into her normal form and apologized. You told her it wasn't her fault, and she smiled again before widening her eyes and puffing her cheeks

"BLERGH!"

You saw her vomit a mass of TV static on the floor. It started to spread around, worrying you

"I......should probably clean that up"

"Waaaaah I'm so sowwy, I'm so disgusting"

"N-no it's not your fault"

You comforted your girlfriend again and grabbed a broom to clean her "vomit." When you were done, you saw ena transforming again. When you saw the hat appear on her, you immediately knew what you were gonna deal with.

"H-hello my dear, how is my favorite c-customer doing?"

"J-just shut up, I don't have the energy to yell at you"

"Well, you won't have to because this time I have a 100% functioning product that will cure me of my illness"

"I swear if it doesn't work, I'll beat you up.....once I can actually move"

"Well I admit I don't really know how to treat you so sure I guess it can't hurt"

Ena raised her red arm and materialized a USB key

"It's an anti-virus for........antiing the virus"

"The heck does that even mean?"

"I guess the logic is sound, how much will it cost"

"Oh, it's just.....a-a kiss on the cheek"

"Oh really? That's it?"

"W-wait if she's getting a kiss then me too"

You giggled seeing her two sides arguing

"OK, ok I'll give it to you both"

You kissed both the salesperson and meanie forms cheeks and she gave you to antivirus

"I guess this will work"

You told her to open her mouth and made her swallow the usb key. She glitched for a while before turning back to her normal form

"Are you OK? How do you feel?"

"I do feel generally better, but not entirely"

"Oh the antivirus is probably still downloading"

"I see"

"......so what would you like to do in the meantime?"

Ena widened her smile and widened her arms asking for a hug

"Could we perhaps cuddle? I would very much appreciate that"

"Of course I'd love that"

You two hugged each other and started to cuddle, ena tried to lift the covers but her blue arm fell down

"Is.......that normal?"

"I do not know, maybe it's a sign I'm still ill?"

You shrugged and hugged her tighter, she smiled even more and nuzzled into your chest, feeling incredibly happy

[rubidimum]

Okay quick (long) rant on a few things partially related to this

Hear me out. I still love Arcane, season 1 was insanely good and season 2 was still---fairly well done.

But the most frustrating part of it was that Vi and Jinx were the heart and soul of the last season, they were the most compelling relationship, the most compelling thematically, their conflict was THE conflict that drove the show, and a lot of nuanced and interesting dynamics between the other characters existed because of it. And then this season Vi was basically a side character? and Jinx and Vi were just immediately are fine with each other after two minutes? It was a dishonor to both their characters honestly.

Vi's erasure as a main character fucked up Jinx's too, because her character arc got basically reduced to something unfinished-- like they started out this very interesting parallel with Jinx and Isha and Vi and Jinx, that basically got reduced to suprise factor? and then Isha is never mentioned again? They set up this super amazing parallel between Silco/Vander and Vi/Jinx, that basically got a line of dialogue in the mining tunnel and that's it?

AND the Vi/Caitlyn conflict is barely expanded on either. Like Vi just becomes a part of Caitlyn's internal strife--- which goes without really having much resolution at all.

I just found it weird---they kept setting up these interesting dynamics and ideas and then not resolving them properly at all. So many things from last season were just kicked out the door. Don't get me started on Piltover and Zaun.

It's also frustrating, because the characters that we see get more screen time-- Viktor, Jayce, Mel also have, in my opinion, half assed character arcs.

AND, unpopular opinion, something that really annoyed me was that the Ekko centric episode was basically about him being Jinx'/Powder's love interest-- which was barely hinted at or developped beforehand. Ekko was sooo interesting in the first season because his character was centered on the Piltover/Zaun conflict-- which also gets absolutely swept under the rug.

The first season is an absolute work of art because of how it set things up and then resolved them. You understood every action of the characters, you saw everything they experienced, you understood deeply why almost every character did the things they did. It was profoundly difficult to dislike any character because you knew why they did that, why they thought that, and even though a lot of the different character's actions led to tragedy-- you couldn't hate them for it, or at worst you felt conflicted about them. This season characters just kind of did things. Viktor just kind of chooses to leave Jayce, but you don't really get what's going on in his head. You kind of understood why Caitlyn succumbs to Ambessa's manipulations but you didn't really feel for her, because her character in the first season just didn't seem set up enough towards that. It felt unnatural. Why does she start sleeping with Maddie? what lead up to that? they basically just put that there for shock value. Like it makes sense that that would happen, but in the first season we would've gotten more explanation. Nothing Vi ever did really seemed like any kind of crazy culmination of her actions, things just sort of happened to her. Viktor's actions don't really make sense either, he just chooses to do stuff seemingly at random. Jinx is clearly having this intense internal conflict all season but it just wasn't expanded on enough.

