#but it's like him sacrificing his life to save some kids and its very sexy of him. everyone thinks he's scum and annoying but he

[sciderman]

kids these days... they don't know... they don't know wade wilson was an anime boy...

also this clip is not in the above video but (obligatory)

personally, i love him (i am in love with him)

my beloved dearest spider-man fanboy silly silly whomst i love so much

[everyneji]

Bouncing off this post here, I want to talk a little about Neji and romantic relationships beyond just my shipping preferences. Though I wouldn't call this very exact meta either, as there's nothing to really go off of.

The truth is, Neji died before his love life was relevant. I know a lot of people think that he and Tenten would have ended up together but I'm not so sure. I believe he would have stayed uncoupled like his teammates in canon. Team Gai are Team Comic Relief and have genuinely had the most wholly platonic team-centric content of any of the Konoha 12 and the only crush we see from any of them is Lee's on Sakura, which was never gonna happen. I doubt Kishimoto would leave only Lee uncoupled of the team. At most, I think Neji would end the series with an implied off-screen Hyūga wife and a kid.

To add to this, as far as spin-off/AU/filler content goes, we only see 'Neji is a perv' 'Neji has a sister complex' 'Hinata considers Neji a romantic rival' 'Neji is unaffected by Sexy no Jutsu', none of which are a serious attempt to answer the question of 'What does Neji want?'

I also wonder if Neji could even marry out of the Hyūga clan, not just because of his caste status, but because he's a nobleman. He's not likely to be taking someone else's name. Historically speaking, men tend to be the only ones who can start a new branch clan, but in canon the equivalent of this is Hizashi being sealed. Hyūga seem to keep to themselves; Himawari and Boruto imply that the white eyes are a recessive trait. Hinata marrying out is an exception because she was already effectively disowned and she's marrying the Ninja Saviour.

(Of course, if Kishimoto wanted it to happen it would, the Hyūga entering the modern world and changing, but I'm working within the understanding of what we have.)

Narratively speaking, Neji is also far more intertwined with the destiny of the Hyūga clan than Hinata, whose story has centered her feelings for Naruto from the jump. I have a hard time seeing him leaving his family behind for love. Though he's had some very valid issues with his family, he's also fully embraced their techniques and their name; he just wants the respect and equal treatment he's owed within that.

With no canon evidence of romantic interest to go on, I personally focus on how Neji is like Gaara, that is, such a Naruto fanboy that it becomes its own beast of the headiest affectionate feelings we see displayed from them. Neji smiling so genuinely at what could be his final moments because he's thinking of how Naruto saved him is pretty intense.

'Hope is a thing with feathers, that perches in the soul ...'

I've touched on it in another post, but I also think it's sincerely amusing that when Hinata sacrifices herself in the Pain Invasion Neji goes "Why'd she do that?" His own dad sacrificed himself for love! And he has to know of her feelings for Naruto. He even asks if she wants to see Naruto off at the end of part one and hears of how the mere sight of Naruto gives Hinata the vapours. Yet he just doesn't get it ... until you fast forward a bit and put him on that battlefield with Naruto and Hinata in danger, and suddenly Neji's taking the bullet. As he dies in Naruto's arms, he says, "Naruto, Hinata-sama is willing to die for you. So remember you hold more than one life in your hands. And it seems that my life too may have been one of them." He directly parallels himself to Hinata (who sacrificed herself for love of Naruto) and says Naruto holds his life too. I mean, alright!

I'm not saying Kishimoto deliberately wrote Neji in love with Naruto but I think so long as Neji and Hinata are foils to each other who are both moved by the same man, you can derive interesting interpretations from that.

To return to 'what would Neji want' my personal answer is 'Someone able to offer perspectives he had not considered.' It's not just about being challenged -- the person needs to have a real point to make that they can back up. This suggests the person in question would need a certain strength of character, intuition, and likely the power to influence the world around them. This is generally what I go with when writing, but of course, it remains all headcanon.

I hope people forgive me for this very speculative post, I just ... got carried away writing it so hey. Here ya go! 👋

[thecorteztwins]

