#but also i just hate the direction the story took with the villains

[edwardslostalchemy]

I still think the villains getting away and the heroes losing the war was bullshit. Like okay sure, fine, if they were going to lose, fine. But also some of the things I think horikoshi just pulled them out of his ass. I'm just mad at compress and whatever it was he did. Horikoshi just gave us a little bit of backstory for compress and spinner, who I think are useless honestly. And then AFO takes over Shigaraki's body like bruh fuck off, I hate it.

[ninja-boo]

ok nvm i got mad at transformers writing again. back out of sheer spite

[felassan]

From Game Informer:

Solas plays an important role in the game as a central figure and significant character, but the game is not about Solas, hence the title change

Rather than focusing on a specific individual, the focus and centerpiece of the game is Rook's team, stopping the end of the world with this group of specialists

"I think you could argue [these companions] are the best the franchise has ever seen". We will have the opportunity to interact with them in a way that both shapes their story and also influences the main story, including having the opportunity to impact their fate

"Arguably, this game has kind of, in a way, been called Dreadwolf to some degree since its earlier days"

Excerpt:

"When I ask about Solas' role in the story after I learn his namesake is no longer in the game title, Darrah says Veilguard is still taking the Elven God's narrative in a good direction. He adds, "It allows us to, hopefully, give a good conclusion to all the varied attitudes toward Solas that are going to be coming from people who love Solas, who agree with Solas, who hate Solas, people who want to kick Solas off of a building – I think that we give you the opportunity to bring that to a close, but then tell a greater story about The Veilguard and about the world as a whole." Talking to Epler, I learn more about how Solas isn't exactly the big bad I expected before seeing the opening hours of Veilguard. There's a lot more nuance to everyone's favorite bald elf.  "The most interesting villains to myself, and honestly most people, are not just straight up, 'I want to end the world.' To them, they are the heroes of the story, and Solas is no exception," Epler tells me. "Solas always feels that he is a tragic hero but a hero nonetheless, so he's coming into this believing firmly that what he did, that which you stopped him from doing, was the right thing – that you made a mistake. But now he's trapped and can't reach out and actively affect [Thedas], so he needs to work with you. "That allows us to provide a lot of nuance to that relationship," Epler says."

Solas is literally trapped in the Fade after the game's prologue. Rook and co stop his attempt to destroy the Veil. Rook passes out and wakes up in a dream-like landscape to Solas' voice. He explains that he was trying to move Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain to a new prison because the old one wasn't containing them properly anymore. The two blighted gods are now free and roaming Thedas. Rook has to stop them, but it seems that they will have to work with Solas ("or at least listen to his guidance and advice") to do so

Excerpt:

""So one of the principles we took to when we were building the story of The Veilguard early on was we wanted the beginning of the game to feel like the final chapter of an earlier story and you're coming in right at the end, you're coming in as if you've been chasing Solas – the [Solas at the end of Dragon Age: Inquisition's Trespasser DLC] who said he was going to end the world and tear down the Veil," Epler adds.  Epler says players will see early on (and as the narrative develops across Veilguard) that Solas sees much of himself in you, the player-controlled Rook, especially "the parts that maybe he doesn't like to face." As a result, there's an interesting push and pull between Solas and Rook. He says players can define the relationship between these two characters with their choices in dialogue.  "You can continue to be suspicious and hostile towards him, or you can start to see him and find that common ground, that connection between the two of you, and really develop a different relationship over the course of the story," Epler says."

[source]

[gatitties]

May you please write a Strawhat, Heart pirates and Kid pirates with an autistic and/or ADHD young reader ? Who have zero respect for adults and hates them unless they were cool/kind to them

─ Strawhats, Heart Pirates & Kid Pirates x reader

─ Summary: It's just you having your little autism/ADHD moment with this crews

─ Warnings: none

Part two

I don't know if I related the autism or ADHD aspects well, sorry about that :s and I don't know why whenever I write something about Kid pirates, reader tends to bite people jhadjhs omg it's a headcannon that I can't get out of my head sorry 😭🤚

─ You and Chopper are the spoiled and protected of the ship for being young.

─ Although they are more careful with you because well, you'll simply end up lost in some random place due to your attention deficit at the least convenient times.

─ It was hard for you to trust them at first but your weak point was Brook and Franky, they were the most outstanding and cool, of course Robin's kindness also captured your sensitive part.

─ They find it adorable how sometimes you just ramble out loud about everything you see in the place or think about something that catches your attention.

─ I can see how Zoro, Brook and Luffy think that you are just a little stupid and distracted (like their captain) and that the ones who really know about your ADHD are the rest, maybe Usopp thinks that you are also something wrong with directions just like Zoro.

─ Robin tries not to overload you with the tasks you have to do, she always gives you a hand if she sees that you are starting to dissociate more than normal.

─ Luffy will be the one to end your most hyperactive side, he will make you tired when playing with him, although he have to change games every so often because you'll simply get bored.

─ Franky or Usopp will make small de-stressing or sensitive objects to help you if you need them or make you feel better.

─ You don't know how you do it, but you always end up in all the villains' speeches, you try to listen to their story but you just get bored and end up ignoring them until the fight breaks out, you have the nerve to even sleep while someone tells how miserable their life was, but you know, you don't care for and dislike most adults.

─ But don't worry, you have a whole crew that covers your back while you sleep on these occasions.

"My parents were killed by pirates, my daughter, my wife… everything was destroyed by vile beings like you all, that's why I swore revenge for-"

The words of the angry person next to you went to the back of your mind, you let out a yawn even though your head continued to watch the surroundings as you fiddled with your hands, somewhat impatient for all the chatter to end.

You tried to stay focused on at least one thing, which was usually Usopp's nose, why? No idea, you just liked it because it was unusual, even though you don't think the crew you're with is normal.

You didn't even notice how a knife was thrown at you for simply not paying attention to your surroundings, Zoro's sword quickly deflected it as Nami pulled you closer to her, you looked at her silently asking if she needed anything, at this point you had forgotten that you were in the middle of starting a fight.

"Just stay by my side, okay?"

"Why- Oh, careful!"

Pulling out your own weapon you fended off an attack coming towards you, your mind coming to its senses as to the current situation, taking another approach, your hyperactive side taking over the rest of the battle where luckily you could focus on an enemy, although you had many weak points, Sanji took care to cover them so that you could concentrate on your fight without distractions that could injure you.

"Nice, you're giving them a beating!"

And in the middle of the battle Luffy took it upon himself to break all your concentration with his praise, which you loved to receive like a puppy hungry for acceptance, you turned around ignoring your opponent's attack, smiling at Luffy as you gave him some thumbs up.

"Luffy, this is not the time!"

Jinbe deflected the attack coming at you for paying attention to your captain instead of the fight you were fighting, again preventing you from getting hurt, though before you knew it the battle was already over and now everyone was just scolding Luffy while that Chopper checked if you had hurt without realizing it.

─ He took you as a patient to analyze for your unusual behavior.

─ Then he simply appreciated your skills without giving importance to your ADHD or signs of autism, at least it was something that made you look at him with different eyes, he didn't treat you as someone different just because of your small condition.

─ The relationship with them at the beginning was a complete tug of war of insults, absurd fights and a lot of disrespect towards them for the simple fact of being older than you, maybe the only one who was saved from all your crap was Bepo because an animal that speaks? It was the coolest thing you've seen so far in your short life.

─ After a while you started to get along better with everyone, Shachi's and Penguin's jokes started to make you laugh, Law easily earned your respect, Ikkaku was very nice to you as was Jean Bart when you joined permanently.

─ Although from time to time you mess with them as a joke, only small harmless fights.

─ Law takes care of your problem with attention deficit, giving you activities that keep your mind active efficiently, however Shachi and Penguin end up messing up your concentration somehow.

─ You usually help Ikkaku in the kitchen, although sometimes she's the one who has to help you because you try to do so many things at once (and end up not completing any) that you need her to organize the things you have to do.

─ Normally they have you in the rear when they fight, they are not risking your little habits hurting you, although Law is not one to confront someone directly, he is more cunning than that.

─ Of course, on many occasions you have broken that moment of secrecy that they need but they have never thrown it in your face, they know the consequences of your distractions but they will not leave you behind.

You were on an undercover mission with Jean Bart, both of you acting like family having a drink in a bar while what you really want is to listen to the conversation of a few pirates that Law wanted to steal a map from.

The others were also around controlling the rest of the crew and their movements, and you were really doing well, behaving like a minimally normal teenager without anything distracting you for more than a few seconds, you had been training your concentration but there are moments when those intrusive thoughts win.

Today and now seemed to be the right time for your impatience and impulsiveness to drive you enough to break the role you were playing, listening to the conversation of an adult who seemed to be an idiot, although everyone seemed so to your eyes, it was a breaking point.

"You're so damn annoying! Just tell me where you got that damn map you stole!"

You jumped out of your seat pointing your weapon at the man who nearly fell over in shock at your aggressiveness and spontaneity, and immediately everyone jumped into the fight aware that you had exposed your stealth strategy.

"You've lasted longer concentrated than last time, keep it up!"

"I don't need your stupid flattery!"

Ignoring the guy you were threatening Shachi distracted you, which led to Jean Bart stopping a small blade you didn't see directed at your abdomen, Law switched your location to his and did the job of the threat quickly with the help of his power.

"You have to control yourself more, we will not always be there to cover you."

You crossed your arms a little annoyed that they didn't let you finish the job they had given you, also blaming yourself internally for messing it up again, but Bepo took care to make you think of other things when he asked for your help to organize the new loot obtained, although it took the rest of the day because you just stood around taking a good look at all the cool stuff.

No one would blame you for your little outbursts or for your curious habits, that's how you were, that's how they accepted you and that's how they love you, after all, you were unique in your own way.

─ You probably looked like a wild animal to them the first time they saw you because you attacked them for trespassing on your property, more like the forest you lived in.

─ You were practically a wild and completely impulsive, simple-minded person who was raised by, in fact, animals.

─ Adults normally came to destroy the nature of your home, and you developed a certain hatred towards them. Kid noticed this when he found you again biting a villager who tried to hunt a rabbit that was originally your prey.

─ It was so hilarious that he thought you would be a good addition to the team, you were just as rude as them although he also noticed that you had concentration problems, he thought it wouldn't be a big problem.

─ Ah yes, the reliable old one, he just dragged you onto his ship and at first it was like you were an abused cat getting used to a new life where they didn't abuse it, lots of scratching, biting and hissing if any of them dared to get too close.

─ Once you gain confidence or at least, accept their presence without hating them, they will find your impulsiveness amusing when it comes to battles, they just sit and watch how you fight against five men much stronger than you, keeping them at bay because your lack of focusing on a single target makes you somehow attack everyone at once.

─ Although Killer always has an eye on you, you are too young to end up dead because of your impulsiveness.

─ They don't care about your strange nature, they simply interpret your autism as if it were the fault of your contempt for adults for being away from society for so long.

─ I can see that these idiots only increase your attention deficit instead of helping you, as if they had competitions to see who can distract you the most.

You were calmly observing some fish, everything was strangely calm, you frowned, touching the tips of your fingers to your thumb in succession as you turned around only to be greeted by a necklace that was swinging slowly between Wire's fingers, your attention being immediately stolen by some floating bolts because of Kid.

You shook your head back to your thoughts, you knew they were trying to have one of their silly competitions over who could get your attention the easiest and you were simply too proud to fall for their tricks again.

"Oh look, a sea king!"

You cursed yourself internally when you fell into the trap of one of the boys, getting your attention back to the immense sea in search of that creature, you returned the gaze with some insults that only made everyone laugh, they continued trying to steal your attention but you just focused on other things like the seagulls or the clouds.

Inevitably your brain shut down and got carried away when you saw a big blaze of fire as well as the slightly warmer environment, no matter how many times Heat did that trick, he would always gain your attention by spitting fire, making you forget everything and focus just in the fire.

"Looks like I won again."

"You're just cheating! If I had more metal I could do a lot better than your stupid little flame."

And then started a discussion between Kid and Heat about which of the two would be better, Wire sneaked up to you, you looked at him while you moved your arms impatiently as if you were waiting for something to happen, he knew that when you started to move so much something was irritating you and if he didn't you want to start a fight where you'll probably end up biting someone's ankles he decided to take you to the kitchen with Killer.

"Have they started fighting again?"

It didn't take a word from Wire for the blond to know why you were there, he just nodded and left you both, Killer always knew how to make your hyperactivity not hurt you too much as well as your impulses, he gave you self-control methods, although they didn't always turn out well.

"Killer, I think I want to stick a fork into someone."

"And why this time?"

"It's just… an impulse, can I do it?"

"No..." you opened your mouth to complain but he continued "not someone from the ship, we'll talk about it when we disembark on the next island."

"Yes, sir…"

Killer smiled vaguely as he saw how in a couple of seconds your attention simply went to the kitchen stools, you had been in the habit of placing them in a specific way because if it didn't bother you, at least he thought this helped you to forget your desire to stick a fork into someone.

