#be nice because fiction isn't my strong suit

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

“Also because I want [Nino] to be more narratively important but that is a rant for another day.” And will that day be someday soon? Wink wink nudge nudge :3c

I am happy to give Nino some love, but before we do, we need to talk about how badly canon has failed him. The reason we need to have that talk is that the love I'm going to give is far more headcanon-y than I usually go in these analysis posts. For most characters, I can give a strong canon-based argument for a core characterization. For Nino? Well, I am pulling this stuff from canon, but I wouldn't exactly label it a "strong" argument. There are even elements of my take on Nino that you could label "grasping at straws".

And I'm happy to own that! I delight in giving Nino all the love he deserves even if it doesn't perfectly match canon, but that means that my Nino is less me leaning into the best parts of canon and more me shifting through canon, grabbing a few shinny bits, and weaving them into something that you may not agree with because my vision for Nino is to elevate him to match Alya in terms of narrative importance because I want the team show season two promised me even if I have to make it myself!

And if you don't want that? Then that's fine! I'm not arguing that everyone should adopt this take. My version of Nino is about as close to an OC as I get when writing fanfic. So let's get into it and talk about why I had to do that. (Also note that I have nothing against OCs. It's just that, when it comes to my own writing, I try to reserve them for original fiction or for very minor roles that no canon character could fill. Totally a matter of personal preference and not some sort of judgement.)

The Many Ways that Canon has Done Nino Dirty

If we look at what is arguably the main group of friends - Alya, Marinette, Adrien, and Nino - then we can see a clear base concept for the first three. Alya is the plucky reporter. Marinette is the headstrong leader. Adrien is the sweet goofball. Nino is... Alya's boyfriend? Adrien's best friend? Chris' older brother?

This is the problem that I was referring to above. Alya, Adrien, and Marinette have clear roles that you could pick out by just watching Origins. Nino doesn't. He doesn't even speak in part one and part two gives him all of six lines. These lines establish him as a nice guy since they're all about him being kind to Adrien, but that's about it. Here's one of them as an example:

Miss Bustier: Agreste, Adrien? Nino: (quietly to Adrien) You say "present". Adrien: (jumps up with his hand raised) Uh, present!

This is a cute moment for sure, but when I look at it, I can't tell you who Nino is supposed to be other than a nice guy, which isn't much to go on. Nice guys can fit a lot of roles.

This isn't necessarily a flaw. Some characters have roles that are immediately obvious and some characters don't. This second class of character usually just has a more complex role that will be discovered and defined based on their actions as the story goes on. However, because Miraculous' writing is all over the place, Nino gets screwed. Instead of his actions defining his nebulous role, his actions make his role impossible to pin down! Here are a few examples:

Nino the Protector:

Season two was big on the idea that miraculous had to be suited to their holders. That's why Chloe kept getting the bee as we saw in Malediktator:

Marinette: I must choose someone who's not impressed by people in power. Who can help me trap Malediktator. Huh?! Of course! That's it. (reaches for the Miraculous of the Bee)

And why did Nino get the turtle in Anansi?

Marinette: I need a protective Miraculous. (gasps, and points at the Turtle Miraculous Master Fu is wearing) That's the one I need, Master! (Master Fu gasps) Uh, if it's okay with you. Master Fu: (smiles at Wayzz, who nods to him) Do you have someone in mind, Marinette?  Marinette: Actually, I think I found just the right person.

Okay, cool, we finally have a strong defining trait for Nino! He's a protector! Or, at least, he was here. Other episodes go directly against this role such as this nonsense from Illusion:

Nino: What's up is Ladybug and Cat Noir don't have us to help them anymore. Alya: (nervously) Um, um— uh— what do you mean, "us"? Nino: Well, us, you Rena Rouge, me Carapace! (Alya kicks his leg underneath the table) Ouch! What's the big deal? We can tell Marinette and Adrien we used to be superheroes.

This first issue with this episode is that we see Nino out his and Alya's secret identities without her permission even though the resistance did NOT require an identity reveal to be a thing. In other words, our supposed protector is taking a big risk for no reason. Then he goes and does this:

Nino: Hence my plan. We're gonna film an akumatization. Alya: And how are you, Comrade Ketchup, gonna be in the know when and where this akumatization takes place? Nino: Easy, Comrade Beurre Maître d'Hôtel. I'm gonna make it happen.

Which leads to the four friends antagonizing Gabriel even though Nino knows how complex Adrien and Gabriel's relationship is. A move that makes no sense for a supposed protector because Gabriel was far from their only option. Nino could have picked anyone, but he went with the riskiest candidate possible, exposing his best friend to a potentially massive backlash.

Nino also doesn't even try to contact Ladybug and Chat Noir prior to this insane plan, thereby putting the whole city at unnecessary risk! What kind of protector purposely causes an akuma without also coming up with mitigation strategies to minimize the resulting damage?

Everything Nino does in this episode should disqualify him from ever holding the turtle again or, at the very least, he should have to redeem himself before holding the turtle again. This is especially true since he never apologizes for anything he did in Illusion and this is just one example of the issue. It's actually kind of hard to find moments where Nino acts as a protector even though he holds the miraculous of Protection. So is he supposed to be a protector? Who knows!

Nino, The Empath:

That first example was long, so we'll pick two quicker ones to flesh this out. The first one is how Nino and Adrien's relationship is defined. In Origins and the New York Special Nino is written as a kind and sensitive guy who is acting as Adrien's guide to dating and other elements of the real world:

Nino: Yup. I love Adrien, but he's like a baby chick that's just started cracking out of his egg. He has a hard time understanding the signals people send him. Alya: What signals? Marinette isn't exactly sending them clearly. I mean, look! What is she doing with her arms? Telling him what to do in case of an emergency landing or something? Nino:(sighs) If only this trip could help Adrien finally come out of his shell.

But then you have episodes like Animan where Adrien is Nino's guide to dating:

Nino: Shhh! You know I'm no good with the ladies, especially this one all of a sudden. I mean, dude, do I go up to her and crack her a joke? Shoot her a compliment? Invite her to the zoo? Play it serious? Adrien: Nino, you're way over-thinking this. "Invite her to the zoo", you serious? Nino: Well, they have this really cool new exhibit there. Adrien: Listen, just be yourself, man.