I just feel like season 2 did not even begin to live up to everything that the first season was. So many things seemed abandoned and everything seemed unfinished. I don't know.

LMAOAOAOAOOO

[xjulixred45x]

I'm trying to be active again and i though: "what could be a better way of coming Back from the Dead than a critique to the soap opera that has become Helluva Boss?"

So here we are. My personal Critique to the episodes Ghost Fuckers and Mastermind.

I'll be honest, i saw both of them in one sit bc i delay seeing Ghost Fuckers SO MUCH that IN THAT TIME Mastermind come out, then i realized i could't keep doing that and accept my fate(seeing the episodes when i was doing nothing importart and Home alone).

AND GOOOOOOOD-

First of all, Ghost Fuckers.

The first half, absolutly GROSS and incredible out of character for many characters.

I liked Millie A LOT in this Episode bc she represented how i was feeling trough this first half, CONFUSED AS HELL AND MAD AT THE BAD DIRECTION OF THE BOSS(vivziepop).

I get it, we are suposse to see this reaction of Blitz as natural and that affect him a Lot, BUT:1-that wasn't Even a BREAKUP(i'll talk of it later) and 2- it's super out of character for BLITZ OF ALL PEOPLE.

if You tell me that Stolas is neglecting His duties after what happen, yeah, i can believe that, BUT BLITZ? The one who all motivación trough the seasons was to keep His business AND employees aflot is not only neglecting His job BUT ALSO USING THE MONEY OF SAID JOB (THAT HE HIMSELF SAID WAS IN CONSTANT RISK OF BANKKRUP) FOR IMPULSIVE PURCHASES???

What the actual Hell.

Even Loona just allowing this and doing what Blitz told her to do feels strange, that's HER PAY TOO, and she just dosen't care or dosen't understand what is happening??

Moxxie is My spiritual animal when i was doing Homework from Collage. The only joke that i find funny in this Episode. Believe me kids, there's nothing more scary than BANKKRUPSY.

Also, seeing that most of our own knolege from Hell is based on Blitz since the Start, it's feels so strange and incrongruent that he still insist on the Ghost theme. Specially when he likes to make fun of humans for those kind of things.

The whole secuence of Spooky Kind of Love just have me...there.

And we got to the second half! Where i have more problems Even though is the Best party of the episode.

Millie blows up and tells Blitz what we all want to Say, he gets offended for no reason, they get diferent ways, Blitz starts allucinate bc of the infester demon, making Even more OBVIOUS His insecurities. Again. For i don't know how many times.

Millie finds him and she tries to make him see that he dosen't destroy everything by remembering how they meet. It was actually a pretty cool scene. We Even get to see more of Millie when she first got out of Wrath, her insecurities, how she was at the job, when they get the IMP Bulding, etc.

Half a point for the develomp to Millie(TWO SEASONS LATE).

they find the demon and he posses(?) Blitz for some reason, and meanwhile Possesed Blitz tries to kill Millie, Blitz has to revive His traumas AGAIN. For GOD sake just leave him alone FOR FIVE MINUTES--

Millie kick His ass, they kill the demon, finished the job, the end.

This is the Best example of the Main problem of Helluva: His Tone problem.

The first half and the shorts, for example, are the characteristic humor of Helluva we are used to, that the people want to see, and just a little bit of lore. And that works ALONE, it's funny, it's dynamyc.

BUT THEN they spit lots and lots of Lore in our faces, Mysteries, Flashbacks, Angst, comfort, ALL IN THE OTHER HALF, and it's TOO MUCH.

Those halfs work on their own, but not togheter. That's the Main problem. And Vivziepop dosen't decide which one want to prevail.

NOW, MASTERMIND

Which of MASTERMIND only has the title

WHY ANDREALPHUS KEEP SAYING THAT HIS SISTER IS HOT?!? SPECIALLY IN A CONTEXT LIKE THAT???!

