#and these influenced a lot of the. well. abusive shit he did to me

[maxiemumdamage]

To me Azula is a tragic character specifically because while she was failed by everyone around her, it also would’ve been unreasonable to expect any of them to save her. Among those who wanted to help her, practically no one had the understanding or power to change her. They couldn’t get Azula to stop being cruel, in large part because they couldn’t change the circumstances that nurtured her worst traits.

Except Ozai obviously. Fuck him. He’s why Azula is like that to begin with. But the power and sway he has over her also made it borderline impossible for anyone else to make her change.

(MUCH more to say about this here:)

People tend to blame Ursa for Azula’s behavior first and foremost. And…yes, Ursa was pretty clearly closer with Zuko than Azula. But of course she was! Ursa’s son was constantly abused and degraded by his father — as per the comics, Ozai outright told Ursa he would do this for all of Zuko’s life in order to hurt his wife. Zuko needed Ursa’s support to have any sense of self-esteem and frankly, for his own safety.

Zuko needed his mother just to be safe and not be alone, while Azula needed her mother for moral education. Even if you don’t think Ursa’s priorities were the right ones…choosing her daughter over her son might not have been enough to change Azula anyway. It would’ve been devastating for Zuko without necessarily improving Azula in any meaningful way, because Ursa didn’t actually have the authority to meaningfully oppose her husband.

By the time it would’ve been evident that Azula had a super skewed moral compass as a result of being around Ozai so much…she still would’ve been like, eight years old max, for one thing. Little kids say and do a lot of fucked up shit, because they don’t understand morals or the world by and by large. For another, once it was obvious she was parroting horrible stuff from her father, Azula also would’ve had no respect for her mother. So what could Ursa do, by the time she realized she needed to do something?

We see in flashbacks that Ursa tried, even when her child didn’t respect her and she couldn’t enforce meaningful consequences for the bad behavior Ozai rewarded. Ursa scolded Azula for saying cruel things. She made Zuko spend time with his sister, rewarding Azula for any moments of kindness or cooperation (even when Azula was just faking it to get an opportunity to bully Zuko and Mai). She tried.

As for Ursa leaving…uh, if she hadn’t, Zuko would have died. He absolutely, 100% would have died if his mother hadn’t cut a deal with Ozai to put him on the throne in exchange for disappearing. She made Azulon and his ultimatum go away because that was necessary to protect Zuko.

Ursa did fail to morally guide her daughter. But to do otherwise would’ve been to neglect her son, then to sign Zuko’s death warrant. I’m not gonna pretend she didn’t choose one kid over the other — I just also think choosing to support the kid whom she knew her husband was mistreating wasn’t necessarily the wrong call.

And even if it was…choosing differently might not have done anything. Because Ursa could only offer affection, while Ozai wielded both the carrot and a stick. Azula would’ve likely still fawned to the more powerful abuser, still learned harmful behavior, and still internalized that her cruelty was not just necessary but acceptable. Rewarded, even.

There’s Iroh to mention as well. He admittedly had a lot more influence and ability to stand up to Ozai than Ursa did, but in fairness…that wasn’t his kid. He had his own son to worry about, and then he was grieving, and then…he chose Zuko too.

For the same reason as Ursa, I don’t quite blame him for it — Zuko needed help much more immediately. When Zuko was banished, Iroh did the right thing by going with. But I do think those in-between years in the palace were a time Iroh (still mourning, but still) had the chance to influence Azula a little. But…

…I’ve seen a post theorizing that Iroh dislikes his niece because she reminds him of who he used to be, and…I think that’s very likely. They’re the golden children of their fathers, the firebending prodigies, the conquerors of Ba Sing Se.

I also think it’s because he and Azula are so alike that he has no idea how to help her.

Iroh didn’t have a moral revelation about the Fire Nation’s conquest, not until it cost him his son’s life. His realization about war being wrong, subsequently becoming more worldly and gaining respect for other cultures, it happened only when the Fire Nation’s system stopped working for him personally. So he wouldn’t know how to make Azula see that system as wrong, to make her change for the better as he did. He can’t recreate his own reasons for changing.

Also, quite frankly — Iroh barely to not at all managed to turn Zuko off the Fire Nation’s propaganda. Zuko always had morals, sure, but he did not have any semblance of the idea that “war (of conquest) is wrong” or even “wow my father is abusive and terrible to me personally” after three years of travel with Iroh. Being an Earth Kingdom refugee and meeting the Gaang was when Zuko really changed. And I think Zuko (who got his face burned off at 13) would probably be a much easier egg to crack on the redemption front than Azula (for whom the cruel and abusive system has always worked, she’s fine with it as long as she’s the one on top).

I also am briefly going off topic here to say…I like the idea of Azula redemption. I agree that she is sometimes condemned too strongly, to harshly, given that she is just a teenage girl. But her youth doesn’t take away from her cruelty. She is someone who knowingly does wrong, because she sees it as a way to protect herself. A meaningful redemption arc for her has to acknowledge that, not just sweep it under the rug by claiming she always loved her victims.

Because yes, Azula’s loved ones who are of a similar age to her but have less power are in fact her victims. They love her, she loves them, but she does hurt them all the same. That also has to be acknowledged in the quest to redeem her.

Zuko and Mai and Ty Lee all flatly have no power over Azula — she has power over them, in fact, thanks to her status as Ozai’s favored child and just as a princess, respectively. Ursa and Iroh were adults who at least wouldn’t be hurt by trying to help Azula, but for her brother and friends? Changing her could be dangerous.

Zuko is nominally safer as the Crown Prince, but…he’s awful at politics and their infinitely more powerful Dad blatantly favors Azula. He can’t stand up to her. And the one time were shown that Ursa, trying to correct Azula’s cruelty, made her son play nice, feels cruel to Zuko. He gets hurt and humiliated for no reason but for his sister’s sake entertainment and (failed) moral education. It’s not his job to redeem his sister.

And then there’s Mai and Ty Lee, who may be nobles, but still can’t do anything to Princess Azula. In fact, even before Mai or Ty Lee have done anything, Azula is threatening their family and bodily safety, respectively, as a loyalty test. They cannot challenge Azula in any meaningful way without endangering their lives and safety. It’s not fair to expect them to fix her.

Who does that leave that Azula is even close to? The Gaang literally know nothing of her but “Zuko’s sister who keeps trying to kill us.” None of the Fire Nation Generals or Nobles will want her to change. Azulon rewarded her bad behavior almost as hard as Ozai. Lo and Li, maybe, but for all they’re the wise old ladies Azula takes advice from, Azula doesn’t actually interact with them very often.

Azula is a tragic character because, while she was a child who should have been redeemed and had better, it makes perfect sense she didn’t. No one could change her. No one could offer a sweeter carrot or bigger stick than Ozai. And by the time he was out of the picture, the story was over.

[thezombieprostitute]

The Arrangement - Chapter 1

Summary: Jake's done a lot of things to keep his sister, and then his niece, safe from his parent's influence and manipulation. If he wants to keep them safe, he has to marry you.

Warnings: Bad parents, Discussion of murder and physical abuse. Let me know if I missed any!

Prologue --Chapter 2

Series Masterlist

Jake made sure to put on a suit he knew was "nice enough" for the meeting. Clay would be going with him, helping him secure the deal he needed to keep Sarah and Jadah, his real family, safe, never to be messed with again. The rest of the Losers were keeping an eye on them to make sure his parents didn't try anything while negotiating. Aisha and Cougar were some of the best fighters he knew and Pooch could easily drive his family to a secure area.

"So why did you think you needed to get your sister out of the marriage," Clay asked. "I get your parents are pieces of shit, but wouldn't a marriage get her away from them?"

"Nope," Jake shook his head as he drove. "Not only would it further embed them into her life, the guy she was engaged to was a monster. I did a deep dive on him when the engagement was announced. He had a bunch of arrests for domestic disturbance, but his parents, his lawyers, got him out and always settled out of court. Apparently his parents figured marriage would help him calm down. I tried to call bullshit, got shut down, and took action."

Clay nodded, silently filing away the information, before continuing. "And you're now going to marry his sister?"

"Yup."

"What do you know about her?"

"Very little," Jake confesses. "Graduated with a Master's in Ecology with a focus on Conservation Studies. Doesn't seemed to have used it so either her family refuses to let her do anything or she just wanted to waste her parents' money, or something else."

"Going for a Master's doesn't indicate an interest in wasting money," Clay pointed out.

"Agreed, but I've got so little information on her I'm inclined to just go ahead and think the worst."

"Are you expecting to meet her when we get there?"

"Negotiations with the parents first," Jake tells him. "If that goes well, then...yeah, it'll probably be a family dinner or something."

"Alright, lets get to it, then."

"Jacob!" Cordelia, Jake's mother, was using her fake happy tone as she held out her arms for a hug. He purposefully avoids the hug and goes for a handshake instead.

"Don't be rude, son," William chides. Jake holds back from glaring at his father and focuses on maintaining his composure.

"Let's just get to business," Clay offers while taking a seat at William's desk.

"And who are you?" William raises an eyebrow at Clay.

"For all intents and purposes, I'm your son's advocate here to make sure he gets what he wants outta this deal. And that it gets put into writing and notarized."

"And what is it that you want, Jacob?" Cordelia's tone was now icy. "We're setting you up with a wife from a good, rich family. You should be grateful to us for that after nearly destroying our future."

"I want a written, notarized guarantee that, so long as I am married to this woman, Sarah and her family will be left alone. You will not look for them. You will not include them in your machinations. They will never have to worry about you or your people bothering them ever again."

"I'm sure we can work something out," William nods. "Good thing I've already got my lawyer here to go over the marriage documents."

The next several hours are spent with Clay and the family lawyer going back and forth over the wording of the official document. Jake is increasingly grateful that he brought in Clay for this part. He's a quick thinker but Clay is a tactician. He can see the loopholes, the workarounds that Jake can't. His parents attempt to engage him in conversation but Clay had advised Jake to keep quiet during the negotiations so he did. Occasionally texting the team with updates.

Finally, Clay and the lawyer shook hands. The deal is typed up and printed. Jake, his parents, Clay and the lawyer all sign. The notary had arrived an hour before, called by William. They looked everything over and added their stamp to the documents.

Jake took the contract, put it in an envelope and gave it to Clay before turning to his parents. "Okay, let's go meet my future wife."

