#and to keep up the act of the evil mastermind

[t-allyitup]

core traits

edd:

dark trait is manipulation (hear me out) i really do think one of edd's biggest dark area traits is that he ultimately wants everyone to get along to the point of destruction, i did post about this a bit ago in relation to my fic but i feel like this desire would lead him to bending his morals and sacrificing his own sanity/peace for everyone to get along. i feel like he could easily go down the road of either 1. manipulating, blackmailing, etc etc people into staying on good terms/keeping the peace or 2. letting himself get walked all over or used or something in order to keep tension at a stasis point

as for light traits definitely his humanism, he genuinely cares about his friends and people on the cul de sac and in multiple episodes despite his participation (and sometimes masterminding) the scams he tends to prioritize safety and comfort initially, even if the sentiment is lost during the actual scam

grey traits in my opinion would be his unquestioning loyalty/blindness to failure in authority figures (his parents mainly, this isn't necessarily a bad thing it can just become very stressful and dangerous) and obsessive/compulsive nature (can be a good thing when he's concerned about safety, can be a bad thing when it drives him to be controlling (containing vs restraining))

ed:

ed's dark trait is spitefulness. hear me out! again! ed rarely shows negative emotion outside of sadness, but when he does get angry or upset, he tends to get that way as a reaction to the behavior of others. he went back and forth with double d calling him "stinky hat" when double d wanted to take his cheese, and when he got that rock in his shoe he tried to annihilate eddy because eddy was fed up and insulting him. ed reacts out of spite, not always, but it's a pretty clear trait.

light trait is his acceptance of others and openness to experience, which combine with each other well. he has a broad emotional pool and is seen "communicating" (acting responsively) to plank in a few episodes. he is validating of his friend's choices and participates in their scams/activities

grey area is his response to change. he clearly harbors some kind of difficulties with this, just various comments throughout the show and some inferences shows that he seems uncomfortable with it (cheese episode again but he would not let go of that mf)

eddy:

dark traits with eddy is a where do i even start situation. he shows lots of the qualities of machiavellianism, egoism, self interest, and spitefullness. i think in my opinion his trait is self interest. i think eddy does feel bad about what he does to the other cul de sac kids but self interest is his obsessive desire and he has a massive preoccupation with his need to fit in/feel seen so self interest is the one.

light trait is, as you probably guessed, his charisma. it is one of his most magnetic qualities and occasionally the only redeeming quality about him in general. he is compelling and direct in his approaches, genuine or not, and he channels his charisma effectively even if he uses it for evil sometimes

grey area would have to be his seeming emotional detachment from things. could lean to psychopathy, could lean to a trauma-informed response to his situations in the past. either way it creates a lower level of empathy but a higher level of protection for himself so maybe it's a grey area trait

[cherrydoodle]

Kokichi Ouma, Ultimate Gamer

It's easy to pretend this is all a meaningless game. He's the Ultimate Gamer, after all! Negative emotions are just status effects. Conversations are just dialogue trees. Motives are just quests. Yes, it's all just game mechanics he can master. He doesn't have to get attached. All he has to do is beat the game, just like he's done countless times before.

(That's what he tells himself, anyway. It's what he has to believe, to save them all. He can be the final boss for them, if that's what it takes. He has his own objectives—and he'll beat the true final boss, even if it means GAME OVER.)

[sweetpapercroissant]

actually sam’s the one that sunk his claws in dean. but y’all aren’t ready for that conversation.

[thatbloodymuggle]

MASTERMIND

PROLOGUE

SUMMARY: a child of light and dark, you are the Night Court’s best kept secret. After decades spent in hiding, you yearn to stretch your wings. But you quickly learn that freedom comes with a price, as you find yourself trying to outfox the fox in his own den.

PAIRING: eris vanserra x reader

WORD COUNT: 1k

SERIES MASTERLIST

WARNINGS: none for now

The Night Court was home to Prythian’s oldest and darkest secrets. Perhaps it was the rippling terror of the Court of Nightmares, or the nightfall darker than any other region, that granted it the ability to house so many enigmas. However, from the city of Velaris to the Ouroboros, each secret had its expiration date. As the old saying goes, there are no secrets that time does not reveal—and in an immortal world, time was a fickle thing. But few knew of the Night Court’s best kept secret.

She was the bastard child of Keir, the Steward of Hewn City, and Marjorie, a high fae librarian of the Day Court. Born from an unwilling affair between the two immortals, she was kept hidden from her father. For nearly two decades, Marjorie used every last drop of her powers to conceal her pregnancy and her child. The Day Court faerie knew that if her abuser ever gained knowledge of his child’s existence, it would be a death sentence. Marjorie raised her daughter alone. She grew up concealed among the infinite bookshelves of the Day Court’s libraries. She learned to read before she could walk, and speak in ancient tongues at the ripe age of five. Despite her haunting ability to sink into the shadows, a gift bestowed upon her by her ignorant father, she was a child of the Day Court, through and through. It wasn’t her spell-cleaving ability or the tendrils of light she could summon at her fingertips that made her a child of the Day; rather, it was her thirst for knowledge and sharp intelligence that even the Cauldron itself marveled. 

Morrigan, the third in command of the Night Court, was the first to find her. As the threat of Amarantha’s rise dispersed through the courts of Prythian, Marjorie knew she had to act quickly. Driven by the fear of her precious child landing in the hands of Kier, the librarian wrote to the only family she trusted to keep her daughter out of harm’s way. Despite the shock of her half-sister’s existence, Morrigan acted without hesitation. The third in command took her sister to the safety of Velaris without hesitation. Marjorie promised her weeping daughter that she would one day return; that they would meet again when all evil had been righted. But she knew. She knew in her heart that it would be the last time she would see her mother. Despite the terror that Amarantha’s invasion instilled in Marjorie, she died peacefully knowing that her pride and joy was out of evil’s grasp.

The inner circle of the Night Court was the next to learn of her existence. They were at first wary, due to the threat of war growing through Prythian. But the doe eyes identical to Morrigan’s were a window into the goodness of her soul. Rhysand didn’t need to tap into the cobblestone barriers of her mind to see her striking erudition, sharp tongue, and despite its intricacies, her pure heart. But time, in all its futility, was against him. As he travelled to Under the Mountain, where he would remain for the next half-century, she found solace in the library of Velaris. Although not as vast as her once home in the Day Court, she valued the wealth of literature and treated it with a level of admiration Clotho hadn’t witnessed in centuries.

