#but also knowing - and having lived - a reality of being beaten up for any kind of mistake

[yujeong]

Porsche jokes about hitting Vegas one time during a meeting. He doesn't realize he fucked up right away, not until Vegas gathers himself, smiles and says "Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you?", all while his skin is buzzing underneath the calm demeanor he's presenting. The reason Porsche even understands he said the wrong thing is because Vegas glances at Kinn as he says those words, who's sitting on the opposite side of the table, silent. Pete is also there, and he's the person Porsche checks first before he clears his throat and apologizes to Vegas. Pete is too busy staring at Vegas' tense back to notice Porsche's attention.

[felassan]

Thoughts on yesterday's companion blurbs:

Some of the descriptors were prior ones, some of the others were synonyms and variations of/expansions on existing themes ^^

Bellara has previously been described as "obsessed with uncovering ancient secrets" and "obsessed with uncovering the secrets of ancient Elvhenan"; no doubt this is an area of her hyper-focus :)

"Plucky" follows the theme of previous descriptions of her in articles and such as things like spunky and effervescent, and considering that the Veil Jumpers welcome those brave enough to face the reality-warping magic

In the original post of these blurbs, Bellara's family name was mis-spelled as "Lutara". After a few minutes a new version of the post went up with "Lutare"

Davrin: "Griffon dad" was so cute and wholesome, ough, my heart. The closeness between Davrin and Assan is evident from these mo-cap scenes, it's really nice to see :)

Emmrich's blurb reminded me of the time he was described as "friendly, scholarly, and sincerely proud of his companion, Manfred - a walking skeleton" [source]. The adjectives sincere and friendly make him sound so nice, like he'd be very considerate. I feel like he will be lovely to talk to in the game

Harding: I feel like the new bit here was that in addition to these things, she also loves fantasy stories. +5 cuteness points. Maybe her mom and dad read her fantasy books or told her stories when she was small? Avvar cultural tales aren't 'fantasy stories', but Harding's general interest in tales and stories comes up in Jaws of Hakkon if the Inquisitor asked her what she thinks about the Avvar. She says that when she was a little girl, a lady in their village used to tell her Avvar tales. "Being able to see their lives up close... it’s nothing like I thought"

If Lucanis is a workaholic, maybe he is treating his assassin role as more than a 9-5 job in terms of hours hh /lh? ^^ the descriptor (assassin-job-aholic) tracks; he maintains that death is his calling, and the training he received from Caterina when he was young was not kind, sometimes literally beaten into him. like she made him live a certain life

Socially awkward Lucanis

In Neve's line of work, in a place like Tevinter, when you're not of the ruling classes, you would 100% have to be clever and guarded. I imagine as well that a detective/investigator knows how to ask questions in order to gain information from other people, and that due to this, they be more considered/guarded in terms of what they say themselves (especially about themselves). I also love her character trait of having a guarded heart, but past her defenses, it's a heart of gold 🥺 In the release date reveal trailer, in the romance scene we see of her, she said "You and me, Rook. Maybe that's what scares me". like she'd started to let her guard down a little bit and was feeling a bit vulnerable 🥺

Taash: someone that lives for adventure, breathes fire, is a pirate-basically, and doesn't mind taking risks would totally be a thrill-seeker. and is there any greater thrill in Thedas than taking down a dragon? :D I like her combination of being headstrong and also very knowledgeable, it's nuanced :)

[mikuni14]

Jack & Joker - Ep 10

What an emotional and eventful episode✨

Of course I can't help but start with their 🔥 scene. Everything was very beautifully shot, visually and colorfully a bit like old Hong Kong movies, full of half-tones, very lovely. Yin and War delivered, but no surpise here, it's them. I really liked how they were together in this scene, a very pleasant reference to MaxTul, those muscles, sounds, smacking on naked body, grabbing it, passion and desire at the highest levels, but lined with playfulness, carefreeness, love 😏 In both couples we can see what I always appreciate very much, that is, their naturalness and that as a viewer I have no doubts that these characters played by these actors are super horny for their lovers 😤 Special mention of the Ikea clothes rack, because I recently assembled exactly that type, so I kind of relate, cue Di Caprio pointing at tv meme lol. (hot muscle daddies who push themselves into it for my entertainment were not included in my clothes rack set, I think I'll file a complaint).