Stella could have been waaayyy more better for this Episode than him honestly, maybe hiding the fact that Stolas was doing something ilegal SO she can personally report him and make a case as she as the poor Woman who was cheated on(which is not a lie-) and have all the assets of Stolas for HERSELF.

THAT COULD HAVE BEEN MORE INTERESTING THAN THE GAY PEACKOWT. But WELL.

The dementors from Harry Potter go to arrest IMP, and they have a trial where Andre says that "Blitzo force himself on Stolas to take possesion of the book" which was funny for me bc is sounded just like the Stolas Stans🤣

They got Striker! He's fine! But he lies saying that Blitz is the one who wanted Stolas Dead(which is another thing that bothers me, WHY WOULD STRIKER HELP THE GOETIA WITH HOW MUCH HE SAYS TO HATE THEM??) and Blitz tries to defend himself saying that if he wanted Stolas Dead he could do it HIMSELF(good point thoug)

Blitz is sentenced to DEATH and is LIVE STREAMED IN ALL RINGS OF HELL AS A LESSON OF NOT GOING AGAINST THE LAWS OF SATAN.

But then Stolas appear and instead of explaning himself like a normal fucking person he starts to sing. I didn't listen to the Song, to much Cringe in one sit. But Stolas take all of Blitz Blame.

BUT OF COURSE SATAN WOULD'T EXCECUTE A ROYAL BC AND I QUOTE "YOUR LIFE HAS ACTUAL VALUE" ARE TOU FUCKING KIDDING ME--

Instead they take away His assets and legions and passed them to... Andre (which is weird, wasn't supposed to be Via? Andre Say it HIMSELF in a previous Ep. But WELL, i'm searching for LOGIC in this show-) and Stolas has to live like a normal Hell citizen for 100 years.

Bascically just turn him into a normal person.

The good side is that the imps start admiring and hiring IMP services more, Even seeing Blitz as a hero for standing to Satán(and honestly good for him).

Stolas dosen't have anywhere to live anymore so Blitz takes pity and they go to His place, he Even bathes him and gives him clothes.

THIS FACE

Brings me so mucho JOY.

and the fact that Blitz it's giving him SPACE, GIVING HIM A PLACE TO STAY, AND COMFORT AND HIS WORST MOMENT, KNOWING THAT STOLAS WOULD'T DO THE SAME FOR BLITZ(bc he NEVER has done it as far as we are in the series), ITS JUST AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHG-

I'll pretend the episode ends here, thank You very much.

CONCLUSION:

Episode 10 just make Even more visible the HUGE tone problem with the series, Vivzie dosen't Even know what she want in the series, if it is a comedy or a melodrama. And it end up wasting great opportunities to develomp her characters in each case.

Not only that, but that the torment to Blitz has to STOP, SERIOUSLY, the writers love to make him SUFFER but at the same time we don't confirm ANYTHING, it's a stupid attempt to generate "intrige" and to extend this series Even more. At the price of it's own protagonist.

3/10

Episode 11 feels like Fanservice with a Lot of unnecesary drama. And convenience of the script.

WHY are there the other sins?? Why nobody besides Vasago asked about Stolas or quesrioned Andre?? How could't Stolas Know about the whole trial things before?? WHY THEY ARE SINGING??

And of COURSE, the lesson of the day with this Episode is that if You are power class and Disobay, You get EXCECUTED, but if youre a Royal, You just have to pay taxes now. Fucking. GENIUS. VIVZIEPOP.

5/10( only for Stella and the Scenes with IMP)

Overall, just a soap opera i would recomend if You turn off Your brain.

Shares, reblogs and comments are very welcome!

[butterflydm]

rings of power (belated reactions) season 1: eps 1-4

Backstory: I'm a casual Tolkien fan, I would say -- grew up watching the animated movies (literally knew the songs by heart as a kid); read LOTR & the Hobbit but not the Silm; loved both the LOTR and the Hobbit movies. Read a bunch of fanfiction over the years by people who know a lot more about the lore than I do.

I tried watching the new series when the first season came out, but still felt like the pacing was really slow by the end of the second episode, so never got around to watching more.

Found out about the twist at the end of s1 and was intrigued, but not quite enough to give it another watch. Heard more bits and bobs about s2 when it came out, with people who share some of the same tastes in media as me enjoying it (shoutout to @markantonys). Liked and reblogged some interesting giftsets. Finally decided to give it another try.

