#and i know more about you side characters than i do her

[dduane]

I just read the part where Kirk experiences the Enterprise's point of view in The Wounded Sky to someone else, where she sees the crew as children she is training up to the Great Desire of exploration for exploration's sake, especially Jim. His reaction, essentially: "That was really pretty. ....And then he blows her up."

I hadn't thought about that before! I checked the copyright date, and it looks like The Wounded Sky came out a year before The Search for Spock, so you were writing without knowing that sacrifice would eventually happen.

How did you feel about that? Do you wish that writing decision had been made differently? (If, as a Trek writer, you're allowed to comment on other Trek writers' choices!)

You know, I tend not to think a whole lot about such issues. First of all, because (in the long run) it gets you nowhere in particular that's useful. And secondly, because it's not a thing that, as a Trek writer in any medium except film, you have the slightest power to change.

Now, at this end of time I think we can safely say that no one's going to hire me on to write a Trek film. And also that no one at that end of the creative spectrum is going to pay the slightest attention to anything I say, either. Both of those situations are just What's So, and neither of them bothers me. (Since I have universes of my own to manage at the moment, and that's where my attention properly lies.) So as regards my opinions about other writers' work, I'm pretty much off the hook.

If I had been on screenwriting duty for that film, would there be things I'd have wanted to do differently? Hell yeah. From the premise up. But the important thing here is: would those things necessarily have worked better on the screen / with the audience? Impossible to tell. And speaking as someone repeatedly given permission to work in someone's universe, the main thing to be aware of is the expectation that your chief responsibility is to do what best serves the characters and the IP of which they're part. (There's a post over at Out of Ambit with a lot more of my thoughts on the subject:)

The other thing to remember is that, though I've worn the Canonical Hat in my time, novel work is by definition non-canonical. Doing it, you are at all times working with the understanding that the licensor rarely views your work as anything better than a corporate side hustle—a way for the IP to make some cash on the side—and will ignore you and the stuff you've created unless given pressing reasons to do otherwise. (Such as when they might make some unexpected money off it... at which point you remind yourself as forcibly as necessary that what you did is Work For Hire; they own it, lock, stock and barrel, and you should not realistically expect to be given any credit.)

And, if you understand the rules and enjoy the work enough, all of this is okay. The reward is not in making a lot of money doing it, or even in having aspects of your work openly assumed into canon. The reward lies in being allowed to contribute to a given universe in public (and, yeah, getting paid for it by the licensor). It's not payback: it's payforward. And you're left an astonishing amount of freedom to bring your vision to that universe. (Sometimes... as one colleague has McCoy say... you have to be "very, very careful" to get away with it. But it can be done.)

The truth is that even in the 1980s, I was sharing this level of playing-in-a-universe with a goodish cohort of editors and writers: a big roomful at least. Now I'm sharing it (retroactively speaking) with hundreds of them. With the best will in the world, even in the 80's the licensors (as regarded film) couldn't have realistically polled/listened to all of us regarding our creative opinions about the screenplay end of things. As for what that'd look like nowadays... I'll leave you to your own deductions. 😏

Anyway, thanks for the question. It's always nice to know that there are people who want to know what you think. 😊

[trash-and-trash-accessories]

I love Spike so much. He's the most character of all time. But it's more than that. He's more than bleached hair, a pretty face, and bloodlust. He makes sense. The character makes sense.

He's William. He's still, despite it all, William Pratt, the god-awful poet and pathetic wet cat of a man under the thumb of mommy his whole life. He just wants to be loved and held and to satiate his unending bloodlust. He's not the big bad. He's pathetic.

He's burnt out on all the plots and schemes. Plots and schemes are Angel's thing. Serving some grand evil purpose is Darla's thing. Cruelty is Drusilla's thing. William Pratt is a poet and a mama's boy who just wants a strong woman to love him and tell him what to do. He's tired. He's so tired of the plots and schemes.

Sure, he knows how to have a good time, he plays kitten poker and sells demon eggs to the highest bidder but that's a matter of making money or hanging out with friends. It's not what he WANTS. The only thing he wants is to be loved by someone who loves him back. The problem is, he's toxic and obsessive. He doesn't fall in love. He becomes consumed. His whole world revolves around the object of his obsession. So when he's with Drusilla, he's the big bad evil guy doing schemes. Trying to impress her with extreme violence and death. Because that's what Drusilla is into. Torture and death. She's Catholic. And a vampire.

He also tries to impress Angel by killing Slayers because Angel is into Slayers and Angel and Spike canonically slept together don't at me. This man is bisexual.

When he's with Buffy he's a loyal dog. A bad boy, a part of the demonic world, but a dog nonetheless. He's a soulless monster but his obsession with Buffy turns him into one of the good guys. It's not natural for him. He feels it happening and he fights against it, but he's madly in love with her and he will be and do whatever it takes to impress her and make her love him back. He's obsessive.

He knows it, and he doesn't like that side of himself. He doesn't like that he's a pathetic dog. Sometimes he pushes against that side of himself. He tries to be a good person, for real. Not just a pathetic stalker of a man.

But he can't fight it. He is what he is.

And unfortunately that is a soulless vampire.

Hence that one scene that I pretend didn't happen.

But despite being definitionally evil, he can't stop being consumed the person he's obsessed with. Buffy wants him to have a soul. She wants him to not be the monster he is. So he rips William Pratt from his grave and resurrects him for her. He goes through hell to put his soul back inside his body for her. It takes her a long time to accept him again after what he did.

But he's the good boy now. He's a good dog.

Only she doesn't see him that way. In the end, he has her trust. Her love. She cares about him and sees him as her equal. As someone she can trust. She can't trust her friends because they're messy and constantly fucking up and betraying her because they don't understand what it is to be The Slayer. To have a human body and a human soul, with demonic power inside, and the divine mandate to sacrifice yourself for others, to save the world. No matter what that does to you.

Spike has a human soul, a demon inside him, trauma, and a divine mission to save the world. To sacrifice himself for everyone.

Spike is the only one who understands Buffy, and maybe the only one who ever will.

He's the perfect culmination of all her other relationships.

He fucks. Unlike Angel, Spike can fuck. He can experience joy alongside her.

He respects her strength and isn't emasculated or intimidated by the fact that she's stronger than him. He loves that she defeated a god. Unlike fucking Riley.

He's lived lifetimes worth of traumatic experiences. But he isn't currently experiencing an ongoing mental health crisis like Faith was.

And he likes poetry!

They even have the same ex boyfriend!

In conclusion He and Buffy are both the most character of all time and the narrative's favorites and therefore they are both perfect for each other and have the potential to be extremely toxic together and I'm so happy for them, I hope she pegs him, I know he would love that.

[wanderingwnderland]

yandere! boyfriend x fem reader ೀ⋆⑅˚

currently listening to: angel by massive attack

Matthew was an incredibly valuable employee to one of the most prominent cybersecurity companies in the city of New York. He would often get called into work during his off hours when a group of fellow engineers were greeted by an especially indecipherable cyber attack. However, the undeniable value and intelligence that he added to the company didn’t necessarily reflect on his willingness to be social with those at his work environment. Matthew preferred to keep to himself most of the time as he lived by the statement: “I just don’t speak if I don’t have anything to say”. He wasn’t too fond of participating in playful banter with those around him because he was simply there to do his job and leave. What was the point of putting in that extra amount of unnecessary effort to talk to people he wouldn’t even speak to if it weren’t for work? Maybe that was why his boss liked loved him so much. Matthew wasn’t shy about the fact that he was there to do his job (incredibly well at that), leave and wander off to experience whatever else life had to offer. No bullshit there. Just a man that would have no trouble doing whatever his job required of him.

However, Matthew would often be teased by his older sister because of the fact that he was almost always enveloped within the poisonous vines of his work, that he never really made an effort to take his life to the next level. Sure, his job paid incredibly well and he was stable in most areas of his life but his sister never failed to remind him that there was one thing missing from his puzzle.