And episodes like Illusion (discussed above) and Psycomedian (see below) where Adrien is deeply uncomfortable and Nino doesn't notice:

Nino: See, dude? I told you! Hilarious, right? Adrien: Uh... (laughs nervously) Right! Really funny, Nino. Nino: I gotta show you his other sketches. It's insane that you don't know Harry Clown! (laughs)

Which might work if these episodes were about Nino learning a lesson, but they're not. Nino learns nothing, so is he generally in tune with others or is he kind of oblivious to other peoples' feelings? And why did Nino ever think that Adrien was a good source of romantic advice if he also thinks that Adrien is "a baby chick"? Pick a lane people!

Nino's Hobbies

Our final source of confusion is trying to define what Nino even enjoys doing. Horrificator and Queen Banana have him playing around as an amature film maker, but we also see him acting as an amature DJ with the wiki even claiming that he's the head of the school's radio station. So which of these things is his passion? Movies or music?

To be clear, I think it's fine to have multiple passions, but this is a story. You want to keep your characters' non-story-relevant hobbies kind of simple, especially when the character in question is a relatively minor side character who rarely gets much screen time. It's why Alix is only really into roller skating and why Nathaniel is only really into art. You don't want them to be more complex than that.

Even the main characters get this "keep it simple" treatment with Marinette only really being into fashion and Alya only really being into her blog. The girls don't need two demanding passions that would eat up all of their free time, but that's what Nino gets! Film and music are both incredibly demanding passions and it's hard to balance a character who is into both who is also an active superhero. That's a lot for one dude to do well!

I've actually seen fics that cast Nino as wanting to be a director and fics that make him want to be a professional DJ because canon really isn't clear about this pretty basic aspect of his character, but you do need to pick a lane when writing anything that gives Nino a career and so people seem to pick a passion at random.

My Version of Nino

By now, we're hopefully in agreement that canon has made a mess of Nino's character to the point where it's near impossible to say "this is who Nino is supposed to be." However, if you want to write Nino, then you do kind of have to pick a characterization to go with, so here's what I've come up with. Feel free to embrace it or reject it, but know that you will pry my version of Nino out of my cold dead hands because I utterly adore him.

Since Nino is Carapace, I base everything about him around the concept of "protect and defend" because he needs to feel like he deserves his heroic alter ego. I do not want to make canon's mistake of giving him a miraculous that massively contradicts his writing. Especially when that writing makes him feel interchangeable with other characters. At this point, no one from canon screams "turtle miraculous" unless you want to give it to Adrien since he's Ladybug's defender.

I also designed Nino around Alya and Adrien as those will arguably be his most important relationships. He should feel like a perfect fit for boyfriend and best friend respectively. I also took Marinette into consideration because he's going to be part of her team/friend group, so he should work with her, too.

What all that means is that I basically said "okay, this is where Nino is supposed to fit in the story and this is the dumpster fire that canon gave us, how do I pull pieces from the fire and paste them together to make a character that fits who Nino should have been?"

To really get into my version of Nino, I'd almost have to give you a fic to read, but that's way too much for a Tumblr post, so let's keep this high-level and just look at some of my notes on Nino from my lore Bible:

Nino is a major audiophile. He loves listening to music and watching movies/TV shows to study how they play with sound. He wants to be an audio engineer when he's older, but he also has a general passion for all things music and film. He’ll listen to any genre and watch almost any movie or show. He loves to take charge of the music at events so that the music really fits the crowd (and so it sounds good). It isn’t unheard of for him to go see an unknown band or an odd indie film on his own. This will become a major bonding point for Nino and Adrien because of the influence of Adrien's mother. Nino has seen all of Emilie's films and loves them. It will also bond him and Alya as his knowledge of film making will allow him to help her learn the art of filming now that she's doing complex things like actions shots and editing together multiple recordings.

Nino is generally pretty laid back and likes to hear people out. His reaction to confrontation is to try to calm everyone down so that they can get to the heart of the issue. He wants everyone to get along, but he's also not going to let someone take the blame when they shouldn't. Nino protects the innocent.

Nino is incredibly protective of the people he loves. If someone he cares about is in danger, his peaceful nature goes straight out the window. He’s the kind of person who would happily take a bullet for his friends and family. This will lead to him following Alya around once the hero stuff starts because he wants to keep her safe. Never let Alya go out alone if Nino is around or even just aware that a fight is happening. Alya thinks "scoop" and Nino thinks "my Alya sense is tingling." He's NOT there to stop her from doing what she loves, he's just there to be her spotter who lets her focus on filming while he watches for danger, though that will initially be a struggle for him. Treat this as his audition/training for Carapace where he learns to balance protective instincts with getting the job done so that he's ready to perfectly take on his miraculous.

When Nino’s folks split up, his mother insisted that the kids should go to therapy to help process things. They had individual and family counseling. Nino was actually pretty cool with the divorce as he’d seen it coming, but his brother was really affected by it, so Nino spent his time working on ways to help Chris (and being told that he was a brother, not a parent, but he still wanted to help). He learned a lot from going through it and it’s why he’s so good at dealing with emotional issues. He’s also good at not taking those burdens on himself. He wants to help, but knows that it's your battle. Marinette often looks to Nino for guidance on emotional issues because she knows that she's terrible at navigating them. She has given him full permission to stop her when she's too focused on solutions over support. All of the friends will help Adrien figure out social situations, but Nino will be the main guide as he's the one with the strongest skills in that area. Plus Adrien makes Nino's protective big brother instincts go crazy.

Nino’s a bit of a loner by choice. He has "weird" hobbies that easily lend themselves to being done alone and he doesn't have any interest in "forcing" his hobbies on someone who doesn't actually enjoy them, so he spends a lot of time by himself and rarely invites others to share in his interests. He only does that when he thinks that they'll actually enjoy what he's sharing. He doesn’t mind this, but he’s also a very welcoming individual who doesn’t like to see people left out, so he’ll come out of his shell when he sees someone who needs a friend. This usually leads to him making friends who soon become closer with others, but still view him as a casual friend. He’s cool with that. He's just happy that they found their people. Adrien will be the first friend who really stays Nino’s due to an understanding of Nino’s “weird” hobbies. After all, Adrien’s the son of an actress. He’s used to weird indie films and discussions of cinematography. I'd even say that he revels in it and realizes that he has missed it desperately since his mom got too sick to do that kind of thing. Basically, Nino will fill a spot in Adrien's heart that Adrien didn't even know was empty. Adrien can listen to Nino talk about cinematography for hours and never get bored. Before Adrien, no one knew that Nino was this talkative!

If anyone wants more insights into this topic, feel free to send an ask, but I think we'll call this post done now because it's SUPER long.

