#and sees her skill.................... anyways

[pythonmoth]

cw: anxiety. post-traumatic stress disorder (torture). reader is traumatized. reader is a bit unreliable. military inaccuracies. hurt/comfort (I guess?).

simon riley x f!reader. implied simon riley x soap. implied simon riley x f!reader x soap.

First | Last | Next

Being home is incredibly boring, especially if you can't move much.

Your brother's been taking care of you, making sure you're eating, that you let your injuries breathe, and soon enough, the cuts on your feet allow you to move around on your own. It takes a whole month for your brother to leave you alone for longer than a few hours. It's a good thing, really, because if you want to spend hours just laying in your bed and crying in silence as you stare at the ceiling, you can. He would only come whenever you needed a ride, anyway.

Despite being able to move around and now even managing to use your sensitive fingers, you dread the idea of going outside. You have to wear sandals and loose pants, because your toes cannot, by any means, be touched by any kind of fabric yet, or else you're grimacing in pain. Feeling defenseless hasn't been a thing ever since you became part of the team. Not even your skills could take down Simon, but you could put up a fight with them all, easily; never won, but you were confident with anyone else on the street.

No doubt you could still beat them up, your skills are still there, but the idea of someone somehow restricting your movements felt like torture all over again. The idea of anyone getting a hold of you makes you want to throw up. Your mind and body betray you, making you remember those awful moments, and you don't realize you're pulling a face.

"You're spacing out".

You look up at the therapist, giving her a little nod as an apology, getting comfortable on the seat. Restless, you can't help but look around for a moment again. The office is incredibly white, clean, filled with mirrors for whatever fucked up reason, and the only thing that isn't grey or white is one of the cushions on the couch on the other side of the room. It's deep purple. It looks awful.

Seemingly realizing you won't be of much help with the question she just asked you, she gives you a smile. "How are your nails? I can see you're using your hands a lot more".

"They're healing" you reply, looking down at your fingers instead of focusing on the cushion. "I can use my hands pretty normally now, but I can't use the stove for long".

"Because of the heat". An affirmation. You've already mention it before, and you're not surprised she remembers that. Probably read it on her notes.

"It hurts, yeah".

"And how are your feet?" she asks, looking down at the way you absentmindedly drag your hands on your pants from your thighs to your calves in slow movements. You only realize what you're doing because you can hear the way her pen drags across the paper, distracting you.

"Well... I can only wear sandals. Doctor said I should be okay to move around with real shoes in three months".

"And what do you think?"

"He's the doctor. I want to believe he knows what he's doing, so I can't really question it. I do hope it heals sooner, though".

The therapist writes down on her notebook. With an uncomfortable feeling, you desperately want to know what she's writing, your eyes drifting to the movement of the pen, but you can't make out a single letter.

"So you trust the doctor, right?" she questions, moving one of her erasers to the other side of her desk. Your eyes are fixed entirely on it, on the little thud the eraser makes when she sets it down.

"He knows best, that's for sure. If he's there, must be a reason" you answer, tilting your head as she keeps moving her things around, making them fit somewhere else on her desk. The pencil goes to the left, then to the right, the eraser from top to bottom of the notebook, as if she's as antsy as you are.

"Do you apply that thought somewhere else? Like... at work? Or if you need help at a store and find an employee, maybe?"

The therapist's eyes are on you all the time, your hands, your anxious feet; your little habits coming to light with a single look. The way you bite the inside of your lower lip, the little double blink you make when she moves something in her desk yet again, even if you don't say anything.

"Of course. If they know their way around, it's only right that I ask for help, and trust that" you answer, frowning. You don't think that question is relevant at all, but she keeps writing, and writing.

"I see. Thank you. Now, you mentioned you've been texting G- Simon. Can you tell me how it makes you feel?"

You go silent for a moment, your fingertips dragging across your arm, so softly you can barely feel it. "It's better now".

During the first three months of being home, Simon would text you nearly every single day. He didn't expect a text back and you knew that, because you told him you wouldn't promise to be responsive. Simon would send you pictures of their plain meals, of Gaz sleeping on your bed, Johnny posing next to Price with their thumbs up, or terrible selfies of himself. Always without a mask.

Tuesday

11:27

"Price scolded Johnny because he had crumbs on his uniform. It was hilarious"

Saturday

03:26

"Just got back. Everyone ok"

Even Johnny would text you from time to time. It was mostly memes, awful stickers or ridiculous, random photos of Gaz mid talking, his face weird, or Price smacking Simon's head, or the entire team posing for a picture, Gaz' arm hovering to the side as if to hug your shoulders. You didn't even need to wonder why Gaz hadn't texted you; that man hated technology with a passion.

Still, you never texted back.

You didn't really pay attention to the texts, or the little voice notes, or the selfies. You didn't feel like reading them properly, always leaving them on seen or just grunting to yourself whenever you heard their distinctive tone. Why you didn't change it in the past few months, you don't know. Maybe that's a question for your therapist.

But then, the texts stop.

Monday

16:49

"Tough job"

"We leave at midnight"

23:42

"Text you when we're back"

Only, Simon doesn't text back. For days. For weeks.

You can't pretend you're not worried. It's impossible, really. You're half-tempted to call him, but you can't, you don't know how it will feel to hear his voice again. He said he'd text you and he hasn't, so he isn't back yet, and you don't want to feel vulnerable by opening up. Yet.

You go through Simon's chat, actually paying attention to whatever he sent you. You realize he sometimes sent you long texts, apologizing, accepting what he did, and even a few voice notes that you didn't notice before. They made your heart race as you listened.

"I hurt you, and I'm sorry. I love you, and you don't have to forgive me"

"Garrick told me to tell you that if you aren't eating he'll go and— shut the hell up, Johnny, I'm talking!"

"Tell her we'll go visit her by the end of the month".

That's Price's voice, you realize.

Feeling incredibly choked up, you check Johnny's chat next. You're expecting to find nothing but memes, as you've seen in passing, but when you see he sent you long, long texts, you finally let yourself cry properly.

He's been apologizing since the day you left, too afraid to face you but his texts are so poorly written you know he was in a rush, or crying, or both. His voice notes, however... they just make you break.

"I'm so sorry. I can't undo what we did. You don't owe me anything, I just... really hope you can at least tolerate me. If not, please know I'll always care for you. I love you. Goodnight".

Something inside of your chest eases, maybe moved to the point of forgiveness, even if just a moment. Your therapist has been helping you unveil whatever you missed during that day— during the torture. It's been a tough process, and she insisted you visited twice a week instead of once, but it helped. You could now understand.

Still, understanding the situation only makes your worry grow.

"Text you when we're back"

For two long weeks, there's nothing, from nobody. Only silence and fear. For the first time since you left, you're scared for them. Scared you'll have to open the door one day and it'll be Price, or maybe not even him, telling you the team is dead.

On the second week, your therapist says you can give them a call, or text them if it's more comfortable. When you say you can't, she advices you to write them letters.

"Tell them whatever you wish to say. If you're angry, write it. If you're worried, write it. There's no good or bad feelings, and it's only right to feel them. Write them for yourself, and then you can choose to give them to your team, or not".

And you did.

