#and it might be time for the consequences of my actions

[fushiguho]

Subby!Choso loves when you’re mean to him. In fact, he might even prefer it. He’d definitely let you tie him up and bound his wrists together, his gaunt hands situated so obediently behind him while he sits so prettily between your legs, your back to the headboard while his presses against your chest, trembling legs sprawled achingly wide…

Long, disheveled strands of sable hair occlude his vision, his pained face contorted in sheer desperation — deprivation. His chest heaves as weak, shuddered breaths drag from his parted lips, your teasing hand working so crudely at his heavy, swollen balls; idly kneading them, rolling them between the pads of your fingers, squeezing just tight enough to force a helpless, guttural whimper from the depths of his chest.

“Spit on it, Cho.” You demand, kissing his temple sweetly, your vacant hand creeping up to tautly squish his cheeks, forcing his mouth wider. Not a second thought passes as he’s pooling saliva behind his lips, soon lolling out his tongue to messily drool onto the head of his own cock. “Such an obedient puppy for mommy, yes?” A cruel, bewitching smile graces your lips when he nods meekly, whimpering whorishly as his head deliriously lolls back to rest against your shoulder.

His cock is so angry with you. It throbs in your hand, begging for something, anything more. The wet, sensitive head weeps in sinful bubbles of precum, obscenely dribbling down your slick fist in rivulets as you pump him languidly. Choso can hardly help the pathetic buck of his hips as he selfishly attempts to get more out of your teasing hand, but you’re quickly reprimanding him with a harsh squeeze down the girthy base of his cock. It’s been nearly an hour of this torturous cycle and he’s utterly delirious. You almost feel bad.

Almost.

“Fuuuuck, p-please jus’ lemme cum, mommy... m’so close. Been such a good, p-perfect boy for you,” he pleads fruitlessly, huffing out desperate whines as if to will you, “didn’t touch myself all day like you asked!” Liar.

Your thumb sweeps across the drooling head of his cock, collecting the sinful amalgamation of arousal and saliva as you hum in feign contemplation. “I don’t believe you, Cho.” He nearly sobs when you quickly pull your hand away, rudely denying him of what he craves the absolute most — release. “Mommy hates when you lie to her.”

Choso knows you know. How does he expect you not to? Did he truly think you’d just turn a deaf ear to his obnoxious moaning when you came home from work? Were you just supposed to ignore the fact that his cock was practically leaking by the time you entered the room? It’s like he doesn’t even care enough to be discreet anymore, especially when you explicitly instructed him not to touch himself until you get back.

His eyes are brimming with warm tears as he begs for your mercy. Fat, briny droplets of utter desperation threatening to spill down his flushed cheeks, staining his pretty face. God, he’s so frustrated and there’s absolutely nothing he can do about it this time. You’re being awfully mean, but what does he expect when he disobeys you? This is merely the deserved consequences of his actions, his punishment. The only thing you ask of him is to abide by your one, simple rule: Do not touch yourself while I’m away. Is that so hard?

You’re crudely taunting him as you wrap a teasing hand around his cock for the umpteenth time tonight, pumping his messy shaft at such a gnawing, ponderous pace that it forces a throaty moan from his permanently gaped mouth. “You’ve been such a bad puppy lately,” you tut, directing his raptured eyes onto yours with a not-so-gentle tug of his face, “am I just supposed to reward that kind of behavior?”

“But it… it was hurting, mommy,” he whimpers, bottom lip trembling, “my cock was s-so painful earlier… I’m so sorry,” his voice nearly quivers as he whines, thick brows furrowing while he desperately tugs at his restraints, “I didn’t mean to, okay? Couldn’t fuckin’ help it. Just got so hard thinkin’ about you, I really can’t help it.” And almost, there’s a brief moment of clemency — a fleeting instance of your forbearance, almost.

His lips are pursing together as he pants through his flared nostrils, a painful whimper of agony sitting so heavily in his chest when you squeeze him again, forcing out pathetic bubbles of precum from the drooling head. “Cho, baby, I truly don’t care.” You’re so mean, yet still, the thick, protruding vein that adorns the underside of his cock throbs painfully against the palm of your hand at your abrasive tone. Absolutely ridiculous, you think. “You disobeyed me… again. You’re not sorry.”