[doumadono]

I can’t help but wonder if getting raped may fix your fetishization of rape in fan fiction

Well, congratulations on picking the perfect day to unleash your words of wisdom – right smack in the middle of my super colossal meltdown! Let me assure you, your pearls of wisdom are about as impactful as a pebble in a storm. Frankly, I couldn't care less about your feeble attempts at being rude🙃 It seems this day was hell-bent on proving it couldn't get any worse, and yet here we are, with your lovely contribution! Nice try, little coward.

First, congratulations on your attempt at a shockingly tasteless wish of rape to someone you don't know or basically any other human being. It's a real low blow, but hey, it's clear that empathy isn't exactly your strong suit. Do I care? Not in the slightest, just like you don't give a damn, apparently.

Let's address your second point now. Despite your attempt to throw a punch below the belt, your cheerful wish does precisely squat to me. I've faced real-life horrors – raped four times and subjected to prolonged sexual abuse – so your feeble attempt at being edgy doesn't even register 😀

Moving on to your feeble attempt to school me on what constitutes a fetishization of rape. Allow me to enlighten your minuscule, underdeveloped intellect. Sexual fantasies, including those of domination, are commonplace and, shockingly, a normal facet of the human sexual experience. Writing about it can be therapeutic for survivors, providing an outlet to cope with trauma, so it is for me. But, of course, such nuances are lost on your pea-sized brain.

Indulging in the allure of taboos is an art, and I proudly confess to being captivated by it. Let's be crystal clear — I can effortlessly distinguish between fiction and reality, and my appreciation for certain taboos in written works doesn't translate into endorsing real-life abhorrence. I'm well aware of societal norms, and just because I relish in the darker aspects of storytelling doesn't mean I endorse such behavior in real life. It's all part of the "exhilarating cleansing experience for me – the brutalization, the power play, the utter helplessness – it's a dynamic I find rather enthralling (perhaps it's solely due to the trauma I went through.)

Now, let's address the elephant in the room — non-con/rape/the broader dark content spectrum - it's not everyone's cup of tea, and that's perfectly acceptable! For those of us who revel in the fantasy, we embrace it and express it through our writing. Simple equation: don't like it = don't read it. It's that straightforward. If you willingly dive into a properly tagged story, you assume the responsibility for your choice. No need to harass or question authors about their motivations; you ventured into this realm at your own risk. Now, kindly take your judgment elsewhere. Dziękuję i pozdrawiam, mały tchórzliwy chuju 💜

I'm tagging @dabislittlemouse - I noticed you received a similar anonymous message today. It seems like someone is deliberately targeting creators of dark content. Again.

[thosetwofirefighters]

fic origin story

thanks to the lovely @mooshkat for the tag! <3

what was your first fandom (reading and/or writing)? glee lmao (it haunts me tbh)

what was the first story you ever wrote (even if it was never posted) and what made you decide to write it? i'm a creative writer through and through (got a degree in it and everything), so i've been writing since i was little, but the first fic i ever wrote was a horrible (and i mean horrible) novel-length fake dating drarry fic that has now been purged from all platforms oop

not sure what made me want to write it, but i'm pretty sure i wrote it over winter break my sophomore or junior year of high school? so probably boredom lol

what's a piece of advice you would give to your younger fic-writing self? don't publish fics until they're finished! when it comes to fiction, editing is my strong suit tbh, and i will change around so many things in my stories by the time i'm done with them, and i used to write and post chapters before i even knew where the story was going, wrote myself into holes and awful plots, etc. now, when i write longer fics, i keep them to myself until i know everything is as i want it to be

what's an early fandom interaction that stuck with you (be it a nice comment, a friend you made, a fic that got a lot of feedback etc.)? tbh i don't remember much of my old fandom interactions, partially because i did a lot of fandom things with people from real life (my childhood best friend is who introduced me to fic), so this isn't really an early interaction, but every so often, i look up the fics i've orphaned instead of deleting just to smile at the fact that people are still reading and commenting on them today <3

post a sentence or two from an older fic and a sentence or two from a newer one (if you want). there's no way in hell y'all are getting even a word of an old fic from me, sorry not sorry! /lh

buuut here's a lil snippet from my fake dating wip!

“Eddie,” Buck says, allowing himself to find comfort in his best friend. “I’m so worried.” “I know, Buck,” Eddie replies, running a hand up and down Buck’s back. “Come on.” He takes Buck’s hand and pulls him up the stairs, pointing at a dining chair. When Buck sits, Eddie goes to the kitchen, and Buck doesn’t even have it in him to joke that Eddie shouldn’t be anywhere near their food.

i feel like everyone else has probably already been tagged so sorry if i'm late but no pressure tagging @the-likesofus @lilbuddie @alyxmastershipper @jacksadventuresinwriting @ajunerose

[arobinwithoutbatman]

((Alrighty! Comics time! Pretty sure I'm up to Knightfall Crusade volume 2.

And we're starting off strong with the fucking clown

...I'm sorry, this director is actually going along with Joker's bullshit? Willingly?!?!

I'm... somewhat concerned about the fact that Jean Paul is now being secretly filmed and Joker is at least smart enough to notice something has changed other than the obvious suit changes I mean

Yeah Joker's gonna lose his shit cause that's not Bruce under the cowl and Jean Paul is very much falling into burnout and despair because he has no outside connections

...why do I get the feeling that's not Tim? And that everyone is going to be very surprised when 'Batman' doesn't give a shit?

--------------------

I was right, it's not Tim and Joker is steadily getting more pissed

Well at least he was nice enouhg to check up on the poor college student caught up in all this

I hate everything about this

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Jean... buddy... the system isn't a good thing

And Joker's clocked it's a different person under the cowl

Yup. JP's getting worse! Somehow. Didn't realise he could get worse but hey, life long brainwashing will do that

Gordon's marriage is on the rocks too

...listen... I hate that JP was cheated out of killing the Joker, frankly the man drives me nuts... but there is so much harm being done to Batman's reputation that's going to take forever to unravel

----------------------

Immigration story, okay. This came out in the 90s if I remember correctly so yeah, this was definitely a big topic at the time

Jfc, can this man get any further from the original ideas Bruce had?