A whole notebook of messy writing, some tears staining the paper, and your hate slowly turned to understanding. Real understanding. Not forgiveness, not yet, but it's progress.

By the third week with no news, you just can't handle it anymore. You press call without a second thought and your heart squeezes painfully in your chest when it rings, and rings, and rings.

Hopeless, you lay in your bed, your mind working overtime as you stare at the ceiling.

A muffled dinging sound startles you awake, shifting on the bed to find your phone because that's Simon's tone. Adjusting your vision, you realize it fell from your hands to the ground when you fell asleep. You dive for it, grimacing when your sensitive fingertips brush against the carpet, but to see his name there is enough for you to endure it.

Thursday

01:22

"Safe. Couldn't text you earlier"

01:22

"You called me. Are you hurt?"

01:22

"Safe. Call me"

"Now"

His name pops up not even a moment later, his ringtone filling your ears. When you pick up, he's barely breathing, and you wonder if you're about to be told bad news.

Simon explains they were on a very tough mission, and that that was why he couldn't text you, or communicate with you at all. You could hear him shift, move around. Restless.

They got caught in enemy territory, surviving the best they could for two weeks, Simon tells you. Johnny was shot in the leg and Gaz was the one who helped him out, since Simon was too busy dragging Price, who was bleeding out because someone decided it would be fun to put a bullet through his left shoulder.

"I wasn't any better. Dr. Wilson called me a dick, and then made me lay down because I was shaking. Ridiculous" he grunts, his voice hushed on the other side of the line. "Got shot on my side, I just didn't feel it, but I was better than the other two".

He doesn't seem to expect you to speak, huffing and shuffling. You can tell he's in the clinic room, the echo incredibly familiar by now.

Of course, he doesn't tell you that the reason why he didn't text you the whole past week, is because he's been asleep, drugged out of his mind because of the pain.

"Everyone's okay. No risk. Garrick's the only one who didn't get hurt. I think—"

"I was worried, Simon. I'm glad everyone is okay".

There's silence for a long moment. Simon takes a deep breath from the other side of the phone, sighing deeply. You could hear the smile in his tone. "I wouldn't let myself get killed, luv. I'm sorry I couldn't text you before. We're safe now".

You two spend the rest of the night on the call, with you mostly staying in silence and listening. You can't believe how scared you've been for all of them, for Simon. You know it's gonna be hard to fully forgive them, if at all, but you can't help the way your body relaxes as you hear him breathing against your ear. You can't help the way your arms curl around the pillow, seeking his warmth. As before.

The call goes on for long hours. When your soft hums as he speaks stop coming to his end, Simon goes quiet, realizing you've fallen asleep. He sighs and shifts to look at the ceiling, holding the phone against his ear. Focusing on your soft breathing, he let's himself fall asleep, the gunshot wound completely unimportant if he gets to listen to you sleeping again.

He just wishes you were there.

im so sick y'all, my head hurts, but I obviously couldn't resist! also, you guys like Marina? her new song is so good! mowgli's road's vibes.

the therapist's room I'm describing in the story is actually my therapist's old room. I hated it so BAD. the mirrors were a terrible decision. also, if you can't relate to this type of therapy, that's fine. it's just my experience.

again, styling is fully intentional. can y'all tell how our reader is feeling?~

taglist: @euphoricn @lilg101010 @enfppuff @carolchaotic @silas-fanfic-favs @nina-from-317 @an-ever-angry-bi @kittygonap @dorothy-rainbird-deactivated202 @adventurerabby @defronix @sheepispink @iambuttwodaysold @blackhawkfanatic @malevolentghoul @thriving-n-jiving @literallegendicon @echo9821 @angel-bugz @ssc7514 @clickbait-official @hades--baby @blackhawkfanatic @sirbonesly @saki---chan @skeletonsucker @nnsissys @kukavittu @tessakate @honestlymassivetrash @s-a-v-a-n-a-34

(we're so many now, wow! thank you all ♡)

[sunsbaby]

❝ birdie, where did my jacket go? ❞

⋆ dean w. x photographer .ᐟ reader

the air was crisp and cool, sam had stayed behind in the hotel—choosing to research lore instead of hanging out you and his brother. well, it wasn't really hanging out. more like investigating the scene. a metal aroma clung to the air, death loomed over your shoulders. and of course, a camera was in your grasp.

dean glanced over at you, a soft smile formed on his face as he saw the way your eyes twinkled with childlike excitement every time you got your little hands on a camera. for as long as he's known you—which hasn't been long—he's only had fond memories. no fights, only playful ones, and you've always made him feel safe. your free nature was inviting, a warmth radiated off of you; even in the cool air you were like the sun. bright and warm.

"de, i think i got something!" you shouted, even though you two were rather close.

you giddily showed him the image reflecting off of your camera, an array of sulfur almost spread out around where the body was found. the smell was overrided by the scent of blood. you were proud of your work—more importantly your photo taking skills.

"damnit, demons." dean groaned, he hated those black eyes bitches so much.

"i mean, demons aren't hard to kill–we have that demon knife for a reason." you stared at him in confusion, why was he complaining about killing demons when they were practically one of the easiest ever.

"birdie, be quiet, they're just a pain in the ass." dean muttered, rolling his eyes at you—sassy much.

"bla bla bla, 'birdie, be quiet,' bla bla.." you pouted as you stomped back to the car; dean and his attitude were starting to piss you off.

⋆⭒˚.⋆

with sam having stayed up researching just for it to end up being a demon, that meant he wanted to rest and you and dean could handle it. you still were mad he told you to be quiet, who did he think he was. so, you did what any logical person would do—steal his jacket. it was going to be a cold night anyway.

you were sat next to him in baby, you would've liked sitting in the back, but dean said it was inconvenient. in all honesty, he wanted you next to him. he hadn't noticed his leather jacket gone, instead his mind was focused on ganking that demon bitch and sending them right back to hell. your mind, however, was filled with a little you jumping around waiting to get her hands on a camera.

"are we almost there, de." you whined, voice laced with an undertone of annoyance both towards having to be in the car for so long and towards dean.

"birdie, if you ask me that one more time, i'm going to pull baby over and make you walk." he threatened, his eyes sharpened, yet somehow still soft—he could never truly be angry at you.

"geez, someones mad.." you mumbled, quiet enough to where dean wouldn't hear you, but you still felt like you did something.

his jacket emitted a smell of gun powder and whiskey, it was rather soothing. it calmed the fire raging within you towards the man in the driver's seat, it was warm and felt like he was hugging you—which you always liked being in his arms. you're surprised he hadn't noticed yet.

⋆⭒˚.⋆

killing the demon was pretty easy in your books, you did end up with a cut on your face—which could make for a gnarly scar. dean, however, wasn't happy with that.

"you could've gotten seriously hurt, y'know that, right." dean grumbled as he patched up your cheek, pressing a kiss to his fingers and then onto the bandage.

this something he'd picked up from you when you would patch up their injuries. it was now engraved into his brain to do, that and because he knows you would get sad if he didn't; that's something he never wanted to see.

"but de..i got a really cool picture!" your hands clenched onto the polaroid you managed to get of the demon's body flashing as the knife was lodged into its head—by yours truly!

