#and i don'T even have to OPEN the original post

[chornayadrakoshig]

I'm going to add another perspective as a person from a different side of fandom.

One of my navite languages is Russian so most of my time reading and posting fanfiction was spent on Ficbook. The thing is, unlike ao3, that site is monolingual (recently they tried expanding by creating separate sites for English, Spanish, and Portuguese I believe, but they aren't well known). And while there are a lot of native Russian speakers outside of Russia (like me), most of their user base is in Russia.

And the thing is... They are for profit site. They have ads (increasingly more and more over the years). They have "gift" system where you can pay real money to send someone a digital sticker (that back in the day was original illustration at least - now they are heavy on AI-generated shit), and the site gets all that money. They have paid features (e.g. free accounts can only download 10 fics per day and paid accounts can download 100). Some users suggested to move site to donation-based system (or another tier of paid accounts where you'll remove ads in exchange of donations without getting other paid features - ppl wanted to support the site but didn't want paid covers and promo and stats and shit). The site refused, saying that project won't survive on donations, it's not a realistic system (which might be true since they are for-profit and they have paid developers on stuff, but still). So, they kept relying on ad revenue and paid accounts.

And because of that they were trying to walk a thin line of "don't be banned by Russian government" for years. Technically, they moved their servers to EU long time ago (though as far as I know they still hire developers in Russia). But they rely on ads traffic and paid users and ban would mean they lose a big chunk of it simply because Russia is cracking down on vpns and there is some laws around putting ads on banned sites which cuts out actually relevant companies who could've advertise there and bring more clicks and more revenue.

After annexation of Crimea the site added a rule forbidding to write fanworks about "recent world tragedies and political conflicts" with a limit of "6 month after the situation stabilised". However many people noticed that the thing that actively gets blocked is anything pro-Ukrainian related to Russia-Ukraine war, for example a work where author supported Ukraine and urged russian ppl to protest in his author's notes, not in the body of work.

While they don't have it written in their rules, the site deleted multiple works with graphic depiction of suicide because Russian government bans anything beyond brief mention.

And in the recent years, when Russia introduced stricter laws about "gay propaganda", the site added rules about tagging: the category and all additional tags have to be correct, if you miss a warning or mods decide your off-hand mention of lesbian couple is too much for "mentions of f/f relationships" tag, your work can be forcefully edited or in most cases just deleted. No warning, no emailed copy. If you don't have a backup elsewhere, you're fucked.

At one point they considered creating "Slashbook" and basically moving all queer works off the main site into its own reservation, so in case they'll get a ban, it won't affect the main site. They even started accepting donations for that but soon quietly ditched the idea and started making an english fic site.

A year ago, when Russia decided to ban the site completely - for many repeated violations of "gay propaganda" laws they tried to resolve it... by soft-blocking queer works themselves, so a user located in Russia opening a fandom tag will see "this work is not available in your country" placeholder on anything with m/m, f/f ships, trans characters and some kinky tags. The placeholder was non-clickable, didn't have link to work or the author. The authors from the area would be able to post the work but most users won't see it. And some smaller russian fanfiction sites like fanfics.me of fanficus.com were able to get away with it - but Russia refused to unblock Ficbook and basically ignored them since. yay.

So. The site dependent on ads and profit will think about ads and profit first, their users second (if at all).

So, the other day, when I was discussing AO3's policy on solicitation, a tumblr user came at me saying that AO3's "no monetization/solicitation" rules were "bullshit" because nexus mods allows fan created mods to get paid.

Look at me.

Look at me right now.

AO3 protects you.

AO3 protects you and your works. 

It protects your works from copyright strikes and DCMA takedowns.

It protects your work from advertisers.

It protects your work from overzealous legal challenges.

It protects your right to post adult content.

AO3 is non-profit and AO3 will never try to use you or your work to make a profit for themselves and AO3 will go to bat for you if someone tries to legally challenge you or your works.

Please respect AO3 and its mission.

[butyoudidthis4what]

Congrats on 1k!!!

Frothing at the mouth for "I'm taking care of you now." And/Or "Let's get you in the shower and we'll take it from there." With Jack Abbot.

Thank you so much! I'm happy to have you here with me and thank you for sending in this prompt! ♥️ I went with "I'm taking care of you now" since I did the shower line with Jack in Tepid and this is a little follow on. It also involves showering but not quite that exact line! I hope you enjoy and it's okay!

I didn't originally think this is where the "I'm taking care of you now" prompt would go, but when I got an ask about whether I had something in mind where Jack got sick after taking care of Reader in Tepid, I felt the "now" in the prompt made it a good fit for doing just that!

Lukewarm (or Tepid Part 2)

Jack Abbot x F!Reader

1.6k || All my content is 18+ MDNI || CW: None, really. General cold/flu discussion. Some sadness about getting Jack sick. Use of Jackie because it's my favorite and I've decided to embrace it. 😂 Fluff. No use of y/n or related.

Summary: Jack gets sick after taking care of you.

AN: Another fluffy sick fic but this time Jack is sick! I hope it's okay, for some reason I really don't like this but can't say why and was convinced to post.

“You know, if I didn’t feel so fucking awful about it I would absolutely be saying I told you so.”

You’re not quite completely over the flu that has had Jack taking care of you the last two days but you are now doing considerably better than he is. Because, like you were worried about, he did in fact get it from you. You knew the second you woke up to Jack’s sweat-dampened skin and sheets. 

He’s still incredibly sleepy, having just been woken up by your kisses to his face, and you’re sure he’s groggy from the flu. “I think you just did.” His voice is already pretty raw.

You run a hand through his sweat slicked curls but keep your body away from his as much as possible so your body heat doesn’t make him feel even hotter. “You know I feel awful for giving it to you,” you murmur.

Jack opens his eyes and blinks for a couple of seconds until you come into focus. “I do. But it’s not your fault. It just happens when you live together and take care of the person you love.” He gives you a tired but genuine smile.

You don’t like seeing Jack sick and in pain. He’s had too much pain in his life already, he shouldn’t have to endure any more. “Yeah,” you shrug, “but it could have been avoided if you had avoided me and let me just take care of myself.”

He gives you a look. “And if I had it first you would’ve not taken care of me to avoid the risk of getting sick?”

“No,” you admit. “But that’s different.” 

“Oh I can’t wait to hear this explanation,” Jack mutters.

“It doesn’t matter if I got sick and was miserable. It matters greatly if you are.” You truly believe it too.

Jack just stares at you for a couple of seconds, eyes glassy and bloodshot from the flu. “I genuinely don’t even know what to say to that bullshit.” He starts to cough and winces at the pain it flares in his throat. He feels awful knowing this is how miserable you felt. And he hates that you think you deserve to be miserable and how guilty he knows you’re feeling. Jack looks at you with soft eyes. “It matters just as much. It matters to me.”

Even with the significantly darkened eye bags he’s still unfairly handsome. You try not to let your guilt and sadness come through too much because he’ll start focusing on taking care of you and your mental health and not getting better and letting you take care of him. 

So you move on. “I’m going to get you some water and meds, okay? Do you want a zofran?”

“Probably, yeah. The nausea isn’t bad but I’d like to keep it that way and not have the meds hit my stomach and immediately throw them up.” Jack forces himself to sit up and groans. “God the body aches, you weren’t kidding about feeling like you’d been hit by a semi.” 

“Yeah, I’m sorry Baby. Hopefully it’ll pass quickly for you and the pain meds will help. I’ll be right back, okay?” You lean in and give his forehead a kiss before sliding out of bed. 

You head to the bathroom and grab the same combo of meds Jack had been giving you the last two days. With you taking them and now Jack, you’re going to need more soon. You know he’d be more than fine but you don’t really want to leave him here alone. You head to the kitchen and grab some water, before making your way back to the bedroom.

“I’m texting Robby asking him to bring more meds and to let him know you won’t be at work tomorrow,” you tell Jack as you walk to his side of the bed and give him the zofran to put under his tongue first. 

“Don’t.” He shakes his head and then winces at the movement. “I’m sure I’ll be fine to go to work tomorrow.”

It’s your turn to give him a look. “I’m pretending I didn’t hear that.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Not happening, Jack.” You put the meds in his palm when he holds it out for you, give him the water in his other hand. “I’m taking care of you now, okay?” You rest your hands on his bare chest and rub soothingly. “And part of that with you is preventing you from pushing yourself and making yourself worse or prolonging how long you’re sick.”

Jack sets the water back down before looking back to you. “You don’t have to. I’m a big boy, can take care of myself. And you’re not even completely better yourself. I should still be taking care of you.” 

You sigh and shake your head at him, playfully enough for him to know there’s nothing serious behind it. “I’m much better, more than well enough to care for you. And I distinctly recall saying that if you got sick from me I was going to take care of you and didn’t want any pushback and you agreeing to that.” 

“You weren’t supposed to remember that conversation.” He smiles at you and tilts his head.

“Well I do.” You move your hands to his face and use your fingertips to gently massage his inflamed sinuses. He groans softly in relief. 

“Thank you,” he mumbles as his eyes flutter closed and he basks in the relief your fingers are providing. He thinks back to the first day you were sick. “There’s going to be a delay in making that wink up to you.”

You laugh softly. “I’m really not worried about that right now, Baby. I’m worried about getting you feeling better.”

He hums in acknowledgment. “I’m mad I could have been kissing you on the lips this whole time.”

You laugh softly. “Is that your way of asking for a kiss?”

Jack smiles at you. It’s still a bit weak and his eyes betray just how tired and shitty he’s feeling but they also show how excited he is at the prospect of getting to kiss you again. 

You move your hands to cup his face and then lean in, let him take all the kisses he wants from you. When he’s done for now he rests his forehead on yours. “You’ve definitely got the same fever.” You frown a little, hate that he got it from you so much you could scream. “I’ll take your temp in a minute.”

Jack shrugs in a don’t worry about it way. It doesn’t work. You’ll still be taking his temperature in a minute. “I’m sorry for getting you and the sheets sweaty,” he murmurs as he pulls his forehead from yours.

“You have nothing to apologize for.” You smile at him and push a few curls stuck to his forehead back. “We should get you into a lukewarm shower before you get the chills, though. It’ll be far more enjoyable for you I think.”

