#and when there were consequences for the characters. and payoff.

[devilsskettle]

really unhappy with what we do in the shadows rn tbh. i want my boy to kill

[unganseylike]

ok ive talked about my frustration w adam being fine after his cliffhanger at end of mi, but lest we forget that we were also baited w adam turmoil at end of cdth (not replying to any of ronans texts). i understand that tdt isnt supposed to be adam centric but pulling this TWICE is just mean :(

[hexhomos]

Kiss on the check accepted! :3c

And your response reminded me of a detail I always pick up on rewatches but hadn't fully untangled yet—in the flashback of her childhood, Mel steps into that broken throne room with blood still drying on it. At Ambessa's prompting, Mel goes right into talking about how to renovate the place. "Paint the walls gold"...like gilding over the horrors of conquest that got that power in the first place.

And when she describes the regent they should have, she finishes with, "she should be pliant, so we can mold her." That IS what she was doing with Jayce, slowly, over a decade, and then quickly through Acts 2 and 3.

And then in the scene, after Mel finishes describing a "pliant" regent who can be molded, her mother suggests MEL could be that regent. Young Mel is excited at the idea, entirely missing the implication that she too would be an asset of her mother's reign.

That's why she takes off her Medarda ring right before casting her vote for Zaun's independence. She's finally realized she's just as subject to her mother's games as anyone else and Chooses to stop working in the interests of her family's power.

And augh, I wish her s2 plotline hadn't taken her out of Piltover so we could have seen more of the spycraft against Ambessa she was up to in Arc 1. I can't help but think of how much stronger her confrontation with Ambessa would have been if we had a full season of "daughter works against mother" instead of just a few scenes and a lot of getting kidnapped. More ambiguity with Leblanc would've been great too instead of her killing Elora to say hello.

[continued from here]

EXACTLY the way they shafted the politics in s2 (specifically so they wouldn't need to have hard conversations) genuinely had a negative impact in the ENTIRE story. The systematic horrors were downplayed and plotlines were dropped with very short acknowledgements - this is why we get people complaining about the jayce/mel breakup scene "coming out of nowhere" despite the fact that it made perfect sense for these characters!!!!!! It was just too short and they changed the subject too quickly, so we don't have TIME to think about the economic issues again.

It's so clear to me that jayce, viktor, ekko, mel (each representing a diff political facet. curious!) etc were carefully removed from the actual real world so we never have to analyze or push back against the notion that cait/ambessa are doing a hostile military coup and HAVE gotten people killed, imprisoned, and tortured en masse. So they can neatly resolve all of the plot with an avengers-style montage and never talk about the stuff with real world implications. There is no war in piltover and zaun. Just a cartoony last second villain. We just need to unite to protect... piltover...? And now viktor is randomly forgetting his proud zaunite commie stance and teaming up with the imperial invaders that were plaguing the earth moments ago........? We never talk about the class inequality ever again? Forget everything. Nothing ever matters.

The end result was that we spent far less time with these characters and they ended up being pretty underdeveloped. I know this happened for marketing reasons, its so incredibly clear aspects of the story were dumbed down so they could sell more ingame skins or pitch new champions, and that was seen as more valuable and desirable for the company than politicking - because at heart riot don't care about the political stuff anyway. But it still makes me throw my hands up in the air. such an asspull

In a reality where we had enough time and investment to touch on this, Mel could have actually gotten to push back against ambessa/cait and directly deal with the consequences of her actions. SEVIKA could have gotten a proper payoff for her underground character arc, instead of vanishing halfway through and then randomly accepting a diversity hire seat on the council (insanity. that was insanity) Ekko and the firelights would have obviously played a key role in rallying people against ambessa and helping Jinx recover from her displacement crisis (sorry isha, but even you could have been better used as part of the firelights dilemma) Jayce's mounting disillusionment with piltover and his loyalty to Viktor would be much better explored if they were still in conversation about the cities, the world they wanted to help, and the chaotic blurry lines of personhood/citizenship that decide who is an 'acceptable' target under the fist of the state. Vi could have built a self-reliant identity for herself, something better to fight for that isnt 'being a cop'. This show could've been awesome. I wish it existed

[localvillagecryptid]

Seeing as they clearly didn't know what the hell to do with Jinx/the political repercussions of her bombing the council in season 2, I'd like to explore the possibilities of how Zaun would've reacted to this that would've made way more sense than what we saw.

1. Jinx becomes an extremely controversial figure.

Few are neutral to her. This would be largely because, outside of knowing she blew up the council, no one actually knows WHY. What were her motives? Were they politically charged? Was she trying to start a war? What exactly was her goal? It was never really stated that she was infamous prior to this, but I recall in season 1 act 2 that when Vi went looking for her, people knew OF Jinx, and that she worked for Silco, but weren't really aware of any further details. So those that are aware of her connection to Silco- who objectively did make many of their lives worse with Shimmer- wouldn't be happy. They'd be scared of what will come next.

Those who don't know/don't care might fill in the blanks with their own guesses, maybe that she's some kind of activist- which would split them further into the subgroups of "Oh fuck the enforcers are gonna kill us and it's her fault" and "Finally, a war!" The second of which I'd argue would actually be a very small group. I could imagine the Jinxers being seen by the rest of Zaun as crazy radicals who don't know what they're getting themselves into/are gonna drag the rest of Zaun into danger. I think it would cause a LOT of infighting. Like a civil war inside another civil war.

How Jinx would handle this would be.... interesting. Especially if the Jinxers start making moves on their own. She never really shows much interest in activism- she works for Silco because he's her new dad, and while she doesn't seem to DISAGREE with his opinions, it doesn't seem she's all that invested in actually working to make it happen beyond just wanting to help her dad. His death seemed to take her interest with it.

Now, they could either lean into this, and make people question her motives/actions because of her clear disinterest, maybe increasing some of the controversy around her (no follow through on her action, letting Zaunites suffer the consequences, etc.), or they could make her actually take a genuine personal interest in it. But that, I think, would take a bigger arc that might be more work for arguably less payoff when considering you'd probably have to change a great deal of her character to do it, especially when you could probably achieve similar plot points/outcomes even without her intentionally becoming a political figurehead.

2. Zaun becomes fractured politically/other "symbols" of Zaun

This can be in tandem with idea 1, actually, but can still be it's own idea. Basically, after the fall of the council, and Silco's death, Zaunites are terrified. They've been run so far by Vander, Silco, and then some vague council-like oligarchy of Chem-Barons, who could be interpreted as functioning like very large gangs. The Chem-Barons have always been around, but with Silco's sudden death (and no one who was primed/expecting to replace him), this leaves a massive power vacuum that the Chem-Barons and smaller gangs are scrambling to come out on top of.

The fear of the unknown and the extreme instability would lead to people desperately throwing their lot in with whoever they think would be a better/less dangerous leader, and by extension, political symbol. Season 2 shows a bunch of new people joining the Firelights. In that case, I can imagine that before long, several new potential leaders surface, even if they didn't expect it. Namely, Ekko, Jinx, and Sevika.

Ekko because as I said, people were apparently coming to his base in droves. They don't tell us Jack shit about the Firelights besides the fact that A) Ekko leads them B) they don't fuck with Silco OR Piltover C) Piltover thinks they're terrorists and D) they look rad as fuck. That being said, considering Ekko's Everything, I think we can all gather a general picture of what the Firelights are about. Plus his cool tree would be a great symbol (@srslylini for the idea) of growth, healing, etc.

Sevika, because those that knew her as Silco's second might be hoping for some kind of stability with her. Even if they didn't like Silco, it's better the enemy you know and all that jazz. They'd feel safer with someone who at least seems to know what they're doing, even if Sevika herself has no interest in becoming a leader. I think some would just naturally gravitate towards who they see as "second in line". This could also be in connection to Jinx, as she could possibly been seen as someone who could "rein" Jinx in (again, most people don't actually KNOW Jinx, they just know OF her and that she worked for Silco and was volatile. Think how Finn referred to her as Silco's "attack dog").

Speaking of Jinx, she'd probably be treated similarly to idea 1. Extremely polarizing. Her followers would be seen as crazy, like she is. They'd be seen as warmongers and/or people who have no idea what they're getting themselves into. They'd basically be seen as the stereotypical "young rebels". The average Zaunite would see the average Jinxer as a young, angry, maybe idealistic radical who doesn't understand the cost of war. I'd argue that, again, they'd probably be the smallest and most controversial group just because most people don't necessarily WANT a war, even if they're willing to fight for it. And the suddenness of the bombing would've scared even some of the rebels who DO want war, because they weren't prepared. It wasn't a PLANNED attack, so both Zaun AND Piltover are basically caught with their pants down, which would also bring some ire from the other Zaunites.

There's another option for a faction I'd like to explore, also thanks to srslylini (thank you icon), but it takes a bit of setting up.

In a hypothetical situation in which Vi did NOT become an enforcer, I think it would happen like this: Vi hangs around in Piltover at first out of guilt/feeling like she has nowhere else to go. She's still not on board with being an enforcer, but she attends the memorial out of a sense of obligation. Her and Caitlyn have a falling out over Caitlyn calling Zaunites "animals", and here is where she storms off and goes back to Zaun, with the final words to Caitlyn that "You Pilties are all the fucking same" (or something to that effect). She's still feeling lost, and so maybe this is where she stumbles around, having maybe a similar pitfighting arc (just not as distraught, more like she's broke and angry and has to pay rent somehow so she might as well get paid to punch someone's face in). Because she's not in a massive spiral, there's unfortunately no emo arc (sad), but the bright side of this is that she's recognizable. I don't think she's FAMOUS, per say, but Babette and Ekko recognized her right off the bat in season 1 (yes you can say Ekko was really close to her, but Babette? C'mon), and considering she was older than Powder when she went off to prison, I don't think it's a stretch to assume her face was a little better-known than her sister's (especially considering she was already going on jobs, and in act 1 she gets into a fight with Deckard who I'm pretty sure knew her name, but not Powder's).