"I am, mommy! I swear I am, p-please! I'll do anything... you know I will," his hips are rolling toward your fist, haphazardly meeting your teasing strokes, "f— fuuuck, you can sit on my face like last time if you want... don't even need to breathe, y-you can suffocate me 'n I'll eat you out over and over again like a good boy! I swear, mommy... pleaseeee?" His usual timbre voice breaks oh so sweetly as he pleads for reprieve, craning his head to find your stoic gaze, dark eyes glossed over with a pathetic sheen of tears.

A singular, searing droplet is falling when you shake your head softly, humming as you decline his alluring offer. However, when you’re teasingly removing your hand from his cock yet again, that one fleeting tear is turning into several and soon, he's fully sobbing for you, weeping a frustrated stream of pretty little tears. They’re marring his crimson cheeks in a beautiful, gut wrenching sheen that has warm arousal pooling between your thighs.

As you kiss his tears away, Choso winces, his ever growing frustration apparent. "You don't deserve my pussy, Cho," you hum, slipping from behind him to stand to your feet, "not tonight. Mommy doesn't reward bad behavior, you know that." You remind as you begin to walk away, nearing the bedroom door.

He’s shaking his head desperately. "No..." he breathes, tugging harshly at his restraints, "no, no, no... p-please don't leave me like this. Look I'm sorry, okay?" He's completely bare, his poor, neglected cock twitching lewdly as he lies there helplessly. Fat, swollen balls painfully full as he sobs, yearning for your touch. "Mommy, no…”

"Oh, my poor baby," You frown, feign concern dripping from your tongue, "think about what you did." Are the last words you utter before leaving the room, locking the door behind you.

He'll learn.

[mystlael]

Batfam inco quotes again because y'all like em

Tim: *sharpens knife* We've got ways of making people talk. Tim: *cuts piece of cake* Dick: ...Can I have some? Steph: Cake is for talkers.

Bruce: That's it, you're grounded! Tim, no adventures for you! Damian, no fighting for you! Steph, no stealing for you! And Jason... oh my god, is there anything that you love? Jason: Revenge. Bruce: No vengeance for you. Jason: I was going to say "I'll get you for this," but I guess that's off the table.

Dick: Hey, Little Wing, what do you want to eat? The Pit: T̷͉͆h̷̥͘e̶̗͂ ̶͈́s̶̪̓ó̸̞u̶̹͑l̴̔͜s̵̽ͅ ̸̝̍ǫ̴̎f̷̙̿ ̴̣̄ţ̴̽h̵̨͠ě̷̗ ̴̘̾ȋ̶͉ṉ̵̈́ṅ̸̫ö̴̳ć̷͉e̷͈̐n̵̜̎t̷̢͝!̸͙̓ Jason: A bagel. Pit: N̴o̶!̷ Jason: Two bagels.

Jon: *watching the Batfamily's shenanigans with concern* Do you feel like this has gotten out of hand? Damian: I don't know. Feels normal enough for a group that's on 911's blocked callers list.

Damian: My toxic trait is that I truly believe I could win a fight against anybody if I was mad enough. You might have the strength and size, but I have the pure, unfiltered rage.

Barbara: I swear to god I'm the only one here with a braincell. Steph, Tim, Cass, and Dick: ALL HAIL the keeper of the sacred braincell!

Dick: I’m telling you, Bruce, my team is competent. Kori, rushing in: Dick! Wally tried to make pasta in the coffee pot and now it's broken!

Dick, on the phone: What’s up, Jay? Jason: I’m sitting in a pool of blood. Dick: …Um, is it YOUR blood? Jason: I think so, but at the same time... Dick: Do you know where the blood’s coming from? Jason: Probably the stab wound. Dick: YOU’VE BEEN STABBED?! Jason: Oh, yeah, definitely.

Damian: Remember, if you get captured, no matter what they do, don’t talk! Jon: What if they torture us? Damian: Just don’t talk! Jon: Can we scream a little?