Below contains vague spoilers for the whole show so far and for LotR

I went ahead and rewatched the first two episodes, and I found myself getting a lot more out of it this time than the first time. I remembered liking the dwarves a lot, and still really enjoyed that plotline, but I was able to get into the other plotlines a lot more as well this time. I actually do feel like I get what the pacing is doing now, even if it didn't work as well for me the first time around -- we start with the single thread of Galadriel's search for Sauron and then keep expanding outward from there, introducing the other important plotlines gradually. It was, perhaps, slightly too gradual for me in my first try at watching!

I've seen through episode four now and am thoroughly enjoying the show, enough that I plan to watch more of it with my mom later today.

Things really do pick up with increasing speed after episode 2. We also get some amazing costuming in Númenor -- the queen in particular has some great outfits, but I also really love the banded dress that Galadriel wears there.

My mom (unspoiled about the show) is fully willing to go with the theory that Adar is Sauron going by another name (as proposed by Arondir's (now deceased) guard-captain).

Now, unlike my mom, I am spoiled about the show and so I am watching Halbrand very carefully. One thing that I do find interesting is that the show starts out with Galadriel narrating that nothing begins as evil, so I do feel like that feeling is meant to extend to Halbrand/Sauron as well. Which is to say, I give him the benefit of the doubt that he actually does want to stay in Númenor and start a new life (whether or not he could actually stick to that once he'd spent several years there... that's more of an open question). I don't think his plan at this time is to return to Middle-Earth and set up shop there.

Both Nori and Galadriel have talked about feeling like there is something important about sticking with their mysterious respective stranger. Both of whom are Maiar (Maia? I did mention that I'm mostly a casual fan of Tolkien, lol). They both just give off the vibe of being important and consequential... to specific people. Not to everyone that they run across.

I really like what they're doing with Halbrand -- they are definitely leaning on his superficial (and false) similarities to Aragorn in LotR and, especially when he was in the prison cell, there were some moments when he really looked like Viggo too. I feel like I've already seen a lot of range from him as a character -- we've seen him being persuasive and diplomatic; we've seen a brutal flash of temper and violence; and we've seen him give Galadriel advice on how to manipulate people; we've also seen him teasing and bantering with Galadriel (very much enjoying their dynamic in these episodes).

Speaking of Galadriel, I am enjoying her a lot. She doesn't stop! Willpower and determination just always constantly turned to a thousand. She decides what's going to happen and then doesn't let anything stand in her way.

I'm glad that we got back to Elrond's storyline in the fourth episode and caught up with Durin and the dwarves. I did spend a lot of time trying to remember if Moria and Khazad-dûm were the same place (yes) and so that means that it may well be these unsafe mithril mining practices that lead to the Balrog waking up and the mountain being abandoned by the dwarves. I don't know the timelines well enough to know for sure. It made sense to me that it was the same place, because of the elf word for 'friend' being the word to open the gates into Moria in LotR.

Though I am fairly well spoiled about certain things about Sauron, I am still missing a lot of the connective tissue about the various plotlines, so I don't know what the blood-drinking sword is going to lead to yet. Except that it means that the mayor (tavern owner?) of the village was a true believer in Sauron even after all these years and has been keeping it. And probably encouraging the rest of his people not to trust the elves.

Super-minor note: I love the costuming for Bronwyn -- the blue dress with the reddish boots. It really pops against all the other characters in her storyline and she's always easy to spot. Appreciate that!

There really is a heartbreaking contrast between the lives of the people of Númenor and the people of the Southlands.

What are the Valar trying to do in all this? Was it the Valar who made the petals fall or was Halbrand/Sauron trying to help Galadriel out? He seems to enjoy... how did he put it? Her galloping around full-speed like a colt? Something like that, lol. So he might have wanted to give her a chance to get what she wanted from the queen. Playing multiple sides against each other seems to come pretty naturally to him.

We are seeing that ambition is being set up to lead to doom already in Middle-Earth, even without Sauron's direct presence -- Celebrimbor explicitly wants to create objects of power, not just objects of beauty. Adar is trying to find that blood-drinking hilt and is leading the Orcs to some kind of terror (he's already enslaving people in his search). And the dwarves have been mining in the dangerous old mines because they found a vein of mithril there.

Gil-galad tried to send Galadriel away to Valinor because he foresaw that her continued hunt for Sauron might end up bringing his danger back to the forefront and, from what I know (spoiler-wise) that ends up being true (in fairness, she did find Sauron! Even if she doesn't know it yet! And he will get defeated. You know. Eventually.)