This is to say, I think a lot of the "old heads" knew who she was, especially those who liked Vander. It helps that she tattooed her name on her face LMAO. So I'd imagine she'd show up in the ring, no hair dye no makeup, and eventually after consistently knocking her opponents around and winning every time, she'd become a bit locally famous again- to the point that those same "old heads" who remember her make the connection and come looking. Maybe rumors start swirling, especially once they learn she was gone because she'd been in prison- not unheard of, and probably the first conclusion they drew when they realized she wasn't dead.

So eventually Vander's old followers/younger people who idolized him from their childhood start seeking her out. Sensationalizing her. Asking her what she's planning on doing. Is she taking back the Lanes? Will she get those Chem-Barons under control? What about Jinx? Could she hunt her down, rein her in? Hell, maybe even put her to use? Will you give us our relative safety, our security back?

And Vi, who just wanted to knock some heads around and maybe take a nap in her apartment and cry, is suddenly faced with being "Vander 2.0" and Jinx is the new "Silco 2.0" and all the weight of expectations and legacy and history and literal war and politics are being shoved in her face. She, like Jinx, is now faced with becoming a figurehead when she never wanted to be, which could lead into option 3:

3. A joint approach to Zaun

This would primarily be driven by Sevika even if she wasn't one of the possible leaders, because SOMEONE has to be the responsible adult here and it's certainly not any of these traumatized losers (affectionate). She'd be the glue to keep it all together, the reluctant team mom who WILL make this work because she WILL have Zaun even if she has to die to get it.

This could work with either Jinx and Vi, or Jinx, Vi, and Ekko (I genuinely can't imagine season 2 act 1 Ekko willingly teaming up with season 2 act 1 Jinx AND Sevika without some kind of buffer). Basically, once the other "leader candidates"/political symbols have been established, Sevika would round them up with the intention to use their influence to unite Zaun against Piltover. This would take a LOT of arguing, but ultimately I think she'd be able to get them to shut up and hear her out for a moment. Regardless of how different their beliefs are about what the "ideal Zaun" looks like, they can all agree that Piltover isn't in any of those pictures. She could convince them to set aside their own squabbling for the time being, for the greater good: aka, the independence of Zaun.

At the very least, I think she'd be able to get them to agree that Piltover coming down and hurting Zaunites in revenge shouldn't be ignored, and that they're currently a bigger threat than their fellow Zaunite. So eventually they'd reach some kind of truce: behave like a united front against Piltover, push them out of Zaun, stabilize Zaun, and then worry about tearing each other apart later. And because all of these characters- ALL of them- have shown (prior to season 2) anti-Piltover sentiments, they'd at least be able to agree that enforcers shouldn't be allowed to beat down on their people (especially in this version where Vi has better, more consistent writing lmao).

Of course, Rome wasn't built in a day, so maybe they don't reach a total agreement immediately- maybe they just agree to a ceasefire at first, but still refuse to work together. But once Caitlyn becomes a dictator? Once enforcers start gassing the streets, rounding people up, implementing martial law?

That's when the gloves would come off.

I'd imagine this could also be part of how Vi and Jinx slowly start to repair their relationship. They've got bigger fish to fry, but also, this time their enemy is connected to their own personal conflict with each other. Jinx might ask, "what happened to your enforcer girl? What happened to being a Piltie lapdog?" And Vi would essentially, in perhaps more emotionally constipated words, explain that it wasn't really about Caitlyn, it was about being needed. It was about trying to find Jinx, about trying to stop Silco, about trying to "fix" things, only realize that she couldn't. It was about trying to make things better, but that she realized the person she was trying to do that with didn't actually care. That all she wanted was to make sense of the destruction of her old life, and find meaning in a new one. And I think Jinx, too, in her own emotional constipation, would resonate with that, would understand that. It wouldn't fix things between them, but I think it'd be a start.

It could also help their relationship with Ekko. Since Vi isn't an enforcer this time, and season 1 (the One True Season) showed their sibling relationship, I think her and Ekko's bonding would be more like "reconnecting with an old friend", whereas Jinx and Ekko would have a lot of work to do, too. There'd probably be a bit of a cold war between them for a while, once Ekko agrees to help, because he knows actually talking to her would piss him off. But eventually, through Sevika's manhandling of these three, and being forced to make nice with reluctant-figurehead-Jinx, they'd connect again.

Perhaps part of a plan is for them to develop new technology for Zaun. Whether that's weapons against Piltover (unlikely on Ekko's part I think), or just safety gear/ safer city infrastructure ideas for the betterment of their people, I think eventually they'd figure themselves out, too. He'd see the Powder in her, the part he saw on that bridge, and maybe it would give him the ability to try and understand Jinx. And Jinx would realize that maybe these people in her life DO love her, DO care about her, more than just for what she used to be but for who she is now. And somewhere along the way, they'd be friends again (or they can date IDK or care man I just want them to stop trying to kill each other).

Whatever happens next is so wide in possibility that I can't possibly cover it here so this is where it ends, lol.

[vivsinkpot]

How to Write a Redemption Arc That Hurts (In the Best Way)

Redemption isn’t a straight line. It’s jagged. Messy. Earned.

Whether your character is a once-noble hero who made one devastating mistake—or a full-blown villain who slowly realises what they’ve become—a strong redemption arc can be one of the most emotionally resonant journeys in fiction.

Here’s how to write one that lands:

1. Start With the Fall (Or the Flaw)

Redemption means nothing without something to redeem. What did they do?

– Betrayal? Violence? Abandonment? Apathy?

Make the sin personal, and make sure your reader feels the weight of it.

✍️ Tip: Don’t shy away from their wrongdoing. Redemption is powerful because it’s hard-earned.

2. They Have to Want It (Eventually)

A redemption arc doesn’t work if they’re forced into it or if they don’t regret their actions.

There has to be a moment — big or small — when they begin to want to change. That spark is everything.

Examples:

A flash of guilt after seeing someone harmed by their choices.

Hearing a phrase they once said…used by someone crueler.

A moment of kindness that catches them off-guard.

3. Let Them Resist It

Real change is uncomfortable. Your character should stumble, fight it, maybe even relapse.

They might question if they even deserve redemption. That doubt makes them human.

✍️ Narrative tension idea: Just when the reader thinks they’ve changed, let them snap under pressure—and then feel the shame of it.

4. Give Them a Chance to Actively Do Good

Redemption isn’t about feeling bad — it’s about making amends.

They need to choose to do something selfless, painful, or courageous — not because it earns them praise, but because it’s right.

Make them:

Apologise without expecting forgiveness.

Protect someone they once hurt.

Make a sacrifice no one will ever know about.

5. Let Consequences Stand

Redemption is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. Let people mistrust them. Let them lose things permanently.

They can change and still face the cost of what they did — and that’s what makes it powerful.

6. Not Everyone Has to Forgive Them

Forgiveness is not owed. Some characters will never believe the change. That’s okay. It’s real.

Use this to:

Add tension and realism.

Explore different reactions to trauma.

Show that redemption is internal, not dependent on external validation.

7. End With Who They Become—Not Just What They Did

The final step of a good redemption arc isn’t about “undoing” the past.

It’s about choosing who they are now — and committing to being better.

They’re still carrying scars. But now, they’re facing forward.

✍️ Bonus Tip: Redemption arcs hit hardest when they hurt. Let it cost something. Let it mean something. Let them bleed for it. That’s when readers believe it.

Redemption Arc Prompts (for maximum angst & payoff)

Need a spark to start the fire? Here are some redemption arc prompts to put your character through it — and maybe, just maybe, let them claw their way out again:

🩸 The Monster Who Chose His Soul

They were never supposed to feel guilt. Their nature was cruel, cursed, inhuman — so when they start to care, it shatters something deep. But caring isn’t enough. So they go in search of what they were never meant to have: a soul, a conscience, something to make the guilt stick. Not for redemption. Not for love. But because they can’t stand not knowing what it means to be human.

Use this for…

Vampires, demons, cursed warriors, AI trying to evolve.

Arcs where the redemption begins after the obsession.

Characters whose change isn’t instant—it’s agonising, feral, and full of relapse.

Key Questions For Writers

What event or moment makes the monster realize they want a soul or conscience?

How does their monstrous nature conflict with this desire for humanity?

What sacrifices must they make to earn or reclaim their soul?

How do others react to their transformation—fear, disbelief, hope?

Does the monster’s journey lead to true redemption, or is it an ongoing, painful struggle?

Emotional Notes

The agony of clawing through darkness for something intangible.

The loneliness of being neither fully monster nor human.

The fragile hope that change is possible — even when the past screams otherwise.

Let their monstrous heart break—and witness the fierce fight to claim their lost humanity.

🕯️ The One Who Survived…and Shouldn’t Have

They lived through the massacre, the betrayal, the war—whatever happened—not because they were brave, but because they were cowardly enough to survive. They made the wrong choice. They ran. They closed the door. They didn’t look back. And they’ve hated themselves every day since.

