#and i got her number now too so double yay now i can officially call her Friend...

[dormiloncito]

teeheee i did tell my classmate that i'll pick her up next time on our way to class yaaaay

[stxleslyds]

Who do you think should be a love interest for Red Hood/Jason Todd?

Oh, Anon, you sent me a very difficult question. I have been wanting to talk about my thoughts on love interests or ships when it comes to Jason but I always end up getting scared and don’t do it. But because you sent me this ask and I want to give you an answer, I will actually speak (write) my mind.

I like ships, I enjoy romances within stories, the name of my blog is based on one of my favourite ships from a tv show that I liked. I have also reblogged content that is about another ship that I like from an animated show but when it comes to the DC comics characters that I like (Dick Grayson and Jason Todd) I actually dislike romances and the idea of love interests, a lot. In Jason’s case, I actually hate the idea of him having love interests.

And that’s because of several reasons, but I believe they can all be enclosed into one thing, Jason doesn’t seem to be into romantic relationships or established romantic relationships. Every time they put him in one of those things start to make less sense, I will explain it more in detail because I will be going through every single relationship that was, hinted at, teased or official for Jason in the last eleven years. (Yup, I have found every single relationship that Jason has had forced and/or out of place).

This is, of course, what I think, you are allowed to think otherwise.

JASON TODD AND LOVE INTERESTS.

New 52.

Essence, Jason’s first kiss and some other things.

Essence was, as per New 52 onwards, the first person that Jason had a relationship with. (RHatO vol.1 #7). They met back in the All-Castle and with her, he said that he felt, for the first time after being resurrected “alive”. Yeah, it is a little bit weird, let’s suppose that Jason was 17 when he first met her, and when I say “other things” I do mean it, the panels are never explicit but there is enough information given and shown that tells us that Jason shared a lot of firsts with her.

But here is my first complaint, Lobdell didn’t need to tell us all that, in fact, he could just have told us that they were friends back in the All-Castle because when Essence is introduced in the story, Jason already thinks that she betrayed him and the All-Castle and he repeats several times that he either: wants to kill her or should have killed her in the past already. (RHatO vol.1 #7)

So, the first person that Jason had a love and/or sexual relationship with is now an enemy through betrayal, or so he thinks. After some back and forth and some other truths getting revealed, everything gets solved, Jason and Essence suddenly don’t interact much with each other.

We get another peek at their current relationship when she shows up in Roy’s hospital bed to help him recover from his injuries. There Jason says that she was his first kiss and that even though they have chosen different paths and they have tried to kill each other a few times they are still there for each other.

Wow, what a lovely message Lobdell, two people who have tried to kill each other and have an overall nasty/manipulative relationship, are still there for each other, which is what truly matters. Give me a break Lobdell, what is this? I understand this book is old by now but this narrative is not cute or special. They barely trust each other and they have been more than willing to kill each other but they are still on good terms, yay! Shut up.

Isabel, the flight attendant that may be a little too pushy at times.

Us and Jason met Isabel, the flight attendant when Jason is travelling along with Roy (RHatO vol.1 #2). Her introduction is very sexualised and Jason and her flirt a lot, he “checks her out” but he is also thinking that Isabel is better off not crossing paths with him anymore, but apparently that isn’t what she thinks because she leaves her number along with Jason’s drink. He is very surprised about that fact.

Jason had been struggling with the idea of calling Isabel because he didn’t want to mix his vigilante life with his normal life, that’s why when he calls her, he hangs up as soon as she answers the call. (RHatO vol.1 #7).

But that insecurity is thrown out of the window (apparently) because he does go on a date with Isabel even though he is doing everything possible to hide his double life (RHatO vol.1 #10). Isabel seems to be having an amazing time and as they reach Jason’s hotel, he offers to call her a cab, which means “date is over I want to go home”, but Isabel has other ideas she starts pushing him and saying maybe I don’t want to leave just yet and Jason is a little uncomfortable but Isabel just kisses him. Yeah, non-consensual kissing happens and this is the first (but not last) time it happens. The kiss is interrupted by someone else and the whole thing ends up with that someone (Orc), Kory, Roy and Jason talking.

Jason was so ready to make Isabel go at the end of their date earlier that he barely notices her when Kory and the others show up. She is literally on the floor asking what is going on and Jason doesn’t notice her until after they are teleported to a spaceship. Jason was so out of it that he didn’t notice her up until Roy pointed her out. How insane is that? What are you trying to say, Lobdell, Jason is an asshole? Or was Jason so uncomfortable on that date that he forgot that the date was still going on?

After they all realise that they are all stuck in space in the middle of an intergalactic war Isabel and Jason talk. Isabel lets Jason know that she thought that their date was boring and bad because Jason was trying to hide his real life, she also asks Jason why a vigilante asked a flight attendant on a date and he deflects that question like a pro. (RHatO vol.1 #11-12). You see, I think that Jason decided to go on a date with her because he thought that’s what he wanted or to prove himself that he could have something “normal”.

When they finally go back to earth Jason kinda acts like a jerk towards Isabel at the beginning but at the end of the issue, we see that Isabel invited Jason to stay the night at her apartment in Gotham, happy times happen and while Jason is in the shower Isabel gets attacked by Joker. The Joker made it seem like Isabel overdosed while Jason was in the other room which destabilised Jason a lot. He calls the cops and she is taken to the hospital after Jason leaves the apartment. (RHatO vol.1 #14-15) The last time we see her she is in the hospital recovering.

A long time passes by and we only see Isabel again when RHatO changes writers for a few issues, the author of Isabel’s comeback is Tynion. We see Isabel entering her home after a date, when she goes inside, she notices some weird robots and those things were put there by Jason who wanted to invite her to a private resort as a date. (RHatO vol.1 #28). Isabel decides to go and when Jason gets too wound up and is ready to kiss her, she tells him that he needs to slow down because a long time has passed since they last saw each other and she is quite mad that because they went on one date and she ended up on space for days and then got attacked in her own home. Jason is a bit taken aback by what she says but he doesn’t get to say much because a fight breaks out. Talk about signs… maybe they shouldn’t get together at all, you know what I mean?

After the fight was over, Isabel told Jason that she can’t do this (their “relationship”) any more, but that if the fight ever ended that he could go back looking for her. So, she “breaks up” with him but still kisses him before leaving. If you are leaving someone because you don’t feel like things are going right why on earth will you kiss them goodbye? It’s not like they were on a five-year-long relationship, they only went on two dates! Maybe this is not that big of a deal but come on…

Kory, this one wasn’t a “real” relationship but the idea of it was forced.

Although Kory appears in the first issue of RHatO we didn’t know then how Jason and Kory had met. That story is told later on and it begins with Jason appearing on the shores of an island where Kory’s ship was stuck. He is in and out of consciousness but we do see Kory taking care of him as he recovers, we also see that Kory has a little bit of heart eyes for the mysterious man, but that was because Jason looks like Dick Grayson (someone who she had dated and actually remembered even though she said she didn’t).

After Jason finally wakes up, he goes to her and she gives him clothing that used to belong to Dick, Jason knows those clothes are Dick’s but when he asks Kory who they are from she says that she doesn’t know (she was lying). After Jason gets dressed, he decides to tell Kory who he is and his story, so he tells Kory “Hey, there is something you need to know about me” and Kory kisses him. Ah yes, more non-consensual kissing, how wonderful! Jason is taken aback and Kory tells him that her people assimilate the knowledge that way, Jason doesn’t make a big deal out of it but I will. Lobdell, you knew that Kory didn’t have amnesia, and you know that Kory has been on earth for quite a long time, there was no need for that kiss. As the reader, I know that that’s how Tamareans learn stuff but I also think that Kory shouldn’t kiss people just to know new stuff! It baffles me that they are still doing this, it was silly then and it's silly now, stop the non-consensual kissing and then excusing it because of fictional alien traditions or whatever, just stop.

But I didn’t put Kory on this list for the kissing, I put her here because even though it was never explicitly shown that Jason and Kory had any type of interaction, there were some hints about it, like that time that Roy asked Jason if he was mad because he had slept with “his girl” to chich Jason answered something along the lines of “she is not my girl and she can sleep with whoever she wants”. (RHatO vol.1 #2)

But that’s not all because Lobdell gave us yet another moment in which Kory kisses Jason without his consent and Jason is written once again alarmed, this time even Roy is present and he is a little bit mad because his girlfriend is kissing someone else in front of him. At that point, Jason and Roy both knew that Kory wasn’t new to this planet and that she had been in a relationship with Dick Grayson previously. Because of all that, Lobdell passing yet another non-consensual kiss as Kory trying to tell Jason that he wasn’t alone in his fight doesn’t sit right with me, it’s even worse when you reach the end of the issue and Kory leaves both Jason and Roy on their own. (RHatO vol.1 #32) Yikes, Lobdell, yikes. (This is no hate to Kory or the other women on this run, this is pure hate towards Lobdell, please don’t get me wrong, he is the one being nasty).

Rose just appeared so Lobdell could tell us that she and Jason slept together.

Poor Rose, so many female characters being dragged into this mess by Lobdell, she really didn’t deserve this. She appeared in the last two issues of this run, two! Only for Lobdell to set up the idea that she and Jason had some fun nights in the past, honestly, who let this man write women?

Their interaction went like this: “Hey Rose, love that mask” “Yeah, I’d considered a heart tattoo that said ‘Jason’ with an axe hacking it in two” “I’m flattered, but I think you made the right choice” after Jason said that last part, he continued with this, “You want to explain what you’re doing here trying to kill us? I remember the last time I saw you; you had a big, satisfied smile on your face”. (RHatO vol.1 #39)

Really, Lobdell? She appears in the last two issues; you have them have that conversation and then in the last issue they are the only ones left (after the outlaws disband, RHatO vol.1 #40) but we never see her again, Rose isn’t mentioned in Red Hood/Arsenal or RHatO Rebirth, she isn’t mentioned any other time. Lobdell just thought that Jason didn’t look like he had fucked enough in the past so he decided to let the reader know that he had had some action. I hate him.

Barbara, this pains me, poor Babs, she didn’t deserve that.

No, Lobdell wasn’t the one who wrote this mess, it was everyone who wrote Batman Eternal. I mean, what was this group of men thinking? Where they playing darts and they had all the batboys’ pictures up on the wall and in whichever the dart got stuck, Barbara will get stuck too? Is that what happened? How often do they play this game, can they stop?

I don’t remember having read Batman Eternal and quite honestly, I didn’t want to put myself through that after I made myself read New 52 RHatO twice because I had forgotten to take notes of what had happened in each issue (I hate myself). So, I will only talk about the absurdity that was Batman Eternal #19 and #28.

All of the “relationships” that Lobdell came up with, were forced or out of place or both but this one takes the cake. It’s so simple and short, but oh, so annoying!

The phrase “You will never be Dick Grayson” coming out from Barbara’s mouth and it being directed at Jason should tell you just how many levels of wrong we are working herewith. Their whole interaction in this book seems to come from that phrase, how on earth do you build up a romance from that? Am I going crazy? Am I missing something? Come on, be honest with me.