Other things of note: I love Disa! Disa is wonderful. Disa-Durin-Elrond could make for a very nice polycule. What if Elrond had made it to their wedding and there hadn't been any estrangement! But I really like that we saw some consequences for long elven lifespans and how it can affect their relationships with people who don't live as long.

I like the angsty young teens well enough, though Theo is definitely in the roughest situation out of any of them (see: the Southlands kinda sucking as a place to live). Definitely perked up when I heard Elendil and Isildur's names!

I'm really curious about whether or not the isle of Númenor turning against the elves is all based on them being more insular and isolationist or if there's something else at work. That the old king was trying to return to the ancient elven ways because of a vision in a palantir... very curious where that vision is coming from. Galadriel's arrival being tied to the breaking of the sea wall and the destruction of the city. I... don't know my Middle-Earth history enough to say for certain, but I suspect Sauron is gonna be involved in that. Because it's Sauron.

Arondir is our most plainly heroic character overall, I'd say (Galadriel is driven by vengence; Arondir's focus has been on trying to save and protect) and he is very dreamy. I do like that we have these PoVs in the Southlands and what's going on there, so we see that Galadriel is justified in feeling like there is still evil to fight.

Having a lot of fun with this. Glad I gave it a second chance.

[mixterglacia]

CONTENT WARING: Vivziepop/Stolitz Critical below the cut.

TL;DR- This episode was inconsistent to put it politely. I will not continue such niceties below the cut. You've been warned.

I'm going to start with the good. The jokes with Satan and his...therapist?? are delightful, and considering how awful this episode was, I will take it.

The bit where the rest of the imps are tormenting Stolas felt so good, but I'm aware we're meant to sympathize with poor wittle owl boi can do no wrong uwu. So that missed by a mile.

While it wasn't consistent, this episode had some stunning animation. Kudos to the team, especially those working on the shot where Stolas is lifting his cape in the song. That and the slow turns were beautiful.

Alright let's rip into this.

If the second half of this episode existed in a vacuum, it might have hit its mark. But it doesn't. This is TOTAL tonal whiplash. Completely unearned and obnoxious. Once again, we have the biggest helluverse problem:

I don't want to put in the effort to earn my drama. I am relying on the fandom to fill in the blanks so they cry.

The song is horrendously demeaning and bad. He's belittling him because he's in a place where Blitz can't fight back. You can't convince me that I should go from the tone at the start of the song to the end.

GOD i hate these two. there is nothing appealing left. They are a hollow, pathetic shell of what we were promised. this is "messy" in the way a dumpster is. This isn't some artsy spill of candy. This is trash with glitter poured all over it.

Suddenly we're getting Blitz's "truwe" feelings all dumped on us in the span of a single musical number. This is TERRIBLE. You have been so stingy with any level of development on his end that this feels like a car getting t-boned at an intersection. I guess "self indulgent" is code for "I didn't want to put in effort, i just wanted my OTP." Which is fine in a fandom sense, but this is a SHOW. You have to actually make us believe they feel like that. You have FAILED, and you're still trying to give yourself the prize? Man, you are deluded.

This was total dogshit. This was a rushed attempt to get Stolas in Blitz's house/bed. This was nothing short of MORE woobification of this dumbass owl. HE DID THIS TO HIMSELF. IF ANYTHING, THIS IS A SLAP ON THE WRIST.

He's a privileged piece of shit that is so babied by the writers that even his PUNISHMENT is nothing. So he's banished, but only for a hundred years, which is nothing to an immortal. If you're trying to bring him down to be on par with the imps, you've failed.

He's still going to get his job back in the future. He's still going to have money in the future. He's still going to have power in the future. If anything, you should have had the punishment make him be an imp for those years.

But no. You're so obsessed with him that you've centered the whole plot around HIM. Not I.M.P, not Blitz.

HIM.

This show has become so derailed at this point. Each episode is (somewhat) fine on their own, but you can't sit there and tell me they have any level of consistency. I keep thinking they're going to hit their stride, and they keep failing to do so. This is pathetic.

I'm very close to giving up on this series. Even analyzing it has become a chore. You aren't fun to watch, or make fun of. You're just mediocre.