Prologue -- Chapter 2

Series Masterlist

Tagging: @alicedopey; @ashdoctor; @delicatebarness;@ellethespaceunicorn; @icefrozendeadlyqueen; @ronearoundblindly

[queen-of-the-avengers]

Three Rules

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2k

Warnings: being in an abusive relationship, domestic violence, covering up bruises (nothing is ever explicit, just talked about), minor fluff at the end

Summary: Bucky Barnes has been assigned to you as a way to overcome his feelings and separate himself from the Winter Solider. You're his saving grace and maybe, he can be yours.

Squares Filled: "need a medic?" (2021) @star-spangled-bingo

Author’s Note: any and all comments are appreciated <3

x

The mirror above the steering wheel is so tiny but it’ll have to do since you don’t have your big mirror in your purse this time. You make sure your makeup is good enough to last the whole day, and more importantly, to keep what’s underneath hidden from everyone else. You don’t know what you’d do if people found out about your home life.

When you deem yourself okay, you grab your things and head straight to work. Your assistant, Carly, greets you with a friendly smile and a cup of coffee.

“Good morning, boss!”

“Morning. Who do we have on the books today?”

“The only one is Bucky Barnes.”

“Great. Send him in as soon as he gets here.”

“Sure.”

You walk into your office and make sure everything you need for today’s session is in front of you. Bucky Barnes has only been seeing you for a couple of months so it’s still so new to either of you. You're a well-respected psychologist who had many clients, but you never thought you’d be seeing the former Winter Soldier.

You’ve heard the stories. You know what he’s done but he’s trying to atone for his mistakes. One of the important ways he’s going to do that is if you give him the chance to. He’s been respectful of you even though he’s closed off. Someone like him who experienced the torture he’s been through isn’t going to open up easily. It’s hard getting him to talk about himself but you’re hoping that if you start from before Hydra it will get him to open up to you a lot more.

His appointment is in a couple of minutes so you check yourself using your desk mirror to make sure everything still looks the same.

“Boss, Mr. Barnes is here,” Carly says through the phone intercom.

“Send him in.” The door opens and Bucky walks in with an uncertain look in his eyes. You give him a small yet friendly smile to ease his concerns. “Hello, Mr. Barnes. Please, have a seat.”

“Please, call me Bucky.”

“Okay, Bucky.” He sits down on the couch across from your desk. “How was your week?” He shrugs in response. “Did you do anything special?”

“I spent time with Sam and his family.”

“How did that make you feel? Did you like it?”

“It was alright,” he sighs.

“Did you uphold your three rules?”

Rule #1: Don’t do anything illegal. Rule #2: Don’t hurt anyone. Rule #3: Introduce himself as James Barnes instead of Bucky, formerly the Winter Solider.

“Yes.”

“That’s good. I’m proud of the progress you’ve made since seeing me. Is there anything you’d like to talk about specifically that happened this week?”

“No.”

He can’t seem to look at you. He’s talking to you, that’s a plus, even though he’s only giving you one-syllable words.

“Bucky, if this is going to work, I need you to try here. I’m not asking you to write me a novel about your life. I’m asking you to give a little. Can you do that for me?” you ask in a gentle tone.

“Okay,” he sighs and looks into your eyes. “I’ll try.”

“What would you like to talk about?”

“Steve.”

“What about Steve?” Bucky looks like he wants to cry. Anything about Steve makes him question everything about him. He left Bucky. He left everyone behind to start a life in another timeline. “This is a safe space. Everything you’re feeling is valid, Bucky. When you’re ready, I’d love to hear what you have to say.”

It takes him ten long minutes to find the courage to talk and when he does, he can’t look at you.

“What if Steve was wrong about me? I was under Hydra’s influence when we crossed paths again, and he did everything he could to save me. He even brought me to Wakanda to get that shit out of my head. What if it’s still there? What if they say those words again and I’m back to being the Winter Soldier? Sometimes I don’t think I’m worth saving.”

You want to cry for him. He is so badly damaged that it will take a long time if not the rest of his life to be okay again. He might have happy moments here and there, but those fears will always be there. You have to choose your words carefully.

“It’s hard to see the good in someone who has done bad, but that doesn’t make you a bad person. Steve remembered his best friend and knew the kind of person he was. Steve remembered something in you that is still true to this day.”

“What?” he asks and looks up at you with hints of tears in his eyes.

“I see a man trying to do good, to atone for his mistakes, and I think that’s someone worth saving. Steve saw it, too.” A single tear escapes his eyes but he doesn’t wipe it away. “If you are who you think you are, you wouldn’t feel remorse for what they did to you. The fact that you do shows me that you’re more than what they put in your head. You’re trying to do good with the bad you’ve been given, and that’s not a bad person.”

You’ve made excellent progress with Bucky this session, and you think the next one is going to go by just as smoothly. He only gets an hour but you make the most of the rest of the hour.

“The same time next week?” you ask.

“I’ll see you then, Doc,” Bucky smiles and leaves your office.

With each passing session, you and Bucky form a stronger bond until he realizes he looks forward to being with you. You make his day a bit brighter but the last thing he is gonna do is tell you that. You’d never have romantic relations with a client but you can’t say the same once they no longer are your clients.

You show up to work one week dabbing makeup on your face while driving. You’re on the phone with your husband. He isn’t on speakerphone and your phone is resting in one of the cup holders, but you can still hear every word he is saying as clear as day. He is yelling that loudly at you. You forgot to do the dishes before you left for work and now he is telling you what a burden you are, how much he hates you, and that you’re useless…

…and those are the nice things.

“Baby, I was running late this morning. I’m sorry,” you sigh and pick up the phone.

“I will deal with you later,” he growls and hangs up the phone.

You’d cry but then you’d ruin your makeup, and you’re already at work. You push down your feelings about your abusive husband and walk into work. You gasp at how hot it is, and you look at your assistant who has her work jacket off.

“What is going on in here? Why is it so hot?”

“The air conditioning is broken but someone is coming to look at it later.”

“Fine,” you sigh. “How many today?”

“Three.”

“Send them through.”

You get through the first two clients with as few problems as possible but by the time Bucky comes in, you’re almost about to break. You're tired, your face is pulsing with pain, your makeup feels like cake at this point, and you don’t know how much longer you can stand sitting in the heat.

“Hi, Bucky. Please have a seat,” you greet. He sees the immediate shift in your behavior and you’ve only said six words to him. “I’d like to start this session by talking about last week. You said something about taking a trip with Sam, right? How did that go?”

“Are you okay?” he asks.

“Bucky, we’re here to talk about you, not me.”

Bucky has to let it go for right now but he can’t when you wipe your face to clear the sweat. You forget that you have makeup on otherwise you wouldn’t have wiped your face with your handkerchief. It’s not entirely present but Bucky knows a bruise when he sees one, and you have a dark one near your eye.

“Need a medic?”

“I’m fine. I fell.”

“I’ve fallen plenty of times. I’ve gotten hit enough times to know a bruise caused by a punch when I see one.”

“Bucky, please. Drop it. We’re not here to talk about me.”

Bucky notices you play with your wedding ring nervously whenever the spotlight is on you. He’s not stupid. He knows exactly what’s been happening here. For your sake, he lets it go. The session is cut short due to Bucky needing to be somewhere, and you made it clear he is still getting charged the full hour whether he uses it or not. He was fine with it so you moved on with three other clients after him.

The air conditioning was fixed after the first client, so you redid your makeup in the bathroom to be more presentable. It’s late when you finish with your last client, and you curse at the time. Your husband is going to kill you if you’re late again. You gather your things and rush out of your office, but Carly stops you before you can get far.

“Listen, I’m running late, so can you--”

“The police called earlier. I told them you were with a client and they asked if you could call them back. They said it was urgent.”

“Oh, okay,” you stutter. She hands you her phone after redialing the last number called. “Hi, my name is Y/N. My assistant got a call earlier?” You hear the words they’re saying but your brain isn’t processing them. “Wait, I’m sorry, he’s what?”

“Your husband is dead, ma’am. I’m very sorry for your loss.”

“How? When? I just talked to him this morning.”

“My guess is that he’s been dead for maybe four hours. He died from a severe beating and blunt-force trauma to the head.”

All you hear them saying is that you’re free. You’re finally free. No more pain. You’re not sure who killed your husband because he didn’t have a lot of enemies. Despite how he treated you, he was very charming to everyone else. He put up this facade that made him look like a saint when really, he was the devil.

When you show up to work the next week, your hair is pinned up, you have light makeup on, a nice outfit, and your heart is light. You’ve never been happier now that your husband is out of the picture. He was a wealthy man, so you got all of his money to use how you see fit. He was so horrible to you so maybe his money will bring some happiness to people when you donate a chunk to different charities.

Bucky shows up right on time, and you give him a smile when he enters your room. You look down and notice some bruising and scabs on his knuckles, and if his metal hand could scar as easily as flesh, he’d have scars there, too.

“Have a seat, Bucky.”

“You look happier.”

You chuckle in amusement. You look Carly through the small glass window who is busy taking calls for you to listen to later. You look back at Bucky who raises his eyebrows in question.

“The following conversation didn’t happen.” He nods in understanding. “My husband is dead. Someone killed him.”

Bucky doesn’t say anything for a long five minutes.

“Did he deserve it?”

“Yes.”

“Then don’t worry about it.”

“Did you break rule number two?”

“I might have,” he smiles, “but I had a really good reason.”

“What reason is that?” you ask and sit back.

“There’s this woman I know, and for the first time since I met her, she actually had a genuine smile on her face… and it is gorgeous. I guess her husband didn’t know what he had when he had her.”

You smile at Bucky.

“No, he didn’t.”