When she wasn’t browsing through the rows and rows of titles, she found herself growing close with the other members of the Night Court’s inner circle. Amren took a liking to her quick wit. Azriel found himself drawn to the gentle curiosity, rather than fear, that graced her features when she first studied his scarred hands. Cassian admired the unrelenting fearlessness she carried from fickle debates to the training ring. And Morrigan found a piece of her heart she hadn’t known was missing since the day her father dropped her at the borders of the Forest House in the Autumn Court. She had found her sister. A sister not only bound to her by choice, but by blood. Through the constant fear of Rhysand’s absence and Amarantha’s rule, she was the silver lining; the flickering flame that wouldn’t go out, no matter how hard the winds of evil blew. 

Nearly a decade into her stay in Velaris, she began to grow restless. She had spent the first twenty years of her existence cooped up in the libraries of the Day Court. She appreciated the change of scenery that Velaris brought. But there was an incessant itch in the back of her brain she could not scratch. She had read thousands of books detailing the histories, landscapes, and people of Prythian. Yet she had never set foot into the vast world surrounding her. She was a caged bird, yearning to stretch her wings. So, she concocted a plan. Rhysand’s last ditch effort to keep Velaris safe only forced his inner circle to remain within the limits of the city.

She became Athena Ellesmere: a merchant and cartographer’s daughter, sent to each court to engage in tradings and research the vast lands and seas of Prythian. She forged relationships with citizens of each court—farmers, vendors, lower-level employees of the High Lords. She gathered intel on the inner-workings of each court, the sentiment of its people, and the status of Amarantha’s cruel grasp. She became an asset to the Night Court during the queen’s rule of terror. Upon Rhysand’s return decades later, she was officially inducted into his inner circle as the Liaison of the Night Court. During the war against Hybern, her role as a liaison was critical for reaching parts of Prythian the Spymaster’s shadows could not through conversation. Her fluency in literature and ancient tongues was invaluable in helping Amren crack the code of the book. Her allegiance to those who had saved her from certain doom at the hands of her father was unwavering. And when the famed Archeron sisters took residence in Velaris, she vowed to protect them as her Night Court family had protected her.

To Prythian, she was a merchant and cartographer’s daughter. To the inner circle, she was their best kept secret. But as the old saying goes, there are no secrets that time does not reveal.

[lefaystrent]

Janus stumbles upon a tiny black kitten.

It's just sitting there, a tiny ball of adorable floof on the sidewalk edge. Janus glances around, as if someone will miraculously appear on the abandoned street to claim ownership. But he's in the mindscape, and honestly the street only goes in a square around Thomas's apartment building. There's only so much real estate you can fit into one man's head. At any rate, the other sides hardly venture out here. This kitten is totes fucked unless Janus does something.

"Oh I couldn't possibly," Janus demures at the narrator. "Besides, it's imaginary. I'm sure it'll be fine on its own."

"Mew," chirps the ball of floof and emerges out of its loafing position to waddle in Janus's direction.

Janus, lord of the lies and all things deception, evil mastermind extradonaire, feels his breath hitch.

Just look at the little paws.

"No!" Janus exclaims, shaking out of his cute-induced stupor. "The last pet I had was Sacagawea the hamster, and we all know what happened to her! Not that I care about teacup sized critters. Begone, little beast."

"Mew," another plaintive meow comes as the kitten reaches his ankles. It swats at him with its stubby claws, trying and failing to climb his pants leg.

"I am a gentleman of standards," Janus tells the cat seriously.

The puny kitten looks up at him imploringly with round-saucer like eyes.

Janus drops to the ground and coos, "Oh no, you're meeting all of my standards!"

The kitten starts up a punitive-engine of a purr as Janus scoops it up in his gloved hands. It chirps intermittently and Janus's ice-cold snake heart melts.

"I'm not keeping you," Janus promises fondly. "This doesn't go beyond a simple scratching. Do I make myself clear?"

"Meeew," the kitten squeaks and Janus nearly falls over himself to bring the kitten's face to his so he can rub their noses together.

The next day the sides are in the midst of filming a video with Thomas in his living room when Logan cuts himself off in the middle of citing his sources to say, "What was that noise?"

"Sorry, I ate burritos earlier," Remus apologizes, not appearing very apologetic.

"No, it sounded like–" Logan cuts himself off again as everyone hears the sound this time.

A muffled mewing.

All eyes fall on Janus in his corner. He stands there, seemingly unaffected, but upon closer inspection with eyeballs, one can see how stiff his posture is.

Patton peers closer with his balls of eyes. "Jan...is this that mewing trend all the kids are doing nowadays?"

"That is not what that means," Roman says, but he's mostly distracted with staring at Janus. "Wanna tell us something, Cat in the Hat?"

The deceitful side bristles. "I haven't the foggiest what you mean."

Janus's hat meows. More than that, there's something shuffling underneath.

Thomas's mouth is slightly agape as he asks, "Janus, did your hat just meow?"

"It did nothing of the sort."

"Kiddo, do you have a kitty cat under there or are you just happy to see us?"

"I– since when do you make jokes like that?"

"Jokes like what?" Patton blinks back.

Janus rolls his eyes and brushes imaginary lint off his imaginary shoulder. "Nevermind. Weren't we discussing Thomas's never-ending cycle of conundrums?"

"Yeeeah," Virgil drags the word out. "You can't just act like we all can't see your hat moving."

"Yes, and we all heard it meowing," Logan muses, ignoring Janus's automatic hissing of, "You heard nothing!"

"But why the hat?" Thomas ponders.

Logan nods, also curious, "Is this a coping mechanism after the loss of Sacagawea the hamster?"

"May she rest in peace, amen," Patton prays while Roman performs a Catholic cross over himself.

Thomas glances at all of them, "You guys know that I never actually owned a pet hamster, right?"

"Dude, too soon," Virgil chides him, and Thomas has the consideration to look abashed.

Janus crosses his arms to look cool. He doesn't. He keeps tipping his head this way and that to keep his hat from toppling over.

"This is a perfectly normal way for me to stand," Janus says.

Roman secretly slides Remus five bucks. Remus dives onto the floor and army crawls behind Janus. Somehow everyone but Janus sees it.