The scene with Joke's father: siiiiiiiiigh but yeah, sadly I expected this, I also expected to hear: "we actually love you and miss you / but why didn't you visit us, we were waiting for you god you screwed up again". I don't know how you can go from "he's not my son" and "a thief is always a thief" to "come home for dinner", but what do I know, right? I was prepared for this, I still hate it.

The constant references to death, the repeated words about farewell, about forgiveness, returning as a ghost 😬, don't fill me with any particular optimism. I'm 99% certain of a happy ending, but… I am starting to worry a little. There is also an option that in the finale we will have a time skip 🙄 due to Joke, Jack, or both of them being in prison.

I also watch with neverending sadness Joke's low self-esteem and how he thinks that he doesn't deserve anything good, and how easily he is able to throw away his happiness, ruin his future.

As a big fan of communication between characters, between lovers, I have a "I told you so" moment that doesn't give me any satisfaction tho, it's just too sad. Because technically, objectively, almost everything actually is Joke's fault (I know that Boss is first and mainly to blame) and he constantly does things behind Jack's back - with the best and purest intentions - but still. He keeps throwing himself into situations, sacrificing himself completely, just to help Jack, but in reality… well. He only gets him more into trouble every time. Joke never asks Jack if he wants his "help", he just decides for him. Besides, Jack clearly told him not to try to help him anymore. I wholeheartedly support them, but looking from the outside, this is not a healthy relationship, in which there is so little honesty, trust and communication. And in which one has clear, unaddressed tendencies towards self-destruction, not taking into account his health, life, or even the possibility of being in prison again.

Save and attempts to whitewash him "because he's stuck too" and "there's no other way for him" irritate me. Oh he's sorry? He's sad? Well, his victims don't even have that luxury, because they're dead. Save didn't even try to soften what he's doing, trying to help somehow, warn Boss's victims, he just did what he was told without hesitation and on top of that showed unnecessary overzealousness. I don't want to hear that he's "like the others" because he actively works for Boss without even trying to mitigate the evil he's doing. Sorry, but fuck this guy.

I've seen emerging controversies related to trans characters, who seem to be treated worse in J&J. Please remember that during the first ring heist, in the same ep Noo Lek was treated badly and a male model was also attacked and beaten, who was completely innocent, who earns money for a living with his face and his body, so this beating was doubly bad. And regarding Jennie's character being thrown from a height: in the same episode, a literal child was also thrown from a height (and survied because of the plot armor, let's be honest). I know it seems like trans people are treated worse, but in this show, something bad happens to someone all the time, people are hounded, beaten, tortured, attacked, poisoned, exploited, cheated, forced to sell their body parts (!) and no one is spared, including children and the elderly. I think we noticed what seems like a pattern because there are simply more of trans / non binary people than in other series, and they are just as much victims of the system.

........

So a lot happened, I'm starting to worry a little about the ending, so I'll go back to my favorite moment in this episode: Jack grabbing Joke by the chin and guiding him to a kiss and then pinning his hand 🔥

[ladyylavenderrr]

Re: Garak and psychosis

Hi! I do a lot of thinking about Garak, and I also read a lot of psychotic traits on him! I think while they didn't write him thinking of textbook psychosis, a man who has lied so much he can't really tell truth from lie because, to him, "truth is in the eye of the beholder" has to have some level of separation from reality. This is a rather looooong analysis, mostly of events that happen in "The Wire",  but I promise I have a point lol. 