Now the world remembers them as a hero. Statues, ballads, accolades. But they know the truth—and it’s rotting them from the inside.

So they disappear. Not in disgrace, but in determination.

Not to erase the past.

But to earn the life they didn’t deserve.

Use this for…

A reluctant protagonist with deep survivor’s guilt

A morally grey character trying to rebuild something they helped destroy

An older warrior protecting the next generation to make peace with the last

A spy, a traitor, a deserter who becomes the shield they once refused to be

Key Questions for Writers

What lie do people believe about this character?

What one decision do they regret the most?

What would it take for them to forgive themselves?

What’s the first thing they do to try to be better—and does it hurt?

Emotional Notes

Anguish that simmers under silence.

Redemption through action, not speech.

Consequences that can’t be undone, only carried.

Let the weight of survival shape them. Let them falter. Let them bleed for the right thing this time.

❤️‍🔥 Changing for the Love That Never Was

They were reckless, broken, or cold — maybe even cruel. But when the person they secretly adored barely noticed them, something snapped. Not because they wanted to be better for themselves, but because they needed to be worthy of love they’d never received. They start changing — small things at first, then big. Trying to erase their flaws, rewrite their past, and fit the ideal they imagine the other wants. But love built on self-denial is fragile.

Use this for…

Characters trapped in unrequited love or obsession

Antiheroes who want to become heroes for someone else

Stories where identity and self-worth collide

Tense romance arcs with bittersweet or tragic endings

Key Questions for Writers

What flaws do they try to hide or fix?

How does their unrequited love affect their choices?

Do they ever admit the change isn’t truly for themselves?

What happens when the love remains unreturned?

Can they find self-acceptance apart from the other’s approval?

Emotional Notes

Longing that cuts deeper than hate.

Masks slipping under pressure.

The painful difference between being wanted and loved.

Let your character wrestle with heartbreak, identity, and the price of change—for better or worse.

⚖️ The Villain Who Broke Their Own Rules

They were ruthless, feared, and driven — yet they always told themselves some deaths were “necessary.” But when their actions accidentally kill someone innocent — someone they never intended to hurt — that line breaks. The guilt crashes over them like a storm. No excuse, no justification, no second chance. For the first time, they question everything: their goals, their methods, even themselves. This moment becomes the catalyst for change, forcing them to confront their darkness — not just to save themselves, but to stop hurting others.

Use this for…

Characters trapped in unrequited love or obsession

Antiheroes who want to become heroes for someone else

Stories where identity and self-worth collide

Tense romance arcs with bittersweet or tragic endings

Key Questions for Writers

Who was the innocent? How do they affect the villain’s conscience?

What personal rules did the villain break?

How does this death change their motivations?

Can they ever make amends, or is this their undoing?

How do others react to the villain’s shift?

Emotional Notes

Crushing guilt that can’t be ignored.

A fragile hope born from devastating loss.

Inner conflict between old habits and new purpose.

Let your villain’s cold exterior crack—and watch them fight to rebuild what they’ve broken.

💔 The Final Breach of Trust

He’s broken her trust one too many times — through lies, betrayal, or neglect. Before, there was anger, tears, shouting. But now her silence is worse than any outburst. The cold, emotionless “Get out” is a door slammed shut forever. For the first time, he truly sees what he’s lost — not just her love, but her belief in him. And it terrifies him more than any punishment. Redemption won’t come from empty apologies or promises; it will come from the long, painful work of earning back a love that may never return.

Use this for…

Romantic dramas with fractured relationships

Characters grappling with addiction, betrayal, or repeated mistakes

Stories about self-awareness born from loss

Emotional arcs where redemption means more than just forgiveness

Key Questions for Writers

What was the betrayal, and why was it the last straw?

How does the character react to the silence and coldness?

What does he do differently after hearing “Get out”?

Can she ever forgive, or is his redemption truly for himself?

How does the loss change his identity?

Emotional Notes

Silence heavier than words.

The shattering weight of finality.

Redemption as a path through grief and self-loathing.

Let the moment of loss be the spark that sets the slow burn of change in motion.

A Final Note

Redemption stories are some of the most powerful journeys you can write — they dig into pain, change, and hope in ways that stay with readers long after the last page. Use these prompts to explore the messy, beautiful process of transformation, whether your character rises, falls, or struggles somewhere in between. I’d love to see what you create — tag me so I can cheer you on and share your work! ❤️

[genericpuff]

i just finished LO and im bothered by so much of it i dont know where to start. persephone is maybe the most inconsistent, all over the board character ive read in any media that i can remember. im incredibly confused as to why a character supposedly brimming with sensitivity and empathy to the point where she doesnt want her rapist harmed (cant relate)...has zero trauma regarding the thousands of largely innocent mortals she inadvertently murdered. twice. wheres that same energy??? wtf

congrats on crossing the finishing line !

So much beyond even just Persephone is inconsistent as all hell, and it's what lends to my belief that LO kind of crumbled under the weight of its own success. Like, the comic was clearly only meant to be a self-indulgent Tumblr fluff piece in the beginning, and that's what it frankly excelled at being - only to suddenly expand into an actual franchise with merch deals, TV licensing, and most of all, actual real expectations from paying readers and Webtoons shareholders that it would payoff as something it was never meant to be in the first place.

Persephone is supposedly guilty about the Act of Wrath, but we never see a shred of guilt throughout the entire first season, not until the Act of Wrath is actually established and she's artificially given the opportunity to show guilt - and if anything, we see more scenes of her being vindictive and terrible to people that are lower class than her than we see of her actually being guilty over the AoW. She couldn't even accept the punishment she got, she acted like she was entitled to getting off without a single consequence and then when she did suffer consequences, she was crying purely over the fact she didn't get to tell Hades she loved him.

Persephone is supposedly blessed with so much beauty and intelligence that she had a secret 'affair' with Ares while she was in the Mortal Realm and she has an entire CVS receipt of accomplishments prior to moving to Olympus - and yet she doesn't know what "sleeping to the top" means and constantly acts dumber than a doorknob.

Hades is supposedly a cruel and cunning womanizer who misinterprets Persephone's requests for help as a booty call and warns her that the neighbors might see them fucking in the kitchen, but then as soon as they're in a relationship and actually interested in having sex with each other, he's bumbling like a high school boy who can't even say the word "penis" without giggling.

Even entire scenes tend to oppose each other - like in the finale, when Hades looks depressed and gets a phone call from Hecate checking in on him, which is juxtaposed against flashbacks that Persephone has to spend a few months out of the year in the Mortal Realm, only to then cut back to Hades who's about to meet up with Persephone because it's time for her to return to the Underworld. Why was he so depressed as if she had just left him ??? 😭😆

And why in the world was the comic's final messaging - the "moral of the story" if you could call it that - summed up and exposited as "true love really does exist"??? Isn't there already a couple in the comic who have gone out of their way to prove that? (cough Eros and Psyche cough) What about Poseidon and Amphitrite? How can you have a plotline that resolves itself as "true love really exists!" in a world where the gods of love also already exist?

I could go on and on and on about all the different examples of inconsistent writing, the plot points and character traits that contradict each other - sometimes as soon as within the same episode they're introduced - and all the loose threads that were left unanswered and, at best, handwaved away by Rachel in the finale's Q&A session.

But the story really does speak for itself just by reading it, especially when there isn't stretches of time between each episode to blur the details. When you can read each episode back to back, you really do notice all the inconsistencies even more, and the lack of explanations for each of them.

Not that I'm planning on reading it, but here's hoping Rachel at least prepares herself better for the next comic she plans on making. She's said in the past that she "thrives in the chaos" but I really hope she knows deep down that she bit off more than she could chew and that chaos was more so to her detriment than her benefit. No one fell in love with LO with the expectation that it would turn into a cutesy Disney film or a hyped up Marvel blockbuster - we just wanted the intimate storytelling that revolved around Hades and Persephone, the storytelling that was lost as the story grew too big for itself to function.

[bnha-rot]

ok actually. on that last post: it really is a shame that post-MVA the villain characters lost all agency they had within the story. literally just mouthpieces for arcs that aren't theirs, and then killed off when they had served their purpose and just to cap it all off they are really framed as useless in the grand scheme of things (the hero rankings are still there, the HPSC remains, nothing *major* is shown to have really changed). this also ties into the lack of consequence the leagues most powerful players had (dabi, spinner, shigaraki, and toga all not really killing off any notable characters beyond a handful, and even then the reactions to which were lackluster at BEST) in the war arc, where they stop feeling like 'characters with a chance that will have good payoff' and go on to feel more like 'stand-in villain for the heroes to defeat so stop being invested now' and to come so soon after MVA, after dabis dance, even, it is WILD tonal whiplash!!!!!! and it really fucking sucks not only for villain fans but it reduces the heroes' '''''win''''' to a guarantee and cheapens the story for the hero fans!!!!!!!! everybody loses!!!!!!!!!!