Yup, just like I thought, JP has completely lost what little nuance he was able to figure out in situations. Yeah, this fictional woman arrived illegally because it was the only way to get her stolen child back

Baby's in California? Oh honey... you're on the wrong coast

Lol Gordon saying "You should have been a detective!" Because it's true. Bruce was. JP isn't and it's becoming more and more obvious

Human trafficking is also an issue... not surprised comics would attempt to talk about it

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Oh good, JP's actually trying to resist his programming again after the previous issue

...uhhhh... buddy? I dunno who you are but uhhh there's probably all sorts of diseases in long dead bones and any surviving bone marrow that's likely fucking up your health and your brain

And JP's finally actually trying to do the detective work! And starting to ask questions about what he's actually doing and what he believes! Finally! Do your shadow work, dude!

----------------

Ooof poor guy basically being walking acid

...okay... and whomst the fuck is this hero?

School teacher who picked up a power during an alien invasion? Mkay

-------------------

OKay back to the crazy bone eating serial killer

Oh hey Alfred! Hey Bruce!

Tim!!!! My boy is back! Finally!

...briefly... and he's dealing with Cluemaster and the Speedboyz still just on the downlow. WHich is probably gonna come up in his solos whihc is after Knightfall which means I get to see my girl Steph

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Lunch break before I do this next one

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Okay, back to it.

Mutated former cop facing off against JP? Mkay

I really don't like this particular set of street thugs but that might just be because I'm having a hard time parsing their phonetically written accent

And Abbatoir is still out and about

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Creatures of Clay? Ah fuck, Clayface is showing up, isn't he?

Ooooohhhhh Leslie's pissed and understandably so. Bruce is gonna have a hell of a time explaining that it wasn't him under the cowl for the last... however long it's been

Lady Clayface? Huh

Wow... realy just let her go splat

Huh... Clayface has to pass his thing on and infect others just to deal with the pain?

DIfferent name too. Awwww Preston and his wife are expecting! But now they really need to double down on finding whatever disease he has

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So Abbattoir took little baby Cassius Clay and Clayface 3 and Lady Clay just wanted him back but now, both are going to prison

And also he's got his cousin now so that's not good

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Penguin? Mkay

HAH Gordon and Penguin just ripping into each other, I love it

Damn... Jim's seriously willing to do anything to make sure his wife is okay

Oh good, JP was in fact working on it, he's just worse at communicating than Bruce is

And Penguin's inspired once more and likely thinks JP is no longer an imposter or stand in

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Snipers now? Well then

Hunters turned hired killers... I hate them

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Oh shit back to Abattoir

And another appearance from Tim!

You tried, Tim, not your fault JP's mind is such a mess

But that's gonna be a huge stain on Bruce's legacy; multiple people died tonight because he was more focused on vengenace

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He feels righteous?!

Nope. That's it. He's just Azrael at this point. And trauma. Sooooo much trauma

Yup, he's just gonna kill again. Gordon's recognised it and destroyed the Bat Signal because JP doesn't care

FUck me, I hate this arc and desperately want it to be over. I wouldn't be reading this at all if it weren't providing much needed context for what Tim's up to and why

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Judging by the page count, this is the last one in this volume and thank fuck for that!

Ah. Gunhawk. Seeking medical attention for his wife

Massive gunfight in a hospital involving flamethrowers yeah that's real smart -.-

[drabbles-mc]

oops, i did it again, i smashed that button, got lost in the ask game

😈 Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers? 🎶 What music do you listen to when you write? Follow up: Put your "fic inspo" playlist on shuffle and tell us the first 5 songs that come up? 🧠 Pick a character, and I'll tell you my favorite headcanon for them. - Carrillo, because we share custody etc, but also Martinez Sr. because he's interesting

Not me mulling over these questions for days without actually answering them 😅

😈 Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?: I feel like "playfully mean" is not my strong suit lmao. I'm either going for jugulars or I'm letting everyone have very nice things for themselves. Maybe in 2023 I'll work on my sense of moderation, maybe not 😂

🎶 Put your "fic inspo" playlist on shuffle and tell us the first 5 songs that come up?: Ooo this is fun okay okay. 1- Can't Slow Down by Hedley, 2- If I Killed Someone For You by Alec Benjamin, 3- Dreams by Mike Waters, 4- Wake Up Loving You by Old Dominion, 5- Mother Mary by Joshua James

🧠 Pick a character and I'll tell you my favorite headcanon for them: Okay for Carrillo, I know in the show we see that he is just this very angry, brutal unapologetic man. Like we don't see him ever really show remorse or regret. And while I love that I truly do, I also just love the idea that like, even when he does feel it, he just buries it under more anger. He's mad at himself for doing what he did and he's mad at himself for regretting it but rather than dealing with any of the actual feelings or thoughts he just gets angrier and probably also just makes things worse. He's our horrid husband and I think that's very sexy of him. I hate emotional ineptitude in real life but MAN do I love thinking about it for fictional characters. justrightblob

It's funny you mention Martinez Sr. because I was recently *twirls hair* thinking about him in the Diegoverse. So that's what this hc is and I know you get it as one of the founding members of the Diegoverse 🤝🏻 But I was just thinking about Martinez taking over after Carrillo gets killed. The mess and the fallout, and his son is roped into it. Like the man really is just trying to keep his kid alive while also trying to take down the most wanted man. And then he does! They get him! But I'm just thinking about him trying to navigate all the mess left behind after the fact, you know? He's trying to clean up and put things back together, Jr. goes off to a different (safer) assignment and he's grateful but he's still there. And then there's Diego, who has been through the fucking wringer but Martinez looks at him and he's still essentially just a kid and he's still got this shiny hopeful quality about him and despite all the mess he's still not going anywhere. And for as much as Martinez isn't in the business of getting overly close to anyone anymore, he has this moment of, "I guess I'm going to be looking after this one too." I just love the thought of them a lot idkidk 🥺

Tqm and I hope these thoughts were coherent. Apologies if they weren't because this week as truly been A Week 😂💕

[myowndesertplaces]

The One Where Beau and Yasha Rescue a Dog

Beau is exhausted. Even though she's made this trip twenty times in the last three months, she still isn't used to riding horseback. Her thighs and ass feel bruised, and not in a good way. This deliberately slow pace is torture, not just for her body, but for her patience too. Teleporting throughout an entire continent in seconds spoiled her, and this trip, which normally takes two hours, is reaching a third.

It's hard to tell since its body is wrapped in her coat and lying across her lap, but she's pretty sure the dog is still breathing. Beau takes turns between which hand holds the reins and the dog. Thank Ioun she has learned how to meditate through pain, because she's pretty sure her forearms may never fully uncramp.

This was stupid, Beau thinks. He probably won't even make the trip. Hey Yasha, I'm home! I brought you a dead dog. I love you!