[lightwing-s]

𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐊__ 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐏𝐓 𝐈𝐈

pairing: jason todd x villain! fem! reader

summary: they should hate each other, but from how long they each stay on the other's mind, they clearly were not paying attention to that. they took I'll fuck you in the complete opposite direction.

rating: 18+ (MDNI)

word count: oh god 6,8k warnings: smut, unprotected sex, chocking, dirty talk, oral sex, foreplay, language

a/n: so yeah, here's finally to part 2! thank you to every single message i got about pt 1, i was so overwhelmed by the response to it that i had to make some time to wrap up the story. also, special thanks to @igotanidea for being the most supportive person I've ever met online and for handling me breaking down over this week while trying to finish this post. to you i owe so much ♡ a/n 2: guys, pls, go easy on me as this was my first attempt at writing smut. so so sorry if this ends up looking ridiculous lol

reblogs and interactions are always appreciated ! ♡

pt i

⌜masterlist⌟ ⌜requests⌟

For the past 48 hours, Jason had been absentmindedly searching for Y/n. Searching for signs that everything that happened two nights ago was real, and not just a product of his imagination.

Two mornings ago, he woke up confused, not knowing exactly where he was or how he had gotten there in the first place. He woke up in his brother's living room, laying in his brown leather sofa, shirt missing and head banging from pain, with the extra addition of the sun beaming its morning rays straight into his eyes. 

Handing him a cup of warm milk, Dick filled in on how he found him passed out on top of an abandoned building, just as the sun was coming up in the horizon and he was ready to drop his vigilante outfit for the night. According to him, he was already missing his shirt then, his broken helmet was beside his body, and he was the only thing in the otherwise completely empty building, not even his motorcycle in his line of sight. He couldn’t figure out what had happened to Jason earlier, and he only wondered just how the hell did he get there?

Jason couldn’t offer him an explanation, though. 

He had a hunch of just who had put him there. But he wasn’t sure. Everything that happened that night, the kisses, the touches, they couldn’t just not be real. They had to have happened, the memories were too clear in his mind for it to be just a dream. It felt too real to be just a hallucination.

It had to be real, or someone had been playing with his mind way too well. The Mad Hatter is known for his devices, Ivy had been on the loose for a while. Or his mind had simply just acquired the skills to produce extremely realistic scenarios in his head, better than any porn he had watched recently.

That or he was just too addicted to Y/n.

It felt massively wrong. Like he was committing the worst of sins, or something like that, he wasn’t really religious to understand. She was a thief, a villain, someone he was supposed to hate and fight against, throw her in jail and never think of her again until she eventually fled Blackgate just like every other criminal in this god damned city. 

But here he was. Standing atop some old factory in Gotham, heavy traffic not flowing just below him, while he looked for any clues or indications she was still around. 

Someone just radioed GCPD that there’s a drug trade going on in Tricorner Island, he heard through the coms.

I overheard two guys talking about it. Oracle, send me the location, I’m on my way.

Just did it, Robin. Nightwing, how’s north Gotham doing?

Er… Going, his brother answered through the sounds of grunts and punches.

Where’s  Jason? Haven’t heard of him all night and…

Before Barbara could say anything else, Jason turned off the coms, not wanting anything else adding up to his bad temper. He didn’t even know why he had come to patrol tonight, as fighting crime was the last thing he had on his mind. Returning his gaze to the traffic below, he let his thoughts wander elsewhere.

The loud sounds of honks and engines reverberated in the air, with the screams of angry drivers rushing their ways home to rest for the night playing along. The muffled sound of an ambulance siren got lost in the distance, hopefully driving someone with a chance of survival to Gotham General Hospital. All of those noises entered Jason’s ear on one side and left on the other, seemingly going unnoticed by the tall man. It was like he wasn’t there. Physically he was standing on top  of that building, mentally he was somewhere else. Where, he didn’t know. With whom, though, he had a clear answer. 

She had been missing from the streets for a while, but very much present in his mind. Cupid, Y/n, or whatever she went by, lived in his thoughts. The whole entire day, every second he wasn’t busy with something, he was thinking of her. And for that he was a goddamned loser.

Fortunately, or not, he was constantly thinking of something else he was missing too. His precious motorcycle had been MIA since the incident, and was, for some reason, untraceable by the Cave’s systems. Not riding it for two full days was getting to his nerves, and added to the agonizing feeling he had been under lately. 

Riding was his therapy, the cure for every troubled time he went through. There was no anxiety attack, no emotional turmoil, no stupid  fight with Bruce that couldn’t be erased by a 100 mph drive along Gotham’s damp streets. Not doing so made him feel like at any moment, anything, even the smallest of words, could make him explode.

Alone, he sometimes could hear the roaring of the V4 engine coming from nowhere. He’d look left and right, searching for it, but finding nothing. Loud, explosive, distinguishable. A hallucination, a very realistic hallucination. Very real. Very… Real?

Speeding up the road, he saw it. Cutting through the traffic, dodging cars and other vehicles, he recognized his motorcycle making its way in his direction. It was it, he was sure. There was no universe where he couldn't identify his favorite thing in the world, even from  afar. Moving closer to the parapet, almost flying over it, he tried to get a glimpse of who was riding it, but if anyone asked he’d have a guess.

Her. It had to be.

Whoever was on it was dressed all in black, and as it got closer he saw the same jacket he had seen two nights before. Hooded just like his. And, as the vehicle drove past him, the dark helmet turned, looking directly at him. As if she knew he was there. As if she knew he was waiting.

She definitely knew. She knew pretty well all his movements at this point, understood him well enough. How she learned all that, how to manipulate him like this, he didn’t know, but he knew her intentions. As much as she knew him, he got to know about her. She knew he’d recognize his motorcycle  anywhere, and she knew he’d want it back. 

So, somehow, he followed her.

The neighborhood he found himself in was dark, the streets were wet and the air was humid. Light rain had just started pouring down on him, as he followed the trails left by the mucky tires of his bike, leading him further down the road. He should’ve been more careful, hiding in the corners and studying the place before making his way in. But tonight he simply couldn’t, all sense of carefulness completely gone, being replaced by hot tempered decision making. 

Jason arrived at an old abandoned parking garage. The first two floors were empty, dark and smelled of mold and trash. Climbing the ramps to the last floor, though, he spotted the red motorcycle right in the middle of the lot, parked and with its light still on, blinding anyone who’d go in its direction. They stopped him from seeing much else in the area, but considering that the only sound he could hear was from his own boots hitting the concrete floor, he quickly understood he was also alone.

His footsteps echoed through the walls, the muddy lines left by the tires beside him. As he reached the vehicle, for the first time in days, he felt a portion of tension that he was holding onto for a long time, leaving his body. With a heavy sigh in relief, he turned off the lights before quietly caressing the scarlet tank, the leather seat,  admiring his most faithful partner in its long awaited return.

“I took good care of her, don’t worry” he heard someone say. Startled, he lifted his head from where it was looking down, and instantly recognizing the voice, he searched for the source of the heavenly sound.

Then, he found her.

Resting against a concrete column at a far end, Y/n watched the outside, the falling rain and the night sky. Where she stood, the moonlight hit her precisely, like a spotlight in a play, like the moon knew no one else but her. Like she was a favorite. The light made her skin glow, her eyes sparkle. It made her look like a goddess.

He didn’t remember her ever looking this good. Maybe he was too blind by anger he didn’t notice, or there was something different tonight. He knew she was pretty, really pretty for that matter. But he was still so intoxicated from last time, so captivated, bewitched. Looking at her now, he knew getting rid of her thoughts would only get harder. Damn it!

Wearing a similar outfit to the one she wore on the underground, he noticed her jacket was open, and a silver necklace decorated her collarbone. The wind blew at her hair,  exposing her chest, her neck, her jaw, her lips. Speechless, Jason stood there, admiring her, for way longer his conscious self would be proud of. 

Following his silence, he heard her chuckle, bringing him back from his land of dirty dreams.

“You took my bike” he simply stated, mentally slapping himself for not being able to form a coherent sentence.

“A bit obvious, isn’t it?” she replied, finally looking in his direction, smirk glued on her glossy lips. Licking his own, he didn’t know how to reply, preferring to thank her for delivering back his vehicle  scratch free. “It wasn’t difficult. I took care of you, didn’t I?”

So it was real, he thought. He wasn’t going crazy. Or was he? One could argue that. Y/n was driving him insane.

“Thank you… for helping me that night” he said. “How did you know I was there?”

“I was following you.” she replied.

“Why?”

Shrugging, she gave him her answer. 

Truthfully, Y/n didn’t know why she was following him that night. After they left the subway tunnels she could have gone home, done with the last favor she owned Cobblepot. However, deep down her mind, he was there. And she worried about him. She knew Penguin well, she knew what he could do. And she didn’t want harm getting in his way. So she followed him.

She wanted to make sure he was alright. Why? God knows why. Y/n doesn’t. Or she refused to admit the real answer.

Jason. The sweet name stuck in her mind since he’d given it to her, and she urged to know what he looked like behind the mask. Put a face to the name, as they say. Did he look as fine as his name sounded? As his voice did? As his body would let on?

“You were pretty quiet these past few days” he said, circling the motorcycle and moving her way.

“I took some time to think.” she replied, returning her gaze to the rain.

“About what?”

“Curious much?” she joked, entertained by his need to get to know her. “About my life. Or what’s left of it”

“Hmm. Could have guessed you were working on another plan.” he joined in with a light joke.

“I got plenty of time for that, too.” she threw him a smile, blinding him for a second. “There’s just so much going on right now. Its…”

“Exhausting?” He cut her. “I guess working with Penguin does that to you”

“I don’t work with him” she threw back at him, her tone a bit sharper.

“For him, with him. It all sounds the same to me.” he said, opening his arms in contemplation.

“You wouldn’t understand,” she said, shaking  her head.

“Then explain it.” he requested. “Why do you do that? Why do you…”

“Steal, rob, trade, cause chaos” she cut him off. “I’m broke”

Pushing herself from the column, she moved to rest her hands on the window opening. The way she licked her lips and shook her head. The way her voice sounded ever so slightly broken. How she uncomfortably shifted on her feet after that comment. It wasn’t much of a choice, her way of life was perhaps the only solution. Jason felt sorry, he wanted to get closer, but he knew to stay away for now.

“I’m fucking broke. My family is gone. I don’t feel like working my ass off all day just to get paid in crumbs. So I decided to take my life in a new direction, and it turns out I’m good at that.”

“I’d say, really good at it.” Jason complimented. 

“I don’t think you’re supposed to enjoy that” Y/n looked at him over her shoulder and, shaking her head, gave him a smile.

Shrugging, he said: “I like a good challenge.”

Jason liked whatever this was much more than the angry, frustrated talks they had while chasing each other. It was light, fun. He could work well with that.

“By the way. I took it for a ride, hope you don’t mind” she said, resting her elbows on the short wall, and her cheeks on her hands. “That’s a really, really, sweet ride you have there” 

Gulp. With air tightening at his throat, he opened his helmet, taking it off and placing it on the tank of his bike. Jason's sweaty hair stuck to his face, cheeks still puffed from the heat after running all the way to the parking deck. 

That’s something I would like to take a sweet ride on, Y/n thought, but shook it away as soon as possible.

“What was that?” Jason asked her.

“What was what?” she pretended not to know, begging the universe he didn’t notice.

“What were you shaking your head at?” Eyebrows arched, she knew he noticed. “Like what you see?”

“You’ve been staring at my boobs from the moment you got here and I haven’t commented a thing” she said, turning her face so he couldn’t see her cheeks growing red.

Raising his hands in defeat, Jason tried to change topics.

“It was custom made.” he explained.

“Then you’ll have to tell me who did it, because I might be interested in getting one myself”

“I built it” Jason proudly informed. “It took me a while, but I got it done just how I wanted.”

“Wow” she moved one more time, facing him fully now, and crossing her arms over her chest. “You must be great working with your hands then”

Looking down, Jason stared at his own hands. Calloused, with a few bruises here and there, and desperate to have them exploring all over her. “I have my talents.”

“I see.”

A moment of silence followed. Not awkward, not tense. Just quiet, as both tried to stray their eyes from each other.

“Just don’t put anyone in danger, alright?” was all Jason asked, turning around to leave. 

“So you’re really leaving?” Y/n blurted out, not proud of sounding desperate, but desperately not wanting him gone. “Just like this?”

If he was stupid, he wouldn’t have noticed the slight tint of sadness on her voice, or the light touch of desperation ingrained in it. But he wasn’t, he heard it. And mysteriously, it boosted something deep inside him, an ego he didn’t know he owned.

“I have work” liar.

“Do you?” she questioned, walking in his direction. 

Jason was already mounted on his motorcycle, ready to turn the engine on. But the sight of her getting closer stopped him from doing anything else. He felt trapped somehow, like something was keeping him tied there. But there was no rope, not chains, not guns pointed at him. Just her.

All the way, her eyes never left his, looking at him through seductive eyes, challenging him, inquiring the truth. However, he saw, deep down, they were also begging him to stay. Watching her every move, lips sore from biting, his mouth hung open when, upon reaching him, she crossed her right leg over the tank of his motorcycle, sitting on it.