“When are you gonna give me a sister in law, Matty? I mean mom and dad clearly failed to provide me with a biological one, so I’m appointing the task to you”. Claudia, his sister, enjoyed throwing playful jabs at him as that was her job as an older sibling, but she truly wanted to see her brother with a girl by his side. Someone that he could come home to, share his life with, someone that would stay at the end of the night.

Matthew couldn’t help but acknowledge the fact that he’d been hit with a wave of loneliness more times than he’d like to admit. When the city was quiet for a moment, his work phone was silent, and he could hear his heartbeat singing within his chest, Matthew could no longer ignore the painful yearning he felt for the opportunity to finally have his other half by his side. So, after a while of attempting to put up an “I’m alone because I’m so enveloped within my work and that’s fine” facade, he decided to start putting himself out there. However, he preferred to stick to the people around him and refrain from downloading a single dating app.

Funnily enough, it was the exact morning that he was clocking in for work where he first laid his hazel eyes on you. There you were picking up your usual coffee order at the cafe nestled within the same building of his place of work. You were so beautiful and everything you did that had him in shambles seemed all so effortless. Matthew knew that he probably appeared a bit unsettling as he caught himself staring at you for a bit too long, so he took it upon himself to walk up to you, make small talk (which he rarely ever did with anyone), and ask for your number but not before paying for your coffee & pastry. You were pleasantly surprised by his approach because online dating/dating apps have become the norm for some years now, and you rarely ever heard of people meeting potential suitors in person anymore. Not only that but the way in which he did it almost made you feel as if you were the main character in a Jane Austen book. Matthew wasted no more than a second before saving you as a contact in his phone and messaging you as an effort to get to know you more.

The story of how the two of you met was something you couldn’t look back on without a smile being plastered on your face. Matthew knew from the very first time that he saw you that he’d do everything within his power to keep you satisfied and by his side. He didn’t expect for his first experience with a women to go as smoothly as it did with you, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. You were absolutely everything that Matthew envisioned when he thought of his future. The incredible sense of security and love that you provided him with was something that he swore he’d do absolutely everything to protect. In his point of view, you were nothing to be played around with. He wouldn’t tolerate or expect you to tolerate any sort of disrespect from anyone, and he’s willing to get his hands dirty to get his point across. Matthew truly doesn’t mind getting out of character when it comes to you, suddenly he’s the most confrontational man in the entire room and his tongue is sharp enough to cut down a giant sequoia tree.

Not only does he get out of character for you in the ‘confrontational’ sense but you have him partaking in activities that he most likely wouldn’t do without you. Matthew prefers low energy spaces over places that are ‘extroverted’ or involve large amounts of people/loud noises. So, he adores when the two of you visit coffee shops, bakeries, art museums downtown, botanical gardens, estate sales, nights at the movie theater, etc.

In the beginning, Matthew is everything you could ever want in a man but you could tell he was a bit…anxious? He was getting used to being in a romantic relationship with somebody and he wants to make sure that he doesn’t make any mistakes. He wouldn’t know what he’d do if he had the opportunity to have an angel such as yourself in his presence just to have you gone due to his idiotic actions. The pet names that he has for you are quite traditional but the absolutely love struck tone in his voice when he says them make their effect on you so much worse.

(Ex: Baby, princess, pretty girl, and muffin once he starts getting even more comfortable)

Thanks to him being an incredibly talented cybersecurity engineer, he’s able to hack into various electronic devices (including yours). Listen, Matthew obviously trusts you with his entire being but he’s doing this to keep an eye on the people in your life that he’s suspicious of. Of course he wants the love of his life, the apple of his eye to have an amazing night out with her friends but it just depends on who those friends are. He doesn’t want anybody to steer you in the wrong direction or peer pressure you into doing anything out of character. He just loves you so much and he’s willing to do everything he can to protect what the two of you have.

has an obsession with older romance movies and it shows through the sickeningly sweet way in which he treats you. He holds you as if you’re made of fine china or a knife of some sorts.

knows how to throw down in the kitchen as he’s had enough time gifted to him in order to learn how to cook/bake. He made you a cherry flambé one night after dinner and you almost fell out of your seat because of how good it melted in your mouth. You think it’s adorable how often the two of you visit restaurants, bakeries, & cafes and he takes every opportunity to expand his palate and get ideas of what else to make in your shared kitchen.

has a hooked nose and dark curls that ring around his neck like vines.

Every time he sees you naked it’s like the first time all over again. His eyes are watery, his fingers are shaking and he’s aching to get his hands on you, fingers inside you, his hips flush against yours as his cock makes a creamy mess out of your pussy. He swears you’re something straight out of a Peter Paul Rubens painting.

Couldn’t be happier when you obviously agree to go on a trip with his family and him to the villiage in Mykonos where his parents are from.

enjoys listening to rock and bands that have supposed ‘self-loathing anthems’. FE: Sublime, Soundgarden, Matchbox Twenty, Radiohead, etc. He listens to a wide variety of music but he favors jazz, rock, and folk music.

He runs hot in his sleep so he wears a simple set of a black tank top and black polo plaid boxer shorts to bed.

Prefers colder, rainy, and foggy weather.

He had a habit of smoking but somehow managed to quit once you entered his life.

[koolades-world]

Hey! I love your writing and your descriptions, I wanted to ask for HC Very specific, of the brothers and side characters dealing with an MC who isn't very comfortable around men, in the plural, like an MC who gets nervous when she is in the room and all the brothers are gathered and close to her, an MC who feels nervous about intimate touches from men. Not in a bad way, like she didn't like the brothers, but because of trauma with Mens.

hi! sure thing :)

enjoy <3

Mc uncomfortable around men

Lucifer

he knows he can be a lot, so he tones himself down for you

if he has to yell at mammon, he'll make sure you're out of the house

in fact, if it makes you more comfortable, he can arrange for you to live elsewhere

Mammon

he understands that you need space

he wants the best for you, so he will try his best to not be too much

anything he can do, just let him know <3

Levi

he likes his space, so he hopes you'll feel less triggered around him

he will also keep his voice down and won't yell at his games

if he can help you, he will

Satan

he knows his wrath can make you not want to be around him

he'll work on himself even further to ensure you are more comfortable

anything for you <3

Asmo

he loves you and wants to respect your boundaries

he makes sure he's always doing just that

he never wants to make you uncomfortable, so please let him know if he is!

Beel

he thinks of you as family

he'll hold back on hugs and things of that manner if you want him to

he'll still make you feel welcome and included, because you still mean the world to him

Belphie

he feels even more guilty about the events of lesson 16 now

he doesn't expect you to want to be around him anymore, and he's made his peace with that

however, if you still do, he'll make sure he makes it up to you in every way possible

Diavolo

as the prince of the devildom, he has many resources at his fingertips

whatever you need, he can get it for you

all you have to do is let him know however you are most comfortable doing <3

Barbatos

if you even need a break from the hol

you have a home in the palace

he'll make sure you're well taken care of, and the little d's will be more than happy to help

Simeon

if you ever want to talk, he makes sure he can be that for you

but if it can't be him, he finds someone trusted that you can confide in

his love is delivered in the form of baked goods, so he often makes sure a box of them shows up on your doorstep

Solomon

if you ever need any sort of spells or potions, he lets you know you can come to him

he could even create some sort of man repellent haha

but, in all seriousness, he will do whatever he can for you

[p3sephone]

My baby. (Dark! Ex! Wanda Maximoff x reader)

Prologue

Summary: you are Wanda's ex and you broke up with her a long time ago. Then Wanda decides it's a good idea to become your neighbor and take her baby back, one way or another.