Jack whines. He’s slowly letting himself have this and lean into it. Being sick and miserable and getting taken care of. He hasn’t had that for a long, long time. And it’s not just that you take care of him, you enjoy it, you love it. He knows it makes you feel good.  “I’ll be fine here.”

“Feeling cleaner will make you feel at least a little better.” You tilt your head as your smile becomes knowing as you repeat his words to you back to him. “It did for me. It made me feel a lot better. I’ll change the sheets and then once you’re showered we’ll come back to bed, okay? And if you’re feeling cooler and up to it you can snuggle and cuddle up to me however you want.”

“I might get you and the sheets all sweaty again.” He suddenly gets why you felt so bad and were so worried about it. 

You give him a little smirk. “Good, I love it when you get me and the sheets all sweaty. Not for this reason but, you know. I don’t mind.”

He groans but there’s a laugh to it. “Don’t make me think about the sex I can’t have with you, cruel woman.” 

“I’ll make it up to you once you’re feeling better, I promise.” 

You help Jack get in the shower after you take his temperature, and then like he did for you, you change the sheets and meet him back in the shower to help him. He’s not as hot once you get him back in bed, isn’t sweating anymore. Not that you would care if he was, you’re just glad that he’s cooled down enough to not be. You’re also glad the chills haven’t hit him yet and are hoping they never will. 

And as promised you let him snuggle up to you however he wants which ends up being both of you naked and Jack laying nearly completely on top of you, his head resting on your chest with half of his torso on your body, leg and arm thrown over you. It’s adorable how quickly he starts to fall asleep on you. 

“You gonna be okay?” His voice is a little slurred with sleep.

You start to run a hand through his wet curls, scratch at and massage his scalp a little. “I’m going to be just fine, my love.”  

He hums in appreciation, forces out a few more words. “Wake me if you need me.” “I will. And if you wake up and need something and I’ve dozed off you wake me, okay?” You don’t expect much of, if any, answer from him. Your hands in his hair in bed while cuddled together always knocks him out fast, but especially now when he’s sick.

“Mhm,” he hums.

You smile to yourself. His hum is adorable and makes your heart ache with how much you love him. So even though you know he’s already asleep on you, you still tell him. “Love you, Jackie.”

I hope it was alright and enjoyable! Thank you so much for reading! Your support and your interactions mean the world to me! ♥️

I'm not using my complete Jack tag lists on the drabbles, so if you're on that list and didn't get tagged that's why!

Want more Jack? Check out my masterlist here.

Interact with this post if you'd like to join my Jack tag list, this post if you'd like to join my Robby tag list, and this post if you'd like to join my Andrew Pope Cody tag list! (Each tag list is a separate post!)

Divider by @saradika-graphics.

[shutupineedtothink]

No no no no you don't get it Suzanne did not close the door on Hayffie in SotR, she threw the door wide open for the movie.

Haymitch and Effie having some kind of romantic relationship is not canon in the books. It just isn't. It's subtext at best. Even the fact that they could be friends is pretty subtext. But Haymitch and Effie having some kind of romantic-friendship-situationship-relationship in the movies is like 97% canon. It's right in front of our eyeballs. Woody Harrelson and Elizabeth Banks were 10 toes down for that ship and we all knew it. (Bless them)

SotR provides ample material to support the beginnings of this relationship in the film, even alongside Haymitch and Lenore Dove. The makeup box scene? Are you kidding me? The woman could not have written a better meet cute for the two of them to play out on screen. Her flying in to his launch room at the last minute to fix his clothes and the locking eyes moment before he goes up into the arena? Movie magic if I ever saw it. I can already picture how they would shoot it to emphasize their connection (whether either of them likes it or not at this point).

Post games theyre suddenly the only relationship of any kind left standing once everyone else Haymitch cares about dies or he pushes them away. She's literally the only one left that means anything, that shows him any kindness, even as short-lived as their relationship is at this point. That makes them the emotional anchor for the end of the film. It’s unlikely but they could even show us moments from the 24 years they worked together since that’s canon now and still insane to me. (Suzanne gave them so much history!!! How is anyone not seeing this is a goldmine?)

Finally for the epilogue, it's written in such a way that you could easily tweak it to show Haymitch and his geese, and Effie somehow enters the scene. In my head, she’s visiting him since I don’t think they would ever have the kind of relationship where they’d live together all the time. At first I thought maybe they talk about the geese and how they mate for life oh wait no they don’t, but then I thought maybe Effie just says something along the lines of I heard you told them your story. Haymitch- yeah. Effie- Was I in it? Haymitch- of course you were. Etc etc. I don’t have it all figured out but the point being there’s a real opportunity here to make this both of their origin stories because of how their roles in the films play out.

There’s almost an equal opportunity here to shine the light on Effie’s background and motivations, and how she was basically put in her role as escort by accident (I’m still not over this) almost just as much as Haymitch was chosen against his will for the games.

But anyway, back to my original point. Do I think Suzanne wrote the book with the movie in mind? Maybe not, but she knows how this works by now. And she knows the differences between her Haymitch and Effie and the films’ Haymitch and Effie. Her version of the story does not include Hayffie in a straightforward way, but that doesn’t mean the films have to follow that to the letter. In fact, they’ve already deviated far from it in the original trilogy by keeping Effie in District 13 for Mockingjay, the KISS, etc.

As I’ve said a million times before, this is how adaptation should work at its finest. Giving the opportunity to tell a slightly different story based on the context and opportunities given by the adaptation medium. In this case, that involves 3 previous films that set up these characters and the actors’ choosing to make subtext text. All the ingredients are there. I’m so intrigued to see how they get put together.

[radiohao]

bro, i think i love u

synopsis: sion as your brother's best friend

warnings: mentions of food

wc: 1.3k

—

sion has been a part of your life for longer than you remember. he became best friends with your older brother in grade school and have been inseparable since. it feels as if your parents adopted him, as he walks in unannounced when he's bored (even when your brother isn't home), eats all your snacks, and picks you up from class. it may be annoying at times because one brother is already more than enough, but with sion, it's familiar. it's secure and warm.

you can't lie; you always thought he was good looking. but you had always assumed it was just a passing crush, a feeling that will leave with the seasons. you were incredibly mistaken when sion came back after furthering his education abroad. he had gotten a job offer in your hometown, and apparently he took the opportunity without hesitation.

it was a solemn day in your house, your younger siblings all at school while you sat on the couch, mindlessly scrolling through your feed. the door bursts open and you don't think to look at who entered, assuming it was your brother arriving from the gym. a deep voice rings through the home.

"guess who's home?"

you shoot up from your spot on the couch and whip your head to the voice's origin. you find yourself staring straight into oh sion's eyes. he dyed his hair back to a jet black after being blonde, as you've seen on his posts. he's wearing an acid-washed dark gray shirt, paired with some loose black pants. a silver dog tag hangs from his neck, and his face seems to have been chiseled down to perfection. this is far from the sion you remember when he was last year. you gulp nervously, blinking blankly at him.

he smiles at you gently, running a hand through his hair. "hey, y/n!" you stand up and slowly walk to his place in the doorway. "oh sion?" you say, almost like you're in denial he's here. sion laughs and wraps his arms around you, bringing you in for a hug. "it's been so long. i missed you guys." you're nuzzled into his shoulder, still frozen in shock. the smell of his cologne fills your senses, and you find yourself hugging him back with a smile adorning your face. he pulls back and you finally get a good look at sion up close. he looks so good now, you think.

the smile drops from his face as he looks at you intently with an unreadable expression. the house goes silent once more, just you and sion looking into each other's eyes, his hands lightly on your waist and yours around his neck. there are no words spoken, yet you're both thinking the same thing.

what is this feeling?

over the next few weeks, sion blends back into your life like he never left in the first place. he walks in once again, unannounced, drinks all the diet coke you bought the week prior, and picks you up from work just like he used to. except things are different now. you've both grown up, and neither of you are kids anymore. and since the day sion came back, there's been this thick tension clouding you both. it's only one night that you face the hard truth; that maybe you've loved sion all this time.

you wake up in a cold sweat. the sleeves of your cardigan have imprinted red marks into your cheek, your clothes are scattered on the floor, and it's pitch black aside from the light illuminating from the door being cracked open. you scramble for your phone, checking the time. 1:29AM. you grumble and sit up, rubbing your eyes.

you curse yourself for falling asleep right after the dinner with your friends, groaning at your lack of willpower to not even change out of your jeans. you decide to ignore the time and go about your night routine as usual, taking a shower and cleaning your room. it may be late, but it's better than going to sleep in outside clothes. you tread to the kitchen, opening the fridge with a grumbling stomach.

to fulfill your cravings, you reheat the leftover pork belly from last night and find some fried rice, from which you assume sion brought home. as you close the refrigerator door, you turn to see oh sion leaning against it, a small smirk on his face. you scream, and he jumps back a little at your outburst. "oh my fu- what is wrong with you?! why are you still awake?" you quietly yell, landing a smack to his chest. his eyes shut close as he winces, chuckling, "i got thirsty! i was just waiting my turn. why are you still awake?"

"i woke up all crusty and gross."

"you always wake up crusty," he says. you glare at him.

"whatever- anyway, i didn't know you were sleeping over tonight."

"wasn't supposed to, but i changed my mind. happy to see me?"

"no, not really." you roll your eyes and make your way to the living room, taking a seat on the couch. sion smiles, following you. he lifts your ankles up and sits, placing your legs on his lap. he's done that since middle school, you think. the room goes silent aside from the bustling of the tv show. you don't know what to say. but sion does. "you still do that?"

you furrow your brows. "do what?"

"sit sideways on the couch. you always did that before. it's like you're allergic to sitting properly. but i guess some things never change, like how you always use a wooden spoon because you hate the sound of the metal clanking against your teeth. oh! or how you always change out of your outside clothes no matter how late it is. i remember when this one time when you were a sophomore-"

his words fade out into the background as you watch sion ramble. you realize he knows you, maybe even better than you know yourself. and you think that you probably know him just as well. you know he always knocks 4 times before entering your room, you know he never orders water at restaurants and gets coffee instead, and you know he always carries two sticks of gum in his pocket.

oh god, you think. your lives have been intertwined for years now. and as you sit here on the couch, legs intertwined as well, you accept it. you've always loved sion. you love him in the way he comes to your house unannounced, seemingly at the most fitting times, like when you're feeling down or stressed. you love him in the way he eats all your snacks and drinks all your diet coke but apologizes and buys you twice as much the next day. you love him in the way he picks you up from work and you two get takeout, taking the long way home whilst screaming to bruno mars songs. the realization you've been avoiding all these years hits you like a bus, in the quiet of the night. you realize that he's always loved you too.