Her knees touched his thigh, the space between them minuscule. She was close, oh so close to him. His hot breath hit her face, making her eyelashes move. Her own blowing directly at his lips. 

“Do you really have to work tonight?”she questioned him one more time, hands sliding up his tights, eyes hanging low and falling on his lips. His own hands traveling to her waist, as Jason saw himself drawing her even closer. 

“Not if I don't want to” he stated in a breath, voice weak and desperate. He could feel his pants getting tighter, and heat building up from his neck.

“Don’t then” she whispered against his lips, hers dangerously close, almost touching his.

“I won’t” he said, one hand flying to the nape of her neck and finally, finally, closing the space between their mouths.

Ferociously, Jason’s mouth wandered over hers, tongue immediately sliding in. He held strongly at her neck and waist, as her hands laid and caressed at his tights. The kiss was wet, hot, and desperate. He wanted to drown himself on her lips, lose himself in her touches. And Y/n was just as needy, as her hands traveled up and down his tights, and her sweet moans filled Jason’s ears like a soft lullaby.

Lifting her legs over his, tangling them around his waist, she drew her body closer, locking the small gap they still had between them and grinding on his clothed crotch, while her hands dangerously made their way to where he wanted them most. Palming his dick, Y/n let out a surprised gasp, as her small hand barely cupped his size entirely. 

Y/n already expected him to be big. Looking at his body size, it was an easy assumption to make. Sometimes when they met, she would notice the bulge in his pants and spend the rest of the night just thinking about his potential. And, when they were making out on her guest room bed, she could feel just how big he was. 

With Y/n massaging him up and down over his pants, Jason would release deep guttural noises, but never bothered about ever ungluing their mouths. His kiss was sloppy, wetting even her chin. He’d suck at her bottom lip, biting it occasionally. The silvery taste of blood filling his taste buds.

As she tightened her hold on him, he grunted loudly into her mouth. Taking both her wrists with one single hand, he took them away from his crotch and held them tightly behind her back. Lowering her onto the panel, being careful to not hurt her head, he stood on his feet as he dry humped her jeans. The thick fabric of her pants adding to the feeling on her already sensitive clit. WIth her legs still wrapped around his waist, she assisted his movement with some of her own, moaning out his name like a prayer, as nibbled at her neck. 

He kissed his way down her neck, sucking and biting on it, certainly leaving his mark on her skin. Knowing the bruises she would have by the next morning only grew his lust, a sense of power in having her marked as his own. With his big hands, he wrapped them around her breasts, picking at her nipples over her shirt. Y/n moaned, arching her back and exposing her neck even more for him to reach places he couldn’t before. 

He wanted her stained, body covered in purple, as his little art project. He wanted her mindless, no thoughts in her head, drunk from pleasure. He wanted her under his power, dependent, addicted. He wanted her so bad, so good, so wet for him. He wanted to fuck her here and now.

But he had to wait. Against his own nature, he had to stop, before it was too late.

“Get off” he demanded, raspy voice making shivers run down her spine. Pushing away, he unhooked her legs from around him and with the back of his hand, he tried to clean his lips. 

Upon his words, her eyes shot open, confusion and disappointment evident in her irises. Jason had to hold himself as to not fuck her then and there, as she looked fucking desperate for him. Needy of his touch.

“I’m not fucking you on my motorcycle.” he state, handing her his hand to help her off his bike. “I know a way better place for us to go.”

“Are you gonna be able to wait till we get there?” she asked, still breathless from seconds ago.

“You made me wait two days already. I guess I can handle a few more minutes. Can you?” he traded a question, raising one eyebrow at her.

Biting her lips, she rolled her eyes at him and shook her head, looking all messed up still. A part of her told her to go, leaving him hanging with his own ego she knew pretty well was getting inflated by each second she spent under his touch. But her horny side, the one speaking the loudest tonight, just wanted to get its release. 

Climbing over the back of his bike, she wrapped her arms around him, feeling the ripped muscles of his well shaped abdomen, and rested her cheek on his back.

Turning on the engine, he looked at her over his shoulder. “Hold tight”

A fan of speed, Jason had a feeling he had never driven faster. 

All over the city, he had secret hiding spots where he’d store weapons, money, and gadgets he needed for patrol. Small spots, needed mostly for storage and the occasional stitching up after a tough fight. But one of them was larger, his safehouse, built from two stacked up containers at an abandoned port storage lot. Jason considered it almost like a home, being there most of the time while out of patrol and not being busy with his civilian stuff.

He knew it was dangerous to bring her there, she could very well be tricking him, trying to get deep within his skin and rip something out of it. But every ounce of carefulness left his body the moment he crashed his lips to hers.

Parking outside in the dark lot, they climbed out of his vehicle and Y/n waited as he opened the container’s door. Inside, she was surprised by the tidiness of the place, not something she was expecting to see. It was clean and well organized. It contained a small kitchen, a living room and a bedroom on the opposite side to the door.

Y/n curiousness was heightened. This was so different to what she expected his home would be like. She thought he’d be like every other guy she had met, with a messy bedroom, unorganized book shelves, clothes hanging from everywhere. Sure, she hasn’t been with the type of guys that wouldn’t be messy, but his bunker was a very welcome surprise.

A stack of books decorated his coffee table, the only slightly “messy” thing in the entire unit. Taking the one from the top of the pile, Y/n was satisfied to see the early edition of Jane Austen’s Emma among his recent reads.

On the wall, a display showed a series of guns, knives and other weapons, drawing Y/n’s interest in seeing them from up close.

“Admiring the knives, Y/n?” Jason asked, breaking the silence hovering between them since they arrived in the place.

“You have quite the collection.” grabbing a larger knife in her hands, she turned back to him and continued. “No ropes, but knives. I see you’re into some kinky shit, Jason”

“We all have our thing” he didn’t deny. “Fire, isn’t it?”

Y/n liked cocky and fun Jason so much better than the angry annoying one she’d get most nights. Although she enjoyed annoying him, seeing how frustrated he’d get every time they met, this new calm, tranquil version of him was growing in her heart. 

It was hard to admit she had a thing for him, the guy who so desperately wanted to take her behind bars. She didn’t blame him, she knew what she did wasn’t that great. She didn’t have to do it like that, there were other options that wouldn’t have been as “easy”, but wouldn’t certainly get her into this much trouble. But all his trouble led her here, to his home, or she so assumed this unit was.

Almost every night, they’d meet, even if briefly, between all the other chaotic events in the city of chaos Gotham City. And every time they meet, religiously, Y/n would spend the rest of the night with him on her head. There was something about his hooded self, the mystery behind the mask, that attracted her. The fact he would do anything in his power to send her to Blackgate or any other prison added a risk factor that only made him hotter.

Then, she became obsessed. She'd learned his watching spots, always making sure to show up just around the corner. On the day of the Tiffany’s robbery, she knew he was close, and decided to strike before anyone else got close.

She didn’t think he’d like her back though. That night in her apartment came as a very welcoming surprise.

Everything that led to this event came as a surprise too. She was supposed to go home, rest after being done with her last debt to Penguin. But she saw him on her way, tiredly looking beyond at, seemingly, nothing, just waiting for something to happen. And then, she just stood there, watching him under the bridge, watching him fight with the two idiots she had met before at Penguin’s club, and watched him almost getting beat by Solomon Grundy. If she didn’t intervene soon enough, he’d have. But she wouldn’t let him, not under her watch.

Taking him from the floor, she carried his body with much difficulty to her apartment. Not all the way, as she stopped to rob someone’s car to drive him there, ensuring the driver she’d would return the car the very next day. She did, and even left him a thank you letter. 

Bringing him home was a stupid idea. At least at first. But when he looked at his cuts and scratches, she couldn’t help the primordial instinct of taking care of him. And when he looked all hot and needy, and when he kissed her passionately, bringing him home was suddenly the best decision she had made in a while.

But she couldn’t let it happen then. She was a criminal, but she still had a moral code. Don’t steal from the poor, only the rich. Help those around if you can. Don’t fuck anybody with the slightest level of unconsciousness due to alcohol, meds, drugs, or whatever. Basic human ethics everyone should know.

She regretted it, of course, as him doing things to her body were all that clouded her mind the entire day, her hands and toys not doing enough to send those thoughts away.

There was also the thought in the back of her head telling him he only wanted to fuck her because she was “hot”. Sure, maybe she wasn’t the prettiest, or had the hottest body, but it seemed like was more attracted to her than into her. She couldn’t say the same, feeling exactly the opposite. She imagined once he’d fucked her, he’d fuck with her and had her trapped and sent away.

She didn’t want him to break her heart. Yet, where she was now, she was waiting for it.

“Penny for your thots… Er-hm thoughts” he coughed, worrying about her sudden silence.

“Nothing important.” she replied quietly.

“Really?” he questioned again, wanting to be sure she was fine. “Anything I can help with?”

He was walking closer ever so slowly. Reaching her, he set his arms around her, on the same table she was holding herself against, trapping her in place and forbidding her from getting away.

Just fuck me out of this thoughts, she mentaly replied, for some reason too ashamed to say it out loud. 

His face rested mere inches from hers, and she could feel his minty breath once again.

“I want to kiss you” he admitted. “Can I?”

Biting her lower lip seductively, eyes glued on his, Y/n closed the space between them one more time. This turn, though, the kiss was softer, more contained, yet still as hot. His hand flew to caress her cheek with his thumb, palms resting on her jaw and the nape of her neck.

This slower pace, although really enjoyable, from Y/n perspective just wasn't enough. Her underwear felt sticky from the arousal she had earlier, and her core still twitched in desire. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him even closer and speeding up their kiss, becoming slowly as sloppy as it had been before.

He held onto her thighs, wrapping them around his waist. The close contact between their cores heating up their surroundings. She grinded on him, begging for some attention down there, as his lips wandered from her mouth to her neck, leaving bites all along. 

She could feel his hardening member growing inside his pants, the junction of his bulge and the hard fabric causing the friction against her clit to feel even better. Her moans were becoming louder and couldn’t stop fleeing her lips. Jason, on the other hand, kept his composure.

The tables were turned now, and Y/n was the one desperate for release. 

Sliding his large hands under her shirt, he pulls it up her head with ease. He watched her chest heaving under her pink lacy bra, the sight driving him closer to the edge. While he stared, Y/n swiftly slipped her hands down to take off her jeans too, as Jason took the hint and removed his jacket and his shirt too.

Y/n pulled him by his belt, ending their distance to kiss him once more. His hands flew to her boobs, tightening his hold and playing with her hardened nipples. Slowly, he made his way down to the valley of her breast, kissing and sucking every inch of skin he could find. Looking up, they locked eyes, Jason making sure to not look away as he pulled the cloth covering her tit with his own teeth.

The sight couldn’t have been sexier, Y/n not noticing the moan she let out just at that. 

Mouth clashing against her soft skin, Jason sucked violently on one boob as his hand played with the other, causing Y/n’s head to roll back and hit the knife display on the wall. Her sudden move dropped a few of his knives onto the table, but they couldn’t have cared less, both letting out breathy laughs over the incident.

When he felt he was done with her breasts, he licked his way down belly, sending shivers down her spine. When he reached the waistline of her panties, Y/n’s breath hitched. The hot air from his breath hitting her core. She watched him attentively, waiting for his next move.

“I can smell how excited you are, Y/n” he commented, eyes glued to her core. “I wonder how you’d taste like”

Y/n had to hold tight onto the table to not let out a scream, Jason’s warm tongue sending jolts of electricity up her spine. He licked up and down her folds, one stroke at a time, driving Y/n nuts from impatience. He noticed her despair, and he enjoyed it thoroughly, slowing his pace even more, taking his sweet time licking at her clit.

“Jay…” Y/n begged, a hand moving to grasp at his hair.

“Pantience, sweetheart.” he mumbled between her tights.

“P-please”

Deciding to attend to her pleas just this once, Jason shoved his face down her soppy pussy, tongue moving at a much faster pace. Y/n’s legs went instinctively to rest over his shoulders, and he grabbed them tight to keep her trembling body from moving. Y/n’s lower abdomen twitched, as Jason devoured her intimacy like a hungry man. 

Jason was focused, himself enjoying every moment he spent licking her cunt. Sometimes he would give some much needed attention to her clit, and watch her squirm and shake above him. Her warmth overcoming him, her liquids sliding down his jaw, face all wet from her pleasure.

“Ah, you’re doing so good!”

“We’re just starting, Yn.”

And dropping her legs down, he stood up from the floor, shin glistering. Confusion and disappointment much more evident on Y/n face this time, frustrated with being so close to release. 

Jason breaks them apart, Y.n’s head rolling backwards immediately, as she begged for air. For a few seconds, he took some time  to admire her pose, boobs hanging out, face crunched from pleasure. But he didn’t waste any time before shoving his mouth on her nipples, drawing a surprised scream from the back of her throat.

“W-why did you stop?” she asked under heavy breaths.

“C’mon Y/n. I’ve never been easy on you. What made you think I was gonna do it this time?”

A smirk on his face, he spread her weak legs apart and stood in the middle, cupping her cheeks and leaning in for a kiss. Y/n could taste herself in his tongue, his soaked face staining her own with her juices.