[slasherparty]

Hey uh, I'm new to the Beetlejuice fandom, and I was wondering if you could do a bjxreader where the reader dies as of a result of something bj did, and he feels guilty about it? i crave angst, sorry if this is annoying

it’s not annoying! i love reading angst if it has a rewarding payoff. dunno how rewarding it’ll be here, but it’s good for character study purposes either way. thanks anon!

beetlejuice 🪲 x reader, accidental death (whoopsie!)

his hand, it was a clumsy thing... a grotesque parody of life, all bony fingers and inky black nails. it reached out, a macabre puppet show, and brushed against your cheek. a chill, an unnatural cold, seeped into your skin. you should have known better than to trust a poltergeist with such a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"A little surprise for my favorite mortal," he had purred, a sinister grin splitting his cadaverous face. you’d laughed, a light, airy sound that now seemed so far away. it was a mistake, a fatal one. the prank, a harmless little trick, had spiraled out of control, a chaotic whirlwind that swept you away; "away" being precisely four stories down into the basement of your apartment building.

beetlejuice, the self-proclaimed "Ghost with the Most," has always prided himself on his ability to stir up trouble without serious consequences (in his opinion, anyway). however, this particular mishap proved to be a costly error. a well-intentioned, albeit reckless, prank involving a trap door had inadvertently led to your untimely demise.

now, here you were, a ghost, a wisp of ethereal energy tethered to a world you could no longer fully inhabit. in the immediate aftermath, you watched as beetlejuice paced, his usual manic energy diluted to a haunted stillness. his eyes, only moments ago filled with their trademark mischief, were now shadowed with shock and remorse.

a part of you, a tiny, twisted part, reveled in his misery. but the larger part, the part that was still you, ached with a profound sadness. though you'd scarcely begun to process it, you'd been robbed of your life, a cruel twist of fate orchestrated by such a stupid and poorly set-up joke.

yet, as you watched beetlejuice begin to tear himself apart over it, you couldn't help but feel a strange sense of peace. perhaps it was the knowledge that he was now there, forever, nothing keeping him apart from you. or maybe it was the hope that, together, you could find a way to make sense of this tragic turn of events.

left as a fragile spirit adrift in a sea of uncertainty and the endless maze of the neitherworld processing office, bj finds himself once again in the position of being a guide (he even dons the hat for you).

as the days turned into weeks, you began to adjust to your new existence. you learned to phase through walls, to levitate, to communicate telepathically. when you weren't stuck haunting your apartment, you explored the neitherworld, with bj's ever-present companionship. he'd become a bit of a helicopter since the accident. even though you were dead now, with virtually nothing around to seriously harm you, you could tell the guilt had riddled him with anxiety.

the sight of your spectral form, a pale echo of your vibrant self, haunted whatever was left of beetlejuice's conscience. the memory of your warm living touch, a spark that ignited a strange, twisted affection, lingered like a phantom limb. you still touch him, just as soft as in life, but it's now a bittersweet reminder of a life cut short, a casualty of his own selfish schemes.

he became a constant source of both comfort and chaos. he would spend hours pouring over ancient grimoires, searching for a way to restore you to life, at the behest of juno who of course discouraged any and all investigation into such dangerous breaches of the laws around life and death. "The rules are there for a reason, you brat," she'd remind him, smoke fuming from her neck. you knew this wouldn't discourage him; nothing juno ever said did. but there was some truth to her words... it would be impossible to truly bring you back to the living world in any meaningful, non-invasive way.

regardless, he's always remained determined to make amends, if not to restore your life then to help you transition smoothly into this strange new existence. perhaps, through this unexpected role, he can atone for his past mistakes… and maybe even keep you around, for as long as you'll still have him.

you've often wondered if bj is truly sorry for what he's done. was his remorse genuine, or was it simply a performance, a way to manipulate your emotions? you could never be sure. but you knew one thing for certain: you were bound to him, a ghostly tether that neither time nor death could sever. and maybe that made it all okay, in the end.

bit of a long one! thanks for reading!! 💌

you can find more of my writing here on ao3!

[bullyingfictionalmen]

Delicate Things (1/2)

Pairing: Caleb x fem!MC

Summary: Why is Caleb like this? We dig into his traumatic past with Ever to find out. Read on AO3

wc: 2k

cw: angst with a happy ending, graphic violence, major character death (?), amnesia, blood, a smidge of cuteness as a treat, child endangerment, poor baby Caleb shouldn’t have seen all that, brief suicidal ideation, self-loathing

A/N: I started this fic 4 months ago after Homecoming Wings and his first anecdote came out, oh my god. It started as a long notes app analysis of the Caleb-MC dynamic, and now we're here, haha. I’m proud of it, but part 1 and part 2 are very different tonally, so I’m going to separate them for your convenience. Here, we suffer, but the next part has romance, jealousy, gooey love confessions and smut, so if you’re not here for (as much) angst, feel free to skip there and treat it as a standalone, I won't judge :) Still, if you're in a place to handle the subject matter, this does provide emotional context for the payoff. Either way, enjoy!

Caleb has a talent for breaking delicate things.

It used to be out of clumsiness. A wrong move, a slip of the hand, the use of too much strength. Most children don’t have easy control of their bodies, much less a sense of consequence at the loss of fragile objects. You can’t un-squish a lightning bug, un-break a teacup, un-shatter a glass trinket—but a child should never be held responsible for such accidents.

At some point, though, Caleb’s talent was cultivated. His gravity Evol emerged, and suddenly, it was in someone’s best interest to mold him to their liking.

His memories of that time are blurry, and he isn’t sure if it’s the Toring Chip in his arm or the Deepspace radiation he was exposed to that makes them feel so amorphous and terrifying. He only knows that the scientists in their crisp white coats, poking, prodding and scolding, sent him task after task where the goal was to rip, to mutilate, to destroy.

The worst part wasn’t the experiments themselves. It was that over time, Caleb grew to like them. The praise, the approving looks and hushed speculations about his potential, “Someday soon, he could very well create a black hole!” Those comments were a bright spot in such a cold, uncaring environment.

And beyond external validation, he found curiosity, pride, and even joy in the irreversible. Watching metal warp, cracks spiderwebbing through porcelain, hearing a heavy crash or a subtle creak and knowing all of it was his influence. Exerting such power and control when he was otherwise helpless and isolated was addictive. The rush of destruction at once filled the void inside him and made it insatiably hungrier. He could feel the greed of those researchers infecting him, sullying him, and there wasn’t a thing he could do. Not a thing he wanted to do about it.

But there’s one delicate thing he has never wanted to break. One person.

When your hand held his for the first time, so tiny and cold and contrasting a smile like a dying star, for once, Caleb didn’t feel like the monster he feared he was becoming. Being near you was so warm, so overwhelmingly sweet that it made him yearn for a world where he could see you every day, talk with you all the time and comfort you when storm clouds loomed overhead. After he met you, Caleb’s greed began to change form, and he wondered if maybe, somehow, his strength could be used to save someone. To protect something precious.

“A family… do you think we could be one, Caleb? I’ve always wanted a brother.”

‘Brother’.

You meant no offense, but the word was like a slap to the temple. Caleb tasted bile as he turned his face away with a scowl. What were you to him? He wasn’t sure, but these feelings churning inside him weren’t ‘brotherly’. His reply came out uncharacteristically loud and harsh. “Of course not.”

He realized his mistake in an instant when tears sprang to your eyes and your voice trembled. “O-Oh. I see. I’m sorry—”

“Wait!” He called your name and instinctively pulled you toward him with his Evol. His arms settled around your small frame and pressed his forehead into your shoulder so you couldn’t see the pathetic face he was making. “That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry. I want to be your family, but… If I’m your brother, that’s, um... not good.”

You fell silent, and Caleb held his breath. The urge to flee was so strong, and he would have done it if not for the clear, melodic sound of your laugh. You squirmed in his grip until you were facing him, cocking your head cutely to the side and peering at him intently with those bright doe eyes. “Ooooh, I see,” you hummed. “You wanna marry me, huh?”

Caleb’s cheeks flamed. He let go of you, one hand slapped over his mouth, and the other flicked your forehead. “As if! Who’d wanna marry you, pip-squeak?”

But his protests just made you laugh harder. You batted your eyelashes and made kissy faces until he pinned you down and tickled your sides so mercilessly that you cried.

In contrast to such bright, happy moments, some details still elude him. For all he’s worth, Caleb can’t recall how much time passed in that place. He can’t remember when he stopped seeing you roaming free, only to be told that you caught a cold and you were resting in your room.

No, you cannot see her. Don’t ask again.

He wishes he could forget the night he finally defied orders and searched for you in the dark. Deep in the compound, in a wing he was never allowed to visit, he started to hear familiar screams. Ice ran through his veins, each breath burned, and as he ran, his legs felt as if his own Evol was working against him. Then, the screaming stopped.

The scene he came upon haunts his nightmares to this day. Four researchers hovered over your prone body, connected to all manner of equipment. Crimson blood dyed their gloves and spattered their white coats. Your mouth was still open as if mid-scream, glassy eyes blown wide, unblinking. There was a gaping hole in your chest. A shattered ribcage, under which your heart, too still, was fused with some gleaming, unearthly crystal.

Caleb couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. His throat muscles began to seize, he clutched at his chest as if he were the one spread out on that table like some kind of specimen. Head pounding, his gaze darted from you to the scientists, whose faces were placid, as if there was nothing out of the ordinary here. “A family… do you think we could be one?” Your voice rang in Caleb’s ears as paralyzing despair gave way to all-consuming rage.

The first researcher didn’t even have time to scream before his head cracked against the hard floor, his skull compressed in an instant, brain matter painting the walls. Confusion only started to register as the second researcher was thrown hard enough to put a dent in the ceiling, slammed to the ground and back again.

“Caleb? Why is he--? Call for backup, now! Aaagh--!”