Fuck. Please don’t die, Red.

…

The first time Beau saw Red, she was entering Zadash for her first time since she and Yasha had moved into their new home. Well, new to them. The old farmer who was selling the property promised it had "good bones" despite appearances. The homestead had a cottage with a small barn, and plenty of acres of land along the woods near a creek. The problem was no one had lived in it for a decade, except mice and squatters. When the farmer's wife had passed, he couldn't bear to stay there any longer, and moved closer to his son in Alfield. Bryce had set them up. It was close enough to Zadash for Beau, and had plenty of space for a garden for Yasha. Plus, they could fuck or fight in the backyard and no one would be within miles to stop them.

After weeks of repairs, the small cottage was starting to look livable. The roof still needed patched, and the walls painted, but it was a project Yasha was happy to do on her own. On more than one occasion, Yasha had caught Beau in the middle of the night scribbling into her journals when Beau couldn't sleep. The trip to Xhorhas and then the month-long renovation had been a happy reprieve from the dead ends and disappointments of trying to dismantle the Cerberus Assembly. Beau knew Ludinus was key, but no one was talking. Her brain had needed the break, but now she was starting to see the threads again. On the morning of her first day back as Expositor Lionett, Yasha kissed her, and then kicked her out the door with a grin.

So on the day she met Red, Beau was in a surprisingly good mood. It wasn't uncommon to see stray dogs and cats roaming outside the gates of Zadash begging for food. Unlike the Tri-spires, the guards on the outskirts of town were too concerned about keeping out bandits than they were about punting small animals. They didn’t encourage patrons to feed the strays, but they didn’t exactly stop anyone either.

Red was alone and filthy. He stood back from the other animals, waiting his turn. His golden red fur was matted with mud. A chunk was missing from his pointed right ear, and there was a scar across his nose. Whatever breed his parents had been, they had mixed to create a skinny amalgamation of "dog." Beau wasn't sure why she noticed him, or why she thought it was a smart idea to feed a stray dog a piece of meat directly from her hand. If she learned anything from Professor Thaddeus, it was that animal handling wasn't one of her strengths. Maybe it was because she knew that's what Jester would do? Or maybe he reminded her of the first time they met Caleb, though she'd never tell him that ("A dog, Beauregard, really?"). Regardless, she felt a need to introduce herself.

"You look like you've seen a few scraps," Beau said, as she reached into her pocket for a piece of bacon. Red's initial instinct was to jump back at her closed fist, ready to be hit. But when she opened her fingers, he took the bacon cautiously, then sped away.

"Yeah, I can relate to that," Beau said, watching him run as the other dogs yipped and barked around her ankles. Then she climbed back onto her horse, and rode toward the Archive.

Over time, feeding Red bacon each time she left or entered the city had become part of her routine. Beau would even ask for extra bacon at breakfast in whatever inn she stumbled into that morning if she knew she was passing by the gates. After a few weeks, Beau noticed an occasional tail wiggle when Red saw her. Maybe Beau just missed the attention from her friends, but damn if that little guy wasn't starting to creep into her heart.

When Red wasn't there to greet her on her way out of the city this evening, a pang of fear swept through Beau.

"Where's Red?" Beau yelled to the guard.

"Who?"

"Red. The dog with the busted ear."

"Listen lady, I don't pay attention to the little shits, I have a job to do," the guard said staring straight ahead toward an oncoming caravan. "Geoff said something about a dog fight over a rat or something this morning. Go check by the trees."

Old Beau would have said something. She would have happily introduced the guard to her right fist and the sole of her boot. But after the past year, she knows shitheads like this guard were the least of her problems. Just knowing she could knock him unconscious in one round was enough.

Underneath a small cluster of trees a hundred and twenty feet away, Beau could see a small mound of gold in the shade. She pressed her heel into the side of Crapper Jr. and galloped to the tree.

Red was curled into himself, shaking. His right front limb was covered in blood, and his breaths were shallow and quick. Beau jumped down from her horse, and slowly walked toward Red, trying not to startle him.

"Hey Red. Hey buddy."

Up close, Beau could see two large bites near his neck and shoulder, and another on his ankle. She was no cleric, but the yellow ooze and the smell couldn't be good. She rummaged in her bag for a med kit, and removed several strips of bandages and an ointment Caduceus had made of flowers from the Blooming Grove in the last day they were all together.

"In case you get into a fight," Caduceus had said. "Helps with pain."

Beau reached for his paw, and Red pulled away with a whimper followed by a half-hearted growl.

"I've been bit by much bigger things than you. Let me help."

Maybe Red understood, or maybe he was just too tired to care, but he allowed Beau to bandage his wounds the best she knew how.

"Now what?" Beau thought. She knew a few clerics in town, but it was almost night, and who would want to treat a stray mutt? Would divine magic even help a dog? Beau thinks she remembers Jester healing Nugget once.

Beau swaddled him in her old coat, and gently cradled him as she climbed back into the saddle and rode toward the cottage.

"I'm taking you home."

...

The sun had set a half hour ago. She knew Yasha wouldn't be worried. Not yet. But the last thing Beau needs is a nocturnal creature from the woods spooking the horse. As she crests the small hill, she can see the smoke and the warm glow from the cottage's windows like a lantern lighting her way.

Beau fights the urge to gallop home. She peels back a corner of her coat to see a tired Red blinking up at her.

"You're still with me? Good. Almost there. Angel's coming."

Beau pulls directly up to her front door, and gingerly slides off with Red in one arm. She doesn't even take Crapper Jr. to the barn, but makes a mental note to reconsider his name in the morning.

"Hey babe? Babe, I'm home. I need you."

Yasha must have been worried and on guard after all, because she bursts through the door, one hand on Magician's Judge, the other on a broken door knob. She's wearing her apron, but to Beau's mild disappointment, she has a light linen shirt and trousers underneath.

"Is it bandits? Did Trent escape?"

Beau lets out a quick, awkward laugh watching Yasha in their doorway, who is seconds away from going into a full rage. She feels a little guilty and stupid now.

"Um, does healing hands work on a dog?"

Yasha blinks. She bends over to rest her sword against the doorframe before she steps toward Beau, her green and violet eyes focus on the bundle in Beau's arms. She pulls back the coat to see a panting, golden mutt with a damaged ear and several bandages soaked with blood and puss.

"I could try?" Yasha says. She pulls the apron over her head with one hand before tossing it back toward the open door, then lays her left hand over Red's skinny ribs.