@esteicy-blog “I'm convinced that they didn't even check the wiki page of her comic version when writing her in the mcu because movie Mantis has absolutely nothing to do with what you describe.“ I haven’t see the MCU movie, but I have read a bit about that version of Mantis and they sound NOTHING alike to me either! Comics Mantis is: - Not an alien. She’s a completely human woman with a Vietnamese mother and a German father. She was raised by Kree priests in a temple, but that temple was in Vietnam, not space, and then when she was an adult they wiped her memories so she remembered only growing up in Saigon. She never goes to space until her destiny as the Celestial Madonna is revealed. She MARRIES one of the Cotati aliens, but she isn’t one herself. Which means I think GotG has more POC who are playing aliens than actual POC characters? - Her powers are very different. As I understand it, movie!Mantis is a generic empath. Comics book Mantis had what she described as “empathy with nature” often calling it simply “empathy” for short, but what it actually was was just like...this very vague and generic psychic sensitivity. She wasn’t exactly a real telepath, nor a true empath, nor a precog, but she could feel “vibrations” that gave her clues if something was wrong, get a general sense of a person in a vague sort of way, and just generally gave her really good intuition. For instance, this one time a cop with a split personality had his other personality take over, and Mantis sensed SOMETHING was wrong because his “vibrations” changed, she just couldn’t say WHAT was going on. But more than her psychic sensitivity, was her martial arts prowess. Mantis has such martial skill that she’s able to grapple with Thor and WIN---quickly win, at that! At one point ALL THE AVENGERS try to physically restrain her, and she TOSSES THEM THE FUCK OFF (again, including Thor) She also once kicks Pietro in the face WHEN HE’S RUNNING! Again, this woman is HUMAN, she just has really extreme training by alien priests. - Her personality. Again, I haven’t seen the movie, but she seems kind of...cute and fragile and ditzy and naive from what I understand? Comics Mantis is intelligent, fearless, and very much NOT naive. She’s extremely assertive and serious, she’s not shy or giggly at all. She’s also framed as very intelligent and logical, though that’s more something the writing tries to convince us of than what’s actually on the page. She’s not stupid AT ALL, just we’re told she’s a brilliantly logical deductive mind on par with the Vision, when actually she just mostly makes guesses based on her intuition powers but calls it deduction. She’s definitely clever though, both in a fight and in terms of getting what she wants from people and situations, and how to best utilize her powers. She’s also never unsure in her abilities either; she’s so confident in them that in fact she defends them to others when they think her psychic intuition is wrong, or that she didn’t measure her strike correctly, and BOTH times she’s proven correct. But she’s also not arrogant about her skills either, and in fact demures from compliments. Mantis doesn’t tolerate anyone underestimating her abilities, including allies, and she trusts in herself completely...but she also doesn’t need praise from others either, and doesn’t seem to want it. And the story supports her, there is never a moment where she’s proven wrong in this. Mantis is NOT a character who EVER struggles with control of her powers. Mantis can be great. For instance, when she’s reuniting with the Avengers after having been away in space with the whole Celestial Madonna thing, they’re all super happy to see her. Silverclaw, a new Avenger (who is also indigenous Latina) stands off the side and is left out, because she doesn’t have any connection to Mantis. Mantis notices this, and she immediately reaches out to Silverclaw, putting her arm around her, saying that “Yes, they gather around this one. But this one would rather gather around you.” and explains that she was the new girl once and the Avengers supported her, and she wants to support Silverclaw too. It’s very sweet! Mantis absolutely can be a big jerk. The way she meets The Avengers is that some guys are being creeps to Wanda on the street, and Mantis jumps out to kick their asses and defend Wanda. This is great. But it’s not coincidence. Mantis wasn’t just passing by. She and her boyfriend the Swordsman (a former Avenger) want to join, and had come to the US for the express purpose of joining. So she was probably following Wanda and just jumped out at the moment she knew would make her look best to Wanda, so that Wanda would vouch for her as an Avenger. Mantis shows this capacity to be manipulative other times as well, and in fact in the end she seems to have been just using the Swordsman as a way to get America and be an Avenger, even though she claims to the Avenger that she doesn’t care about being one and just wants to be next to “her man”. She acts like the typical “submissive Asian girl who loves her big strong white boyfriend” at first but the minute she decides that she’d rather have the Vision, who is actively involved with Wanda, she starts pursuing him. She’s a huge jerk to Swordsman and Wanda in the process, insulting the both of them as being weak and not good enough for her or Vision, at first behind their backs, and then to their faces, she and Wanda get pretty catty. Mantis is very adamant that she wants a strong, heroic, INTELLIGENT man, and the Swordsman falls short for her. Which is her choice, but the way she handles it is very shitty to him (not to mention going behind his and Wanda’s backs trying to seduce Vision). He tries more than once to have a discussion with her about it, and she evades him, avoiding giving him any kind of straight answer when he asks her very straightforward questions. It’s not towards the end that she finally coldly dismisses him and tells him he’s not enough for her and that she doesn’t care for him any longer. Even when he’s dying after saving her and she’s begging him to live and apologizing, she’s still frankly kind of a selfish dick about it? She says she used him and that it was wrong and that she sees that now, but she says he needs to live so she can make things up to him. So he needs to live so SHE can feel better, basically, and she’s only feeling remorse in the first place because he sacrificed himself for her. Even after death, he can’t catch a break---she says she prefers the version of him that is actually the Elder Cotati possessing his dead body (I’m still not over that) because its smarter than the original Swordsman was. Ouch. But Mantis isn’t all bad for this! She’s not actually demonized for it at all, to be honest, nor is she punished by the narrative. Her story with the Swordsman is honestly more just a way to get her to the Avengers, then she quickly overtakes him in terms of importance as a character. It’s easy to forget he’s there most of the time compared to her, and he’s got rid of the moment he’s no longer really needed, and the next chapter of her story can begin as she’s revealed to be The Celestial Madonna. It’s the reverse of the typical male and female roles in a story, ESPECIALLY for a white man and an Asian woman. He’s HER prop, he’s the one devoted to her, he’s the one who is cast aside and dies for her as a part of HER story. Mantis also evolves. When she comes back from her journey as the Madonna, she’s straight with the Avengers about why she’s come to them, and she asks directly for their help, there’s no manipulative games. Wanda and her still have a bit of an issue on Wanda’s end, Wanda understandably still doesn’t like seeing her be close with Vision, but BOTH of them work at having a better relationship---Wanda in fact goes out of her way to tell Mantis that she and Vision are separated now, so it’s fine if he hooks up with Mantis (which he does) And Mantis hasn’t said an unkind word about Wanda in a very long time. Being a mother brings a whole new dimension to her. Ben Grimm cracks about how any “red-blooded American kid” would have a hard time calling her “Mom” due to her sex appeal, and Mantis rightly points out that people don’t often think of her as a mother---which is a small but VERY true commentary on how people can’t seem to conceive of motherhood and sexiness in the same woman outside the MILF stereotype---but she is, and she is a very devoted one, and she’s a great mom while also having sex with the Vision even while she also has a “mate” in the Elder Cotati, and she’s not portrayed as wrong for this in any way; she and the Elder Cotati seem poly I guess. And being a mother, being the Celestial Madonna, gave her a bunch of additional new powers, she’s stated to be a GODDESS now, and she ends up being able to TAKE ON THANOS and she WARNS him---”This one is life, Thanos, but hurt her son and she will kill you. That is a promise.” So, she’s a very well-rounded character, she’s very assertive and confident woman with every right to be, while not being arrogant. She’s got some really nasty flaws, she can be cruel and catty when it comes to romance, manipulative when it comes to achieving her goals when there’s not even any need to be, but she also matures and develops. She’s a great mom who also has an active sex life and nothing is shown as wrong about it. She starts out with admittedly very racist trappings---the mysterious seductive martial artists Dragon Lady from the Far East who seems devoted to her white boyfriend--but grows beyond it in spades. I can see why a modern movie might want to shed SOME of that baggage...but making her into a cutesty-poo side character with nearly all her incredible canon powers gone, while ALSO erasing her ethnicity and cultural identity, doesn’t seem at all a step in the right direction to me.

[aliceslantern]

Retribution, a Kingdom Hearts fanfic, chapter 16

Newly a person again, Ienzo is weighed down by guilt and his humanity. He's prepared to do whatever it takes to atone... only to find unexpected solace in a familiar face. With more insight into the bonds between people than ever before, Ienzo reaches for a dangerous element from the past to help Kairi and Riku in their search for Sora. What is his life if it means saving another, brighter light?

Chapter summary:  Kairi goes to a deeper place of sleep. Ienzo pays a price.

Read it on FF.net/on AO3

---

He’d only come into the lab to drop off some notes Ansem had asked for. As soon as he was in the office he noticed the tension, thick, making his heart rate spike. Both Ansem and Even were standing over Kairi.

“What’s going on?” Ienzo asked.

“She won’t wake,” Even said. “I stopped the sedative hours ago--yet--and all her vitals look normal. I don’t understand--”

“Perhaps she is naturally asleep?” Ienzo asked, though he didn’t believe it as he said it.

Ansem shook his head. He offered Ienzo the tablet they’d been using to monitor her vitals. “Look at her neural activity.”

“She’s dreaming,” Ienzo said softly.

“She’s gone to a farther place of sleep,” Even said. “Perhaps… seeking something, or…”

Ienzo could feel his pulse in his throat. “What of the data?”

“Inconclusive nonsense,” Ansem said, flicking through a few tabs. “The numbers. It’s as though--”

“Perhaps she is slipping too,” Ienzo said, with horror. “If she connected with Sora… but is that possible?”

“I’m not sure. It’s unnatural for her to be alive anyway, and the price was Sora’s disappearance. If she were to try and connect with him, that could be--undoing everything, and the fates could be taking her.”

The notes dropped out of his hands. Ienzo could feel the panic in his breast, thick, sticky, and hot. “This is my fault.”

They both looked at him.

“I encouraged this. Joining our power together--getting her to call out for him--this is on me. She trusted me.” He was breathing hard. “The nature of that power--the nature of Sora’s price--oh no. No.”

“Don’t be absurd,” Even said, but he sounded shaken. “That’s impossible. You were merely looking at her memories and tracing them. That wouldn’t make her disappear.”

Ienzo’s hand snapped up to his head. “I was trying to--I never should have--this is all my fault. No. ” He tried to think.

There was one thing he could do to stop her from slipping away.

“We don’t know anything to be certain,” Ansem said magnanimously. “This sleep could very well be willful on her part. She’s a princess of heart--the rules are different for her.”

“Your power wouldn’t poison like darkness,” Even agreed. “But yet… this isn’t meaningless.”

“We need more data to draw any conclusions.”

“So we just wait?” Ienzo asked.

“What other alternatives do we have?” Even asked tiredly. “For all we know… given their connection… she’s onto something.”

“We have to trust in that,” Ansem said. “Ienzo. Peace. Your experiment was not successful, but it wasn’t harmful.” He came over to him and eased him down onto a chair. “It’s alright. We’ll figure this out.”

As Even and Ansem fretted over the data… Ienzo waited.

Regardless of what they said, this was his fault. With him gone, Kairi must have continued to trace that connection on her own, going to a deeper place, her heart calling to a world that might not exist, that should not exist. There was a not insignificant chance this would make her disappear as well. As Ansem said--since they were essentially trying to reverse fate’s decision, some one was going to have to go in Sora’s stead.

Oh.

So that’s how it was to end. But it was all his own doing, of course.

Ienzo waited.

He pretended to leave with Ansem and Even, so as to not arouse suspicion. He ducked back through the library and down again towards the lab.

Ienzo looked down at his phone. He entered the number and dialed.

"Zo? What's up? I can't really talk--I'm still working."

He felt a lump tighten in his throat. "I just wanted to hear your voice."

"My sexy drawl?" He laughed. "Really, though. Is something going on? You sound upset."