“Do you wanna go to Blackgate?” he suddenly asked. Not understanding a thing, Y/n just stared at the muscular guy ahead. “Answer me Y/n. Do you wanna go to Blackgate?”

Y/n just shook her head.

“Good” he said, giving her a chaste kiss. Reaching behind her back, Jason grabbed one of the fallen knives. “I guess you won't be needing this tonight”

Gliding the blade carefully up her tights, Jason cut her panties and with a swift movement threw them aside. He grabbed the back of her legs and wrapped them on his waist, propping her up to carry her to his bed.

As she laid in his bed, exposed and vulnerable, she took some time to admire his strong body. Ripped muscles modeled his arms and abdomen, and basically every body part she landed her eyes on. Standing at the edge of the bed, staring her down while holding a knife, he looked dangerous and borderline frightening.

“Tonight, Y/n, I’ll be giving you a sentence.”

Slapping hard at her cunt, Jason’s hand massaged her clit with his thumb as two fingers slid inside of her. “And you’ll leave here a good, reformed citizen”

Y/n couldn’t hold back the loud moans that escaped her mouth. Arching her back, she screamed his name like a prayer. Hands grabbing onto the bed sheets, Y/n saw her mind go blank with her first orgasm of the night.

“Such a good girl”

As Y/n heaved and panted, trying to ease her breath, she listened to the sound of his belt falling to the floor. When she looked up to face him, Jason was  stroking his dick, grunting by himself as he watched her struggle to keep herself together. She observed his red tip drip with pre cum, her tongue instinctively hanging out.

“Do you wanna lick?”

She nodded innocently, moving to stand closer, but he pushed her back to fall on the bed again. 

“No. Not tonight.” pulling her to him, he slapped his dick on her soft cunt, teasing her entrance with his own tip. “Tonight I’m fucking you”

With one hard movement, Jason slipped his entire length inside of Y/n. She cried out his name, as his thickness stretched mercilessly, the sharp sensation causing tears to form in her eyes. He thrusted hard into her, the sound of skin hitting skin filling the room.

“Oh, god. F-fuck!” she cried out.

He held her tight for support, pulling her and he pumped his cock deeper, getting lost in the warm sensation of being wrapped inside her tight wet cunt. 

“Sweetheart, you’re so fucking tight. You’re making me feel so good.”

He watched her clothed tits jumping up, and angrily removed her last clothing item from her body. Palming her breast, he played with them as his thrusts started getting sloppier. H could finally feel his frustrations fading away with every thrust, and as she sang out his name he could feel his release getting closer. 

With one last hard thrust, he pushed himself out.

“Turn around” he demanded, and she quickly obeyed.

His hard hand hit her ass, surprising her and drawing out a loud cry. He slid his hand once more between her folds, watching her tremble under his touch.

“Jason, please, please. Just make me cum”

“Not yet, princess” he warned, as she cried in complaint, but as he kept stroking her clit she came undone on his fingers. “Tsc tsc tsc. I told you not yet.”

“I’m s-sorry, Jay. I just couldn’t… you were making me feel s-so good. Aah”

Jason pushed her head down onto the mattress, holding her in place by the neck.

“You better keep yourself together. Or do you want me to send you to Blackgate right after we’re done”

“No, please”

“Then wait till I let you cum” she nodded her head, tears soaking the bed.

He lined himself at her entrance once more, teasing it with his tip and he felt her cum melting on his tip. Snatching her hands from where they were supporting her up, he held them fiercely behind her back, as he made his way deep inside of her.

His cock hit heavily at her cervix. Her wall is tightening around him, sucking him even deeper. He was losing himself on her while he fucked her dumb. After so long trapped in intrusive thoughts and in unholy dreams, Jason felt in heaven. He grunted out her name, thankful for choosing a safehouse so far from everybody.

His thrust were getting clumsy, his dick missing entrance her a few times. As she placed him back where she wanted him most, she thrusted back, giving him a moment to rest before returning his moves once again.

“Jay” she whispered out. “I getting close”

“Shhh. Not now, baby. Just a little bit more.”

Grabbing her by the neck, he yanked her up to meet his chest. Her head rolled back to rest on his shoulders as he gained speed, the new position making him hit her favorite spot. Y/n cried out in his ears, when he fingered her clit for a third time.

He bit and sucked on the skin of her shoulder, holding back moans of his own.

“Jay, I-i” she tried to speak, but he cut her off by crashing his lips to hers. Still clutching her neck, he sucked on her tongue as he felt her nail dig into his ass.

“I’m almost there” he announced, sucking on earlobe. “Just tell me. Tell me you’ll stop.”

His drive never seeming to slow down, he requested, voice muffled her neck. he requested. 

“Tell me you stop stealing, robbing, dealing. Tell me you’ll stop, then I’ll let you come”

“I’ll stop. Yes, please. I’ll stop, I’ll stop. Jason, please let me come.”

“Look me in the eye tell me this again. Like you mean it” he demanded, capturing her chin and moving her look him deep in the eye.

“I’ll stop. I’ll be a good girl… just for you.”

Jason’s hands rubbed her harder, his thrusts making her mind go blank from ecstasy as her body melted onto his. The know below his stomach coming undone as he filled her with his seed, her own orgasm makes her body spasm against his hold.

Riding out his high, he pushed in at a much slower pace. Leaving butterfly kisses on her back as he lowered them both to rest on the mattress.

When he pulled out, Y/n groaned, already missing the sensation of him filling her up.

After cleaning themselves, Jason watched her back rising and falling, breathing finally even , her eyes closed as she laid on her belly. It wasn’t a sight he expected to see anytime soon, or ever, really. But he was glad to be seeing it, he was glad she was here. With him.

Getting back on the bed, he pulled her and hugged her from behind. He laid a soft kiss behind her ear, hearing the quiet sound of her breath.

“Do you bring many of his villains here?” she gently asked.

“Only the potentially dangerous ones.”

“I hope you have tapped your night with the Joker then. I’d be really interested in watching that”

Throwing his head back, Jason blurted out laughing. Y/n’s heart beat faster at the sound, wishing to hear it more often.

“Relax. He didn’t catch my attention like you.” he confessed, returning to leave kisses on her skin, something he found himself addicted to. “No one did.”

“Good!” she said, and she tightened his hold onto her middle. “I don’t want your attention anywhere else.”

. tag list (i can't believe i've got one of those lmao, thank you so much for the love you've given this story ♡

@dolliezxo @stevesdick @miraculous-panic @kk00789 @alecmoress @parkjammys @biggetywitch @jasontodd-artemisgrace4life @dakotali @theendofthematerialgworl

[ganondoodle]

one of the few zelda youtuber guys that seems to actually love totk made a video about it (i guess bc so many talked about why they dont like it) and while i didnt watch it i took a peek into the comments and of course its full of people going "LMAO people only dislike it bc it didnt validate their crazy theories!!" "its always the same when a new zelda comes out lol at first they hate it and then later its a classic haha idiots" "people who dont like it are just caught up in their nostalgia and cant accept anything new being introduced!!"

also thanking him for "speaking up" about loving the game ... which i find kinda mind boggling bc the internet is full of praise and 10/10s for it

i obviously dont want to villainize people that love totk but like .. these kinds of comments are so unecessarily judgemental? how dare someone NOT like an entry in the franchise and voice legit criticism, how dare someone not worship the game just bc it has zelda on it! CLEARLY they are just made delusional by their own fantasy and will realize later just how wrong they were! hah! those fools!

on my rants there were quite a few people who actually said they like the game but agree with alot of my views on it regardless, it is very flawed but i can also see that the good things outweigh the bad stuff for others, even if i legitimately hate it; but i also had to block multiple people bc they got so butthurt about me criticising it

and i dont think its 100% just an opinion thing either, totk, even when i disregard my personal feelings on the matter, has alot of problems, moreso than the other zeldas (each judged for how it was in their time) and in pretty much every part of the game too (story, lore, continuity, gameplay and rewards, UI-) and i think alot of it stems from its conception, they have never done a true direct sequel before and it came from a DLC idea, and it shows (though i still believe even coming from that you could have done something way better..... bc they also made botw, which seemed to prepare fertile ground for more storytelling that was all discarded for NO reason)

BUT that doesnt mean you cant like it anyway! there are some very horribly shitty games out there that are beloved by people anyway! and thats fine! i love ww and botw, both of which HAVE flaws too! and thats okay!

you dont need to be dismissive of any hint of criticism like that, there is no holy honor to defend, it just makes you look like a jerk

[toxicwasteempire]

Foreshadowing in book one for Sidestep secret.

We all know by now but did we always? How many of us picked up the clues for the first book?

I personally was 100% convinced Sidestep was a Re-Gene before I started to play Retribution. This is because my mind is huge™ (Lying). It is interesting how it isn't information the first book is withholding, it keeps bringing it up to the point it feels natural once you read it once again with that knowledge. It doesn't hide it, it's just not said explicitly.

This is not a exhaustive list. I did one playthrough and took every reference, just so you all see my point. Remember, this is all just from one playthrough.

Is not foreshadowing (or is it?) but the phrasing is interesting knowing that Sidestep was made to do undercover missions. At the start, one things they're talking about gender norms in general but Sidestep was taught those in a clinical, artificial environment, with the goal of being as unassuming as possible. Only cuckoos are socialized this way, something that separates them from other Re-Genes.

More clear impossible and this is at the start of the game. Close your eyes and imagine baby Sidestep in a test tube. 🧪👶🏻

Tech-savvy Sidestep knows the capability of modern science, they're a product of it. Is the topic of race and heritage touchy because they see themselves as having no heritage or is do they consider Re-Gene culture as their heritage. (We know they have a unique language) If the latter is true, they would also feel isolated from it, since cuckoos are set apart.

Here is The Point™ it occurs in every playthrough. The existence of Re-Gene is explained and Sidestep is shown extremely distressed after calling the Special Directive. This is the point where it's practically confirmed there's story between Sidestep and the GeniTech corporation. it's difficult to not at the very least suspect.

I mean, the whole situation is stressing Sidestep the fuck out. If her crying, sobbing and throwing up about this isn't suspicious I don't know what is.

"You see Re-Genes have NO HUMAN RIGHTS because a CEO (of a company that kicked off after moving somewhere without a bioethics board) ~~claimed~~ that Re-Genes, allegedly 😒, are not sentient. Oh, you see they can mimic 😋🤗 so if you see some acting alive that's just silly pretending Which is why they have to be BRANDED as the MINDLESS OBJECTS they are just so nobody confuses them for actual people. 🙄 They have no mind after all. Or so they say. 😒 They are used for war... Do what you want with that info."

The way Sidestep talks immediately sends off alarms. Putting aside her being a Re-Gene, it is very clear the moment the Re-Genes are mentioned, the text is also putting in question the apparently known fact that they are not sentient.

Even if Sidestep had not been revealed to be one, I would've be on the side of the Re-Genes. Made by a sketchy enterprise somewhere with little to no regulations, they're marked to make sure nobody confuses them for a human, sent to make rich people richer in proxy wars abroad. The company says uuhhm actually they have no soul so it's okay if they got not human rights. 💕 And I'm supposed to believe that? Go away

Also a journalist was straight up murdered. Como cosa rara.

So the supposedly mindless robots need to have their thoughts shielded from possible telepaths 🤔 how weird.

There's show of kinship if you chose to save the Re-Gene. You see me and I see you. We are the same. We don't deserve this.

Sidestep stop hating your body challenge (impossible)

The first one can assume she's talking about being a villain but we know better.

Kinship between Sidestep and Heartbreak. They both being treated like less than a person. I see you. You see me we are the same etc. We also get a glimpse of her life in The Farm.

If you already got the inclination to believe sidestep is Re-Gene mid playthrough, the game proves you right with texts like this.

My poor mew meow...

Being serious, one assumes their tragic backstory means Sidestep's childhood was sad. When actually is simply non existent.

[distractedducky]

So I was thinking about it… why sterek

I’ve shipped a lot in my time. From the classics like spirk and destiel, to the straight vampire diaries nonsense, from murder husbands to buddy to name a very small few. They all hold weird little places in my heart and mind but they fade and as I flow in and out of fandoms I move on to the next hyperfixation. But sterek just keeps sticking around.

It’s an old ship for me. If you go on my ao3 all the way back to 2013 you’ll see my first ever book mark was a sterek fic. That fic is still a comfort fic for me today and is something I read when my anxiety is uncontrollable.

It was something I read late in 2022 when the reality of the pandemic and the last few years hit me hard and got me back into Teen Wolf so hard it actually pushed me out of the supernatural hole the start of the pandemic put me in.

I’ve always been a shipper and I have my ride or dies, my OTPs and Ot3s, and so on and so forth, but fandom has always been weird for me. I started young and witnessed the birth in Tumblr and ao3, as a tween my taste can only be described as pure trash* Affectionate * but as I got older, like most things in life, my taste changed. And though I still love me some hot garbage, I engage with it differently than that little 12-year-old who thought werewolves and vampires were cool no further explanation necessary.