So. I've been thinking about his "lies" to Bashir about his past, and one thing that caught my attention was the hesitation at calling Elim "... my friend"; 

once we found out that he is Elim himself, some stuff from the infirmary monologue got very curious: "we grew up together", true; "we were closer than brothers", true, in a very literal way; "for some reason, Enabrin Tain took a liking to us" well, the reason is that he is his father, that's some reason; 

Now, I'll address his separation of Elim from Garak: I'd say that growing up keeping the secret about who his father was, living a double life from the beggining, then such a split of the ego is almost inevitable. 

Elim is the son, the one who knows the truth, the one who knows Cardassia's love of the family and the people is a lie told to keep powerful men powerful; Tain was the Order, the Order was Cardassia, thus Cardassia's symbol is a man who is a hypocrite, one who betrays his own family- And Garak is the spy. The citizen, the servant of the State. As Tain says himself, he never had to ask Garak to put the implant in his brain, or to do anything - he was so eager to please, and that's what made him special. 

He would keep the truth, one that would make his work unbearable, as something of Elim, while he would be plain and simple Garak, the muscle, the man who did the dirty work without asking any questions. The man to whom family and state, two things he was alienated from from birth, were everything, regardless of how much his work went against that.

Onto the next bit, now: in the end of his monologue, Garak tells a more complicated story to fit into this analogy- he says he faked records to incriminate Elim, only to find out in the end that Elim had beaten him to it; Elim had destroyed him, and before he knew what was going on, he was sentenced to exile; 

But once we know that he is Elim, and if we keep the same logic that Elim represents his inner sense of truth - of knowing he is being used in a very cruel way and that none of that makes any sense - then it's logical that he would sometimes be one step ahead, and sometimes be killed by Garak in the blindness of duty; sometimes watching in horror as he let himself be driven by hunger or fatigue instead of seeing his duty to the end, for he knew the consequences; 

Then, it would be Garak's inner sense of truth, of reality, what destroyed him as the soldier, the spy. Maybe he actually did let those bajorans go for any reason whatsoever, maybe he framed himself for it- I'd say he broke down, some way or another. And he says he deserves it for what he tried to do to Elim, his own screaming sense of reason; much like Marritza killed his past self to die as Darheel - it is the coward, who covered his ears because he couldn't stand to hear the screams for mercy of the Bajorans, who couldn't stand to look at the truth and do something about it, the one who deserves to be punished. 

He became a man who is distressed and anxious during an interrogation, willing to take any answer no matter how irrelevant, just so he doesn't have to keep torturing someone he's kind of friends with, like what happens with Odo later on. We didn't see him do any torturing before that, so maybe he wasnt capable of doing it like he used to before he was exiled, not as a consequence of it; Imo life on DS9 made it "worse" as he became, slowly, part of a community like never before. 

And then, there's Bashir. Again, Garak is a man who adores the state and the family, and has neither. A man who spent his life having no ties to anyone that he couldnt cut immediately, sometimes by killing the person if it was the most efficient way.

On his deathbed, after being really rude and hateful towards Bashir while Bashir lost sleep and thought of nothing but saving him for days, he comes up with this magnificent story, that ends with something that can be interpreted as "I deserve this. Not for betraying Cardassia, the State, but for betraying my best friend." And as he says "my best friend", he stares at Bashir. He then asks for forgiveness, as if he was also asking for Bashir to forgive him for his betrayal of their friendship, for the things he said. He needs to know that, if he can't forgive himself for the horrors, at least someone is capable of forgiving him.

Always full of layers to his half truths and truthful lies, even when he really thinks he's gonna die. He haf-believes it, as a half-truth, even the bits that are made-up; That's where I'd say his link to reality is broken. Idk if any of this makes sense, but this is how I read into it, as someone who has psychotic symptoms and traits, but also as a nerd who loves to nit-pick complex characters like him. 

Peace and long life 🖖

I think it’s always really interesting if Garak truly does believe some of the lies he tells, at least partially. I really like your analysis!!

[kingdomoftyto]

Ah, POE has entered its Murderstuck phase. (Seriously though I'd be interested in seeing your classpects for the detectives after you finish the game)

AT LAST I have beaten the game and can answer this ask!!