Tim: I can’t do this, it’s against my moral compass. Jason: YOUR MORAL COMPASS IS A ROULETTE WHEEL! Tim: …Your point?

Jason: Tim, I swear I didn’t know Bernard was coming over. I always ominously clean my assault weapons on the coffee table like that. It had nothing to do with you!

Dick: GET BACK HERE YOU DUMB FUCK! Jason: LET ME RUN FROM THE CONSEQUENCES OF MY ACTIONS!

Dick, about a fight between Jason and Damian: It scares me how many knives were involved. Duke: There… weren’t any knives involved though? Tim: That’s what scares us.

[lumilasi]

I kind of want to somehow elaborate on what actually happened with Jimmy, as there is proper story that happens as a prelude to any comics and doodles I've been making with the Tulpar- and my stargazer crew; like said the above comic doodle is kind of joke-y.

I just don't think I could make it into a comic as it'd be too big of a project, and I admittedly personally don't really feel comfortable drawing Jimmy.

Summary for it is roughly this, though:

Somehow Anya manages to make contact with the Stargazer crew (IDK exactly how yet) without anyone knowing. She basically manages to connect to the comlink for the ship cockpit, and finds Stefan and Cherry bickering over something there, as the actual pilots are either resting, or eating.

Cherry recognizes her from their time together at medical school and is happy to see her, and Anya let's them know their location, and that they need rescue. However, when she's asked to go inform their captain - or whoever is in charge currently - she hesitates, understandably.

Stefan picks up on this immediately, and after listening to the ladies' back-and-forth a bit, he suddenly says "Internal," to Cherry, which confuses Anya as she OFC doesn't understand the code. Cherry immediately does however, and now notices the same signs Stefan had. She then instructs Anya to stay close to someone hopefully safe, until they get there, while Stefan informs Nadiya about the situation.

Minor side note: Anya finds Stefan kind of aggressive and intimidating during this exchange, because she is lacking the context of his full character - and the fact he'd been trying to fix the communications issue for Six Damn Hours, and generally has been suffering from Insomnia, so he's being a bit blunt with Cherry (though still fairly gentle - something Anya realizes later when she sees him ACTUALLY kind of mad at someone)

The rescue crew (Minus Ava and Alix, they aren't present as they are on a separate mission) arrive, but Stefan sneaks in from elsewhere to sneak up on Jimmy in order to knock him out and deliver him to their cell block (cryo would've been an option earlier, its just that currently they don't have a working one available, Stefan is still fixing them due to a..... previous...incident....)

Jimmy, being Jimmy, realizes he'd have to face consequences for his actions now, tries to flee using their ship and takes Anya hostage to get there, but he gets stopped by Stefan.

In the following struggle Stefan actually almost loses, because he's dealing with someone very desperate, and realizes he has to kill him - not just to protect himself, BUT because Jimmy could foolishly unleash something MUCH worse into the world - referring to the...incident...mentioned earlier - if he did get into their ship, whether by trying to hijack it, or being put in their cells. He ends up snatching Jimmy's axe he took and killing him with that (Poor Anya has to witness the whole mess)

After that, Stefan informs her that he's part of the rescue crew and they are there to bring them home. He then collapses a bit, because he was injured pretty bad too, but manages to call for Nadiya and others to their location. (IDK if Anya would be brave enough to offer treating his injury, she might be too paralyzed by fear at this point?)

He might be wearing his gas-mask this whole time, so she doesn't get to see his face until later at Stargazer - or alternatively it gets knocked off during the fight.

Second member of my lil Space rescue crew I'm building for funsies. I also couldn't help but doodle that comic strip as well, BC it was stuck in my brain and wouldn't leave otherwise.

Anya deserved SO much better....art wise too, maybe I'll try to draw her properly later?

(Side note; in a more serious story, Stefan absolutely would NOT just casually walk there with a bloody axe, knowing Anya is very badly traumatized; he'd be much more tactful. This strip is kind of meant to be absurd and 'non-canonical' to his character)

Also, more info about Nadiya below:

Nadiya is VERY picky about her crew, hence she has a small one. She's especially picky about men, having had unpleasant experiences working with them during her training.