"y/n." your name leaves his mouth and you look into sion's eyes. "yeah?"

he sighs exasperatedly. "can we stop pretending that there isn't something going on between us? it's killing me."

"spit it out, oh sion."

he raises a brow at your remark and laughs softly, squeezing your calves. he leans in, closer and closer, until the words leave his mouth in a hushed voice.

"i love you. i think i always have. i realized it when i came back home. i could've sworn you felt it too."

he takes the words out of your mouth. you don't respond. you don't need to, because you're already cupping his cheeks and pressing your lips against his. sion's hand moves to hold the back of your knees, the other brushing your hair out of your face.

with sion, it's familiar, safe, and warm. you don't have to try around him, because regardless, he still cares. he still loves you.

you pull back, breathless. he looks down at your lips, then back into your eyes. the two of you break out into giggles. you hear someone clearing their voice and you look at the hallway to see your older brother standing there. you gasp, taking sion's hand off your neck.

"i- i can explain." you say, putting your hands up. he scoffs.

"i knew it. i knew something was different the moment sion got back."

you pinch the bridge of your nose, ashamed. sion chuckles and wraps an arm around your shoulder.

"now i owe dad 50 bucks," your brother groans.

"what?! you made a bet with him??"

"yeah, like back in high school. he bet you two would get together, but i said it wouldn't happen because you know him too well. guess i was wrong."

"you're always wrong." you and sion say simultaneously.

"both of you shut the hell up or i'm telling mom you were sticking each other's tongue down your throats at three in the morning."

"sorry."

—

author's note: eeeeee first sion solo post???? it was supposed to be one with the entire hyung line, but i got carried away AUXWIHXIUW clearly!!! hope u enjoy <333

[jaegeraether]

The Runaway - Chapter 14 (Alexia Putellas x original character slow-burn)

Jae's Masterlist

(Disclaimer: I do not speak Spanish, or Catalan, so go easy! Also, I will not apologise for how this ends..)

CHAPTER 14

ALEXIA

Alexia had two lockers. One was hanging open – and the other was now dented with the imprint of her fist.

Her phone buzzed and she grabbed it, hoping for Delaney.

Jenni: He borrado el post, tal como ordenaste, madre. I’ve deleted the post, just as you commanded, mother.

Who gives a fuck? The damage was done.

Delaney was ignoring her. That trust they’d worked so hard to build had been broken. And honestly, she didn’t blame her at all. If Alexia had been in her position, she would have done the same.

The kiss had made Alexia seem like she’d lied about her feelings toward Jenni. And the interview.. the fucking interview.. why would she have said those things? Alexia had let herself have a few drinks and stupidly open up about how incredible of a player she was. The way she moved, how she’d ducked and caught her off guard. She’d had Alexia scrambling. Alexia never scrambled. She controlled.

How dare she make it seem like she’d pulled apart her game.

How stupid it was of Alexia to open up to Jenni about her at all.

She fucking knew better.

She knew exactly who Jenni was.

Alexia slammed her head into the dent in her locker and felt a hand on her back, rubbing gently.

“Ahora no, Irene.” Not now, Irene.

But it wasn’t Irene. It was Ona. Kind, empathetic young Ona.

“He vist què ha passat. Em sap molt greu… això de la Jenni ha estat molt lleig.” I saw what happened. I’m so sorry… that was nasty of Jenni.

But Ona didn’t know about Delaney – so she had to be talking about Jenni posting them kissing on social media.

Irene wandered over to intervene. “No tienes toda la historia, Ona. Déjala en paz.” You don't have the full story, Ona. Leave her be.

Ona withdrew her hand tentatively and, giving another sympathetic look, left the two alone.

“Si me dices que debí haber sabido mejor con Jenni-” If you say to me that I should have known better with Jenni-

“Oh, no me atrevería. Ella sabe perfectamente lo que hizo.” Oh, I wouldn't dare. She knows exactly what she did.

Alexia turned around and saw Irene go rigid at her teary eyes. She saw several other players cast their eyes aside. The locker had been dead silent since Alexia had stormed in.

“¿Cuál fue su excusa?” What was her excuse?

“Dijo que solo intentaba provocarla para hacer el partido más interesante.” She said she was just trying to provoke her to make the game more interesting.

“Vaya forma de provocarla… arriesgando vuestra amistad.” Hell of a way to provoke her – by risking your friendship.

Alexia slammed her locked closed. “¿Qué amistad?” What friendship?

SUNDAY

By the time the first of Arsenal’s two American games rolled around, Delaney still hadn’t responded. There had been no communication between them in close to a week.

She’d sent a few messages and called more times than she cared to admit – then grudgingly gave her space and time. It was painful. More painful than Ibiza. And it’s not as if she could arrive on her doorstep. Even if she did fly to America – Mariona would probably be the one to turn her away, given how close the two had become. And that said a lot with how deep Alexia and Mariona’s friendship ran.

She watched Arsenal’s first match against Orlando Pride – happy to see Delaney sitting on the bench. The cameras flashed to her, rugged up and watching the gameplay intently. She was beautiful, even with a melancholy pout. That sparkle in her eyes had disappeared. She wasn’t standing in the coaches box and getting involved like she usually was.

Most of the breaks in play consisted of the camera moving back to Delaney which is how Alexia saw a few players checking in on her, looking uninformed but supportive regardless. When Mariona came off the field she sat next to her and rested a hand on her thigh the blanket Delaney shared with er. Alexia’s heart sank watching that. She knew Mariona. Knew how affectionate she could be. It didn’t matter. Right now, every touch felt personal.

Near the end of the game, the camera fell to her ankle – the commentators speaking about it for a minute or so. That’s how Alexia found out the update that she’d be fit enough to play against Jenni’s team.

Fuck.

Arsenal played a hard fought match – eventually winning 1-0. At the end of the game, they managed to drag Delaney in for an interview, talking about her potential move to the NWSL after her season with Arsenal. They said all the right things and promoted all the right incentives – Delaney being diplomatic with her response yet stating that she was strongly considering it. And the worst thing was – she really looked like she was beginning to swing in that direction.

This couldn’t have come at a worse time. London was far enough as is, let alone the prospect of her moving to America…

She needed to see her. To talk. To plead her case. 

WEDNESDAY

Arsenal had a little break over the next few days. Every post on social media was about Delaney’s ankle and the arguments over Arsenal clearing her to play. Most English news outlets considered Arsenal foolish for playing her in America when they’d have Lyon in the semi finals to come back to, and they had a point. Alexia agreed with them. As much as she didn’t want her to face off against Jenni for fear of just how aggressive she’d be towards the Australian – she was a game-changer, and should have been saved for the Champions League games. Not for some Arsenal marketing campaign dressed up as friendlies. But apparently the demand to see the such a high-value player outweighed the risk.

On the Wednesday night, Orlando faced off against the Tigres, led by Jenni. Alexia watched on as the Spaniard played angrily. Alexia had always been entertained by competitive Jenni. She’d even been one to encourage her, especially when they were playing on the same team. There was no doubting her abilities with the ball. She was one of the best. And all worked up and cocky – she was even better. Which filled Alexia with worry for Delaney and her ankle. Because Jenni was playing like she had a point to prove. Whether it was to Alexia or Delaney, she had no idea, but she certainly took it out on the Pride players any chance she had.

On several occasions, mainly after the goals she’d scored, she made a point to look up at Delaney who was watching with her Arsenal teammates in the stands. The cameras caught it, of course, and would no doubt already be exacerbating rumours about their 'hatred' of each other. But that's not what Alexia saw. To her, Jenni hadn’t even looked smug. Just… hurt. Like she knew what she was losing but couldn’t stop herself from lashing out at Delaney for the loss of Alexia. And she was undeniably brutal about it. Typical striker. Typical Jenni. She scored a hat trick and even though the games were just meant as friendlies - she let them know every single time she won a possession or scored a goal by looking up into the crowd. Straight at Delaney.

SATURDAY

The week dragged, each day a little quieter without a word from Delaney. By Saturday, the match she’d worried about loomed like a storm. With the time difference, it was dark when she finally settled in to watch Arsenal vs the Tigres. She was at her mother’s house along with the family, all gathering as they did every now and again. They took any chance they could to gather, and she always joined when she was able to. Family was everything to her. Especially since she’d lost her father. After he’d passed – they’d become even closer and learnt to appreciate each other and every second they had. Alexia excused herself from the chaos of their loud family dinner and settled into the empty lounge-room to watch the game.

To her surprise, Delaney was starting. Whether it was because she had something to prove, she didn’t know. All she did know was that her eyes were pinned to her as soon as she entered the pitch. Her throat felt dry watching her. Like her body still remembered what it was to feel her, even if her mind told her she’d lost her. She walked on between Mariona and another Australian, Kyra Cooney-Cross, who was one of the best up and coming players in her age group. Arms around each other, they took their photos and Alexia found herself leaning in – trying to analyse her facial expressions. She didn’t offer much in terms of her emotions. She was game ready, as usual. She did notice, however, the support from Mariona in the form of a tight hug as they stood side by side, her hand rubbing her thigh as they knelt for a team photo, the kiss on her cheek with a whisper before the game started. Even knowing Mariona well, she still felt another pang of jealousy and swore at herself for the emotions it had provoked inside her.

The whistle blew to start the game, and for a second, Alexia hoped Jenni would rise to the occasion. Prove her wrong. But then came the first reckless tackle and Alexia’s worries became a reality. Jenni was more concerned with Delaney than the ball, battering her any chance she got near. The Australian was strong and smart – it only took ten minutes of battering for her to understand Jenni’s style of play and use the rules to her advantage. Whenever she had the ball, she passed it on quickly to avoid any unnecessary contact. When she was in the box, she used the crowd of players to put a buffer between them. They entered half time 0-0, both sides having more midfield battles than actual chances. In particular, Jenni and Delaney. It was clear that the game would be decided by whoever came out on top between the two. The commentators half-praised and half-condemned Jenni’s physicality throughout – believing it would be the turning advantage in the second half. Alexia’s opinion was different, though. Delaney was an analyst. A critical thinker. It’s why she rarely started. And from what she’d seen in the first forty-five minutes of play – she’d been doing just that, and waiting for her opportunity to use it to the benefit of her team in the second half.  