"what's not cool is you getting cut up, and birdie, where did my jacket go?–i swear i grabbed it from the hotel." dean said, his eyes focused more on your face, his mind racing with hundreds of outcomes.

not once did dean ever look anywhere besides your face, the prettiest thing in his eyes. he didn't realize that all this time you were wearing it. to you it was out of spite—well it was—before you figured that there was no reason to stay mad at dean. he and sam were your safe place, and what's a safe place if your mad at it; a non safe place or something like that.

"de, i've been wearing it silly!" you giggled, the sound was music to his ears, it made his heart clench and his eyes shine.

"oh, well, looks good on you birdie." he planted a kiss to the top of your head before leaving to grab a beer, or two.

he didn't understand the feeling and emotion brewing inside him as he took in your appearance. how beautiful you looked in his jacket; not sam's. not your own. his. the one thing he did know his that he couldn't let it take over, not when your the only other person beside his brother and cas he couldn't bear to lose.

sunny yaps! WOAH! something long from sunny, its a miracle AHHHH! JUST KIDSDINGG! I LOVE YOU GUYS AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYYYYY!

special tags! @bluemerakis @figthoughts @dulcescorderitas @h8aaz @deansbeer

𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘 ® 𓂃 do not repost or copy my works without permission!!

[psychemochanight]

Okay!

First of all, this is going to be different from the Robins, because I didn't analyze them in general as characters, but only in their role as Robin.

This is mainly due to the habit of labeling them in very close roles, something that even DC did, and I will never forgive. These comparisons of "he's the smart one, he's the cool one, etc... but who am I?"... This was stupid af.

Whatever... Let's start with this.

Obviously these characters don't need a "label" to separate them, but I'll give a little description anyway about how I see each one... More or less.

Alfred: the character that the fandom never forgets, but never fully remembers.

Alfred is a key character in Bruce's story, and consequently, he also has a great impact on the lives of the other members of the family.

However, the fandom, and often the writers, forget that Alfred was never and never will be a purely good character.

People forget that Alfred was also cold, distant, and even capable of abandoning his family.

However, this doesn't make him a bad character, I don't even think it makes him a bad person. It just makes him... a human.

Alfred helped Bruce, but he could never guide him to healing. He helped him survive, even live, but always bleeding.

It was with the children that he himself became softer and learned to heal himself in order to heal others.

A great character, with many shades of gray in his existence, some darker than everyone remembers, but still, one of the most iconic to all the times.

You can't just think about Batman without think about Alfred.

Barbara: one of DC's biggest fails, all because of a romance.

Before anyone jumps on me, I'm not saying Babs' existence is a flaw at all.

Barbara, Batgirl, and then Oracle, was probably one of the best introduced characters in the Batman fray. Barbara didn't exactly feel like an out-of-place character, even though she seemed to simply come in as a character who was meant to be a counterpart to the dynamic duo.

To begin with, Barbara wasn't even close to Dick's age at the time, she was more in between Bruce and Dick's age, which gave him an air of maturity that Dick had not yet fully developed, but a youthful air that Bruce had already lost.

As Oracle, this seemed like the role the character was always meant to be created for. She was just in the right place (in my opinion). And if she had been even more independent like Oracle, she would probably be one of the most dangerous characters out there. In our digital age, anyone would notice the true power behind Oracle.

What happened? She was increasingly reduced to simply being Dick's partner.

And before anyone tells me about her solo moments, I know, I know, don't worry.

I don't mean that she only appears as a character in Dick's life, but how the fandom tends to reduce her. If you learn about Barbara through fandom (as many people are introduced to this universe), you wouldn't think of her as a character in her own right. Most of this people don't even know, for example, about her relationship with Cass.

And I still think that if they hadn't changed her age, if they hadn't forced her to be a partner for Dick, the character herself would be much more defined in her own role. If she was just Oracle, and she wasn't returned to her role within the Bat-Family and she expanded her abilities further, it would be much better and complete.

Cassandra: the only heir to the mantle of Batman.

One of the most forgotten characters by the fandom, but who deserves as much recognition as any other member of the family... Although some of her fans need to stop deifying her.

Cass is one of the most interesting characters. Not only is she one of the most skilled in DC, but she is also one of the characters who, in terms of sense of justice and morality, she is probably one of the most consistent. She probably surpasses Batman in her sense of justice, or she will if they continue to develop her in a good way. The fact that she voluntarily rejected her "destiny" is a clear sign of that.

She is not moved by revenge, but by justice. And honestly, I think she's the only one who should truly take the place that Bruce will leave at some point. Dick doesn't want it, and while some may think about Tim, I feel like he should go his own way, just like Damian. And even if Dick were willing, the place has to be Cass's, I have no doubts about that.

I can't say too much about Cass because she's not one of the characters I know the most, but from what I've seen of her, I feel like she's both underrated and overrated, depending on which side of the fandom you look at. If you really want to know her well, you don't have to look at the fandom, not even at her fans, because most of them distort the character.

Duke: the fresh air of the batfamily.

I'm just getting to know Duke, but I swear this is how he feels: a breath of fresh air.

Not only because he's different as the first daytime hero, or one of the few meta-humans who get involved with the batfamily... But in itself the fact that he, although he "took Robin's place"... He never wanted to be Robin.

The fandom also mischaracterizes him at times, making him out to be the "normal" one in the family... (No one in this business can be normal), but still, so far, he is one of the characters that I like the most because of the way his personality is developing. It has a good balance in my opinion, neither all tragedy, nor all pink colored.

If I knew him better I would like to say more about him, but I don't want to come here and make things up and end up giving a false opinion about him... So that's it.

I'm going to be honest, I don't know if you're talking about Selina or Helena-

If you're talking about Selina, I don't have much to say other than DC seriously needs to improve their consistency when it comes to character writing... Seriously.

If you're talking about Helena, I honestly don't remember practically anything about her, I knew her when I was a child, but I haven't seen anything about her since and anything I would be saying is an awful lie.

Harley: one of the few times DC did something nice for a female character.

I'm not going to go into too much detail about her, honestly.

But, one of the best decisions DC could have made was to keep her away from the Joker. Like, they just do the right thing.

I love the moments where she collaborates with any of the bats, although her writing isn't always the best... (I will forever ignore the scene between her and Nightwing in that animation.)

I like seeing her behave more like an antihero than a villain much more than seeing her sticking to the Joker.

And I love her relationship with Ivy.

Talia: victim of circumstances and writers.

I never really tried to get into Talia's story, I know it, but not well enough.

Still, even just knowing things here and there, one can realize that there are writers who genuinely seem to hate her.

I'm not going to give opinions on whether I think she's a good person or not, nor am I going to say whether I like her or not. I prefer to keep that to myself because I feel that my opinion remains incomplete.

Sorry, I know I didn't really respond, like, about all the characters, but I really didn't want to say something that could be wrong just because I don't know the character... Even now I think I could have done that-

But, that's all, I think-

I know you hate labels on them, but if you HAD to label the Robins, how would you do it?

The first one, the second one, the third one...

Ok, out of jokes-

Dick: The first one.

With all that this implies: Dick being the one who founded the bases to follow, the one who made the mistakes that he later taught to correct, the one who saw the empty spaces that others later filled. The first one who had to be everything and learn on his own.

Jason: the DC experiment.