"Just congested," he lied. "The air is very dry in here. I… have to help Ansem with some data entry. I won't be able to see you tonight."

"...Oh." He sounded disappointed. "Okay. Well. Don't work too hard."

"I'll try." He bit his lip. He knew saying this would raise alarm bells, but he couldn't stop himself. "I love you."

"Hey, I love you too. You in a sappy mood?"

"You could say that. I'll… I'll let you go."

"See you soon," Demyx said, and hung up.

Ienzo approached Kairi slowly. He tried to calm himself. Center himself. It was an uphill battle. He pulled up a chair, wiped the back of his hand with a prep pad wearily. His hands were shaking and it took a few tries to find a vein for the IV catheter. He was aware these were likely his last moments of consciousness, and equally tried to push the thoughts away.

He took her hand. As he started the sedative, he began to so slowly reach out to her, everything getting hazier until finally it was all foggy.

There was so much fog.

Ienzo blinked. Then blinked again.

He'd never put himself to sleep--not as such. He was aware this was a lucid sort of dream, perhaps part illusion. He looked through the bluish fog for any source of light. "Where are you?" He muttered. It was hard to wade through all this. Was she too far to reach? He pulled for the lexicon, feeling its weight. He opened the cover and sought her memories.

The pages were blank. All of them.

Ienzo began to riffle through them with panic. Much as Xion disappearing caused memories to be purged--Kairi must be disappearing as well. "Kairi!" He called. "Kairi, you have to come back. You're going to disappear!"

Silence. Ienzo ran blindly through the fog, seeking that familiar light.

"I'm sorry. I'm so--I was wrong. You have to come back. Kairi."

He didn't recall ever feeling so helpless before. So lacking composure.

In the mist, he thought he saw something, a little girl. "Kairi?" He followed her. She kept running, kept giggling, like this was a game. "No--just stay still," he said. "Please."

The mist started to fade so slowly, revealing, of all things, a small library in the castle. Ienzo looked down at the girl.

Red hair. Unmistakable violet-blue eyes. She must've been four, perhaps younger. She clapped her hands. "Kairi?" A deep memory of hers, then.

She slid her tiny hand into Ienzo's and led him over to a small table. There were photos spread all over it. She picked one up and handed it to Ienzo.

Sora, equally as young. A night sky full of meteors. "You started at the beginning," he said. "When your hearts first connected."

She nodded eagerly.

"Kairi, if you keep following him you're going to disappear. Your memories are already unravelling. It's my fault. Let me help you. I should never have--"

She looked at the table and whimpered.

"I know. I know. It probably feels like you're closer than ever. But you won't be reunited if this continues. You'll just vanish. And he wouldn't want that. We're violating the narrative. He'll come if he's meant to, but not like this. Not using this power."

Tears filled her eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I really thought--"

She touched his hand. When Ienzo looked up she was sixteen again. "I know where he is."

"Kairi--"

She shook her head. "I can feel him. Ienzo, I don't know how, but I don't think I'm actually disappearing. I think my heart is going to meet his. Maybe I can bring him back using this connection--all the ones that have been opened, data or other. You've given us options."

He was, again, dizzy. "You're sure?"

"Yes. Can't you feel it?"

All Ienzo could feel was vertigo.

"Trust me. I need you to go tell Riku. It's going to take both of us."

"But what about--"

She was already gone. Ienzo heard another set of footsteps. He looked from the fading photos up to the source.

His own face stared back at him; young, eight or so, in the overlarge lab coat they'd sewn for him. The kid watched him warily. "Are you my heart as well?" Ienzo asked him. "Or a memory?"

The kid reached up for his hand. Ienzo took it. It sent a pang of pain through his chest.

They waded through the fog, through his memory. Through the pain of the apprentices' lies and Ansem's disappearance, through the experiments, the memories shattering like crystal. Through the fire and smoke of his parents' house. Through his own atrocities, the worlds that fell, the hearts that were harvested. "Why are you showing me this?" Ienzo asked the boy. He said nothing.

They stood at the center of a web of memory, one slowly withering. "Is this the power?"

The boy nodded.

"So I guess this is the end of the line."

Another nod. Faint pages flickered and burned. Ienzo picked up the lexicon. It, too, was vanishing. He took a deep breath and heard the boy do the same. He pitched it into the center of the web. The fine filaments unraveled more quickly, the power withering and dying inside of him. Sacrificing it was all he had left. To turn fully away from this very, very long chapter of his life, and accept the consequences. Namely... that this was not all his fault.

The veins shattered. In their place, other lines, weak but growing. Ansem's embrace during their reunion. Even holding him as he cried. Aeleus, gentle, stalwart, Dilan’s attempts to rebuild.

Demyx, holding him, their first kiss. The realization that they were falling in love. The way the bond made him stronger, more him than ever before. The way it let him be vulnerable, and the strength in that vulnerability. That it made him capable of love.

Ienzo opened his eyes.

The pain, the dizziness, worsened. It felt like there was a massive weight on his chest. He wasn’t on the chair, he was on the floor, and he was being cradled. “Ienzo? Ienzo, can you hear me?” In the bright light of the lab, Demyx’s face was in silhouette.

“Hey.” He was gasping, a hoarse, animal sound. “How did you--”

“Help’s coming. Someone’s coming. You just have to hang on for a little while.” His own voice was ragged.

“How did you know?”

“When you said you loved me. You never say that over the phone. I knew you were going to do something stupid.” He touched Ienzo’s face.

“Is she--where is she--”

Demyx looked over his shoulder. “I don’t know. I figured she ran to get someone.”

“Oh…” The laughter hurt his chest. “She really did it.”

“Did what?”

“Found his heart.” The words were taking all his strength. It was getting harder to breathe. “She told me she had… I thought she was… disappearing. Not to him. From reality.”

Demyx touched his mouth. “Save your breath.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lie. I thought I was doing this to her.”

“It’s okay, Ienzo.”

A weird giddiness overtook him. In a flash of consciousness he realized it was likely hypoxia. He was starting to have to think about these breaths, forcing it consciously. He reached up to Demyx’s face. His hand was trembling and weak. “I’m really not very smart, am I?” He had to gasp between words.

“You were trying to save her.”

He was starting to grow tired…

“Tell me a story.”

He blinked. “What? I thought I… shouldn’t talk?”

“You have to stay awake. A story, a memory. Something.”

“I…” His other hand, at his side, twitched. He forced himself to breathe. “When I was… small." Ienzo coughed a little. “Ansem used to… to take me… out to the gardens. It was like… another world. They never used to let me explore. They didn’t want me to get hurt. He would… break Even’s rules… and just let me wander there for hours and hours.”

“I guess Even was the strict dad?”

“Very… neurotic.” He could feel his eyes rolling. Demyx shook him gently. “Always… “don’t do this, don’t do that.” But he did it… because of how my parents died… because of the accident that started the fire… wanted to stop that.” His arm started to tremble from the exertion of holding it up. Demyx laid his palm over his to keep it there. “But it was because of Ansem that I knew I could be… more.” For a moment he just had to focus on breathing. It was getting harder. “There was so much… more out there.”

“There still is.” His expression slipped. Ienzo realized it was taking as much strength for Demyx to appear calm as it was for him to breathe.

“I wanted to help people.”

“You are. You will.”

Another wave of giddiness. He was starting to go numb. “I’m dying.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Even and Aerith are going to come fix you. I already called them. It’s okay.”

“I used to think that I wanted this. But it feels so… I’m scared.” He could feel it, the numbness encroaching. “Will you tell them?”

“Who?”

“The others. That I love them. And I’m sorry. I ran out of time. I never got to fix things. I--”

“You’re not going to die.” The desperation crept into his voice. He looked at his phone. “Please, oh please--”

“I love you.”

“Ienzo--”

“Sing to me?”

His eyes clouded with tears. Ienzo tried to keep breathing, but his body was no longer responding to him. Demyx kissed his forehead and remained there, his cheek against Ienzo’s face. In a shaky and halting voice he sang, a lullaby that sounded like water.