That said, she has very firm trust on Stefan and her co-pilot, who have proven themselves to her quite a few times already

Nadiya finds Stefan's obliviousness over the fact TWO people have a crush on him amusing.

She and Stefan act as the "mom and dad" of the crew, though they aren't a couple by any means; neither feels any sort of attraction to the other, but they trust and respect each other, and are willing to take more drastic measures than the others.

Nadiya can be quite ruthless if she wants to, there is a reason why she has a reputation. That being said she takes her job as a rescuer seriously - she's just willing to 'rescue' crews from their bad apples as well...

Her saying, "Whatever the threat, external or internal" is basically her philosophy that leads to this.

I'll add more stuff once I figure it out; I don't have her that fleshed out yet, but that's typical for any new characters, they need time to develop.

[strangegardendelusion]

andres dumb plan hinges too much on the idea of "stolas will come save blitz because he loves him and then hold himself accountable so i can take his legions! obviously!" when theres like. no implication that anyone really knows what blitz and stolas's relationship is, or that they even care about each other, especially not when stella said, "he finally realized that filthy little beast was only using him to gain access to his grimoire", like, what about that implies that stolas would give a shit if anything happened to someone who was "using him"? thats right - it doesnt! if andres plan had been properly executed in the stupid ass way he set it up in the episode, then blitz wouldve been executed, and fuck all wouldve happen to stolas after. if anything, hed be treated like a hero who was used unfairly by some low life, who was then slaughtered on tv to remind the lower citizens of hell not to fuck with the upper crust. imagine if that had happened, forcing stolas to go back to his home by himself; no stella since they divorced, no via since shes turning 18 soon, and no blitzy, ever again. maybe they shouldve just done that tbh, that way he could take over the show completely, since thats obviously what viv wants so damn bad. (also, stolas possible redemption arc when he realizes his actions actually DO have consequences!) or, i dunno, if she had the maturity to let other people look at her 3 year old script without surrounding herself with yesman, she mightve realized that she couldve kept EVERYTHING she wanted and still had the same ending, at the price of having stolas do the bare minimum and say, "he didnt force himself onto me, i.. forced myself onto him." the ending with all the imps hating stolas would make sense (because they know hes a rapist), blitz being able to even acknowledge any care he has for stolas might make more sense if he'd even SAY what he did wrong to blitz in front of EVERYONE important in hell, being a way to make up for his manipulative behavior and him hiding his face at ozzies, especially if stolas said, "i'm so sorry, blitz. for getting you into this mess, for everything ive done to you.." after blitz says thank you when they return home. (thats just the way i'd write it, because i cannot fucking stand that blitz says, "thank you, stolas, for saving my life," when blitz, at minimum, has saved stolas's life 3 TIMES AND HAS NEVER GOTTEN A THANK YOU ONCE BEFORE THIS POINT and was even INSULTED over saving him the best he could, because blitz needed to be there for his DAUGHTER first like a good dad, which is obviously something stolas has never comprehended since his sacrifice and willingness to die for his former forced sex slave in mastermind proves that, but stolas saves blitz twice, the second time being when hes holding himself accountable for his own actions that nearly got his "lover" killed to begin with? oh, heres a gold star, a thank you from the guy you forced to have sex with you to keep food on the table for his family, and a free imp to wash you just like when you were 12 i mean a totally not trauma bonded bf!)

Honestly, anon, interesting points all around! I didn't even think about all you said before you mentioned it.

Now, having blitz died is a very interesting idea

I mean, it would be very cool to see how each character reacts to his death, like having loona experience her sadness by turning it into anger and having millie and moxxie grieving with each other the best they can.

It would also be very interesting to see stolas hitting the deep end as he realized how his life is falling apart

I could see stolas trying to reach out to everyone blitz knew, and nobody wanted to do anything with stolas

From then on, the series would follow stolas as he deals with everything

[championofthefade]

Thinking about Veilguard sometimes really makes me start picking it apart.

Yes, I did like it for what it is. But as someone who played the three games for the first time this year, I found it disheartening at times.