Jason being the one who makes Barbara shake off mind control because he told her that he “only remembers what’s important, like the day he met Batgirl”, I am sorry but what? I really don’t have the words, he had even said before that he thought Babs liked him because she looked nervous, what is this writing? Since when does Jason care about Barbara? They met once when Jason was Robin and she was significantly older, what are these writers on, crack? (Batman Eternal #19)

But that’s not the worst thing, later in the book, they switch roles and Jason is apparently no longer interested in Barbara but she is all like “maybe you should stay this time, Jason. Help the family. Save Gotham” and Jason says “Gotham’s never been enough for me Barb” and I am not kidding, she tells him “What if there was more…?” That was hilarious, my gods, they must have been high when they wrote that because that is just too wild for me.

And Jason, the absolute beast that he is, says, “No. Because Barb, it’s like you said… I’ll never be Dick Grayson” (Batman Eternal #28). Jason, you dramatic little shit, what is going on? Why did the writers put us through all that just to end up being like “Babs is thirsty for Jason but he has already moved on”, what was the point of these interactions?

Yeah, that’s all I can say about that, let’s just move on to the mess that was Rebirth.

Rebirth.

Artemis, a new player enters the game.

While we did meet her in the first issue Jason isn’t seen being flirty with her up until they are in a bar and Jason is really drunk, he tells her that she has beautiful green eyes and Artemis is like, “if you are hitting on me, I will punch you in the head” (RHatO vol.2 #8), Lobdell back at it again with that mix between flirting and violence that I hate so much, lovely. But I guess this meant that Artemis was setting boundaries.

Boundaries and kinda thrown out of the window when later in the book we have something like looked like the start of a kiss that didn’t really happen because they were interrupted (RHatO vol.2 #11). Jason also acts a little too cheeky in two instances in another issue, one of them was a bit funny the other one no so much because Artemis was talking about how she had let only three people into her heart and one of them was now dead and she might have been losing another one, at that moment all Jason has to offer is “about that third person… does his name rhyme with Rason Rodd?”, which was a bit out of tune of him. (RHatO vol.2 #13).

The big surprise though is that out of the blue we have an issue called ‘Date Night’ where Jason and Artemis seem to go out on a date! What? We are moving on so fast! (Spoiler Alert: Jason thought it was a date, Artemis only wanted to talk about how weird Bizarro was acting at the time). One of the things that really caught my attention was how differently she was characterized in the issue and that within the story Jason hadn’t realised that Artemis wasn’t really acting like herself either. It could have been a cute date if not for the fact that Artemis wasn’t acting like herself because she wasn’t “really” on a date with Jason. Also, Lobdell does love to hint at Jason’s sex life, before they went on the date Bizarro said “use it (the teleporting door) all night if you need” and Jason responded, “I don’t think we will be needing it all night. I mean, if we do that’s okay, but I’m not, like, expecting anything”, it was kinda funny but yeah, come on! (RHatO vol.2 #19).

From that issue, we jump to the great finale (or not) of this “epic” “love” “story”, the so awaited kiss between Jason and Artemis, oh yeah baby! A couple of issues with flirting, a date that wasn’t a date but maybe if Bizarro wasn’t going insane at the time (who knows?). This kiss obviously comes with the separation of this team of outlaws, Jason is left alone on earth while Artemis and Bizarro are swallowed by a portal of sorts. Jason finally gets the kiss that he so desired, but at what cost? (RHatO vol.2 #25). Brutal issue for Jason, it was also like a special edition because it was bigger and that makes me laugh because all Jason did in that issue was suffer, how unlucky can this guy get?

We don’t see Artemis for a while but when she does come back, she is being controlled by something and it’s making her want to kill Jason, so to shake whatever was controlling her, Jason kissed her and hoped for the best (it worked). See, Lobdell can change! Before it was women forcing Jason into a kiss, now it’s the other way around! Yay! (RHatO vol.2 #41).

After all that we see Jason and Artemis spending some time together, it looks very friendly, they even have a very nice moment when Artemis hugs Jason as he lets himself grieve the loss of Roy. Jason also seems aware (this time) that Artemis is acting a little off and he gets her to talk about how much she missed her axe. It feels like they are taking it slow, they are figuring themselves out after so long, they probably won't kiss and make things complicated, right? Yeah, no, they do kiss, but they each pretend that it was like kissing a sibling. In the end, Jason does say that he lied and that he knows that she lied to him and that was okay with him, my only critique with this is: Why did they have to kiss? They could have waited instead of kissing and then lying about their feelings, what is this, Wattpad? (RHatO vol.2 #42)

Their relationship comes to a halt and we end up seeing them together (in a messy bed, twice) at the end of Lobdell’s run. But even though those two had their fun and Jason almost told Artemis that he loved her, things weren’t really meant to end with them as a couple because at the very end of the issue Artemis says her final goodbye to Jason. She says, “This is it. The end of us. I’m not being mean. I’m genuinely happy for you Jason. You have grown so much since you started the outlaws. But you don’t need us anymore. You don’t need me. Tell me I’m wrong” to which Jason responds, “I can’t. But if I ever needed anyone, it would have been you, Princess”. (RHatO vol.2 #50).

All in all, this was the best-developed relationship that Jason had, but so much about this, one could have easily been transformed into a friendship between the two. You will see better what I mean after I talk about Isabel’s presence in this run. Maybe it is just me, but a solid friendship between these two could have been spectacular, mostly because of what had happened in that one annual that had Dick as a guest.

In that issue Jason was very jealous of Artemis having the most obvious heart eyes for Dick, she was very flirty with him and he was a real gentleman with her. When she offered to take him back to his trailer at the circus he said yes and there, as they were walking towards his trailer, Lobdell wrote the best piece of dialogue in his ten years writing Jason. Dick asked, “So, are you and Jason… together?” to which Artemis responded, “Me? And Jason? Anyone and Jason?”. How is Lobdell so blind to his actual interesting takes on Jason Todd. Aromantic Jason was right there Lobdell, but you had to push your shitty version of “romance” every step of the way! (I am fine with Jason having a fantastic sexual life but listen, Jason being aromantic was still possible).

Essence, first Jason accused her of betraying him but now *Uno reverse card*

Do you guys remember that Essence and Jason’s last interaction in New 52? Jason said that even though they were always fighting or willing to kill each other they also will always be there for one another? Well, when Essence comes back in Rebirth she plans on killing Jason because apparently this time around he was going to betray her. Their very first interaction in this run (RHatO vol.2 #35), consists of Essence saying, “I don’t know if I should kiss you or kill you” to which Jason responds, “why do you have to choose?”. Lovely, Lobdell is back at it again with his shitty version of quirky “romance”, if he is trying to write them as sarcastic, he needs to do a better job at it because it’s not a good look, and not everyone has read his New 52 run so introducing these two in this book this way is kinda not good. But then again, maybe that’s just me.

As a fight ensues after they said those things, we are shown panels of Jason and Essence when they were together in the All-Castle, they would be cute panels if not for the fact that they are currently fighting to the death. It is an insane contrast, and Lobdell also has Jason think “I was the first human trained by the All-Castle. She was the only heir to a throne she never wanted. It was never going to work out between us.” But the thing is that it did work out between each other until Jason left the All-Castle, when they met each other again they had both been fed lies about the other and neither of them seems to want to look for clues to make sure that those rumours of betrayal were true. One will think that now, one of you might not feel so confident when they think the other will betray them again, you went through this already losers! But I don’t blame Jason or Essence for their stupidity, I blame Lobdell.

The fight lasts a few pages but it will end with Essence stabbing Jason with her ‘Blood Blade’ (not to be confused with the All-Blades, those are Jason’s), but here is the thing the Blood Blade comes with a curse if you draw blood from someone innocent your soul will be trapped inside the blade. This is what happened to Essence because Jason was innocent of what she was accusing him, just like she was innocent in New 52 when Jason accused her of betraying him and the All-Castle. Boring.

Now here is the thing, Essence might be dumb or she didn’t know how the Blood Blade worked because later on in the book, the blood blade is teleported by Essence (she was still inside of the blade) to the front door of Isabel’s home. The very next time that we see Isabel she is unconsciously sharing a body with Essence after touching the blade. She possessed her because at that time she still believed that Jason wanted to “destroy the world” (RHatO vol.2 #45). It wasn’t long until she realised that she was wrong and then teamed up with Jason once again. (RHatO vol.2 #46).

Lobdell, why must you recycle stories all the time and make women look stupid? Why would she still believe that Jason was up to no good after she got trapped in the blade? But my point here is that this is supposed to be Jason’s first love and their relationship consists of, flirting, remembering the good times, and almost killing each other every time they see each other because *betrayal*, it’s so tiring and annoying. Do better.

Isabel, aw, shit, here we go again!

Lobdell really had ladies ready to appear in Jason’s life when another had just left. This is one of my major problems with the way Lobdell writes all of Jason’s relationships. It would be lovely if DC and Lobdell just outright said that Jason is only interested in having sexual relationships that aren’t meant to last a long time. Because the way they had him involving himself with women seemed a little sketchy, in #25 Artemis finally kissed him and he seemed pretty happy about it, but then she was gone and now that Isabel appears in Jason’s life again, he acts as if Artemis didn’t exist.

Isabel shows up at the Iceberg Lounge after Jason made public his comeback and his management of the place. One would think that given how things ended up in New 52, Isabel would like to take things slow, after all, she had told him that he could go back to her if he stopped living his double life, but no, she talked to him for a few seconds and then proceeded to kiss him out of the blue. Lobdell’s favourite type of kissing makes a comeback, how nice, I didn’t miss it at all!

I want to be honest with you, maybe I am being too harsh, maybe these are all “surprise” kisses but in a way, it still doesn’t feel right, this is not the first time that someone kisses Jason when he doesn’t expect it (Isabel has done it multiple times already), but he is written as if he didn’t care, and that is not good. Men can feel pressured into kissing someone or can feel like they are being harassed. Lobdell and everyone on this creative team seem to think that being kissed by someone you haven’t seen in very long out of the blue is romantic or cute or sexy or whatever but it has repeated itself so much that I only find it uncomfortable and annoying to read and see. (RHatO vol.2 #33). Maybe it was just me because in that issue where Isabel goes to the Lounge they get attacked and she is not at all bothered by it, this time around, Jason even tells her that her safety is his first priority which is quite funny because the first time they were in a date Jason forgot she was present and only realised that she had been teleported alongside the outlaws to a space ship when Roy pointed it out, but I guess Jason is a different man now. I guess he wants to cultivate a relationship with her now.

And he might because your boy asked Isabel on a date in Paris. They just happened to both be around Paris at that time but here is where Jason says something that makes me speculate as to why he is actually dating, he thinks this, “Isabel Ardila. A flight attendant. Maybe the only normal person I’ve ever allowed in my life. Don’t ask me why.”

Well, Chonky, I won’t be asking you anything, I will actually give you the answers as to why you are letting Isabel into your life. You do it because you equate dating to normalcy, but I am here to tell you that it's fine if you don’t want to date and form romantic bonds, it's not something normal, it's just something some people do. If you like going out with her because of the sex or whatever then that’s fine too, but if you have to question why you are doing something, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it at all.