DC DIDN'T know how to deal with Dick's exit as Robin, it's like they never really planned on letting him out, but it happened. Jason became a character of trial and error.

At first he was an exact copy of Grayson, since the first one was successful... But obviously the fans didn't want a Dick Grayson with another name. So what did they do? They gave it a twist and did the opposite... It doesn't work well either.

And instead of continuing to try (even though Jason already had a fan base by that point), they chose to "get rid of" the character and then revive him as a "blank canvas."

A character who had a lot of potential, but they didn't know how to handle him and now the most relevant thing about him is his death because DC doesn't know how to give him continuity.

Tim: the robin of the fans for the fans.

Tim is often referred to as a fandom self-insert, and honestly, it's understandable why.

It's the Robin that gave off vibes similar to the original that was the most loved at the time, but at the same time, had real characteristics that fans could identify with.

Tim is the one with the most "normal" story, he is the one who could be any civilian, the one who seems like he wasn't meant to be, but he was.

In my opinion, the one who best balanced his personality as Robin and as a civilian.

(And that the fandom decides to totally ignore haha </3)

Although DC needs to learn to let go of Tim and let him grow. At this point I think half of the fandom doesn't even know how old he is or what hero he is.

Steph: the Robin who deserves better.

I don't just mean story-wise, obviously none of the characters deserved the shit they suffered and deserve a better life... I mean in general.

The real forgotten Robin is Steph, not Tim, and I'm not going to discuss it with anyone.

They (DC) keep writing the same story over and over again, rewriting the other Robins' history (especially Dick), but never giving us more about Steph.

Give my girl her story. Just like Jason, she has so much potential, give her her moment to shine!

(although, here I have to open parentheses for this: Steph has a much more consistent story than Jason, her role is more defined, but it feels outdated at this point. And, in any case, I feel like Steph shouldn't even really be a "bat", but rather someone independent... Or similar to Nightwing at least, who doesn't wear a bat on his suit).

Damian: the one who deserves not to be Robin.

Let me clarify: "the one who deserves not to be Robin", not "the one who does not deserve to be Robin".

Damian needed to be Robin, it was the key point in his development and I think Dick did the right thing by giving him the role of Robin...

But I feel that he deserves to stop being Robin too.

I think he's going to stop being Robin? No, not with DC writing him. DC has a history of resetting their characters to a certain point, they always bring them back. I don't think they're going to release Damian soon.

But while every character deserves to have a life outside of being heroes, I feel like Damian deserves it the most out of all of them.

The others are adults who have already chosen this, but Damian is a child, a teenager by now... And letting him be something more than the one who was created to be in the underworld, I feel that is the best for him.

I think he should stop being a vigilante? I'm not that sure, but that his life should definitely NOT revolve around that.

"The mission" should not be HIS mission.

So... Yeah, that.

I'm not sure if this makes sense to you tho-

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

What do you think of the show's seeming obsession with everyone (the leads especially) being the best and the top? Like, Marinette's parents don't just run a good bakery, they run the Best Bakery in all of Paris! Kitty Section gets a record deal with the city's top producer! Marinette is the personal designer of Jagged Stone! Alya runs a super popular video blog! Max isn't just the resident smart kid, he can make AI with real feelings!

Oh, but actually, Marinette and Adrien are also top of the class (the webisodes straight-up state Adrien is best in class, surpassing Max and Sabrina, and Marinette gets top grades in Chameleon despite all the workload), because how dare our leads be not good at something?

And that's not getting into "Marinette and Adrien are the best LB and CN ever" stuff. That part is best chalked up to Tikki and Plagg being encouraging, because otherwise the show dunks on all the historical figures they made holders, all at once.

Anyway, with everyone in class being a) hyper talented and famous or b) related to some big nabob, it's not surprising that fans thought it was some elite private school. But no, it's apparently a regular state school (holy smokes, why would Andre and Gabriel send their children to a regular state school??)

That would work in a story where comical exaggeration was the absolute norm, but seems like Miraculous tries to be grotesque and realistic at the same time and fails at both.

Oh look, it's time to talk about Kim Possible again! Phineas and Ferb, too. I'll even use My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic to really drive this one home.

It's incredibly normal for episodic kids shows to have the cast be ridiculously talented and connected. They do this for a couple of reasons.

The first reason is that the characters are meant to be stagnant. Every episode stands alone so there's no time for true character growth. That means that the characters need to be their best selves right from day one. Kim Possible doesn't have time to let Kim learn to fight and be awesome. That's just her default state.

Small life lessons may be taught as we see in both Kim Possible and My Little Pony, but you can miss an episode and still understand the characters because those life lessons didn't really matter to the characters. They weren't there as part of some major character journey. They were there for the kids at home.

The second reason is that kids shows star kids and teens. You don't want adults to be too involved, but sometimes you want "adult" powers and so the kid and teen characters get ridiculous upgrades. A great example is Wade from Kim Possible. Wade is Kim's tech guy. He's also 10-years-old. Absurd? Yes, but they wanted Kim to have cool teach while also keeping the reoccurring hero cast mostly teens and kids and so we get Wade. Phineas and Ferb is another example of this. The titular characters are shown doing things like welding even though they're around 10. This happens because they need to have ridiculous skills for the show to work.

The third reason is that the more connected the characters are, the more stories you can tell. If Marinette's parents don't have a successful and popular bakery, then they can't be hired to cater major events like a movie premier. If Kitty Section isn't wildly successful, then they won't get invited to appear on TV.

This is why Kim Possible made Kim's dad a rocket scientist. It let the show use rockets and advanced tech in several episode. There's at least one where they go to space! The main character of My Little Pony is the student of the kingdom's ruler, allowing the show to include princesses and have plot lines around things ranging from royal balls to diplomatic missions. Things they couldn't do if it was just about some random ponies with no connections.

Some kids shows keep the characters more normal and stick to more realistic hijinks, but when your show is about magic and superheroes, it makes sense to go big.

The reason Miraculous' version of these things doesn't work for some people is probably because of our ever present issue: Miraculous feels too serialized. There's too much connective tissue for the characters to get away with being stagnant. The lessons they "learn" are too big to just go away never and be touched on again. They are not their best selves from day one. They actually do need to grow! This makes the things they're good at feel hollow to some because the show didn't set Marinette and Adrien up the way Kim Possible set up Kim and Ron or the way Phineas and Ferb set up its leads. The character's adult skills don't fit their very real flaws.

Similarly, the show has added all these celebrity connections and then done stuff that makes it feel like those connections should matter to the plot when that's not the way this is usually played. My Little Pony kept Princess Celestia well removed from the things Twilight and her friends were getting up to. It never felt like she should step in. She had a kingdom to run! The show also never treated Twilight's connection as a big deal. Celestia might be the country's ruler, but she's very down to earth. She doesn't feel all that special.

Meanwhile, in Miraculous, the celebrities are treated like celebrities, they often have close ties to the cast, and they are actively around, making it feel like they should play a part in the story at times. The big example is, as always, Lila's lies. Many of them should fall apart because of who the cast knows or, conversely, the cast shouldn't care about Lila's celebrity friends because they have those friends, too. Princess Fragrance was a season one episode and gave Rose a close friendship with Prince Ali that is confirmed to be ongoing in season four's Guiltrip, making it deeply confusing when Rose never catches on to Lila's bullshit. You're really telling me that Rose never once talked to her good friend Ali about her good friend Lila? Really? Rose? Little miss loves-to-talk-about-her-friends-and-how-much-she-love-them? Sure, writers. Sure.