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[ihopesocomic]

Greetings from Russia!👋🏼🇷🇺 Yes, even the readers of your wonderful comic are here:) I got to know "I hope so" after your review of "My Pride," which, despite all the flaws, still appeals to me in some ways. Even though I'm just a cisgender heterosexual girl, I understand your disappointment. Starting with the queer couple, where Hover started laughing at disability and the name Nothing, even before the review, I was uncomfortable with this moment, not realizing how bad everything was there (especially when you pointed out the actions of Tribblofdoom). That scene in the rain, showing gaslighting and the downright shitty attitude Hover was supposed to have towards her girlfriend. She never really supported Nothing or tried to protect her. And Nothing itself is written as an eternally sad disabled person who gets punched by everyone he can and cannot. Really pessimistic for a project that advertised an LGBT and disability-friendly show. Even without all that, the show is really poorly written. Characters develop without development or become assholes simply because. And they also try to justify some of them (Quickmane scolding Nothing when she left the cubs alone or the redemption of Powerstrike). Basically, my bisexual ADHD friend and I agree with you. Basically, like you, we like to talk and joke about similar topics and think through our plots. And I like your comic, it's much better than this animated series. The characters are very cute, Hope is a wonderful main character. Despite her disability, she still remains optimistic and purposeful even when the whole family has turned away from her. And Storm is a real brutal and supportive girl. Hover could only dream:) But as an inspiration for my hairstyle and appearance, she's good🤌🏼. I also wonder how the fate of Vicious, stuck in a terrible relationship with Jasper, will unfold. I really feel sorry for her, because she's stuck in a terrible relationship with Jasper, but as a mother she's terrible, no comment. But I really liked how you show the psychological pressure and abuse in the family. The consequences of the death of Quiet and Clever are shown, or how Careful leaves the Golden Grove with the cubs. It's just great✨ And also, in principle, I wonder how everything will end up in the end. I want to see more Diamond and Bright. Interesting characters🌚 We'll be waiting, of course😌 Besides the comic, I try to study your answers to other viewers' questions, it's really fascinating. I've learned a lot from you, and I've repeated some of it. In my project about the werecat clan (yes, the influence of the CW😺 was not enough here either), I want to touch on several characters as representatives of LGBT and with disabilities. It turned out that I'm interested in this topic, and I want to see how I can handle it. Although the main character remains a cisget, but she has a boyfriend, a bisexual werewolf cat, for example:) So yes, it was not a question, but rather a long review and a desire to share it with you, dear authors of "I hope so". Thanks for attention. All the best to you☺️👉🏼👈🏼

Thank you very much for your kind words regarding our comic, we truly appreciate it. <33

As for what you have to say about your own content: honestly, just write whatever you're most comfortable with. If you want to write something with a cishet main, you go ahead and do that. The only time it becomes an issue if you do what Tribble did and you shoehorn in a gay relationship at the last minute because your fans began to ship your two main same-sex characters together and you try and sell the hastily written mess as 'LGBT+ friendly' content.

With proper research and care (i.e. listening to the folks you wish to represent), it is very easy to avoid this dilemma and being aware of the issues and wishing to avoid repeating them is a good start. Literally not giving a shit and wanting to use any sort of minority group to plug your content is going to end about as well as you'd expect.

There are certainly things you can cover with one half of your couple being bisexual. Bisexual erasure due to bi individuals dating a member of the opposite sex is certainly a major issue in LGBT+ spaces and a neat topic to cover if this is what you're going for with your main couple.

Either way, best of luck to you and thank you for reading our comic. c: - RJ

[totthoughts]

BakuDeku Fic Recs: A/B/O

This one was a fun list just because I am a slut for a good abo fic :). Please, feel free to tell me if you’ve read any of these or if you like them as much as I did.

A Mate’s Worth: 98K words; Katsuki came to the Omega Shelter as Kirishima’s moral support. He wasn’t looking for a mate nor licensed to claim a mate from there. It should have been a quick, boring trip.

But then he ran into Deku—someone he hadn’t seen in close to eight years—in that same Shelter for Abused Omega. Walking away alone had never been an option.

the relationship between katsuki and izuku is precious; however, izuku is very dependent on katsuki. you’ve been warned

taste like green sugar: 16.5k words; Even if he knows Dynamight as his Kacchan, it's not like he's enough for such alpha.

A top hero. A ranked one hero.

Why would Katsuki want him?

He's chubby. He's ugly. He has freckles all over his body, blotches of brown dots littering his body.

He's far from perfect. So he knows people have the rights to belittle him for all they want.

—

What he doesn't know is the capacity of Katsuki's capability to ruin those people's lives.

this fic was intoxicating, and it is a series!!! both fics are really great, this one is my favorite out of the two

be warned, large age gap and izuku is still in school

influenced: 9.4K words; "Just admit that you only started appreciating Midoriya when he became the strong omega that everyone wants to mate."

Katsuki stares at Hanta, and then tilts his head to the side. His lazy smirk on display.

"Yeah, sure," words he decides to reply.

It's not like these people need to know that he got a hidden camera planted inside Izuku's room, middle school years, way passed before Izuku got a quirk.

It's none of their business.

i fear the key to my heart is a possessive katsuki

izuku is a sassy boy and we love

pussy to die for: 4.2k words; "Ayo.." he addresses the crowd again, eyes not straying away from the underwear. "Who the fuck own this?"

The crowd yells. Multiple hands wave, screaming that they own the undergarments.

Katsuki grips his mic with a new found determination.

"You all fuckers find me at the backstage after the con, Imma need to know who owns this so I can knot and knock them up!"

Then, Katsuki puts on a show of sniffing the fabric before he sticks it on his cargo pants' pocket, ignoring the deafening scream of his fans.

Whoever owns this underwear, he needs to find him.

fanfuckingtastic. their relationship isn’t really a relationship, but katsuki is so fucking hot in this and izuku is a fucked out cutie

this is truly for the horndogs

The Alpha’s Eye Candy: 87.8k words; Because Katsuki Bakugo has such a picky alpha and hates most the people he deals with in his daily mafia business, he never excepted any marriage proposals and didn't care to entertain those who wanted him. He didn't get along with anyone and was too busy to worry about a mate, about marriage, about anyone but himself.

So, to get everyone to shut up, he lets his mother find him a pretty, quiet, and obedient omega. Izuku Midoriya married him only to be his eye candy for others, but instead he became so much more than either of them expected.

this is a pretty new fic and i love it! it reads like a story and the characters work so well with one another.

momo and camie are awful, but it fuels the story so well

katsuki and izuku’s relationship is so wonderful from start to finish, and the it develops so naturally

genuinely a great fic

Let me know if you all like any of these because I’ve got more great abo recommendations, but I didn’t want to post too many just in case you all hate this shit.

I’ve also been reading a lot of bakudeku parenting fics and they are simply too cute. I’ll likely post those next, or maybe even some bakudeku with a healthy sprinkle of class 1-A shenanigans.

[kerubimcrepin]

LIVEREAD: WAKFU, THE GREAT WAVE [TOME 1, Chapters 1-3]

I want to preemptively say that I wasn't the biggest fan of The Great Wave, while reading it originally. It had less to do with the contents of the comic, and more with the pacing — it's written in a very... webtoon-unfriendly way. Every week I'd wait, and then not much would happen.

I am hoping it will be less exhausting to read this comic this time, but there just isn't a lot that happens in it. It's quite sad, really.

Now that I am done with the "hey, I am not the biggest fan of the way this was executed, at least in this tome" warning, I want to say that I actually really like the idea of a tragic story. Like fuck yesss. With all the amount of foreshadowing we got, we deserve to see how Yugo's good intentions are going to bring disaster.

I will be honest, the day this dropped I went to discord and everyone was screaming "THEY ADDED PORN TO WAKFU" and then when I was finally able to read the comic after someone finally pirated and sent it to me, I saw the world's shortest scene of intimacy between a married couple.

Normal world.

Anyway: STOP FUCKING WHILE WEARING THE WORLD-ENDING MAGICAL NUKES ON YOU.

Hey chat! This reminds me of a very poggers thing I had said a while before this manga realeased:

You have no fucking idea how bigly I won. And this isn't even the last win of mine in this manga. No, I just keep winning and winning. Please, Tot Ankama, I beg you through whatever psychic link we have: do this thing you did to Yugo to Joris too. He deserves it.

In the future, I will be liveblogging myself reading the entire tomes too; instead of making small posts, as the comic releases chapter by chapter.

One of the reasons why? I love writing this post, while knowing full-well that these are Grougalorasalar's words.

MAN, I predicted Grougalorasalar using emotionally manipulative language that's pretty much "you're a fraud, you're amoral, DIE" in nightmarish visions sent to people ages before this manga happened, in my fanfic. And I was so giddy — because I love the idea of 'Salar torturing people like that, and because it means I got something right without having too much data to back it up!

First Joris war criminal arc, then Salar emotional abuse via nightmare visions arc... How is my taste so similar to Tot's??

I think it's very funny for Salar to be moralizing now. My brother in crepinjurgening, you were trying to resurrect your lizard son by shattering his soul forever and bringing him unimaginable suffering so that you can go commit more war crimes together?

Then again, his war crimes had virtually no chance of ending the world. I suppose it's natural for a Black Fire dragon to understand the sort of danger Yugo presents — the fact that they may all end up the same way the Necro world is...

I guess his morals are as weird as Joris's (world ending = bad, war crimes = sometimes good if they do those themselves?). Similarities are only to be expected, since they influenced and changed one-another irrevocably.

this shuoild happen to joris too. pleask.

LITERALLY IT'S SO FUNNY. HE'S SEEN THIS SORTA SHIT HAPPEN AGAIN AND AGAIN AND IS STILL GOING DOWN THAT ROUTE. BRO? 😭

Somehow I really doubt that Grougalorasalar's involvement in this situation is going to improve it in any way.

"I am the black dragon Grougalorasalar and I am going to save the world" ok and flowers can sing, and the world is made of pudding. Get a grip.

[twirling my hair around my fingers, giggling cutely] A shadow you say? This reminds me of Dofus MMO lore :3

I've seen people be upset at there being bigotry towards Eliatropes, but really — this has been coming since season 2. You've seen what a shitshow the idea of another class appearing caused back then.

Maybe it's my "knowing too much about hupperage oppression lore" and "knowing just a little bit about ouginak oppression lore" bias kicking in, but I'm not surprised? Eh?

THEY MULTIPLIED?!

Guys I don't think they're happy.

Originally this made me giggle: "ohh, is Joris going to have to choose between Bonta and his friendship with Yugo, in the future tomes of this manga? I wonder what he will choose, tee-hee."

But ngl, considering the fact that Joris has already demonstrated choosing Yugo over Bonta in season 4, and has been implied to be at odds with the government of Bonta during some ages, and downright opposed in others — I think we know the answer.