After half time, Jenni must have had a talking to from the coaching staff because her attention shifted slightly less on Delaney, and more on football to prove herself. That’s when it became interesting.

“És ella, oi?” That's her, isn't it? Alba murmured from the doorway. Alexia hadn’t even noticed she was there and caught a fright, spinning to see her older sister studying her expression, as if waiting to see if she’d lie.

Alexia turned back to the TV. “Per què ho penses?” Why would you think that?

“Perquè fa vint minuts que sóc aquí i has estat tan pendent d'ella que ni te n’has adonat. La meva germana, guanyadora de la Pilota d’Or, que ho veu tot.” Because I’ve been standing here for the past twenty minutes and you’ve been so focused on her, you haven’t noticed. My Ballon d'Or winning sister, who notices everything. Alba’s voice was gentle as she came to sit alongside Alexia, placing a reassuring hand on her knee. “Perquè t’inclines cada cop que toca la pilota, i aguantes la respiració cada vegada que cau o rep un cop.” Because you lean forward every time she gets the ball and hold your breath every time she goes down or gets hit.

It all hit too close to home hearing it aloud. She had been doing those things. And she couldn't exactly stop herself.

Alexia opened and closed her mouth a few times, unable form words into a sentence. Alba, knowing her, rubbed her knee reassuringly and turned to the TV. “Ara entenc per què estaves tan enfadada amb la Jenni per la publicació. L’abast de la teva ràbia no tenia sentit fins ara. I l’entrevista va ser fluixa, fins i tot per ella.” Now I see why you were so mad at Jenni for the post. The extent of your anger didn’t make sense until now. And the interview was poor, even for her.

“Vas veure-ho…?” You saw it…?

“Crec que no t’adones de com n’és de popular, la Delaney, germana gran… tot el món ho va veure." I don't think you realise how popular Delaney is, big sister... the whole world saw it. She looked back at Jenni sweeping Delaney's legs, hard. Alexia winced and gritted her teeth. The yellow almost came out and Delaney waved it away.

‘Fuck, sweetheart. Don’t let her get away with this.’

Alba stared at her for a second, and Alexia realised she’d said it out loud. “Clarament, la Jenni sap que li tocarà demostrar coses.” Clearly Jenni knows she needs to back it up.

Regardless of the no yellow – Delaney earnt a free kick from a tight angle outside the box. She and Mariona joined together, both looking equally as worn out, to discuss the kick. Alexia watched intently as Delaney took her hair out of its messy bun and redid it, gathering all the little, damp curly ends and pulling them back into submission. How was it possible for someone to look so sexy during a game? The artery in her throat as her heartbeat calmed, the sweat dripping down her temple, the solid eye contact she afforded Mariona while she was speaking to her, the biting of her lip as she listened. Was she aware of how often she looked between people’s eyes and lips? She was naturally flirty without even realising it.

Delaney took a moment to chuckle lightly at something Mariona said – and it was the first time Alexia had seen a happy expression on her since they last spoke. Her heart felt like it could explode.

She felt Alba attempt to drag her back and realised she was sitting forwards again. As close as she could get to her.

The whistle blew and Mariona ran first… hopping over the ball. By the time she’d cleared it, Delaney struck for the inside corner, hooking it around hard and fast.

No keeper would have ever had a chance against it.

The Arsenal bench exploded. Even the injured players jumped to their feet. They didn’t cheer for the goal. They cheered for her. The Arsenal girls ran toward her to celebrate. Before they surrounded her, Alexia saw her little fist squeeze and celebratory murmur just to herself.

Arsenal 1-0.

The goal had given Delaney the confidence she needed to push harder. Her strategies were working.

Her next goal came a few minutes later – a high, fast-paced header from a perfect cross kicked by Leah Williamson. Even on her ankle, and tired legs, she was faster than the defenders – flying over two of them to head the ball into the back on the net.

Arsenal 2-0.

Without stopping, she grabbed the ball and ran it back to the centre. She had the momentum now. The fire. The camera flashed to her and showed less celebration and more purpose.

Here she was.

Alexia leaned forward again, hands gripping her knees. Every time Delaney moved, it was like her breath synced with it. There was joy swelling in her chest—real, aching joy—and yet the distance between them had never felt wider.

The Tigres retaliated, getting the ball into their box quickly. They passed from player to player, attempting to find a way inside, until Jenni received it. She would shoot – like Alexia knew she would. Even if she didn’t have a chance. Frustrated Jenni always believed she could work miracles and be the hero, and sometimes she could, but not today. Not against Delaney.

The Australian took advantage of a stumble in her footwork to pick-pocket her, nutmegging the ball through her legs and assisting long to Caitlin running down the wing. Jenni spun, chasing Delaney who was already barrelling through the midfield, pointing to Beth in front of her. Caitlin passed – Beth struck – Alba squeezed her leg and squeaked - the goalkeeper saved – Jenni slid to clear it but not before Delaney slammed the ball so hard into the net it broke through it.

Arsenal 3-0 and a hat trick for Delaney.

Alexia jumped to her feet and slapped her thigh. “¡Vamos, Danny!” Let’s go, Danny!

While the net was fixed, the teams wandered to their sidelines for a water break. Delaney was one of the last to go, hobbling along on her ankle when Jenni slammed into the back of her, knocking her to her knees. The referee yelled and Jenni held up her hands as if to say she hadn’t seen her. Alexia felt a pang of both anger and pity towards Jenni, knowing that she was only doing it because she didn’t know how else to cope with her feelings. The anger won out.

“Collons, Jenni! Però què fas!?Deixa-la en pau, hòstia!” Fuck, Jenni! What the hell are you doing!? Leave her alone, for fuck’s sake!

Alexia stepped forwards and Alba grabbed her by the jeans. “No et pot sentir, Alexia... respira una mica.” She can't hear you, Alexia... take a breath.

Alba knew Alexia and exactly how easily frustrated she could become at things. Usually she kept it in – but not with things that incited so much emotion in her. Flexing her jaw, she sat down and watched disheartenedly as Delaney got to her feet and brushed it off, joining her group.

‘You’ve proved yourself, carinyo. Please sub out and rest. Please.’

Did she? Of course not. Delaney played the rest of the game, and so did Jenni. With only ten minutes remaining – Jenni didn’t seem to have much to lose in regards to fouling either. She barrelled players any chance she had, mainly Delaney, who kept rising up like the symbol of resilience she was. She never needed to fight Jenni. She just wanted to prove her worth to world, and herself.

“És increïble...” She's amazing... Alba murmured when she was picking herself up yet again. This time, Jenni had earnt herself a yellow, and was lucky it wasn’t a red.

Usually Alexia wouldn’t respond, but she was so proud of her perseverance that she did. “No en tens ni idea.” You have no idea.

She felt Alba turning to look at her and ignored it. The ball was headed back towards the Arsenal goal, and Delaney was one of the few running into the box again. Her timing was impeccable. It was like she’d learnt everything she’d needed to know about Jenni in the first half and used it all against her in the second, once again leaving her behind.

The ball flew up into the box but a little too high – a player jumping for a header and missed. But it was fine because at the far post was Delaney who gave the most nonchalant tap in Alexia had ever seen. As if the ball wasn’t curving or blitzing past several players as high speed. She leapt, tapping it with the outside of her boot and put it just across the line. The goalkeeper didn’t even try to defend it. She stood there for a second, and then threw her hands up, yelling to the defenders with a frustration that Alexia understood.

Arsenal 4-0.

While the Tigres argued about Delaney being offside, the Arsenal players surrounded her with hugs and head pats. She deserved every single second of praise she received. She deserved all the good things. Maybe, she even deserved to stay there, at Arsenal, surrounded by such support.

And then the thought came into her head about the potential of Delaney ending up at Barcelona, scoring goals and having the team Alexia loved so much swarming her with congratulations… and the thought that she’d most likely lost that opportunity. Forever. Because of her long-time friend on the screen – still arguing with the referee as they retook their positions. 

The Arsenal coach, Renée shouted towards Delaney and she shook her head in response. She wanted to stay on. She wanted to finish proving herself. Alexia knew there must have been a lot of vexation in her to continue, as she was known for encouraging others to get playtime.

The game started again in overtime and the Tigres subbed on new players for fresh legs, and to wear down the time. It was already an embarrassment. Jenni didn’t even turn her head to the sidelines – refusing to go anywhere. She wore that same expression Alexia had seen time and time again. The anger. She shook her head and spat on the ground, her frustration boiling over. This is when she always made stupid mistakes – it’s when Alexia always had to intervene to calm her down. She was the only one who could.

The ball was played around the midfield between tired players for a little longer before another spot opened up for Arsenal due to a sloppy pass between the Tigres. Kyra shot wide over the heads of players to Caitlin on the left wing. She ran the ball up past the half-way line and passed back to Delaney, who weaved through defenders like they weren’t even moving, and drove it into the box. The goalkeeper came out far, the Australian spinning past her to a wide open goal. All she needed to do was to tap it in… but she passed it to her right – to the young Kyra who belted it into the back of the net.

Arsenal 5-0.

She watched Delaney moving - limping now, slower than before. A strange stillness crept up Alexia’s spine. Kyra spun to Delaney with a grin spread across her young face, her arms out and ready to be swarmed with the Arsenal love. Being closest, Delaney hobbled over first, tired but smiling to the younger player. But before she reached her, she was met with an angry Spaniard who needed to take her frustration out on someone.

Coming from off screen in a lunge of anger, Jenni shoved her so hard she fell, her head cracking against the post. The whistle didn’t blow. Not immediately. Alexia stood so fast she knocked the coffee table over. The room blurred. Alba's voice said something she didn’t hear. And on screen, Delaney didn’t move.

[writing-with-emy]

I Know Love - R.C. SMAU | C. 06

⤷ I Know Love | OBX MASTERLIST

★ Go Back: C.05 ★ Now on: C. 06 ★ Up Next: C. 07

Summary: You and Rafe had two very different lives. But you both had one thing in common, you both had been dating people from the opposite side. Even though you too were a Kook, but you just felt more comfortable with the Pogues. The plan was crazy, but knowing your exes, it would probably work. So you made your fake-dating plan. With one important Rule: Do not(!!) fall in love with the other Person.