Jason looks a bit uncomfortable, and we also see that he is feeling sad and lonely because he misses Roy. He even thinks, “sometimes, she even makes me feel normal”. All of this normal talk really speaks to me about Jason trying to have friends outside the job but he doesn’t know how to approach that so he dates women because it makes him feel normal. I can relate to that feeling in a way, and I just think that Jason is confusing friendly love with romantic love, I don’t even know if he knows of the existence of platonic love. A reader that understands those feelings can see that maybe Jason is struggling to feel normal when he realises that he doesn’t love the same way as others. The thing is, I don’t really think that is what Lobdell intended to do, he just wanted to push two of his agendas, Jason has an active sexual/love life and Roy Harper was Jason Todd’s best friend and the only one who is allowed to suffer his death is Jason. In fact, back at the time, Jason was actually one of the few people (or maybe the only person) allowed to mourn Roy.

When the date is over and Jason’s walking Isabel to her hotel, they have a chat where it’s revealed that Isabel thinks that Jason isn’t still living that double life, she actually thinks that Jason is only working as the owner of the Casino, Jason doesn’t correct her. And then there is this very weird line that Isabel says, “The airline picks up my tab. This way you know I don’t love you for your money”, Jason is very taken aback when he heats Isabel say that she loves him so he manages to say “did you just…?” but Isabel stops him with a kiss and a simple “nope”. Jason moves on and goes to work because he is still doing the vigilante gig, the double life, that Isabel thinks doesn’t exist anymore. (RHatO vol.2 #34).

Isabel and Jason’s relationship has always looked forced to me, in rebirth, it was even weirder because Jason had just kissed Artemis and when she was gone, Jason kind of acted as if it didn’t matter that much to him and moved on easily with Isabel, but now Jason is acting kind of sketchy too because he is hiding his double life and the last time he did that Isabel ended up in a lot of trouble. I really don’t know if Lobdell remembers his own shitty writing but he should remember this stuff.

We move on too, and now Isabel has come to visit Jason at one of the events that the Iceberg Lounge has got going on, once again Jason is acting a bit strange because he was having trouble at the time with the idea of his biological father actually trying to contact him before he was killed and he was also having trouble because he was in Gotham after his adoptive father beat the living shit out of him and “banned” him from stepping foot in Gotham again. Jason seems to open up a little to Isabel but just as he starts doing so, she tells him she has to leave. Jason looks hurt for just one panel and then he moves on with his (double) life. (RHatO vol.2 #35). This is the issue where Jason also comes across Essence and traps her in her own blade.

Because everything falls apart in what was one of the best arcs written by Lobdell, Jason sends Dog (Jason’s dog) to Isabel, so Dog can be safe. (RHatO vol.2 #36).

We see Isabel after some very long time, and she is described as “The on-again/off-again girlfriend of Jason Todd. Currently off-again”, at this point in time Artemis was back to being herself and Jason had kissed her and all that. I am just saying, Jason obviously isn’t comfortable in a established romantic relationship. Lobdell dances around that idea a lot, every time with all these women.

This is the issue where Isabel finds the Blood Blade outside her home. (RHatO vol.2 #43).

As you can see, I have problems with Lobdell not handling the relationships very well, there is no concrete information being told to the reader or the characters within the story about how Jason wants to date, we never know if the women in the story know that Jason has been dating/flirting with other women. I am not saying that is bad but it would have been nice if Lobdell just used his words to tell us what he is doing.

I feel like saying that Jason is the kind of man that looks for sexual relationships without commitment isn’t something that will break the world in two. All the “romance” is incredibly forced, just say that he isn’t into romantic relationships my dude… unless Lobdell really thinks that the “romances” that he came up with are actually well written.

Anyway, Jason didn’t know that Essence who he has been fighting against and then alongside was actually Isabel, so, when Isabel and Essence get separated for a moment Jason is surprised. After Isabel tells him that they are in the middle of a battle so she is going to let Essence control her body again, Jason tells her that he “loves her”. (RHatO vol.2 #49). Does he love her for doing that or does he love her because he likes her? Hmm, that’s a good question, it is never actually answered in comics because we don’t really get to see Isabel or Essence after that happens and in the following issue (Lobdell’s last) Jason and Artemis seem to have been having a very fun night and they also kiss, Jason had even kissed with Artemis before he told Isabel that he loved her.

As you can see, its all very messy, Lobdell really said “Jason can’t be directly or indirectly single but I won’t really explain what is going on to the readers or to the characters within the story”, and that speaks volumes about how bad Lobdell’s writing is. This man simply cannot remember the things that he writes, he literally had Artemis say that she didn’t think she could see Jason dating anyone and then she wants to date him and Jason had already been dating people before that statement was made! It was all so messy! It makes all these side-romantic plots pointless; Jason was lonely because he constantly lost his friends, then give him friends! Friends are nice DC, stop making it about romances when you can just give your characters solid friendships.

Barbara, this time the pain is brought to us by Geoff Johns

I put Three Jokers as part of rebirth because I still don’t know if that garbage of a book is supposed to function within actual canon or not but it came out while Rebirth was going on so that’s why it’s here.

Now, the whole book was bad, we can all agree on that but Johns’ handling of Jason and Barbra’s “relationship” made me sick. This is another thing that writers love to do to Jason, write him as the kind of man that cannot take rejection and continues to be pushy about his feelings. Please, DC, don’t ever let Johns write another comic for you, it’s embarrassing at this point.

But in this book Jason wasn’t the only one acting weird, Barbara also did some weird stuff. In this run, Barbara thought of Jason as an unhinged criminal that needs to be locked up but Jason had heart eyes for Barbara every time they saw each other, their whole dynamic was wonky and weird. They even fought before and after Jason killed one of the Jokers.

But that’s not the real problem, the problem was that Johns decided to make Jason get tortured by the remaining Jokers while naked, this man was found naked, injured and mentally unwell by Batman and Batgirl after Jason and Batman had a fight, Barbara decided to take Jason to her home so he could recover.

Jason has just come out of the shower, he was clearly mentally and physically exhausted, and also very vulnerable. When Barbara came into the room Johns had them have a conversation while Barbara was fully clothed and Jason was just in a towel, and he was talking about how lonely and not cared for he felt, he was opening himself up to Barbara and apparently, Barbara (Johns) thought that the best she could do was kiss him, you know, to offer support.

Honestly, what the hell do male comic writers smoke when they write? You don’t show support to someone that has clear feelings for you with a kiss, to then pull away and say that “we committed a mistake”, we? Girl, come on, you made a mistake and a huge one! But one will think that Jason realised that Barbara did make a mistake when she kissed him and he also accepted the fact that she didn’t feel the same way as he did… well, not really, Jason is actually written as the kinda guy that doesn’t take well rejection and the kind of guy that keeps pushing for something between him and the other person to happen.

This man asked Barbara three times if she could give him an opportunity after the first rejection and he kept getting rejected! But that is not all because we all know that at the end of the book Jason left a letter (that thankfully Barbara will never see) in Barbara’s door when he asked again to give him a chance and that he would change who he was for her, he would actually stop being the Red Hood for her! Was Johns on crack? He had to be! The levels of wrong that are being messed around with here are out of the charts! Jason Todd, who has different values and morals than Barbara Gordon would stop being Red Hood just to get a date? Boy, don’t be dumb! Do male writers think that we are going to swoon over this kind of writing, do they expect me to applaud? I won’t!

This “relationship” was forced and incredibly out of place and out of character for everyone and it pissed me off even if it doesn’t affect canon because the writing is bad and the narrative is worse! If you love someone you shouldn’t change everything about yourself to be with them AND if someone says no or rejects your advances then the only thing you should do is back down!

This shouldn’t have to be said!

Future State

Rose, if you know me then you know that this is just a big no for me.

In the Future State: Red Hood story we are shown in the first panel of the first page that Jason is sharing a bed with someone else. We get to know pretty early that someone is Rose. The setting for their relationship is awful, both of them are working for the magistrate, they hunt “masks” otherwise known as heroes or vigilantes.

Jason hates his job and is known for bringing his “masks” alive, Rose on the other hand seems to have adapted easily while working with the magistrate and she is known for bringing the “masks” dead.

First red flag, why are two people who have such different ideals in a relationship together? Let me remind you that the Magistrate is not a good corporation or idea for Gotham, they are basically domestic terrorists and Jason is bringing them people that are like him (he is there undercover). Jason is going against everything that he is in order to infiltrate the Magistrate, Rose seems to be having fun. She brings the subject between them without care and seems to not really understand that Jason doesn’t like the work that they are both doing and that he doesn’t want to talk about it as if it were a normal thing that every couple does.

The second red flag in just a couple of pages is Williamson having Rose say “This is why we make sense. Daddy issues”, wow, are we really doing that, Williamson sat there and said Rose and Jason can make a good couple because both of them have unresolved problems with their parental figures, how wonderful. To me shared trauma isn’t a deal-breaker but sure, if you want to make one of your characters revolve her relationship with her partner around trauma, then that’s on you.

Jason also had a big problem with Rose attacking people who are hiding from the Magistrate because they are actually giving food to the “masks” and to people who don’t have to eat. Rose doesn’t seem to care and that makes the relationship a bit tense. So far, there are not many positives for this couple.

Things only get tenser, people are going around wearing those red pill looking helmets that Jason used to wear in Batman and Robin (2009), the funny looking ones, and those people are just normal people that are stealing food so they can eat or take them somewhere else. Jason is following one of those people and telling them that he doesn’t want to hurt them, just talk but Rose shows up and kills them. Jason is angry and Rose goes on a rant about how being a “mask” is against the law so she had a right to kill him.

Together they figure out that those people were being controlled so they go looking for whoever was behind those helmets.

They are tense and Jason is very cold with her even when she tries to lighten up the mood, but shit gets worse when they both receive an alert to go hunt another mask: Jason Todd.

Rose wants the money. Aw, nothing says healthy relationship more than murder.

The apparent reason why the Magistrate put a target on Jason was that he had the helmet that he took from that boy, when he realises this he puts it on and hopes that Rose finds him through that, so she can help him if he gets in trouble.

Jason gets mind-controlled through the helmet and is forced to fight rose, they fight for a while and then Rose breaks the helmet. Jason says “knew you would find me” and Rose responds “you are lucky I have a crush on you”, ok, is Jason okay with Rose wanting to kill him a few minutes ago when the alert on him came out? That’s not a big deal for them? Ok.

Jason seems to be in love with Rose even though they think differently and they are written with as much chemistry as a history book, he cares for her and does everything to save her when they get attacked by the Magistrate.

When they escape the initial attack, Rose grabs Jason and tells the Magistrate’s drones that he will take the bounty for Jason but that she will deliver him alive. Jason is surprised and angry but then the drones just leave. And we are left with Jason and Rose on a rooftop alone after Rose seemingly tried to betray Jason.

Do you know what Jason does next? He tells Rose that they should go on a holiday. He cares and keeps wanting to protect her from the Magistrate. Are you kidding me? This is so messed up; I want to remind you that these were the only two issues for this story. This is all the information we had for a long while and it is disgusting. DC really let this thing be published!