Literally not how it would work in real life. Even if Aurora has the right to inherit the throne in some way, her father is completely unrelated to that. He shouldn't even be here — if Aurora has the right to inherit the throne, it means she was made a member of the Sheran-Sharm family, and is no longer a part of her original family, because— [STARTS FOAMING AT THE MOUTH FROM ANGER]

[prettyprinwcess]

TOKYO REV BOYS WITH A S/O WITH PARENT ISSUES

SORRY FOR NOT POSTING IN A LONG TIME! I WAS REALLY BUSY WITH LIFE PROBLEMS!!

lmao this has been in my drafts for almost two years, 2021 tokyo revengers was true peak ngl<333

baji/mikey/ran/( before timeskip )

w’s; parental abuse, mention of physical abuse, fmc, you will notice a change in the writing style, since i’ve written this a long time ago, and i decided to continue it, i hope y’all don’t mind it <3

requests: OPEN!

my requests are open however i could only write about tokyo revengers maybe karma akabane since he’s the loml, and also some webtoon characters, just ask me in the dms or the ask me anything on my profile ^_^

BAJI

just to be clear, baji hates your parents, especially your mother, ´how a mother could be that rough ?’ him who grew up with a loving and caring mother, he couldn’t understand.

well your parents didn’t know that you're dating a delinquent, if they find out they will probably disown you or make your life a living hell until you break up with him.

does he give a shit that you're not allowed to date him? no. Will he do everything he could to stay with you? Yes.

-

It was dark at this time, your boyfriend aka baji keisuke helped you break through that night, it was a routine for you guys, your parents are extremely strict with you, they don't let you go out alone, not even for five minutes, you’re not allowed to even talk to boys, pathetic right ?

but here you are dating a gang member, some people will say that he’s using you, manipulating you,, that he’s a bad influence for you, is a nuisance for you, But actually that ‘bad person’ was the only person that made you feel loved.

“kei! stop it!!” You yelled at your boyfriend who is currently holding you on his shoulder like a merchandise, worthy of a cliché anime shojo.

“let’s go for a ride sweetheart.” he said with that provocative grin showing his magnificent white fangs.

heading towards his motorcycle which was at the other end of the parking lot, it was really dark, and windy, we could barely see anything except his engine under the only source of light, no surprise, it was tree in the morning.

“okay but i can walk by my own you know.”

“Nope, don’t want my pretty woman get tired while walking”

You sighed and said ; “ I doubt that.”

“you should not.” he clearly said, you two alone, his deep voice was the only thing heard in the cold parking lot.

in front of his black motorbike, baji was already seated waiting for you to position yourself behind him.

“okay kei, but i should come back home before 4am or my parents wi-”

you hadn't even had time to continue your sentence that you hear a familiar voice interrupting you.

“Y/N!” this horrible voice, that would be able to startle the bravest.

at this moment you felt like there was death right in front of you. even death would be better. fear, terror, panic; all those horrendous feelings were dancing inside you.

tears were forming in your eyes, your knees were shaking, you didn't dare turn around to face them.

keisuke was speechless, wide eyed, his brain couldn't process what was going on right now.

taking a deep breath, you returned to face your so called called parents. trying your best to show them that you’re not petrified.

your mother and your father were right in front of you, angry expressions on their faces. They probably checked your laptop and saw your chats with your boyfriend.

“Y/n..How dare you to do this to us?! This is your thank you to everything we did to you? Sneaking out late at night to meet who?! A fucking criminal ?”

“keisuke isn’t a criminal. The only criminals here are you, dad and mom.”

“You always judge me degrade me humiliate me, For my good huh? my feelings are always invalid for you, you just want me to control me like a marionette, it’s so soul crushing seeing other people with loving parents and a normal life. Put the blame on me this time like you always do, but remember that this man right here, did the job you could never accomplish.”

you say, trying your best to not break down in front them.

You can see the enraged expressions in you parents face, your father walked up to you, hand raised to the highest ready to slap you in the face.

Baji got up from his motorbike and stood in front of you.

“Try to touch her, I dare you.”

MIKEY

as you walked down the narrow sidewalk, you felt the cold wind whipping against your face. It was a gloomy day in Tokyo, with thick clouds blocking out the sun and the ground wet from recent rain.

The buildings around you cast long shadows across the streets, and the sounds of traffic were muffled by the dampened air.

Looking around, you saw small apartments with faded facades, cramped convenience stores with bright neon signs, and tiny bars with chairs lined up outside. The streets were crowded with all ages of people, from children in their school uniforms to elderly couples strolling hand in hand.

as you walked on, the your mood was gloomy to match the weather. You felt a sense of loneliness wash over you, and a longing for something more. Maybe it was the city, with its ever-present noise and crowds, that was making you feel this way. or maybe it was something else, ( i wonder who lol )

you kept walking, lost in your thoughts, until you reached a small park with a pond. The park was empty, and the only sound was the faint plashing of water. you sat down on a bench and closed your eyes.

holding your phone to check the time, you came fifteen minutes early, every wednesday you meet up with your boyfriend, it’s like a date, but not really since you can’t stay more than thirty minutes or your parents might suspect something.

but you were positive, somewhat, you had mikey, and he loved you right?

soon enough you hear footsteps behind you, excitement rush over your body, it has been more than five days since the last time you’ve seen him, you missed the sound his voice and the way his eyes squint when he smiles, silly right?

you turn around to see him standing with a a bouquet of flower, wearing a denim jacket with a white shirt underneath, and some plain black pants, he wasn’t wearing his gang outfit, which was surprising to you, he looked more charming in casual clothes and you can’t deny that it made your heart flutter.

“hey baby.” he adresses in a smoky tone, he was smiling happy to see you.

all of your doubts evaporated, just the sight of him is enough to make you forget about all your problems, how can he be so ethereal?

“ I missed you.” you admit breathily, standing up to hug him, the smell of his cologne tickling your nose, he puts his hand around your waist, taking you into his embrace.

“ so how was your day?” you ask childishly in a small voice,

“ it was horrible, until I saw you, now it’s probably one of the best days ever.” he says glancing down at you, his sentence doesn’t fail to make you chuckle.

“ and your day?” he asks in return.

“ you know, school and home, nothing interesting.” you simply say.

“ you snuck out from cram school?” he curiously asks while glancing at you.

“ yeah, my friend is covering me, and if someone finds out, I’m fucked up, I don’t know what my dad would do to me if he finds out that i was sneaking out instead of studying haha.” you say half jokingly, your attempt to make it look like a joke failed since your tone was bitter and awkward,

“ I ain’t allowing that , if someone dares to touch you, I’ll slit their throat.”

“ not even draken can stop me,”

“understood?” he seriously says staring at you, as he takes your hand and and entrelaces it with his.

“ so what are you pla-“ the sound of your phone’s notification sound cuts him off.

“excuse me.” you say as he nods waiting for you to see who it is.

suddenly you feel your stomach drop.

“ it’s my friend, she says that the teachers are getting suspicious, and that I only have a few minutes before they call my parents.” you frown your eyebrows, panic starting to overtake you, unconsciously tapping your leg on the floor from anxiety,

he puts his hand on your thigh, putting a stop to it.

“calm down sweetheart, we will make it, follow me i’ll give you a ride.”

but before you could answer, your boyfriend had already taken you by the hand and was leading you towards his motorcycle. It was a sleek, black bike. you climbed onto the back, your arms wrapped around his waist, and he started the engine.

as you both pulled out from the curb, the sounds of the city were dulled by the roar of the engine. you felt the wind tugging at your hair and the cold air against your face, and you were grateful for the thick jacket that your boyfriend had given you.

he sped through the streets, dodging cars and weaving in and out of traffic.

you boyfriend handled the bike like he was born on it, and you felt a sense of awe and amazement at his skill. It was like you were flying, like you were in your own world with him, free from all the pressures of life.

And then he pulled into a narrow street, and she saw the building that marked the entrance to the tunnel. It was a long, dark passageway, with a bright light at the end.

The light at the end of the tunnel grew brighter and brighter, until you could feel the heat from it on her face. And then you both were through, and out into the open air again, with nothing but sky above you.

you leaned your head against his shoulder, listening to the rhythm of the engine and the beat of your heart. And in that moment, you knew that everything was going to be alright.

RAN

it was a very dark, you were lost in the cold starry night, the feeling of confusion and helplessness overtaking you as you struggled to find your way. Tears steaming down your eyes, the alleyway seemed four times longer than normal.

the empty tokyo streets making the source of light your only companion, you were heading your way towards your bf’s house, Ran, but no one answered your knocking to his door. The house must’ve been empty, he was probably having some business done with his brother.

you needed him, you were seeking his comfort, him holding you like his life depended on it telling you everything is going to be alright, It’s all you needed right now. Slowing down your past, every step was a colossal effort, the lack of sleep and the emotional war inside of you weren’t easy.

standing up, tears drying out, nausea churned your stomach.

The ache in your chest would not relent. It burned without end as though to remind you of your loss. But is it considered a loss at this point?

you sat with your face pressed into your upturned knees. Rethinking your whole life decisions, maybe if you acted differently all of this wouldn’t have happened? you lost everything for the sake of wanting to live, your dear parents have found out about your relationship with the gang leader. They weren’t pleased, you tried to protest but it ended up with a bruise, your chest felt hollow. The cold breeze caressing your face, drying out all your tears, fresh filling your lungs.

you stayed there for a moment, you sigh heavily as you feel a sudden hand wrap around your back.

it was him.

He took your hand in his, his fingers moving softly over your skin. He could feel the tension in your body, the tension that he knew all too well.

“y/n.” he breathily says. For the first time you turn around to face his face, his expression is regretful, as if he somewhat knows what just happened. His hand squeezes yours.

silence your only answer, you jump on his neck taking him into an embrace, trying your best to not break down, your breathing gets heavier.

“they found out, they found out about us.” you uttered.

he puts his hand on your back, pushing you closer to him. Taking your arm up examining the bruise between your elbow, his jaw tightened.

“and he did this to you?” he asked in a flat tone. You nodded.

he looked mad, even though his expression is blank, his eyes look more intimidating than usual, but somewhat it is comprehensible, how dare someone touch his baby?

He leans in, almost touching your nose, he’s wearing a serious expression.

“ from now on, you, stay, with, me.”

“got it?” he expresses, not breaking eye contact.