Short answer:

Long answer:

[Reminder that in addition to the canon info on aspects from the Extended Zodiac, I also like to take into consideration the excellent old theories {aspects} from bladekindeyewear, a lot of which seem to have made their way onto the MSPA wiki {classes}!]

I'm going to try desperately not to overthink this too badly by psychoanalyzing the characters and their growth over the course of the narrative, because for past attempts at this sort of thing I've had people tell me my choices are way off base lol. As a result some of these will be a little more straightforward than my usual fare.

And, it JUST SO HAPPENS that when I go with my gut instincts like this, the full cast (minus Senior) lines up pretty perfectly with the full set of 12 aspects! That's too beautiful to ignore, so I'm sticking with it. >:)

Anyway, let's get into it:

Incompetent/Ideal Detectives: Heir of Mind

This one's kind of a no-brainer. The Denouement is without question a Mind power, anticipating possible outcomes before they happen. Not to mention Mind's general association with rationality and logic--necessary traits for any detective worth their salt. Mind is also all about your choices and how they change you, echoing the themes of growth and optimism for things to get better, even in the face of despair. It feels right to me if Wato and Saika to share a classpect, particularly the Heir class considering each of them literally inherited the Ideal title from the other. Heir is also thought to be a passive class, which suits their shared tendency to guide the other detectives to finding the solutions rather than solving every little mystery by themselves.

Doleful Detective: Rogue of Doom

Oh boy. In a brighter world, Doleful could have EASILY been the Light-bound of the group. His entire shtick is being supernaturally lucky--even to the point of tragedy. He would have been the group's Vriska, except with troubles that were no fault of his own. HOWEVER, clearly, the reality of who Doleful actually is paints us a very different picture. What we get instead is someone whose entire existence circles around the ideas of sacrifice and suffering. It becomes an obsession for him, both as a detective (as seen in his primary contribution to the group being putting himself in harm's way) and as the Duke (as seen in... his entire outlook on society). As a Rogue, his purpose is to "steal" the suffering of the masses, in his own twisted, pessimistic way, and because this is a passive class, he does it in the most indirect way possible.

Renegade Detective: Bard of Rage

This fucker is Gamzee Makara. I mean just look at him. He has the hair and everything.

...No but seriously, I'm not even joking with this. Go read the Extended Zodiac's description for Rage and tell me that's not Renegade in a nutshell. "Contempt for falsehoods, including the stability those false ideas can impart." "Would rather tear down a system and live in anarchy if they think the system is built on faulty premises." "Difficult to convince otherwise once attached to an idea." He's SO single-minded in his beliefs that he dies with a grin on his face just because his death follows his twisted worldview (which, wouldn't you know it, is another thing he shares with a certain purpleblooded troll). He also incites literal chaos and anger among the other detectives, particularly Workaholic, pulling them into similar delusions of there only being a single, violent way forward.

Armor Detective: Knight of Space

This man is pure physicality. He's simple, in every sense of the word. Just a huge, solid wall, an impenetrable barrier to all threats. He has a single solution to every problem, and that's to position himself in between danger and the people he wants to protect. And of course he's a Knight: his greatest asset--nay, his very essence--is the material suit of armor he's equipped with at all times.

Rowdy Detective: Maid of Breath

What is Breath but the embodiment of movement? As the athlete of the group, Rowdy definitely does plenty of that. But Breath also implies direction, bringing to mind her hanafuda cards, which she consults not to seek external guidance but to reinforce her own decision. Once she's pointed herself at a target, there's no stopping her. (Plus also, y'know. There's literal breath, and she has a pretty good sense of smell lmaO.) Maids, at least in the theories I follow, are an active class, and Rowdy is a prime example, manifesting her own forward momentum and allowing no room for doubt.

Downtown Detective: Thief of Heart

Heart is the aspect of identity and, relatedly, of facades--something Downtown knows all about. Outwardly, she presents a cheery, playfully snarky personality, but this is only one of many layers of masks. Her mastery of these countless faces are what makes her so skilled at manipulating other people. She sees effortlessly into what makes people tick, steers the conversation to revealing the info she wants, and then, like any good Thief, snatches up the resulting spoils. Heart also, however, refers to the unchanging core of what makes a person who they are, and to me this is highlighted by the way Downtown holds so tightly to the memory of her friend Miyuki, no matter how far she sinks into the Duke's web of lies and death.