In summary, the problem isn't that the characters are too cool, connected, and talented, it's how those ideas were executed. There are versions of the show where the characters are fine being the best things ever and versions of the show where those elements should have been toned back. I can't really say which canon should have done because canon is a mess of episodic stories and serialized elements that has no idea what it's trying to be.

[mbruben-stein]

Hellooo! I was wondering if you would be open to writing a 2012 leo x fem reader? The scenario would be him getting jealous of someone (maybe one of the brothers or casey etc.) talking with reader too much? They arnt dating though, so his jealousy is confusing until he explains that it's bc of his love for her. That's just a general idea of it - you can do whatever you feel motivated to write!! Ty I love ur work!! 💕

Jealousy

~Leo x fem reader.~

You laughed as Casey finished telling you an amusing story about his latest hockey match. The two of you were hanging out in the lair, sitting on the couch and chatting while the turtles trained with Master Splinter.

"Man Casey, only you could score a goal and take out two opponents at the same time by 'accident'," you teased, making air quotes.

"What can I say, I've got mad skills," Casey bragged jokingly, throwing an arm around your shoulders. "Seriously though, you should come watch me play sometime. I'll dedicate all my goals to you."

"Sure, I'd like that," you agreed with a smile. Casey was like a brother to you and you enjoyed spending time with him, even if he could be a bit of a goofball.

Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed Leo pause in the middle of a kata, his eyes narrowing as he glanced over at you and Casey. There was an unreadable expression on his face before he quickly resumed training. Strange, you thought. Leo had been acting a bit off lately, becoming withdrawn whenever you hung out with Casey or one of his brothers. You wondered if something was bothering him.

As if on cue, Leo finished training and headed over to where you and Casey were sitting. "Hey guys, what's up?" he asked, trying to sound casual but you could hear a slight edge to his voice.

"Not much, just swapping stories," you replied. "Casey was inviting me to watch one of his games."

"Oh. Well don't let me interrupt," Leo said tersely. He crossed his arms. "Seems like you two have been hanging out a lot lately."

You furrowed your brow in confusion at Leo's tone. "Um, I guess? Casey's my friend. Is there a problem with that?"

"No, no problem," Leo responded, not quite meeting your eyes. "Anyway, I've got some things to take care of. See you around." With that, he turned and strode out of the room.

"Geez, what's eatin' him?" Casey wondered. "He's acting weirder than usual."

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," you declared, getting up to follow after the blue-masked turtle. This moodiness was very unlike Leo and you were determined to get to the bottom of it.

You found Leo in the dojo, angrily thwacking away at the practice dummy. He didn't acknowledge your presence, just kept pummeling the dummy with increasing intensity.

"Leo? Is everything okay?" you asked hesitantly, approaching him.

"Everything's fine," he grunted, not pausing his assault.

You sighed. "Come on Leo, talk to me. You've been acting strange lately, especially whenever I'm around Casey or your brothers. What's going on?"

At the mention of Casey's name, Leo delivered a particularly vicious punch that nearly knocked the dummy's head off. He stood there breathing heavily for a moment before finally turning to face you.

"You want to know what's going on? I'll tell you," he said, an uncharacteristic harshness in his voice. "I don't like how much time you've been spending with them, especially Casey. You're always laughing and joking around with him."

You stared at Leo, taken aback. "I don't understand. Casey and the others are my friends. Why should it matter how much I hang out with them? And why single out Casey?"

Leo let out a frustrated noise, running a hand over his face. When he looked at you again, the hardness was gone, replaced by vulnerability.

"Because I'm jealous, okay?" he admitted quietly. "I'm jealous of how easy it is for them to make you smile and laugh. I'm jealous that you seek them out to spend time with. And I'm especially jealous of Casey because..." He swallowed hard. "Because I'm in love with you. I have been for a long time."

Your eyes widened and your heart began to race at his confession. "Leo..."

"I know. It's stupid," he said, looking away in embarrassment. "I mean, I'm a mutant turtle. How could I ever think you would feel the same way? You deserve a normal life, with a normal guy..."

"Leo, stop," you interrupted, stepping closer and placing a hand on his arm. He glanced back at you in surprise. "I don't want normal. I want you."

"You do?" he asked, hardly daring to believe it.

You nodded, smiling softly. "I love you too, Leo. I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner. I guess I was a little oblivious to why you were acting so weird around me lately."

The hopeful smile that spread across Leo's face was quite possibly the most beautiful thing you'd ever seen. Slowly, giving you time to pull away if you wanted, he reached out and cupped your cheek with his large hand.

"Is this really happening?" he murmured, gazing into your eyes intently. "I keep thinking I must be dreaming."

"If it is a dream, I don't ever want to wake up," you whispered back.

Needing no further encouragement, Leo closed the remaining distance and captured your lips with his in a searing kiss. Your eyes fluttered shut as you looped your arms around his neck, pressing yourself closer to his solid body. His hands dropped to your waist, pulling you flush against him.

The world around you faded away as you lost yourself in his embrace. All of the pent-up longing and desire you both had been repressing came pouring out. Your hands roamed over the hard planes of his shoulders and shell, marveling at the strength you felt there. His own hands slid under the hem of your shirt, his calloused fingers leaving trails of fire on your skin.

You nipped playfully at Leo's bottom lip, eliciting a low churr from deep in his chest. Your tongue darted out to soothe the bite and he eagerly granted you access, your tongues tangling together. You were both panting when you eventually broke apart for air.

"Wow..." you breathed, resting your forehead against his. "That was..."

"Incredible," Leo finished, a blissful smile on his face. "I love you so much, Y/N."

"I love you too, Leonardo," you murmured, saying his full name. "My fearless leader."

He chuckled at the nickname before sobering. "I'm sorry for acting like such a jealous idiot before. I should have just talked to you instead of letting it fester."

"I'm sorry too, for not picking up on the signals," you replied. "But I'm glad it all worked out in the end. And Leo? You have nothing to be jealous about. You're the only one for me."

Joy and adoration shone in Leo's blue eyes and he wrapped you up in a tight hug. You nestled your head in the crook of his neck, savoring his closeness.

"Aw yeah, got it!" a voice suddenly cheered, startling you both. You whipped around to see Mikey grinning triumphantly, holding up his T-phone which was clearly recording. Raph and Donnie were right behind him, smirking.

"Mikey!" Leo scolded, flushing. "What the heck?"

"Dude, we've been waiting forever for you two to finally get together! This is totally going in the family scrapbook," Mikey declared.

"Ugh, now they're going to be even more disgustingly cute together," Raph fake gagged, but you could see the genuine happiness underneath his gruff exterior.

"As long as they keep the PDA to a minimum while I'm working in the lab, I fully support this," Donnie added, winking at you.

You buried your burning face in Leo's shoulder as the brothers continued teasing you good-naturedly. Leo wrapped an arm around you protectively.

"Alright, show's over, give them some privacy," another voice cut in. Casey strolled in with April close behind, both grinning ear to ear.