The third researcher was crushed by medical machinery before she could finish her sentence, but the fourth was quick on his feet. He grabbed a syringe from the operating tray and lunged at Caleb.

“Stop this now, brat!”

Caleb easily brought the researcher to his knees, grabbed the syringe and plunged it into the man’s neck. With a groan, he slumped over, and Caleb scrambled past him to where you lay. Gently, with the utmost care, he disconnected you from devices giving readouts that he couldn’t understand. He closed your eyes and mouth, wrapped you in a blanket, cradled you against his chest, and only then did he start to weep. “Why?” he sobbed into your hair. “Why couldn’t I protect you?”

“Tch… stop… interfering…” the man on the ground was slurring his words, but whatever sedative had been in that syringe had yet to fully kick in.  “Stupid kid… she’s… too valuable to waste…”

Fury flared anew in Caleb’s heart as he fought back the urge to scream. His fists shook, their white-knuckle grip on your hospital gown unrelenting. All you had been to these people was an object. A tool. He knew he occupied a similar space, but if it was you who suffered, you who died for nothing, that was unforgiveable. Without you, what was the point in living? In anything?

It should all just disappear.

A despicable thought bubbled up. Maybe he could put an end to everything if he focused all of his power on a singular point. How big would the vortex grow? How much would it consume?

Not even that morbid curiosity could stir him from his devastation. The air became heavy, swirling in on itself until, for the first time, a black hole bloomed by his hand. Caleb watched dully as small debris was sucked into the void. Then, as it yawned wider, the two broken bodies in the doorway were engulfed as well. Caleb considered, for a moment that felt like an eternity, what it would be like to follow them. To surrender to the pull. How easy it would be to just… stop.

“Ngh…”

It was a tiny sound. Barely a whimper. But there was no mistaking it. Caleb had heard your voice. The black hole vanished, and stillness reigned as he tried to calm his thundering heartbeat. This wasn’t possible. You had definitely died. And yet, if only shallowly, your chest was rising and falling. Your wounds, grievous as they had been, were slowly closing. Your eyes cracked open the slightest bit, brow furrowing in apparent pain as your lashes fluttered.

Caleb didn’t have words. He could only cry into your shoulder, his whole body trembling as he resisted the urge to hold you tight. He murmured your name over and over again like a prayer, so profoundly relieved that he felt like he would pass out. Footsteps could be heard approaching from some distance away, but Caleb didn’t hear them. He could only bask in the euphoria of your miraculous survival.

“I thought… I thought I lost you. Don’t ever leave me again, okay?”

A small, cold hand reached for his sleeve. Gave him a tiny pat. Bright doe eyes, bleary and tired, met his. “Who… are you?”

Ever since then he’s been careful. So careful not to let you break. You forgot everything about your time together at that lab, and as much as he sometimes resents that, Caleb is glad you were spared the pain of remembering. He’s glad that if anyone has to jolt awake in a cold sweat as if all of this is happening again, it’s him and not you.

How selfless, right? Not really.

Because after he almost lost you, he has been doing everything in his power to never let it happen again. To keep you by his side. No threat is too mundane, no measure is too drastic if it means you’ll be safe. Caleb knows it isn’t healthy. It’s spiraled into an obsession. Sometimes he feels like a monster playing at being human. What a painful, tantalizing game to make everyone believe he’s so perfect, so rational. He’s cheeky, a smidge overprotective, but what older brother isn’t? And the only one who can laugh or gripe about this miserable balancing act, this façade laid carefully, brick by brick, is himself. Because if you knew, you’d be too disgusted to look him in the eyes.

Caleb couldn’t have that. He wants you to dote on him. To need him. To worry like he worries. He has a habit of playing with your wrist, waiting to feel the faint throb of your pulse against his thumb before he lets it go. He sometimes catches himself testing you with inane childhood trivia, trying to make sure you still know him, still remember the years you spent growing up alongside one another. He clings to those shared experiences because he knows that, eventually, he could lose you all over again. That’s something he could never allow.

Caleb’s greed, nurtured first in that lab, and then every time you smile at him, lean on him, rely on him, show him how much you care, has grown so vast and so all-consuming that it terrifies him. He knows there are many forces that seek to claim you, to have your power. But is he any different? A selfish, overprotective man who would sooner lock you away than let anyone else have you? If men are wolves, Caleb reckons he’s right there among them.

But now, you’re onto him. He never expected this death, rebirth and reunion under dire circumstances. The cracks in his charade are showing. And the scariest part is that your inner conflict doesn’t discourage that greedy force inside him. It has awakened something new, a desire to be seen. To be known for who he truly is, warped as that person may be. The disappointment in your eyes was devastating at first, but then it was enthralling. How else can you worry for him? Will your love hold up under the pressure of his schemes? Maybe he’s walking into a trap, risking alienating the person whose good opinion he cares most about in this world. The only person who could truly shatter and destroy him.

So, he has to keep his distance. He has to. Otherwise, one or both of you might be irreparably broken.

Part 2

[hellbrainrot]

Just wanted to say that I love your Aemond posts because it's everything I have been saying since season 2! So happy someone else sees the vision.

I watched an interview from Condal at the end of season 2 and he said that the prophecy will force Aemond to look into his past and present to see how his actions have consequences on the war. And Ewan has mentioned he was told Aemond's entire arc before the show started and how Aemond's motivations were purposely ambiguous in season 2 and he had a facade the whole time. Then the FYC panel, he smirked when he claimed "we will never know" on Aemond's motivations. Seemed like he was hiding something but he's known to not give spoilers, but he is hinting we will find out in season 3.

So yes, I agree we will definitely see more introspective scenes of Aemond next season. The way they have been building up his character, it just makes sense that's where they're heading. I have a feeling he will end up being one of the best developed characters in the end, because Ewan already has a powerful presence onscreen and anytime Aemond shows vulnerability, it's always memorable. So next season, I think Aemond's scenes will be powerful when we finally see that breakdown of the tough facade.

Also, as for screentime, I am actually not that worried. Theory - People forget that the season was supposed to be 10 episodes. Last minute, the writers were told to cut down, and then the writer's strike happened and they couldn't rewrite scripts. Aemond became more prominent in episode 4, and I think he was meant to have at least 40 minutes screentime with the 10 episode format. And unlike some other characters, season 3 is reaching the part of F&B where Aemond's storyline is more defined. So the writers will know what to do with his character, and will be fun to watch.

Also another theory - If the character driven episode isn't Alicent and Rhaenyra, then it's Aemond. It's the perfect setup for his confrontation with Daemon, especially if they're drawing parallels between the characters. The biggest hint is Aemond not appearing in episode 4. Makes me think they will devote most of his screentime to this standalone episode. I have a feeling it was purposely leaked so that it misleads people on Aemond's role. All sides of the fandom want more scenes of him to figure out his motivations, so it's a way to trick us.

Otherwise, I don't think the episode will be on Daeron because the general audience doesn't know who he is and he is at number 23 in episode 4 (I think the order is by call sheet). And Aegon II is out because he appears in episode 4, making me think he will appear throughout the season. I also don't know how they can fill an entire episode on Aegon alone tbh. Makes more sense he shows up sporadically, as they only have 8 episodes and the standalone must advance the plot in some way. By having Aemond go through a journey that will lead to him eventually accepting to fight Daemon, it makes sense the episode will be on him and it advances the plot in some way.

So yeah, I definitely see your vision for Aemond because I 100% agree. I think they have been building to a great payoff of Aemond's character and wanted to give an element of mystery to his character in season 2. So then when season 3 comes around, it will be a great conclusion to his arc. And the fact that Ewan still seemed excited at the FYC Panel and unlike other cast members, hasn't criticized any writing and hinted at knowing his full arc even before season 1, makes me think we will have a great storyline. Aemond's storyline is the only one I look forward to, as I see the vision and understand where the writers are taking him.

Honestly was just so happy to see someone else not completely hating on the writers and what they're doing with Aemond. It makes sense to me and I think patience is key. I definitely see the direction and it seems like they just wanted a slow buildup of his character. His journey very much reminds me of season 1 Daemon. And theory - I wouldn't be surprised if it's revealed that he burned Aegon only because Aemond thought he would be the best at protecting his family from a war he accidentally started and felt guilty over. People forget Aemond wasn't actively trying to kill Aegon, it just seemed like the opportunity presented itself at Rook's Rest to take Aegon out.

Hi!

Thank you! sorry I'm just now seeing this ask.

I watched an interview from Condal at the end of season 2 and he said that the prophecy will force Aemond to look into his past and present to see how his actions have consequences on the war. And Ewan has mentioned he was told Aemond's entire arc before the show started and how Aemond's motivations were purposely ambiguous in season 2 and he had a facade the whole time. Then the FYC panel, he smirked when he claimed "we will never know" on Aemond's motivations. Seemed like he was hiding something but he's known to not give spoilers, but he is hinting we will find out in season 3.

YES. Ewan brings up multiple times how Aemond "keeps the audience at a distance", and highlights the ambiguity surrounding where his loyalties truly lie .

A lot of fans are refusing to see the nuance and intentional choices the writers are making. I'm not saying its perfect or without flaws, but the way they're framing Aemond feels deliberate. He's the only character besides daemon who shuts himself off.

This is very noticeable in ep 3. The humiliation from Aegon, which resulted in him losing his only emotional crutch [the madam].. caused him to put his mask back on and close himself off , we can literally see the switch happen. From that point until ep 7 he remains stotic , in control and emotionally shut down and because of this most of the season his internal struggles are expressed more through subtext than direct exploration. Then in ep 8 after seeing the dragonseeds and realizing he’s outnumbered, fear sets in. It causes him to lash out to the point where he can barely keep his shields up.