"By all means, do keep staring," Janus says, guarded and on edge and his rolls definitely tootsied. What.

Remus rises up behind him. Off comes the hat.

"Mew!"

"Oh my goodness, that's so precious!!" Patton squeals.

The kitten is belly flopped on top of Janus's head. It's so small that it almost gets lost in the hair, if not for the stark contrast against Janus's lighter color.

"Hey Virgil, it looks just like you!" Roman crows, earning himself a well deserved middle finger.

"Drat, you've uncovered my secret," Janus drones and gives Remus a withering look that promises they will exchange words later. Remus is too wrapped up in giving little chin scritches to the kitty to be bothered.

Thomas also inevitably succumbs to cuteness overload, but he does manage to ask why the heck Janus felt like he needed to keep the cat a secret.

"Because Thomas," Janus throws his arm out to make his cloak flare out. For the drama. Then he flourishes his hand towards the cat on his head. "You weren't ready to meet this new side of yourself, but I guess the cat is out of the bag."

"The cat was under a hat, to clarify."

"LITERALLY NO ONE ASKED YOU, LOGAN!"

"No one ever does, and yet that would solve over half of Thomas's problems."

"When you mean new side, does that mean...?" Thomas asks Janus, his voice filling with wonder. His eyes are getting that crazed glint in his eyes, like he's five seconds away from becoming a Florida Man meme. The background music ramps up into a crescendo at this new epiphany. Thomas knew there were more sides he hadn't met, but to think–!

"No, no, no," Logan says, waving his hands in an X motion. "This is a misunderstanding created from Janus's misleading statement. Don't do this–whatever it is you're doing. Stop it."

Virgil weighs in as well, "Hate to break it to you, but your most animal side is Janus."

"Does this mean Thomas is a furry?" Remus gasps.

"Yesss," Janus hisses out. Then he thinks about it. "I mean no. I mean– what?"

"So what's the baby's name?" Patton asks. He has come close too to join Remus in the giving of scratchies. A noble cause!

"It's a black cat, so why not Catman?" Roman offers. "I am the darkness. I am the night. I am...Catman!"

"Very original," Virgil praises, but it's just subtly sarcastic enough that Roman gives an heartfelt, "Thank you!"

"Can I pet?" Thomas asks, hand reaching out hopefully.

The sides grimace and wince.

"Oooh, yeah, about that..."

"Sorry, man."

"You can't actually..."

"Imaginary, remember?"

"Maybe if you think really hard and imagine touching fur..."

"Don't patronize him. Not with this."

"Yeah, kitty buisness is serious buisness."

"Are we ever going to return to the original topic?"

"Cats take priority. Don't you know that?"

"By what parameters? And by whom?"

"It's like when a cat falls asleep in your lap. By law, you cannot disturb it. On pain of death."

"A bit overdramatic, but not wrong. It's an actual thing."

"Achoo!"

"Bless you."

"Thank you!"

"Patton, why are you petting a cat when you know you're allergic?"

"You would think that imaginary cats wouldn't agitate allergies."

"Thomas has a really vivid imagination."

"Why does everything innocent sound dirty coming out of your mouth?"

"Speaking of mouths and coming–"

Thomas, Patton, and Roman all shove their hands over their ears and scream, "LA LA LA!"

With everyone distracted (as part of Janus's master plan), Janus uses the moment of ensuing chaos to skeddadle away.

They never do learn the kitty's name, but they do eventually discover a horde of cats in Janus's room at some point, but that's another story.

[iconsumedmygoldfish]

i do not trust whit young.

spoilers for drdt. like, all of it so far. as of ch2 ep16.

whit as a character just isn't adding up for me. his reactions to things have been wrong up until now, or at least not as prominent as other characters. not necessarily saying he's a mastermind, or evil, or a david-chiem-type character, but i don't think he's who we think he id

whit has been shown to struggle to hold in his laughter in the middle of a class trial about the murder of one of his classmates, which is definitely an inappropriate reaction, but the fact that he's holding back a laugh at an unintentional joke shows that he isn't forcing amusement in the complete wrong situation. charles seems used to it by now to be honest, but uhhh idk

he's also become a fan favourite, being paired alongside charles as a good ship dynamic. understandably, whit has become a lovable character, serving (slaying) as some form of comic relief. but his reactions seriously give me a weird feeling. even if he's masking his emotions, to do it to this level, in this situation, feels wrong to me. it might just be a personal feeling about him, i do think he's funny and i like whit, but cmon man that is THE MOST SUSPICIOUS MAN IVE EVER SEEN

for example:

whit appears nonchalant after the gruelling, emotional class trial that him and his classmates have sat through for hours? hours game time and real time, i believe. whit is so casual here, and it bothers me - he doesn't look tired at all, worn out, he doesn't even seem to CARE.

more of whit's apathy:

this is the most concern i remember whit showing until this point, and it's directed towards charles. and not their classmate who has just been shot and is, like, violently bleeding out.. it's a bit inappropriate? he doesn't express shock about levi's sacrifice, he just seems to be anxious for charles.

this makes me wonder if whit is maybe more detached than other characters? sure he acts as a comedic character, but is he doing this deliberately? it's not making the mood better, no matter how much he tries, he should've figured that out by now. how is he capable of just keeping a mostly straight face (or, well, happy face) throughout two whole class trials? and an execution (one one so far)

then, there's the first instance of something extreme from whit:

im not sure what to interpret this emotion as. i initially took it as whit being utterly shocked, taken aback, maybe he has claustrophobia? looking into it more i still don't know what to think. he might be hateful, or having some sort of flashback or whatever, but whatever it is it looks dangerous.

this is more emotion than he shows towards xander's death, min's execution, arei's death, levi's sacrifice. and it's towards a locked door. that's why he could have claustrophobia, maybe some that's trauma-related. this could be explored further in the upcoming chapters if we're lucky. :)

sorry if im going into too much detail!!! he's just sus to me at the moment!!! and i miss levi and i miss ace and i am a very very very sad person and i want them BACK!!!!!!!! anyway hope this was fun to read i guess idk maybe perhaps

[terapsina]

Now that the writers and actors strike is about to begin being felt (and as we wait for those greedy billion dollar companies who are refusing to negotiate fair pay and conditions to give up) here's 10 of my favorite (all around best) fully finished older series you should definitely check out if you haven't watched.