Rose betrays him twice; he is willing to harm him on some level and he still wants to be with her? Am I understanding that correctly? Later on, he keeps wanting to protect her from the Magistrate after he has evidence that they are hyper corrupt.

The point I want to make is that Jason and Rose shouldn’t have been introduced to us in this book as a couple or as people who have been sleeping with each other for a long time. I don’t know why this needs to be said but having a couple where one of them can think of killing their partner is absolutely awful. And then they make it worse by having the “victim” act like it doesn’t matter and that they should work on protecting the person that wanted to betray them.

I understand that there is a Future State: Gotham run going on with a Jason story in it written by Williamson but I don’t want to go near it. Future State: Red Hood made me uncomfortable and it made me cry out of frustration. How did this story get a pass by the editor? It’s disgusting, and it’s that because of this absolutely forced “relationship” that Williamson wanted to put in.

-

My point with all of these “couples/love interests reviews” is that writers need to be more conscious about what they write and about how some readers might perceive some messages.

Non-consensual kissing, harassment and all those things shouldn’t be part of the dynamic of two people that you are trying to put together. If there is some non-consensual kissing you can simply put a panel where the person apologises for their actions, but not even that is shown in these cases.

Comic writers need to be more aware of the way they write relationships. Yes, these are fictional worlds, people and situations but you are still playing with real-life interactions. Making some things appear in comics as normal things that you do to your crush/partner or whatever has an impact on people and writers need to become aware of this.

Lobdell was dying to let us know that Jason had a very active love/sexual life, great, but you need to show healthy relationships or make things clear about the relationships that Jason had. So many interactions that Jason had with women were overlapped with each other and the reader doesn’t know how to take it, is Jason a player or is he into open relationships, to me, it didn’t look like that but hey, maybe the writer would let us know? No, he won’t, because all he wanted to do was make Jason “date” more women.

Here is the thing, I have always felt like Jason was Aromantic, he likes having sex and having fun, but established romantic relationships aren’t his thing. It is what feels right (to me) with this character. And that’s (in part) because of all these messed up relationships that he was forced into. The two times that Jason seems to “be in love” are in Three Jokers and Future State: Red Hood, those two books are horrendous when it comes to Jason and love interests, in one of them Jason acts like the kind of man that cannot and will not take well a rejection and in in the other Jason acts as if he were blind to the abusive actions his partner does to him.

None of those two concepts are healthy or nice. Writers need to do better about that, they just have to.

So, to answer your question, I don’t think Jason Todd needs a love interest. Not as the main plot or subplot, maybe as a vague mention but nothing else, because comic writers suck at writing healthy and well-developed relationships. And because I really see Jason as the kind of person that wouldn’t involve himself in a romantic relationship with anyone.

I know this answer is more a rant than an answer but this subject is one that I have thought about a lot and it really made me nervous to bring it up. To everyone who thinks differently about these relationships, I understand and keep doing you, these are all just my thoughts and they are not worth more than yours.

Anon, thank you for the ask, sorry for making you wait so long and I hope that you have a wonderful rest of the week!

[rayfollowsfromhere]

In Pursuit of a Beeping Noise

First posted on my Patreon. You can read more of my short stories at https://www.patreon.com/RachelMarieWriting

-.-.-

…beep…beep...beep...

What in the hell?

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Hospital?

Her eyes fluttered open. There was a hazy red glow.

Not a hospital.

...beep…beep…beep…

Telestra sat up. Her hand pressed against cold metal as she shoved herself into the upright position. Her back ached from the solid surface below. Her damn butt was numb.

Definitely not a hospital.

The red glow appeared to be the only source of light because she couldn't see a damn thing either.

Where the hell was she?

Beep. Beep. Beep.

And what the hell was beeping!

She pushed down against the floor to haul herself onto her feet. Telestra considered herself many things, tall was not one of them. When she stood up straight her head immediately collided with something.

Something that made a metallic 'tink!' when it came in contact with her forehead. She immediately reeled back.

"What in the ever loving fuck!"

Because low light wasn't enough of an obstacle…

Telestra put her hands out, miming herself into some situational awareness. Her head ached. Her body ached.

…beep…beep…beep…

And there was beeping.

The day was officially on her top twenty. It hadn't beat her twelfth birthday yet though, so there was still a chance at recovery.

Her fingers ran down one wall that arched downward into a console. Her knee collided with the edge of it a moment later.

She'd take it.

Running her hand along the surface, Telestra could make out buttons. Analog. They were raised above and making cheerful 'clack-clack' noises as her hand compressed them down. One was significantly larger than the rest.

Her twelve years of primary school and six years of additional training told her that was significant.

"You either turn something on. Or you launch something." She was hoping for on.

Screens behind her came to life as soon as she pushed it.

On.

Yay!

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Shut up! I hear you!"

…beep…beep…beep…

Telestra moved to the screens. There were more consoles, more buttons. More distressingly… there were screensavers.

Anatomically impossible screensavers.

"Fucking disgusting..." Telestra growled as she looked over the buttons - searching for familiar characters.

Lines. Just. Lines.

Not even raised lines.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

No dots. Couldn't be morse code.

"Couldn't use even a single number, had to be difficult."

Telestra did what her six years of training told her to do. She whacked the console. A couple times.

The screensaver blinked out.

An overhead light buzzed on.

Progress. Sorta.

…beep...beep…beep...

"I will kill you." Telestra narrowed her eyes. "As soon as I find you."

The light illuminated the room - what appeared to be a spherically shaped box. Made of metal. With tiny consoles around the two long walls. There was a door with a pressured lock on both ends of the room.

The red glow was coming from a bulb that jutted out of the wall above the one to her left. Upon close inspection - a quick shuffle towards the door - Telestra was able to determine the beep was not coming from that region.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Boy howdy, if you don't shut up…"

It was coming from a screen. It wasn't lit up like the others - no blue screen or horrible screensaver. She knelt down in front of it.

...beep...beep…beep…

"I heard you!"

The screen was horizontally inlayed into a console. Not quite flat. Spherical. She looked underneath. Panel.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Telestra yanked open the panel. It didn't require that much effort. She fell backwards as it came loose in her hands. She caught herself before she hit the floor.

…beep…beep…beep…

"...bastard."

Wires. And more wires. All of them black. Most of them taped in one section or another. It really inspired confidence in whoever had last touched it. Electrocution: Party of One!

She shoved her hands in, fiddling and twiddling until the damned screen lit up green. It was a dark green. But color was color and Telestra didn't much care.

There were markings on the glass and a bright line spinning around inside. Dots all around the center point lit up as it came around.

Well, her studies hadn't covered this, but her last binge watch did.

"Am I in a fucking ship?!”

Should have taken swim lessons!

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The beeps did not match up with the dots or the light. Great. Telestra sat down. The metal floor wasn't quite flat and she fell backwards a bit. Arms flailing as she caught herself on the minuscule slope.

Spherical box. A tube.

…beep…beep…beep...

Submarine.

Why did Grena let her watch Shark Week? She couldn't swim. She'd never even seen a pool!

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"I am calm!" Telestra snapped. She crossed her arms.

Grena would know what to do. Grena would know where the beeping was coming from. Grena would know what it meant. Grena probably even knew what the dots stood for!

…beep…beep…beep…

"Fuck Grena."

Telestra got up, kneeling back over the wires that now protruded from the opened panel. She looked down at her hand.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

She bit the tip of her smallest finger, slicing through the synthetic skin with her teeth until she got resistance. She spit the scrap of skin out and wiggled her finger. Aluminum and zinc plating.

...beep...beep…beep…

For once, buying the cheap shit for her external wasn't biting her in the ass.

She stripped off the tape from a wire at random. With a deep breath, Telestra pressed her little finger against the exposed wiring. She felt a jolt. It was live.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Nothing exploded. Telestra counted that in the win column and stripped another piece of tape from a wire. She repeated the process. Another jolt. Also live.

It was another four wires before she got anything more than electric shock as feedback. And it was a damn screensaver.

…beep…beep…beep…

"Well screw you too!"

Another wire down. Nothing. Another. Shock. And another. Screensaver.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"I know you're doing this on purpose!"

…beep…beep…beep…

Another wire. Another…oh.

Code scrolled on for an obscene amount of time. Telestra didn't bother trying to read it. Her tertiary processor was already parsing the code for useful bits.

It was the home screen she found herself puzzling over. Primary processor, secondary processor, and her frontal lobe.

"What in the hell is a Windows?"

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Very helpful."

Some searching - and three failed minesweeper games - revealed to Telestra that she was dealing with an operating system. Great. Might as well hand her a rotary phone!

Not that she knew what that was. It was the name of a stock photo she'd opened in paint. The analogy still stood, of course, just with the bulk of it flying over Telestra's head.

What else was new?

Operating systems predated AIs and Telestra had spent all of two weeks in sixth form pretending to listen to what those were.

"Little help?"

…beep…beep…beep…

"I thought not."

Telestra dove deeper, finding all sorts of useless applications she couldn't make heads or tails of. Eventually, her tertiary processor took pity and spat out some administrative passwords that accessed the base code.

Hooking into that at least made her search quicker.

"Global satellite positioning system?"

…

"No."

…

"Sonar diagnostic program?"

…

"No."

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Airlock pressurization sequence start up it is!"

She activated the program. It had the most interesting file type - .exe. Telestra had never heard of it.

…beep…beep.

"Success!"

The overhead light went out.

"Too soon?" Telestra unhooked from the wire. She stood up just in time for the sub to jostle her straight into the console opposite.

Story of her life.

She double over after colliding with the blunt edge. Her spleen was none too happy with her. And her temperature modulator reported a dent.

"Fucking hell."

Telestra glared at the ceiling, for lack of a better target. The red light above the one pressure seal went off. Another light appeared on the opposite side. She turned her head just in time for the green light to flicker.

Grena had told her to invest in a night vision upgrade. Telestra had bought an extended streaming package for her memory drive. Example #3479 of why Telestra should just fucking do what Grena fucking says.

Over her dead body.

A squeak and a hiss later and her spherical hell was illuminated in light. Most of it directly into her eye.

This day…

"Identify yourself?" A voice called out - deep and rhythmic. Telestra winced.

"Telestra Zeta," her voice modulator whirred. It was harsh and rattling. The owner of the well-maintained modulator did not respond.

Great. Just what she needed. A classist.

"Who are you?" Telestra yelled out, still squinting into the light, "And could you maybe turn that down a little! It's worse than the damn beeping!"

If they thought not responding would keep her from speaking, well, they obviously hadn't spent much time outside the databanks.

The light dimmed. She blinked. There were three figures - short, stocky, and all wearing the same ugly brown jumpsuit. Telestra's cheep rubberized skin looked better than the odd material hanging loosely from their bodies.

"Thanks," Telestra took a step towards them. They still didn't speak. When she got closer she realized there were more saggy skinned figures behind the first three.

One of them. Not the one with the rhythmic modulator stuck out his right hand, "Jimmy Bairn." His speech stuttered. Telestra smiled. A fellow non maintained.