Long story short for those who rather not read my rambling: I liked Veilguard, but there are parts that just don't feel right and that everything we've done in Thedas the last three games were all for naught. (I'm yapping about my complaints, might make a more positive post later)

It's a mixed bag, really.

While I liked the gameplay, there are things that just don't rub me the right way.

The first immediate example is how the (only, in my opinion) major choice we are presented with is choosing Treviso and Minrathous. We have the choice to harden the other companions in spirit, but the only ones that actually are affected are Lucanis and Neve.

While I have done both paths, I can't say that one is a better choice over the other. Shadow Dragons are decimated if you choose Treviso, Treviso is blighted if you choose Minrathous. I think that it's fair that Lucanis doesn't want to romance Rook if you choose Minrathous, because he wants to save his city from dying. He trusted you to follow through, while Neve expects that you won't since she's a cynic. Which makes sense why she's willing to still romance you if you choose to save Treviso, although it'll be a bit more challenging to, because you were presented with an impossible choice. I don't mind that he ends up with Neve, even if the romance for all the companions kinda fall flat if you think about it too much.

Another thing is Taash. Their identity is important to their story, but having Rook (us the player) choose how to deal with their cultural crisis doesn't make sense and makes me not want to repeat those quests. Why is there no option to embrace both the Qun and being Rivani? Why am I the one choosing how Taash chooses to express themselves? Relating back to the city choices, Lucanis and Neve both choose their hardened options with Illario (getting jail) and Aelia (being given to the Threads). With Taash, the choices are a little less clear to me. I think we shouldn't be able to dictate one's cultural choices.

One of the worst choices that we have to make as Rook is Harding vs Davrin. Thinking about the amount of people who are saving Davrin just for Assan is actually crazy to me. I love Davrin, but he's reminding me of what happened to Wyll in BG3, and it's not a fun time. (I can barely pick up BG3 for various reasons and this is one of them.) I'm glad Bioware doesn't pander to the fans that are loud, because I don't have to worry about everyone's favorite white boy getting more content than the only black companion (saying this as a white person myself). I will always save Davrin because he is a compelling character even without Assan. I love the feather-brain but I feel like I want to know Davrin more than his mythical son.

I hate that we only got three world state choices, two of which don't really matter since it's more flavor text. It doesn't matter if we disbanded or merged into the Chantry, we don't see the consequences of those actions. It doesn't matter if your Inquisitor wants to Stop Solas at All Costs, because apparently they feel responsible for Solas being... Well, Solas. And our romances, outside of Solavellan, were reduced to a codex entry and sidelined.

Yes, Solas is important, and yes, I expected his romance to be given more light. I'm in the camp of people who feared that was going to be the case. And it was.

Yes, I agree that him getting a Good Ending with his vhenan is one of the better endings, but his friendship one and facing his fear of dying alone is also important. I liked playing a Rook that tricked him, I liked playing a Rook that chose to fight him as well. I'm glad we have at least those aspects that we can control.

As someone who has romanced Lucanis and Neve so far, I wish there were more little cutscenes, and not just for Lucanis. I'm just okay with how things are, even if they're a bit empty in comparison to what we could've had. That being said, I think that there's always room for improvement to have a more fulfilling resolution to the romance in the game the devs claimed was the most romantic. I wish there was more, I wish that there had been more to support that claim. I want to feel closer to these companions, and I am sure that I will as time goes on. But as it stands, for now after sitting with the game for nearly a month (11/29), I wish we had gotten more.

I would like to say that it really doesn't feel like the most romantic compared to the other three games. (Blackwall's "heart laid bare", Dorian's "you're dreadfully dull and I hate you", Josephine's letter of "let me make a promise to you here. I dream you will say yes", Zevran's "I'll storm the Black City for you, never doubt it", Anders' "ten years, a hundred years from now, someone like me will love someone like you, and there will be no templars to tear them apart", just to name the few that feel more romantic than what we're sitting with for Veilguard romances. And one of them is a codex entry.)