Bookworm Detective: Mage of Light

I said I wasn't going to get too into character growth in these analyses but HEAR ME OUT. The obvious aspect for Bookworm would be Void, right? Her manner of speech literally obfuscates her emotions behind the detached wording of a third-person narration. Plus she's goth as hell. But much like with Rose Lalonde before her, I argue that this is because she starts out with her aspect "inverted", and that her self-actualization comes in the form of her embracing her true nature: Light. Light can mean fortune, as I mentioned in Doleful's entry, but it is also knowledge and clarity. Bookworm's greatest weapon is her encyclopedic recall, and this is put to best use only when she begins to open up to and cooperate with the other detectives. The sense of triumph Wato (and I) experienced every time she felt confident enough to speak in first person should be more than enough to prove that the Void clinging to her psyche is only holding her back from her full potential.

Posh Detective: Seer of Hope

The aspect of Hope can best be summed up as "fake it 'til you make it", and if that doesn't encapsulate Posh as a person, then I don't know what does. Even with her family fallen on hard times, she relies on a carefully constructed facade of wealth and influence to convince others of her abilities. Though this performance isn't always the most convincing to the other detectives, her stubborn refusal to abandon it is no accident on her part. She has convinced herself that her aspirations of rank and prestige (both within the Detective Alliance and in society at large) will manifest if only she can inextricably associate herself with the role. As a Seer, her job is to passively guide others with insight related to her aspect--which brings to mind her naively confident guesses that fail to be correct on their own but can and do divert the discussion indirectly toward the solution.

Mystic Detective: Sylph of Blood

With a name like Van Helsing, he had to be Blood, right? It just feels right with his occult proclivities. But even on a metaphorical level, Blood first and foremost represents the bonds between people, an appropriate theme for the group's resident father figure. Mystic is known for solving his cases with exceptional compassion and patience, emphasizing how the primary source of his success is his ability to connect with those who had otherwise been abandoned. These helpless clients, along with his more direct ties like his adoption of Bookworm and his gentle mentorship of Wato, bring to mind how Sylphs are specifically known to be a "healing" class.

Workaholic Detective: Prince of Time

Time can be a difficult aspect to explain. Like Space, it tends toward the literal, though even in that sense I feel Workaholic is the best fit for it, what with his fixation on past wrongs and his relentless, sleepless march toward his target like a clockwork automaton. In a more figurative sense, Time can be associated with inevitability or even entropy, which evoke Workaholic's single-minded pursuit of justice despite knowing his own destruction was likely to occur alongside Renegade's. Princes are famously referred to as the "destroyer" class, and he certainly fits the bill, both erasing time with the sense of urgency created by his betrayal and also directly cutting short the "time" of those he killed.

Gourmet Detective: Witch of Void

The Void aspect represents both literal nothingness (like the hunger that plagues Gourmet even years after the tragedy that nearly starved her) and also secrets (like the undercover role she played for the FBI). Even Gourmet's facial expressions tend to be vacuous, revealing nothing of her true thoughts or motivations unless she reaches a breaking point. Witches are a vaguely defined class but are thought to be an active one, perhaps breaking the rules of their aspect to their advantage. If so, this could be connected to Gourmet's superhuman gastonomy and sense of smell--imagine an all-consuming black hole, where our very understanding of physics starts to break down--but either way she definitely wields both her hunger and her secrets with deliberate precision.