Weird name though. But the higher up the alphabet you go the weirder the names. Or so Grena had told her. Not that Telestra believed her or anything.

"Why are we on a ship?" Telestra took another step. One of the loose skins took a step back. She tilted her head, "I'm not infected."

She may not maintain her parts as well as some, but her software was regularly debugged. And she kept up on her vaccines! No tetanus!

It was Jimmy who spoke again, "We work here. The question we have is how you got here?"

That. That was. Good question.

"But...we're not actually in the ocean are we? With salt and sharks and..." Telestra shuddered, "Orcas."

A noise blared from behind Jimmy. Quick. Like a shout. But lighter.

"What was that?"

Jimmy took another step closer. She could see him clearly now. She really should upgrade her eyes. The organics just weren't doing it.

He looked like he had…fur…? On his face?

"That was a laugh. Henry’s a bit of an arse."

Telestra blinked. Who… were these people?

"What in hell is a laugh?"

[mellz117]

Hello and welcome to the start of Mellz Plays Kingdom Hearts Re:CoM on the Playstation 2; Riku’s campaign

If you haven’t seen my thoughts on Sora’s story, why not start with Part 1? For the 5 of you who’ve been following along since then, welcome back! Check out the rest under the read more! I’m playing on standard difficulty so if I’m having a hard time, I just suck.

So we, as Riku wake up in the basement of Castle Oblivion. How did he get there? Sora just waltzed in like it was no big deal. Riku has to materialize in a cold basement and be woken up by the disembodied voice of an all too familiar bastard… Who has a new voice.

Thanks for the card, voice of Ansem, “Seeker of Darkness”. That ain’t him. It’s been almost 10 years and I don’t remember much of this game but I know that new Richard Epcar voice ain’t Ansem.

Riku’s got no time to waste, he’s a man on a mission.

So we get a melancholy scene with Riku happening upon the room Maleficent gave him during his association with her in the first game. Memories he’d rather forget.

After progressing a bit, the disembodied voice returns once again to taunt Riku. “You cast aside your home, your friends, the darkness. What else do you have? Nothing. Your heart is as empty as your old room.”

It’s so weird playing as Riku but I hope we get more of that beyond KH3 (ReMind hasn’t released at the time of writing this)

Alot of this game so far has been me saying “I don’t remember this”… …So I don’t remember Riku’s level up system being this different to Sora’s.

…well that’s bullshit. I vaguely remember that. The fact that I can’t even edit the order my cards appear to me in battle is even more bullshit. I like to organize my cards by type and value until I’m forced to use a different method.

So I dont have to wait for the reload gauge to count down, it’s immediate and I dont lose a card on every reload like I thought I remembered… What’s the catch? I don’t trust like that.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

We meet up with Maleficent at the end of the map. She’s 100% aware she’s a figment of Riku’s memory. Riku is none too pleased to see her.

I love his sass

Riku’s ready to kick the asses of everyone corrupted by darkness, including his own, he says. Time for a dragon fight because otherwise Maleficent isn’t a threat apparently lmao. I don’t think the mcguffen card even showed up.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Oh look it’s that asshole. Or is it? Dun dun dunnnnn. God his lips look soft. Why was this necessary???

So who has dominion over this castle? Marluxia, or Ansem?

This fucker is like “Sonny, you couldn’t even win against Sora. You don’t stand a chance against me”.

You have a teenager lying on the ground... Please reword your demands.

Oh my god it’s Mickey Mouse! well… sort of. He’s a bright light. Gives Riku some nice words to keep him going.

Knowing what I know now about the Guardian heartless bro, everything is so much worse…

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Ooh first scene with the boys in the dark room. “Don’t I even warrant a hello, Lexaeus?” I don’t remember seeing this as funny before but now, like 10 years later I appreciate how funny it truly is. Zexion sounds so insulted.. Lexaeus is a man of few words. Then Vexen shows up and he’s getting right down to business. Zexion’s like “Nice to see you too. We all used to be so close, what happened?”

Vexen’s all offended about that and gets pissy about “rank this, rank that, ooh I’m number 4, you shrimpy child.” as if your number indicated rank. Xigbar is the 2nd member but Xemnas’s 2nd in command is Saix (from my understanding) so sit your ass down, Vex.

So Zexion’s special talent? He smells people.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Riku smells people too?. Oh ok he can smell the darkness in his skin. Take a shower! …When was the last time he even got the opportunity?

Mickey appears before him and tells him some words of encouragement. He’s transparent because he can’t fully manifest in the castle right now. So where’s the other 50% opacity hanging out at?

“We shook hands in our hearts” omg… 

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Let’s go to Neverland first yay. I did a team attack with Mickey. I remember that!

Imagine being in Riku’s stupid, dumb, giant, anime boy shoes… addressing a giant, bipedal mouse as “Your Majesty”……….. Actually my sister and I used to do that back in the day when we both were obsessed with the series. Regardless of context we’d call him “King Mickey”. It makes me cringe thinking back on it.

Oh I was gonna try to challenge myself to avoid using the dark power but I guess I dont have a choice but to use it. Might as well put points into it if that’s the case.

uses Key to Beginnings, is immediately thrown into a battle with Captain Hook oh I guess we’re not focusing on any events in these worlds they’re literally just to pad out Riku’s story. Riku is officially less Disney than Sora.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

How does Zexy know who Riku is? “Riku is here because Sora is here”. Vex that makes zero sense. What else is new?

Agrabah. Uneventful. Riku is not good at hitting small targets. Had a hell of a time fighting Jafar, or rather beating Iago to a pulp, in comparison to playing as Sora.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Next scene, and immediately like NO breath between the fade in and the scene itself, Vexen appears. And in even less time after he appears, “I take it you’re Riku?” This mofo has no time to waste. He’s a busy man.

Riku’s already tired of his bullshit and is ready to FIGHT. Same, Riku. Same.

I had him stun locked during most of this battle.

I JUST LOVE RIKU’S COMPLETE LACK OF FUCKS GIVEN HE’LL BEAT VEXEN’S SHIELD WITH HIS FISTS AND POMMEL

Vexen is a fucking twerp. And seems alot more crazy, mad scientist-y when interacting with Riku than Sora. Emphasis on “mad”. He cray

Why do they hang out in the dark? I mean, why no lamps? All I can imagine is them hanging out and barely able to actually see each other. The only way anyone knows who’s there is because Zexion can smell people, everyone else just assumes Lexaeus is there, Vexen won’t shut up about something something science, and Axel likes to hear himself talk.

Fat boi

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Zexion and Lexaeus are talking about what’s going on,  I’m still not sure what they’re doing here. Like, do they want Sora for the Organization? But Marluxia wants Sora as his personal puppet? What about Roxas? Isn’t he like, in a coma or something? Just kill Sora, Roxas will wake up, and SOMEONE’S got a Keyblade wielder again. Lex says Vexen hates Marluxia and things with the replica could turn out disastrously because of it. What IS Vexen’s beef with Marly?

Ok I know it’s to pad out a second campaign but why does Riku go to SORA’S memory worlds? Unless Riku stalked him throughout the entirety of KH1, or had so visit them for darkness missions, and those are his memories as well? Idk, it doesn’t have to be explicitly stated

Oh no Riku, it’s you.

So at this point he’s aware hes a copy? Does he forget later? With Namine’s meddling? How does Vexen create a living, breathing entity out of battle data? Like, where did the body come from? Did he have it on standby for a while until the right moment?

“You’re afraid of the dark” Repliku states.. Lmao yeah, Riku- he still sleeps with a night light. Don’t tell Sora.

Repliku is like, a worse Riku as far as personality goes. The punk-ass bitch Riku from KH1 but worse. Repliku is quick to ditch the double pants with suspenders and ankle belts for a muscle suit and grass skirt. I’m not sure which one’s worse.

FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! I got two level ups out of that!

I high key love Repliku’s laugh here when Riku tries to attacks him again RIGHT AFTER THEIR FIGHT. It’s adorable, hilarious, and creepy. GG David Gallagher! Check out that video if you want. [video]

Dutch angles make everything more dramatic. Unofficial rule no. 1 of cinema. Repliku peaces out and we give chase up another flight of stairs and another cutscene plays. Repliku joins Zexion, Lexaeus, and Vexen in the dark room and they talk about introducing him to Sora.

Riku finds himself alone on the next floor, yelling at empty air. Ansem shows up to taunt Riku again. This dude just doesn’t quit. God forbid he learns no means go the fuck away.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Oh hey we’re in Atlantica! Maybe Riku can wash that darkness smell off his skin. Oh wait the water doesn’t really exist. And hes just a human, not swimming like a mermaid. Give me mer-Riku, you cowards. Twiggy mer-Sora is funny, twiggy mer-Riku with buff arms would be HYSTERICAL. I had a difficult time with Ursula because poor card management and I’m avoiding battles to get this game over with, which kinda shoots me in the foot as I’m not leveling up.

Yeah I was right, he ends up thinking HE’S Riku. I honestly feel bad for the guy… he’s so scared and betrayed. I know I was shit talking him just a bit ago but I need to protect Repliku. [video]

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Give Riku a Halloween Town outfit, you cowards.

This scene between Repliku and Namine is so bittersweet. [video] Just listen to how gentle he talks to Namine. Oh, my heart cannot handle it.

This game makes me so sad. Poor Repliku, poor Namine… Larxene continues to be The Worst. Like, the ABSOLUTE worst. Was Elrena like this?

(I keep getting progressively more and more angry because I can’t upload a video file to this on desktop but I can on mobile, but if I post a video on mobile I can’t edit a read more on desktop. AND I HAVE THREE VIDEOS I WANT TO PUT IN. SO I MADE A BLOG SPECIFICALLY SO I CAN POST THEM THERE AND LINK THEM HERE)

See you in part 2, where I will continue to drag Larxene.

[xvnot15]

Tag Game

Tagged by: @conejocabron

Why the username?: Ahh well it’s all tied to my second major fandom of Xena. My nickname (see more details below) got shortened to XV and one of my STV Janeway/7 buddies kept teasing me and calling me 15 (as in xv is 15 in Roman numerals)  So my catchphrase at the start of all my emails was “It’s X—V--- not 15!”  And her being the wonderful ass-hat she was, (god I do miss her) said “Oh, how’s it going XVnot15.”  LOL  I use it as my pen name as well for fanfic.

Zodiac: Aries But I’m an Aries lamb not a ram.

Height: 5 foot 4 inches as I have been since my 11th birthday.

Time:15:32

Favorite band/artist:  I love all sorts from Mozart to Twisted Sister but given that I’ve been to only 6 concerts in my life and 5 of the were for one artist I best answer Neil Diamond!!

Song stuck in my head: Electric Dreams…there is currently a commercial on UK television with it being sung and it stays in my head ofr ages after each time I see it.