I hate that we have to learn through missives that the South is gone, save for Skyhold. I hate that we had no power to help the South, and that the last three games were all for naught. It's upsetting to know that Ferelden is gone. RIP Orlais, you slayed too close to the sun. Kirkwall being empty is a scary thought, but it's gone too.

It makes me wonder where HOF is. Did they ever find a cure? Are they even alive? What about a Hawke that didn't get left in the Fade? You mean to tell me that they wouldn't be out there in the frontlines doing something? You mean to tell me that they're sitting on their asses?

Varric dying is something else entirely, but it's just gut wrenching that we don't even get to mourn him. A second playthrough was mindbogglingly eye-opening. Harding was mourning when you check on her in her little room. Neve reminisces about how Varric brought her onto the job and she wishes that she didn't take it. They were mourning while Rook probably looked like they were in the denial stage of grief. What killed me inside was the fact I caught it the first time when Bellara name dropped Varric like she didn't know he was there. That's when I started thinking maybe he was gone, but I didn't want to believe it. I had to step away from my computer when the reveal happened because I was devastated.

We don't get to see just how the team made the fake lyrium dagger, or how they even managed to find Rook in the first place. We don't get to see the love interest's reaction, only the aftermath where they are still registering that Rook is there. We don't even get an explanation on how those things were possible. To create a perfect lyrium replica and locate someone in the Fade? Knowing that we could've had a mission to save whoever was left in the Fade hurts. RIP to those left in the Fade.

The secret ending is just... Bewildering to say the least. What do you mean that there's an even bigger force that has been controlling the narrative from Across the Sea? What do you mean these incredibly well written villains had no agency in their choices and were being used to orchestrate whatever the hell the Executors wanted?

Again, what do you mean that all that we've been through in Thedas just doesn't matter anymore?

[ripplestitchskein]

I think I’ve landed somewhere in the middle on how much Stolas was *consciously* increasing the Imp/Demon Royalty divide? On the one hand he could just be playing it up and getting real into character because he’s a dramatic bitch, on the other he seems to be speaking directly to the camera and choosing his words carefully for maximum potential and words are kind of his thing. And while his acceptance of people throwing stuff on him could be just how sad and in shock he is, but he says “It’s fine” with like an acceptance that just makes me think he knew what he was doing he just didn’t expect to live to face the consequences.

On the other hand his confession doesn’t actually make sense, which I believe is just another way to point out his privilege, he doesn’t even have to make sense and they believe him over the Imp and he escapes execution by nature of his birth. I can read it either as on the spot improv OR a plan that had to be put into action sooner than he realized.

Either way, he was doing as much as could for Blitz in what he thought would be his last moments. Which is lovely.

I still feel like they need to pay off the Prophecy aspect of his abilities though, they’ve dropped enough hints and this would be a perfect way to do that?? But I think there are just too many things that don’t line up for it to be a neat and tidy theory so I’m holding back on that until I get another indication that there is a longer game. The inclusion of the Circus and Stolas coming into his powers doesn’t make sense without Prophecy coming into play though? Otherwise it’s just redundant, which is still possible, sometimes shows are redundant.

The thing about analyzing a cartoon show is it’s impossible to know what is part of the animation, a fun throwaway, a joke/gag or something to take seriously that will actually be a part of the plot.

I definitely see us doing a role reversal in S2, and some potentially rocky conflicts between them as a result because they have some walking miles in each others shoes to do and that won’t be easy either way, but I’m holding out hope that Viv and team aren’t going full dark/sad/realistic with this long term. A story is best when the characters go through the wringer and up and down back and forth but end up where they need to be eventually.

I might just write it how it could play out. if I ever break free from my self imposed Christmas Craft Curse and have free time again.