Beau recalls all the times Yasha has healed her. The touch of her fingers on her skin. The rush of warmth and comfort like a fire in the dark. Within seconds, the bandages peel off and fall to the ground as scabs begin to form over the wounds. Red's breathing slows and the whimpers stop.

"Let me take him," Yasha says, as she lifts him from Beau's arms and carries him into the house. Beau follows into their front room, and resets the door on its hinges. The fire is lit, and the house smells of burning oak and roasted vegetables. Red looks like a newborn baby in Yasha's giant arms as she sits cross-legged slowly in front of the fire place. She lays Red down in front of her before pulling back the layers of Beau's coat.

"What happened?"

"Got into a fight with some other dogs over a rat."­

"Well, rats are delicious," Yasha says rubbing one of Red's ears through her fingers before scratching his chin.

Beau takes a deep breath and looks around her. It's been five days since Beau stood in this room. A glass jar of wildflowers sits near the window just above where Yasha's bone harp rests in the corner. The crochet blanket Jester made of the Traveler shaped like a dick lays over a chair exactly where Beau left it. Apparently, Jester forgot how long sea travel was and needed a new hobby. Behind her is a set of stairs to the second floor and their bedroom. She wonders if the fourth step still creaks or if Yasha fixed it?

It's easier to stay at the Archive for a few days at a time rather than travel every day, especially when she needs to teleport to Rexxentrum. However, after a while, the walls of the library start to feel heavy, like the stacks are standing over her shoulder as she reads. On long nights, she swears she sees a red eye on her hand, or a tooth in a book, and she can never quite get her heart to stop racing.

But she’s here now. Gods, she loves it here. Kamordah certainly never felt like this. No number of magic lanterns and hot meals ever made that house feel warm.  Plus, she has missed Yasha. And right now, Yasha is glowing. The fire ricochets off her skin like a halo. She's so fucking beautiful when she smiles, and Yasha is grinning like a child at the circus as she mixes strokes along Red's back with "scritches" near his jaw.

Beau can feel herself unwind from the shoulders down, and she remembers just how tired she is. Yasha must feel it too, because she stands up to face Beau.

"Hey baby," Yasha says. She places a loose strand of hair behind Beau's ear with one hand, and curls two fingers into one of Beau's open palms.

"Hey." Beau squeezes her hand back and reaches up on her toes for a kiss. It's soft, but quick, more of a greeting than a call to action. Beau places her head on Yasha's chest, and lets her girlfriend's arms wrap her like a blanket. This is her favorite place, Beau thinks. Not the cottage or the cozy fire lit front room. Here. It's always been where she's felt the safest. It's where her brain goes still and control loses its appeal.

"You tired?"

"Dairon and I stayed up most of the night last night reading through old Cerberus Assembly memos from 200 years ago. Plus, I can’t sleep in that cot at the monastery now that I’ve been sleeping in a bed for the last couple months," Beau says directly into Yasha’s left breast. Yup, definitely her favorite place.

"So, who is our new friend?"

"A stray."

"Yes, but why didn't you take him to an animal handler in Zadash?"

Beau had been thinking about that on the ride home. It had taken a better part of an hour to figure out why, and how she was going to explain this.

"Cause you like dogs?"

"Beau."

Yasha pulls back to look down at Beau. She's so good at seeing through her bullshit. Beau sighs, and feels a sudden urge to hide her face back into Yasha's chest.

"I couldn't leave him. He was alone, Yash. Wherever he came from, he either ran away or was thrown away." A familiar pain creeps into Beau's lungs as she speaks. "I couldn’t just take him to some shitty healer who was probably just going to cut his throat as soon as I left. If Red was going to die, at least he was going to die knowing someone gave a shit."

"He already has a name?" Yasha says, her smile curling into a smirk.

"I may have also been feeding him bacon for the last 12 weeks."

Yasha laughs, and presses a kiss to the top of Beau's head.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm adorable,” Beau says. She gives a concerned glance toward Red. “Do we try to feed him now? Should we let him sleep? What about water? He's definitely going to need a bath." Red's eyes are closed, his hind legs pulled underneath him slightly tangled in Beau's coat. He stretches his front legs out in front of him and yawns. It'd be cute if he wasn't covered in dried blood.

"So do you," Yasha says, "You smell like sick dog and horse."

"What happened to not being able to smell? I thought you were Xhorhasian?"

"I've been in the Empire too long. Let him rest while we eat. I made stew."

The kitchen is small with a wood fire oven that covers the bricks around it with a fine layer of soot. Pushed against the far wall sits a small round table with two chairs under a window next to a door that leads to the backyard and garden. The counter takes up most of the kitchen, and on the middle of it rests a cast iron pot with two crochet potholders.

"Orly and Fjord made the potholders. The ugly one is Fjord's,” Jester had written in her letter that came with her blanket, along with an array of cinnamon covered treats from Nicodranus.

The stew sticks to all the right places in Beau's body. Three months ago, Yasha's dinners consisted mostly of crickets and boiled potatoes. But after a few near-Rages over burnt eggs and undercooked game, they had written Caduceus a lengthy letter begging for professional help. He had written back quickly with a list of their favorite recipes from the road and a bag of spices.

"This is Caduceus's roasted vegetable stew, only I added rabbit," Yasha says.

"Itsgood," Beau says with her mouth full. She has to use the back of her hand to wipe the broth off her chin.

Even though it was her idea, Yasha's not eating. One hand rests on her chin, as the other fidgets with her spoon. She spills a carrot onto the table, but doesn't notice. Her eyes dart toward the front room, then back to Beau, then back again, her smile growing like a cloud.

Beau laughs. "You can go sit with him if you want?"

"But you just got home, and you're tired. I want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm better than okay, babe, really. I was kind of hoping for this," Beau says, leaving out the part where she was also worried about secretly burying a dog in the woods if Red hadn't survived the trip.

Yasha pours the bowl of stew down her own throat in one go, scraping the edges with her spoon. The bowl clanks back onto the table as she stands up and pushes the chair in.

"Okay! I'm going to get the water for his bath. I’ll be right back," Yasha says, and practically skips out the back door toward the garden and the well. It's the same energy she had when she first saw the "most glorious creatures" in Caleb's tower on their first date.

My Gods, I love this woman.

…

Maybe Red is less like filthy-Caleb than Beau originally thought and more like Veth, because he seems completely repulsed by water. His claws scratch against stone and tile as he tries to repel himself backwards off the wall of the tub.