Nickname: OY!  Soo very many over the years, Bertha Beth, SuzyQ, Sunshine, Fingers (given by my grade 7 Shop teacher because I ripped up a finger in a scroll saw, OUCH!) Rugrat, Pooh, Mrs Mangalogo… But the one that has stuck and by which I was actually called by just about everyone who knows me was XenaVirgin, then shortened to XV. And I blame Lucy Lawless for it as she gave it to me at the 10th Convention.  Check out the 10th Convention DVD on the back there’s a whole section titled I’m a XenaVirgin which is there because that’s how I introduced myself when I got to ask Lucy and Renee a question and you can hear me asking the question.  Then my Lady Wife created a yahoo account with the name so I could join the Xena Fan Club Kit yahoo group. And after that it just stuck.

Last movie I saw: Toy Story 4

Following:…me? Following 400  being Followed by 569

Average amount of sleep: NEVER BLOODY ENOUGH!!!  I’ve had sleep problems since I was 4 years old and woke up in an empty house because my eldest brother who was supposed to be babysitting me buggered off to visit his girlfriend. Totally freaked me out and I’ve never slept well since, That being said the best time for me to sleep is always between 6:00am and 12:pm.

Last thing I googled: Veronica Seton Williams – Awesome gay lady archaeologist and Egyptologist. Needed to double check if she wrote a particular book.

Other blogs: On Tumblr no.

Do I get asks: Occasionally, 8 out 10 are usually asking about Mirandy fanfics. :D

Lucky number: 3 Always my jersey number when I played hockey in the first all girl House league in Toronto. :D

What am I wearing: Black Sweatpants, Xena T-shirt and itchy grey and black wool sweater.

Dream Job: I’ve had my dream jb, lecturing in Egyptology and ancient history. Now need to get my writing career up and running. Also developing fun workshops on ancient cultures for primary schools.

Dream trips: My real dream trip would seriously be a globetrotting Road Trip to visit my online buddies and pals and give them 3D squeezes. That would take me all over the world, including Egypt and Brazil. Yay!!!

Favorite food: Lemon and feta Greek Chicken with courgettes.

Eye color: Pale blue

Hair color: Sometimes called sandy blonde, others called mousy brown.

Aesthetic: I guess it would be Academia and personal comfort.

Languages I speak: Well I chose to concentrate on dead languages so no one could bug me about my accent. Heheheh.  So Middle Egyptian (hieroglyphs) also Middle Egyptian (Hieratic), Aramaic, a smattering of Babylonian, Latin, ancient Greek, some biblical Hebrew. Also a smattering of French, German, Spanish and Yiddish.

Most Iconic song: Well the one song I will always get up and move too, even on my crutches, is 1999 by Prince. It is the essence of my teen years.

Instruments I play: Unfortunately none, though I do read music and can pick out a tune one handed on the piano, I have serious problems coordinating my hands to work together playin an instrument.

Random fact: I was catapulted out of my baby pram when I was a year old and ended up with brain damage from 2 subdural haematomas and having brain surgery. That said I went on to have an I.Q. of 145 and gain B.A. and M.Phil degrees at university. But hay it was officially brain damage, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

I tag any of the Kidlets who follow me who would like to share...just remember to @  me so I know where to find out all about ya. :D

[yes-i-also-miss-our-talks]

You Will Be Found: S/O Tag

The kiddos of YWBF decided to sit down together and answer a few questions about their relationships for a video. Enjoy!

(I’m going to do this in transcript form if you don’t mind. There’s just so many of them talking.)

Key:

A: Alana

B: Ben

C: Connor

E: Evan

J: Jared

K: Kaeto

L: Libby

Z: Zoe

J: This is going to be a clusterf**ck. I’m calling it now.

A: Have a little faith!

K: So how are we going to do this? In what order are we gonna go?

J: Twitter asked that we do it in chronological order, by who’s been together the longest. (to L and K) We know they love you more, but this is a group effort.

C: (accusatory) Spotlight hogs.

K: Not on purpose!

C: (doubtfully) Uh-huh.

Z: Boys, play nice. So, to make sure we and all the nice people at home are all on the same page, that’s Jared and Ben, then Lana and I, then Connor and Evan, and Kaeto and Libby last.

B: We win!

K: You hate competitions.

B: We’re still winning.

J: (to camera) Do you see why I love him?

*cut*

Q: How long have you been together?

J: Two years? Two and a half?

B: Something like that, yeah. It was early 2015. Sometime in March.

A: June 3rd, 2015. 10:22 a.m. Zoe had been eighteen less than twenty-four hours.

Z: Aww, you remembered the time. And you waited until I wasn’t jailbait! Okay, Con?

C: Since what, mid-August last year?

E: Yeah, it was right before you went to rehab for the last time.

C: No mind-altering substances and no boyfriend. Double torture.

E: But worth it?

C: (fondly) Like you wouldn’t f**king believe.

Z: *gags* Are you guys done being gross?

C: For the sake of not making this video three hours long, yes.

J: Kaeto and Libby’s turn!

L: What was the question?

J: ‘How long have you been together?’

L: Not long. Since what, early September? More towards the middle? There wasn’t an exact day.

K: I wrote it down, but I can’t remember exactly right now.

Q: What was your first impression of the other?

B: “Why is he smiling like that?”

J: “He’s looking at me like I’m a weirdo but it’s f**king adorable.”

A: “Green hair? That’s someone braver than me.”

Z: “This girl is so nice. How is she friends with my brother? How am I friends with my brother?”

C: Well, fuck you, too.

E: That better not be your official answer.

C: That better not be yours.

(E and C stick their tongues out at one another)

C: But for real, the first thing I remember was like, first grade, maybe? You were always really quiet at school, but then one day your mom came to pick you up after school, and she had this Golden Retriever with her. You lit up a like a g**damn Christmas tree and barreled right into that dog. After that, I always subconsciously kept a list of things that made you happy.

E: Is it still there in your head?

C: Yep.

E: You think it’s accurate?

C: I’d bet my life on it.

E: Well, are you item number one?

C: (blushing slightly) Don’t you have your own f**king question to answer?

E: [referring to ‘first impression’ question] You were always a dark cloud over a room.

C: (sarcastically) Thanks, babe.

E: But you know how I love gloomy days!

L: You two are actually sickening. I’m going to puke.

E: It’s your turn to answer.

L: Nooo, it’s gonna make me seem bitchy.

K: My first impression of you was that you were kind of a bitch.

L: Okay, I feel less bad about it now.

K: Now I don’t wanna hear it.

J: Just spit it out!

L: My first impression of Kaeto - and I warned you that it’s not the best - was “who the fuck is still wearing a giant maroon jacket at the end of May?”

[the kids wince]

Z: Yeah, I can see how you wouldn’t want to share that one.

L: And screw you all for making me say it.

*cut*

Q: When was your first kiss?

J: Like, three minutes after we established that I was not in any way joking about liking him and was dead serious when I said I wanted to date him.

B: (grinning) I have terrible self-esteem and think everyone hates me!

[Michi, laying with her head in his lap, reaches up and licks his cheek]

B: Thanks, Michi.

Z: We kissed for the first time maybe two weeks before we started dating (with air quotes) “officially” or whatever. And then it was another three weeks before we actually told anyone.

A: And by told anyone, you mean being forced to tell the truth after your roommate walked in on us making out.

Z: Yeah, she never talked to me again after I got assigned a new dorm.

A: Connor? Evan?

[they shift uncomfortably]

C: It’s really sappy and kind of personal.

E: Yeah.

J: Alright, you’re allowed to keep it vague.

E: It was like when we got together, in that it was right before Connor went into rehab, but this was literally right before.

C: (nodding) Yeah, I think that’s a good way to put it. Let’s just leave it at that; it’s a story for another video.

E: Yeah. Kaeto?

K: I know what the next question is gonna be, and it ties in with this one, so we’re gonna skip and get back to it in a bit.

L: Yay! Less talking!

*cut*

Q: Who said “I love you” first.

Z: Ooh! I vote we let Kaeto and Libby go first just to settle the anticipation.

E: Zoe, we set up an order. We have to stick to it.

A: Or else society crumbles.

E: Exactly.

Z: (grumpily) I can’t believe I chose the two of you as my favorite humans.

J: Can we go now?

C: Please do.

B: It was Jared. I made him do it.

J: That’s...not far from the truth, actually. I mean, you guys all know this, but the people watching might not, so I should explain that a lot of communicating with Ben requires total bluntness and honesty. It makes you really aware of everything you say and do, as well as often forcing you to really analyze or actions. And for me, who’s socially inept and a self-centered dick, it’s been really helpful to be able to acquire this awareness.

L: Aww, Jay, I don’t think you’re a socially inept, self-centered dick.

J: (flatly) Lib, I’m telling a f**king story. And that’s literally what Asperger’s is.

[caption reading “it is and it isn’t” appears at the bottom of the screen momentarily]

J: (more light-hearted) Anyway, when I realized I was in love -

L: Awww

J: - shut the f**k up - with Ben, I kind of freaked out a little bit. It was all internal, so I did start acting weird, Ben picked up on it, worried he’d done something wrong, and then started freaking out himself.

B: (grinning) I’m crazy like that.

J: Nah. But I had to simultaneously calm him down and deal with the fact that I was scared out of my mind because I’d never told someone who wasn’t family that I loved them before. It was a big, emotional mess and I’m glad it’s over and that we’re still here.

[B nods in agreement and leans his head on J’s shoulder]

A: In the case of Zoe and I, I’m pretty sure it was actually me who said it first.

Z: Yeah, it was one of those cases where it slips out on accident over something kind of mundane. Do you remember what it was?

A: You fed my cats so I could sleep in and then brought me Ovaltine.

C: You never tell me you love me after I feed your cats.

A: That’s because you complain the whole time! Jared steals all my Ovaltine, but at least he’s nice to my cats.

C: We are not having the cat argument again right now!

E: (laughing) Hey, Connor, I just realized that not only did you say “I love you” first, but you did it right after our first kiss.

J: You two moved way too f**king fast.

Z: Give the boys a break, they were holding onto three consecutive years of romantic and sexual tension.

E: You do realize that you’re implying that even while you and I were -

Z: I knew it as soon as I said it, but I’m not gonna take it back.

E: Okay, then. Kaeto, now are you going?

K: (nods) Yeah. So, it was -

L: (interrupting) Kaeto said it first, then I proceeded to grab his face. Not even ten seconds in between and way less sappy than these two losers (points at C and E).

J: (shudders) Why do you have to say everything so bluntly?

L: Why do you have to take such issue in the way I do things?

*cut*

Q: What’s your favorite trait about the other?

B: Jared puts a unique but positive perspective on everything. Except for when he doesn’t, but pure optimism is bad for the soul.

J: Definitely his butt.

[a stuffed rabbit flies from behind the camera and hits J on the head]

J: Sorry, Lily. I was kidding. But really, I’m going to go with either his smile or the way he indirectly forces me to see the world differently and think a bit more before I speak.

A: Zoe takes everything in stride, but not in a way that embraces chaos, per se. She can be met with a problem or situation that seems chaotic or plain overwhelming, but has no issue taking a step back and finding order in it. I don’t do super well with disorganization and chaos, and she’s helped me have more faith in myself when faced with it.

Z: Lots of people have pointed out that I’m basically dating Hermione, and that’s literally the greatest thing anyone could ever say to me. I was obsessed with Hermione as a kid, although I think everyone expected me to want to be like her, not date her. Whoops.