I so desperately want these shows to have better writing. I want them to have quality and be successful at the same time. But currently we only have the latter and I fear that will wane in time if Vivienne doesn't get her head out of her ass and put in the effort I know her to be capable of. You can't keep coasting off of your pilot fans forever. I implore you to have someone work on the tone and consistency of the helluverse in the future.

Somehow Helluva makes Hotel look like high art, and that's a shame. When it was only the pilots, I truly adored Helluva. It had wonderful characters and great humor.

But here we are.

[teambuddie]

when i started to watch 911 i already liked buddie, but i wanted to give b*ckt*mmy a chance, i really did, but honestly, i just couldn't and i'm gonna explain why.

1. eddie was haunting the narrative.

after watching 6 seasons of buck dating women i'm not gonna lie i was pretty excited to see him flirt with tummy because yay bisexual buck!!! and the very first scene i was filled with joy until... eddie was in every corner of the relationship. i know, the writers were using buddie as a diversion, they wanted to surprise us that hey he was jealous of tummy not eddie! but then they kept eddie haunting the narrative through the whole relationship. every bt scene eddie was there or was mentioned and obviously the writers did that on purpose, because we're supposed to keep thinking about eddie, we're supposed to know buck is still thinking about eddie even if he's dating someone else. to me the writers made bt impossible to exist separated from eddie and buddie and that made it impossible to me to truly give bt a chance even if i was already biased.

2. tummy is BORING.

look, i was so happy buck was gonna date a man and figure out his sexuality, i really was, but holy shit tummy made it almost unbearable to watch some scenes. how can a man be so boring??? he has zero personality, zero charm, zero everything. every LI from both buck and eddie had at least SOMETHING going on, you know? even natalia and ana had more personality than tummy and that's a bit insane like how a character who showed up for like 5 episodes is more well developed and interesting than you?? and again, to me the writers did that deliberately, they wanted us to feel like something was missing, they didn't want us to get attached to tummy because he wasn't going to be a constant, he was a plot device and he was treated as such. no personality, no complexities, nothing, a blank state.

3. the acting.

this is probably gonna sound mean, but i have to be honest. one of the things that made it even more impossible to enjoy bt was l*u's acting. imo 911 has fantastic acting, like ANGELA BASSETT is on the show, the bar is high guys! even side characters act really well throughout the show and yeah sometimes there is overacting, but mostly is really good and expressive. and then there's l*u... he's so stale, so unexpressive, so bland is like watching a sixth grader acting on a broadway production (but a sixth grader would do a better job probably). i can't take tummy seriously as a character because not only is he boring but i don't feel like watching a "real" character, just a person pretending to be a character and i know that's what acting is but good acting makes you forget that what you're watching is fiction and makes you feel for the characters. l*u's acting achieves none of that.

4. b*ckt*mmies.

i understand when b*ckt*mmies say they can't enjoy buddie bc of the fandom, i do bc they just pushed me even further away from bt. the way they reacted to the break up was... something. some of them had valid reasons to be upset and ofc they were gonna be emotional about their ship breaking up, but the whole "this is homophobic/biphobic" discourse was too much. first they decide to simply forget michael was also an elder gay and say that bt was the only gay couple that showed someone older can be happy... like, are you serious???? "oh but michael wasn't a main character" but his storyline was very well developed and it just as a representation as bt. even better than bt bc no one was saying how he wants the other to have daddy issues (that irked me so much god WHY WOULD HE SAY THAT????). calling ostark biphobic bc he said he wants buck to sleep around again??? as if he said that bc he's bi when it's obvious he said buck should sleep around bc he's buck. ostark showed nothing but support to bi buck and he was always so excited about the storyline, but since he wasn't too onboard with bt and said he'd like for his character to sleep around a bit suddenly he's biphobic???? the way they decided to interpret what tummy said as him saying buck isn't sure of what he wants when it's clear he meant that buck should explore more his sexuality not to be sure but because that's what he probably did and he knows it's healthy and normal to get with new people to figure out what you like and what you want. nothing about the breakup and what ostark/tim said was prejudiced and while i understand feeling hurt and interpreting some stuff with a negative light, i don't think they were being fair to the writing and the crew.

maybe i'm biased bc buddie was already my ship even before i watched 911, but honestly i think if they wanted us to root for bt they'd make their relationship more compelling, they'd give tummy more personality, they'd not make eddie haunt the narrative, but that's not what they did and you may think that's "unfair" to bt and tummy, but honestly it was a warning sign b*ckt*mmies ignored... the sign that said: "this is not meant to be". when tummy called buck evan it wasn't without a deeper meaning, it showed us he was the odd one out, it showed us he didn't belong. and so, he's gone.