[ravensilversea]

Hope we all like Honkai: Star Rail because I'm refilling my queue and I think half of it is going to end up being HSR XD

[sad-leon]

i like to think that they can change their size in the mindscape/ninpo space, so sometimes when Leo's having a hard time he's smol and holdable, or peepaw will make himself bigger if he notices little leo needs a hug so he can hold his little self with all the safety and security in the world

:D

@intotheelliwoods little leo may be therapy in the peepaw multiverse, but he is my sad little guy and i will make him cry :)

[piromina]

huge props to marinette for spinning up that lie so fast and on the spot, too. I thought I was good but damn. of course she must have had a general idea of what she was going to say to adrien beforehand going off of gabriel's "make me look good" and her own love telling her that the truth would hurt adrien even more, but that's just a very vague idea. she could not have possibly spun up that entire story of a lie in her head beforehand with all that was going on - dealing with all the truths coming in one after the other, the crying, the emotional trauma, getting the kwamis back -

and of course, there's adrien. he is one of the highest things on her list of priorities, his safety being the first thing she needs to take care of. the problem is, she doesn't know how. the only thing she can do in that situation is lie. a small lie. just one to make it better for now and then she can make it a long-term lie later. make sure no one else finds out.

and once she started telling the lie, once the first words were out of the mouth, it was all improvisation. her next words showed up in her head as she was going, spinning up a believable story, just good enough to be taken as the truth. she rambled - a rookie mistake for liars - but you couldn't blame her. she's a professional liar, almost, with her superhero identity, but this one is different. just one hour after learning the truth she had to cover up all this with no warning beforehand.

she couldn't tell adrien the truth. but she couldn't do much to comfort him either. ladybug couldn't tell him something only marinette knows.

she had to lie. she had to come up with something on the spot. those words would haunt her for the rest of her life - that lie was all she could think about for the next couple of months because she had to make it work. she had to keep the truth and make everything work out. it wasn't a big deal. she just had to tell adrien something, anything that would comfort him! what would comfort him about his father? what would convince him that he was a good guy this whole time? that he was a, a, a hero! yes, she would tell him that. it was a white lie! she wasn't a bad person! she just had to tell adrien that his father was a hero so that he would never have to know the truth and suffer like she did. he was a hero.

was.

once that word came out of her mouth, there was no going back.

[biblically-accurate-dca]

KILL!!!!!!!!!

[isp-annafer]

I'd like to give Polites from Epic the Musical a formal apology because when I first heard Open Arms, it was so cheerful and optimistic and soothing my first thought after finishing the song was, "Oh, he is so doomed by the narrative. He's gonna die."

(And, fool that I was, despite all the warning signs, he became my favorite.)

[watchandyoullsee]

Ariel Takes the Wheel

Scene 1: Ariel "Just Forgot"

King Triton (1989): "I just don't know what we're going to do with you, young lady."

Ariel (1989): "Daddy, I'm sorry, I just forgot, I--"

King Triton (2023): "It's irresponsible. Your sisters are only here for one phase of the Coral Moon. Can you imagine any one of them missing the gathering?"

Ariel (2023): "No, you're right. I'm sorry." (Excuse the watermark; I don't know where else to find images.) Of course, Flounder comes to her defense in the LA just like the 1989 version, saying it wasn't her fault, but Ariel realizes her mistake and takes full responsibility.

Scene 2: Blaming Sebastian

Ariel never blames anyone but herself in the 2023 version. She knows it's wrong to make the deal with Ursula in both versions, but the Live Action Ariel does not do it just for herself, but for both worlds -- after all, humans and merpeople may be different, but that doesn't make them enemies. Shipwrecks are alarmingly frequent, taking the lives of humans and damaging the seafloor below. Were the relations between the two peoples mended, perhaps their respective worlds could mend as well.

Thus, the stakes are higher. Had Triton been willing to listen while she had her voice (and it is understandable why he wasn't), she would never have had to give it up to be heard. 2023 Ariel not only rebels against her father because he made her upset (and she's obsessed with a human prince), but because she is doing what she believes is right for herself and her people. Since she heard Eric express a similar desire to bridge the gap between their kingdoms and the rest of the world (a desire she has never heard expressed by anyone else), it is only natural that she forms an immediate attachment to him. His beautiful face is not a motivating factor, but a nice bonus, and proof that humans are not all monsters.

Scene 3: Ariel "Didn't Mean To"

Ariel (1989): "Daddy, I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to! I didn't know!"

Ariel (2023): "I'm sorry, Father, this was all my fault."