“what choice do I have?” you murmur, looking down, still feeling shaken up by what just happened with your parents.

he takes your hand, leaning in, making your forehead touch his.

“ y/n, you’re my treasure, your parents were dumb to kick you out. They don't deserve you."

"I'll make sure you're taken care of, my love. You'll always be safe with me." he whispers, still holding your hand, squeezing it.

I’m not really proud of this, but i hope i post better stuff, enjoy! ngl baji’s part is my favourite i find it really hot the way he says “i dare you” *faints*

[nalyra-dreaming]

Pre season 2 rant - heavy on sarcasm!

This is the... well by now somewhat meditated on rant I promised a while ago. It has a lot of cussing, so be warned.

It is a… summary comment about some views I‘ve seen around, from “bad writing“ to the “abuse“ and other things. Oh, and it's about the "lying" subject. With receipts!

I‘m getting this out of my system before season 2 hits, and before more of the press leading up to it is released, because cast, crew and writers as well as the show have given us all of it already and, tbh, if I‘m going to see anyone scream “bad writing“ or “Louis being made a liar or the memories revisited/changed is racism“ when the changes will hit I‘m just gonna block you.

Fair warning.

This is long… so under the cut.

This show has made color-conscious choices. Brilliantly so. They also have an astonishing meta level.

And what we saw was not the truth.

That much is clear now. HAS ACTUALLY BEEN CLEAR FROM THE END OF SEASON 1 ON.

Jacob has said at the TCA panel that Louis is trying to regain his true memories.

Here is a reminder of some key statements by cast and crew:

Here are interviews and statements by Assad and Jacob and Sam and Rolin and the writers & producers that what we have seen was not the (whole) truth, that Louis’ tale has been “tinkered” with, influenced.

I'm heroically refraining from adding the gifs of Rolin and his statement again. Which are from the episode insider… and remember when that aired?! Yeah… 😒

But I've seen things recently that make me want to pull my hair out, to be frank. For example this, behind the link:

...Like, not making him a whole flat ass liar is actually the point, guys. And no it does not undermine the story....

As the writers said:

I mean, I get it to an extent. It's becoming clearer and clearer that the show some people made up in their heads is not the one they'll be getting. (We've been trying to tell them, but hey.)

Yeah.... That.

Unfortunately @blackgirlasis has blocked me, (and I have returned the favor now that I noticed), we only discussed something recently, but I think the reason might have been after I posted that video, in which it is literally said that "not everything Louis says is a lie", which, given her statements here might speak for itself, especially this part of that statement:

"It is actually ACTIVELY harmful to perpetuate the idea that the Black characters aren't to be trusted with the narrative and that we need Lestat to come through with the honest accounting."

You know, I would actually agree! Which is also why I always emphasized that we did not get the WHOLE truth. I also kept more than hinting at the fact that Armand is, well Armand.

BUT - and here it gets interesting - why is JACOB's - a BLACK man's - statement discarded? Why do they do not want to hear it that Louis does, in fact, lie? And, just to be clear - I do not NEED Louis to lie, nor be proven a liar, and I think the show will do its damndest to explain via the "tinkering" that Armand did. They will give some of the blame to Armand.

But to flip one's shit over argumentation that the MAIN CHARACTER, a BLACK MAN has already stated... that is what I find interesting.

Like, why do you* (*generally spoken, not her especially) accuse people of racism over this, when HE has already said that Louis does, indeed, lie. Why is he not actually listened to? I don't get that. Why is agency taken away from a living, breathing person to give it to a fictional character? Why is his statement that "not all representation needs to be healthy representation" not kept in mind?

Louis is Louis. Louis being color-consciously handled didn't "change the character an awful lot".

JACOB said that. Here. Interestingly enough in a comment about the racial consideration the show does(!).

Louis is NOT a whole other character despite the changes, and the twists that will happen in season 2 were always set to come, as the friggin' video of BEFORE the show aired is proof of. They talked about all that. They know it didn't all happen as shown. They knew Louis did lie. But NOT about everything.

They also knew that some of the scenes did not happen (at least as shown). And now... "it’s clear that Louis is somebody hugely angry with a man he loved deeply and now presents them as a monster…" Also Jacob Anderson.

Presents. Them. As. A. Monster.

Bailey Bass said in the SDCC interview, that it is not clear who is the "villain here" in various scenes, interestingly enough, because the dynamic keeps changing. Which of course was after they shot a myriad of scenes that would not make it into the final s1 cut. Again: why is she not listened to? Why do you take her agency away to give it to a fictional character?

And I'm not even starting on the others. Sam. Rolin. The writers.

Also, re the abuse and scenes being revisited. Again, screenshot as example:

There is nothing simple about this show. Especially that scene.

BUT the show knows what it‘s doing! I'm not going to rehash all that here now, here are links on that.

AND THE WRITERS SAYING IT WILL BE REVISITED... is from December 21, 2022.

DECEMBER 22.

A revisit and a change of that scene will not be bad writing. (Or tasteless.) They already DID so in the last episode of season 1, continuing that will simply fall into line with what we have already been given. That's not bad writing. That's just the show, and there's people who just did not want to examine that.

Because it will be echoed, and it will serve a purpose.

I know the show did the meta level of patriarchal domestic abuse, but for fuck‘s sake, the story itself is about vampires struggling, and Louis is struggling.

The show has a meta level of abuse, and patriarchy, and recognizing is valid and the meta discussions are too.

But Louis is not chained to his coffin guys, he could have left, and a fight which shows off power discrepancies within the show story line is not automatically domestic abuse.

*slow clap*

No-one wants this to happen for the sake of "redeeming" Lestat. Because he does not need that redemption. They're all murderers and monsters.

They kill. For a living. LITERALLY.

THEY ARE VAMPIRES It's not about vampires trying to find their humanity.

It's about vampires trying to find a way to live with themselves, because they are, indeed, monsters.

Doubting the narrative which was TORN APART WITHIN THE SHOW is not the same as bad writing or racism FFS, nor is actually looking at what we're given - and knowing the fucking, 50 year old books. And recognizing the hints and parallels.

I have also seen the take that Lestat isolated Louis... and like, did we watch the same show? You know, even with the vampirism (which, of course™, could not free Louis as promised)...

Months of flirting openly in NOLA, public wooing. DECADES LIVING IN NOLA. Operas. Restaurants. Family dinners. (And Louis stopping Lestat there, AS a mortal...) Cleaning the cribs, years of "human entanglement" because Louis wanted it.... Banjo barbecues, political influence, wakes... Everybody knew.

(Like, I could pull up gifs here.)

"Isolation". Right. It has nothing, at all, to do with the Rite of Passage, or Louis' depression.

Of course not.

I mean, Jacob says that Louis is very depressed during the time leading up to the fight, and his and Sam's discussion here is interesting as well, but hey, I mean, why listen to the actual black actor, right.

As a last thing.

Yeah. Tell me you know nothing about the books without telling me you know nothing about the books.

And, as a note, context is important if you pull up other scenes from the VC.

Welcome to the fucking Vampire Chronicles.

Anyone expecting big bad patriarchal abuser Lestat is not going to have a good time.

And honestly, to those: don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Good riddance - and BON VOYAGE

[aria-greenhoodie]

What is the distance in generations between Pacifica and Abigale Blackwing? How many "greats" you have before the "Grandma"? What is your canon of this genealogical tree? How did we go from Abigale, an Anti-Cypherite, to... *points at Preston*, whatever that is? your Abigale seems to be a good person, right? If she is, then what happened to her children?

Hello there! I have an actual answer for this courtesy of my good friend, @kitcatia! Generally what she and I both agree on is that Abigale is Pacifica’s great grandmother, who was married to the son of Nathaniel Northwest, and who birthed Auldman Northwest (Preston’s father).

Auldman is actually… one of my favorite characters of all time as of now. He actually plays a very large role in an AU my friend Kit and I are working on, the Mystery Society! You’ll be seeing a lot more about that very soon if you’re following me, anon. Also, if you’d like to be in a discord server interested in the ACS and other obscure gravity falls characters, send me a dm! We’re always open to new members, are pretty active, and very friendly! I also tend to share my thoughts there way sooner and way more often then I do here, so there’s that as an incentive too!

I’ve got a whole HOST of Headcanons about Auldman specifically, actually, many that are heavily influenced by an AU Kit and I are working on that features him! I’d be happy to yap for eons about him, but here’s a quick lil summary under the “read more” for now.

I’ll leave you with a rough Northwest family tree I crafted with Kit’s help:

Auldman backstory yap under cut!

Abigale Blackwing was wed to Richard Northwest shortly after the disbandment of the Anti-Cipher Society. She traded her hand in marriage for guaranteed safety from the asylum workers, since she didn’t want to be institutionalized. Eventually, Abigale has a son, but this isn’t Auldman yet. This is Abraham, named after Abigale’s old “boy name” that she used during her time cross-dressing to enter an engineering school. This name was chosen by Abigale to claim some stake over her son. He couldn’t sport the Blackwing name, so Abigale gave him a name that could link him to her. Abraham was a huge mama’s boy growing up. She was kind, and strong, and protected him the best she could from the kind of man Richard Northwest was. Which, by the way, I think Richard was a piece of shit. Northwest mentality x50, and often abusive to both his wife and son. Richard always despised how “soft” Abraham was. He never got on very well with the boys his age, and ESPECIALLY with how classist and rude they seemed. Abraham didn’t have to worry about his father;s judgement for too long, though, since Richard mysteriously disappeared when Abraham was around 7-8 years old (I wrote a fanfic about why! Here’s the link!). Despite his terrible and now absent father and the declining mental state of his mother through the years due mostly to triangle-based paranoia, Abraham managed to grow into a rather respectable young man, one who was taught well by Abigale to value people for their qualities rather than their money. He was kind, sweet, and believed in fighting for what was right. He aspired to be an architect, and was getting his start in that field. Unfortunately for Abraham, it was now Abigale’s turn to disappear. At this point he was a young man, only just starting to have a life of his own, when the one person he trusted more than anything simply up and vanishes. He looks for her for years, going near-mad trying to find her, before he finally gives up about a decade after her disappearance. Broken, alone, and abandoned, Abraham begins to wonder if the mother he held so dear left him on purpose. His father already disappeared, after all. Abraham starts to grow bitter towards his mother, feeling as though she abandoned him. He begins to doubt her teachings, and eventually changes his name from Abraham to Auldman in order to distance himself from her. He marries a woman by the name of Cindy, someone in the same high-class as him, and who holds a lot of the classist ideals his father did. When Preston is born, Auldman has all but abandoned everything Abigale had taught him, given him. He’s more a husk of himself than anything else, leading to him allowing and sometimes even encouraging Cindy to imprint those Northwestian ideals. I think in his twilight years, when he reflects on his life, he may realize his errors, but at this point it’s far too late. I like to think he asks for his tombstone to read “Abraham” rather than “Auldman,” but I doubt his family would follow that wish.