CW: Fake Dating, swearwords, drinking, Kit(OC) is an asshole, Jealous-ish Rafe, Sofia and Kit, some spelling errors (a few are on purpose), english is not my first language, fighting (only talked about, nothing explicit

A/N: I Have decided if I do another SMAU fic, it's gonna be a SMAU/IRL Fic, so I don't need to do the whole Recordings Stuff. (even tho its fun) Now On: Better Than Revenge - Taylor Swift (Original Version) ⤷ Spotify Playlist: Here | ⤷ Apple Music Playlist: Here

★ a week later ★ ★ planetyn has posted a story! ★

★ new message from 'Pogues🤙🏻'! ★

★ a new recording has been added! ★

★ planetyn has posted a story! ★

★ kiee has posted a story! ★

★ jjbank has posted a story! ★

★ a new recording has been added! ★

★ itscleobitch has posted a story! ★

★ new message from 'Unknown'! ★

★ planetyn has posted a story! ★

Taglist: (OPEN!) @leather-n-velvet @deeninadream @cokewithcameron @cycloneperson @maybankslover @lexasaurs634 @mrsdrewstarkeyy

[tokiro07]

The Implications of Straw Hat Loki

It's not a hard and fast confirmation, but Luffy directly and seriously inviting Loki to join the crew rather than it clearly being a joke strongly suggests that Loki will join either by the end of Elbaf or, like Jinbe, will accept the invitation but wait to join until he takes care of some personal business

For the purposes of this post, assuming that one of those outcomes will happen, how will Loki's recruitment affect every other candidate's chances?

Crew of 10

The biggest argument since shortly before Jinbe's recruitment was how many Straw Hats there would be at all. Many people said that Jinbe wouldn't join for various reasons, but the most common that I saw was that the crew was already too crowded and Oda wouldn't be able to juggle any more members

Others believed Jinbe would join as the final member of the crew, as that would mean there were ten Straw Hats after Luffy said in chapter 1 that he intended to recruit a crew of "about ten." Once he officially joined, the argument that the crew was too crowded became even more popular, especially since even now Jinbe has barely had any opportunity to have any character development or one-on-one interactions with the rest of the crew

If Loki is to be recruited, at the very least it means that Luffy wasn't counting himself in the original plan for ten, but more than likely also means that Oda isn't concerned about "overcrowding" just yet. In other words, Loki's recruitment in and of itself means that the gates are open for all remaining candidates

Powerset Overlap

We don't know much about Loki's abilities as of yet, but the one thing we've seen is that he can summon lightning. In terms of combat ability, this makes his powerset strongly overlap with Nami, who uses lightning as her most potent finishing moves, while also lacking all of Nami's weaknesses (her overall weaker build and the need to set up her attacks)

This was an argument against Carrot back in the day, and is still an argument against Monet for her overlap with Brook's ice, so unless Loki somehow loses the lightning ability, that means Oda has no issue with any given two members having similar abilities

That said...having two characters with overlapping abilities looks a lot different than having three, so while Loki's presence may strengthen the argument for Monet, it seems like it may actually weaken the argument for Carrot. For the sake of argument though, I'm only going to give a point to Monet and not take one away from Carrot, as that may seem arbitrary or hypocritical

Alphabet Theory

But that isn't Loki's only point of overlap, though: there's also his name

One of the more popular theories over the years has been the Alphabet Theory, where each pair of letters in the Latin alphabet is ascribed to one of the Straw Hats (AB=Brook, CD=Chopper, etc.). This has been a recurring argument against Carrot, Yamato (YZ=Zoro), Monet (MN=Nami), and many others, while also serving as evidence for Pudding or Pedro (OP still being unclaimed)

Loki, though, clearly overlaps with Luffy, so unless Loki changes his name mid-arc, the Alphabet Theory has more or less been debunked

There is still the possibility that my Epithet Theory will be proven true, and that the remaining letter pairs of GH, OP and WX will be applied to the titles that the remaining Straw Hats are given (ex: "Harpy" Monet, "World Ender" Loki, etc.), but the point remains that the actual names of future recruits are no longer in question. That doesn't hurt the likes of Pudding, but it does help everyone who wasn't already covered by those letter pairs

Signature Color

Loki isn't just debunking theories left and right, though; there are some he's staying in line with, or at least he seems to be for now

On the cover of volume 111, we see that Loki has light purple hair and a deep purple fur cape

My immediate instinct when I saw this was that his signature color overlapped with Robin's purple, but looking closer, while his cape certainly does resemble the shade that is typically associated with Robin, his hair is actually much closer to the red end of the purple spectrum than the blue end that Robin's tends to be

(Apologies to colorblind and fully blind folks who can't see the difference, please trust me that their color schemes are distinct)

Therefore, I think the intention here is that Loki's color is magenta, slotting him right between Robin's purple and Chopper's pink without issue

Unfortunately for Pudding, this means that her case has gotten a bit weaker, as it was widely believed that her signature color would be magenta thanks to recurring colors in her outfits. She could still have brown thanks to her hair, which would make her distinct from Jinbe's ochre, but I'm not exactly feeling confident about it

That said, before Jinbe joined, the theory was that the Straw Hats colors would reflect the RGB color wheel, with Jinbe representing azure and the remaining recruits representing magenta, chartreuse and spring green/viridian, but with Jinbe being ochre, that was soundly debunked, so it's harder to use this new evidence to predict what colors may still be to come

I've proposed in the past that Jinbe's exact shade, odoiro or yellow ochre (note the background of Jinbe's Film Red poster below), is meant to pair with Usopp's yellow, and suggests that all of the Straw Hats' colors will come in pairs, so with that framework we might be able to make a solid prediction

Magenta can easily be taken as either a purple or a pink, but given that Loki also wears a purple cape, I think it's safe to say that he's meant to pair with Robin rather than Chopper. This would make our current pairs:

Luffy and Chopper (red and pink)

Usopp and Jinbe (yellow and ochre)

Sanji and Franky (blue and cyan)

Robin and Loki (purple and magenta)

Brook (solo because he represents both black and white, but arguably can be paired with Vivi whose color is white gold)

This would leave Nami's orange and Zoro's green to be paired

Carrot could easily be slotted into either, as her outfits frequently incorporate spring green and carrot orange, but Carrot herself is still heavily debatable for a litany of narrative reasons, so I would say Loki merely doesn't affect her here rather than aiding her at all

For other oranges, I think we're looking at a shade of brown (ex: Pudding, Kuma, Marguerite), amber (yellow-orange, ex: Rebecca) or vermilion (red-orange, ex: Kinemon). Of those examples, I don't think any of them aside from Pudding have any strong narrative reason to believe in them currently, so it's possible that it'll be someone we haven't met yet. I've said before that I believe a Space Pirate will join, so I'm choosing to believe that their fur will be given a bit more of an orange hue when we see them colored by Oda himself

I've also seen it suggested that Yamato could be vermilion thanks to his horns or as a reference to Oden, but I'm not inclined to believe that myself. I once suggested he could pair with Robin's purple thanks to his rope belt modeled after Oden's, but obviously that's out now, so that just leaves the blue-green tips of his otherwise white hair to pair with Zoro

Obviously my preferred green recruit would be Monet, but there are other characters associated with green like Pedro, Tama or even Bonney with her spring green hat, though she seems to have dropped it from her design as of Egghead

All of this is assuming that there are any rules about the colors aside from being distinct, though. Oda may well not care about the number of overlapping shades, and it's even possible that Loki's color won't even be magenta! Like I said, nobody thought Jinbe's color would be a shade of brown, so the "obvious" answer isn't necessarily the correct one

Either way, though, since Oda himself is the one deciding and publicizing the signature colors, we can confidently say that it is an intentional choice on his part, so if Loki's color is in fact magenta as it appears to be, then we know the remaining members won't be

Devil Fruit Number

Speaking of theories that Oda has acknowledged, one fan pointed out in an SBS a long time ago that all of the Straw Hats' Devil Fruits use names that correspond to the pronunciation of numbers (ex: Gum-Gum/Gomu-Gomu->Go=5, Mu=6->56), and when added together, they seem to create 325 (read: San-ni-go -> Sunny-Go, another name for the Thousand Sunny)

The only number left to reach 325 would be 29, and 2 and 9 were the only digits not yet present, so many people concluded that Kuma and/or his Nikyu-Nikyu Fruit would be a shoo-in to join. However, that would inherently preclude the addition of any other Devil Fruit users, and yet we now have Loki and his yet-unnamed Fruit

This leaves us with a few possibilities:

Loki's Devil Fruit will be named in a way that evokes 29

Loki's Devil Fruit will be named in a way that evokes 0, thus not interfering with the rest of the math in any way and leaving room for another 29

Loki's Devil Fruit will be named in a way that evokes 20 or 9, leaving room for another Fruit to evoke whichever his doesn't

Loki's Devil Fruit will not evoke any number at all, thus disproving the theory entirely

In Scenario 1, there's the chance that there will still be one more recruit with a 0 Devil Fruit, but it does not suggest that there has to be

Scenarios 2 and 3 both strongly suggest that there will be one more recruit, either a 29 or 9 respectively

And Scenario 4 proves that the numbers were a coincidence (or at least an abandoned design choice) and have no bearing on future recruits

Obviously Scenario 4 would be the most advantageous for any given Straw Hat hopeful, but it would also be the least useful for narrowing down candidates. Scenarios 1-3, meanwhile, are all very useful for eliminating possibilities:

Pudding's Memo-Memo and Tama's Kibi-Kibi don't seem to correspond to any numbers

Yamato's Inu-Inu Fruit, Model: Okuchi no Makami might imply 09 with O and Ku, but that would only leave 2, which wouldn't add up to 325

Bonney's Toshi-Toshi corresponds to 10 and 4, but Chopper's Hito-Hito already covers 1 and 10, and Brook's Yomi-Yomi already covers 4 and 3

Kuma's Nikyu-Nikyu and Kinemon's Fuku-Fuku would both still be viable in Scenario 2, but no other scenario

Monet's Yuki-Yuki can be taken as "kyu" in reverse, as 9 is made up of both the kana "ki" and "yu", slotting into Scenario 3 perfectly

Like I said, this will be up in the air until we learn the name, so I'll revisit this topic when the time comes, but my point is that, no matter what, the name of the Fruit will be a complete game-changer to one of the longest-standing recruitment theories

Gender

However, possibly the longest-standing, or at least most popular theory that Loki is positioned to disprove is the Gender Theory, AKA the MFMM Pattern

In short, in both East Blue and the Grand Line, Luffy recruited a male, a female, then two males, in that order, with specific shared characteristics between counterparts

A man referred to as a monster, introduced in bindings (Zoro "the Demon" bound to a cross, Chopper "the Abnominable Snowman" bound to a sleigh)

A scholarly woman, introduced as a villain (Nami, navigator of the Arlong Pirates, and Robin, archaeologist of Baroque Works)

An outcast and leader of men, introduced with the need of a new ship (Usopp the Liar, leader of the Usopp Pirates who helped procure the Going Merry, and Franky the Dismantler, leader of the Franky Family who built the Thousand Sunny)

A gentleman pervert, introduced upon a ship (Sanji, waiter of the Baratie, and Brook, musician of the Rumbar Pirates)

The issue here should be pretty obvious: Loki isn't a scholarly woman! He's a brutish man who decries the need for education in favor of combat training! If he's recruited immediately after Jinbe, then the entire pattern as it stands falls apart!