Now I’m an academic, a librarian, who actually studied critical lit analysis, book studies, and religion. Who spent years learning how to dissect prose and poetry to look beyond text in an professional setting. And though I don’t regret it and it has led to some fun changes in the way I engage with fiction it also kinda ruined the fun engagement I had with things back in the day when baby me bookmarked that first fic.

I need more from my characters now, more from my fandoms and it has led me away from and into the arms of content that I never saw coming. (Looking at you Danny phantom phandom) I needed depth or the potential for depth that some shows just didn’t lend themselves to cleanly enough to satisfy me and yet… sterek persisted.

One of my problems is I didn’t really engage with the fandom when the show was airing and only watched a few season sporadically until recently, so I wasn’t there when things were forming organically. It has left me out of step with the primary directions fan content creators have taken with the ship and the directions they took, though fun and interesting, aren’t really my usual thing.

I hate the infantilization of stiles and other teen wolf characters like Isaac. I generally hate infantilization of adults, hyper feminization of certain types of characters and so on and so forth and it has to do with my own gender stuff, but I usually avoid it in fanfiction. I am also not a huge fan of modern werewolf romance erotica. I have a lot of opinions on real supernatural mythology and legends and I don’t like the anthropomorphism that shows up a lot in werewolf stories. Not that I haven’t read some amazing takes on werewolf lore, especially in the Teen Wolf fandom but I’m speaking generally. I’m also not a fan of pack mom stiles (again my own gender stuff) and though I think Scott’s inconsistent character and writing throughout the show lens him to be whatever your fic needs to be (best friend, hype man, wingman, idiot, genius, villain, so on and so forth) I don’t like a lot of the 'Scott sucks just because' fics. I don’t like the hate in the fandom around that. I also don’t like the hypermasculine depictions of Derek in a lot of fics and on and on. I have read a lot of TW and sterek and by all accounts, it should be a fandom I wouldn't personally engage with this much. Yet for all that, I have found there is an exception to every trope I hate, every hard line i draw for myself, because the fic was just so good. For every dozen or so fics that seem to tell me that this isn’t the fandom for me, there is that one amazing thing that says “No! This is exactly where you wanna be”.

Like I said, I need more from my fandoms now a days and most of what that boils down to is plausible deniability. I need enough gaps in the narrative to fill them in myself, but with enough connective pieces that everything can make sense when put together. The fatal flaw of telling without showing, which allows people to extrapolate out what they want from certain things -all the subtext with none of the text - is exactly where my degree comes in handy.

And sterek well… I think what it is for me as a shipper is the inconsistencies. That is kind of why I still ship it so far and for so long. It's the fact of why was Stiles in Derek's dream at the end of 3b? We can talk about all the things with him being his anchor and the grasping at straws that we as shippers all love to do but the narrative fact is they did not spend that much time on screen together or even saying they were doing things off-screen together. That leads us to a lot of whys. Why were they together at the beginning of season two talking about the alpha pack? Why were they in certain situations in season four that ld them to work so well? What happens in all of this dead time? What happens in season six? We see stiles in episode one be like "Oh my God Derek is a mass murderer wanted by the FBI" and at the end of the season, they've apparently driven and or flown back to California together, apparently spent some time together. They're not on the run from the FBI so that got cleared somehow, stiles isn't limping so his foot healed. There's so much dead time like that throughout the show so when scenes happen like the hand on Derek's shoulder after the death of Boyd you're left thinking that's kind of off, we haven't seen any interactions with them that would show that they have that kind of deep solemn relationship where comforting him would make sense.

The show notoriously has a terrible timeline, but all that does is fuel the fact that we don't know how much time any of these characters are really spending off-screen together. We can only assume that it happened in this weird dead time. This is why somehow Derek's view of Stiles in his head is like a calm stable dependable figure who can help him talk through an issue. This is why they always gravitate towards each other in fights. This is why they work so well together in a crisis. Like we have to assume that happened before which is stupid and I know it's so much reaching, but in my little brain, it's the only way that makes all of this random shit fit together- so I gotta ship it. Obviously, the real-world explanation is inconsistent writing plus putting space between them once the writer stopped wanting people to ship it, but because you get all of these disjointed scenes where they're too intense for what we've been previously seeing there is some type of disconnect here -what is that? and if you're looking at the show, not as a work of fiction, but as a narrative, what else are we gonna do then assume that they have spent way more time emotionally connecting than we have seen on the screen.

And for me that’s everything I want in a ship, that ability to play and extrapolate random events and ask, okay now how would these all fit! And that’s what spawns great ideas and stories and art and why I ship it, dispute the fact that it really shouldn't work for me personally.

I think it’s why a lot of people still stop sterek despite the fact that the attitude towards it and the show has shifted a lot and in many different ways in the last decade.

Sorry for the rant, I’ve been thinking about this for days and had to get it out there. I hope I didn’t offend anyone. I truly love the Teen Wolf fandom and everything it’s done and everything it created and I’m so happy to be able to engage with it.

[shsl-analyzer-guy]

31 30 Days of Dangan- Day 1 & 2: Fav character and game

way to go, me. Making an entire set of days and then forgetting to do the first day. In my defense, I was on the road like, alllllll day, so does it even really count as a day? I say no

So I'll just do day 1 and 2 on this one, and it'll be f i n e

Day 1- Fav Character: Tsumugi Shirogane (spoilers for V3)

Does it really come as a surprise that my favorite character is the girl I use as my pfp? I certainly hope not. Anyways, I think Tsumugi is without exception the most interesting of the V3 characters, has one of the most impressive talents, and is by far my favorite mastermind(though on actual fav mastermind day, I'll be talking about my 2nd fav to avoid repeat yaps). I know Tsumugi really isn't that popular of a character, though I think the hate for her has died down a lot since V3's release from what I've seen, but I think a lot of the flack that is directed at her actually comes from people understanding her but not the twist of the game. And that's something I find infinitely funny.

I think conceptually, making an AU game in your own game series and having the mastermind just be the #1 fan of your own series is comedy gold, and her SHSL Cosplayer abilities stemming from that love is the biggest pat on the back Kodaka's ever given himself. Tsumugi being fandom encapsulated, both the good and bad parts, is actually so precious, and it confounds me that such a love letter to Danganronpa fans could be so easily seen as a 'slap to the face' just because she was the villain. News flash- villains are fucking awesome

Tsumugi is very much a fandom purist, believing her way of interpreting fandom is the 'right' way, no matter what. It's to the point where she has a stranglehold over cosplay and develops cospox if she cosplays the 'wrong' way. Not only that, throughout her time in the game, there are multiple instances of her dialogue pushing with the popular decision of the class to decide who you should and should not like, and the people she likes reek of 'favorite ocs' in a way that's ungodly hilarious.

Gonta is her wholesome pure uwu boi who can do no wrong, and even if she acts as though he's her friend, she only ever babies him, and when it comes to Himiko, someone who makes it incredibly far in the game, they have a lot to talk about when it comes to magic systems. To my memory, Tsumugi is one of if not the only one who can actually decipher the mana system Himiko explains her powers as and is able to hold a conversation with her about it. She openly admits to having written the Kaimaki plotline, and having written it for Maki's character growth, as well as Shuichi's character arc. She has a preferred archetype, with the final 3 all being characters that started the game extremely closed off to others and ended more confident in themselves and banded together

As disconcerting as it is, I also find it hilarious how they took "this character has an incest fetish" and used it as a subtle hint Tsumugi was the mastermind. I mean, including not one, but two subplots involving an incestuous sibling relationship, one for drama and one as a goddamn soap opera, and having Tsumugi's Love Hotel be a stepbrother story? Using the more taboo part of fandom as evidence is so fucking hilarious, I laugh every time I remember it. Fucking insane. V3 was not afraid to go out there with her

i also just really love her FTEs and the assertion that a SHSL Cosplayer isn't just someone who wears cosplay, but makes them. Tsumugi makes all her own cosplays, and even if they aren't perfect, she wears them with love, and that's what asserts her as SHSL Cosplayer, and it's completely believable. Cosplay is a labor of love, and V3 is distinctly aware of that

Prior to chapter 6, Tsumugi is also the 'straightman' glue holding the cast together as well, which works fantastically for a mastermind hiding in plain sight. Every surviving cast has that one character that's relatively straight-laced but made it to the end regardless just by not leaving the cast behind, and doesn't have a ton of linear growth, and Tsumugi fills that role and blends in. Talking to her right after hearing an onslaught of batshit character choices is honestly refreshing, and it makes her betrayal that much more impactful if she's a character you took to

In short, I really really like her. I think she's a great character, one of the best and is hella underrated just because the story she was made for was unpopular, and it's a real shame, because she's such a fun character to play with. To this day it boggles my mind that people adore Kokichi for his contradictions and intrigue but detest Tsumugi for the same. I've heard people say hating Hiyoko but liking Kokichi stems from fandom misogyny; I think a very similar argument could be made for Tsumugi as well. Thankfully, from what I gather, this little corner of internet I live in doesn't act like that. Ily Tsumugi Shirogane <3

Day 2- Fav Game: Ultra Despair Girls (Spoiler warning)

I LOVE UDG. I'm aware this is perhaps the most divisive game, as people either adore it despite its flaws or skip it entirely because of its flaws. Both sides are equally valid; the content in UDG is the darkest in DR, and it's mostly handled um. Poorly

That said, the pros super outweigh the cons for me, as it not only has the lowest lows of the series, but the highest highs as well, and I honestly love the change of pace that comes from breaking the VN pattern with a new kind of game. It makes me wonder what kind of beautiful world we could be in where DR continued and made multiple kinds of games to continue building within the world. DR3 could've been a shifting-perspective noir story about uncovering the brainwashing, a dr 0 adaptation game with an in-game notebook where what you take note of changes the ending, a DR4 exploring the flaws in Makoto reopening HPA, etc.

UDG has one of my favorite main casts, several characters of which will reappear later in this 31-day series, and even when the game is very unnecessarily sexualizing them, it still has a strong grasp on who they are and why they're affected by their past and present in the way that they are. The varied experiences of the Warriors of Hope and how and why they attack the adults are all so interesting to break down, and there's a philosophy there to be talked about in how and why victims lash out. They're aggressors, but they're victims too, and they're both blamed for their actions and shown as what they are- kids that want to be safe.

Bringing back Toko and Syo and expanding upon them to the extent that they did was such a major boost for them. Toko in particular shot up my tier list because of UDG, and having the option to actually play as the SHSL Murderer was the best thing they ever possibly could've done for a fighting game. Objectively correct choice. In addition, I founf Komaru to be a deeply compelling protagonist, enjoyed playing as her despite the admittedly finicky controls(maybe it's easier to play on its original console? I played on PC), and the 3d character models and artstyle is reminiscent of a Nintendo 3ds in a way that made me nostalgic, whether it was intentional or not.

Hot take but I actually quite like Shirokuma and Kurokuma, at least as narrative devices, and I think them being brothers being a way for AI Junko to mimic the siblinghood Junko had with Mukuro is soooo funny, like yeah, Junko wanted her sister to be on the opposing side and she just never left. Get wrecked

Despite not being there herself, this game also has my favorite incarnation of Junko, and I think seeing her successfully manipulate this troupe of children and Monaca in particular really sold her ability to manipulate without brainwashing, and expanded upon her villainy and analytical abilities sooo well. It didn't hurt to have an in-universe reason for her to have the money and tech to create Monokumas in a way that didn't feel like horseshit or some cheap retcon, and kept her image as a powerful cult leader-esque manipulator intact. It really is that image of power that makes Junko so appealing to so many people, whether it's an accurate picture or not

I think for every bad thing there is to say about UDG, there are two good things, but each bad thing is as bad as 3 good things are good, and that's the main factor in its divisiveness. Obviously, I do not like the shit this game does with Kotoko, or the multiple ways in which it's possible to get panty shots with Komaru. The 'motivation minigame' in chapter 3 is the bane of my existence. Mentioning Haiji as a pedophile offhandedly and not actually addressing how that's an issue is terrible, especially when you realize that for basically Monaca's entire childhood prior to the game, Haiji was in a position of power over her and very expressly didn't think she counted as family. It's mildly horrifying

That said, Monaca and Haiji do have a very intriguing dynamic with each other even when they only have one scene in the same room or even talking about each other, and the fact that so much of the game is really just their sibling rivalry over complicated by external factors and turned into genocide, then war, perpetuated by a set of AIs purposefully mimicking the OG mastermind's sibling relationship? Cinema

[moonlitlex]

ok. final thoughts on doctor who season 14 (2024) (because maybe if i say all of this i will finally stop thinking about how much i hate this season)

short version: i'm this season's biggest hater. if this season has a million haters im one of them. if this season has 1000 haters i'm still one of them. if this season has one hater it's me. if this season has no haters it means i have left this world. if the world is against this season i am with the world

long & nuanced version (under the cut)

i'm just really, really, really disappointed. i've always said that good writing can redeem any project, and it kind of feels like they just took it in the exact opposite direction this time. there's so much that went wrong and like 99% of it is down to the writing. i did a rant on my youtube channel (which i'm not gonna link here because i want to keep these accounts separate) and it was like an hour long so i'm not gonna go into detail but i'll just go over my main issues with this season

fifteen lacks depth. i think he's a very generic doctor lacking his own eccentricities. after the first season the doctor usually has quite a distinct personality, but i don't think we got that with fifteen. just compare the kind of characterization fifteen has at this point to like... eleven in his first season. he was a lot more fleshed out. we got to see multiple facets of his personality. it seems like they tried this with fifteen but everything we got to see ended up being really surface level. the susan thing just kind of happens. the rogue thing just kind of happens. he faces racism and he's just kind of incredulous and then the episode ends. it's not explored. the show just moves on to the next thing and we don't get to see how he deals with it.