It was so hard to stay awake. Things were getting so hazy, so quickly, all of it dissolving, until at last all there was was his shaky voice.

And then there was nothing.

[rigginsstreet]

u know that riverparents as mythical beings post that u made? could you elaborate on it? like what would parentdale be like as a supernatural drama

oh fun! (this post for anyone who missed out)

hals the only one missing from that post (well, i guess clifford too but i never count him cuz he died in season 1 lmao) so we’re either working in the timeline that he died or we gotta come up with something for him but i cant think of anything right now so... dead he is

supernatural!parentdale would be like midnight texas, i think. just riverdale being this small town thats a portal (or whatever the explanation was on mt i dont remember) where all these different mythical beings congregate and shit goes down that they gotta stop

alice being a vampire and gladys being a werewolf... sworn enemies... forbidden love.... sexy, is all im saying.

oh hal could be one of the 4 horsemen? since tom is death. hal could be famine. (marty could be war, miles could be pestilence. boom. there we go)

hirams going around as a chaotic trickster god fucking everyones shit up cuz hes bored and loves drama lmao literally no different than regular human!hiram honestly

JUST GOT AN IMAGE OF FP AND PENELOPE HAVING THESE FIRE POWERS LINKED TO THEIR EMOTIONS SO WHENEVER THEYRE IN A HIGH EMOTIONAL STATE SHIT JUST STARTS BURNING AND I THINK THERES A LOT WE CAN SAY THERE ABOUT THEIR CHILDHOOD TRAUMAS AND HOW THEY CANT CONTROL THEIR POWERS AND THEY INADVERTENTLY CAUSE A LOT OF DESTRUCTION (although i think penelope got control of her powers long before fp did i see her like... setting small shit on fire or causing small explosions when someone pisses her off while she walks away calmly... fp, however. whew. he destroys everything but its never on purpose. also... idk who else here is a fan of australian kids television but if yall saw h2o - that scene where rikki and zane are kissing but rikki doesnt have control of her heat powers yet so shes like.... fucking boiling zane alive while theyre kissing and she has no idea until he like passes out and is all red and theres fire everywhere.... yeah)

fred as a ghost is some sad shit and im only here to make it sadder but LISTEN. there is something to be said for the fact that he’s the only person fp cant hurt because he has no body lmao and like... leave it to fp to fall in love with a fucking dead guy but ya know, thats his life. so then they have this whole arc of fred helping fp work through his shit and get control of his powers (listen idk how dragons work like i know dragon aus exist but ive never read them so... this is my own interpretation) while simultaneously fp is helping fred figure out how to cross over because thats what all ghosts are trying to do. and it ultimately has this bittersweet ending where theyve both helped each other but fred has to go and its real sad and im honestly about to start crying so we’re moving on

oh i just got an idea for fred and fp but this is the only gif of it i can find but:

FP TRYING TO TOUCH FRED BUT HE CANT! WHEW! my life to whomever wants to write this fic im just saying...

hermione as a witch is real funny to me cuz usually in these supernatural dramas the witch characters are always sacrificing themselves for everyone else and theyre the ones everyone goes to for help and they always have to save the day but hermione is just not that bitch lmao like, dont get me wrong, she does end up helping everyone and saving the day.... but she’s not happy about it. she does love to put hexes on people tho and she’s a savvy business woman who sells a bunch of fake shit to hipster “witches” cuz its trendy but she would never give away her real magic (her and hiram together... powerful)

mary is very much the protector of everybody (i mean, a lot of them have protector qualities but mary, as an angel, is the leader). like yeah shes sweet and loving and caring but shes also very much a biblical angel and will fuck some shit up. she is powerful. do not mess with her

sierras like a true blood fairy. minus the orgies maybe. or maybe she likes the orgies i dont know her life, thats up to her. but sierra shooting light balls out of her hands is a 10/10 concept i can see is so clearly in my minds eye.

please feel free, anybody, to ask more questions about this au cuz im sure i have more to say. supernatural dramas were my shit from like... honestly my entire life but admittedly i havent been as into them in a while (probably cuz there arent any good ones anymore... middle school-high school was like the peak years of that media tbh)

[margridarnauds]

Can you please talk about Imhotep x Anck Sun Amun. Anything. I’ve come back to one of my age old opts and I need your help

Oh my God, I’ll try! (Warning: Contains some salt for the second film, though it comes from a place of love and affection, and much rambling, which isn’t helped by the fact that it’s been a little while since I’ve seen both films but still have many feelings, also tw: for references to rape)

Like you, they were probably one of my oldest OTPs, and I’ve always been more or less consistent on them. (I remember being SO disappointed as a kid with the finale of the Animated Series when Imhotep just...walks away from her.) I absolutely loved how EPIC and tragic it was, and I was always rooting for them to get a happy ending. (And I was always disappointed, until I discovered the wonderful world of fanfic.) The Mummy is actually what got me started with my interest in history, and so I really do owe it a big one for that. It’s probably one of the single most influential pieces of media I’ve consumed in my life. I definitely think they were at their strongest in The Mummy; that’s the film that really DEFINES the ship for me, despite Anck getting relatively little time. Like, in the course of the introduction, we find out several things in quick succession: That Imhotep was Pharaoh’s high priest, that Anck was his mistress, and that they loved each other enough that "For their love, they were willing to risk life itself.” And then, after THAT, we learn that they were willing to kill PHARAOH, AKA the MEDIATOR BETWEEN THE DIVINE AND THE MORTAL REALM for the sake of each other. One of the things I actually realized while I was rewatching The Scene is that there’s actually a moment immediately after Pharaoh’s asked her who touched her where she looks at her arm and has a brief moment of surprise, starting just a LITTLE before she turns to look at Seti and then, behind him... 

She is TERRIFIED at this point. I think that killing Pharaoh was probably been something they’d considered, possibly talked about, but I have some strong doubts that this particular part was planned out. (Though I could also be very, very easily persuaded otherwise as well; it’s the kind of thing I’ve gone back and forth on over the years.) And then the two of them work TOGETHER to kill Pharaoh. Anck isn’t passively sitting by while her lover kills Seti, she’s actively participating in it, taking the first stab even before Imhotep gets to it, when he’s just drawn his sword. And, when the Medjai come, Imhotep was willing to DIE for her, only being dragged away by his priests, even though Anck had begged him to leave so that he could resurrect her. And then we learn a little bit about why she might not have hesitated to kill Pharaoh before Imhotep did...

This is what she chooses as her LAST WORDS. A defiant statement saying, once and for all, that she’s never going to be violated again, her last action seizing agency for herself, killing herself before letting her fate being dictated by someone else again (and to prevent her from the painful, painful death that would have awaited her otherwise). All while letting the man she chose to be with, to love, escape while she took the full blame (it’s mentioned in the original script by Narrator!Imhotep that “For murdering Pharaoh, Anck-su-namun's body was to be cursed. And it was I, the High Priest, whose duty it was to curse it.” Which...holy ANGST Batman. Given how IMPORTANT the body was to Ancient Egyptian beliefs relating to the afterlife and how important the afterlife really WAS, this must have killed him, even if he might have justified to himself that he was going to get her back. 

I’ll never entirely forgive the second film for changing her from “mistress” to “fiancee” (which seems to give her more...security, than her just being a concubine, though realistically Seti has MULTIPLE wives, but The Mummy doesn’t MENTION them or Nefertiti’s mother, so...) and deciding that she was going to be an Obvious Dark Sexy Lady from the get-go, when this is pretty damn self-explanatory. But they’d decided that Nefertiti was going to be Evie, and Seti was now the BELOVED FATHER of our heroine, and so of course Seti has to be a loving, kind father whose death was a great tragedy. (Though...personally, I choose to go with Nefertiti as an unreliable narrator. Of course she’s not going to have sympathy for a common concubine who murdered her rightful king, she had to have been a scheming, manipulative woman from the beginning. Seti can be a loving father...who still treated Anck as if she was an object for his pleasure.)