Warnings: this is a dark! Serie about Wanda Maximoff that will contain dark themes such as violence, breaking in, non-con and similar stuff in the future chapters. Every chapter will have its own warnings to be safe. This is pure fiction and this character does not belong to me. Minors are NOT allowed, only +18. Any kind of interactions such as reblogs, comments or likes are much welcome and appreciated. 🤎

Prologue warnings: breaking inside, little use of magic.

"I'm home!" you exclaimed with a smile on your face, closing the door behind you. You were happy to be back, you had a wonderful surprise for your roommate. You were sure that she hadn't suspected anything, after all you hadn't mentioned anything in these weeks and you knew how difficult it was. You had lost count of how many gifts and surprises you had ruined because you often spoke before thinking out of excitement.

But this time you didn't think, as you walked briskly towards the living room. The lights were on, she was surely sitting there on the couch watching some movie. You were already anticipating the scene. Your smile quickly dropped as the gift bag slipped from your hand and fell to the floor. The personalized mug inside had surely broken into a thousand pieces, but that was now the least of your problems.

Your roommate was lying there, apparently asleep, but you knew that wasn't the case. Not when Wanda was sitting on the other side of the couch with her arms crossed, then looking straight into your eyes. She had a small smile on her face, sly and arrogant you would say, but you could see all the hatred hidden behind her eyes. You were together, as teenagers, a long time ago. Wanda had lost everything, you too: you had regained everything and left Wanda behind, and Wanda had lost what was left of her, left with total nothingness. Considering that you had left her too. Or at least, that was what Wanda thought; in reality, your version would have been very different from hers, but you weren't really sure she wanted to hear it and even less that she was interested. "What are you doing in my house?" your own cold tone surprised you. It was as if someone else was talking to you and you didn't know how your knees could still hold up. But Wanda wasn't stupid, she could feel how your heart was beating like crazy, this still allowed her to act arrogant. She stood up from your couch and walked over to your boyfriend’s sleeping form, approaching you and freely ignoring your question.

“Is this your house? Our apartment was better.” It was a suggestion, obviously. It wasn’t the first time Wanda had tried to make you change your mind and tell you that the two of you were meant to be together, and at first you believed it. The first, the second and even the third time. Then you finally realized that she would tell you anything and lie shamelessly just to have you back by her side and reduce you to an object again.

You had loved that woman, but it was over. And she had to understand that.

“No, this house is better, with my roommate who I sincerely hope will wake up soon.” You made a suggestion and she immediately took it, laughing in your face.

“She’ll be fine, I just put her to sleep... I wanted to be alone with you, I missed you.” she said playing with your hair, and you could almost see the sincerity in her now slightly sad face. But you couldn't fall for it again and you had certainly been through too much because of her.

"But I haven't missed you, Wanda. Get out of my house."

You had caught her attention now, her fingers slowly stopped playing with your hair finally letting it go. Now you saw the real Wanda. Her hateful gaze with a red aura was intensely scrutinizing you and you swore they could see much more than your eyes or your face. Her eyes immediately became clear again and Wanda gave you a sweet smile, waving her right hand and using her magic. You remembered what that magic had done to you, you still had the scars.

"I can also go out, after all we will see each other every day. It's a pleasure to meet you again, neighbor!" she teased you giggling, then walking out of your door without you even accompanying her. You stood there in shock, standing numb in the doorway to the living room, watching the front door close and then the couch, where your roommate was now starting to wake up.

The nightmare had begun again.

[rey-jake-therapist]

There's a lot of discourse around shipping lately, treating the concept of shipping a female character (in this case, Galadriel) with a male character as "sexist". Those who say this kind of thing will argue that shipping is equal to treating the female character as "a side character" for a male character, who would be considered by the shipper as the most important character of the two. For the record, this post is inspired particularly by a Reddit post, but I've read these takes many times.

Excerpt of said Reddit post :

People in this fandom center Galadriels entire character around the men she interacts with. Every time she speaks to a man, there is a group of people who start shipping her with that man. It's not even funny anymore how some people here can't talk about her character without bringing up some guy who she interacted with. And this is especially frustrating because a lot of these discussions push her into the wife role. She is "married to Sauron" she is "married to Adar" the ring she wears is totally an "engagement ring". Even though there are two men who also received rings and I don't see anyone calling their rings engagement rings. And then there are some discussions that are downright disgusting, especially the "the stab she received from Sauron is a metaphor for penetration," and I don't mind discussing that. What I have an issue with is the romanticizing of that moment. Because Sauron also stabbed Celebrimbor, but people don't have an issue calling out how fucked up that scene was. It's almost like people are treating her like an accessory to men, when the show doesn't even do that. One of the strongest relationships in season one in my opinion was her relationship to Miriel. But I barely see people talk about that.

Notice how this person says with their whole chest that they're all for the kinky stuff, but not for the romantic stuff; this screams like a person who reads Saurondriel smut in secret, but clutches their pearls as soon as there are feelings involved because "uh, he's evil !".

To see the whole thread, click here. Notice that there are some very intelligent reactions to this claim, proving once again that Reddit is not completely lost. At least, this sub in particular isn't.

I won't start dwelling on the fact that this trend which consists in claiming that romance somehow diminishes a female character is getting very old, it won't be the subject of this post. Others have already breached this subject in a much more articulate way than I could ever do.

When people say they don't like that people ship Galadriel, it almost always means, "we don't like her being shipped with Sauron, yikes". I mean, let's be real : the most popular ship, is, by far, Haladriel. We're the ones being "sexist" here . Tbf with this person, they mentioned other ships as well so I will give them the benefice of doubts. It's also clear that they can't take a joke, because I never saw any shipper, being Haladriel or else, who was serious when they called Galadriel "X's wife", but whatever.

But even if we were serious, what's sexist about that, exactly ? If she's "Sauron's wife", for example, doesn't that make Sauron "Galadriel's husband" as well ? Why is shipping always called out for making the female character "an accessory to the male character", and never as making the male character an accessory to the female character ?Why is it considered reducing towards Galadriel, but not towards Sauron/Adar/Elrond ? Do the male characters gain somehow more than female characters at being shipped ?

The same question can be asked about the sexualization of the characters : it's always considered "outrageous" and "sexist" to sexualize female characters, even when it's done by women (which is almost always the case, in the context of shipping), but generally okay to sexualize male characters, why ? Because male characters supposedly have "the power" in the dynamics, based on their gender ?

I mean, I just find these ideas very reductive.

Now on the subject of Galadriel always being "connected to male characters". Well, first, sorry, but Galadriel doesn't get to spend much time around other female characters, in the show. And even in the books written by Tolkien, errrrr...?? This person mentions Galadriel's relationship with Miriel, that no one talks about. Well, I would love for Galadriel and Miriel to have interacted more, but the fact is that most of her interactions were with Halbrand/Sauron, in season 1. She indeed had an interesting connection with Miriel, but the show dedicated so little time on it that it leaves not much to discuss, really.

And in season 2, it's even more simple: she doesn't interact with any other female character. There's a female Elf in the company who leaves Lindon for Eregion, but the writers didn't even give her a line until episode 7, and when they did they killed her off 10 sec after she opens her mouth for the first time. If she had a good relationship with Galadriel, we have no other choice but imagining it. So, yes, we discuss Galadriel's relationship with men, because this show is very male-centric. And Tolkien's world itself is very male-centric, as a matter of fact. That the fans, and the shippers in particular, are blamed for that is really something.

I would LOVE for other female characters, albeit non canon characters, to be introduced in the show and to interact with Galadriel. I would LOVE Galadriel to have a female best friend, or even a female rivale, an enemy, a colleague, whatever ! And if I hope that Galadriel will return to Numenor, and I think she will because it was hinted more than once (her vision in the Palantir identical to Miriel's, and Miriel's promise to Galadriel that Numenor will return, which could imply Galadriel's involvement), it's also because I want Miriel and Galadriel to resume their relationship. They'd have much to talk about, it'd be great !