I'm really looking forward to the conceptual episode and I'd love if it centered on Aemond. I'm not too worried about screentime either I think Aemond will get more focus as well and as we finally start peeling back those layers it can set him up for more longer intimate scenes.

"It makes sense to me and I think patience is key. I definitely see the direction and it seems like they just wanted a slow buildup of his character. His journey very much reminds me of season 1 Daemon." EXACTLY.

Like you said, the writers have and will continue to draw parallels between Daemon and Aemond . Im of the opinion that they’re using Harrenhal as a character piece for both of them, because these are men who either run away from their emotions or suppress them. Harrenhal is a place that brings out your inner demons and it at the very least, it marks the beginning of the exploration of  Aemond’s psyche just like it did for Daemon. Patience is really the key ..

The groundwork for his inner conflict is already there, but the show hasn’t fully pulled back the curtain on it yet. Season 3 will be where it explores his vulnerability in a more tangible way. We will come to know and understand his motivations.

I think core purpose of Daemon and Aemond time at Harrenhal in their arcs will be the same, it’s where they undergo a personal transformation. My guess based on the parallels and themes :

Daemon: starts of disregarding duty and responsibility — neglecting his roles as a husband and father even though both need and depend on him—> Harrenhal experience —> after seeing the vision forces him to reckon with a larger purpose. He embraces duty by pledging himself fully to Rhaenyra and the Targaryen cause. His arc in season 2 was about moving toward duty and legacy . Working on being a better husband and father (with Condal hinting that Rhaena will have an impact on him come season 3)

Aemond, on the other hand,  starts out as a quiet and disciplined child who cares about duty, he wants to be the pillar/leader of his family but instead of being embraced, he is kept at arms length. We know he’s heading to Harrenhal next season where he meets Alys. Through his time with her, he'll come to realize that his devotion to duty and legacy has only isolated him, leading him to reject the very ideals he once clung to. His arc in season 3 points to a shift away from duty and legacy toward forging his own path and choosing something more personal and fulfilling with alys .

"And theory - I wouldn't be surprised if it's revealed that he burned Aegon only because Aemond thought he would be the best at protecting his family from a war he accidentally started and felt guilty over. People forget Aemond wasn't actively trying to kill Aegon, it just seemed like the opportunity presented itself at Rook's Rest to take Aegon out"

When Aemond goes to visit Aegon there are small subtle clues on how he feels.. he looks almost sad and regretful. And in the finale when Helaena confronts him and says "Would you burn me as you did Aegon" he immediately responds with "That is a lie" . What's telling is that he doesn't gloat or try to justify himself, it tells me that Aemond hasn't fully accepted or even processed what he's done. He's buried it deep .Even if someone tried to argue that he doesn't care about Aegon, the fact remains that the choice he made had a ripple affect on every relationship he had.. Alicent, Helaena and Criston. There's no way he's untouched by that. I definitely think the writers will explore it more next season.

[deanscutiepiesam]

Hello! I'm still relatively new to the fandom, so I'd gone my entire spn existence not seeing this until now, and I have to share because I'm actually going insane and I need smart people to rant to, so apologies if you've already seen this. D*stiel warning, read at your own risk:

Credit to this [post] on Twitter for the screenshots ☆

There aren't even words, like I'm literally losing my mind. Like these can't be real people. Anyways, let's dive in, guys...

You took Dean's dying speech to Sam, where he's directly vulnerable and honest about his love for his baby boy and diluted it to the fucking gas n sip scene?? Like this is insane I can't even begin to understand the thought process (probs because there isn't one), but omg?? That's so unserious and it's almost funny, but let's move on to the replies because it's way worse.

1. People torn up about the barn is so crazy to me. Buddy, it's not that deep. It's not foreshadowing. They literally just happened to happen in the same type of building. It's so crazy for a character to make their first appearance in a barn, and now every barn must be about him. Weak. Do better.

2. Now this one. This one actually drives me crazy. The scene made you uncomfortable because you think asking him to stay is a "Dean and Cas focal point??" Are you serious?? First of all, Dean has serious abandonment issues, so of course, he wants people to stay in his life, but secondly, Sam has been the main focus of that since the first season. Ever since he went to Stanford. Like did you watch with a fucking blindfold?? Half of the show is just Dean making a crazy decision to keep Sam by his side and the consequences of that. How are you this dumb??

And if I were a gambling man, I'd bet that this person started spn at s4. Like the pieces have fallen into place; it's the only explanation. They're so delusional because they missed the core foundation of the show in s1-3. Their world began when Cas walked on screen so they don't even get the show's thesis, and it's so annoying. It's about Sam and Dean. Get over it. "Love story of two brothers." - Jensen Ackles.

3. "Sam/Dean wasn't the relationship that was crying out for emotional payoff." Bestie I'm in your fucking walls. This has literally been building between Sam n Dean for 15 YEARS. Dean was dying and needed to get out how he felt since the beginning. It was a confession, alright, but you can't handle that it was to his brother, and I feel sorry for you. I get you don't care about the brothers' relationship because of your D*stiel compulsion, but get it together. It's embarrassing.

Also, Jensen literally said he went off script for emotional scenes (including the Sam/Dean barn confession) because it felt right [X]. J2 knows Sam and Dean better than me, you, or anyone else. Even the writers (to the point where they were given the script and told to make it theirs). It's so wild that you can ignore that.

4. "Head touch." I'm not even gonna waste time typing about this. Just look at [this] post. Says more than I ever could.

Anyways. Sorry about that, guys. I'm actually so chill and friendly, I swear :33 I just needed to rant to my homies with media literacy because it's literally dead and I was going insane :)

Thanks for reading, and always remember...

[markrosewater]

I seem to always find lots and lots of discourse about block sets. Two sides of the same argument every time.

Side 1 says something like:"I hate all these random sets, I miss block sets."

To which, Side 2 says; "Well block sets never sold as well at the end, players attention span's are better suited for one and done blocks."

My problem with this response is that it essentially ignores the initial statement. Rather than clarifying what they mean, they assume and answer.

Personally, I miss block sets, but ONLY from a story perspective.

Basically, do sets exactly the same as you're doing now. Draft is better now than blocks were, standard with Foundations sounds fantastic. The only thing I'd like to see is a set of setup, and a set of payoff.

MKM was a set based on a murder mystery with the big twist ending basically included in the release, as an example. It could've benefitted from a real, but delayed, payoff. Set up the consequences for each suspect, then reveal and give different consequences that were hinted at in other ways. Bam. Improved.

The last time we visited New Phyrexia, it was a block, I remember ubiquitous speculation over how the story would wrap up. There were factions events at local game stores, branded posters and packs for the factions at play, etc. I had a friend get the New Phyrexian emblem tattooed on themselves. The story felt *Important* and so much less divorced from magic than it does today.

Usually, in my experience, when someone asks for blocks, they're asking for the story to matter. There are lots of mechanically interesting card games out there, and mechanics are only part of what makes magic, magic!

All I would ask is that writers get the opportunity to do setups and payoffs with magic's evolving story with multiple sers, and that story related sets have *some* play synergies. They don't need to share mechanical themes just to share story themes, but it would be a nice little florish if they had mechanical synchronisets,

Hell, a REALLY good idea (in my opinion) would be to do these sets in a different order than the old method. Modern fantasy novels swap POV characters and follow different stories. Why not set up multiple stories in a row, then start to alternate resolving an older, established plot line, and then starting a new one or swapping to another established one. This really gives players time to get interested and speculate (and making the story FEEL present will likely also boost novels and comics numbers, etc., if you need a monetary reasoning.)

What do you think Mark?

We already do a lot of what you’re asking. Each Magic “year” does have a larger connected story, often with different POV characters.

[reyrdemils]

In Plain Sight | Part 3 of 3

Words: 2,100(ish) | Rating: Mature (non-explicit sex imo) | Warnings: Mention of canon-typical violence Misc: roughly fits major MCU/DDS1-2 2015-16 timeline but tbh no DD canon plot points included, writing a happy Matt Murdock feels like he's OOC Relationships: Matt Murdock (TV)/Original Female Character (Unnamed) Summary: To be loved is to be changed.

This 3-part as a whole was written as part of Amanda's 2.5k Writer Challenge hosted by @mattmurdocksscars, and part 3 specifically is also written as part of Bella's 4k Follower Celebration Writing Challenge hosted by @bellaxgiornata. These two challenges were posted so close together, I had the thought of making one cohesive piece to fulfill both. It's been years and years since I've actually finished a writing project I've started, so I'm hoping it hits. Part 3 can in theory be read as a standalone but personally I think there's a bigger payoff starting from Part 1. This work features three prompts: "How do I look?" and "Is that my shirt?" from Amanda's challenge, and "Take it off slowly and turn around." from Bella's challenge. I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this. (This part tested my dialogue tag/action/punctuation formatting patience and I will say, I did stop caring a little bit.) Click here to read Part 1. | Click here to read Part 2.

Being grounded to New York had been initially a curse, and later became a blessing. Literally, depending on who was asked. Work on her refractive armor had been shelved for more pressing priorities and international assignments had been restricted across the board. But she still had a suite in the tower, money she could access, and it turned out there’s more than enough goings-on in the state of New York to keep an “Enhanced Individual” busy without risking federal consequences by crossing state lines. In fact, it’s become evident that there’s enough happening within the city itself to keep her busy without leaving Manhattan.