"Just. Go. In. Stop. Fighting," Beau says, each word broken up by a swat to the face by Red's tail.  Karma can be a cruel mistress, and Beau is convinced this is retribution for The Nein destroying Marion’s bathtub several months ago.

It takes a few minutes, and a little tough love from Yasha but they wrangle him into the tub. A ring forms around the edges of the well water within seconds, and a few bugs float to the surface.

Yasha is loving every second, ignoring the occasional snap Red makes at the brush. Beau can't help but stare at her large barbarian girlfriend giggling as she scratches soap into Red's neck.

She'd make a great mom, Beau thinks, and then immediately squashes that thought back into whatever hidden corner of her mind it surfaced from. Beau never entertained being a parent. She's still a kid herself, and the last thing she wants is to fuck up someone the way her parents did to her. But maybe she should let herself think about it more. Maybe.

As soon as Red is released from his watery prison, he shakes every drop of water across the bathroom and onto his saviors-turned-sadists. He runs back into the front room, and rolls onto his back to start scratching and wiggling his way across the floor.

"We're even now!" Beau yells after him, wiping the water from her eyes. "You sure have a lot of energy for someone who almost died an hour ago!"

Yasha follows him, and immediately starts to rub his belly. "He's hard to kill, just like his mamas," Yasha says, then blushes. "We are keeping him, right?"

Beau walks towards Yasha, and leans down to kiss her. "It might be nice to have someone to talk to besides the Stormlord when I'm at work."

"I'd like that."

"Well, welcome to the Mighty Nein, Red."

…

They stay like that for an hour in front of the fire, talking, and feeding Red scraps of jerky and leftover rabbit until the room grows dark and they can’t keep their eyes open any longer. Red stays curled up on Beau’s coat as the two women walk up the stairs, his asymmetrical ear twitching as the fourth step squeaks under their weight.

Beau sets the lantern down on the bedside table between a framed pressed flower and two small wooden dogs. She takes one of the figurines in her fingers and smiles, rubbing its side with her thumb.

"I remember when you bought this in Rexxentrum."

"Really?" Yasha says, stepping up behind Beau. Her hands wrap around Beau's slender waist before resting her head on Beau's shoulder.

"Yeah. I'd never seen you so happy. That’s when I realized I was in love with you."

Yasha presses a kiss to her neck, and pulls her in closer. "I love you, too."

Beau can feel one of Yasha’s forearms slide over her chest, the other gripping onto her waist like Yasha’s afraid Beau will slip away if she doesn’t hold on just a little tighter. Beau wraps her fingers around Yasha’s arm and kisses it.

"I really missed you this week, Yash."

The words slip out like a badly kept secret, and she sinks back into Yasha, allowing herself to be held. They rock like that for a moment without urgency. Beau can feel herself falling asleep. Welcomes it. It likely would have taken her too if it hadn’t been for the loud crash of iron hitting the stone floor beneath them.

"Fuck. My stew!" Yasha shouts, and then tears down the steps two at a time.

A cacophony of expletives, barks, and occasional “big boys” escape from the kitchen. It’s impossible to tell who’s winning the argument, but Beau is done investigating for the day. She swan dives backwards onto the bed. She doesn’t even attempt to peel off her clothes. That’s for future Beau to worry about when she wakes in the middle of the night sweating. Yasha will probably be happy to help her.

She closes her eyes and lets herself feel happy, even if it’s just for a moment. Because right now, for the first time in her life, Beau is home

[aberooski]

The problem with my brain having been obsessed with knowing what fictional characters' singing voices sound like since I was a little kid, and especially now that I'm a vocalist as an adult, is that I can't listen to hardly anything without that voice in the back of my head being like "oh this sound. This specific moment in this specific verse or chorus or whatever. That's specifically what xyz character(s) would sound like!" And I hyperfixate on that for the rest of my life and I craft so many headcanons 😭

That being said, when he's singing seriously Atticus has an incredible voice argue with the wall. Atty has a very wide range but his voice really lives and thrives in the mid range. But he likes to sing higher pitches whenever he gets the chance and is very good at harmonizing. When he gets Chazz to sing with him he always let's Chazz take the melody as often as possible and harmonizes over him. He also plays like every fuckin stringed instrument and hosts weekly campfire jams for the J-Squad to unwind and hang out and de-stress ☺ he always schedules them around his and Chazz's Saturday night sleepovers so they never miss one 😌

Chazz can also sing but doesn't discover it until Atticus gets him to sing with him during like a campfire jam session or one of their regular hangouts. His voice is best suited for more mellow, slower songs like me wow wonder why I headcanon that 🙄. and everyone is very impressed by his vocals, but he gets huffy and embarrassed whenever anyone compliments his voice. In my head his vocal range is on the lower to mid range side and has a very nice rasp to it, especially on the lower pitches where it's a little more prevalent and compliments Atty's voice so they blend very well.

Jaden has the perfect pop punk voice. Just the perfect tone and range, perfectly unrefined sound for it too. But if anyone asked he would shrug and say he couldn't sing. Of course he can, but he doesn't particularly think he's all that good and doesn't really care if he can or not, it's not that important to him like card games are so he'd rather not call attention to it askskskks. His ego is reserved for card games and card games alone 🤭. But he always hypes up the others during Atty's campfire jams and he participates fairly often because he thinks it's fun and everyone else seems to enjoy it when he does so he's down for it. He also lives in the mid range but has a pretty strong upper register for belting out those pop punk classics 😌 Dear Maria is his now Alex

Alexis is an alto, she lives in the mid to lower register, she does have a little bit of an upper register too but she lives on the lower side. Her voice is very warm and soothing and mature and just nice af. But she's self conscious about it so she doesn't sing very much and almost never around other people. Leading to the theory that when the subject could come up she, like Jay, would says she couldn't sing but unlike Jay, she just isn't confident in her voice even though it's very good. Atty likes to nudge her to try and get her to sing with him at his campfire jams, but she always declines. He keeps trying though 🤭

Hassleberry has a surprisingly good voice, very warm like Alexis's and lives in the mid to lower register like her. If she sang, they would blend very well I think. He's private about his voice too, but he'd be fine if the crew find out about it. His southern drawl is still quite prevalent when he sings and it really elevates the gentle warmth of his voice. His vocals are unrefined and amateurish but they're still very strong. He prefers songs with simpler melodies and really thrives in softer, more melodious country/bluegrass music which isn't a surprise to anyone but the fact that his voice is so warm and gentle despite his rough exterior makes people view him in a different light. But in a good way 🙂 he's embarrassed at first when the J-Squad finds out he can sing, but he comes around quickly and has participated in a couple campfire jams himself every once in a while.