Now I'd like to discuss Haladriel in particular, or more generally, Galadriel's relationship with Sauron. Another thing that bothers me with this discourse is that according to this person and many others, too much importance is given to this relationship, wether it's considered romantic or not. "Too much importance" ? Hello ? It's literally this relationship that led to all the events that followed ! In show!canon, I mean, not in the Tolkien lore. From now on, everything I'll write will be related to the show!canon, unless I specify otherwise.

I find very strange, to say the least, to feel criticized because I talk about Galadriel and Sauron, while the entirety of season was built around their relationship : even before they meet, she's obsessede with him. They meet on the sea, she saves him, they are brought to Numenor, they're thrown in jail together, Galadriel insists he's a lost king, he says nay, then he changes his mind, they fight together in the Southlands, she stops him from killing Adar, he does the same with her, they share a moment in the forest, she brings him to Eregion to heal him, then boom, she learns he's Sauron, they fight, and he leaves. And yes, Galadriel gets to interact with other characters, including Miriel, but c'mon now : the first season of this show has made Galadriel and Sauron's relationship the center of it all. Not just Galadriel, no ! Almost everything she does and says is related to Sauron. Is it our fault ? Is it the shippers fault, if the story was written this way ?

And don't get me started on all the sexual and romantic innuendos, that the tenants of this discourse are always prone to deny. "There was nothing romantic in their interactions !", "They were just friends !", "they were just political partners !". Sure, Jan. These innuendos were definitely present, the sexual tension was always present (and for God's sake, no, it wasn't the actors who wanted to jump each other, it was A-C-T-I-N-G). The writers and the directors wanted the audience to think there was, at the very least, a mutual attraction.

In season 2, Galadriel and Sauron barely interacted but they were constantly thinking of each other, especially Galadriel. Again, is it the fans' fault if they saw that and commented on a relationship that was broken, and yet still very present within the narrative ? Is it the shippers' fault if the writers decided to picture Galadriel as an ex lover in pain because her lover deceived her (or a friend deceibed by a fake friend, if that's how you interpret it !) ? Was it the shippers' decision to doll up an Elf woman as a discount Galadriel, so Sauron wouldn't take a break in his obsession for Galadriel ? No, again, it was the writing.

And actually, it makes sense that the writing spent so much time on this relationship in season 2, and will probably continue in season 3, 4 and 5 even if some of you firmly believe that Galadriel "shut the door" for good on him and will never see him or speak to him again. Because we know, this time from the Tolkien lore, that Sauron never stopped trying to grope to see her and her thought :

“I say to you Frodo that even as I speak to you I perceive the Dark Lord and know his mind, or all of his mind that concerns elves, and he gropes ever to see me and my thought but still the door is closed.”

It was literally the showrunners idea that Galadriel and Sauron must have had a sort of a relationship, based on this quote. Putting Galadriel and Sauron in a situationship was never a second thought !

It was meant to be important in the show, and it will remain important, because if it was what started this particular story told by the show, and it will probably be what will finish it as well.

To conclude : I understand why people don't all like Saurondriel... I understand why these same people don't understand why they are shipped, it's perfectly valid. But blaming the fans, and the shippers in particular, for talking so much about Galadriel's connection with Sauron, is speaking in bad faith, or being media illeterate because the writers WANT us to talk about it.

[deathbxnny]

hello!! capitano, ororon and wriothesley with a teen!reader who is like firefly?

Male Genshin Characters with a Firefly!Teen!Reader | Capitano, Ororon, Wriothesley x Gn!Reader

Hello Anon!! Thank you very much for your request, and I hope you'll enjoy this!<33

Content: Platonic relationships, reader has a chronical illness, talks of potential death of reader, angst, sfw

Reader has no set pronouns!

((Not proofread))

》CAPITANO

He knew firsthand how cruel the world can be, and you confirmed that for him more than anything else. You were a lively kid he had taken under his wing as a toddler, and even from a young age, he could tell that your health wasn't the best. It only got worse over time until you were left unable to walk or really move much on your own. But what truly broke his heart deep down was your will to live in the face of certain doom. Death wasn't an option in your mind, and you refused to let it take ahold of you.

Capitano, therefore, did his best to be as supportive as he can be. In a way, he sees you two as parallels of eachother, both cursed with a disease that's rotting you from the inside out and yet, here you were, still fighting for what you think is right. For a chance to live a life worth staying for. He knew he was too far gone, however, and therefore, just put all his energy in keeping you alive instead. He made sure you had the best doctors in all of Snezhnaya at your sides at all times.

And when you just wanted to take a moment with him to relax somewhere in peace, he'll grant you that wish as well. Capitano knows that realistically, your days are more than numbered... but if supporting you until the very end is what makes you feel better, then so be it.

》ORORON

You were a couple years younger than him and were taken in by him when he found you near dying on a dirt road. He initially wanted to give you to the village, but when you refused to leave him after he nurtured you back to health, he simply kept you in his home as a younger sibling. Citlali made sure to practically visit every other day to check up on you, however, as she doesn't entirely trust her grandson with your deteriorating health alone. She knew it was too much for even him and therefore made sure to teach him everything he knew. Especially when you stopped being able to walk. It was clear that Ororon was hurting with you and was deep down desperate too keep you alive one way or another, despite the grave situation.

But what pained him the most was the bright look in your eyes, even when you're in major agony. Your body was betraying your excitement for life. It was terrible, and yet, he didn't let you notice how bad he had it. If you were happy and content with him here when you took your last breath, then he had done everything he could have. And he'd make sure that exactly that would happen.

》WRIOTHESLEY

He wanted you to live a happy, free life ever since he heard about your diagnosis. Wriothesley had taken you under his wing when you arrived as a young preteen and basically treated you as his own. Sigewinne kept an eye on you at all times as well, practically being glued to your side as she monitors the progression of your illness very closely. The Duke knew, however, that you wouldn't live for long after you weren't able to walk anymore. Your body was giving you up, but he refused to do so himself. Seeing you so bright and optimistic despite everything just motivated him to do better too.

He'll try his best to make your time in the fortress as enjoyable as possible. He will share his tea, crack some jokes, and watch the ocean life through the glass with you. Anything for a smile and happy laugh. And even if you're too tired and sick for any of it, he'll still be there to support you in silence. He wants you to know that he'll be there until you do take your last breath... but also, he'll be there to carry you back to the surface above after you do so.

[defira85]

With the proviso that I have not finished the game and I in a really shitty mood about my Rook's body type breaking in the romance cut scene specifically, I have thoughts-

I saw a post that said that Veilguard is so fundamentally determined to say nothing that sometimes it comes out as incredibly offensive with just how aggressively noncommittal it is

and that's really it, isn't it

Shadow Dragon Rook got into trouble for saving slaves, and the Viper is a vigilante saving slaves, but we never SEE any slavery. We see poverty and abuse, but there's no talk about the rigid castes within Tevinter. Maybe the Venatori were drawn primarily from the lower classes of mages, those without family seats in the Magisterium, who were drawn to the promise that they could accumulate power instead of being trapped in a system that dooms them to failure and looks down its nose at them for being born not important enough

Tevinter's whole thing across the series has been slavery!!! And we get one or two codex entries about how Dorian gave such a nice speech about "slavery bad :c" and that's it

The Crows are so utterly toothless. Just an aggressively white-washed cool vigilante group, no hint of their child abuse or slavery practices, where's the acknowledgement that they make a lot of their money from slavery?