C: For me, Evan is kind of a calming presence, so I’m at ease with him around and having a stabilizing force has really been helpful as I’ve been going through recovery. He’s also very aware of others, which can be his fatal flaw when it makes him ignore himself, but I’ve found it really helpful. Oh, and he makes me go outside. I like going outside, but I need someone to force me to do it a lot of the time. It works out.

E: Connor makes me put myself first in situations where my concern is generally elsewhere. And he draws on sticky notes and leaves them all over the house, which never fails to make me smile. A walking partner is always nice, too.

C: I forgot to mention that you’re a space heater. Sleeping next to you in the winter is the best.

E: And the rest of the year?

C: Well, then it’s just you that’s the best.

Z: (pretends to gag)

L: I would like to set the record straight and inform everyone that my boyfriend has the softest freaking lips I have ever encountered in addition to the best dog on the planet. What else do you need?

K: (shrugs) I’ll take it. I don’t think I necessarily have a part of Libby that I like more than the rest, though. It’s a mix of features and traits that came together just so to make her who she is, and that’s someone I love who love me in return and makes me happy simply by being.

[L hugs K and peppers his face with kisses]

J: (stage whisper) That’s how you know they’ve been together the shortest period of time.

[gsmatthews95]

Ze lakes and ze mowntins

Hello. We are in a new country, yay. We were in Montenegro for a while it turns out, much longer than the other countries, mainly because there was lots to do. We had fun. I write to you now from Kosovo, breaking my tradition of writing on the bus because our journey into Kosovo was unconventional and difficult to find the time and rhythm to write a flowing piece. More on that later. I am currently in the bus station, so not much difference really, in the middle of a potentially stressful saga. Hopefully by the time it has been completed/solved/ended/resolved I will post this because I aibt in a WiFi zone ATM. I am writing now, not because my brain has the urge to express Its creativity but because an old man has Alina stuck in conversation in German about Yugoslavia I believe from the limited words I understand and we have 3 hours to kill. This should take up lots of that I hope, I may even give you a whole post about the trip to Kosovo if you like.

I left you all at the coast, after a weeks sunning and chilling, since then we have been to three places (notice three, the convincing number when essay writing): lake skadar, podgorica, and the durmitor national park. Let's go. So we went to a wee town called virpazar on the lake because it was said to be more "busy" than any of the neighbouring towns. The only was this could be true would be if the other towns were inhabited by 8 people. Oh yeah we actually visited one and yes it did have a population of maybe 30. Virpazar was a nice size, had a good vibe and the right amount of "busyness" for us. We arrived and walked to our campsite. A mile walk. In the midday heat. It was intense. And highly sweaty. We got to a sign "500m to campsite". Ok we can make this. Then right below it "autokamp 20m". Interesting. We went in, same price, closer to town, had a shower and toilet. Fine, we'll stay here. This lady's campsite survived we think because lazy backpackers who can't be bothered to go all the way to the official campsite stop in her garden, lol. Fair play. It was chilled. Our plan for our few days was to get a canoe, defo. Go wine tasting and go on a walk. We did two out of the three. Sadly wine tasting didn't happen. However, getting a canoe on the lake was one of the best days we've had. Geared up with four bottles of water tonnes of food and a two man canoe for the day, we had a belter. The only downside of the day was the actual canoeing. Lord that was long and tiring. On reflection what would have made the day better would have been having a tiny electric motor on the back so we could chill more. He he. That being said being on a lake meant the waves were generally non existent/very small. We canoed thru canals and across the open lake to a bridge. We then found a beach, cute. Chilled, ate, played cards and swam, easy. Next we paddled along and across the lake to the islands on the other side. That was a struggle. Intense paddling, chanting and extreme motivation got us there. We then found a private beach. Yeay. I say beach there was a metre bit of beach and lots of rocks. But it was ours. From there it the real struggle. Against the wind and waves we bombed forwards, doomsaying and paddling. I won't lie that 15 minutes was bleak. But we found a alleyway in between the waterlillies which protected us from the waves and life was good again. We floated thru this idyllic alleyway and even found a way thru the reeds and grassland. It was beaut. We carried on in this vein floating thru Lilys and sitting sunbathing in the canoe. It was lush. By six we made it home making it a nice day long activity. If y'all ever fins yourselves on lake skadar get a canoe and not a boat trip. The next day we went on a nice walk along a road round the lake to a neighbouring town. Nice views. But it was hot. We got there, happy with the walk but then realised we had to get back ahhhhhhh. Luckily we found a lush fig tree with loads of figs and a nice taxi driver let us hitchhike with him back to virpazar. Perfect. A nice lil trip. Then it was on to 

Podgorica, the less said about this place the better. The capital of Montenegro. The most underwhelming place I've ever been. It was butterz and boring. We moved on. The best thing about Podgorica was that I couldn't say Podgorica and kept calling it pogdorica instead. That shows the extent of its allure to us.

We then bombed it up to zabljak. An idyllic little town in the durmitor national park up north in the mountains. It looked like a little swiss skiing village just a little bit less pretty and more random. It was nice. We had a homestay organised with an old lady who spoke not a word of English and had no signs to her house, not even on the house. Useful. We got to the area, with three houses but couldn't find it. We had an old lady shouting out of her window giving us directions, in Montenegrin. Pointing us to a house opposite. We went there. Asked if it was the place. No. Do you know this place? No. Then her daughter arrives who has perfect English and says she knows it. It turns out the house was 20 metres down the road and the old lady was her mums close friend but she only knows the lady by her nickname so didn't recognise the guesthouse name. Wow. They were literally two letters different. Lol. But was made it and after a slight issue on the pricing (our fault) all was sorted. Our plan for the next Day: hike. Woo yay. We planned the simple day walk around the three lakes you can walk to from the town. The whole day went perfectly.  We wandered down relatively early along the road with the other tourists. It was busy, didn't look good. We paid the three euros entry and walked along to the first lake. Very easy. It was also buff. Lovely. It looked like a lake from Canada or  Switzerland. Gorgeous. We wandered around it, scrambling over rocks and the further we got the less people there were, good. It seemed most people got there and took pictures then left. The lake was clear, had two parts and mountains rising Up around it with Christmas trees everywhere, all over the mountains. Very pretty and xmassy. I went for a swim in the lake, it was cool and lush. Not too cold. We carried on our walk around and on to the next lake. A nice little hike with barely any people. We got there. It wasn't as clear as the other one. More like lake skadar. Green with lilies everywhere. It was nice. We wandered around getting a good amount of exercise and fresh air. We ventured on. The third lake was cool, they were all very different. This was in the middle of grassland and as you got closer you sank in to the lake as it expanded. This was it as we went home thru the little town in the park and they the mountains. And what made it all better? Within five Minutes of returning home it started to rain AND Tottenham beat fulham. What a day.

I think I'll speak about our journey in a separate blog post. Which I'll actually write now cause we still have two hours to kill. So you'll get a double post from me.

Pray for us as this saga is still not over. G.

.

[survivorsolomonislands]

Episode 9 “Find out who your true friends are” -Aromal

I DID IT I BEAT 15 DAYS I BEAT 13TH PLACE AND I MADE JURY AND PROBABLY MERGE I FEEL HOT

(a little bit later)

I'm so sad bc Dana has been the REALEST w me since day 1 and Mitchell lied to me about his idol so idek if I can fully trust him anymore and aaaaaah Looks like its me Mitchell Matt willow allie aro and whoever Mitch can pull over from the other tribe but I'm really sad my mom was idoled out its just not fair

i hate double tribals i really do especially if its one world since everyone has to say something to someone else in order to save their homies and ALLLL offense i still hate the small talk so like what else is there for me to do besides get ma plants and chill. so the round started off with willow trying to talk to me but then completely going missing but then talking to johnny (home boy af btw. squad in the house) about how she can save all the newbies using mitchell and danas vote which basically confirmed what i already knew of the old makiura alliance being tight. but that only leaves 2 people to get voted out and that is me or ryan which 1. duh and 2. not today satan. i quickly established ma thang with johnny even more so he can continue to give me info that i needed on the newbies like aro/zak having an idol to use on each other, lily having the makiura one, etc but it also got me thinking that maybe i should continue to try talking to the newbies cause they seem festive but then willow goes and lies so i said fuck dat. ryan and johnny made like 2 alliances with us on the same day which i high key didnt see the point of doing bottthhh but ya know be festive. they came up with this idea of splitting votes which i never like doing really since it is really sus af but i told them ayy great plan whatever just to make them not yell at me for not being alive but thEN! i was like this high key makes no sense to do??? so if there is a rat then im just going to stfu so no one can have tea on me and guess what. RYAN THE RAT???? [4/24/17, 8:52:11 PM] Dana Barry: So i know there's a vote split [4/24/17, 8:52:20 PM] Dana Barry: Not to be blunt [4/24/17, 8:52:49 PM] ~~Johnny~~: Okay :S [4/24/17, 8:54:07 PM] ~~Johnny~~: How do you know about the split? [4/24/17, 8:57:19 PM] Dana Barry: Ryan is blowing up your alliances game to gain favor on the other side [4/24/17, 8:57:31 PM] Dana Barry: They literally all know and have been in contact since the plan was conceived [4/24/17, 8:58:50 PM] Dana Barry: I know we havent talked a lot, but i really didnt think you were going to vote me [4/24/17, 8:58:56 PM] ~~Johnny~~: And I’m assuming that Ryan has been getting you guys to vote for someone else? [4/24/17, 8:59:00 PM] ~~Johnny~~: That isn’t LA? [4/24/17, 8:59:09 PM] ~~Johnny~~: Because Mitchell just said that he wasn’t voting for LA [4/24/17, 8:59:13 PM] Dana Barry: Nah it isnt [4/24/17, 8:55:19 PM] ~~Johnny~~: Why do you even think that though? [4/24/17, 8:55:36 PM] Mitchell Kalabang: Is it not true though? [4/24/17, 8:56:42 PM] ~~Johnny~~: It is [4/24/17, 8:57:12 PM] Mitchell Kalabang: I figured lol [4/24/17, 8:57:25 PM] Mitchell Kalabang: If we're being honest I've never been voting for LA [4/24/17, 8:57:37 PM] ~~Johnny~~: Who were you voting for..? [4/24/17, 8:58:07 PM] Mitchell Kalabang: If y'all tryna sneak split vote me out why would I give that up ! [4/24/17, 8:58:40 PM] ~~Johnny~~: Well, I didn’t want you out, and you were getting 2, but now I’m being told information about how you guys found it out [4/24/17, 8:59:06 PM] Mitchell Kalabang: Someone's got some pretty loose lips on ur side [4/24/17, 8:59:15 PM] ~~Johnny~~: Ryan? [4/24/17, 8:59:22 PM] Mitchell Kalabang: Not to name names but there's a reason this person went 6 times without making single digits idk mitchell and dana are savage as fuck fdkughdk (but yeah we all know the rest. and dana got voted out by someone who was too busy sleeping to know what the fuck was happening. if that is not me!) the alliance chat is popping tho of ryan and johnny arguing. turns out mitchell is just annoying and likes to spread shit so who is really the rat. hm. the answer to that is good ol' matt. the most annoying guy to talk to and the main person i have been dying to leave for ages. god. literally he has been against my side since the start of this game and he continues to make things hard for himself.... if you are going to be a rat dont be obvi? i still dont 100% trust ryan but i do trust that matt is fucking ratatouille in the flesh so there is that. cant even just pay attention to his own tribal ctfu. I HATE THESE PEOPLE ESPECIALLYLYLLYYLYLYL HIM

Well this has officially been the craziest episode whatever you can call it of the season. Jacob went home as planned after complete chaos with Willow. Basically she told him I was targeting him just because she felt bad and it's cute and all that she has a good heart, but seriously she needs to get it together before I vote her off too. I think I have a lot of enemies now, obviously Jacob voted me and RTP played an idol and saved his ass after somehow Mitchell and Dana got everyone to vote him which was wild. I am so sad about Dana it's unreal I loved that girl. Now I still have Mitchell who hopefully hasn't lost any faith in me after I told Willow he had the idol, oops, and then lied to him and said I didn't say that because I can't own up to anything I did. Right now I am cooking I think, I got numbers, Mitchell, Allie, Willow, Zak, Aro, and even Johnny, and hopefully when it comes down to it I will be at the tippy top of the alliance since I believe firmly I have close relationships with many of these people. I flushed two idols tonight btw, and Daisy who had one, so in my two tribal councils I've literally just triple flushed idols like a really stinky poo. Ryan is mad at me but is willing to play the game but I don't trust his ass really.