It’s just...so, so important for me to emphasize that she CHOSE to love Imhotep, that he might very well have BEEN the only man she CHOSE to be with in her life

And I’ve focused a lot on this opening and how IMPORTANT it is because it’s literally the first thing we see, and it’s what sets up the entire series. “For their love, they were willing to risk life itself” and, as it turns out, their afterlives as well. Even while Imhotep’s been turned into a cursed figure, doomed to bring the Ten Plagues of Egypt, he has two essential goals (1) Get himself rejuvenated so he won’t run up a tree whenever a cat comes along and (2) Get Anck back. Like...holy SHIT. He was willing to tear down this world and the next just to have the life with her that they SHOULD have had, in another world. 

One of the things that really stood out while I was looking for sources to work with was something that Pete Hammond, a film critic said, which is that "people want to believe in a life after death situation," which is TRUE, and explains a lot of the appeal of figures like ghosts and zombies and mummies (who are kind of specifically Egyptian zombies, as far as their ties to imperialism are concerned, but I digress), but also with Imhotep and Anck-su-Namun in particular, it’s the idea of a star-crossed love so incredibly powerful that it lasts for MILLENNIA, in defiance of death and life. It’s destructive, to the society they live in, to the world at large, but it’s epic love at its finest and it was something they both fought like Hell for. 

And then we get the second film. And in the second film, there’s obviously the ambiguity between Anck and Meela, and which one is which. Still, I think that for the MOST part the person we see in the film is more or less meant to be the person that Anck was in the past, given that there are traces of that in the pre-canon flashbacks, such as the opposition of Nefertiti VS Ankh su Namun, Pharaoh’s daughter VS the mistress, light feminine VS dark feminine, which then is repeated throughout film with Evie VS Anck/Meela, though to be fair, I’m not sure that the WRITERS were 100% sure where one began and the other ended. Which is probably a consequence of defining Anck in the first film mainly as “a goddess” and “gorgeous” the latter of which the film notes EVEN AFTER SHE’S DEAD, but I digress. The novelization plays with it a little bit, having Meela be the one to desert Imhotep, not Anck, running as her identities collapsed in on themselves. The one script I was able to get my hands on that seemed like it might be halfway legitimate rather than just a transcript said that he “realizes that she never loved him,” which seems to swing the opposite direction, being more in line with the Animated Series which would follow it where Anck is a villain whose “Love” for Imhotep is entirely opportunistic. 

Personally, even though I waffle back and forth on this one, I think that Meela is slightly more outwardly vampy than Anck, slightly more pragmatic (Anck was always pragmatic, don’t get me wrong, THAT’S shown by her asking Imhotep to leave so he could resurrect her, but it’s...DIFFERENT, in that I can’t see Meela stabbing herself in the stomach either.) But, we did get some solid OTP content in this film: 

THE LONGING. HOLY SHIT. Like, we know so little about their relationship pre-canon, but obviously, with the whole “Body paint” issue, I honestly don’t see how they would have had TOO much time available for sexytimes, and so you have this situation where they have to try to repress so much around each other when they love each other so much, and sometimes they fail and there are those LOOKS (which cues Nefertiti in on it, so bad move guys, but...#YouTried). I don’t think that they were chaste, per se, given that they were going to do SOMETHING in Anck’s bedchamber before Pharaoh arrived, but I think that their time together was limited and always fraught with the danger of being discovered.  

Which also ties into one of the major THINGS in both movies, which is that almost-but-not-quite-touch. There’s such an INTIMACY there, so much mutual pining. Even when they kiss and everything is ruined for them, look at how they do it. 

It’s so SLOW and longing, the way that Imhotep’s hands just kind of hover for a little while before going to her shoulders as he angles for the kiss. I mean, this is some REGENCY level pining here. Albeit. In Anck’s bedchamber. But still. 

Honestly, I think one of the biggest dick moves the second film did was use them as a foil for the O’Connell’s One True Love. Like, at the end of the first film, there are two love arcs, and for Imhotep to fulfill his and get Anck back, Evie has to be sacrificed, while for Rick to succeed (and save the world!), Imhotep’s gotta go. There’s no real way around this. 

With the second film, though, it comes down more to the two ladies, with BOTH of them having the chance to save their respective love interests. Evie, obviously, goes to save Rick, but Anck...wavers? Suddenly? And you could make an argument that Imhotep wavers himself, given that he chose fighting the Scorpion King for power rather than staying behind with her, but...still. After all these years? The novel explains it as Meela coming back and reasserting herself, but in the film proper it really doesn’t make as much sense, unless you go with the idea that she was never in love with Imhotep, as mentioned in the script above, or at the very least, that it was somehow LESSER to the love that Evie has for Rick, which switches the narrative of the first film from World-Destroying, Epic Love of the Undead VS World-Saving Love of the Living to Fake Love VS Real True Love (With the appropriate child to show it, while Imhotep and Anck can...obviously not produce children. Which I wouldn’t want to bring up normally but given how MUCH of Evie’s identity in the film is tied to her being Alex’s mom, Rick’s wife, and Seti’s daughter...). Which...I fundamentally can’t believe. I can’t believe that after everything the two of them did for each other, how IMPORTANT they both were, that it was just an infatuation. It adds a pointless element to Imhotep’s arc that doesn’t really make sense with what we’d seen before. The tragedy, for me, with their relationship was never that one loved the other more or less; it was that they lived in a world where it simply couldn’t happen, whereas Rick and Evie DID.

The quote that I’ve gone back to time and time again is, “For their love, they were willing to risk life itself,” THEIR. Always THEIR. No matter what, they felt strongly enough for one another that they were willing to do anything so long as it kept the other by their side, and they did it TOGETHER. 

Tl;dr: Iconic ship, iconic characters, 100/10 will stan for eternity

[ellacrossman96]

How To Stop Being Sad About Divorce Cheap And Easy Useful Ideas

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[ourloveisforthelovely]

Being Human 3

A/n: no warnings for this chapter 

Words: 2,422

Link to Chapter 2

Pairings: Gabriel x ofc. 

________________________________________

Andi woke up a few weeks later with Gabriel’s arms wrapped around her. The memories of the previous night came back full force. After making love a few times they had passed out around 1 am. It had been pretty much the same routine for weeks. Andi turned slightly to look at Gabriel. He was still snuggled against the counter and looked completely peaceful. She smiled resisting the urge to lean forward and press a kiss to his cheek. Not wanting to wake Gabriel, Andi slowly slipped out of the bed and pulled on some abandoned leggings and a loose t shirt.

Walking toward the kitchen she froze the moment the sight of Sam and Dean walking in made her freeze.

“Sissy, we are home!”

Dean said cheerfully. Andi blinked nervously before looking back toward her room. This was totally not the way that she wanted to explain to her brothers that she was now seeing an archangel. This was the way to get Gabriel killed. She could only hope that when he woke up he put his pants on.

“I see. I thought you all weren’t going to be home for a bit.”

Sam shrugged as he walked to the refrigerator for a bottle of water.

“We warped things up quick. We were feeling bad about leaving you for so long.”

Andi chuckled as she twirled a strand of her brown hair around her finger.

“Awe shucks guys. That is so sweet but really I am just fine on my own. I was categorizing my rock collection and working on research that you asked for. I was cool.”

Dean frowned.

“Rock collection? How old are you Andi? Better yet what are you up to?”

Andi gaped at her older brother.

“What are you talking about?”

Sam chuckled.

“You are getting all nervous and stuttering. Come on Andi what is going on?”

Dean took out a beer looking at his sister with a smile.

“Got a guy in your room or something?”

Andi laughed but stopped mid giggle as she judged her brother’s moods for reactions.

“Uh yeah actually I do. That is what I want to talk to you two about before you get all irrational and go for blood like a heard of wild vikings.”

Both of her brother’s faces went from amused to livid in 2 seconds flat. Dean put his drink down and shot up from his seat.

“What the fuck Andi? Who the hell is he? I’m gonna kill him!”

Sam looked over at Dean.

“Dean, calm down.”

Dean glared over at Sam.