I’m the AU Kit and I have been working on, he never becomes Auldman, but that’s a whoooole other can of worms!

[m3nt4llyr4v3d]

Felix v Chloe

Lemme just say, I hate the way Felix is treated in the show and the fandom compared to Chloe

Somehow, someway, the characters can forgive Felix and even have him on the team at the end (?????), and all of his actions are completely absolved due to his backstory: “Oh he was just doing all that for his survival! He was just an awkward quirky guy with no social cues all along!”

But Chloe’s backstory even being brought up for an explanation is immediately shut down, it doesn’t excuse a single thing she’s done! Hell, it doesn’t even explain why she’s the way she is because Mylene has an absent mother and she turned out fine! Doesn’t matter that Mylene had a father that actually taught her how to act and didn’t just buy her love with constant gifts and abuses of power, there’s just no excuse!

Both act in their own self interest, turning to the villain to get something they want, but nonono, Felix, without apologizing once mind you, is redeemed and forgiven while Chloe gets sent off to NY with her mother! Everyone wins!

Not to mention Felix did arguably worse than Chloe

Felix was the one who actively made Hawkmoth more powerful by giving him the miraculous (not to mention giving HM the ring) while with Chloe, Hawkmoth got the miraculous on his own and she was just along for the ride basically. Then Felix came back and snapped away everyone. Chloe sent everyone away when she was akumatized as well, but at least we could see where they went and there wasn’t any confusion as to whether they got snapped to some pocket dimension or straight up disappeared. Oh, and she was akumatized by Gabriel who was literally manipulating her along with Tomoe and Lila at the time??

I feel like any arguments for Felix about worrying for his or Adrien’s safety, any excuses, should’ve been thrown out the window in the season 4 finale. After that point he had full control over himself and gave up Adrien’s free will, and he still came back to snap everyone away! Now, I would absolutely be fine with this (cept the Adrien part) I mean trauma with humans isn’t going to go away just like that even when there’s no immediate risk anymore (unless you get a girlfriend apparently). My issue with that is how this same sentiment isn’t given to Chloe whatsoever, her lash outs aren’t given any thought beyond “oh she’s evil for the sake of it”, ignoring how the trauma of her mother leaving her and treating her like garbage would still affect her, and it drives me up the wall

Not to mention the show actively tries to pretend that the adults surrounding Chloe’s life don’t have any influence on her whatsoever, even though they obviously do and Tomoe and Gabriel literally set her up as a scapegoat in this season. Somehow her father isn’t responsible whatsoever for the way she was raised, her mother leaving apparently didn’t even affect her behavior because we’re genuinely supposed to believe this teenager is just an evil person. Somehow the storyline of her being set up as a scapegoat by two grown ass adults is literally ignored by the narrative including some of the fans

Oh but Felix gets all the sympathy regardless of what he did

Right.

I wouldn’t hate Felix or his character direction so much if it wasn’t a direct slap to the face for Chloe, not to mention giving the Chloe stans fuel! I mean, it literally proved their point that Chloe deserved a redemption because full grown adults who’ve done worse and a guy who’s done nearly the same shit as her are forgiven and “redeemed”, ridiculous (I say that a lot huh)

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Bad Reputation 1

Warnings: dark elements, noncon, abuse, gaslighting, manipulation, cheating, other dark elements. Proceed with caution.

Note: Please let me know what you think as it helps me a lot with ideas and I love interacting with you all.

Part of The Club AU

“I can’t tell you how much I need this,” Maria sighs as you put down the cocktail before her.

“Yeah, me too,” you sit back and twirl the straw in your drink.

“You sure about this place?” She looks around as she lifts the glass filled to the brim with a pink and purple ombre, topped with a wedge of bright lime. “Seems a bit young for us.”

“Uh, well, Google Maps isn’t exactly intuitive, I guess. You said drinks and I didn’t think you’d wanna go down to some dive.”

“Mm, yeah, I might run into my husband,” she scoffs, setting down her drink and rubbing her temples, “I can’t explain to you how intense it’s been. I don’t know what’s going on with him.”

“Sounds like he wants to be your father, not your husband,” you roll your eyes.

“No, no ‘I told you so’s’,” she crosses her arms, “because I know. You were right. He’s controlling. I just… I didn’t think he’d get this bad.”

You nod. You don’t want to be right. You care for your friend. You want her to be okay.

“Where does he think you are right now?”

“With the kids,” she says guiltily, “I told him I was taking them to my parents’ place. Which I did, he just thinks I’m there too.”

“Jeez,” you rub your chin, “so, what do you think? Talking to a therapist or a lawyer?”

She looks at you, a dire spark in her eyes, “I don’t know. I’m trying to figure it out. Either one is going to be like pulling teeth.”

“Yeah, I can only imagine.”

“God, I wish I was you,” she lifts her glass again, “single, childfree, alive.”

“Oh, Mar, don’t say that. You just need to get through this. And you can. The both of you just need to figure it out. You need to adjust. You never did, really. He kept on doing the same things, meanwhile you gave up everything to be with the kids. You deserve to get some of you back.”

“Please,” she wiggles her nose, “you know I get weepy when I drink.”

“And look at me getting sentimental,” you chuckle, “alright, that’s it.” You pick up your cocktail and chug it, trickling a little down the corner of your mouth. You wipe away the excess and slam the glass down, “you’re going to finish that. Then we’re going to get another and we’re going to dance.”

“Dance? College ended a long time ago–”

“We’re still wild, Mar, you’ll see. Down it and lets do a double to get in the mood. I’m not letting you go until your leaning.”

She huffs and shakes her head, hovering her drink before her lips, “you really are a bad influence.”

“Oh, you can be sure to tell Frank he was right about me,” you wink.

🎶

You come out onto the pavement as the buzzing of the music sticks in your ears. You made it to last call but Maria is barely holding on as she clings to your shoulder. You giggle and search for a cab among the rabble of clubbers dispersing in pairs and larger groups. 

You see the Golden Arches just behind the row of buildings across the street, “how about some Mickey D’s, huh? Suck up some of that vodka?”

“No, I gotta get home,” she babbles into a belch.

“You know you want a McChicken? Oh, how about nuggets? You know the sweet and sour sauce is your fave.”

“Stop!” She nearly shouts in your ear.

“I’m not going home till I have a juicy Big Mac in these paws,” you drag her down the sidewalk.

“Ugh, I can’t believe it’s after two,” she manages to bobble beside you, swaying slightly as she keeps a hold of your arm, “I’m a mother! My kids–”

“Are well taken care of,” you assure her, “this is girls’ night and it’s not over yet.”

You turn the corner, a few others ahead of you seem to have the same destination in sight. In the back of your mind, you know you’ll regret it in the morning but right now, your mouth is watering for over processed meat and cheese. Maria hiccups and hums.

“I’m gonna feel like shit,” she voices your inner monologue.

“We can feel like shit together,” you laugh, “just like college–”

Suddenly she slips away from you. At first you think she tripped but then you see the shadow dragging her back down the pavement. You know that gait, that lumbering rhythm, shoulders squared, nostrils puffing like a bull. Really? That jackass.

“Frank,” you shuffle to catch Maria’s other arm as she stumbles senselessly behind him, whimpering, “let her go.”

“Let my wife go,” he marches but you cling to Maria, drawing him back, “stay out of my marriage.”

“This isn’t about you, we’re having fun–”

“You need to grow up,” he keeps one hand on Maria as he rears on you, wagging his thick finger in your face, “mind your fucking business and stay away from my goddamn wife.”

“She’s an adult. She can do what she wants–”

“I know your bullshit. You get her all worked up then talk her into your dumb shit. Because you can’t hold onto a man of your own–”

“Pfft, whatever, I don’t need some asshole like you, Frank Castle–”

You stagger back as his fist cracks across your cheek. You taste blood as you fall backwards onto your ass, crying out at the pain that zips through your hip, ankle thrumming as you manage to unhook your heel from a crack in the sidewalk. You whine and cradle your head.

“Oh my god, are you o–” Maria reaches for you, hanging from Frank’s grasp.

“Come on. Home,” he snarls and jerks her away, “where you belong.”

“Hey,” you get to your knees, head swirling as you try to plant a foot.

“You follow me and I’ll leave you in the gutter,” he stops and points at you again, “fucking trash.”

You spit out blood into your hand, frozen in fear and dizziness. You can barely believe he hit you. He really hit you. You just hope he doesn’t do worse to Maria.

[izzysillyhandsy]

I sometimes wonder if the Izzy hate would have reached those dizzying heights if S1 had ended on episode 9.

Izzy would still have done almost all the bad things: making Ed unhappy, duelling Stede and wanting him gone, the deal with the English, his past with Ed/Blackbeard - except for hurting and threatening Ed after the breakup.

And even though all of this can be seen from different angles, it is possible to interpret it from the most damning perspective - and that should be enough to hate him, right?

But Ed wouldn't have turned into the Kraken, he wouldn't have killed Lucius, marooned half of the crew and cut off Izzy's toe.

And I am almost 100% sure that most of the Izzy hate comes from seeing Ed's drastic change in episode 10. Without it, sure, some people might have found Izzy unsympathetic or just unimportant, or a little shit. But that level of hate?

I guess what I'm saying is that a lot of the Izzy hate comes from "what Izzy made Ed do" and not from "what Izzy did to Ed".

Also, it is a way of dealing with the shock/cognitive dissonance of seeing a very beloved character turn "evil" after 9 episodes of being a gentle and misunderstood guy who is a pirate, yes, but who's fundamentally non-violent and good. How can you reconcile this with Ed suddenly killing a beloved (and completely innocent) character? And the extreme violence of the toe-cutting? (And yes, I know Ed burned people alive before, pirate-typical violence etc. But we didn't know these people and we didn't see them in close-up.)