I mean it, these are the shows with continuously great writing and a satisfying endings that manage to actually deliver on their promises.

-----

1. Leverage - (containing 5 seasons, or 77 episodes) - trailer here.

Hitter, Hacker, Grifter, Thief and Mastermind. Heists and cons. Stealing from the rich and giving to their victims. They provide... leverage.

Meant for anyone who enjoys bad guys being the best good guys, who will burn down the lives of evil CEOs and then gloat in the background. Very satisfying.

Hands down the best example of a found family trope I've ever seen on screen. Barring none.

2. Killjoys - (containing 5 seasons, or 50 episodes) - trailer here.

Space Bounty Hunters. Another case of found family trope. Bisexual space princess assassin. Quippy sentient ship. Green alien goo. Evil lesbians (but like... in a good way). The warrant is all.

More seriously though, it's a story about three killjoys and the bounties they go after. Initially. And then they have to save the entire Quad from some very terrifying... stuff.

Contains one of the best friendships I've ever seen on television.

3. Orphan Black - (containing 5 seasons, or 50 episodes) - trailer here.

Found family trope but with clones.

Low level grifter sees a woman who looks exactly like her kill herself and plans to take over her identity long enough to cash out. Except then there's two other women who also look exactly like her. And apparently they're all clones and someone's killing them.

Enter a global conspiracy. Human experimentation. Lots of clone shenanigans. Some serial killings. And a few murders 💖.

4. Person of Interest - (containing 5 seasons, or 103 episodes) - trailer here.

Okay I'm beginning to see how I might have a found family trope issue.

Former CIA agent gets recruited by a reclusive billionaire computer programmer who developed a... machine that can predict acts of terror before they happen. But it also predicts 'irrelevant' acts of violence that will result in someone's death.

Unless someone interferes.

I'd really like to spoil some stuff to get you all to watch this one. But I'm going to maintain self control and just mention that early on they get a dog named Bear. Bear is a very good boy. Watch it for Bear.

Also for excellent commentary on rights of privacy, government surveillance and what does 'greater good' even mean? But mostly Bear.

5. 12 Monkeys - (containing 4 seasons, or 47 episodes) - trailer here.

The very best time travel show out there. What starts out as a confusing mess of causality basically exploding, by the end of the series all makes complete and total sense.

(when that final timey-whimey loop slid into place and revealed the entire pattern it was like a choir of angels started singing in the back of my head. It was freaking glorious).

Anyway, a man from a post apocalyptic future travels into the past to stop a plague from decimating nearly the entire world population.

He has the name of the man who released the virus and it's supposed to be a single trip. One trip. One bullet. Simple. Done.

Except then things keep escalating, and escalating until time begins eating its own tail and it might start looking like the end of the world might be a better ending than erasing all of time and space from reality.

Because when our guys screw it up, they screw it up GOOD.

And oh yeah... found family.

6. The Good Place - (containing 4 seasons, or 53 episodes) - trailer here.

A self-proclaimed Arizona dirtbag opens her eyes and finds out that she's dead and got accepted in the Good Place. Except that as soon as she arrives the Good Place starts glitching, and she really, REALLY needs to become a better person before she can be found out and kicked out to the Bad Place.

Luckily her assigned soulmate was a professor of ethics and moral philosophy.

One of the funniest, most thoughtful and clever comedies I've ever watched. Ever. The characters are delightful and by the time the final minute rolled around I had sobbed my heart out multiple times (which, as we all know, is a sign of the very best comedies out there).

As for the question of whether or not this too contains Found Fami- Yes! Obviously, yes.

7. Avatar: the Last Airbender - (containing 3 seasons, or 61 episodes) - intro here (couldn't locate the trailer but it's basically the same thing in this case).

The four nations lived in harmony. Until the Fire Nation attacked.

It's been a hundred years since the beginning of the war when two kids from the Southern Water Tribe find a boy frozen in ice and wake him up. A boy who's able to bend all four elements... though not very well.

Enter multi-nation flying road trip (thank you Appa, we love you most of all) as they try to find teachers for the Avatar and save the world.

Includes found family (shut up), amazing fight scenes, the most heartfelt and vivid characters ever, and the best example of a redemption arc actually done well.

8. Love Between Fairy and Devil - (containing 1 season, or 36 episodes) - trailer here.

This one gutted me. I'm saying this as a compliment. But it had to be said. Completely destroyed me. I just haven't been the same.

A love story between an Orchid Fairy and the leader of the Moon Tribe that starts out with her accidentally releasing him from millennia long imprisonment and then takes you through the caleidoscope of all possible human emotions (it's a body-swap comedy through the first part, then a romcom, then a dramatic romantic tale, and finally a tragic love story).

But it's such a satisfying slow burn.

And it carries this... humanity through the whole thing that makes it so visceral.

If you're a romantic who's very tired of instalove and characters dropping all their morals because 'ooh, attractive person' then you've got to watch this. Because this story does NOT take the easy road there.

(my more extensive rec for this series can be found here)

9. Star Wars: The Clone Wars - (containing 7 seasons, or 133 episodes) - fanmade trailer here (it was better than any of the official ones).

This series did so much. Introduced Ahsoka Tano, and made us love her. Gave names and faces and souls to the Clone Troopers (okay, it's the same face but you know what I mean), to a point where their endings during Order 66 destroyed me just as much as the ending of the Jedi Order. And somehow made me both love Anakin AND be a million times more angry with him.

There are some arcs in this series that might be a bit weaker. But there were some... god, there's a reason I love Clone Wars more than any other series or trilogy in this universe. And I'm not even a little ashamed to say it.

Must watch for Disaster Lineage shenanigans; for the vod'e; AND for the Jedi (who did their best okay? They always did their best 😭💔).

(and on the subject of found family... do I even need to comment)

10. Nikita - (containing 4 seasons, or 73 episodes) - trailer here.

A rogue assassin that escaped Division - covert government agency that takes recruits out of prison, fakes their deaths and then forces them to become spies and assassins - has come back to take it down. Brick by brick if she has to. With guns and explosives too when that works better.

Contains soooo many cool fight scenes. Is full of incredible characters you'll fall in love with (and hate with) very quickly. And most of all has an incredibly complex relationship of mentorship and friendship between two women that holds both great admiration and betrayal, real care and love as well as rage and hatred, forgiveness, mutual respect and an unbreakable kind of bond that so very rarely involves even one female character on TV, let alone two.