Even if he delays his recruitment like Jinbe did at Fishman Island and a woman does get recruited in between, that introduces another issue - Loki's parallels to the other 3rd slot recruits

Loki is an outcast, sure, and he does have followers, but all of his notable followers are animals, and they don't really seem all that relevant to his story as of yet

No, I think that Loki is actually a better fit as a parallel to Zoro than he is to Usopp: the Cursed Child, bound to the World Tree

In that regard, Jinbe is actually a better parallel to the 3rd recruit, being the "Boss" of the Sun Pirates, despite his introduction as a prisoner in Impel Down

Loki's recruitment would necessitate a new ship, as the Sunny isn't big enough to carry him, buuut Jinbe was invited to join the crew when we were introduced to the Ark Noah, which Luffy has been foreshadowed to use to fulfill Joyboy's promise to bring the Fishmen to the surface, so...who knows!

What this tells me is that we're still getting the four parallels (Bound Monster, Scholarly Villainess, Leader of Men and Gentleman Pervert), just out of order. If Jinbe would normally have been third and Loki first, then the final order will most likely be 3142, giving us the Gentleman Pervert next and the Scholarly Villainess last

Orrr it's all wrong and none of that matters. Maybe Loki's recruitment is completely debunking the parallels, and we can get one or even two more women at any time, their personalities and interests be damned!

Maybe all of the New World recruits will be introduced in chains; Luffy did break Yamato's handcuffs at Onigashima, and then extended an explicit invitation on his way out of Wano, so perhaps Yamato's AFAB status will allow him to count as the female regardless of when he joins?

Again, we won't know for sure until the end of Elbaf: if Loki joins immediately, we know the pattern no longer directly applies; if he promises to join later, we can be confident that the Scholarly Villainess is incoming

So...where does that leave all of our recruits?

Final Tally

This won't be a comprehensive list by any means, but with all of this new evidence in mind, combined with how the story has progressed since I previously reviewed all of the major candidates, this is how I view the current standings:

Pudding - could be the Brown Straw Hat, definitely not the Magenta; Devil Fruit doesn't add up to 325; former villainess (though "acting" isn't quite scholarly), foreshadowed to join the crew by Luffy; currently Blackbeard's hostage, positioning her to be saved by the Straw Hats. Verdict - likely by narrative, though less so by patterns, and could easily be rescued after all of the major battles conclude

Carrot - could be a second Orange or Green Straw Hat; would be a third lightning user, possibly redundant; not a villainess or a scholar; despite traveling with the crew for a long time, didn't get a satisfying character arc in Wano and was forced to become the leader of Zou. Verdict - unlikely to join the crew proper by narrative and most patterns, but definitely set to be a returning ally in some form

Yamato - could be Orange or Green, but doesn't seem likely; Devil Fruit doesn't add up; affiliated with a villain but never actually one himself, heavily debatable if he qualifies for the female slot (I insist he does not, but that's up to Oda, not the fans); definitely not a scholar; currently journeying through Wano and inadvertently recruited Ulti and Page One and seeming to start his own crew. Verdict - unlikely to join the crew proper, but likely to become a Fleet Captain

Tama - could be Green, definitely not Purple; Devil Fruit doesn't add up; not a Scholarly Villainess; strong relationship with Luffy, showed how she would fit in at Onigashima; dream left unresolved as of the end of Wano, but implied to be forthcoming. Verdict - viable but unlikely, most likely to join Yamato's burgeoning crew

Monet - would be Green; would only slightly overlap with Brook's ice but has enough to make her distinct; scholarly interest in astronomy; Devil Fruit may add up; may not need to be the second New World recruit anymore; still absent from story - needs to be reintroduced properly, but has enough hints to suggest her return and role. Verdict - extremely likely by patterns and fit...buuut not by the current narrative...

Bonney - could be Green, definitely not Pink or Purple; Devil Fruit doesn't add up; not a Scholarly Villainess; strong relationship with Luffy, showed how she would fit in at Egghead; still present at Elbaf, feasible to continue contributing, but might stay with Kuma. Verdict - likely by narrative, but not a guarantee

Bellamy - could have been the Magenta Straw Hat thanks to his tattoos, but definitely isn't now, and has no viable alternate colors as of yet; Devil Fruit doesn't add up; could have been the Leader of Men, but has near certainly lost it to Jinbe; foreshadowed to rejoin Luffy as a subordinate someday - dreams of making flags for Luffy. Verdict - very unlikely by patterns, but still at least somewhat viable by narrative, though more likely to join the Grand Fleet

Space Pirate - could be Orange, definitely not Magenta; little chance of overlap with other crewmates, though we don't know enough about any of them yet; probably won't have a Devil Fruit; would definitely be invited by virtue of novelty; would likely be met either aboard a spacecraft or on the moon, setting them up as the Gentleman Pervert. Verdict - viable, but we'd have to actually be formally introduced to a specific member first

In short...aside from the fact that Loki's inclusion has allowed me to keep harping on about this topic when I thought it was dead, very little has actually changed!!

Most of them were determined by their current role in the narrative rather than by how Loki affected the patterns, with only Bellamy's patterns being unilaterally dashed (though his Devil Fruit could be saved by Loki)

Of course, my main concern was whether he helped or hurt Monet, and as far as I'm concerned, he helped a ton! Overlap? Dead! Alphabet? Dead! Color? Alive! Gender? Alive, but less strict! Devil Fruit? Potentially a non-issue!

I'm in no way saying that this is proof that Monet is going to come back and join, but honestly, I'm just glad to know she's still in the running. So many of those patterns felt like a weight on my shoulders, hoops I had to jump through to prove that she still had even a sliver of a chance, but now they've just....vanished

I don't feel like I need to fulfill a thousand disparate and arbitrary conditions to justify having hope anymore, I just feel...free. Free to point out fun parallels and trivia without needing to account for every possible angle. And even if someone points out an angle I didn't account for, it doesn't feel like I need to fight against it with everything I have anymore. I can just breathe, safe in the knowledge that Oda will do whatever he wants with his story without being beholden to the observations fans always assumed were a meticulously laid out trail of breadcrumbs

But what do you think? Are you glad to see so many patterns be debunked, or did that hurt your faves' chances?

Is there anyone you have in mind who was helped or harmed by Loki, or is Loki the one you were hoping for all along?

[bellaaldamas]

It is a fact that many people even in the OG Tangled fandom liked the movie for the very same things the detractors (on either progressive or conservative side of the fence) hated it: the aforementioned aesthetics. Not just the visual ones but the perceived stereotypes and boxes certain viewers like to push characters into. Including, as you accurately pointed out, the "bad boy changes for the good girl" trope with Flynn. One that even some of the Tangled "fans" reduced his character to, even though he was actually a deconstruction of that trope. Disney circa OG Tangled wasn't even particularly subtle about that, literally giving Flynn/Eugene two names: one reflecting his protective facade and the other one reflecting his real persona. It is absurd how both fans and detractors look for cliches in the movie and invent the ones that don't exist in it when there are canon cliches that are objectively there and serve their narrative purpose (the sarcastic smouldering facade to hide pain and trauma caused by oppression and abandonment being one of the most obvious).

What I always highlight when discussing OG Tangled is that it was admittedly never profound in terms of plot or delivery - it was a simplistic and at some points outright corny story with strong, multi-layered characterization and powerful psychology. That's what made it stand out above the pseudo-intellectual "male feminist" narratives a la "Buffy", produced and written by a misogynistic abuser Whedon and still hailed as "feminist" by the progressive crowd (which says all one needs to know about them; then again, they claim Andersen's TLM was "feminist" even though it is literally a male entitlement piece projected onto a female character who, to top it off, ends up being punished for her initiative and feelings by death).

Back to the "bad boy changing for good girl" trope, this is how those aesthetic lovers perceived the romance arc in the OG movie. Disney, being obnoxious, money grubbing and cowardly but far from stupid, weaponized it by producing the Tangled Series that reflected and followed up on that perception instead of following up on the actual canon characterization and development.

To drive the point home that Disney was indeed taking advantage of the "changed bad boy" misconception about Flynn (to avoid providing in-depth and canon compliant exploration of his and Rapunzel's post-movie experiences) they incorporated one of the most sexist tropes in the series: a Madonna/Vixen dichotomy; by giving Flynn an abusive and manipulative ex fiance. Who was unironically a daughter of a mafia boss to boot (because the cliche had to be fulfilled completely and be as obnoxious as possible for the critical thinking lacking crowds to digest it).

With that storyline, Disney was killing two birds with one stone: reinforcing Series Rapunzel's "pure and good woman" image by pitting her against the "evil other woman" and making Rapunzel look better at her female rival's expense (while the series continued to butcher Rapunzel's character and have her devolve into a willfully ignorant classist blind to her own privileges); as well as amplifying the false portrayal of Flynn as a "bad boy" and retroactively re-writing his past and backstory to "prove he was always that way before he met Rapunzel who put him on the right path".