ruby lacks depth. similarly, i think ruby is a very generic companion. she's a young woman from present day london which isn't in and of itself a bad thing but it's not backed up by much. like, what do we actually know about ruby? she's adopted? she was left on a church doorstep by her biomom? she loves her mom but is still disappointed she can't find her bio parents? these are all plot relevant things. what do we know about her outside of the stuff that is necessary for the plot? job? friends? life before the doctor? there are a few tiny glimpses, but not enough to make her a developed character.

fifteen and ruby's relationship is boring. they never fight. they never disagree. they never argue. they're never angry with each other. they never challenge each other on anything. they're shown to have this amazing best-friend rapport but it's never developed or fleshed out. it just kind of happens. one second they're meeting and the next second they're bffs who never disagree about anything and are always on the same page. it's just not an interesting dynamic.

i found ten and donna to be a very compelling dynamic but that's because they actually have a real friendship and have to deal with conflict and challenges and disagreements. times when the doctor and companion challenge each other are interesting. this is a feature of some really beloved doctor who stories for a reason. dalek wouldn't be so well loved if rose just agreed with nine the entire time. the conflict makes the story more compelling. meanwhile ruby can't even muster an ounce of discontentment with fifteen for the entire season.

season finale payoffs were not compelling and are in my opinion a result of prioritizing shock and surprise and social media buzz at time of release over telling an interesting story.

sutekh is not automatically a compelling villain and the way that arc is written is so... bland. he appears and kills everyone and the next episode they just hit the reset button. fine, doctor who has done this before, but there was interesting character writing back then to distract you from the baffling story decisions.

the season 3 finale had flying jesus ten but it also had interesting character dynamics. this one had sutekh defeated in the most confusing way possible (if he got his power from the time vortex why is it killing him now....) but there's barely anything going on in the character department. it's rtd so i expected hamfisted deus ex machinas, but i didn't expect the lack of care on the character front.

the susan thing was just... it came out of nowhere, didn't really make much sense, and then it immediately disappeared. the doctor thinking it's his susan was just confusing for me and it didn't land. like why would susan.... do that? why would she be basically following him around the universe by weaving herself into the scenery everywhere he landed? this is never even addressed. they just get the tardis anagram and he immediately jumps to it being his susan and you're not really sure why he's so convinced and it's never really explained.

ruby's mom being a normal woman literally just doesn't make any sense. it's never explained. "we thought she was really important" doesn't just do all the inexplicable things. why and how is ruby able to make it snow if her mom is just a normal person? why does the song in his soul scare maestro so much? why is sutekh of all people unable to figure out who her mother is? the reveal is played as a criticism of the audience for building up ruby's mom to be this huge mystery, but it wasn't the audience doing this - it was the writers. these are the clues they laid out and they're never explained. "doctor who is more fantastical now" also doesn't make any sense. fantasy has rules too. you can't just do whatever you want. the world still has to be internally consistent. the reveal by itself is a nice moment but it's just disappointing that they decided to laugh at the audience for taking their show seriously.

i've seen a lot of people compare ruby's mom thing with clara's impossible girl thing. i would like to point out 2 differences that make clara's impossible girl arc superior. first - clara's impossible girl arc never tries to weasel its way out of the mystery. the point is that who clara is is more important than the mystery surrounding her. ruby's mom mystery tries to erase the mystery entirely. second - clara's impossible girl arc is resolved the way it is because of clara. clara is a person who takes an action because of who she is. it shows courage and selflessness and care for her friend. ruby's mom mystery is solved by ruby and the doctor finding a database where they can match ruby's dna to her mom's. it doesn't say anything about her character. her character is irrelevant to the resolution.

i've also seen it compared to the hybrid thing from season 9, but with the hybrid there was never anything unexplainable happening in the first place so "it was just the characters obsessing about it all along" makes sense because it literally is just the characters bringing up the hybrid all the time.

the individual episodes are not... good. here are my opinions on each of them

church on ruby road - ok introduction, weird pacing, the goblin song was just tonally off compared to the rest of the episode

space babies - genuinely makes the doctor seem like a sadistic asshole at times like he keeps laughing at the literal babies for being scared of the monster and this is played for laughs (???), boogeyman reveal thing literally came out of nowhere there was no setup and it made no sense and was never really explained, a lot of tonal whiplash in this episode, poor exposition choices at the start

devils chord - maestro was a fun performance but nothing else about this episode is interesting, there are no beatles, the 4th wall breaks are tonally inconsistent with the rest of the season

boom - ruby gets sidelined but making ncuti act without being able to move any of his body slaps as a concept and while it was too on the nose, the thematic messaging aspects of this episode are coherent and don't talk down to the audience, some side characters get to be relevant to the story and moderately developed (mundy, splice, the dad), splice's actor was far too old to be delivering those lines and it didn't land well, the dad ai defeating the ambulance ai was a bit too much but was in line with the power of love and faith theme so i'm conflicted on how i feel about that

73 yards - did nothing right. there are a few minutes of good welsh folk horror at the start before that aspect of the story is undermined by those people in the pub. ruby gets no character development. the horror atmosphere is abandoned at the start and the horror concept is abandoned entirely partway through the story in favour of the political stuff with roger ap gwilliam, which is kind of resolved in a really anticlimactic scene which doesn't matter anyway because everything just gets undone at the end of the episode. there are no answers.

it's not a good horror story because 90% of it isn't horror. it's not a good political drama because nothing happens. it's not a good character study because we don't get to know anything about ruby's character. i genuinely think rtd has forgotten the kind of stuff he's written because he called this the best thing he's ever written and it's literally not even in the top 10 doctor who episodes he's ever written. like midnight is right there. the waters of mars is RIGHT THERE. this episode is all setup and no payoff.

also - i might just be autistic, but the "can i pay with my phone" joke doesn't land because not everyone can actually accept digital payments yet! it's like... an extremely normal question to ask. i literally ask all the time unless i see an "apple pay accepted" sign because sometimes the answer is "no, we only take cash or card". i know it was supposed to be something about how ruby thinks she's in the past or welsh people getting wrongly stereotyped for being backward but maybe rtd should've come up with a line that would actually be offensive and not just a completely normal thing to ask in 2024.

dot and bubble - this is probably my most controversial take. i hate this episode. i think it's a poorly written bad episode. and furthermore i think only people who are disconnected from all discussion around racism think it's got genuinely good commentary. for MOST of this episode, it's a "kids be on they damn phones" thing. like, genuinely. lindy can't even WALK without her phone. there's nothing in the episode to tip us as the audience off to the idea that the dots hate them because they're racist. everything in the episode is pointing at "the dots hate them because they're stupid as fuck because they're always on that damn phone".

lindy at first seems like a flawed but sympathetic character, and this could genuinely have worked with the racism commentary. if it's about them being racist cause they're sooooooo fucking stupid, maybe don't have lindy be an irredeemable extremely racist character who kills someone. maybe she's repeating all the rhetoric she's heard her entire life without ever thinking about it. maybe trying to convince her racist friends to give the doctor a chance gets her socially isolated. maybe it's about echo chambers and social bubbles. maybe lindy as an individual has no malicious intent either way but she still behaves in a racist way and still ends up siding with the racists because they're her friends and she wants to fit in and be part of the in group and trying to not be racist because the doctor seemed kinda nice got her socially ostracized so she perpetuates racism regardless. but none of this is what happens. this is a reading you can get out of it if you're really dedicated to reading into a story written by a guy who doesn't give a shit about racism.

lindy and all her friends are stupid and bad and racist and the doctor is still desperate to save them for some fucking reason and he doesn't even get to SAY anything to them, he just laughs incredulously and that's his entire reaction. the commentary in this episode is baby's first lesson on racism. it's a message of "racism is bad and stupid" tacked onto an episode with a message of "being on your phone is bad and stupid".

it's shallow. it has nothing to say. it's very clearly a story about racism written by a white man who has never had to even think about racism. the entire writer's room for this season was white as well. rtd didn't even think he should maybe consider giving the racism episode to a black writer. he just wrote a full episode where the message is "racism is bad you guys" and patted himself on the back for his social commentary. i think it's embarrassing that people praise this episode for opening their eyes to racism in the real world and helping them understand it better. literally all that tells me is they've been closing their eyes and covering their ears every time a person of colour talks about racism. like black fans have literally been talking about racism in doctor who for decades and clearly none of you listened to any of them because you're here watching an episode with an "omg racism is bad guys" message going "wow, i never though about it like that!" that's because you're an asshole.

"wow i didn't even notice that everyone in this episode is white!" that's because that's not out of the ordinary for doctor who. or for television in general. this isn't revolutionary commentary. it's an indictment of the season 14 writer's room that they thought they could write this episode without even taking a look around their own writer's room and thinking "huh, everyone here is white too. maybe we should try to change that." this show has been predominantly white for MOST of its history. i'm a huge critic of the chibnall era but at least that guy hired poc to write for the show. at least the bad racism commentary in rosa (which was, to remind you, "the future racist is wrong. racism is bad. also the entire civil rights movement was basically a happy accident") was written by a black woman. at least the weird british empire glorifying shit in the partition episode was written by an indian man (to be clear, stuff written by poc also deserves to be criticized. my point is just that at least chibnall had the basic common sense to hire people who knew more than him to write these stories). rtd didn't even consider this. not even a cowriter.

it's just embarrassing to watch white fans falling over themselves analyzing how this episode is soooo deep when it's simply not. racism isn't silly goofy stupid. it's dangerous. it gets people killed every day. it's even more ridiculous that the racism is addressed in the future episode but not anywhere else! fifteen goes to 60s england and... nothing. he goes to 1800s england and nothing. sure, future people are racist. whatever. are we seriously sanitizing the real, actual, real life racist past of britain? and then patting ourselves on the back for it? and ricky september being considered not racist? like, reading a book doesn't suddenly make you not racist. racist people aren't necessarily idiots. plenty of highly educated people are racist. making ricky explicitly racist while also a clearly smart character would have added nuance to this episode, but rtd didn't do that. watching a black man beg and plead with rich racist white kids to please let him save their lives is just... ridiculous.

there are countless (and i do mean countless) works by actual people of colour that discuss racism in a far more nuanced way. that go beyond "racism is bad and racist people are stupid". there are specifically black british shows you can watch that actually address racism and have real commentary on it outside of what you would expect a toddler who has just learnt about prejudice to say. shows that aren't about coddling while people. watch shows made by and for people who aren't white. read books written by and for people who aren't white. and don't just watch and read this stuff to "educate yourself" on other people's experiences. watch it because it's art. because it's entertaining or funny or interesting or dramatic, just like stories that are about white people are allowed to be. and stop praising an episode with a racism is bad message for being good racism commentary. seriously. we already know racism is bad. this is embarrassing for you.

dot and bubble was a "kids be on they damn phones episode" with "racism is so bad guys" tacked onto it and white fans fell over themselves explaining how it opened their eyes and it was so deep and meaningful and powerful and it was none of those things. it was bland and shallow and honestly really boring they spend WAY too long hitting us over the head with how the kids are so stupid cause they're on their damn phones. you should be embarrassed. if this episode was the first thing that made me realize racism exists and is bad you couldn't waterboard that out of me. grow up.

rogue - rogue was an underdeveloped jack harkness ripoff, there's no development of the relationship between him and the doctor, ruby got nothing to do, the proposal came out of nowhere, the chuldurs were an interesting concept but they literally didn't even do any of the larping they were there for apart from the one who was lady emily. murder is not a prominent part of bridgerton or similar regency era romances that they were supposedly there to cosplay

legend of ruby sunday - this episode is literally 99% exposition. like i'm not joking. there's exposition and exposition and exposition for the whole episode and at the end sutekh appears and kills everyone. also "i will kill everyone" is like. not a compelling motivation. doctor who is full of guys who want to kill everyone. there's nothing making sutekh particularly scary or compelling apart from the fact that he thanos snapped the whole universe and that's also not particularly scary or compelling because he spares the main characters AND because you know they're gonna hit the comic book reset button next episode. sutekh being attached to the tardis since pyramids of mars is unconvincing personally (it would've made more sense if it was since wild blue yonder)

empire of death - ??????? ruby's mom is just a normal woman. they leash sutekh like a dog and drag him through the time vortex which kills him for some reason and also hits reset on his kill switch for the whole universe and that just fixes everything. ruby calls her biomom her real mom instead of carla which just really rubbed me the wrong way. she exits the tardis to stay with her family and it's... fine. you never see why ruby and the doctor were attached to each other so them saying goodbye doesn't hit home. nothing happens and then suddenly everything happens. the fact that the reveal is unconvincing makes the whole thing worse.

conclusion: i think rtd ran out of ideas for doctor who. i think he shouldn't have come back. i think the 60th specials were season 4 fanfiction. i think they should've given the showrunner position to a different writer entirely. i think 8 episodes is far too short for a doctor who season (flux being an exception because it was one ongoing story). i think the bigger budget and better production value can't save a show with poor writing. i think gatwa and gibson are acting their hearts out and i wish they had better material because i really like both of them in these roles. i'm also kind of sick of murray gold's music at this point. he won't let emotional moments just sit and it's really annoying how every time anything happens there's a swell of music. i think rtd should give up on racism commentary and just hire someone else who can do it justice if he really wants it to be in his show. i think rtd should shift focus back to the characters and their interpersonal relationships because that's what he's good at and his plot resolutions have always been underwhelming deus ex machinas. i think they should give this show more episodes. i think they should change the broadcasting times to be a better slot in the uk and the episode should go up on streaming at the same time or after it airs. this season has little glimpses of potential (some of boom, first few minutes of 73 yards, episode concepts in general are quite interesting, more fantasy in doctor who is a fun concept) but squanders all of it with flat characters. i started dreading watching the next episode after a while because i kept hoping it would be good and then i would hate it.

but i still care too much about doctor who to not watch the show so i guess i'll be here this time next year picking season 15 apart. woo.