[eldaryasharbinger]

One thing I miss the most in NG are all the other kinds of illustrations we could get from episodes that weren't necessarily our MC with the LI's, so to honor that here's some of my favorites (That I've personally unlocked) (and some more personal feelings about the NG story cause I ended up sharing some thoughts 😭🙏🏻)

I have a HUGE attachment to this specific one as it was the first event illustration I ever got in MCL since I had started playing a week before it (it's from 2015,,) And some of the characters (such as Lety/Peggy etc) I didn't even know 😭🙏🏻

I'd add more but it doesn't let me >:[

Like idk some of these are from events, but I really miss when the illustrations we got were a way to show more of the story, rather than the special moment with each LI, like a visual proper representation of the scenes, and not just "romantic" moments etc :(

I also don't really love the lack of side characters in NG

I like that we get cameos from previous characters, but I wish we had much more than that, so far the only ones are our family, Elenda, Brune, Danica and that other guy

And Devon's siblings if we want to count them as well ig

But we literally don't interact that much with anyone else :(

In HSL, we had a TON of classmates, the professors etc and in eldarya as well, we had all the other supporting characters (shout-out to my bestie Jamon)

In NG it's always just the LI's, and you don't get to interact with all of them sometimes, just a couple, like wth 😭🙏🏻 (I never get to interact with Devon and Roy for example, I barely know them)

I genuinely like the characters, but the writing and overall building is so bad, I wish they just made a whole new town like Amoris instead of staying there and repeating old stuff, I wish it was all much more brand new, than somewhat new

But at the end of the day I love my oc, I like all the LI's and as far as it goes for the story, I'm "fine", with it, as I tend to drag the canon events and make more out of them myself anyways (MY personal version of the story has much more details to it, but when I think about what I've made up and what is actually real... well... we don't have as much ig, and when I say that I like new gen I guess what I'm actually referring to is to the things I've created from it. I'm starting to understand those who've lost interest in the story now, although I still roll with it)

[automaticdata]

This could just be me having a bad memory of the previous seasons or something, but I've been noticing how a lot of the skill Scott has staying alive in the Life series is mainly through reputation.

(Under a cut because it got very long. Also, spoilers for session 7.)

Like, there were multiple times when hostile yellow or reds decided not to go after Scott because he was Scott, so they assumed they'd fail. When he knew he'd be a target, he sacrificed himself to Pearl at the end of the session. Even when he gets killed by a trap or direct PVP, people express surprise and sometimes just attribute it to luck. Scott himself seemed to blame himself for Mumbo being able to trap him and said he needed to be more vigilant/paranoid.

And this last session he just ... idk. Pearl was so shocked that Scar killed Scott, and even said "oh you must have done it when he was a chicken," but Scott revealed himself to the hostile red. Scar had already tried to chase Scott down and killed wildlife in an attempt to kill him, and he had just seen Scar punt Martyn off the mountain. Him speaking up there was very unwise.

Then he gets killed by the man who has been after him for multiple seasons, by a very simple trap. Logically, he should have known the second Joel turned yellow, he'd go back to hunting down Scott, but he still got caught in Joel's trap.

So here's my thought: Scott isn't as skilled as people think he is. He's very perceptive of traps , leading to a lot of failed traps which is what people remember. When he gets caught in a trap, he puts the blame on himself rather than the skill of the trapper. His perception and his reputation are his two biggest skills.

And in this session, he got overconfident. He thought his reputation would be enough, but he was faced with two people who don't care about his reputation - Scar and Joel.

With Joel, Scott is so used to him becoming "unhinged" early on and gunning for Scott that I think Joel's new approach this season completely caught Scott off-guard. Joel was the last green, and so he was the last person to get permission to kill. Scott had six and a half episodes of Joel not gunning for him, where Joel was doing extremely well. Even though Scott is well-aware of his rivalry with Joel and was even commenting about it on a recent live stream (one of the Christmas SMP streams), it just didn't click in his head that Joel would be hostile once he wasn't green any more. So he let his guard down, let his perception lapse and counted too much on his reputation to protect him.