But to blame Izzy for everything and to make him this evil part of Blackbeard - completely separate of "true Ed" of course - lets Ed still be the same gentle soul that loves a fine fabric, fell in love with Stede in the sweetest way and, although traumatized by his childhood, is at his core an innocent person that can be saved by removing the rotten influence of Izzy Hands - without confronting the self-hatred, self-centeredness, mistrust of others and tendency to violence that might be a part of "true Ed" as well.

And of course, if a group of fans started liking Izzy and maybe even defended/found understanding for his actions to a degree - where would that leave Ed? Is it really justifiable to fly into a murderous rage because your heart was broken (by a man you've known for a few weeks), because you're deeply unhappy and you've outgrown your pirate persona?

If Ed wasn't mentally abused by Izzy for decades, if it wasn't Izzy alone that drove Stede away, if Izzy hadn't duelled Stede out of the evilness of his heart, if Ed didn't desperately want to leave but Izzy forced him to stay in their toxic relationship, if it wasn't just Izzy and his hurtful words that drove Ed to become the Kraken...

...then maybe Ed wouldn't be an innocent babygirl anymore, and it would be much more difficult to see Ed/Stede as this perfect, unproblematic and sunshine-y couple.

It seems to me that seeing Izzy as "The Worst" and casting him in the role of the villain behind every bad thing Ed ever did is a quick and painless way to make Ed loveable without actually putting the work in (and the show actually avoided that up unto the death scene - one example is Izzy leaving in S1E4 and Ed manipulating him to stay; there are countless others).

I sometimes have the feeling that the hate for Izzy grows exponentially with more and more of Ed's darker side coming through in the show. And I don't get it - maybe because I am drawn to darker, fucked up characters and relationships. Give Ed his agency back and let him be cruel! Let Ed and Izzy have their mutually destructive, weird but intense dynamic!

Let Ed be a fascinating, loveable character with a (very) dark side - exactly like his partner for decades, Izzy - and you'll actually get a better character, and an additional fascinating relationship - as well as a more interesting story.

[batboopp]

Oh dear, those asks. As a new comic reader (derogatory) I feel so conflicted about Jason and co. Bruce can absolutely be abusive and shitty, that is a Thing that he can be (though honestly. now that I'm reading the source material it's not as bad as Tumblr and Tiktok make it out to be. I would say as a whole and minus a few radical outliers he is flawed. Not defending him but also defending him to some extent lmfao).

But I am steadily becoming allergic to the Batfamdom. I'm so stupidly Parlov'd to the Robin's, especially Jason, because Bruce in fanon (and even in other comics like Red Hood or Nightwing) is warped into either a monstrous villain who does ridiculously evil shit for kicks to prop up their Robin fav, or a bland, smiling Good Parent caricature that the rest of the cast slaps around for funnies. He is such an interesting character but as soon as the concept of Parenthood is introduced, you can only have two options: Evil Parent or Good Parent. No personality, no personhood can be allowed outside of taking care of or not taking care of your kids. Like you make a post that says "oh funny batguy :3" and you have a hundred people on your back that are like "He SLIT Jason's throat you evil abuse apologist!! He BEAT him!! How dare you like him as a character" and I'm just over it. They strip away agency of the Robins and act like literally every bad decision or flaw of theirs was caused by Bruce and wouldn't exist without him. blah.

oh I get your feelings 100%, mainly because i feel the same way. you post one thing about batman (or even the batfam in general) and people will be like “they’re actually irredeemably evil because *insert well-known bad incident* and because you like that character you are now evil. fuck you”

it gets even worse if you point out that no, actually they are all people in an impossible position, and they all have their negative traits that have influenced them to make horrible decisions. it’s dumb when people try to demonize one batfam member and put the other on a pedestal when in reality, none of them are exactly innocent (morally, spiritually, OR legally.) they are just people in a very unusual situation none of them are going to be perfect.

that can lead into a whole other thing of what a person thinks is “worse” or when they try to measure these bad actions when it’s sort of impossible. they’re all different people with different instances and tendencies that caused them to even do something wrong or bad in the first place, which makes comparing some of these moments a bit incomprehensible to me?? but that’s just me personally

i also think that who you relate to more as a character can influence if you like them more, obviously. like, i love cass WAY more than i love jason. jason and cass have both killed people, and it’s pretty strongly tied with their characters though, so what makes it different? for me, it’s because cass has used her murdering people to grow, to change and be better and happier, in the way she believes in total rehabilitation for murderers, in the way she will literally claw herself back from death to keep people from dying-or murdering. jason uses the means of murder very, very differently though, reasons that someone else might relate to more, and I think that’s more than ok.

tldr, I think exploring the negatives of each character is great, and it’s helpful of understanding who that character IS and why they even did that in the first place actually. but i also think that deciding if what they did was worse or better or even excusable compared to the actions of another character just spreads a lot of the misinformation in the fandom you’re referring to, unless done very well with full context from both situations. however i also think you are entitled to love any character for any reason, you are alive and breathing, but i think it’s also fair to expect people who dislike that character to sort of explain why they don’t (not on a random post about said character, of course, at that point I think it gets weird)

[bunnidid-reviews]

DID book Reviw - Identical by Ellen Hopkins

Facts:

Date of publication: 2008

Fiction or Nonfiction: fiction

Was there a diagnosis of DID? Yes, near the end

Was the person with DID presented as evil for having DID? No, just a flawed and struggling individual

Major trigger warning list:

Alcoholism

Drug use

Incestuous rape by the father (mostly non-explicit but implied enough to be obvious)

Lots more uncomfy incest things (kissing, wanting to see his daughter in attractive clothes/getting changed)

Denial from the mother

CSEM being made (mentioned much later and not very explicit)

Bulimia (lots of binging and purging)

Grooming by a teacher

Inebriated sex with fawning into it

A dubiously consenting BDSM scene? (Nonexplicit)

Self harm

Suicide attempt and idiation

Abusers being in positions of power

There may be more that I’m not remembering. Shits fucked.

Subjective Review(this is how I felt about it)

Personal triggering scale from 1 to 10 (1 being not triggering at all, 10 being a badly overwhelming experience that might cause personal harm): ???5-7? (Unsure if its very triggering or not because of my current sense of being disconnected from most things. Still its def not been the worst/most difficult ive read, and its not explicit)

Personal relatability scale from 1 to 10 (1 being unrelatable, 10 being OMG THAT’S ME!): 6

Personal avoidance scale from 1 to 10(1 being eager to get on with it, 10 being impossible to finish): 3 (extremely easy to just keep reading, part of its probably because of the easy format)

My interpretation of the media(Includes spoilers):

I went into this with trepidation because the cover looks like it would be an edgy triller type of book, so I was half expecting the evil alter trope. This is especially common when its ‘just two’ alters, because the assumptions are made around the ‘split personality’, which is a term thats usually used negatively, associated with evil alters or used as an insult, etc.

And it can sorta seem like that, especially on the surface premise of ‘one of them is ruining their life!!’, which is also how this book seemed the be advertised. Except.. neither of them are trying to ruin their life really, they’re both coping just as poorly as eachother, and surviving just as well as they can. Does that involve self destruction? Majorly, but I read it more as trying to do anything she can to get out of the situation she’s in.

the premise:

Kaeleigh and Raeanne are 16-year-old identical twins, who live the idyllic, picturesque american household: their mother is a politician rising through the ranks, and their father is a judge. They’re both incredibly well-respected and have a lot of reach in their community. Their family looks perfect on the outside..

But is not so pretty just inside. Both parents are alcoholic in their own rights, influencing their daughters to take after them to cope through living together. Mom’s barely home and never wants to be there when she is. And dad.. controls every aspect of their lives through his unpredictable temperament and drunkenness. He’s lonely and pathetic and feels beat down by his cold wife, so the only person he can turn to for comfort is his daughter(s)

Which he does, frequently. He’s been raping Keileigh since she was 9, after a near-fatal car accident that broke her mother’s ability to feel love. Since then he’s been using Keileigh in this sick, twisted way, and controlling her so she’d never get away.

Keileigh and Raeanne’s means of coping are intense, but they’re not as opposite to eachother as it may seem. Keileigh is binging and cutting and shutting down and fawning. She’s in denial and always has a sense of being crushed under the weight of her father’s control.

Raeanne purges and seeks out her vices in getting high and having risky sex with guys who will never love her or treat her right, the more dangerous the better. She fawns just as much as Keileigh actually, just in a more subtle ‘this is what I deserve anyway/it’s too late to say no’ kinda way.

Both of the girls use alcohol and pain medications as a means to get themselves to sleep or get through the day.

As the book goes on, and the election draws near, the intensity and frequency of the abuse is driving Keileigh and Raeanne further and further into their breaking point. They want it all to end already, especially when her mother wins the election and is fully out of the picture, and the grandparents start showing up mysteriously to uncover the past. Something they knew about, something the parents have tried so hard to hide.

It takes Keileigh’s suicide attempt to make Raeanne say enough is enough. She sneaks out to meet with her grandfather on her father’s side to learn the story of what happened to make her father this way. It turned out he’d been the victim of CSEM, and deeply traumatized from the abandonment of his alcoholic mother.

This diddddnt super help her crisis, Raeanne couldn’t have just gone back into it all. She attempts to escape at least mentally with one of her drug hookups Ty, who likes sex rough and forcibly consenting. The drug trip is hitting her badly already when Keighleigh’s boyfriend shows up, mixing her and Raeanne’s world. Everything all together is enough to fracture the heavy wall between the twins, and..

All along they were one person. Raeanne was Keileigh’s twin sister who died in that fateful car crash, and from the trauma of that and being raped so soon after, she split off an introject of her sister to be a step outside herself.

The sisters wake up in the hospital, having to stay until the drugs and the withdrawl wear off safely. She ends up telling the doctor about her symptoms and shes able to get diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder.

But how do you go home after that? In memories that came back, it turned out that her mother knew all along and intentionally turned a blind eye. Nowhere is safe.

It turned out that the grandmother knew and was scared into silence by the father’s influences. She had witnessed sexual abuse long before the accident, making her turn to alcoholism to try to forget what she saw, to cope. She showed up in the end to make ammends, and Keileigh and Raeanne were able to go home with her.