[kolbisneat]

MONTHLY MEDIA: April 2024

Ooooooooh it's getting warmer and sunnier and the days are getting longer! Yet I still stay inside to read and watch tv and stuff.

……….FILM……….

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985) Loved it. A comedy that is so generous with the types of humour (sight gags, absurdist stuff, one-lines). Watching it I was thinking "oh this reminds me of watching Elvira" and then Cassandra Peterson shows up in the biker gang! Loved the whole thing.

Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979) I've been meaning to watch this ever since Sam Bosma shared the incredible poster he did. If I didn't know Hayao Miyazaki directed this then I would've spent the entire runtime thinking "whoa real Hayao Miyazaki vibes here." Great standalone film if you know nothing about Lupin III.

……….TELEVISION……….

Fallout (Episode 1.01 to 1.08) Having never played the games, I was really interested if this series would work for someone like me. It took a bit to connect and it mostly landed. Not bad at all but it hasn't really left a lasting impression.

Succession (3.05 to 4.02) Can't believe it's almost over. What I appreciate about this series is that it knows the show is at its best when the core trio are together and does everything it can to highlight this. But never forget that they are all awful people. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Delicious in Dungeon (Episode 1.14 to 1.17) This adaptation of the comic continues to be excellent. I hope folks dig the show so much that they decide to read the series as it offers a few more character details that are fun to discover.

X-Men '97 (Episode 1.01 to 1.07) Wasn't a big fan of X-men (comic or the show) as a kid but heard enough good things that I figured I'd check it out. While I'm not immune to the nostalgia of the intro, I really do think the show is fantastic. The story feels dramatic and just mature enough to allow for great character moments and the animation is top-notch. Really glad I gave this a shot.

……….YOUTUBE……….

Why I (Used to) Hate Video Essays by Extranet Shaquille and Yellow Paint by Caleb Gamman Just a coincidence but these two unrelated videos both veer away from their main topics to become a study in...media consumption/attention culture/the struggles of existing in our current times. (Video Essays) VIDEO (Yellow Paint) VIDEO

……….READING……….

Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie (Complete) This feels more like the first Christie book I read (There is a Tide, still my favourite) in that there are twists and turns around engaging characters. Plus the victim was such an engaging villain. Based on the handful I've read so far, I think this would be a good entry point into Christie's works.

A Spectre Haunting: On the Communist Manifesto by China Miéville (Complete) After hearing a number of interviews with Mieville I was really excited for this but found the whole thing...frustrating. Maybe I'm not smart enough or maybe I'm not the target audience, but I don't really know who this book was written for. My gut tells me the writing is practically impenetrable unless you have a masters in English and that doesn't feel like the right fit for the subject matter. If brevity is the soul of wit then I'll leave it there and just say that the last couple pages, written clearly and with conviction, did more for me than the previous 150+ pages.

Delicious in Dungeon Volume 13 (and also Volume 6) by Ryoko Kui (Complete) Rereading and also catching up on the latest volume! It's nearly over! Volume 13 is the penultimate chapter and I'm still impressed by how consistent the characters, humour, and dedication to theme this series remains. Really really incredible.

……….GAMING……….

Neverland: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) Tuesday crew is picking off the invading Elves fairly effectively but at what cost? And what are the repercussions of an act like this? Only time will tell. Also you can read all about their adventures here!

Oz: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) The Mof1 crew continues to dig into the mysteries of the mud banks but might get sidetracked by the fame and fortune of wrestling.

And that's it. See you in May!

[kimboo-york]

A Short Treatise on Madam Yu

This is all about Madam Yu as represented in my fic The Bastards of Yunmeng, not canon!

Okay, first off, I need to make clear that I am not a Madam Yu respecter. I loathe the character, probably for very personal reasons. If Madam Yu is your babygirl, I’m sorry, this is not the meta for you.

WARNING: If you have not read up through chapter 11 of the fic, this meta is super spoilery!

This meta is not particularly spoilery for The Bastards of Yunmeng past chapter 11, but does have some information about characters that will become important later on. So, the usual warning about spoilers are in place here.

Read at your own risk, yada yada yada…

Importantly, nothing that happens in this story is meant to redeem Madam Yu. My personal headcanon is that she was a narcissist and unable to genuinely, selflessly love other people, and that is how I’ve written her here. She was in a very unhappy situation, but also she was simply not a good person overall, IMHO. It is interesting to consider if she was born that way or corrupted by circumstances, sure, but in the end, she was who she was. You can slap whatever diagnostic labels on her you want, I’m just saying she was toxic. Some people found that out later rather than sooner.

Honestly, I don’t know the specifics of how her affair with Wei Changze (and, very likely, Cangse Sanren) came about. What I DO know, however:

Jiang Fengman is sterile. She figured that out pretty quickly and took steps. This might be her villain origin story, actually; the only reason she was married off to him was to produce heirs, and so she had to do that no matter the risks. That Wei Changze was a cousin of Jiang Fengman’s and a strong cultivator in his own right made him a very attractive option, as any child of his would at least look like a Jiang.

Wei Changze is a complicated character in this story, but he’s also dead and cannot answer for himself. But here are a few important points: a) He did NOT cheat on his beloved wife. Not sure how that all went down, but it was consensual for all involved. I’m pretty sure Yanli was conceived before WCZ and CS officially got together, anyway. How Jiang Cheng happened, I’m not sure, but there was NO cheating. Well, aside from WCZ cuckolding JFM. I know this doesn’t paint Wei Changze in the best light, but what we know of Wei Wuxian is that he sometimes made outrageously dumb decisions with the best of intentions. (Maybe it’s genetic?) Personally I suspect he always disliked Jiang Fengman, though I’m not sure why. b) Also, I believe that when she was younger, before the bitterness and resentment took over, Madam Yu was very good at manipulating people (as many narcissists are). Yunmeng Jiang needed an heir and she was going to get it done. Anyway, I can’t say if Madam Yu seduced both CS and WCZ or convinced CS to share or what, but consent was given.

Madam Yu’s rage against Wei Ying had a lot more to do with her fear that a direct comparison to her son would reveal her secrets than with the rumors that he was JFM’s bastard.

I’m pretty sure that her feelings for Cangse Sanren were obsessive in nature, flipping from love to hate once she realized that CS well and truly had everything that she never would, including both WCZ and freedom. This definitely played into her hatred of WWX.

Why did she keep the letters? Because I’ve written her as a narcissist, and if there is one thing narcissists believe, it is that they are smarter than everyone around them and that rules don’t apply to them. She wanted to keep the letters, so she did. To be fair, they would never have been discovered if not for a freak lightning strike/fire in her quarters while she was away from Lotus Pier. Bad, bad luck.

I did toy with making Jiang Cheng’s father Wen Zhuliu, but I really wanted to bind the children closer together and I think that would have made JC feel isolated and left out instead. (I will maybe someday write the story of him being WZL’s son and inheriting his core-melting abilities, but that’s not this story.)

In Madam Yu’s favor, she offered to submit to her imprisonment and execution without a fight and make no attempts to escape if Jiang Fengman would at least let her children go free. He agreed, which is what led to their being immediately cast out rather than imprisoned. Would he have had them killed, eventually? I honestly don’t think so, but he might have sold them off or something.

Jiang Fengman offered Jinzhu and Yinzhu the option to return to Meishan in disgrace, but they declined and demanded to be executed along with their mistress as a point of pride. Yanli will find this out eventually, but it's not really important to the plot.

[school-sanctioned-movie-bullying]

Turning Red Defense Post

It has come to my attention that some people think this blog is just me whining. I can see why those people think that, because it is true. I love to whine, and it is what I am good at. But there comes a time when one must venture out of her comfort zone. 

In this post I am praising Turning Red, a movie that I like very much but that many other people seem to hate. My reasons for this are threefold. For one, I am running out of movies to complain about; two, I really like Turning Red; and three, my professor said I can’t just bitch about movies anymore, so my classic complaining style posts are hence extinct. 

 Before I get into my praise for the film, I want to address the common criticisms I have seen people make of it. I perused the one-star reviews on Google, and the most common complaints seemed to be “it’s cringe-worthy," “the characters were annoying," and “it has inappropriate themes.”

 The reviews that said the movie was cringe-worthy mostly said so because of the main characters. The protagonist of the movie is a thirteen-year-old girl named Meilin Lee, whom many reviews had stated to be very annoying. I don’t know about anyone else, but when I was thirteen years old, I was absolutely insufferable. Cringe would be putting lightly how annoying I was. Comparably, I found Mei to be a sweet, if not dorky, tween with a similarly sympathetically dorky friend group. They were cringeworthy, but so is almost every thirteen-year-old out there, so really, the movie is just realistic. 

Many reviews also found Mei Lin’s mother to be overbearing and weird, which I found to be true as well, but then that was kind of the point. Her mother is not the villain of the story by any means, but she is a flawed character. One of the most touching moments of the movie came in the form of Mei Lin helping her mother overcome those flaws. If her mother had been perfect from the start, we would have missed out on that moment.

Aside from the characters, the negative reviews for this movie took offense to the “inappropriate” themes, namely the fact that periods were brought up and the fact that the protagonist rebels against her parents. The whole concept of Mei turning into a giant red panda is supposed to be a metaphor for puberty and growing up, and as it is such a huge part of puberty for girls, there was a quick mention of periods. This came in a very quick scene where Mei Lin’s mother brought out a stash of pads when she thought her daughter had gotten her period.

It was an extremely brief moment, but evidently, that was long enough to get some people upset. I was personally thrilled to see that periods were being brought up in a normal way, and I think it is a step in the right direction for this movie to have that scene. Some parents want to take the puberty talk at their own pace, but the mention of periods in this movie is brief and vague enough that most parents should be able to sweep it under the rug until they want to discuss it with their children. 

 As for Mei Lin rebelling against her parents, I am truthfully confused as to why this movie specifically is guilty of that message. Plenty of other Disney or Pixar movies have the main characters going against their parents. To name a few: The Little Mermaid, Brave, Mulan, and Pocahontas. I thought that Turning Red handled Mei Lin growing up and learning to be her own person very nicely, while still portraying her overbearing mother as sympathetic.

 I can see why a lot of people don’t like this movie. It was risky, and it certainly was not made to please everyone, but I think much of the hate this movie gets is undeserved. I, and many others, really enjoyed Turning Red. Despite the plethora of negative reviews I read, there were more five-star reviews than one-star reviews by a good amount. 

I do truly understand where the desire to loudly hate a movie comes from; I will crap on The Greatest Showman at any opportunity. But it is necessary to remember that the movies you hate may simply not have been written to please you. There are, for some reason, people out there who really like The Greatest Showman, despite the numerous reasons I have for reviling it. And there are people out there who hate Turning Red, even when I think it was one of the best Pixar movies made in some time.

[beevean]

I'm sorry what are you talking about? When Sonic colors was out big time Sonic fans hated the story, everyone loved the gameplay and music but people all agreed the writing took a nose dive, big Sonic fans I followed we're all dissapointed. The only people who liked it we're the same people that saw Sonic and the black knight as cringe and hated how many friends Sonic had during the 2000s era

Then I suppose we were in different circles lol.

Character Rerailment: Sonic the Hedgehog returns to being a snarky Mascot with Attitude like he was in the 90s, rather than the flawless friendship believer Ideal Hero that he'd been through much of the 2000's.

Some consider the writing to be a fun breath of fresh air that keeps things simple, with quirky writing and wit to pad out cutscenes in between fun levels. The fact that Eggman has returned as the main villain and the story isn't too complex or dark is also seen as a bonus for many.

The cutscenes and dialogue are pretty juvenile and Saturday-morning cheesy, but that may be exactly why so many players find them entertaining.