(as usual, found family tropes up the wazzoo).

-----

In conclusion. We all know there's going to be a large space between seasons of our favorite shows now (and some shows that aren't going to survive it). Let's fill that space with some excellent TV we haven't had a chance to see yet.

And direct the blame for the wait towards the right place (i.e. the studios).

[pensbridge]

I think the view that the Bridgerton women have to be some evil witches and to make a point on your personal stance, you must pit their faults against each other, acting like one is an angel and the other has manipulative motives is just WRONG on so many levels.

Marina tried to trap a man and she said some horrible offensive things to Penelope, who did nothing wrong at that point.

Marina was an alone pregnant woman, driven to desperate measures in an attempt to protect herself, AND she was an 18 year old who thought that she was mature and used her words against her cousin who she felt couldn't understand in her times of stress.

Eloise sticks her nose into other people's business and she was also getting herself into trouble seeing the worker at the print shop.

Eloise is characterized as headstrong, so thinks she knows best. She is 19 and teenagers think they can do, say, and know everything more than anyone else.

Penelope is manipulative. She's just bitter and she could have handled the situation better. Why didn't she?

Penelope is a 19 year old, who didn't know who to turn to for help (at 17), so tried to take matters into her own hands. She's someone who we know has difficulty speaking up so it makes sense her inability to do so as she tried to tell Colin.

Edwina is so dumb. How could she not see what was right in front of her face? She's wrong for going forward with Anthony when she did not know anything that was happening between them. Unknowing, she's keeping them apart; I hate her!

Blame the writers, blame the producers; I don't know. This one is crazy to me how someone who did nothing wrong gets blame as if this plot called for her to be some conniving mastermind. guess 2 South Asian women of color can't be built up. Also she is 18!

See a pattern? These are teenagers! They are naive and in belief that that know more! Everyone is this universe is morally wrong at times. Everyone does things based on their personal beliefs at the time and individual motivations. Everyone has been selfish. That's what makes them humanly written.

Also as a note, the way female characters are written on this show seems to be based on an interest in complicated female relationships and how they can break apart but come back together, while having no contrary feelings to love toward one another.

-Edwina and Kate

-Eloise and Penelope

-Penelope and Marina

(I see it as there can be fights; there can be jealousy; there can be betrayals, but these in-universe characters would not hate the other the way some fans feel angry for them).

[fiery-emblems]

So, Soren is a character who's all full of "what if?" scenarios, which i'm pretty sure is one of the reasons we all like him so much. And of course the biggest "what if?" is "what is Soren had been raised by his father as the Daein prince??"

I've observed that the most popular take on this is poor abused baby prince just waiting for his knight in shining armor Ike to rescue him.💖💖💖

(That's some good stuff right there)

If I'm being honest though I'm 100% sure that if Ashnard had kept his kid around Soren would have grown up to be EVIL. That's not because I think Soren is evil by nature or evil without Ike or anything, but Ashnard's entire purpose behind marrying a dragon was to try and create a monster so a prince of Daein Soren would likely be....a monster.

So! Design under the cut!

My thinking is, Ashnard's kid would be growing up in an environment of "might is right, the weak are meat" but Soren is not very strong so he likely would have been forced to assert his dominance through cunning and daily acts of cruelty towards other people. Imagine a Black Butler type evil mastermind young master...yikes!

This is a face that says "You peons are beneath me and I better prove it or my father is going to beat me to death". Also he has a knife because Soren deserves to have a knife in every universe.

"But OP!" You're saying "doesn't he look a little too....boyish?" Yes, you're right. Imagine though, that if the little prince is being raised by Ashnard, he's also being raised by Almedha. From her perspective as a dragon it must look as though her little baby is aging rapidly. Much more rapidly than is natural to her. So I figure she would end up coddling him to an extreme degree and trying to keep him as baby for as long as possible. Normal Soren makes an effort to appear older than he is, in this scenario it would be the opposite.

Last note on hairstyle: I feel like the long hair is tied to his background as a mage, and I don't remember there being many Daein men with long hair (That seems more like a Laguz thing ironically) so I decided to do the short hair.

TLDR: If Soren had been raised by his parents you would probably end up with a bratty, cruel, genius brained, knife wielding maniac. I picture him being that boss you have to fight like 4 times and you hate him because his maps all have extremely difficult gimmicks.

[maxdibert]

The double standards of HP fandom is the highlight of my day. I love the hypocrisy of “the marauders have matured” as they say and make up horrible things about Sev. It's always “they were teenagers, all teenagers do shit”, but they also ignore that Severus was a teenager when he called Lily a Mudblood, he was also a teenager when he believed that the bad side was a lifeline in his existence. But they always throw him under the bus, shouting like idiots about how Severus is “racist”, “fascist” and “nazi”. Boys will always be boys, until the boy is Severus and they will act as if an outcast child is the root of the entire world's evil and that their favorites are peacekeepers just because they are on the “good” side of the coin, ignoring that his “punishers” are part of the reason Sev is who he has become.

I couldn’t agree more with this. The double standards are wild, and the mental gymnastics people do to justify their favorites while trashing Severus is honestly fascinating in the worst way. Like, “the Marauders have matured”? Please. Sirius is 30+ years old in Order of the Phoenix and still acting like he’s in high school, picking fights with Snape just because he can. That’s maturity? Meanwhile, Severus is held accountable forever for stuff he did as a literal teenager, in the middle of being bullied and isolated, and on top of that, having no real support system.

The “he was a Nazi” argument drives me insane. Severus grew up in a broken home, surrounded by poverty, abuse, and probably a ton of internalized self-loathing. He latched onto the Death Eaters as a desperate, misguided attempt to gain power and control in a world where he had none. Does that make his choices right? No, but it makes them understandable. But no, let’s keep pretending he was just an evil mastermind from birth while completely ignoring that James and Sirius literally assaulted him for fun. I guess we’re cool with bullies as long as they’re charming and good-looking?

And don’t even get me started on Dumbledore. Everyone acts like Dumbledore is some saint, but the man literally used Severus as a pawn for years, keeping him trapped in this cycle of guilt and redemption while letting everyone else treat him like garbage. But oh no, Snape said a slur when he was 15, so let’s act like he’s beyond redemption. Meanwhile, the Marauders and their crew, who are canonically responsible for attempted murder (hello, werewolf prank??), get a free pass because they’re “fun.”