"Congrats you crazy kids, we're really happy for you," April said warmly.

"Thanks guys," you said, giving them a grateful smile. You glanced at Leo. "But would you mind clearing out for a bit? I'd like to have my boyfriend to myself for a while."

"Boyfriend, huh? I like the sound of that," Leo murmured, pressing a kiss to your temple.

"As you wish. Try to keep it PG though!" Casey called cheekily over his shoulder as the group made their way out, leaving you and Leo alone once more.

Leo turned you in his arms so you were facing each other. "Now, where were we?" he purred, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

You smirked, draping your arms over his shoulders. "I believe you were just about to kiss me senseless."

"Hmm, so I was."

And he proceeded to do just that, all thoughts of jealousy long forgotten. All that mattered was that you were finally his, and he was yours. Nothing could ever come between your love.

[incandescent-irrigation]

@ ppl on twitter yelling "how come eblana gets to be playable but talulah doesnt??" obviously bcs talulah needs to cook in her kitchen somewhere in the tundra and in two anime seasons she will finally get the escape npc jail with all the other morally dubious women

and like the popular argument I've seen is that neither should be playable (hypergryph would have to Really hate our money fr) or both should be (which i believe will eventually happen. i mean. fucking cathrine and nowell are playable)

talulah needs a whole arc of resolution bcs the first story act hinged on her being the big bad which got resolved in the messiest (positive) way possible (i think it was good that she got to chill in the rhodes brig for a while). for eblana to be playable we only need her to not shoot us on sight - since reed has been working with us, i dont see why she wouldnt at least cooperate (we were on the same side in londinium after all). talulah is a different beast. talulah needs to be autonomous again, willing to fight, and have reunion members who fought rhodes in chernobog not see this as another treason. depending on circumstances we might get more ch'en, the deathless snake, or nine lore out of it. not that there havent been events tackling this amount of lore (i dont see how this could beat zwillingsturme im herbst in terms of word count) but that would be something Big. still, i think an event rather than intermezzio or a part of main story - since it's very likely the main story will be moving toward sargon to follow theresis.

so anyway, my prophetic vision is 6th anniv playable talulah (limited) (ft burn damage gimmick skill thats deadlier than logos s2) and 6* nine on her banner (has a shit kit, gets a module half a year later that makes her playable)

[veinspookiebear]

Do you perhaps have any Link Click headcanons you'd like to share with the class??

Not immediately off the top of my head, but you've given me a great reason to sit down and think about it SO!! These may be wordy I like to yap when I think about things

(They did in fact get wordy putting them under a cut so it's not a wall of text /silly)

Big fan of the headcanon that LG cuts CXS's hair when it needs a trim <3 I think before they lived together he always got it done by a stylist, but they could never get it quite to his liking. QL did it for him sometimes and he much preferred that, but she couldn't do it all the time. Then LG offers one day when he's complaining about it and gets it perfect and that just becomes the normal (LG never complains because he secretly loves his hair. And CXS maybe loves the feel of his hands in his hair too)

They order takeout a lot cause it's more convenient and works better for them especially when in the middle of missions (no wonder they're broke) but LG and CXS can both cook pretty well with the time, effort, and resources. Sometimes they cook together!! It goes about as well as you'd expect but somehow the food still turns out delicious. CXS says it's because they made it with love

QL (basically canonically /hj) clocks shiguang so hard but I think it'd be funny if she like. not quite wingwomans but does subtle things to push them together that gradually get more unhinged/obvious. Neither of them piece together what she's trying to do and she refuses to explain it even as she slowly loses her mind

QL and CXS have video game nights on the weekends. Occasionally they can drag LG into playing, but mostly he watches and commentates where he sees fit. He's in charge of snacks though

Both CXS and LG have nightmares, especially frequently after the events of S2. Inevitably they wake each other up. They have a silent agreement not to talk about things they dream about, at least not in depth (they can kind of figure, anyway), but they know how to comfort each other even without that specific knowledge. If it's particularly bad they end up cuddling the rest of the night, a constant reminder that the other is there, and they're safe for now, and they're loved.

LG actually has a ton of pictures of cosplays he did before he and CXS met. CXS found them, and ever since he's been trying to convince LG to cosplay again. It's not that he doesn't want to, necessarily, he just doesn't have the time and resources that he used to. Once things settle down, he starts cosplaying every now and then, and a lot of times CXS joins him as the other half to a duo or just another character he likes. QL joins in sometimes too. (Turns out to be a great marketing strategy)

CXS in a dress. Need I say more

(Okay I'll say more. He doesn't wear dresses or similar clothing very often, but he does have a few and occasionally, when they don't have any business and he feels like it, he'll wear one. It's made entirely worth it by the way it utterly breaks LG, without fail. QL insists that's not a bro reaction. She also wholeheartedly encourages CXS)

LG isn't afraid to crossdress either if it means breaking CXS in return. This is exactly what happened the first time he cosplayed a female character.

CXS has a loose workout schedule that he can fit around their job and maybe takes a fighting class every now and then to keep his skills sharp. He says it's for his skills. It's mostly for his skills. Having some muscle definition with his sleeveless shirts and giving LG something to stare at is just a bonus!

Projecting here but I think both of them would love Epic: The Musical. CXS would vibe with the music and know all the words and LG would analyze it and reread the Odyssey and break down source to adaptation comparisons. They would love musical theater in general actually they just have that vibe to me

Also projection but giving LG a weighted blanket. He deserves it

Plushies too!! They don't have any in the show I can recall of the top of my head and I think they would both have at least a couple. A respective dog and cat that look like their shorts versions, for sure

CXS is grumpy about waking up until he's fully functioning, then he's got so much energy he has to get up and spend it. LG is not a morning person. If there's no urgent reason to get up, until CXS coaxes him out with coffee, he is not moving.

[culpeppercheckers721]

Turn OC Week 2025– Day 1: Not-So Short Bio

Character: Aileen Darcie O’Connor (Feat. One of the shittiest collages I’ve ever made so let’s ignore that! 🤪)

Ahh first and foremost, sorry this post is so late in the day! It’s been a busy one lol. Anyways, when this week was announced I was honestly rather nervous, because Turn fandom events have been SO fun for me every time I’ve done them so far, and I knew I’d love to contribute, but, despite all of the writing I do in this era and the amount of 18th century characters I have, I had never actually made a Turn OC! But, it reminded me that I’ve recently been thinking, as unfamiliar with this sort of shipping as I am, that I could DABBLE in some Ben Tallmadge/OC stuff, and to make a long story short, I decided I’d use this as an excuse to actually develop the OC I’ve had a vague idea of for too long now, so I introduce you all to Aileen O’Connor!

And because I physically cannot be concise apparently, more under the cut!

SO. For the longest time, my vision for Aileen did not go beyond “loud mouthed Irish woman”, but as decidedly accurate as that description is, having an excuse to flesh her out has given me something of an actual sorry I could pursue one day about her, falling pretty in line with that one Turnsgiving post about “what I’d do in Turn” (even though she’s not supposed to be a COMPLETE self-insert, but still)! 😂 Hence why I will try to condense this character to bullet points:

- Aileen O’Connor, like many Irish Americans of the time, never favored the British government. So, her eventual stance as a patriot is no surprise.