Lucanis' year in solitary confinement and torture is just window dressing. Again, haven't finished the game, but no examination of it at all 45 hours in. There's so much literature about what solitary confinement does to a person, how it's a form of torture, and just thinking about how much of Zevran's past abuses were woven into his characterisation so carefully... it's like chalk and cheese

Davrin once again filling the role of Bioware's obligatory "elf who hates being an elf and aggressively denies all elven heritage" companion

And like... every mini villain is just someone who was too ambitious and that made them eeeeevil. All the companions' rivals get dropped on Rook without any build-up, no casual conversations to say "oh I had this ex-friend/rival/foe who shaped me". Maybe I've been spoiled by Baldur's Gate 3 and how carefully all of the companions' abusers were woven into who they were as a character and how it shaped them and their story. Gortash didn't just come out of nowhere, Karlach was mentioning him in chapter 1! There were codex entries about him to be found weeks before you met him! But who the fuck is Johanna Hezenberouasertrousers or whatever the fuck her name is. She was ambitious, TOO ambitious, so she's evil and Emmrich's mirror. Cyrian joined the Forgotten Ones, and sure the Evanuris turned out to be super evil abusers that all the myths and religion was super wrong about but this is WORSE CYRIAN HOW COULD YOU

Don't get me started on whatever the fuck the game is trying to say about religion and about faith. Gods, it's so mid 2000s atheist edgelord memeing "unfortunately for you.... I have reason and logic on my side....... checkmate religion..." There's no nuance at all!!!!! Just "religion is a lie so faith dies now" no acknowledgement of faith as a cultural force!!! Of CULTURE being shaped by faith!!!! Okay I said don't get me started, I'll stop now

Whatever the fuck they're doing with the Qunari. They really just have gone back to their incredibly racist roots of "islamic borg" as David Gaider called it but they've made it even more offensive by making them all so... I don't know what word I'm looking for is, but it's about the sex appeal. How they've got their entire chiselled asses out. They look like they're trying to take part in Mister Bodybuilder Treviso, not a vaguely regimented army that was incredibly carefully structured up until about 5 minutes ago

This was more than what I intended to write lmfao. It's a fun game! I'm enjoying myself, as a fun action RPG. But after Baldur's Gate 3, it's just so utterly spineless. It has nothing to say. Evil people are evil, good people are good. It doesn't take a stand about anything. It is so determined not to be offensive to anyone at all that I find it gross

I'll finish it, and then I'll go back to BG3

[daonedaonlyskh]

Sk vengeance saga thoughts

SK HAS A THOUGHT (well, multiple) OCUR FOR ONCE

my thoughts on the vengeance saga broken down by song!

be warned that this is long as hell and please don’t get mad at me if you disagree these are just my opinions <3

tw for I’m not sorry for loving you I briefly touch on rape/sa and suicide

I’m not sorry for loving you - Honestly this song is a masterwork. The music, the vocals (wangui i love you), everything. I think it portrays calypso in a very interesting light. I don’t think it makes the listener sympathetic towards her —or it doesn’t for me— but it makes you almost pity her. I know Jorge doesn’t go into detail about what happened in the seven years on the island like it does in the original odyssey (ahem calypso raping and sa’ing him), but I feel like we can assume from what we saw in “love in paradise” that ody ain’t doin so hot. I personally think this had to have something to do with Calypso’s behavior at least somewhat, and I say this because of how in the entire rest of the musical, ody has had so much hope for getting back home to the point where he will not allow himself to give up hope because of how desperately he wants/needs to be home. However, in the end of “love in paradise” we can see that Ody has basically given up all hope, and is literally about to jump off the cliff. Coming back to “I’m not sorry for loving you” now, this song to me definitely comes off as very manipulative. Calypso doesn’t really apologize for her actions towards ody, and just kinda names a few vague ideas and says that she admits that it was wrong, before basically saying that it’s his fault because of the line “then I am sorry that my love is too much for you” practically putting the blame of ody’s despair on ody, that the reason he’s upset his only his own fault, which to me is like saying “why are you so depressed? Just be happy.” On the flip I understand why calypso might have done this, she hasn’t had anyone in her life in so long, and that she feels like this is her only opportunity, so she must cling on to it. On the slip side, Ody has way more self control than me, “but not in the way that you want me to” dude I would not be that calm lmao. In conclusion though, I strongly dislike calypso but that doesn’t mean I don’t think that’s she’s a very complex character that deserves the opportunity to be studied under a microscope.

Dangerous - This song starts out sad af. The way there’s a pause after “cause I had one goal in mind” where the crew used to be singing? I’m sobbing. As we continue on, it gets better (Hermes my beloved). I feel like in this song though, Hermes’s laugh sounds way more forced than it did in “wouldn’t you like.” From this alone we can tell that Hermes knows how much tension there is in this situation, and how much is riding on this. And then he proceeds to sing one of the most catchy choruses & verses ever. His voice sounds a lot less lighthearted in this song though —not that it’s not lighthearted and kinda silly, but just in comparison to “wouldn’t you like” I feel like it sounds a lot more serious. Hermes singing Aeolus’s melody when giving him the wind bag is a really worthwhile touch in my opinion. I also noticed in ody’s little verse he rhymes “dangerous my friend” with “danger is my friend.” And ody saying he’s going to use ruthlessness? Subtle foreshadowing (wink wink). And then Hermes hinting at “god games” to end it off? Chef’s kiss.

Charybdis - I feel stupid for saying this, but the song reminds me of “Storm” from the Ocean saga. I think I draw similarities in the melody and the way the word “Storm”the phrase “Oh o bring it on!” And the last “Ohohohohoh!” In the song. And maybe in the bass and drums a bit too. I haven’t seen anyone else mention this though, but my irl winion friends agreed with me so I’m not sure. I like ody explaining his thoughts is still very melodic. And the end of this song, I like how much softer Ody’s voice gets when seeing the coast of Ithaca and thinking about how close he is to Penelope and Telemachus, only for him to get brutally interrupted by Poseidon. I really like this song, and I honestly wish it was a little longer. Also, my dad has been a music professor for the past 20 years and he has a song he composed named Charybdis so I’m automatically attached to this song.

Get in the Water - STEVEN RODRIGUEZ WELCOME BACK TO THE STAGE! This song was so anticipated by me, and it did not disappoint. The musical entrance of this song feels very powerful to me, especially with how it stops when Poseidon first starts to speak, before starting up again. I really like how the first “get in the water” (after the “now get in the water” but before the “or I’ll raise the tide so high-“) is sung, it hits my brain just the right way were I can so clearly envision Poseidon smugly gesturing for Ody to get in the water. The chorus of voices kicking in in the second chorus just keeps the tensions rising. The little verse about Ody asking Poseidon to leave him alone and just go home and then telling him he could learn to forgive was extremely unexpected to me for some reason, but I think it sets up six hundred strike really well because Ody did try to talk it out first and then moved to ruthlessness after that didnt work. TYEN POSEIDON’S SHATTER THE OCEAN MOVE OR WHATEVER JAY CALLED IT?!? WHAT. I - I CANT EVEN DESCRIBE HOW INCREDIBLE. WORDS SIMPLY CANNOT DESCRIBE. and then when ody’s underwater? polites is haunting the narrative again? and eury? and his mom? aND THEN THE WHOLE CREW? AND THEN THEY ALL SING THE “WAITING”??? MY HEART. MY HEART CANNOT TAKE IT. ITS SO BEAUTIFUL YET SO HEARTBREAKING.