It’s the hypocrisy for me. Severus has to be perfect, repentant, and saintly just to be considered “okay,” while others get to coast on their charm and charisma despite being cruel, reckless, or outright abusive. If you’re going to judge characters for their actions, at least hold them all to the same standard, or just admit you’re biased and move on. P.S. Unpopular opinion, but honestly, Severus calling Lily a “Mudblood” feels almost laughable compared to everything he was going through at the time. Maybe it’s because my friends and I (we’ve literally known each other since nursery school) are a codependent bunch with dynamics straight out of a dysfunctional family, but we’ve had fights, arguments, screamed at each other, thrown the nastiest things in each other’s faces, stopped talking for a while, and yet we always managed to work things out. I get that Lily had her reasons for cutting ties—it’s absolutely valid, and no one has the right to tell you when or how to set boundaries with someone you feel isn’t good for you anymore. But the fandom in general blows this way out of proportion. I mean, I personally find an attempted murder, like the one Sirius orchestrated, a lot worse, and yet people don’t give that even half the weight they give to this incident.

[numberonetacostan]

I've returned with another Taco headcanon, I feel like Taco does LIKE making people laugh to an extent. She comments on how she finds naming her team "Chicken Leg" was hillarious. I feel like post canon she would realize that people don't like when she's 100% serious, and that she comes off more threatening then she means too. She notices Nickle getting more friends then her, she tries sarcasm. She notices that (SOMETIMES) people will laugh at Cheesy's jokes, so she'll try those too, trying to make herself more likeable. Though similar to Box, I feel like she wouldn't have a good grasp on humor because of her isolation. She didn't try and be funny beyhond random words and a bit of comedic timing. A lot of her jokes come off as violent, or weird, like when she jokes about "overthrowing the community/hotel", stealing something, etc. - Moldy (ty for the nickname i luv it)

Hi Moldy!!!!^^ I'm glad you like your nickname!!! Welcome back, and thank you for sending in your hc!!!! :]

I think she would like making people laugh, assuming she was doing it on purpose!!!^^ She'd like the positive attention :3 and she'd also like seeing her favorite people happy!!!!^^ She'd try harder to make them laugh ;).

Post-canon she is sooo workshopping her personality too. She's been playing up her evil mastermind persona for so long, trying to just be her normal self while also trying to become a better person!!!! I think she'd lean too hard into trying to make herself good and likeable at first, and end up not only performing an act again instead of being herself but also stressing herself wayyyyy out in keeping it up all the time. She genuinely wants connection this time, unlike when she was acting in s1, and wants people to actually like and accept her, and know she's still acting and not getting that would be so awful for her. angst angst angst!!!! >:D

Anyways yeah!! I like her sarcasm, I think it's so sassy and I love that for her. Also she's quite quick witted, so she would be good with puns too, yeah? I think her joking about violence or like burning down the hotel is so funny, but only on a meta level not to the actual characters. It's extra funny if she has to clarify that's she's joking because she doesn't get the tone quite right. I think she'd give up on those jokes pretty quick. Box might find them funny though, lol.

[fangirlingpuggle]

Bleach fic prompt/AU (though mostly Aishin) where after his plans started but before the turn the pendulum arc Aizen knows there will decades before his plans can go further so as he can't do anything and everything is already set in motion in the background he creates an illusionary personality to take control so he doesn't have to go through the motions and a total innocent version will just make his alibi's easier and no one will suspect him once he takes back over.

So for decades there's an Aizen who is actually good and gets along with people having friends and not just on surface level and caring for people, and he is of course head of heels for Shinji (No megalomania or layers upon layers of denial). Shinji is of course so very confused and very deep in denial that he is also smitten because he knows Aizen is evil and panning something and a liar and he doesn't know what he's planning and why he's acting odd, but he can't trust him. He keep s reminding himself of this constantly (it doesn't always work)

And everything is going fine until the original personality under the 'illusion' starts to try and take control back except this good Aizen isn't just an illusion the complete hypnosis created a real personality a real person. He's not letting the other take back control, he's trying to fight back.

Except he's acting different now trying to fight a megalomaniac, evil mastermind personality trying to get control and Shinji can tell somethings up only he pushes aside his worry and goes into 'See still evil, he's planning something he's a liar he's lying about something, he's never been different'. This creates an opening for the original Aizen who can point out how Shinji has never seen either of them as different he still thinks he;s evil he doesn't see you he just sees me.

Original Aizen is able to take back over and... no one notices everyone see's there's something a bit off but he seems fine it's ok, and Shinji of course is convincing himself that he was right Aizen is liar whatever that was was a trick, even if a part of him doesn't believe it and knows somethings off.

Then 3 options

Angtsy option: Everything happens as canon and it's only years later when somehow through Urahara experiment bullshit they realize 2 different Aizen's... by the time they confront they're faced with realization when original Aizen took back over the new personality was destroyed.

Angst with happy ending option: When Aizen gets the hogyoku, it realizes oh two people in here finds the remnants of the other personality that's been locked away by Aizen and is like 'hey what do you want?'. Cue other version splitting from Aizen with own body in middle of fight and everyone is confused. Then the angst that no one realized he was different or saw the change and all the mistrust. Also in denial pinning Shinji. (More angst potential if the other Aizen had been aware the entire time seeing everything but unable to take nay control)

More funny version: When Aizen is tuning them in Vizards he decides to reveal about what happened cue Shinji crisis but also 'Oh thank the soul king i'm not in love with this evil son of a bitch ok I can stop repressing feelings' and then after they escape the plan is 'kick evil Aizen's ass get our friend back'. When they show up to the battle Shinji has flowers, chocolates and a card saying 'Sorry I didn't realize your evil other self took back over' with chappy on it. (He also has a ring because he's been pining for years, the others tried to take it off hi because fucking hell man let the man have a day... and probably a therapy session or two first)

Sorry if this is dumb I am so very tired.

[allllium]

Evil Mastermind Part 2

~ Sorry this took so long 😭 I wish this was longer but for some reason the short parts are calling to me.

~ Mostly gender neutral but one reference to reader being a girlfriend but if you want a version with other pronouns let me know <3

~ At some point I'll definitely rewrite both this chapter and the last one but I hope this is good for now

~ Fluff I think? WC: 569

~ Part One

It's the next day. You're not any less nervous. You don't really know how to calm yourself down.