Syrus's isn't very different from his regular speaking voice at all I don't think. He has a very young sounding voice and he hates it. It's not bad by any means, he just feels self conscious about it like Alexis but also like he's self conscious about literally everything. Same my guy. That being said, he's a tenor. He has almost no lower register but he has enough of one 👍. His voice is very light, which he's also self conscious about. And he tends to stick to humming, he feels less embarrassed and self conscious that way and wouldn't die on the spot if anyone heard him. Also like me, if he is actually singing along to a song and it gets too low or he just feels like it's too low, he sings it up the octave.

And unsurprisingly at least to me, I feel like Bastion has the most old fashioned type of voice. His range is also very wide like Atty's is. He knows he can sing and is confident about it around strangers, but if anyone he knew heard him or complimented his voice he'd blush and get very embarrassed in an adorable way. Honestly he enjoys the compliments but he doesn't really know how to handle getting them for something not having to do with how smart he is, so he gets flustered when people compliment his voice, to varying degrees depending on how well he knows the person complimenting him or not. That being said, if you want anyone singing the old school classics at the Christmas party or some golden age musicals, you want Bastion.

[kali-writes-meta]

Moon Knight 102: Strong Women, Bad Bosses, and Predestination

"Summon the Suit" had strong performances by Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawk, but not enough attention has gone to May Calamawy's performance. Layla's anger, hurt, confusion, and gradually dawning realization of her husband's psychological condition is crucial for selling the idea that this whole affair isn't just an elaborate hallucination on Steven's part. To that end I have to call out the directors for not giving her more reaction shots to drive home what she's going through. Two more seconds before the knock on the door wouldn't have killed the runtime, guys!

We also found out more about Marc Spector and his work. My first thought on learning the shitty details of Marc's relationship with Khonshu was, "Nice touch, writers. There's nothing more relatable to a contemporary audience than an abusive employer." You'd think that after all those millennia of dealing with humans he would've picked up some social skills.

Unsociable though he may be, Khonshu may well be right about Arthur Harrow having no conscience. Arthur has been seduced by the comfort of predestination. It's the religious equivalent of athlete's foot -- itchy, embarrassing, and tends to come back just when you think you've finally got rid of it.

If you overuse the concept of good and evil and take it too seriously, there's a number of rabbit holes you can get drawn down. One of them is the idea that everyone's eventual goodness score can be known in advance. This is called "predestination", a doctrine that's bedevilled Christianity for centuries and recently staged a comeback. That's led to the fairly recent science fiction speculation on punishing the guilty before they commit a crime. This can lead to all sorts of theoretical ethical dilemmas, but what isn't theoretical is the toxic effect that knowing one is among the Elect, the Calvinist term for all those who have been prejudged to be "good", has on people. 19 out of 20 tend to have a smug arrogance in their own superiority, content to know that God has pre-approved their every conceivable action, rather like the holder of a pre-paid credit card. But 1 out of 20 is going to be aggressive and act on the knowledge that their every conceivable action has been pre-approved, no matter how heinous. That's bad. What's worse is when that one aggressive person convinces the 19 more passive ones to enable his violent schemes without question because they must automatically be "good". That toxic stew has corrupted many a church, and it looks like it has its claws in Arthur's community as well.

Looking forward to #3.

[thoroughlyskeptic]

Once again they prove their lack of intellectual prowess.

First, did they read the attached article or simply react viscerally to the general thought that Ben has no or little amounts of fans? Their own reblog? Number of Notes?

They said 15. Generous indeed

BTW, the attached blog post has been removed with the blogger having gotten anon hate a day or two after it was posted on Gator's page. I wonder why it was removed? I also know that it happened to have been liberated from a nanny twitter.

Since it has been removed you'll have to do with the gist of my memories, although I'd prefer having the original to refer to @ashdoesfandom is free to send a note or comment if I get something wrong about their concept. It wasn't about the size of the fandom but about the extreme elements being only a fraction of the size of the true fandom but that they get all of the attention. However, in postulating that theory, that were making the point that extreme elements make up about 1% of the fandom. Being generous and giving the extreme elements of Cumberbatch fandom, both Skeptics and Nannies each 15 fans that makes 30 extreme fans total and cross multiply backwards to get the total number of active fans. That doesn't mean others don't appreciate his work, we are talking about fandom, people who participate. Math is not my strong suit.

Now that has nothing to do with whether his films sell or not but does show whether he is the Internet's boyfriend or not. But that is a bit more complicated then just like or dislike.

Then, there is this.

(Quick note, only 8 notes on this post) The nannies hate Body Language posts. We reflect our own faults in others. Note the tags on the post closely.

Lie to Me was a fictional yes, but based on a real person. There are many body language experts.

And "here's what it says", WHAT Says? It appears to be a Wikipedia article and we all know how accurate they can be. It is kind of hard to dispute or agree with a reference when you don't have that reference.

The argument being made isn't actually against body language. It is an argument being made for someone who is in the room influencing the person who they are reading, not invalidating the fundamental concepts of the science. When physical presence is not a factor, there is no issue being raised.

As far as confirmation bias, if you call someone a fucking moron, I think you have a bit of a bias. So proverbial pots should not talk about fucking confirmation bias.

Here is a list of a lot of people that make money analyzing body language for a living, some working for the government, including the man Lie To Me was based on. Here is an article about how we can use it everyday and how even experts can be wrong and disagree sometimes. After all, Judi James said that Sophie had no stage experience was unfamiliar with the spotlight and a shy, retiring type by her body language. But then I've never agreed with her interpretations. Of course I can disagree with her without calling her a fucking moron.

You want some science? There is a nice 2 hour Discovery Channel program on Body language. There are numerous Ted talks and books.

But you don't want science. Anyone looking at certain images can tell Ben has looked sad. Sophie had looked Angry and Sad. There is video of Sophie crying and running off a red carpet in a snit! You want to believe a fairy tale so body language doesn't exist because it disagrees with your point of view.

It's a true shame that fandom has become synonymous with fanatic. The word brings to mind excess, worship and zeal. No one should ever worship another person. That's wrong. When fandom becomes worship, that's too far. When you are harassing someone who isn't even in your fandom because their point of view may align your "enemy's" , that's wrong. When you "ship" real people, that's wrong. Despite whatever the nannies and haters may think of me, I have my own moral code. It's a shame that many others don't.