He pushes open the bedroom door and for a moment seems to consider the scene before him, but only a moment, before moving to sit on the edge of his bed, laughing softly, “I know you’re awake.”

Once she understood how he managed to see through whatever kept her invisible to everyone else, she’d been set on finding a method short of death that might evade his heightened awareness. “One of these days it’ll work.”

“Keep telling yourself that. How’re you feeling?”

She turns over to properly answer him. Even after months of seeing under the mask she’s still struck by how expressive he truly is, how he can regard her with such tenderness. “Better than yesterday, thanks to you.”

It’s the truth, he knows. Her neck wasn’t as stiff, her arm wasn’t throbbing, and there hadn’t been any shooting pain through her ankle yet this morning. A marked improvement over yesterday, when he heard her limp onto his roof and nearly collapse a few feet from the access door.

He wasn’t thrilled, to say the least, that most days her work sent her to parts of the city where he couldn’t keep track, supposedly looked after by a tactical team but still unable to avoid being injured by God knows what. She’s told him the upgraded jumpsuit currently draped over the back of his couch had recently been confirmed as bullet-resistant, and he hasn’t noticed any blade wounds since the night he discovered her bleeding on a metal catwalk. Despite this, all his faith in her abilities and intelligence, and her confidence in the technology, he finds himself anticipating the day some secret agent shows up at his apartment with news of her death.

But he tries not to allow his worry for her to become anger at her. He knows she worries over him as well, and has her own moments of doubt in what she does. He won’t judge her for risking her health and safety, nor would he ask her to stop, especially not with a healing cut on his neck and a sore jaw—he just wishes he could prevent her injuries, rather than offering ice packs and acetaminophen while she’s lying in pain in his bed.

Though, he can’t say he minds her lying in his bed, currently in a tank top and underwear, until she tries to get out of it.

“Ap—” He pushes down on her shoulder, gently, to prevent her from moving further. “Where’re you going.”

“To the bathroom?”

“Not walking on that ankle.”

“I’ve walked further on worse.” She scoffs, one eyebrow raised.

“Not today, come on.” As he says this he shifts along the bed to sit facing away from her, his feet flat on the floor, hands resting on his thighs.

She has to laugh, “What are— what?”

“Come on,” his hands lift up as though it should be obvious why he’d turned around. “I’m giving you a ride.”

“No way,” she laughs again, shaking her head. “There’s no way!"

But, to her surprise, once they accounted for the injured areas, she was carried to the bathroom without incident. Though before he could carry her back, and after she took a moment to appreciate the full view of his bare legs as he leaned against the wall with his arms folded, she felt the need to clarify something that had caught her attention on the walk there.

“Is that my shirt?” She pointed at it, balancing on her good foot.

He pinched the fabric at either shoulder, clearly unable to hide the smirk that gave away the truth. “What, this old thing?”

“’This old thing?’ You— whoa!” In the span of a two seconds he had all but leapt forward to pick her up—unsurprisingly avoiding any sore spots—and started marching back toward the bed.

“Your ankle does sound better than last night, we should get some heat on it today.”

She could hear the smile in his voice, and couldn’t help smiling herself. “I love that you didn’t change out of it when you had the chance.” The risk of throwing off his balance was the only thing that stopped her from trying to steal a kiss. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice your one oversized, oddly long t-shirt?”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He sets her down on the bed from just enough height to ensure a gentle bounce, and she immediately clambers up on her knees to face him, grabbing the bottom of the shirt to walk him closer.

“No, no, hang on.” She pulls around the seam to further examine the length, looks up to find him fighting to look serious, “You really tried tucking it in. Look at this, It hides the goods!”

“The goods?” He breaks into laughter, now holding his arms out.

She lets go and gestures toward where, sure enough, the fabric has fallen past the edge of his underwear. “Near criminal, completely antithetical to the cause."

His brows lift up as he puts his hands on his hips. “Oh, so it’s ‘near criminal’ for me but on you it’s ‘comfy pajamas’?”

A hand flies to her mouth, “An admission of guilt!” She shakes her head, disappointed. “Your honor, I have nothing further.”

“And what sentence are you recommending?” The soft affection on his face nearly melts her resolve.

When she leans in to whisper in his ear, he bends forward to lessen the distance, holding her close with his hand on her lower back.

“Take it off,” she presses a soft kiss to his cheek, “slowly.” His low hum follows her as she shifts to kiss the other side, “And turn around.”

It takes two promises: that she’ll let him keep his one oddly oversized shirt for as long as he wants, and that she’ll push the issue of her-compatible splinting and a proper helmet to whatever R&D Stark has these days. It then takes a persistent bit of mouth-to-skin persuasion, a reminder that they had been separated for three weeks, Matt’s version of a full body scan, her apology for calling it a “DD Scan”, an additional reminder that she might have an assignment upstate in a few days, and an agreement that if he notices so much as a hint of pain from her they’ll stop immediately.

She’s also not allowed to be on top—today.

But once he’s gotten comfortable between her legs, she can’t help feeling more than a little proud when he quickly forgets his previous caution—when he doesn’t hesitate to push harder at her request, and digs his nails into the leg he’s anchored around his waist. And when his teeth pressing into her shoulder feeds back to him through the clenching and shaking of every muscle in her lower body and the fingers woven in his hair, his stuttered groan of approval into her neck ratchets her so quickly back to the edge that she’s stuttering out her surprise into the top of his head. And if she ends up straining her already sore neck because of it, well.. he has a whole thing about forgiveness.

“Come on,” she hears, feels his lips somewhere near her heart. “One more, it’s right there, give me one more.”

“That’s— I don’t. Oh my g—” Her breath cuts short as he finds a particularly sensitive spot. “Matt, I don’t think—”

“I got you, come on.”

Honestly, she might not have had the presence of mind to look again after the fact, had she not opened her eyes at that moment, taking in a giant gasping breath just before the second orgasm seemed to squeeze and squeeze and squeeze and snap, and ignite first her hips, then her stomach, rippling aftershocks down to her toes and up through her spine to tingle her fingertips. If anything, she certainly hadn’t let go—her leg had tightened around him to the point her hamstring was seconds from cramping, and the hand in his hair was now unintentionally but firmly pressing his face into her clavicle.

It took the sound of his muffled laughter to bring her back to awareness, and only after something touched the back of her other hand did she realize she had sunk her nails into his forearm.

“Sorry. Sorry.” It was little more than a sigh as she catches her breath, lets one hand fall to the mattress, releases the other from his hair to rest over her eyes.

“Please, never apologize for that.” He was smiling, she’d say he sounded appreciative if she could remember what that meant right now. “You okay? Need a minute?” She slowly becomes aware of a gentle drifting of fingers up and down her side. When she doesn’t respond he laughs, “Feeling any pain?” And when he drops a kiss on her chest and the slightest pinch just below her ribs, her hips jolt up so sharply that his whole body rocks on top of hers, nearly punching a groan out of them both, and she remembers to look around.

Her eyes blink open, “I… appear…” she grins at her phrasing, “to be on the visible spectrum.” She moves her hand this way and that, admires her fingers as though they were a modern marvel. “But I’m not doing it.”

“Is that so?” He hasn’t bothered to move, save for the hand now wandering along the length of her thigh.

“And this seems to have happened,” with him so close she can watch the tip of her finger meet the tip of his nose, “…in the last few minutes.” She traces, so softly, up to his brow bone, then across his forehead.

“Mm. And has this—” he picks that moment to shift and press further into her; rather more a roll of his lower body, as there’s no real empty space between them at present “—happened before?”

She wants to explain in greater detail, but with his hips moving and his mouth on her neck, and the wonder of seeing her legs without needing to focus on visibility, the words aren’t coming to her. “Not—not to my knowledge.”

“Interesting.”

Then something pings in her mind and questions start popping up: what if it’s not her body? What if it’s her vision that changed? What if this affects how he can see her? “Wait, Matt, how do I look?”

“Never better.” He sighs, his face almost behind her neck, wrapped around her as he is.

“Come on, I’m serious!”

“So am I! Okay, let me…” He lets out a grumpy huff. “I can’t…” She’s jostled a bit as he sits up, and she almost squirms at the abrupt loss of him, but otherwise stays still as he looks her over for the second time today. A bit more thorough this time, his hands smooth over every part of her he can easily reach. “Maybe? It doesn’t— well…” he trails off into a chuckle.

“What, what could be funny?”

“I was going to say that you’re warmer than usual, especially in certain areas, but, I think there’s.. mitigating factors at play there. Other than that, no change I can measure.”

“Nothing?! Fucked me visible. Came so hard I saw a ghost.” Both hands come up to cover her face. “And no evidence.”

"I'm sorry." There’s a hint of laughter in his voice that he can’t quite stifle. "I wish I could be more help. Y'know, you've always been visible to me.”

“No no, don’t apologize, it was great.” She drapes her arms onto his shoulders as he moves over her again, lets him guide both legs up around his hips. “I’ll have to tell someone about this, for research, which I’m sure won’t be humiliating at all.”

“I’ll make it up to you.” And he starts by bringing her into a kiss that almost made her forget she had a body at all, much less one she needed to constantly monitor. “How do you feel about re-heated breakfast?”

She smiles. “Could I get another orgasm and some old coffee?”

“Sweetheart, that’s the least we can make happen.”