“Sammy some dude has been in there feeling up our sister! Do you really want to have this conversation right now?

Sam sighed.

“Yeah Dean actually I do. Andi is plenty old enough to have a relationship with someone. We can’t control everything that she does. Andi do we know him?”

Andi groaned putting her hand on her face. This was going down hill way too fast!

“Yeah, you do know him and before you both hit the ceiling I want you to listen to me. I am really wanting to see where this goes with this guy and it isn’t going to be up to you to tell me what I can and can’t do. I get that you two are protective especially after what happened to Adam but I want you to respect my decision.”

Sam and Dean exchanged looks before looking back to their little sister. Dean crossed his arms.

“Who is it?”

Andi took a breath.

“I’ve been seeing Gabriel.”

Both Sam and Dean started laughing like a heard of hyenas. When Andi didn’t start laughing they both went serious. Sam looked at his sister closely.

“Like the archangel Gabriel?”

Andi nodded.

“That’s the other thing….he’s kind of human.”

Dean scoffed.

“Yeah. This is the craziest thing I have ever heard in my life.”

“Well she is telling you the truth.”

All three of the Winchester’s turned to see Gabriel standing in the doorway. Both Sam and Dean looked completely shocked.

“Gabriel.”

Sam managed to get his name out clearly almost shocked. Dean however, was livid.

“You touch our sister? You better be a freaking archangel because I am going to kill you!”

Gabriel looked around nervously clearly plotting what his next move would be.

“Bring it big boy.”

Gabriel said coldly as Andi quickly walked to him wrapping her arms around his waist. Dean looked sick at the sight of his baby sister in the archangel’s arms.

“I have got to be imagining all of this. Andi this is a big hell to the fuck no!”

Dean said coldly. Andi frowned trying to keep Gabriel from going after Dean. It didn’t take common sense to know the two beating the crap out of each other wasn’t going to end pretty for anyone!

“Dean it isn’t your decision to make. I want you to respect my choices or I can leave.”

Sam quickly stood holding his hands up.

“All right! Whoa! Lets just stop right now! All of us just needs to calm down! Dean we just agreed to go with her on this.”

Dean looked if possible angrier.

“That was before I figured out who the hell she was dating!”

Sam groaned.

“Dean, Gabriel has believe it or not done a lot for us. Minus all of the tricks, killing you, and driving me up the fall he did get us away from Lucifer by sacrificing himself. If anyone would be a good match for Andi he would be a good match. He can also smite anyone that tries anything.”

Gabriel chuckled at that.

“Yeah, about that….I am kind of missing my archangel juice at the moment.”

Dean raised an eyebrow.

“So you are just a lowly mortal like us?”

Gabriel nodded.

“What part of I have lost my archangel mojo escapes your understanding?”

Dean rolled his eyes making a mental note to rib Cas about his and Gabriel really being brother later.

“So you decided to come down here and hook up with our sister?”

Andi held her hand up having enough of the stupid conversation at hand. She knew that Dean was just being her protective brother but she had enough.

“Dean, I am dating Gabriel now and that is that. You three will have to learn to get along. Come on Gabriel. I’m ready for another nap.”

Gabriel gave the Winchester brother’s a smirk before turning and following Andi back to her bedroom. Shutting the door he watched as Andi began to remove her plaid shirt while mumbling to herself.

“So was that the worst of it sugar?”

Andi turned looking back to Gabriel who was looking at her with a frown. She shrugged.

“They aren’t going to be happy for a while but I don’t really give a damn.”

Gabriel shrugged as he undid his shirt joining her in bed.

The following few months was interesting to say the least. Dean still muttered words of disapproval anytime he saw Gabriel and Andi together. If they were cuddling on the couch or even just in the room together he would make comments. Sam meanwhile, was trying his best to get used to seeing his sister with Gabriel.  

One morning Luna woke up earlier than normal and padded into the kitchen. Turning on the coffee pot while yawning she almost screamed when she noticed Lucifer sitting at the table.

“Lucifer what are you doing here?”

She asked looking around for Sam and plotting a way to get Satan out of the bunker. Lucifer rolled his eyes.

“Sheesh kid I have no interest in Sam anymore. I am here because I heard some things about my wee little brother’s condition and I am here to fix him.”

Andi frowned.

“You’re here to fix Gabriel? Like turn him back into an angel?”

Lucifer nodded. Andi looked down. Lucifer meanwhile, grinned innocently.

“I take it you like human Gabriel.”

Andi looked up focusing her green eyes on the angel in front of her.

“Well yes I do. I don’t think he will want me if he’s an angel and I’m a human.”

Lucifer rolled his eyes making a gagging motion.

“Oh save me the chick flick moments! If it was me that would be a no. I don’t do humans. Gabriel on the other hand, has a fondness with humans that I for one don’t understand. You see nice enough. You have some good snarky side that I personally enjoy so I can live with you. You aren’t annoying, except for right now, so if you want my brother I can bet you money he will stay with you.”

Andi gave Lucifer a glare before going back to her coffee.

“Can I offer you coffee or will that turn you into super Satan mode where I don’t like you even more than I already do?”

Lucifer chuckled.

“Ah girly you are amusing. However, you may want to stop drinking that coffee or switch to decaff one. Caffeine is bad for babies.”

Andi rolled her eyes.

“I am not a baby doofus.”

Lucifer stood walking into the kitchen and inconstantly started stroking his finger over his top lip.

“Yeah but that baby inside of you is.”

Andi put down her cup. Her eyes widened as she turned back to the man beside her.

“What are you saying Lucifer?”

Lucifer groaned.

“Do I have to draw you a damn picture child? Ok, lets go over this, when a daddy and a mommy love each other very much and there is enough tequila sexy things happen and 9 months later a bundle of joy shows up.”

Andi’s mouth dropped even further.

“I’m pregnant?”

Lucifer grinned, nodding his head like an excited child.

“Well look at you! You are finally catching on! I’m guessing Gabriel doesn’t know.”

Andi shook her head.

“No you gigantic creep I didn’t even know!”

Lucifer sighed as he guided Andi to the table sitting her down. He walked back to the kitchen taking out some milk and pouring it into a glass. Lucifer came back to Andi handing her the glass with a smug.

“I care about my nephew.”

Andi put her head in her hand.

“How the hell did this happen? I’m on birth control? Yeah Gabriel and I have been fucking like bunnies but he’s human.”

Lucifer looked at Andi with a smirk.

“Ok honey bunch let me tell you a thing. My brother, Raphael, isn’t the smartest creature in the universe. When he took Gabriel’s grace he didn’t take all of it. So when you all were getting nasty his boys are more powerful than that birth control you are on. Congratulations archangel baby coming up. Due….how the hell do I know?”

Andi put a hand on her head as she got up and started to pace.

“This is bad Luci. This is really bad!”

Lucifer tilted his head to the side.

“Uh how? This is actually pretty cool. This kid could be a total weapon to use against my other stupid brothers. Its a gift.”

Andi glared at Lucifer.

“You will not be using my child as a weapon and you know Gabriel won’t let you.”

She turned storming back to her bedroom slamming the door. Gabriel who had been slowly waking up looked up quickly.

“Whoa sugar too early for all the door slamming. What has your brother done now?”

Andi looked at her boyfriend carefully.

“It wasn’t my brother but yours.”

Gabriel quickly stood.

“Which one?”

Andi walked closer to Gabriel sealing the gap between the two.

“Lucifer is sitting in the kitchen making tea.”

Gabriel turned to face the door before looking back to his lover.

“What did he want?”

Andi sighed before beginning to twirl a strand of her hair around her finger.

“Well Gabriel, he came to turn you back into an angel. So I guess that means you will be checking out and getting with another non human.”

Gabriel frowned harder looking at the woman in front of I him. Was she really that blind to see that he loved her more than he had anyone else in existence?

“Um no. I kind of thought we had a thing going on here. Typically when I say I love you it isn’t done lightly. I’m with you Andi.”

Gabriel leaned forward pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. Andi sighed happily before the seriousness of the situation came back to her.