Six Hundred Strike - The idea of having Ody use the wind bag as a jetpack is so fucking goofy in my opinion —don’t get me wrong, I love it, it’s just silly as hell. The whole speech to Poseidon about how he will get back to his son and he will get back to his wife? Mhm yes, good soup. However, i don’t really know how a lot of other people took this, but what I thought is that after that speech the spirits of the fallen men were doing most of the work to kick Poseidon’s ass, especially after Ody says “six hundred strike!!!!!” but maybe I’m stupid. Although, I think it works better that way, since I honestly don’t really like the idea of Ody being able to so single-handily defeat Poseidon. Which brings me to the stabbing. I was audibly gasping when this first happened during the stream ngl, and my eyes probably looked like they were about to roll out of my head. I saw someone in the comments after the stream ended saying that they headcanoned that the reason why Poseidon’s shouts of pain sounded so melodic is because they were music to Ody’s ears, and now I’m stealing that. But when Poseidon called him a monster? If it wasn’t for the fact that everyone else in my house was asleep during the stream I would have been SCREAMING. Also the line “next to my wife” left me in absolute disrepair. However, I disagree with the idea of Ody being able to defeat Poseidon so easily. I since have decided to subscribe to the theory of Ares helping Ody out, since Athena could not. I like this idea because 1, I feel like it makes more sense as to why ody was able to defeat Poseidon (divine intervention wink wink) and 2, idk I just like the idea that Ares was helping his sister out for once, but not to her knowledge (bc he still wants to be kinda a dick to her). And yes, I know that this heavily, heavily, HEAVILY diverges from the odyssey, and a lot of people were hoping for something a little more by the book in this s saga, but honestly? There are lots of other things already in epic’s entirety that differ from the Odyssey, so I personally don’t really see the problem there, nor do I agree with the people I’ve seen saying that Jorge needs to “actually read the classics” because it’s pretty damn obvious (at least to me) that he has. On a completely different note, I love how many motifs and callbacks there are in this song. I especially like the “different beast” motif playing right before Ody gets more violent, foreshadowing right before the moment that he is no longer in danger; he is the danger.

anyways yeah those are my thoughts! Feel free to disagree with me though and lmk what you think :)

[dalishious]

Veilguard Companion First Impressions

So, I’ve finally recruited all the companions for the Veilguard! And as such, I thought I’d share my initial thoughts on them each.

Please keep in mind that as the title says, these are just my first impressions. I am nowhere near finishing the game yet. My thoughts very well may change after getting to know the characters more as the story progresses. Also, please do not take any opinions you do not share as a personal attack against you.

Bellara

Bellara might be my #1 favourite.

I’ve seen some people just say Bellara is “a Merrill rip-off” but I don’t think that’s fair at all. If all it took was a few similarities to say a character is a rip-off of another character, than I can think of so many boring white cishet male characters who would be guilty of that. But heaven forbid we get more than one elven woman who is passionate about her people’s culture and history!

Frankly, I think Bellara is a breath of fresh air in terms of Dalish characters specifically. Finally, a Dalish elf who isn’t punished for being proudly Dalish by the narrative.

I also really appreciate that so much of her can be easily understood by her backstory, too. Like, her feelings of never being good enough is reflective of the very realistic grief she is experiencing.

Lucanis

If Bellara isn’t my #1 favourite, then Lucanis is. They really both dominate that spot neck in neck. I can’t decide if I want to put him in a jar and shake it to see what happens, or wrap him up tight in a quilt and give him some good coffee.

I’m just a sucker for Lucanis’s character archetype, is the thing. I love taking him out simply because he’s so much fun to have around. And in terms of companion arcs, his is the one I am most intrigued to see where it goes.

Taash

(While I haven’t personally gotten to Taash’s non-binary plot yet, I am aware Taash switches to they/them pronouns, so that’s what I’ll be using.)

The moment I met Taash felt my heart skip a beat. The only thing hotter than their appearance is their voice. I know BioWare probably left Taash out of a lot of the advertising because they wanted to keep Taash’s gender stuff a surprise, but oh my god, because of this I was taken by quite the surprise. And so far Taash seems to be the type to keep a hard outer shell to protect a much softer side, and that is yet another character archetype I really love.

Davrin

My initial gripe about Davrin’s writing being so exclusively about Assan rather than Davrin himself is slowly peeling away, I hope. While I still think its bullshit that you can welcome Assan into the Veilgaurd but not Davrin, at least I’ve finally gotten a few bits of dialogue to get to know more about him finally. I just want to keep this momentum! Because Davrin as a concept has so much potential, in my opinion, and what little bits I have gotten from him have captivated me. But I can’t tell yet if it’s intentionally part of his character that maybe he’s just a closed off person who takes a while to trust others, (a little like Taash?) Or if the writer just cared more about griffons than the actual guy. I’m really, really holding out hope for the former.

Emmrich

Emmrich is so much more charming than I expected, and I found him instantly endearing the moment we met him. I also really like that we’re finally hearing some different stances and insight on death and necromancy than we ever had before from a companion! It makes him feel so fresh and completely new!

Harding

I’ll be real with you: I was not anticipating caring about Harding so much. She was who I was originally least interested in, when the companion line-up was announced. But the direction they’re taking her in has me questioning so much about bigger lore questions.

Unfortunately, I still don’t see much in her except being a vessel for those bigger lore questions, though. Like, Harding as a person has me mildly curious at best.

Neve

I’m really sorry Neve fans, but I just find her really boring so far, in comparison to everyone else. She doesn’t have a lot going on, and what she does have going on, doesn’t really captivate me much. Maybe I was just hoping she’d have stronger stances on things than she does? I don’t know.

It could be that I just really fucked up with Neve, and it won’t be until another playthrough that I’ll get to experience more that will change my mind. Because I will admit I am very good at picking choices she disapproves of, with my first Rook.

[desmon1995]

The Warriors and their Odyssey of misogyny

I can’t stop thinking about how The Warriors is more relevant now than ever, especially in the wake of the 2024 election. This isn’t just a story about gang conflicts and survival—it's a brutally honest reflection of the world that marginalized people have to navigate every day. At its core, it’s about fighting through a sea of misogyny and toxic masculinity to survive in a system that’s dead set on crushing those who don’t fit its narrative.

Let’s start with Luther. He’s a white incel in every sense—angry, destructive, and, above all, ready to deflect blame the moment he’s caught in his own violence. After killing a black female activist, he immediately accuses the Warriors. Cleon, a character who knows what it means to fight for your community, begs for reason, for justice. But it’s hopeless—Luther’s lie spreads through his gang the Rouges, and every gang believes him. They want to believe the white man’s narrative. This is how the Warriors become outcasts, hunted by everyone.

What’s chilling, though, is how The Warriors dives deep into the nuances of toxic masculinity, showing it in forms we recognize all too well.

First, we have the Turnbull ACs—the poster boys of hyper-masculine violence. They’re the first to pursue the Warriors, and they’re more than willing to turn their hunt into something brutal. The ACs don't just want revenge; they want to dominate, to assert their power over the Warriors in every violent way possible. All in the name of Cyrus, no less—a symbol of a leader they’ll never understand. And they’re acting this way because of a lie, blindly following a dangerous white man’s narrative without question. It’s the rawest depiction of machismo and rage—almost an anthem of how Men of Color end up perpetuating harmful Eurocentric viewpoints just be a part of a society that hates them too.

Then come the Orphans. The Orphans are all talk, acting like the typical online "alpha males" we see on Reddit or Twitter. They talk big about their strength and what they’d do to women, but they’re nothing but insecure. The moment a more feminine-presenting Warrior flirts with them, they back down, only to puff up again when Mercy questions their manhood. It’s pathetic, really, but also painfully real. As soon as the Warriors fight back, the Orphans crumble, showing us exactly how performative their masculinity truly is.

Then there’s the Hurricanes—the only group to stand with the Warriors. They’re queer, and they know what it’s like to be outcast, to run because society sees you as something to be destroyed. The Hurricanes offer a quiet, resilient kind of mentorship, showing the Warriors that they don’t have to run—that they can fight. The solidarity here is beautiful, and historically resonant. Queer rights and women’s rights are so deeply intertwined because they’ve both faced the brutal crush of patriarchy, especially from those determined to keep the world “pure” and “safe” for white, conservative ideals. The Hurricanes help the Warriors see their own power, and it’s their influence that eventually allows them to survive.