On one hand, you feel like you're being dramatic. So what if your friend has a crush on you? He'll get over it. So what if your other friend wants to fake date you to get James over you? He's just trying to help.

On the other hand, you're panicking. Debating, moving and changing your name type panicking. What if this messes everything up? What if James never gets over you? What if Remus realizes you're an exhausting fake girlfriend and then he realizes it's not worth it and reveals the truth to James and then James hates you for lying then everyone in the school will hate you in solidarity and you'll never have any friends ever again.

Or maybe you're being a tiny bit dramatic.

Also everyone is acting really really weird. You thought it was just Peter and Sirius because they're friends with James but everyone else in the school (including the 1st years) keep smiling at you and occasionally winking.

"Hey." Remus's voice makes you jump.

"Oh hey." You smile back, whispering as not to disturb the other students studying in the library.

He pulls out the chair next to you and sits close. Out of respect, you reluctantly close your books and give the boy your full attention. "I was just wondering if you'd given my offer any more thought. I know it's weird and not something I ever thought we'd be talking about but I don't want you to be uncomfortable or put in a bad position with James."

You listen intently to his rambling, "Rem." You say, cutting him off quickly. "I did think about it but I just don't know. I don't wanna make too big a deal out of this. I mean-" you take a deep breath, "We should just let it go, he'll get over it. Doing this would just make another mess and someone would end up getting hurt."

"I get it, I do. I wanna help you but I get it's not something that makes sense. It's just- I know James, and I know he has a hard time when he gets attached. Look at Evans for example." He trails off with a light chuckle.

"You're right." You finally agree. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"Exactly. Soon enough James will be over it and we'll just tell them we split, no harm done."

"And they never have to know." Remus reaches out his head, you shake on the deal.

"Gonna be honest, I did not think they'd fall for that." James laughs in totally shock that his not so genius plan actually worked.

"I can't believe Remus actually fell for that. He's supposed to be the smart one." Sirius shrugs from his bed across the room. He, James, and Peter have been gossiping/plotting since the second Remus stepped out of the room to go find you.

All it took was James pretending he had a crush on you and then casually mentioning to Remus that the only way he'd push himself to be over it is out of respect if you got a boyfriend.

Should he have lied, no.

Does he feel bad, absolutely not.

And does the whole school know about this plan except them, absolutely. There's no way James could keep his genius a secret.

@d1lf-loverrr

[theoriginalyorick]

I’m so normal about characters who choose to believe that they are a monster and a Super Evil Guy who Loves Being Evil and Bad and is So Terrifying because the alternative is looking inward and realizing that some really messed up stuff happened to them. Yes, they were responsible for some awful things, perhaps even on accident, but they still have to keep living and try to rebuild themselves while admitting shame and wrongdoing. They still have a responsibility to themselves to seek out community and love and try again. That’s so, so hard to do, so they choose not to, because the “fundamentally depraved” narrative is easier to believe and act out. Being Just Some Guy is terrifying at first. Admitting that you were hurt by someone else, vulnerable, or made mistakes in the past is scary as shit, because it means admitting you didn’t actually have any control. It takes you back to that place of feeling powerless and scared. It’s realizing that you were in some ways a victim, not a perfect evil mastermind, and that can make you feel so, so small.

Processing trauma and shame can take a whole lifetime, and without a safe environment to do so, people are likely to lash out or shut down when confronted with it for the first time. I’m in no way defending people who deliberately continue to be awful to everyone after going through something horrible or doing something awful themselves, but I do think it makes for some fascinating characters. If you’ve made it this far, yes, this is post is somehow about both Agatha Harkness and Bill Cipher because the hyperfixations won’t let me go.

[eurekq]

I get that people want an enemy in every situation but idk why it's so hard to just accept that people like jk rowling will see anything and find a way to make it about their vitriolic ideology. People cry after losing olympic challenges all the time. Carini in particular was crying because in losing she failed to keep a promise to her recently deceased father and also because she had been hit in the nose, which will make literally anyone on planet earth tear up (a totally legal hit afaik. just one that produces an unavoidable reaction). She admitted she had been wrong in not shaking khelifs hand and apologized. She said that if she were to see her again she would give her a hug. Like I don't know I feel like there are more productive targets to focus on. Yeah she acted shitty and unsportsmanlike in a single emotional moment; this was coopted and her words were mistranslated without her knowledge. Something can have bad consequences without it being a deliberately calculated evil mastermind move. In the meanwhile at the Olympics: did you know that the netherlands sent a man convicted of raping a 12 year old to compete? That's fucking insane to me but I guess it does make sense. They allowed Israel to compete after all

[weapon-xox]

YOU HAVE TO MAKE A PART 2 OF LOHAN MEETING THE X-MEN (maybe Logan and Wade end up joining so that Mary puppins can love in a mansion like she deserves or they don't whatever you want 😍)

so this turned into a lot of magneto and i didnt mean for it to but it just happened 💀 ill apologize again for the pacing, its not my strong suit, but please enjoy! 💕

Part 2 of Logan meets the X-Men!

It's been months now since Logan and Wade first showed up to the X-Mansion.

Logan wasn't sure why they kept going. In all honesty, Magneto really had Logan stressed out, and he was finding himself angry at Charles for keeping him around. He'd have to remind himself that, maybe this timelines Logan knew about this "partnership", and maybe he was okay with the arrangement, but the worst Wolverine was not.

...Unless he could be convinced otherwise, and Wade was trying his absolute hardest to get Logan on board. Dragging him along on trips to the school that Wade never used to make before, unless dragged there by Colossus, and if Logan didn't know any better he'd think Wade was trying to get Magnetos approval.

Doesn't he know how he can hurt me? Logan would think to himself, and Wade would just look at him and smile excitedly, unknowingly, excited to even be near one of his... Heros? Is that what Erik was to him? It left a sour taste in Logans mouth.

At some point during their visits, Logan couldn't exactly remember when it happened, they'd started joining the X-Men on missions. Just small ones, no giant robots or evil masterminds, just regular superhero joe things like stopping a robbery, or helping little old ladies across the street.

Not actually, it's just what it felt like to Wade.