In the light of the above, my first reaction to surprisingly positive reception of the series on part of the self-identified "Tangled fans" was to question what exactly they even liked about the original movie and why. Because the series took all the messages and the essence of the OG, misrepresented it and made a mockery out of it for the sake of "feminist" pandering. Rapunzel cutting off her hair on her own was the culmination of it but certainly not the start. The campfire scene and Flynn opening up about his vulnerabilities and traumatic childhood in the OG movie ended up being ridiculed and turned into a punchline in the series in the very first episode.

The aesthetic lovers, however, did not view it as pandering because they didn't even get that reference. Most of them didn't see it as a mockery of one of the most pivotal moments for Rapunzel and Flynn's bonding in the OG film because the direct, unashamed, in your face allusions to it went completely over their heads.

To them, the campfire scene was no different from the lantern scene rather than a build up that made the lantern scene developments possible in the first place. They saw and enjoyed the visual aesthetics and not the contents and chronological consistency. In the campfire scene Flynn and Rapunzel not only listen to each other and reciprocate the other's compassion and understand and it is not only about Flynn opening up to Rapunzel about his backstory. The scene is not in the least about the obstacles and deterrents - psychological more so than physical - that prevent them individually and their relationship from progressing further.

This is outstandingly showcased when Gothel confronts Rapunzel, tries to gaslight and manipulate her into submission again and when words and lies no longer work she shoves the satchel into Rapunzel's face, playing up a cautionary tale narrative. Gothel's new manipulative tactic is to tell Rapunzel (read: women) that she is too naive and hormonal to realize Flynn's real intentions. That she cannot think clearly because she is too blindsided by his pretty face (read: you cannot marry a man you just met so let your toxic family, mountain dweller who prefers reindeers to people and/or Snowman explain to you what love really is). Except back then Disney made it obvious it was an abusive, misogynistic, gaslighting narrative as opposed to presenting it at face value and upholding it (like it did with Frozen).

The satchel in that scene is the physical embodiment of guarantees that Rapunzel has at her disposal to ensure Flynn does not betray or cross her. It is also an instrument of control - and the OG movie makes it abundantly clear you cannot build a healthy relationship around control and power imbalance. That's why when Flynn returns with the firewood so does his cocky facade (hence the quip about the "super human strength" in his hand).

That's also why their romance does not progress any further and Rapunzel spends most of the time during the Kingdom sequence next day interacting and bonding with other people (and, prior to that, Maximus) - up until she consciously chooses to let go of the aforementioned instrument of control over Flynn and gives him back the satchel. Only then does the lantern scene become a romance scene and not just Rapunzel seeing the "lights" scene; and only then does her and Flynn's almost kiss happen.

But this is something that also went over the heads of not just the aesthetic lovers but the progressives who call the OG movie "unfeminist" - that it was, in fact, Rapunzel having control over Flynn for literally 75 percents of the film. And she only relinquished said control when she chose to, was ready to and when she realized she was safe around Flynn as much as she was safe outside the tower learning to socialize in spite of Gothel's brainwashing ("I'm not scared anymore").

Progressives hate power fantasies for women and praise cautionary tales. Yet again Disney delivered - and gave them Frozen. Where the heroine's romantic and other forms of personal agency are not only shamed and suppressed but actively punished. What the OG Tangled showed to be an example of societal pressure that a woman has to withstand and resist ("trust me, my dear, that's how fast he'll leave you, I won't say I told you so") Frozen showed to be an example of the society knowing better what and who a woman needs than her "gullible and naive" self does.

No more "you were wrong about the world and you were wrong about me". Meet the "you were so desperate for love" and "I don't know what love is".

But the aesthetic lovers back then vehemently denied how Frozen was not only the start of pseudo-progressive pandering - it was the funeral of the Princess Franchise, the end for women's power fantasies and the beginning of the cautionary tales. And because they denied that they had to also deny how the Tangled Series was a product of that new pseudo-feminist direction. As long as the aesthetics were still there they absolved Disney of pandering.

Disney had no problem producing a character of Cassandra out of nowhere, making her their "progressive mouth piece" and having her be abusive towards Flynn also out of nowhere because another trite and sexist "heroine's female best friend who hates her boyfriend/husband" trope is apparently "so feminist". They'll be damned if they don't repeat that "feminist scenario" with PatF, were the series to happen. Especially when they already have a "groundwork" for retcons in the form of Naveen and Tiana's friend Charlotte's shared "history" where Naveen's initial intentions towards the aforementioned were not exactly the most noble. It wouldn't matter that Naveen changed since then and by the end of the film was no longer a spoiled rich layabout wanting to marry for money. Just like it wouldn't matter that Charlotte never held it against him because she was also spoiled and rich and clearly realized everyone has flaws but it's how we act in spite of them that defines us. Disney would drag this plot point out of context, "progressify it" and turn it into another cautionary tale shaming Tiana for believing in romantic love and "marrying Naveen after knowing him for two days" and Charlotte will be there to say "I told you so" (she never actually did in the OG movie but Modern Disney will gaslight the audience into believing it happened).

In the hypothetical series Naveen would prove to be incompetent and useless (but much like Flynn, he is still pretty and that's all a man needs for Disney to sell merch with his face on it). The new "campfire mockery" will be Eudora telling Tiana she "regrets having planted the toxic idea about meeting a prince charming in her head" and apologizing for "giving Tiana unrealistic expectations" (a woman wanting respect, support and love from a man is "unrealistic expectations" for modern media and modern "feminism").

Cherry on top, to show just how unapologetic Disney is with its "progressive pandering" and shredding the original movies they will come up with some spectacularly ridiculous retcon somewhere along the way. Like having Louis say that if Ray hadn't "given up everything out of love for that stupid star he would be alive today". Never mind the fact that Ray did not even die because of or for "Evangeline" but to save his friends.

Progressives and aesthetic lovers would eat it up again because they don't engage with media critically whilst conservatives will be happy that "at least the series upholds traditional values by not breaking the sanctity of Tiana and Naveen's marriage", even if their romance ends up being butchered the same way Rapunzel and Flynn's was.

Ariel Is a Far Stronger and More Feminist Character Than Series-Rapunzel—and It’s Time People Acknowledge That

I decided to also write a defense post about Ariel, my favorite princess.

It honestly frustrates me to no end how Ariel is constantly mischaracterized as "weak" or "anti-feminist" when in reality, she’s one of the strongest, most independent princesses Disney has ever created. She had an abusive and controlling father who tried to crush her dreams and limit her world—and she still found the courage to fight for freedom, for love, and for her own voice. And yet, Ariel is so often torn down, while series-Rapunzel is bizarrely praised for treating love like a prison and her partner like a burden.

Ariel wanted to live on land long before she met Eric. Her dream of freedom and exploration wasn’t driven by romance—it was hers alone. But when she did fall in love, she was allowed to embrace it fully. She saw marriage as liberation, not a cage. She never once treated Eric as her enemy, or as someone holding her back. In fact, her love gave her the strength to break free from her toxic family dynamics and finally live life on her own terms. That is empowering. And that is exactly what the original Rapunzel/ Petrosinella tale was about too—a girl escaping an abusive parental figure through love and marriage, not in spite of it.

But somehow, Disney decided to completely trash that message with series-Rapunzel. Suddenly, marriage is framed as a prison, and Rapunzel—a girl who spent 18 years locked in a literal tower—has nightmares about being with a man who would literally die for her. Instead of escaping an oppressive environment, she stays with her abusive parents because they’re “her real family,” while pushing away the one person who actually supported her and gave her a way out. And people applaud this? Call it feminist?

Ariel was also traumatized—she lived under constant fear, was gaslit by her father, and punished for being different. But she never turned that trauma into cruelty. She never lashed out at Eric, never used him as an emotional punching bag, never called marriage a trap. Meanwhile, Rapunzel in the series treats Flynn like a villain just for loving her. And yet, people constantly excuse her toxic behavior because she’s “traumatized”—while simultaneously blaming Ariel for wanting to escape her father’s control and painting her as “selfish” for leaving. Why is Ariel’s rebellion villainized and Rapunzel’s coldness glorified?

Not only that, but series-Rapunzel only stops fearing marriage after she learns Flynn is secretly a prince. So we’re just okay with that? We’re okay with her subconsciously believing he isn’t good enough until he turns out to be royalty? That’s classicism, plain and simple—and it gets even worse when you remember her so-called “best friend” mocks Flynn for his poor background and Rapunzel says nothing.

Meanwhile, Ariel fell in love with a human prince while having nothing to offer him. She was voiceless, homeless, and desperate—but still believed in love and fought for it. She didn’t care about class, about status, or about control. She just loved him, and believed that love could save her. And you know what? It did.

And the best part? Ariel doesn’t go back. She’s not punished for choosing love. She doesn’t get forced to stay under the sea with an abusive father just because of blood ties. She’s allowed to leave, to grow, to change, to live. That is what real empowerment looks like—not staying stuck in trauma, not rejecting love out of fear, not mistreating your partner because you haven’t healed.

Ariel is stronger than series-Rapunzel. Full stop. She didn’t let trauma turn her into an abuser. She didn’t need someone to be rich or royal to love them. She chased her dreams, fought for her freedom, and still had enough heart left to believe in love. That is not weakness—it’s power. It’s strength. It’s real feminism.

Honestly, it’s a miracle Disney didn’t use the Hans Christian Andersen ending for the live-action remake—because punishing Ariel for loving a man would have fit too neatly into their new narrative: that women can only be strong if they reject love, softness, and vulnerability. But Ariel proves them wrong. She always has.

Ariel will always be the strongest and most feminist princess to me. And no amount of revisionist writing or false empowerment will ever change that.

[nixotinix]

Hi this is Catie at 4:11 in the morning humbly requesting my pookie wookie bear Anarky and/or Captain Boomerang

I am so sorry that I’ve taken residence in your ask box. It’s very cozy in here btw. Fantastic snack selection. But I live here now and it’s really expensive to call the Catie Control to get me out sooooo oh welllll youre stuck with me now

(Also, if you saw the rogues the fanzine Instagram follow you today, no you didn’t. I forgot I was logged in when trying to follow you on my main)

henlo again Catie :D we GOTTA stop meeting like this man /j

Bonus:

all in good fun of course, i'm more than happy to expand the Catie Corner in my inbox :D thank you for the request again <3

[fierrochase-falafel]

My (very late) complicated take on Deadpool and Wolverine

So I watched Deadpool and Wolverine last week (I wrote this literally last year and just ended up...not posting it for some reason), as a somewhat casual Marvel fan who has somewhat followed the MCU, and I have some...hot takes? I think?