It's all appropriate for a Saturday morning cartoon, but to SEGA's credit, the story in Sonic Colors works decently well; it's cute, somewhat clever, and thanks to a mostly new voice cast, it isn't a constant assault on the ears. I haven't been this not-irritated by a Sonic game's story since he found a voice, and that's saying something.

This review doesn't talk about the story, but it's worth reading for how it praises Colors for being so much better than the "lacklustre" Unleashed, for reasons that include the lack of an opening cutscene - it matters because it was taken as a sign that Sonic was leaving behind the "melodramatic" stories fans were getting sick of (I also distinctly remember reviewers complaining about the 7-minute long intro of Unleashed, so it checks out).

And if journalists don't count, here's Somecallmejohnny talking about the plot in his original review of the game, with a tone that implies that he likes how lighthearted the story is. "It's just your classic Sonic vs. Eggman, and I wouldn't have it any other way". "It's an incredibly simple story that, for a Sonic game, works pretty damn well."

The only people who liked it we're the same people that saw Sonic and the black knight as cringe and hated how many friends Sonic had during the 2000s era

And they were not the minority. They were indeed the majority of the fandom. They were so vocal that SEGA decided to make them happy. We were just talking about how Sonic fans who despised the 2000s era for how seriously it took itself and the plethora of Shitty Friends dominated the discussion until the end of the 2010s when Forces suddenly made the fandom snap in the opposite direction.

Yes, there were people who even back then didn't like the cheesy dialogue, I also remember that, the fandom has never been a monolith. But Colors was wildly acclaimed by both fans and critics and back then they were willing to gloss over some of the silliest jokes for the sake of keeping the comedic tone that Classic fans were sorely missing.

[glorified-red]

As someone fortunate enough to attend DC's panel at MegaCon today with some of the biggest names in comics (Geoff Johns [Justice Society of America], Joshua Williamson [Superman], Simone DiMeo [DC vs Vampires], Mitch Gerads [Batman: The Brave and the Bold] and Phillip Kennedy Johnson [Action Comics]) here's all the information I managed to write down on what they discussed regarding the future of DC:

All quotes are NOT direct quotes, they are paraphrased. I may be a fast typer but not that good. Spoilers Ahead! Obviously.

Kicking off with the Flash Family, the upcoming releases will explore what Barry and Iris do when they "disappear" every week for date night. No one knows what they could possibly be up to! Turns out, they love to visit the future together, how they get there will be the true story. They also mentioned digging deeper into how being trapped in the speed force impacted ____. (I dont follow Flash so I don't know who they were referring to)

Next is the Superfam (and Arrowfam breifly):

Johnson spoke on Action Comics and said he wanted to evolve the Superfamily as much as the Batfamily has been. Recent comics have been able to take each member of the Batfam and develop them as solo characters to then let them interact with the others as a family. Johnson wants the same for the Superfam. He hates how the family has been boiled down to "looks" (i.e. Kon is just the one with the jacket, the twins are the lookalikes, etc) instead of them as defined characters. Within Action Comics and hopefully more, he hopes to delve into their entire family dynamic just as much as DC has done with the Bats.

Action Comics has been introducing the idea of Aliens coming to earth and certain protests spawning from it, wanting the earth to remain isolated and independent in the galaxy. They breifly teased the idea that this could be emotionally taxing on the Supers---especially Jon and Clark as the more active heroes atm---since they themselves are technically "Aliens". They also said that this new enemy set up will be very impactful for the future of the DCU.

Williamson Chimed in quite a bit to discuss the psychology behind Lex Luther and Clark Kent. "Lex isn't stupid. He's one of the smartest people in the DCU. When he looks at Clark, sometimes he recognizes that the world does need a Superman, but a good one. Lex may just have ulterior motives---i mean, he's lex, he always has ulterior motives---to force Clark to be a better Superman. And when Clark looks at people, all he sees Is the good in them. He sees their potential for growth. But when he looks at Lex, all he feels is disappointment. He feels disappointed in Lex sure, but he feels even more disappointed in himself for failing Lex."

"I love the backstory that Lex is from Smallville. When Clark leaves Smallville, there's what, ten years? Before he makes his way to Metropolis. And when he gets there, Lex is already there. What was he doing during that time? Metropolis had its fair share of villains but he destroyed them so that he could be Lex Luthor, the true villain of the city."

They then mentioned briefly about wanting to do the same thing for the Arrow Family as they did with the Bats and strive to do with the Supers. An upcoming series will explore Oliver getting "lost" and the family coming together to find him. Very exciting.

They showed plenty of beautiful artwork that has not been released yet! Sorry for the grainy photos, I tried as best as I could with my Motorola ok :P

This is for my fellow writers out there!! When asked about this image, Williamson and Johnson said that Clark "wishes people could hear what he does. He hears all of humanity in a connected thum, it's one heartbeat, not billions overlapping. All of our hearts beat together as one. When searching for specific people, he has to focus in through that single heartbeat."

Green Lantern was next! They announced a new run titled War Jounrals which follows US Marine John Stewart. They took heavy inspiration from 80s action movies such as Alien vs Predator when crafting this series. With DC's emphasis on mental health awareness and representation, I really hope they dive into the PTSD that comes from war. Not much was mentioned about this series to confirm or deny this.

Stargirl continuation: When asked about the writing/inspiration behind the future of her comics, they said they "wanted to dig into what being a side kick means---used to mean, anyway---and bring that back. Side Kicks are supposed to be a hero starting within the community, starting small, but always taking the time to save a kid and instil hope in that kid. That small difference makes a side kick. They start with so much hope only to be forgotten about, we want to bring back the old bright tone that was in Young Justice."

The Justice Society of America will follow the Huntress. She brings villains onto her team to offer them a chance to reform and walk a better path, a good path. She wants to be the same way her father, Bruce Wayne, was with her mother, Selina Kyle. The Huntress will link into the rest of the current DCU as she will get trapped in a timeline? Do I know what this means? Absolutely not. But apparently its gonna be important so

And finally! The Batfamily!!!

The first major announcement was the relaunch of Batman: the Brave and the Bold. Upon looking back at the original source material, they decided to extend the 9 page issue to a 96 page story line. They really wanted to deep dive into the series since they thought it had more to tell than what it did originally.

Since this is year one Batman, this will be the story of how Batman first encountered the Joker himself. They didn't share much on the contents but said it would stay true to the original, so this is not a retcon, it's just a more intesive retelling.

The artist for this series admited that he actually forgot year one Batman wouldn't have such a modern suit. After realizing this only after completing the series, he had to go back and redraw every panel with Batman in it. He very proudly said "shit!"

And of course, the HUGE announcement taking the internet by storm:

Batman and Robin

This series will follow after the events of Lazarus Planet and the Lazarus Tournament Damian went through. It will follow Bruce and Damian Wayne as they "come together not just as heros this time, but as father and son." This series is going to be a pretty heavy one since it will dive into how they come together "without Alfred as the buffer as the mentor figure for them both." Not only will Bruce continue on his current character arc of viewing each of the Robins as his sons and truly supporting them, but Damian will be front and center to cope with Alfred's death.

Williamson spoke on this heavily as he was supposed to leave Batman and Robin, but he actually went to DC and said "I'm not done with Damian, there's still more story to tell. He's not going anywhere." But he also mentioned a key point for Damian's growth: "He was trained by Talia and of course by Bruce, but he was also trained by Alfred so you'll see how that shapes Damian interacting with Bruce going forward, especially as they grow as Father and Son."

They said this will tie into the next big series in the DCU which follows Damian having "nightmares and demons". That was all that was mentioned about that.

The Gotham City Zoo will be a huge set piece for the series and I truly hope we see more canon content of Damian's love for animals in this run.

The focus of Damian is him growing into himself and become more emotionally aware of himself and those around him. With Alfred's impression on him, there will be key moments of Damian interacting with Bruce as Bruce goes through tough times.

Additinally, Williamson adores Damian being a fan of manga. Since it's shown Damian has been reading a romance one, there's some hope for emotional connection with others not in a romantic way, but moreso in the ability to be vulnerable with people in a way he has only been able to read about. It's implied he could be reading this manga as a yearning for connection to others on a deeper level, especially as someone who grew up to ignore his emotions. So this will follow Damian as he tries to let himself be more connected to his loved ones the way Alfred was teaching him to. Plus, his love for manga will not be going anywhere, it's "staying strong."

Damian will get his own car! Williamson wanted to give him a car that matched him since hes "a little rough around the edges." It will be a fun addition while the duo grow as family since Bruce will have to be okay with Damian driving. "Its gonna be Bruce saying he's gonna drive and then you turn the page and Damian is saying 'he's got something' and Bruce has to get used to letting his son drive him."

Very much Bruce growing out of strictness to be more soft with his sons as we've seen in the more recent comics.

And ofc, Simone Di Meo will be the artist for this series!! As well as the cover artist for The Brave & The Bold!

----

I am super excited for how DC is starting to write the Batfamily and even the Superfamily. They're starting to tackle a lot of mental health issues and the trauma old comics have left the characters with. It's not perfect by any means, especially with Batman v. Robin being more than a little rough, it had it's moments.

My main concern is how they'll be treating Tim going forward. With TDR getting shortened and Damian returning as Robin, I really really hope they don't just forget Tim exists. My hope is that with Tim's new title, there will be room for another solo series under that title in the way Nightwing and Spoiler has been done.

The last thing I want is for Tim to go through all this work finding where he belongs and how he views himself just to join/lead another team. He's defining himself aside from the Robin legacy to define who he is under his new title. I think he needs time as a solo hero before rejoining a group for an extensive time period. I don't want them to erase all his personal growth just because they don't want to give him another solo series. I'll be more than a little upset at the lost potiential.

[lillyanne4writes]

JJK/Gege Akutami appreciation post

Yeah, you read that title right. I get it that the entire fandom is upset with the latest leaks but I've seen so many angry/hateful comments toward Gege and it's making me sad. So here's a post to highlight some things I like about JJK. :)

This is in no way a complete list, so feel free to add on with your own takes too! Also, it's a long post, so I'm putting the meat of it under the cut.

The characters & their dynamics

Jjk has a huge cast, and yet every character is so unique and compelling. The reason I got into this anime (and later the manga) despite not really being into anime in general was how charming the main four characters were. Yuuji, Nobara, Megumi and Gojo immediately hooked me; I could probably watch 10 seasons of a slice of life show that's just them getting into shenanigans.

Fun interactions aside, my favourite thing about the characterisation is how everyone in this manga is allowed to have their own view on the world, especially on what it means to live a good life and die a good death. The narrative allows those views to clash without preaching about who is "correct". Characters disagree and learn from each other and their views develop organically (not necessarily in a positive direction, but always dynamically in a response to the situations they find themselves in - Yuuji's arc on how he views himself and his goals comes to mind). That stuff is really hard to write.

And it's not just the main cast either. The supporting characters are very memorable too; even minor ones have distinct personalities and clear motivations and often a backstory to explain why they are the way they are. My personal favourite background characters are Mai, Noritoshi and Tsumiki.

The worldbuilding

Can we talk about how creative the concept of curses and cursed energy is? Negative emotions accumulating into physical manifestations of things that people fear, hate, etc. is a hell of a cool idea. This is why the curse villains are my favourites in the series: from Mahito as a representation of the worst of humanity in his childish glee and sadism and cowardice to Jogo's philosophy of curses as "true beings" because they don't hide their nature and Hanami's almost sympathetic care for nature are all interesting explorations of how we view the world around us that would not be possible in a different kind of magic system. Add to that the array of creative techniques that sorcerers possess, the cursed objects, and the grade system that conveniently allows us to keep track of the danger levels of all this - you get an impressively complex magic system that still remains understandable (and fun to watch even if you don't want to keep track of the nitty-gritty and are just here for the spectacle).

Not to mention that jujutsu society is, well, a society. We get a sense of who the powerful and the oppressed are in this community, how their powers factor into that, how different characters feel about this, what they are doing to change it or on the contrary, to keep the traditions going... Every character exists in the web of a clear power structure which they interact with, influencing it and being influenced in turn. This results in a super interesting dynamic where certain characters can be enemies one moment (for example when the Kyoto students try to kill Yuuji during the exchange event on Gakuganji's, and by extension the higher-ups' orders) and allies the next (when it's time to pull together against a curse).

I'm reserving my judgement on the plot, themes and overall character arcs for now, because those things can only be really analysed once the story is complete. But even if I'll be unhappy with the ending, I'll still be very grateful for this unique world and its loveable inhabitants.

Of course, you might disagree with me on all this, and that's fine. Dropping the manga because you don't like the direction the story took is fine. Choosing to live in fanfiction delulu land is also fine. Gritting your teeth and sticking it out till the end despite disliking the plot because you're too invested to quit is also fine. Criticism and jokes are fine. The one thing that isn't fine is hating on the creator for the way they are choosing to tell their story.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

Tl;dr: If you're upset about the direction JJK is taking, please try to remember why you cared so much about it in the first place. And remember that Gege is just a person sharing a story with us, and disliking someone's story is not an acceptable reason to hate on them.