Techie Detective: Page of Life

Techie's is the classpect I am least certain/happy about, but to be perfectly honest I don't think ANY of the aspects are a clean fit for him. That said, of the ones that do feel related, Life seems like a decent choice for a few reasons--not the least of which is his well-established habit of anthropomorphizing inanimate gadgets and robots. One could say he "imbues them with life". I would argue that, like Bookworm, Techie is still early in his growth, and this is reflected in my assigning him as a Page. Pages are known for being the slowest to bloom but with some of the greatest potential of all the classes, which rings familiar when one considers the sections of his profile that describe him "stagnating" in the rankings and apprenticing under a capricious dandy. With proper support and guidance, Techie would certainly be on track to do great things with his future. While Renegade accuses him of relying on others too much, Techie's willingness to sacrifice his chair to save the others--even when that would mean giving up his own independence--serves as proof to me that he's well on his way to embodying the quintessential Life-bound trait of putting others' needs before his own.

...And, uh, that's everybody! Unfortunately these assignments mean the party's session was doomed the moment Workaholic fried himself. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ No frogs for you, detectives!

[phoenixfangs]

OMG PHOENIX OC PHOENIX OC?!?! SIGN ME UP I want to learn everything omggg For now tho, for the ask mmm lets go with ❗️, 🚨 and 🧣 if its not too much!!

WEEEEEEEEE THANK U THANK U im really happy with the positive reception feigas been receiving, it makes me feel like im Not an insane selfish weirdo for wanting to talk about her and like im Allowed to share my thoughts in a public forum without being beaten to death FDJSKLGHLSKJFDS my brain is broken ❤️

❗️what was the scariest moment of ur characters life? does it still affect them? | HHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMM well i look at her as having two distinct lives with distinct hardships: her childhood and her adulthood. so from her childhood, its definitely nebulous in my mind but its probably something to do with one of her siblings deaths, perhaps it was a very bad accident she was also involved in that she almost died from, but she happened to survive while her sibling didnt. probably a very violent, bloody accident with a lot of pain and suffering and being convinced that she will die without a miracle, only to be met with some cruel neutrality from her parents when that 'miracle' does occur and she survives/recovers. 'oh ur lucky to be alive, suppose it wasnt ur time', no celebration or care. probably put the fear of death in her that she ended up carrying with her into adulthood, one of the few things that Didnt get blocked out. as an adult, its probably her confrontation with riza and being told 'im not going to kill u' after shes been disarmed/beaten in the brawl because, if riza was refusing to kill her, it meant the drachman military would. i think i stole/modified the concept from the venture bros of an elite group of assassins/soldiers called 'the cleaners' whose responsibility it is to 'clean up' botch jobs, like feigas botch job trying to take out riza and roy, and they are much more cruel and sadistic than even feiga was to riza. she knows that if the cleaners get their hands on her, shes not just going to die, its going to be slow, painful, and miserable, and that fear of death, and of suffering, freezes her blood and makes her frantic and hysterical until rizas able to calm her down and agree to help her escape

🚨 whats ur characters relationship with the law? have they ever been arrested? what for? what are their opinions on law enforcement? | she lives outside of it and as an extension of it!! shes a political assassin, her vague 'assassin training' i keep alluding to is vague in my mind because i dont have it Fully fleshed out but to me its affiliated with the drachman military, perhaps a covert branch of some kind thats not officially sanctioned but the people in power dont care because its useful to have unsanctioned power. she has never been arrested in a typical sense, as a citizen who has broken a law, and as far as the upper brass is concerned, she either doesnt exist (to those not in the know about the situation) or, up until her defection, is a model soldier (unofficial, ofc, she has no real rank or place in the military but she is still one of Their dogs), an ideal enforcer of drachmas power. she initially has a lot of pride in her position as the best and most valuable, and is disdainful of any government/military besides her own, and doesnt view herself as the abused attack dog shes been beaten into. so much so that she derogatorily refers to roy and riza as filthy amestrian dogs, mutts, etc., simply for being soldiers, and also she hates them. seeing herself as the best, or being told shes the best, is a delusion/lie that she refuses to let go despite the Material Reality that there are assassins (the cleaners) who are Always going to be in a different league than her because she, unlike the cleaners, is still seen as capable of fucking up and becoming worthless. it isnt until her confrontation with riza and rizas influence telling her 'arent u mad at what theyve done to u?! they broke u until u were their best, and now theyre going to throw u away like ur nothing! the military is ur enemy! dont give them any more of urself, whether its ur body, ur pride, ur loyalty, or ur life! hit da bricks!!' that she decides YKNOW WHAT YEAH FUCK THIS and is able to finally redirect so much of her perceived hatred of riza more appropriately onto systems that lied to her and failed her and actively wanted to hurt her

BUT more broadly. jfdklsjfklsa. yeah shes never been a normal citizen so shes never had real experience with citizen-level crime or police

🧣 answered !