“That’s good Gabe because we have a really big problem.”

Gabriel tilted his head still smiling.

“So what is the problem peach?”

Andi took a breath.

“I’m pregnant Gabriel.”

Gabriel’s happy smiled immediately faded as he looked down to Andi’s flat stomach.

“What? How?”

Andi sighed, as she sat down on the bed.

“Lucifer sensed it. Apparently Raphael isn’t the powerful super mutant ninja angel that he thinks he is when he took your grace away he didn’t really get all of it. Your boys were still at archangel strength and went right through the pills I take. Congratulations daddy.”

Gabriel didn’t move as he was obviously trying to justify everything in his mind as to what was happening. Andi gave Gabriel a few moments to take everything in before speaking.

“What are we going to do Gabriel? You know once that your brothers and the just angels find out about this we will be target number one. Maybe not you but the baby and I will be the first person that they will want to take out. Half breeds aren’t thought of highly and with you being an archangel…”

Gabriel reached out pulling Andi back into his arms.

“Clearly we weren’t expecting this but you think I am going to let someone hurt you or the baby? We are having a little half angel half human baby….oh my dad!”

Andi smiled as the full force of the conversation finally hit Gabriel.

“Welcome to the conversation love. Now we should really go get Lucifer to turn you back into yourself and probably tell my brothers.”

Gabriel nodded unable to speak for the first time in a long time.

___________

@greenappleeyes

@tas898

@jannalionheart

@sherala007

[tumblunni]

OKAY WOW I just started reading a lets play of Tales of Graces and HOLY SHIT I love Sophia! I think I was amoung the majority of people who got umm.. Really Put Off by her character design prior to actually learning more about the game. Cos seriously, prelease stuff was like a fuckin minefield of ‘loli’ trope red flags, it looked like she was gonna somehow be pushed into a romance route with the protagonist despite being 14. And her design is just kinda boring and doesnt really say anything about her ACTUAL plot role and personality which were HOLY SHIT so unexpected and amazing and life affirming and jesus christ she is already my favourite tales character in all of history and I’m barely two hours into the damn game!! seriously I had to go look up spoils just to be ABSOLUTELY SURE I wasnt gonna be surprised with creepy fanservice of a young child, like in some of the older goddamn games in this series, and instead i found FUCKING AMAZING EVERYTHING FOREVER and like.. ACTIVE SUBVERSION OF LOLI TROPES but lol i cant really talk about it without kinda spoilering?? So UMM YEAH rest of my thoughts under the cut:

okay seriously its LITERALLY THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT WE ALL EXPECTED, HOLY FUCK nobody had ANY CLUE before the game came out that she’d be introduced as the twice-your-age figure to the protagonist instead of the other way around! getting to play a flashback prologue of everyone as kids was a really unique awesome feature that I wish we could get in other tales games its SO COOL to see the design and personality changes for everyone between their flashback selves and the ones you actually play as later on plus its a playable flashback! very short section of getting to see the kiddos actually have unique battle animations even! also it is REALLY EMOTIONALLY DESTRUCTIVE HOLY SHIT it explains everything about everyone’s personality forever why did these poor children have to suffer AAAAA

so umm yeah ANYWAY BACK ON TOPIC Sophie is introduced as this mysterious older teen while everyone is tiny babies, and takes on a kind of simultaneous big sis lil sis role cos of her amnesia and unfamiliarity with the world and like THANK YOU we dont get any weird fetishization of that as a concept! (look up the ‘born sexy yesterday’ trope for how this kind of plot tends to go down... yikes...) And like, even tho she’s comically oblivious about basic emotion concepts and stuff, she’s also A MASSIVE BADASS who’d have thought that such a cliche pinky pretty loli design would have a stoic badass superweapon personality??? THANK YOU. I feel so bad for assuming things, but seriously THANK YOU for being like THE ONE GAME where that kind of character appearance isnt given just One Same Plot Again And Again And It Is Gross and seriously man I WILL NOT STOP BEING HAPPY THAT THERE IS NO LOLICON HERE HOLY FUCKIN SHIT (well.. except some of her dlc costumes seem to be the actual lolicon characters from earlier games, which is Annoying.) but yeah seriously she’s fuckin like CONSTANTLY PUNCHING DOWN DOORS AND SHIT and I’M LOVE HER and like her earliest establishing moment is her oblivious of human culture norms actually leading to her being like.. the wise one in the conversation her cutting off asbel’s ‘wah but I should be the one protecting you cos I’m a boy, even though you’re like eight years older than me and i can barely lift my sword’ and her making this declaration of protection to him is the moment that shapes her entire character and becomes like the emotional core of the whole plot and she gets THE MOST BADASS scene of (seemingly) sacrificing herself to save his life, ending this cute kiddie flashback on a super somber note and then Asbel dedicates his goddamn life to becoming a knight in her memory after she fuckin SUPLEXED A GODDAMN DRAGON WOLF THING WITH ITS CLAW STABBED THROUGH HER STOMACH and just... I REALLY LOVE SOPHIE!!! seriously kid asbel literally said ‘i’m embarassed to be protected by you cos you’re a girl’, like HOLY SHIT DUDE and this is ACTUALLY SHOWN AS WRONG and he CHARACTER DEVELOPS OUT OF IT and HER PROTECTING HIM IS LIKE THE WHOLE FUCKIN GAME and just THANK YOU seriously tales of beseria had a bunch of weird sexism issues despite being the most recent game, its so annoying how the series has such inconsistant quality on this stuff, so im just REALLLLLLL FUCKIN GLAD to see this, thankz

oh and like... they even do... LITERALLY the ‘but she’s really 700 years old’ excuse for ‘loli’ characters BUT NOT AS AN EXCUSE FOR LOLI CHARACTERS she’s a thousands of years old magic soldier homunculus thing that will forever look like a young girl, but NOBODY USES THAT AS AN EXCUSE TO FUCK A YOUNG GIRL THANK YOU GEEZUS CHRIST cos like.. goddd... being super immortal and eternally a child is A COOL PLOT that has SO MANY OTHER DIRECTIONS it could be developed in, instead of just fuckin pervy lazyness and this game ACTUALLY DOES THOSE DEVELOPMENTS aaaaaUUUUAUAAAUUUUA god its SUCH A RELIEF we start the game off with the intriguing wonder of how everyone changed post time skip yet she still looks the same age (plus of course ‘how on earth did she survive that apparant death’) And it just keeps having even more cool meta discussion of being so ageless?? and really sad philosophicalness about outliving all your friends?? and all the plots these dumb loli excuse things always ignore and just SERIOUSLY THANK YOU

hell she doesnt even ever really have any romantic plot with anyone ever, except kinda Pascal? tho that’s just a weird ‘lol gay as joke’ thing where its supposed to be funny that Pascal doesnt take no for an answer and like.. seriously why is Sophie even instantly repulsed by Pascal anyway? ‘hey i have no concept of any human social norms except heterosexuality apparantly’. It Is Weird. So yeah lol the game isnt absolutely flawless but I mean geez AT LEAST THEY DIDNT SHIP THE FUCKIN KID WITH ADULTS seriously she has NO ROMANCE PLOT and protagonist man ends up with someone completely different and its just NEVER EVEN DISCUSSED AS AN OPTION like fuckin CHRIST thank yooooou god, just, HOW TERRIFYING it was to see her listed as ‘the heroine’ of this game next to a guy way older than her usually whichever female character has the biggest plot role is automatically the love interest I cant believe i fuckin DIDNT PLAY THE GAME FOR ALL THIS TIME because of that!!!

oh and OH AND the endgame!! the endgame final relationship of her and protagonist? DAD. He not only doesn’t romance her, he ends up adopting her as his daughter by the end of the story its so surreal and interesting tho, cos she was like an older sister to him when he was younger, and now they’ve met again they ended up having such a vastly different relationship and like... well, they’re still like family, just in a different way! i’m so happy seriously DEAR GOD for once a ‘immortal child’ plot actually ended well and no grossness ever and ALSO SHE IS A REALLY ENDEARING BADASS HOMUNCULUS WARRIOR PERSON and aaaa

ok this has been bunni’s rambling post ok back to watchin lets play im SO HAPPY i got spoiled for that thing of the ending like seriously HOW RARE is that???