But the most frightening group? The Bizzies. They’re the “nice guys,” the false allies who sing about being there to help. In their song “We Got You,” they say everything marginalized people want to hear. They’re supportive, kind, and reassuring—until they get you in a dark place, where your screams can’t be heard. Cowgirl lets her guard down with them, only to find out that their support was a façade. The Bizzies are insidious because this happens all the time in real life. Fake allies talk about helping marginalized people but vanish or even turn hostile the moment things get difficult. In 2024, we’re reminded every day that this kind of allyship is hollow.

A recent Vulture review questioned why most of the male characters in The Warriors are “bad” and argued that this one-sided view “limits” the story. But here’s the thing: this isn’t one-sided for those of us who are marginalized. For women, queer folks, and people of color, this is our reality. The Warriors reveals what’s true for many of us: that we have to rely on each other, and that the fight for our own freedom is in our hands because no one else will fight it for us without diluting or dismissing it.

In a way, The Warriors is the sequel to Hamilton we need in 2024. It’s a call to action, a piece that understands what it means to exist on the fringes of a world that was never designed for you. For those who think this story isn’t “realistic,” I urge you to think about what it means to live without the privilege of being heard, of being believed. This is the life marginalized communities face every day—the struggle of knowing that no matter how loud we shout, society might never listen.

We’re the ones who have to make our voices heard. And The Warriors reminds us that we’re not alone in this fight.

[sorinethemastermind]

Aight so i saw this meme on tumblr where it was a therapist going "and what do we do when things go wrong?" and it had like, the list of responses and what the TDP characters would say. Soren's was "fistfight God". Could you write a small blurb of Soren trying to "fistfight God" (aka aaravos) after the death of, like, Claudia?

I am more than happy to oblige 😈 (You have no idea how many times I've imagined this scenario because apparently I'm basic and the way I enjoy characters is by making them suffer) So anyway, here you go! Prepare for angst.

 It all happened very quickly. Too quickly for Soren to do anything more than stare in horror as the body of his little sister slumped to the ground before him. Aaravos sighed, looking down at her lifeless form on the ground before him, and shook his head.

 “What a pity.” 

 And that was it. The battle continued to rage around them, as if nothing had happened. As if an earth shattering, world ending, cataclysmic event hadn’t just occurred. As if Soren’s entire world hadn’t just come apart at the seams and his heart hadn’t been ripped from his chest and stomped to pieces on the ground. In fact, most of the people around him didn’t even seem to notice that she was gone.

 But she was gone. Soren was sure of it the moment he took her small, limp form in his arms. He didn’t bother begging her to wake up; he knew it was pointless. He’d been around enough death to know what it looked like. And anyway, even if he had wanted to, there were no words left in him to say. It was like all the words and the music and the color had drained out of the world in that single moment; there for so long and yet gone in an instant.

 Because even if Claudia had been a threat, or dangerous, or doing something horrible; 

she had been there to do it. Even if she had looked at him with hatred in her eyes and told him he’d killed their father, she had been there to be angry at him. And even if she had laughed at the lot of them and stood by Aaravos’ side even when they tried to reason with her, she had been there to make that mistake. And Soren had always been able to tell himself that one day she would see the right path again. That he could help her find it. 

 But now she wouldn’t see anything ever again. And what made it worse was that it wasn’t because of some horrible spell she’d decided to cast, or some heinous thing their Dad had asked of her, or even something that Aaravos himself had told her to do. It had been because of Soren. Because, after all these years, he had gotten through to her and led her down a different path. The one he’d thought was right.

 Except it couldn’t have been the right one, because it had ended here.

 Soren didn’t cry. That would come later. Instead, he closed Claudia’s eyes, and he placed her body gently back onto the ground. His hands clenched into fists at his sides as he rose, and then there was a color in the world again; red. 

 It was like a haze filling his vision as he retrieved his sword from where he’d dropped it, zeroing in on his target. As he watched, the elf, titan sized again, swatted away a group of Katolis soldiers on horseback. With his other hand he drew a rune in the air, almost lazily, and incinerated the wave of arrows coming at him. Soren gritted his teeth. He was nothing; a nuisance to this thing. This monster.

 But he didn’t care. If all he could do was annoy Aaravos, then that was what he would do.

 He ran at him wildly, joining the rest of their forces in hacking wildly at his ankles. But it was nothing to the elf; who simply raised his foot up and brought it down on them. Soren probably wouldn’t have even bothered to dive out of the way except Corvus was there, throwing himself at Soren and knocking them clear just as the godlike being’s foot came down, catching anyone not quite fast enough to evade him.

 “Soren, be careful!” Corvus panted, but Soren hardly heard him. He pushed him off, climbing back to his feet, and was about to run right back at Aaravos when something occurred to him. It was a long shot, he knew, but it just might work.

 Instead of running back into the throng of humans and elves gathered around Aaravos’ feet, Soren took off in the opposite direction. 

 “Soren, where are you going!?” Corvus called after him, but Soren paid him no mind. Paid no mind to anybody as he fought his way back out through the army of people and into clear, open space. 

 “Pyrrah!” he yelled, waving his arms over his head. “Pyrrah, over here!”

 It took a moment for the dragon to spot him, but when she did she swooped down low enough for him to leap up and grab onto some of the ridged scales that adorned her sides and swing himself up onto her back.

 “Do you trust me?” he asked her, having to shout to be heard over the cacophony below. She roared in response, and Soren hoped that was a yes, because he didn’t have any other plan.  “I need you to find me Zubeia. Do you know where she crashed?”

 Pyrrah flicked her head back to look at him, but she didn’t argue. Not that she really could, anyway. Still, he felt like he needed to explain himself.

 “It’s the only way to really hurt him.” Soren told her. 

 Pyrrah spread her wings out wider and flapped up further into the sky, hurtling past Aaravos and back towards the forest. Soren scanned the foliage for any signs of the Archdragon. It didn’t take long; it was sort of hard to hide the body of a dragon that size.

 Their original plan, the one Ezran and Callum had come up with, had involved them all distracting Aaravos long enough for Zubeia to come down and defeat him. But the problem with having an ace up your sleeve that size was that it was sort of hard to be stealthy, and Aaravos had knocked her out of the sky almost as soon as she took to it. But maybe she could still stop him, even now.

 Soren dropped from Pyrrah’s back and ran up to Zubeia’s head, trying not to think about what he was doing as he pried open the great dragon’s mouth and broke off one of her teeth, already fractured in the impact, before running back. Pyrrah looked at him with some judgment, but he honestly couldn’t care less.

 “This is for her.” he said, clambering back onto the smaller dragon’s back so she could take flight. “Just get me close enough to make it worth it.”

 Maybe the good thing about being a nuisance is that nobody takes you seriously. Pyrrah was able over Aaravos’ shoulder just close enough to make what Soren was about to attempt not entirely impossible, if still highly improbable. As she did he stood up, balancing as best he could, and then pushed off before he could think twice of it. 

 Maybe the good thing about only seeing red is that you don’t care if what you’re doing is probably - definitely - going to get you killed. Other colors might be overrated. Soren had pretty much forgotten what seeing them felt like, anyway.

 There was a long, echoing moment in which Soren was flying - except his wings were broken and the sky around him was about to realize that and send him plummeting to his doom - and then he was tumbling onto Aaravos’ shoulder, grabbing wildly at the edges of the titan’s tunic so as not to slide off. 

 The elf did notice him then, lifting a hand to flick him away, but Soren only needed a single moment. And in that single stolen moment, as the hand of his enemy came to swat him away, Soren took Zubeia’s fang and he jammed it hard into the side of Aaravos’ neck. 

 The elf howled, the sound echoing out over what seemed to be the entire world, and he stumbled; nearly throwing Soren off him just with the single motion. But he hung on to the fang where it had been stuck securely into Aaravos’ neck, and once the ground had evened out below him, shoved it in even deeper.

 He pushed it in with every scrap of strength he had left, every ounce of rage and loss and pain that filled him. Every bleeding shade of red that filled his vision. And then the elf was tumbling down, and Soren lost his grip, going flying into the air.