Final Confessional! I just got voted out, and I'm not actually very sad because i went out WITH A BANG and i'm on jury, where I will make it my mission to ruin lives. Effectively, nobody is this damn game can keep their mouth shut, which was both the best and worst part of this season. As I said in my last Conf., Matt was feeding us info, but basically fucked up that line of communication by getting himself caught as a snake. But about 2 hrs before tribal, Mitch and I get word that the other 5 on our tribe are splitting votes 3-2 for me to go out because they thought I could have an idol I guess. So at this point, Mitch and I were voting RTP and it looked like i was definitely goin. Mitch's idol wasn't going to be useful for us there, because even if he had given it to me (which he wouldn't have), there would have been a tie for him and RTP and his ass was grass at that point. So basically, we're tryin to think of options like 1.5hrs before tribal, and so Mitch and I just start goin nuts. I'm saying all this crazy shit to LA to make her vote with me: [4/24/17, 8:30:29 PM] Dana Barry: Listen- i know you guys are splitting for me tonight, but i wanted to talk to you first. [4/24/17, 8:39:09 PM] Dana Barry: I know we havent talked a lot- and there's not really much incentive for you to want to vote with me, but Ryan has been throwing you under the bus for days, basically since the game started. He wants nuTemoana to be a thing post- merge, which automatically leaves you out of any plan he has. [4/24/17, 8:44:06 PM] Dana Barry: I love ryan as a person- but he isn't with you long term, and i know you'd be taking a risk, but at merge we would have numbers. Also i'd be willing to vote whoever you are interested in taking out tonight, which would be a big move for you in this game, because inevitably you will make it far. This would build a lot of trust, which i DO NOT betray unless i find people are coming for me in this game. Sorry this is a lot, just something to consider as someone outside of the core alliance. [4/24/17, 8:45:53 PM] Dana Barry: Obviously this means I have no idol, so if you don't want me out and want options down the line, i'm here and i have no more options. And Mitch is on call with Johnny tellin him about how shady RTP is, and then eventually I get on with them where i'm literally hiding out in the bathroom of the bar to talk to them. So then we're all about to vote RTP, and for a minute there is some consideration for Lexi, but then Johnny is like nah RTP doesn't have an idol. OK-so at this point the four of us could just vote RTP. Then someone tells Lexi to also vote RTP, which she does. EXCEPT SOME FUCKER TELLS RTP TO PLAY HIS IDOL BECAUSE WE'RE ALL ABOUT TO VOTE HIS ASS OUT. LIKE OMG PLS EVERYONE HAVE SOME CHILL. So I know that Mitch has the idol, and i'm the only one on our tribe, so both he and RTP play idol, meaning that because Luca was asleep and voted me, my ass gets voted out. While I'm not sure how RTP found out he needed to play the idol, my best guess is Lex? Idk her well and she would be the most likely to be close to him and then just vote him as a cover for herself. Alternatively, some things were getting funky with the other tribe, where basically Matt and Willow (who was also being fed info by Johnny. like what?) also knew how desperately Mitch and I were trying to save me, and so maybe they reached out to RTP for some odd reason. Am I happy? NO.  But also I was so problematique tonight and really caused a problem, which is absolutely my aesthetic and i wouldn't have played it any other way. So, peace out Solomon, get ready for your most vocal juror. Please Mitch- you better be dancin and win this. 

Hey! Remember me! I'm still here! Barely.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3ykj-8n1M4&feature=youtu.be 

Mitchell is the gayest straight boy I know and I know myself when I was 12.

Yay I made both jury and merge! :D Double yayy for making merge with a majority alliance! :D First merge vote is looking like Ryan and even people outside our alliance wants him gone. Rip

This flag making challenge made me mad because I had an okay idea, but then the app I was using crashed like 50 fucking times, and so I lost all my progress. Since i kept loosing all my progress I didn't even finish with the extension oops. But if I had more time my idea was gonna be to also add quotes of what people have said in the tribe chat next to their icons.

Pino Noir Caviar, Myanmar, mid-sized car You don't have to be popular Find out who your true friends are Pino Noir In the boudoir (in the boudoir) Pino Noir, smoke a cigar Revenge can be spectacular Pino Noir x4 (Pino Noir) Pino Noir, leather bar Oh so close and yet so far Pino Noir x4 (Pino Noir) Pino Noir, you're a star Listen to Tom Berenger Pino Noir, Rosenbar Pino Noir Au Revoir

I won my first individual immunity !!! *screams* I didn't think I'd actually win this one but yay. I'm excited but I'm also really worried, people say I'm good at challenges and this win is definitely gonna put a bigger target on my back. It doesn't help that we tried to vote out Ryan either, cause obviously we are gonna have some trust issues now, we're still working together cause he says it's fine but he could just be saying that. It was weird having to talk to someone after voting them, usually the people I vote go home so this was the first time I had to talk to someone and try and fix the relationship and be like it was nothing personal. I'll see how this goes though, I need to try and be more social, its still my biggest problem.

ayo! its time to party aka have a heart attack for the rest of the night cause i hate major votes like this and this is the most important vote since the start of the game.... im gonna die. anyways so prior to the merge i guess some of the female newbies were tired of the attitudes given to them by the returnee males like matt and mitchell (which understandable lmao i hate being told what to do even tho i dont show it most of the time) so they came to pretty much everyone and expressed their interest in switching to the other side namely ryan johnny and i's side. the thing is, i know i can trust allie since she hasnt proven otherwise that she can't but willow is just a very shady person to talk to and she is very much not talking game with me so as of now, who knows what she is actually doing. it also concerns since she is the one that told mitchell and dana about the plan we had to split the votes so that obviously doesnt make me want to trust her to any extent. in hand with that, luca has also been very weird and i can't trust him as far as i can throw him which isnt very far since im barely 5 feet so... bleh. he was trying to get ryan out before the start of the reward challenge and i just do not know man! these newbies suck ass. and not in the good way! but yeah i won the reward hehe and got the idol clue hehe but found nothing... so 2/3 isnt bad i suppose for this round and i knew i wasn't winning immunity since everyone in this fucking community talks the exact same way like what is in the juice? speaking of the juice... these people got very drunk last night and normally i love drunk people but last night.. a moment in time. funny enough karen was also drunk but she was a nice convo to have. but yeah about the drunk people, i dont know if johnny is trying to be the next parvati or he actually believes what he is saying to me for some reason but i will not take the bait. at times like this i appreciate my lack of social skills. but thats all folks. hopefully matt leaves (or ryan tbh as long as it is NOT me) and that alliance is shook to the core.

So we just all said it's supposed to be Ryan and people are deadass so quiet rn that I'm like getting paranoid it's gonna be me but I don't wanna be that person who overthinks and then cut to me overreacting and making a dumb move and losing everyone's trust, so I'm just gonna keep my cool and if it's me tonight or something crazy allow this confessional to be proof that my ass ain't surprised.

DO I HAVE A LOT TO FUCKING SAY IF IM STILL HERE IN AN HOUR!!!

fuckfuckfuck the vote was set to be Ryan but apparently Willow told Zak something about another plan god im so nervous now

[survivor-albania]

EPISODE 6: I hope people are forgetting about me...(Billy)

Drew

It's funny, I didn't even ask for any sort of confirmation or anything that Jordan actually said my name. It barely matters. Someone said my name was in his mouth, so now his name is in mine. I guess we'll see who can pull together the larger last minute force. :)

Kait

iiiiiiiii not people going for drew. not on my watch!

Lily

Drew's name has been floating around apparently, starting with Jordan. So Jordan's goin. I can't risk Drew, one of my most trusted and favorite allies, getting outta the game so early on, so I tried to convince Jordan to go after Connor instead. Let's just hope it works.

Ryan

fuck yeah i won immunity! and then....no one talked to me about the vote lmfao.....only kait so ill go with her and just vote for jordan...i dont have an official alliance with her but ill vote with her for now since i know she will keep me in the loop at least somewhat

Carson

jordan or alex apparently. how nice. how choice. : ) ill probs be voting jordan tonite to stay in majority, but imma float until we reach a real merge

Rhone

WHEW ok so we're merged again! i'm laughing! i have no idea what's going on with this vote! i am under immense emotional duress! i made an alliance with drew kait billy and brandon today! i am largely indifferent towards this alliance going forward but it's nice for this vote i guess! this game is ridiculous! i cry constantly!

Brandon

so now its official im in an alliance with Drew Kait and Billy and everything is going swimmingly and also i got through 50% of the pokedex in pokemon sun so double yay

Isaac

Tfw no one talks to you for the vote so you just vote Drew because he voted you in All-Stars

Karen

ok so were merged again, which honslee scares me bc itd be the best way to get me elimed, but im not trying to play too like hard rn, theres enough people for me to lie low. #chaoskaren is coming soon, trust that! but right now #calmkaren is just chillin, letting people tell her who to vote for like, I ain't about to look like i'm the one calling the shots in kind of alliance. speaking of people telling me who to vote for, drew has told me that jordan was telling people to vote drew so now drew is coming for jord so i guess thats who im voting for, im convinced that he has the numbers so hopefully the others can come thru

Punpun

i'm werking with a lot of people rn but i'm not actually "aligned" with them. anyways i hope tetris is a challenge in this game or i'll really have no reason to live then huh

Billy

Ok, so like I want to say this game is interesting. But it's not. I hope people are forgetting about me just as m,uch as I'm forgetting about them.

 Jay 

TRIBAL IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN AND DREW TOLD ME TO VOTE JORDAN SO I DID AHHHHH

(Jordan Vote Out)