Firstly, a disclaimer, because I do not want to get flamed for this: I know plenty of people will disagree with me, and that's fine. You can think I'm overreacting or that I'm plain wrong on your own time, and if you really want me to reconsider any statements I make (although half of this is just feeling to be honest) then I am open to changing my mind based on other people's explanations. For context- I've not seen a Deadpool film before although I knew a bit about what he was like in the Spider-Man comics, and I was a fan of the X-Men '92 series (saw the first 2 seasons as we didn't have the DVDs for the rest) and all of X-Men evolution. I have read bits and pieces of a Wolverine encyclopedia, if that means anything, and I've looked into other reviews and done a bit of digging into other people''s responses to this film. Really I'm not here to comment on this as a Marvel fan but as a fan of media in general, and honestly just as a person with my own nitpicky reservations and who's a bit fed up with the MCU.

If I sound exceedingly harsh, please just click away. It's not worth getting into an argument over this, especially when I'm not a dedicated enough fan. Finally you can get to enjoy these films without having to listen to randos on the internet like me, and I can vent my petty frustrations seperately and we can all exist in peace.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deadpool and Wolverine is hardly the worst film to come out of the MCU since Endgame, actually it really is one of the better ones if not the best one lately, but I really wanted to enjoy this film more than I did and I am trying to figure out why I didn't. Perhaps I am not the intended audience, or I am not familiar enough with Deadpool, and those are all fair points. I'm going to come at it from an angle that goes more into it though because this isn't *really* about Deadpool, this is about the MCU. That being said, let's get into it.

So...there is a point at which you realise something about the MCU as a whole if you hadn't before, and that is that it is a corporation. It's been hard not to realise that recently, with the volume of stuff it has been churning out no matter how subpar. While Deadpool and Wolverine is far more interesting than, say, Love and Thunder, I couldn't shake the feeling that despite this actually being more than a soulless mishmash, there's an underlying air I don't think I can unsee in the MCU that taints everything for me, and it's that there is nothing new to really say. There is no real diversity of opinion or line of thought- there are good guys who protect the world as it is, and bad guys who want to change it. For instance:

To me, an outsider of sorts, the TVA (basically functioning as the Time Police, although this is contentious) are shown to have a ridiculous amount of power that some guy Paradox can just build a time ripper that can end any timeline?? There are layers to this, but the bottom line is, no member of the TVA should be able to procure something like that and use it just because they feel like it, and quite frankly the unchecked power of the TVA as an organisation is unsettling and frightening. Then, Deadpool tries to fight this part of the TVA to stop them from killing his timeline, but then the real villain Cassandra Nova enters the fray with the intention to destroy every timeline because...she wants ominpotence? I don't know, these villain motivations aren't getting any stronger. And then Deadpool and Wolverine stop her, and Paradox gets arrested, and wow what a great ending! Except what feels missing...the lack of questioning or distrust surrounding the authority the TVA has, which was the root cause of this mess in the first place. But Marvel will never morally or philosophically question the extent of authority a system has over it's people or all of humanity, and will never really explore an avenue of changing what is flawed about the system. The problem, to them, isn't the power, but whether it's held by 'good' people. Paradox being arrested solves the conflict with the TVA, because his intentions were destructive and aimed to use his power for destructive purposes, but it wouldn't have mattered if he were a good guy now, would it?

This is the philosophy that pervades all of the MCU- power belongs with the good guys who protect the world from the bad guys. The issue is never the power itself, or the system that allows for such blatant misuses of it, because to question established systems (or actually address any of the pitfalls of American capitalism) doesn't reflect their needs as a corporation worth lots of money. When this was previously brought up in the form of the Sokovia accords (although "putting the powerful people under strict government regulations" doesn't strike me as utopic in any way either), correct me if I'm wrong but it had barely any consequences to future films. Infinity war happened, more fights where there is no human intervention whatsoever, and then the accords are just repealed off-screen. And this goes on to feel like a very unsustainable world, one where there's not much joy to be derived, as there is never really hope for changing the powers and systems that control our lives. The TVA can shred your timeline in an instant, supernatural fights can wipe out your cities at any moment, but nobody cares about the damage or will question it- your lives are in the hands of heroes who are 'good' and make funny quips I guess so you know you can trust them. Wolverine at the end of this film is told by a TVA member that his timeline cannot be restored as what happened made him the man he is now, and he's just seemingly fine with that and they go eat shawarma. A whole universe of deaths that he's been guilty about the whole film, that he's wanted to get back, but I don't feel like we get a proper resolution to his grief at all and they just become collateral damage to the plot in the end even after being shown how much he loved them. Everyone says thank you to the Time Police, trusting they know what's best and will do the right thing, and moves on as if this wasn't an unsettling encounter at all.

Now I know I might've gotten details about the TVA wrong, but I couldn't sit through all of Loki, okay? I was lost the minute we got to girl-Loki being symbolic of Loki's gender fluidity and also they kissed? Speaking of that though...another thing I found disappointing with Deadpool and Wolverine was the queerness aspect. Deadpool is, in the comics atleast, pansexual, and I know Ryan Reynolds said he was into exploring that, and trust me this film is filled with queer things being said. HOWEVER. There is a difference in the way straight romance and queer romance is portrayed in the film; that was clear to me when I left the cinema. There are plenty of jokes involving Deadpool making very homoerotic comments towards Wolverine, or talk of pegging the TVA officers, or even shouting out "the gays" in a speech, but it is not given anywhere NEAR the same weight as his attraction/love for Vanessa. And this wouldn't necessarily be an issue (after all, sexual attraction doesn't have to be serious) if it weren't that everything he said when going off on a tangent were gay, but everything he did seriously was straight. There was something distinctly noticeable about it, and honestly it felt like being queerbaited despite the fact I never even expected to hear about pegging in this film. To me, I care about creators committing to showing a main character man experiencing attraction to another man with the same weight and value given to it, verbally and non-verbally, jokingly and unironically, as you would to him experiencing attraction to a woman. Anyone could watch this and take all of these to be ironic gay jokes even if they aren't, and I don't think this counts as committed representation of a minority. Not that I was looking for it in this film, but to be shown the potential of being represented in some manner onscreen and then realising it wouldn't really be taken as seriously as any straight characters did quite hurt. Maybe that's just how Deadpool is, maybe I should never have wanted anything more substantial... The internet went crazy shipping Deadpool and Wolverine despite them never being taken for a serious potential couple, and I think that's what they wanted.

The thing is, I understand many aspects of why people liked this film, tying itself up. Wade Wilson wanted to matter, and by hyping himself up as Marvel Jesus and bringing back so many forgotten characters to the screen, he mattered by lifting them up and showing that they mattered too. Many of the jokes were funny, like the meta ones about Marvel's downfall and honestly I laughed at the pegging one too and some others (although I will say: Marvel making fun of how bad Marvel is lately does have a limit given you guys caused this downfall in the first place). And, to be fair, I'm sure the TVA thing has some explanations in Loki or upcoming plot points that might change everything compared to what I know. This movie was, in many ways, very fun. The fact that it had so much going for it is half of what left me feeling so dissatisfied, because despite epitomising many of the things Marvel are positively known for, I didn't really care or feel anything at the end at all. Bringing back various forgotten characters for a last hurrah is great and all but when it's all for a not very nuanced villain and when none of the heroes see anything wrong with the TVA and all of that...I don't know, it feels bleak. Watching these films I don't feel inspired or hopeful, I only feel bleak and apathetic, and I know I can just go watch other films (which is what I've been doing) but I don't understand why we all go back to the cinemas to watch the same nail being hammered into the ground with the next Marvel movie. Even when you have reason to expect difference, the underlying nature of it is the same. The only significant thing I see happening is even more characters being ushered into the already complicated Multiverse, often for cameos and jokes reliant on nostalgia and endless referential humour. Oh, and Marvel Studios getting more of a monopoly over superhero stories, that too.

The older X-men TV shows I watched and, even more recently, the Spiderverse films felt like they had so much more depth or commentary to them, so I know superhero media isn't doomed to be this way, not now or ever, so I hope we can take this as a sign to ask for more from our media in terms of storylines, queer characters, and messaging. Something new, something inspiring, and something that feels like it's made not just because it was a smart business decision. A lot of these things I recommend finding from smaller creators and lesser-known artists, but I feel as though we should start to look for this from Marvel too. I get I'm not a Marvel genius or an X-men genius, or even a Deadpool genius, so it isn't really my place, but I still think it's worth asking for more because if their profit lies with the realisations of our passion and with revolution, then that's where the company will go. As a reviewer, this is how I feel.

[al-mayriti]

idk if it's because my mum worked in a tv magazine or what but all the media wars and backstabbing and stuff happening behind the cameras is so so interesting to me

[bogos-bint3d]

Post that has rerouted my brain

[herrscherofmagic]

oh this is gonna be one hell of a week for me...

...and it's only Tuesday x-x

Today I just caught up with WuWa's main story, after starting the game for the first time in the last week of v2.3...

but then tomorrow HSR's v3.4 comes out, with the climax (I think?) of the Amphoreus arc and huge plot stuff happening...

...but then the following day WuWa's NEXT main story update releases (jfc the previous one left on such a cliffhanger so I'm glad I only have to wait a couple days for this one T_T)

so yeah. i've got a lot of story to get through this week lmao

[marshmellowtea]

shipping sandrannie in a "yes max and sandra are married but sandra and annie had this homoerotic friends-with-benefits situationship before their relationship started so max let sandra carry it over into their marriage without much fuss about it" way

[sysig]

Really digging out the old OCs now; Pan-na, Pilok, Azalea, squirrel boys Will and Damien, and Cupid and Venus <3 (Patreon)

[cuchufletapl]

Some people discussing tropes in media need to get a better grip of the examples they're using, particularly when the tropes in question are bigoted in any way, because Jesus Christ does it detract from your point when it looks like you didn't even watch or read the thing.

I've just come across someone talking about scarce female representation and the Smurfette principle in kids' media, and the "cartoons from her childhood" that she cited having this problem included Neon Genesis Evangelion and Cardcaptor Sakura.

Like, the problem you're talking about is real but you've lost me with those choices.