The point of this comparison is to highlight how important it was that Ariel took the wheel of the ship at the end. These are two very different characters, and thus their character arcs are different. Ariel in 1989 was curious, naïve, stubborn, rebellious in the typical adolescent fashion, and innocent as an infant. Her arc wasn't the noblest for a princess, as notwithstanding her mistakes and lack of character growth, she managed to receive all that she desired in the end. She didn't need to kill Ursula because Eric was there to do it for her, just as Scuttle was there to stall the wedding and retrieve her voice, and Sebastian was there all the way along to get her closer to Eric. Animated Ariel did not take responsibility for her actions. How could she, when she didn't know any better? Every movement she made was in her own self-interest (though I think by the end she really did love Eric as a person and not just a pretty face). Still, we love her because she is the picture of wide-eyed, adventurous youth, and there is much room for her yet to grow up, even after she's married. Because of her carefree innocence, it's nigh impossible to hate her.

Live Action Ariel is also carefree to a point, but the weight of her title and responsibilities shines through in her character. She is ignorant about the Above World (by no means from lack of effort), but clearly educated as a princess should be regarding her own. She is less stubborn in her naivety and more secure in her sense of right and wrong. There is an important distinction to be made between knowing what is right and remaining steadfast in that knowledge, versus remaining immovable in one's obliviousness.

So why was it important that Ariel took the wheel in the climax? Because she had taken the wheel all along. Had she been trapped in a vortex like in the cartoon, a damsel in distress, it would have been a disservice to her particular character arc -- that of a girl who took responsibility for her actions at every turn. "Those sacrifices you made were a choice that you can't undo," she sings in 'For the First Time.' This thread of action->consequence->action would have been left dangling, unresolved if she had suddenly lost all power.

Does this in any way diminish Eric's character? Not at all. He was willing to sacrifice his life to be with Ariel through the storm. He did everything in his power to save her. He still threw the spear, which undoubtedly saved her life in that moment (and, might I say, was a display of incredible competence to have an aim underwater like that). In that way, he repays her in kind, after she'd rescued him from drowning.

As an aside, she mimics his exact movement when he had steered the ship earlier in the film. Had she not observed what he did in that storm, she might not have known what to do in the final battle.

Ariel still needed help -- she still needed the support and aid of her animal companions, Eric, the castle staff, and her father. BUT she also took plenty of action to satisfy her arc, avenged her father's death, and she gave credit where it was due:

Ariel (2023): "You gave your life for me."

King Triton (2023): "And you fought to get my life back."

Ariel (2023): "I didn't fight alone, Father. Eric was with me."

I hope this post makes it a little clearer why robbing Ariel of her ability to act in the climax of the film would have been a poor choice, specifically in the Live Action. And, by the way, you can still prefer one or the other, or neither. While I don't dislike the cartoon, I obviously prefer the more mature and responsible Ariel.

[dodecademons]

Funny how like 90 percent of people wanting the wilds back hate to acknowledge the fact that it's partly their fault. I want the wilds to be renewed as well, however if I DARE say yall aren't ready for it and a small part of me thinks some viewers are undeserving I'm the bad guy. Right because the vast majority of you didn't openly admit to skipping over the boys parts in the show, smh. If you arent watching the whole episode why would they want to renew it? They want views, they want money. Do I want the wilds back? Of course. Do I think the gretchen clones deserve it? No. Be better.

[skeletoninthemelonland]

Hi hi, so uhh sorry if this is a bother, but how many AU’s do you have. I’ve been reading some of your posts and you’ve written about like 30 diff AU’s what have I missed 😭

LMAO I have about 3 active (AUs that I have worked on frequently), these being Springdad AU, Behind The Codes and the Scrap Ballora AU.

There are a few others that are currently inactive or were canceled: Family Traces, The Afton's Suburb and the Zombie Apocalypse AU.

[that-tall-queer-bassist]

have i ever mentioned that i love being told im rude by someone whos been hard on me my entire life for no reason? Because i do. So much.

totally unrelated, i also love crying in public!

(sarcasm)

[the-alphonze]

I’d like to apologize for not being’ here these past few days

I figured somethin’ out, Axel won’t be showin’ up for now