 Some people say that their lives flash before their eyes when they die, but that isn’t what Soren saw as the ground rushed up to meet him. Instead he saw Claudia; small and laughing at some stupid joke he’d made, telling him in detail about some spell she was learning, heaping enough pancakes onto her plate to feed ten people her size, falling asleep on his shoulder, pulling a goofy face at him and cracking herself up.

 And she wasn’t red, she was every color she’d ever been.

[thenerdofthegroup]

See, after many rewatches here’s the thing:

To me this show is perfect. And honestly I love 90% of the final two. But I love genuinely everything… UNTIL the last 10 minutes and your hit with

“Fuck. This is all we are getting”

We aren’t getting Agatha’s story, the darkhold, anything that was basically promised. And then we have Billy being… I won’t swear because I’m already treading the line, but he’s being Billy and Agatha just goes ‘yeah I’ll help you’ without knowing anything. I fully believe she’s doing it either to get back to life or/and to find Wanda. But it doesn’t tell us that. So we don’t know. We are told almost nothing about Agatha… in Agatha’s show.

That’s my problem. The rest of it is fucking perfect. Honestly. I loved the Billy reveal SOLELY because we see Agatha being fucking incredible. She is above everyone. Yes there are people more powerful than her but she is above everyone in the game of life. She is perfect. Her kissing Rio was just pure love and forgiveness for her love. Beautiful. But I’ve described before there should have been an Agatha conversation maybe in the afterlife or on her own or with Rio to explain her emotions at the end. Because it feels like her death isn’t really the end.

But

We get to the last 10 minutes and you are really hot with ‘this is it. We aren’t… fuck���

That’s my personal problem. Geneuinly everything is pretty much perfect until you hit the last 10 minutes of content (aka when Billy goes to her house) and then it hits you… there isn’t a secret episode after explaining her, there isn’t a post credit scene. Nothing. We leave in Billy being a twat (I’m sorry but he was) and not knowing what Agatha’s feeling or almost any of her history or lore.

Yay

This show is so perfect… until then. And I hate that it ends with me so viscerally angry and upset that there is no follow up about Agatha and her history or her emotions. That it’s just about Billy and she’s going to become a side character without us ever finding out about her history the way we should have, that they were telling us we were getting throughout the show. We got more Billy backstory in those 3 years than we got of Agatha in her 100’s of years. She is so complex and… we got so little. The nick stuff and ballad twist is my favourite scenes of… well ever. I’ve cried every single time.

But there is so much more to Agatha. And we got none of it. So when I watch it back I get the duality of:

“OMG!! That makes so much sense!! Agatha’s so clever”

(Them saying something with Agatha’s backstory) “WELL WE ARE NEVER GOING TO SEE THAT ARE WE!!!! YOU FUC-“

Do yeah. Agatha all along. Perfect. Genuinely perfect, until the last 10 minutes and it hits you, that’s it.

My love for this show and Agatha goes beyond bounds. Agatha is my special interest. And I cannot bind my anger that erupts every time I finish it.

And reading everything from Jac, it’s fucking marvel. So fuck you marvel for not allowing them to show Agatha’s backstory fully because apparently it wasn’t ’important enough’ but Billy’s kissing his boyfriend in the car for 4 minutes or whatever else about him we didn’t need.

Uh I’m a bitter autistic lesbian. This is not a good combo haha

Another gift for any poor soul who got to the end

GREY HAIRED AGATHA MY BELOVED AND THE GAYEST WOMAN IN THE 30’S!!!!!

[sir-subpar]

Redesigning/Reimagining Hazbin's Characters-1 (Charlie)

I tried y'all, I really did, but I didn't have much to work with. Sorry about the cut off, the shoes did not go as planned.

So- How'd I do? Tell me your thoughts!

(I'll go in depth under the cut)

Okay, so, where to begin..

Well, first, I'll start by stating the obvious.

I don't like Charlie's design. If you like it, fair enough, but it's just not working for me.

There's thr usual problem of- you guessed it- Too. Much. Red.

Red eyes, red background, red details, red clothing, red cheeks, red Bang style, red under sleeves (even though the shirt is supposedly White when you look at the chest area, but then you see around her wrist and it's a dark red for no reason. I'm willing to bet that the animators just forgot which color goes where because the color palette is just red, pink, white, and black. Over and over again.

Next: I get that she's supposed to be bubbly, and happy-go-lucky, all that stuff. But to be honest, I feel like it would be more interesting if she actually wasn't that nice.

I feel like one thing that would be fascinating is the idea that she wants to help people, but she's out of touch. She's one of the most powerful things in Hell after all. She doesn't understand the point of the lower class People. Plus, she's never been out of hell, she doesn't know what Earth is like, or what heaven is like.

I feel like a version of her where she is trying to do good, but is ruthless or harsh in the way she does it, could both be entertaining- and provide character devolopement as she learns how nuanced proper care is.

Also, if she's the second / third most powerful thing in hell, she shouldn't be scared of Alastor. I don't mean that he can't be in the series or anything, I feel like there would still be plenty of uses for him. But with her being a high class royal, and as powerful as she is, she shouldn't need to rely on him for his power or his money for that matter.

I understand the idea that maybe Lucifer Cut Her Off from funding because he basically disowned her or whatever, so maybe funding could be an issue, but even so, she should not be afraid of Alastor.

I like the idea that she intimidated people into going into her hotel so she could "fix" them, not realizing that the fear of her wrath is the only thing keeping people there.

Or maybe the whole hotel thing could be an act of defiance against her father fitting, as "history repeats itself" (referencing Lucifer's defiance of God in biblical lore)

Perhaps she does good things, but isn't all that nice to begin with. But she attempts to be friendly and relatable without understanding how to ACTUALLY relate to or approach others.

How does all of this tie into my design of her?

A few things:

1. Viv said at some point that Charlie was meant to look like a porcelain doll, which... She doesn't look like at all. (I do like her new ponytail. But other than that I don't like the design.)

To me, she just looks like Ellen DeGeneres with long hair and clown makeup.

Don't believe me? Look:

So, I made her more doll-like. But it wasn't enough. It was too simple.

Then, it hit me: in a lot of movies with demons or ghosts, oftentimes a doll gets possessed by said demon/ghost.

I'm not even afraid of dolls personally, but I know a lot of people who are

So What if, Charlie did the same? Maybe her true form is something really scary, so in an attempt to come across as more approachable, she has some sort of doll-like shell? (But, unbeknownst to her, most people are very afraid of dolls. So it does very little to actually help. I think that's some decent comedy potential.

Plus, imagine her having stiff or janky movements, like she doesn't actually fit that well in her body.

It's all appearances

2. The horns.

I actually kind of liked her weird demonic form, at least I liked the horns and the moving hair, but since I decided not to give her a crown, I gave her those weird 4 horns with decorative string tied between them, as a way to make it appear *similar* to a crown. Plus as a reference to the whole 'demonic' thing

I kind of used Sofia from "Harmony and Horror" as a reference. (Btw, great analogue horror series on YouTube, highly recommend it)

3. I did make Charlie's hair a bit darker, but just a little. That was in reference to part of Lucifer's lore, which said that when he fell from heaven, not only did his feathery angel wings burn away into bat wings, but his once golden hair burned into a dark red. So I decided that for Charlie, her hair is darker, but since she's trying to do good, it turns lighter.

But yeah, I'm honestly not sure about her outfit, I'm probably going to experiment with that in the future. But overall I'm okay with how this turned out.

It took me a few times, as you can see here:

[spacedlexi]

speaking of fucked up overly hated female twdg characters i find it Super Interesting how people will say carver was the best villain in the whole series, but when lilly is literally just a successful carver (iron fist leader of a community turning children into soldiers) suddenly shes a bad/lame villain for some reason 🤔

[lollytea]

The Blight family are so interesting IN THEORY. In execution they are....😬