- She grew up in Long Island, where her family ended up establishing themselves in Montauk. Her aunt, Rylee O’Connor, ended up marrying a Woodhull related to the rest of the Woodhull family we all know and love(? Maybe not Richard though lmfao), and this is where her connection to the story comes in.

- When she suggests Aileen go on a family trip to Setauket to meet this new, extended family of Rylee’s, Aileen accompanies her because the two have a pretty nice relationship, and who doesn’t love hanging with their Cool Aunt, after all?

- Upon meeting Abraham Woodhull, she figures out (by chance or perhaps by investigation, I haven’t gotten into the intricacies of this part of her arc yet ahahah) his position as a rebel, sees her in to help the cause, and she fucking takes it.

- When she proclaims “Hi hello yes I’d like to offer my services as a spy, please!!” the majority of the ring is just like??? “No???” But Anna of course, who barely knows her, can appreciate a woman wanting to help the cause (despite how few options they would’ve had at the time), and is likely the force that pushed for Aileen to get an opportunity to help, however briefly.

- And what starts as her just being aware of the ring and wanting to shove her nose in everyone’s business (you all Aileen has NO regard for propriety 😭🤡) eventually escalates to her heading off to York City (not side by side with Abe per se but he was probably her way in), and eventually, finds herself— incidentally— at a business called Rivington’s.

- Honestly feel like she and Robert Townsend are like “platonic soulmates” lol, they have a surprising amount in common, and definitely some gay/bi solidarity there.

- To be completely honest with you, I don’t think she’d really change the plot that much, other than being a partner for Ben lmao. 🤡

- Anyhow, personality-wise, she most definitely is a bold, outspoken woman who isn’t skilled at keeping her opinions to herself. As fun as the classic “girlboss” personality trope is, though, unfortunately Aileen’s inability to stop talking is kind of a genuine character flaw of hers but we’ll save that for another day. ;)

Anyways this was definitely NOT short, so my deepest thanks if you actually read this UNIMAGINABLY cliche, cornball yapping! I’m trying to get better at being comfortable being “cringe”, because let’s be totally honest, I think we all have more fun when we spend less time worrying about how we’re perceived, right? ;D

Can’t wait to work out some details of Aileen’s character even further, and share with you other parts of her story that I DO already have a grasp of later on this week! 👀 Thank you SO much for reading once again! 💕

[rcgame-thoughts]

That IS an interesting contradiction about Mikael. He’s a soldier and also a healer. As for his coldness…

It’s kind of like real doctors. They see so much sickness and death. They have to keep a certain (emotional) distance from their patients or else they’d fall apart. Same with therapists, social workers, first responders. Most people choose those jobs because they want to help people. But in order to help people, they need to keep that firm boundary.

For Mikael, who’s ancient, he’s seen and touched so much pain, that he’s now completely desensitized from it. He still wants to help people out of principle. But if he truly cared about everyone like that all the time, he wouldn’t be able to do his job. He wouldn’t be able to lead, to make difficult decisions, or to heal.

That’s where Raphael comes in. He does what Mikael can’t. He is deeply empathizing because only someone who truly cares would willingly die for someone else — or the entire world. What’s interesting is that Raphael isn’t just waiting around to die. He still has a job. He still goes on missions and handles weird objects. That speaks volumes about the internal strength that Raphael has. To hold other people’s suffering, yet still go to work every day… No wonder he’s always playing that violin! Boy needs to de-stress!

Anyway, they really are opposite sides of the same coin.

Mikael mentioned only healing the body, but not the mind. I find that interesting, because Audrey’s job is to heal the mind. So maybe she truly is needed at Astrea. Not just for her protection, but because she genuinely has a skill set they need.

Wow… too much ramblings...😅

Some thoughts about our archangel after the January update

I thought a bit about that scene from episode 8, where Mikael destroys the stone and what this says about his character and how it relates to other aspects of him.

It was definitely not surprising that he would make that decision and also take it upon himself. This is very in-character for our Mikael, who usually makes only rational decisions (except when his feelings for Audrey get in the way), who tends to be unemotional, rather cold towards the fate of random people and very calculated. He's also a leader and a soldier (Felonia's term), so making hard decisions and accepting the consequences is something he's probably done over and over again.

Also, that scene is pretty much exactly what that mysterious voice once told us about Mikael in Audrey's dream:

So, Mikael did what he usually does and what he thinks is necessary and right. Audrey even comes to this conclusion (at least if you took the kiss scene, where they briefly talk about masks):

And because of all this I find it even more interesting that between him and Raphael, Mikael is the one with healing magic. And not just that. He has a rare gift and is also exceptionally good with it:

So, of all immortals in this story it's our cold-blooded, unfeeling solier with the presumably hight body count who has healing magic. And even though he's already among the best healers, Mikael would still like to be able to do more:

So. There's that.

I don't really have a conclusion for this little essay, because I wouldn't go as far as saying that there's two sides to Mikael. Because he's too complex to divide him into just that.

But there's also no denying that some parts of him seem to be opposing one another: He's a soldier and killing people. He's a healer and healing people. He doesn't feel the weight of his decisions (or at least doesn't allow himself to), yet he regrets not being able to do more to help.

I find that so interesting about him and it makes Mikael even more attractive. To me, his icy, calculating side is really hot most of the time and he's also so appealing when he cares and soothes. And it makes him such a complex and complicated character that I really want to dive even deeper and see what else there is to him.

And kudos to Elena for creating a character who is everything of the above and still never feels out of character. It's always Mikael, whether he destroys or heals.

[chaoswillcalmusdown]

i keep thinking about this scene and sydney talking about how all she wants is to cook for people and make them happy and season 2 when sydney says she wants a michelin star and carmy goes ??

like is it 1) her actual dream to have a star and she just kind of didn't think it was possible bc she was consumed with her catering failure and working with carmy made her think it could actually happen

or is it 2) the highest level of success in the food industry but not acTUally what she wants (and what she wants is actually much more in the vein of michael jordan's steakhouse which is not a michelin star place) ??

[freedelusionshere]

For me the main thing is Mikey gave The Beef to Carmy because Carmy had a dream about it becoming The Bear and he thought he had escaped his toxic family. He also didn't just give Carmy the business, he actually knew Cicero wanted to buy it, and then hid all the likely dirty money Cicero gave him in tomato cans so Carmy could walk away with the cash, the books were indecipherable, and Cicero would then sell the property and they'd be done! He didn't tell Richie where the money is for a reason! Carmy, however, does something honorable with the money and includes Richie anyway, so Mikey made the right choice in the end.

Why didn't Mikey clue Richie in, hmm. Well, Richie is also terrible with money and didn't know how to keep books or turn a profit. The ones who know the financial side are clearly Syd and Nat. Meanwhile in S1 Richie was out here accusing Syd of blowing someone for a review and calling her "sweetheart" within five seconds of meeting her. Great leadership skills! LOL. It's amazing how people forget that, like it was erased because he wears suits now and feels better about himself. Commendable, but Richie was sucked up into doing toxic masculinity just like Mikey was - to front.