The Wolverine had to admit, aside from the missions he defenitely didn't want to be apart of, but went along for Wades sake and to keep an eye on him, it's been nice. Seeing the faces of his old friends, who he'd once considered family and still mostly, but it was hard for him to not feel disconnected from the whole thing. The pair would only see the X-Men at least once a week for these missions, or if there wasn't one then just for a visit, on Wades behalf.

It was disorienting. Logan had told the merc that, one night in bed, Wades nose tucked into the crevice of a perfectly hairy and smelly armpit while a leg was tangeled between two muscular and equally as furry ones.

"What is?" Wade muttered sheepishly, unwilling to pull his face away from the comforting heat and smell of Logans body.

"This whole X-Men thing, bub. I don't like it. Goin' to the school, goin' on childrens missions. Comin' back home and havin' to dread goin' back every goddamn week. Doin' a quick mission, then coming back home to... This," meaning domestication. Without missing a beat, lifting his head enough to look Logan in the eye, he said,

"Why don't we just move in?"

And so they did. It was hard on everyone. Charles was kind, offered them a room, or seperate rooms, but Wade insisted on sharing. Logan was thankful. Wade had also talked a lot about Althea to Charles and Magneto, one of two acting as if he hadn't been listening to Wades ramblings all along but actually, it had been Erik who suggested moving Al into the school. Even Charles looked shocked, and Wade actually broke down crying because "he DOES care!"

And although the initial idea of moving into the school was Wades idea, the move had been the hardest on him. Wade and change did not mix well, uprooting all of his things and his way of living because, lets be honest, moving into the school meant Wade would have to be on his best behavior. Change certain aspects of himself, and that had Wade in a spiral of angry outbursts, which turned into a full on mental breakdown. Then he'd be manic, happy to "move out of this shithole" and "give our sweet, darling daughter (Mary Puppins) the life she deserves. That mansion is hers and no one can tell her otherwise."

After all was said and done, Logan and his new found family moved into the mansion, it... Actually did feel a little better.

Everyone loved Mary Puppins. She was disgusting, and putrid, but the students adored her. Snuck her treats or parts of their meals under the table, took her outside to the nice big yard for her to play. Wade always had an hawks eye on her but otherwise, she was loved and taken care of.

The teachers and some of the older students liked to gather around Althea to listen to her talk. She had a lot of stories, most ending in cocaine, but she managed to change the narrative to be a little more school friendly. Even Magneto would hang around, arms crossed and leaned against a wall, silent but always listening. He took a liking to Al, and sometimes Logan would see him guiding her through the large, winding halls, Al on his arm in a sly attempt to cop a feel, but their conversations sounded pleasant enough.

Logan didn't sense any ill intention, so he never kicked up a fuss. It also helped that Logan had walked in on Magneto one time before one of his classes, standing in front of the danger room. His cape was scooped up and tangled inside of the silky warmth had been miss Mary herself. She looked blissed out, gnarly tongue hung over the side of her maw and drooling all over him, eyes closed, Magneto whispering to her sweetly. As soon as he'd seen Logan he cleared his throat, stopped his sweet nothings, but never put Mary down until class had begun.

Logan ended up joining him for the class. They fought a good battle, their team (the students) had all worked well together, and afterwards Logan had met up with Wade and shoved him into their bedroom with a low growl, pumped full of adrenaline, and that's when Logan decided he really needed to be an X-Man again.

More months went on. Logan and Magneto, as it turns out, work really fucking well together. Logan had always let his old team use his body as a weapon, free to throw him where they needed to be, to claw and destroy, because he knew they still respected him as a person. But when Erik had suggested it the first time, Logan had been angry.

I knew there was an ulterior motive. He'll take control and destroy me, hurt me, and that will be it.

But Wade, bloodied and panting from battle, urged Logan to just let him do it. That Erik had given them no reason to not trust him, and Logan trusted Wade most, so he reluctantly agreed.

And it became a thing. A really useful thing, actually, and after every battle Magneto and Logan would look at each other, chests heaving and something powerful glimmering in their eyes with understanding. Wade would have been jealous if he wasn't always on the receiving end of Logans "affections", his way of relaxing after a good fight, to come down from the high of a victory.

For genuinely probably the first time since Wade and Logan had come around, Wade leaned over the counter in the kitchen in a pair of Wolverine boxers and an oversized flannel (courtesy of his honey badger) while munching groggily on a piece of toast, Magneto spoke to him.

"Mister Wilson, I- Oh. Please, put some clothes on." Wade looked down at himself with a bare, arched brow, then back at Magneto who just shook his head.

"Anyway," he drawled slowly, eyes averted from Wades body. "I want to... Thank you, for bringing Logan back to us. For being here with him. Having not only one, but two, nearly immortal-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there, tall, dark and intense. Don't you dare thank us for being your weapons, especially not Logan." Magneto shut his mouth, and Wade stood up straight, discarding his toast to the napkin he'd been using as a plate.

"He isn't your weapon. You better not even dare think of him that way, because no matter how much I want to climb inside of you," Erik made a disgusted face. "I won't hesistate to kill you for using him. We're here for him, not for me, not for you, or any of these losers.

"I know he needed this. To be an X-Man again, because it's what he knows. He's good at helping people, at killing, being a fucking animal. He deserves to have this, to let loose, and a team that loves him, but that's what this is- a team. Not 'let's throw Logan like a six point dart at our target and be done with him.' He feels a lot of guilt from his world that he just can't let go of. If you want to thank anyone, thank him, because it really was hell to get him here and I know it's taking a toll on that gorgeous head of his more and more everyday that he has to be around the people he feels he abandonded and got killed."

Wade left it at that with a sickingly sweet kiss to Eriks cheek, toast long forgotten on the counter as he left to find Logan, suddenly needing to hold his princess in his arms and tell him that everything would be alright.

Magneto stood in silence, stunned, took in every word Wade had said and flipped it over again and again in his brain, trying to make sense of it all, and when he finally did he nodded to himself with a new type of vigor.

He'd thank Logan, later. And Wade too, for real this time. Maybe he had been a tad insensitive, and if Logan noticed he hadn't said anything. Maybe Wade was just observant. But the Wolverine was just as much a team member as the rest of them, a part of their family, and Wade too. Not just weapons to use at their disposal just because they couldn't really die. If Erik wanted to gain their trust- Logans trust, to have him fully accept him as one of their own and understand his intentions were nothing but good, that he was trying so hard to be good, he'd just have to try harder.

And for Charles, Magneto was willing to do whatever it takes.