The ending is bittersweet but hopeful. Six months in, the girls are getting therapy. They have a loving boyfriend who doesn’t know the whole story yet, but he’s endlessly supportive. The father put himself in rehab and basically out of reach of his daughter. The mother works in DC now, shes not really in the picture as much but that’s probably for the better.

-

For a story told in poems, there was so much that was said in so few words. It was really hard-hitting and felt like a realistic approach of what happens when you’re coping with incest, just how much isolation it entails, how much control goes into it.

Like I said before, the sisters are a mess. But she’s also 16 and still getting raped at home, and literally no one was there for her, or at least allowed to be there for her until nearly the end. It’s heartwrenching really, and the whole time I was going Yeah, of course they’re like this, what else can they do?? It hits just very very honestly, and I don’t feel like any of it was written with pure disdain for the victims in the story, even if the tone could be very dry and callous in the point-of-views.

The poetry was really good too. The ‘chapter ends’ where the switches were happening had a very distinct way of formatting it, so there were two poems on opposite pages using some of the same words, with the spaced apart words revealing the truth of what they were both feeling. It was a fun read and very very well executed.

I don’t remember if I’ve read from this author before, but I feel like she handled a story about DID and incest and coping really well. It’s not a light read, but I also couldn’t put it down.

What they got Right in my opinion:

Diagnosis of DID being called Dissociative Identity Disorder

The entire structure of isolation and power dynamics ensuring that incest could happen and not be spoken about felt scarily accurate

Loosing time was not always so black and white it seemed. Of course I’m just going off poems, but theres mentions of what the other twin is doing in reference to themselves (usually in Raeanne’s point of view)

Introjection of a real person felt very correct and not in some weird ‘the ghost of your sister lives within you’ kinda magical bullshit way. She is an introject. They dont use that word specifically but its really obvious

The fawning is so fucking real, man

Keileigh often feeling ‘miles away’ or spacing out frequently

Neither part was better or evil compared to eachother, they were both coping in very messy ways

The thing that got me to notice that it felt more like an alter thing than a sister thing was in this very subtle thing of, when Raeanne found that her ‘sister’ had started self harming, or had a suicide attempt, it wasn’t like.. a normal person’s level of concern like ‘oh my god i could loose my sibling’ as much as it was this almost callous way of treating one’s self the day after deciding to live or having a major self harm episode. Just sigh, clean it up, forcibly make yourself carry on. Am I making any sense? It just felt very much like taking care of yourself vs another person.

The ending not being sunshine and rainbows happy ending, everyone wins. Idk, if you read my review for Pieces of Me, you’ll notice I was pretty upset about the fact that everything worked out extremely well, over the top idyllic. When we all know that healing is actually really messy, its not comfortable, not everyone’s on the same page and not everyone can safely know about the DID always. This felt very real to me

What they got Wrong in my opinion:

I think having full blackouts to the point of having an entirely different life from one another is pretty rare(if its not let me know, ive not heard of this happening much)

Umm I was a little disturbed by one of the healing things she had to go do was apologize to the teacher for leaning into him showing Way Too Much interest in her. The only goddamn reason he didn’t go through with it was because they could be caught?? That is the teachers responsibility, is it not????? Am I being too tumblr??? Am i missing something here???

I did not super understand the logic of Keileigh’s at work but Raeanne is going and doing drugs. How are they doin that, or is she very quick? Just little attempts to hide the big reveal didn’t super make sense to me

Would I reccomend this to someone with DID to read? Yes! But carefully, and keep in mind all the TWs. You might find it very relatable and idk if thats a good thing or not

Just so you know, there is a lot to this book that I didn’t talk about, a lot of little traumas that stacked up into it getting heavier. I just couldn’t possibly write about everything, so bear🧸 in mind if you read it yourself

[burningvelvet]

More thoughts about The Tenant of Wildfell Hall after finishing it…

1 good movie adaptation WHEN?

2 the themes of universalism and the idea that everyone can change if they want it bad enough and nothing is permanent and we have the ability to make choices and self-destruction has social repercussions bc it affects the ppl around you… yeah, my heart is full!

3 helen successfully microdosing her own child with poison to give him a pavlovian response to alcohol so he wouldn’t end up as an alcoholic like his father and grandfather because she intuitively knew he had a genetic predisposition to addiction despite having no modern knowledge of science or psychology. excellent.

4 the shit helen goes through in this novel is unreal. our girl is basically trapped in a frat-house — complete with the booze, drugs, laughter, fraternizing, sportsmanship, anti-intellectualism, infidelity, and rape culture.

5 as a sad aficionado of the romantic era & byronic studies i can 100% without a doubt say that not only is arthur based on some popular victorian conceptions of lord and lady byron and their marriage, but the brontës must have been familiar with biographical writing on byron’s life! i’ve found several academic texts to support this and it’s 100% true.

6 also, as a person who grew up with relatives who suffered from severe substance abuse and mental illness, i’m pretty confident in saying that the brontë sisters must have had some inside knowledge to spark their sustained interest in writing about these subjects. there are specific details and feelings pertaining to these topics which are documented with so much acuity it must have been personal to them. it seems a lot of academics theorize this as well — however, i still don’t know enough about the brontë family biography to form my own opinions on this topic yet!

7 helen is such a progressive mother (considering her circumstances and level of education, and the non-harmful drugging aside which is questionable today but within the narrative understandable) and her theories on education and parenthood are so advanced.

8 i think arthur’s friends (especially mr. hargrave and annabella) are as bad as he is, considering the fact that they enable him and they could easily use their influence to try and sway him considering but they choose not to — only partly because he’s the “leader of the pack,” but partly because they also have zero respect for helen and enjoy openly bullying and abusing her in her own household

9 big shoutout to the servants in this novel who are the real heroes. all throughout the novel (especially starting from Gilbert’s POV considering he and his family are a little poorer off than those of the Huntingdon circle) we see the lower-classes and smaller owners gradually triumphing against the upper-classes, gentry, and larger land owners. i love the line about rachel having to sell helen’s fine gowns for cheaper ones, and how helen notices that rachel still looks decent while dressed like a more common woman.

10 the very ending with everyone’s resolutions was a bit choppy and rushed but i don’t mind because everything went how i wanted it to go lol. but the ending for arthur/helen — the fact that he never repented, but helen still believes in universal salvation nonetheless, and still took care of him even though she didn’t have to, after everyone else abandoned him — the person he treated the worst still cared for him when no one else did — she fulfilled all her marital vows and he fulfilled none of his — his fear of death — her letter of december 5th, her holding his hand until the very end — his last words, “pray for me!” don’t leave me!” — all the unspoken words on her part, her feelings of helplessness, her telling him that she cannot save him, his crying and cursing the world — her fainting from exhaustion — him continuing to act like a brat on his death bed — her taking control, her cleverness with the contract — her lack of closure — aahhhh! just so heart wrenching and frustrating and angsty yet also cathartic and realistic.

[davekat-sucks]

Me, like a man who has alienated people that I've come to love. I can sympathize with Karkat's antics and his inability to adequately express his love to Terezi.

This is something Karkat himself says and admits, he screwed up with Terezi and ruined a chance of having something solid with her. I don't think this is being incel, it's just recognizing that we have pushed away a person we love.

This is known in their conversation in both the dream bubbles, as well as what future Karkat himself says to his past self. In addition, Yes, indeed Karkat left Terezi alone and at the mercy of Gamzee and that is unacceptable, horrible and stupid... but a product of bad writing! Dave did the same! And that's not blaming Dave, it's acknowledging that Hussie was an absolute idiot writing Act 6! But it was Karkat's intervention that gave Terezi the strength to confront Gamzee, Even though it was late, these are the last glimpses of their relationship. He died defending Terezi from Gamzee, he gave his life and even showed physical abilities superior to Kanaya's at that time, as he surpassed her in speed in Game Over. And we also see an absolutely human error in Karkat, idealizing our partners or love interests, which deepens that proper idea that Karkat did indeed screw up with Terezi and that she loved him, but again, it's Karkat's fault.

But, Karkat supported Terezi by hugging her when she killed Vriska, only Terezi could kill her, remember that only she could see the future. Also, you're forgetting that Gamzee literally influenced Terezi to murder Vriska, Remember that Gamzee is a bard of rage and was influencing Terezi throughout her investigation, making him believe that he had killed more than just Tavros. Karkat was equally foolish in erratically pursuing relationships while his relationship with Terezi fell apart, but it's partly what Terezi did to deal with grief. And at least damn, Karkat was the only one who tried to comfort Eridan, talk to him and help him calm down. (Although all that is ruined when Eridan enters into combat with Sollux, Feferi and Kanaya. But I repeat, it's bad writing, You can't just give us so much development and winking between the two of them only for Eridan to just go crazy and Karkat to do nothing. What I say is explained here: https://youtu.be/SYexsPeixZE )

Now, what we can agree on is that Hussie's statements punish Karkat for taking Terezi for granted, but he doesn't do the same with Vriska. And this is worse in the epilogues because Terezi spends entire years at the ends of paradoxical space searching for her abuser Vriska.

I don't mean to excuse Hussie, just take into account what he says whether we like it or not, It's what's "official" in the original Homestuck and I don't like the official explanations, but they are there!. And unfortunately, we have to pay dearly for their meta-narrative nonsense.

But you also got to remember Post Retcon. Karkat didn't comfort Terezi even when Vriska was alive. It was VRISKA who saved her and did most of said work on meteor. Murderstuck still happened, which means Karkat's involvement has always been him not being able to do anything. Also, most of what happened was because Hussie wanted to spite the fandom. He can never be humble or admit he didn't want the series to continue this long. Instead, he chose to ruin his own creation as a "fuck you" to fans. Most of the fans also never asked for shit like Epilogues and HS2/Beyond Canon. A lot of us were fine to choose our own ending of the webcomic. It was HUSSIE himself who wanted to bring the series back to limelight out of spite, needed money when it was under Viz Media, and maybe use said book sales for his Kickstarer scam (HIveswap). Hussie had many chances to cancel it, but he didn't. Because of Epilogues, he fell into debt and had to lie to freelance writers and artists to save his own ass. The worst part of it all, the dude has gotten away with it and there's nothing the fandom can do about it. He's living money off the IP alone and the people that had backed up the Hiveswap game are long gone.