Scar is someone I'd argue that Scott frequently underestimates, even dating back to Third Life. Scar got lumped in with Jimmy in his mind as "bumbling husbands who need to be protected," and he never really left that mindset. He and Scar weren't facing off with each other in Last, Double, or Limited Life, so Scar wasn't really on his radar as a threat. In Secret Life, he declared that if Scar and Jimmy teamed up the two of them would be out of the series before it even started, again putting Scar's skill level on par with Jimmy's, which Scott doesn't have a high opinion of. Even after the series ended with Scar as the winner, Scott credited himself for Scar's win and Jimmy not being out first because he broke up the "canon event" of them allying with each other.

But here's the thing: Scar is skilled. Scar came second in Third Life, despite being the first red name. He was responsible for three final kills in that season, and all four of his kills that season were PVP. Despite having no allies in Last Life, Scar still got to ninth place, and half of his lives lost were him giving them to other people. Scar was part of the last green pair in Double Life. Scar won Secret Life, despite not having any permanent allies. As Cleo pointed out on Hermitcraft, while people joke that he isn't, Scar is actually good at the game.

As I wrote that, it occurred to me that in terms of reputation, Scar and Scott are polar opposites. Scar's reputation is that of being inept, being caught in death loops, dying in silly ways, and a lot of the time Scar doesn't care. He even says he isn't good at the game and doesn't seem too bothered by it. Meanwhile, Scott has a carefully cultivated reputation of being highly skilled, and anytime that reputation is breached he brushes it off as him getting careless, not a lack of skill. In seasons where gifting lives is possible, he often will let people kill him so they have more lives/time, but some of those deaths also serve the purpose of taking a target off of his back, like Pearl in Wild Life or one of his deaths to Scar in Limited Life. It also serves to cultivate his reputation even more; Scott doesn't get killed, you see, he sacrifices himself.

(He also does stuff like trying to get Jimmy to kill Tango first so Scott can be the last green (Scott's words, not mine) and brush off Martyn betraying him as "I wouldn't have it any other way".)

But would we still be saying Scott is as skilled and untouchable if he didn't give those lives away and they were taken instead?

"But he wouldn't have been killed --"

Are you sure about that? How many times in the Life series has Scott gone out of his way to avoid being targeted, avoid PVP, and instead rely on the social game? How many times have people chosen not to go for Scott because of his reputation alone?

Like, I'm not saying this is bad, per se. But I do think it's a very precarious strategy. Once other Lifers realize Scott's reputation is his biggest asset, that alone makes his reputation less powerful. It's also not a very long-term strategy, because there are people like Joel and Scar who don't care about his reputation, and once the cracks in the reputation start to appear ...

I think that's when things will get really interesting.

[jungledboy]

i don't want to get political on this account because i prefer to keep it fun and gay but somebody decided to post this and it made me mad. please excuse me this one time

there is no right answer but you know what you're doing when you post stuff like this to farm for engagement. obviously showing the actual footage wasn't the best idea in the world and i think anybody with a working brain knows why showing backstage footage of a fight between a guy (the problem) who's been fired for over half a year for being a manchild and a guy (the victim) they're looking to push isn't a fantastic idea on paper. even though he's like double jack's age, that manchild had a longer more durable career and a larger fanbase so nobody was ever going to turn on him even if he was in the wrong. HOWEVER this gave jack the platform he needed to flourish and therefore it served its purpose regardless of the footage itself

around this time and after all in 2023, a lot of people were calling for jack to be fired and to quit wrestling as a whole, going as far as to send threats to his family; there are still threads with hundreds of comments on reddit full of this and even one post that mentions wanting to destroy his fathers grave. it wasn't going to matter if they showed the footage or not

my problem is the people acting like this footage is what caused them to turn on him. anybody who's been a fan of his long enough knows that people had a problem with him because he mentioned he didn't really like cutting promos due to the fact he has anxiety and "jim cornette" (like he's a reliable fucking source for anything) said he had an attitude problem which quite literally was never proven. there's an episode of dynamite where he's really trying to cut a serious promo as the crowd does stupid what chants and some asshole in the crowd cuts him off mid-promo. people have been on his neck for years and complaining about everything he does since he started growing as a star. and this was all BEFORE 2023

all i'm saying is that jack is bound to be a star and is only getting better day by day. he'll climb his way to the top in no time and i hope everyone who ever has doubted him or makes fun of him for being assaulted backstage decides to stay on their side