[equiz923]

Please don’t crucify me for this, but I really do not like how dunmeshi ended. Spoilers for the ending of the manga under the cut (obv this is all my opinion but if you have a diff one and you wanna chat im v open to that)

Ending things is hard, ending great stories is even harder but I just finished rereading the manga in full and it makes it so apparent how rushed the ending feels.

With Laios specifically, him running a kingdom Does Not make sense. It feels too storybook ending. ESPECIALLY with what the winged lion showed him during his dream- the idyllic world where he runs a monster kingdom but figures it all out. I thought that this was kind of clear with how dream falin had to shoo him away from his actual duties to make the idea more palatable. It was a clear manipulation by the winged lion to try make it something Laios would actively want to do, an appeal to his greater sense of morality to try convince him that he was the good guy, especially because we all know he just deep down wanted to be a super epic monster.

With this in mind, the manga actually ending with him running the kingdom is insane. We as an audience have already found out and understood that he actually does not want to do that shit, and that there is no way that the kingdom would prosper under him. I personally really don’t like the way that the winged lion’s curse is pretty much thrown in as a joke on the final page, because the idea is really really interesting from a character perspective. From what we know of Laios, would he not clearly break at some point and try to chase after the monsters? Go insane? Both? Also him always being hungry is such a genuinely cool idea that gets another throwaway line, that has such interesting character implications. It is fine to add that as a footnote at the end, but it’s not treated with the gravity it should have.

Another character I think really got rushed toward the end is Marcille. Her character resolution of after the banquet being okay with Falin’s death is crazy. Her calling her time with the winged lion a tantrum is insane. Her extending of others life may be something that she now sees the consequences of, but there is not payoff for that realisation. We do not see it happen, it apparently occurs offscreen.

There’s a lotta other little things that feel off to me but those are my two main examples. I found in reading it again there were times that the story didn’t show or explain things properly (Kabru in magic handcuffs is something I only found out about when he broke them, I genuinely cannot find where itsumi found that doll of Yadd). You can make the argument that’s a reading comprehension error on my end, that’s fine but there were enough small things that I don’t think I’m the only one that missed small half panel cues. Chekov’s gun only works if you let the audience actually see and note the gun.

Again, please don’t take this as a hate rant, I genuinely love dunmeshi. It’s a really good story. But the best stories are the ones that need to be critiqued. The basic happy ending just does not fit at all, to the point that it feels completely wrong.

Idk, hi if you actually read this whole thing, you’re a legend. Please tell me your opinions id love to hear them

[drmajalis]

I feel like talking about Kira Nerys.

She is definitely one of the all time greatest Star Trek characters, and an absolute triumph of character development and payoff. She was a terrorist, she is absolutely open and unapologetic over that fact. Her planet was under a brutal, genocidal imperialist occupation and she did whatever was necessary to frustrate the Cardassians and eventually expel them from Bajor. She starts the series with that initial, momentary victory- the Cardassians have retreated, the resistance- now Bajorian militia have captured Terok Nor, but she barely gets to enjoy it for the day before Bajor's new provisional government decides to invite Starfleet to run the space station, wanting to set up their slow, eventual ascension to the Federation. And she's PISSED. Her literal first scene is arguing with her superiors before reluctantly handing over the commander's office to newly arrived Benjamin Sisko, and while that resentment slowly fades as Sisko shows overwhelmingly that he wants to be the best advocate possible for Bajor, it remains even as he is revealed to be the Emissary, Bajor's literal messiah. Kira never ceases in her struggle to see Bajor truly independent and thriving, even when it comes into conflict with her own conflicted moral code, something she had to adopt while fighting the Cardassians, but is ill equipped to handle the nuances they now have to face. This even eventually leads her to rebel, if briefly, against her own government, because she eventually decides her allegiance is to the Bajorans she fought to liberate, not Bajor the planet, or political entity.

And then there's Kira's complicated, evolving relation to the former Cardassian occupiers. It's easy to understand why she would paint them all with the same brush, they were genocidal, unforgiving, claiming to do what they did in some deluded idea that they were "helping" Bajor. But very quickly events transpire that shake her previously black and white beliefs about them.

What can I even say about "Duet" that hasn't already been said? Being confronted with a Cardassian who was so traumatized by what he witnessed his own people doing to the Bajorans that he pretended to be the very Gul who ordered the killings just so he could beg the Bajorans to put him on trial and execute him! It's such a shocking reveal that it turns Kira from eagerly wanting to put him to the death, to weeping over his murder by the very kind of revenge obsessed Bajoran she started out as.

I still cry over Marritza's confession. And the worst thing was, he was absolutely right. He knew that if Cardassia didn't own up to the crimes they had committed that they would eventually be destroyed, and he was proven right as Gul Dukat's irredentist views led him to ally with the Dominion, which ended up nearly destroying Cardassia in the long run. She even finds it in her heart to welcome Ghemor as a surrogate father figure after the time spent thinking she might actually be his daughter, and fully accept that he was trying to atone both for his own actions and that of Cardassia's, eventually burying him on Bajor next to her own father. She also ends up being confronted with the consequences of her zealotry by Silarin Prin, just a humble, innocent servant who was horribly disfigured by a bombing of a prominent Gul that Kira was involved in. And yet, she's able to recognize that while what she did was not an absolute good, fully justified by what the Bajorans were subjected to, she doesn't denounce her old self and her activities. She doesn't forgive, or forget, and that goes for both her actions, and the Cardassians. That's why she was the perfect person to help the Cardassian resistance against the Dominion, because like Marritza said, to save Cardassia, they have to change, and admit that what they did was wrong. Even Garak, who is really never shown to be that remorseful over his past activities acknowledges this when Kira points out to Damar that his family being executed by the Dominion was no different from Cardassia executing the families of Bajoran freedom fighters. "Yeah, Damar, what kind of people give those orders?" Her character came full circle, and that's why it was perfect to end the series with her finally, fully taking over command of DS9.

She'll always be one of the greatest of all time.

[nellie-elizabeth]

What We Do in the Shadows: Come Out and Play (6x09)

I liked this one!

Cons:

So, back to the Guide/Nandor thing - I think I realized my core issue here. It feels like a potentially funny subplot that would happen in a single episode, but stretched out over the full season until it feels threadbare and irritating. Like, the bit where Nandor dramatically offers to die for the Guide, or the Guide letting him down easy and Nandor spacing out staring at her eyes, those were perfectly funny bits. But they come after multiple false starts that suggest a story and then never capitalize on it. The Guide has said her piece now, but it seems like Nandor hasn't gotten the memo, so are we just going to keep limping through jokes about them for the last few episodes of the show? It feels like they don't actually have good funny ideas with this plot thread and I am increasingly sure that the payoff won't be worth the setup, whatever it is. I wish "Nandor has a crush on the Guide" had been the plot of a single episode, basically. That could have worked.

Pros:

This was such a fun episode! It's got so many classic elements that this show does really well, gives our gang a chance to be involved in all sorts of shenanigans, and has a... groundedness to it? That I can't quite explain - I think it's the fact that a bunch of vampires die in this episode, and a few of them are killed gruesomely by Cravensworth's Monster squishing their heads in, and these deaths have narrative consequences and it feels like our core cast of vamps are in some real mortal peril! It's fun to see Guillermo kick ass as a vampire hunter, it's been a long time since that's happened.

The Baron co-parenting and dealing with babysitters is so funny, as is the fact that Jerry, a character so underutilized this season I almost didn't recognize him when he appeared, suddenly gets killed off at the top of the episode. After Jerry's death it's a mad dash through Staten Island as various different themed gangs of vampires chase down the gang, and they wait for Guillermo to come rescue them.

Guillermo's displacement from his found family is an interesting theme this season, because there's this interesting push-pull from him trying to maintain his independence and make his own choices, but still wanting to be valued by his friends. He's rejected at the start of the episode when he's not invited to the party to honor the Baron, but then validated in the end by Nandor telling Guillermo's cousin that if he's family to Guillermo, he's family to the rest of them too. You get this sense that Guillermo and all the vampires know they'll always be in each other's lives, even if the form of that relationship has shifted. It's sweet!

And seeing Guillermo failing to connect with his family in basic ways is sad, but then the mood turns around when you have Guillermo's cousin go all ride-or-die and call in his buddies to go with Guillermo to save the vampires from potential death. He doesn't ask any questions: if Guillermo's going into danger, he's coming too. And of course he's got the Van Helsing blood in him and his able to be an inexplicable bad-ass when facing down the barista vampires. Or, sorry, the artist and writer vampires who just happen to be working as baristas right now. Lol.

Nadja and Laszlo have a continuation of a plot thread that's been happening a lot this season, where Nadja is irritated with Laszlo for trying to take care of her so much when in fact she's perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Seeing Nadja single-handedly take on the graveyard vampires was very fun, especially the bit where she just continually slams the one guy's head over and over again. Laszlo is very into it. He reveals that his protectiveness is more about the fact that he cannot live without her, rather than any belief that she needs help. I love that, it's very sweet! And Nadja has a great response, which is to say that she doesn't need Laszlo's protection, but she can't live without him either - it's not his protection that she'd miss if he were gone, it's everything else about them - their relationship and the awesome sex they have and all that stuff.

This was a fun one - I hope we're done with the Guide/Nandor stuff, or at least I hope we can do something bigger and sillier with it. I hope we get lots of good quality time with these characters in the last few episodes. I'm feeling really sad about saying goodbye!

8/10