[politicaltheatre]

The Cost Of Doing Business

What price are we willing to pay to get what we want?

It's always a question worth asking, even more so this time of year. Just before us we have state and local primaries, with decisions to be made that will affect us for years, if not decades. Congress is back in session, too, making decisions that will affect us for even longer.

Yesterday, of course, we celebrated Labor Day. Those of us lucky enough for that to be a holiday probably spent that day off napping, literally and/or figuratively. Like a lot of three day weekends, we've come to take it more or less for granted, not as a time for reflection but, if anything, a time for getting away from things. We like getting away. We like it a lot.

But now we're back, just like Congress, and just like Congress we're stuck dealing with the latest flaming bag of poo left on our nation's doorstep by our president, the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Trump no doubt expects Republicans in Congress (well, enough of them) to back a law restoring some, if not all, of the protections extended by President Obama to the children of illegal immigrants back when Sessions was a Senator from Alabama doing everything in his power to send those children "home".

It's no accident that Sessions has taken point on this, but it would be a mistake to think that Trump would not have done this on his own. Despite his repeated protestations after his election that he would try to protect DACA "Dreamers", ending it along with any protections for illegal immigrants was a core promise of his campaign. Whatever Congress does, he gets to keep that promise, and he gets to campaign on it at his next 2020 performance for his base.

The rest of us, of course, will get his other message, the kind he reserves for suckers, that he tried, that he wants to protect these kids the right way, that he isn't such a bad guy. Except, of course, that he is a bad guy. He's a villain, and tens of millions of Americans knew it last November when they voted for him just as they assuredly know it now.

They knew it and they voted for him anyway. Whatever they choose to tell themselves and their friends and neighbors now, they understood that this was coming. They accepted the punishing cruelty rescinding DACA will inflict upon young men and women who have only ever known life in the United States and who contribute to their communities every day, including at least one young man who sacrificed his life trying to save lives in his south Texas community during Hurricane Harvey.

They accepted his defense of bullying and brutality, too, which has led to the murder of Heather Heyer and, though not directly related, the pardon of Joe Arpaio. Arpaio's words and deeds in the past decade have been something out of the Jim Crow South. He is a reactionary, and he remains a beacon among reactionary movements around the country, include those which gathered in Charlottesville a few weeks ago.

Arpaio was, not coincidentally, one of Trump's earliest and most vocal supporters, along with a certain senator from Alabama. Don't think for a second Trump voters didn't know this about Arpaio, that they didn't know it and accept it. It was, for many of them, a cost of doing business, something to be excused or explained away. Arpaio might be a racist thug, but Trump was just using him. Trump doesn't have to believe in the same things. It’s just a cost of doing business for Trump, too. Right?

Well, no. Yes, Trump has been using Arpaio, but no, not because he doesn't agree with him. Sessions is proof of that. Some have read Trump's pardon of Arpaio, dumped on Friday night in the middle of Harvey coverage, as a not too discreet message to Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, and any other of the president's men caught up in the ever widening net of Robert Mueller's Russia investigation that they, too, will be pardoned if they just keep their mouths shut. That may well be true, but the pardon was at least as much a message to supporters of Arpaio and the America they and Arpaio want that Trump has not lost faith with them or their beliefs.

If you've read this far, nothing in any of this surprises you. The thing is, it doesn't surprise Trump voters either. Those who voted for him made a deal with themselves, a "leap of faith". They saw a racist, misogynist, thin skinned, short tempered, bullshitting liar and bully, and told themselves, "But maybe, if I hold my nose and keep my mouth shut, I'll get what I want".

That, after all, is the bargain almost all of us make at some point. It isn't limited to politics. Professionally, we allow others and even ourselves to suffer abuse. We do it to get a job, to keep a job, to gain a raise or a promotion, and when we've invested enough of ourselves and our souls that we feel we can't get out, we do it just to make it to retirement.

We do it in our private lives, too. How many questions did any of us ask about the things we bought this Labor Day weekend? How much do really want to know? How many questions could there be, and how many go unasked? And that's just how we spend our hard earned money.

We all have friends and family we've stopped speaking to about politics. How often before and after the election did we find ourselves apologizing for them, or even avoiding them? Why does every family seem to have that one racist, sexist uncle or grandfather telling uncomfortable, embarrassing jokes at holiday dinners? Why, when that might not even be true, is it so plausible that we all get the joke about it?

What about the friend or family member who cheats on his or her girlfriend or boyfriend or spouse? What about the teammate who cheats in sports, or the co-worker skimming from the till? We tell ourselves that it's none of our business, but we know that's a lie because we have to tell ourselves that. They are in our lives and we are in theirs. We must be accountable to each other, so we know when we see others not be accountable that what they are doing is wrong.

Why, then, do we accept it? We don't want to have to be accountable. It's hard. It weighs on us. We're attracted to men and women who promise us that we don't have to be accountable. It's sexy. At the very least, it's a vacation from everyday life a three day weekend.

The challenge for those of us on the political Left is that we must carry that weight. We must choose to carry it and be patient. For Trump, Sessions, the all too silent Republicans in Congress, and everyone who voted for them knowing the bigotry and violence they were willing to accept, ridding themselves of the weight of accountability has always been the point. That's what they pay for, and when the goal is to have others paying the bill, no price is too high.

Their willingness to allow the ends to justify the means is precisely why the ends must never be allowed to justify the means for the Left. The Left defends accountability. To demand it requires offering it in equal measure. And this is where it gets difficult.

To defend accountability and reject the easy, intoxicating fantasy that the ends just could justify the means requires rejecting any and all violence done in its name.

The attack on not yet violent right wing demonstrators in Berkeley a week ago was so spectacularly stupid and so obviously exactly what right wing groups needed after Charlottesville that one has to wonder if some of the masked "Antifa" members involved were actually well coordinated, right-wing agent provocateurs.

It forced late night comedy hosts such as Trevor Noah and other vocal, left wing celebrities to criticize Antifa - which is, I'm sorry, a silly, easily derided name - for allowing and even encouraging violence. Those criticisms were boosted, liked, and praised by right wing websites and tweeters, which led to attacks on social media of Noah and those celebrities for supporting fascists, which naturally undermines legitimate progressive work and the ability of Noah and others to promote reason in the face of right wing aggression.

It all has the stink of J. Edgar Hoover undermining Dr. Martin Luther King's non-violent civil rights movement by focusing attention on Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael, both of whom at times refused to condemn violence and even encouraged it. To this day, what do we remember about the Black Panthers, the educational outreach, the health care, and the community building, or the pictures of men and women toting rifles and shotguns?

Try explaining that to children on a playground. Try explaining that to children watching inequality and injustice in their communities and in their homes. Try explaining it to men and women trying to protect themselves and their children. Try explaining to angry, fearful, immature men and women living in a world of instant social media gratification that they need to live to a higher standard than the violent bullies trying to harm them. Instant gratification sounds just as good to them as it does to the bigots and cowards trying to oppress them to gain more and hold onto what they already have.

Yet this is what we must demand of ourselves and those who would claim to act in our names. When the president of the United States can stand at a podium and claim that left-wing protesters are plausibly just as much to blame for violence that took the life of a defenseless, non-violent woman, the side demanding accountability has a problem. He was lying, of course, but that for Trump and his supporters is just a cost of doing business, and a cheap one at that. It is made all the more cheap because any one act of violence by someone claiming to represent the Left, or even words that can be twisted to that effect, can feed right-wing violence for years.

For the Left, the cost is always higher, because what the Left is buying with non-violence, patience, and maturity is a world of non-violence, patience, and maturity. Holding those not only as values but as virtues is the price that must be paid. What it buys moves us forward as a species. It builds antibodies that protect us. And it lasts. If we hold to it, if we pay the full price, it really does.

- Daniel Ward