Richie in S1 is also someone who was trapped in his precious delicate ecosystem that was serving no one, least of all himself. Carmy actually saw more in him and sent him to Ever and stuck by him when he went to jail. Syd telling Richie in S1 he knows this can be better, where people aren't shitty? This is all largely due to Syd's influence, which plays out in S3 when Syd, who has put in all the work and become the leader, keeps calm and carries on, just like Chef Terry was when Carmy worked for her. The kids are alright and are actually more mature than a lot of the adults (Tina as well, and how she treats Syd in S1, Donna all over the place, Lee sucks, Cicero shady).

I do think Richie was Mikey's best friend but very clearly also his enabler. Syd and Carmy are getting themselves into a similar codependent relationship in S3 (Syd even says she's his accomplice), but they will turn this around because it's showing it happening in real time and Carmy has already realized what he stands to lose, and Syd will likely confront Carmy just like she has in the past. We don't really see Richie and Mikey doing this yet in flashback, and it's strongly hinted they probably bonded over getting wasted, just like the people at the party Claire takes Carmy to. This is all about cycles of generational stuff and people getting second chances, but I don't think Mikey thought for a second Richie could fix any of this any more than he could.

Donna talking to Syd about work family vs "family" family in that S4 promo could just as much apply to Richie as well. But Syd was offered a partnership agreement because, my shipping thoughts aside, she wrote a whole business plan and Carmy trusts her more than himself.

You know, despite calling Richie "cousin", I think Mikey didn't actually consider him family.

Because at the end, he left The Beef to Carmy. His blood brother, who he never let into his restaurant, from who he kept his addiction, and hasn't talked to probably for years.

Yet Richie was with him at The Beef every day, knew how to run the restaurant, and knew about Mikey's drug use. The guy whose marriage collapsed because he prioritized supporting the Berzattos instead of his own wife. In the end, he was just a friend.

And then, Carmy, the kid with zero financial sense, tries to make another kid, Sydney, his partner in the restaurant. A kid he's known for a few short months. A partnership that requires ZERO buy-in from Sydney.

#RichieDeservesBetter

[terracottakore]

i think false should be able to do anything she wants 💚💛❤️

week one of @shepscapades hermit character design challenge! thank you for hosting this lovely event

[builtbybrokenbells]

Oh! We’re sharing food for thought! Lucky for you, anon—I have fucking lots.

Without fear of sounding like a broken record, I’ll say it again with my whole chest: what gives you the right to sit behind an anonymous function with your own cowardice bleeding you dry, trying to tear someone down who makes literal art for you to consume for free?

Don’t read it bestie, because clearly it’s not for you! ❤️

I will sit here, every single time I get that post notification, with the utmost of excitement and gratitude for this wonderful person as I prepare to read each and every one of those 50k words. I will sit here, overflowing with pride for my fantastic, beautiful, talented, amazing friend who worked her ass off to write those 50k words. I will cheer her on, reblog, comment, tag, recommend, and even read it all over again because I can feel the heart and soul that went into creating this through the screen, and I think everyone should experience the beauty of her work. At the end of it all, I always find myself wishing that it was even longer, because it’s never enough for me.

As a person who loves to see the best in people, I wanted to believe you sat in front of your keyboard, typed this out, read it over and sent it in some backhanded rendition of constructive criticism. When I read that back, I realize how fucking ridiculous it sounds.

You wrote that with ill intent, hoping to tear down and hurt. You wrote that for no other reason than to be miserable, and the only reason you had the nerve to do it was because you didn’t have to show your name or face. You are a miserable person with a me-first mentality who thinks the world revolves around you. If you had any respect for the people who provide you with your free, captivating, inspiring content, you would have scrolled past or kept quiet and enjoyed it anyway, in one perfectly fine chapter.

But you don’t have respect, nor do you have any class. You also don’t have any right to tell an author how to write their story, yet you’re doing it anyway. I suppose that ties in with the first two elements of life you’re greatly lacking in.

You wonder where all the fic writers are, why we have no desire to post or share or respond to messages or requests, and then you send shit like this. If you want a story written a certain way, I guess it’s time for you to pick up a pen.

@joshym is more than just a beautiful, envy-inducing author with skill I couldn’t begin to comprehend. She’s a beautiful person with a radiant heart and soul that brightens anyone’s day just by existing. It’s not hard to see that, and a simple scroll of her blog could tell you that alone. To intentionally want to tear down such a wonderful person makes it all the worse, anon.

To the author that I love so dearly—keep writing, as much or as little as you want, and post your chapters however you see fit. I would wait my whole life for the next chapter of Le Morte, whether it be in 6 parts or one, real long one. In fact, I’d read it if you linked a Google doc with the whole damn thing. No word count could scare me off, because I truly love and appreciate your writing. I will make the time, I will read just as eagerly and appreciatively, because I love this story.

Don’t you ever think that what you do is less than perfect, because there’s lots of people here who feel the same as I do 🫶🏻

Listen, your story is good. However it can be a little off putting to see a word count like that. One single chapter being almost 50 thousand is too much. It’s overwhelming as a reader to see that. There was no reason you couldn’t split that into even three more chapters. It makes me not want to read it honestly. I bet you could even post more frequently if you made the parts shorter. Your writing is really good but just a little food for thought

well.

i guess the nice thing about this is you really don’t have to read it all at once. don’t even have to read it at all if you truly don’t want to. i’m not entirely sure what the point is that you’re trying to make here — are you implying i’ve given you too much for free? i wasn’t aware that was a problem, if i’m being honest. i mean, thanks for the compliment, though it feels incredibly backhanded & i’m not flattered in the least. not really sure what to do with this one.

anon, i wish you understood what this story truly means to me & what an unnecessary comment like this feels like when i’ve worked for months on this last update. it just kind of hurts, dude.

[lunarharp]

shirahama-sensei reminded me she has a thing for the teacher from pokemon s/v so i randomly went off on an au where qifrey is the professor. etc

[pronouncingitwang]

adam scott says in the "inside the episode" of 2.07 that it allows the audience to "see the magic of gemma and why she immediately took over [mark's] life and his heart" and dichen lachman describes the ep in the severance podcast as "the audience getting to know [gemma] and everyone seeing what mark had that he lost." well, what about gemma? how much do we really get to know her? what did she lose? why did mark take over her heart?

they had 50 minutes for a Gemma Episode and they spent half of it on dead wife tropes and her smiling at mark with come-hither eyes while not giving us a single new fact* about her or a relationship outside of mark and mark's family. a subversion of the dead wife trope is not just scenes later showing they had an imperfect marriage bc mark (or nobody) is the problem in all of those scenes; you need to disrupt the idea that she was the perfect wife, and i don't think we get that. so much of it is explicitly presented through mark's pov. she doesn't hurt him at any point. she's just there being lovely or victimized as he loves or neglects her. everything we learned about her past gives more depth to his current grief but contributes little to our understanding of her current suffering or motivations. that could change with time, but for a first try, i think it's an abysmally bad showing

* that wasn't in mark's 1.07 monologue, his conversations with devon and alexa, or the the you you are pdf, all of which i think did a better job than this episode

[juthemagicalclown]

using a new character in reverse 1999 like dealing 20k+ damage and triggering 19 extra actions while having ZERO idea of how you did that, then trying to do it again and dealing 758 damage in total