[checkoutmybookshelf]

We've Had Witches and Pirates, Yes. But What About SPIES?

India Holton as an author has, with three books, become an author who I will read everything she ever writes. The writing style is cheeky and fun and beautiful, and the characters never fail to be engaging and captivating to watch. The first two books also quietly critiques institutions and what it means to be inside and outside of such organizations. This book takes that to a WHOLE other level thanks to the James Bond spoof we're in the midst of. This book also includes neurodivergent leads--Holton has confirmed that both Alice and Daniel are autistic. Overall, the way this book handles romance, sex, and institutions is nuanced and heartbreakingly good. So let's talk The Secret Service of Tea and Treason.

Hey, so...SPOILER WARNING. I'm going to spoil the ever loving hell out of this book. Either read it before continuing or be cool with SPOILERS.

This is a also a CONTENT WARNING for minor mentions of child physical abuse and an organization putting neurodivergent children and adults in arguably abusive situations.

Agents A and B are the top performers of A.U.N.T., and they both secretly imagine their rivals throughout their careers. Those constructs go straight down the drain when Alice (Agent A) and Daniel (Agent B) are assigned to pretend to be married infiltrate the Bassingthwaite historical flying battle manor to thwart an assassination attempt against Queen Victoria.

The megaweapon that the agency was concerned about ends up being a nonstarter/red herring for this universe's version of Q going full-on supervillain (I told you I was going to spoil the end), which actually ends up being VERY funny. You really shouldn't piss off your weapons expert/inventor, because if you do, then when your top two agents apprehend him, you have to give him a medal and a raise. At which point your top agents realize you're a garbage organization and defect, taking a bunch of other agents with them.

This book is EXPLICITLY clear that A.U.N.T. is not a good or even benign organization. It is deeply controlling, toxic, and super unkind to its neurodivergent trainees. Daniel was treated like a bomb that would explode if handled wrong. He is so used to armed men pointing guns at him during situations that his superiors even *think* could get heated that he barely registers them. His life is literally under threat every time his superiors put him in a situation in which he might have an emotional reaction that they feel is inappropriate. Their feelings, mind, not his reality. And there is QUITE the gap between those things.

Alice arguably had it even worse; she was regularly beaten as a child and during her training any time she became overwhelmed, froze, lashed out, or had someone violate her sensory boundaries and she reacted with the full force of her martial training.

So A.U.N.T. is objectively THE WORST at accommodating neurodivergence even as they benefit from Alice and Daniel's skills. That kind of toxic, abusive, and exploitative relationship with an organization is heartbreaking. However, as Alice and Daniel's mission and romance progresses, they gain more perspective on each others' pasts, which allows them to support each other in leaving the organization. Neither could really process or acknowledge how they had personally been treated, but they both know that they cannot stand how the other had been treated. With each other's support, and the support of their friends, Alice and Daniel get to go live happily without bosses who treat them as less than human.

Interpersonally, Alice and Daniel have an absolutely adorable romance. What I found really interesting and really wonderful, though, was how communication and needs were handled. Alice's sensory needs mean that soft touches are a hard no for her. And for most of her adult life, that has meant that after the first try, people have simply stopped trying to engage physically with her. Alice at one point explicitly thinks that people prefer to simply leave her untouched rather than trying to do the work to help her engage in sex in a way that is safe for her. And that is shatteringly common even today; people have weird preconceived notions of what sex "should" be, and if someone does not enjoy or cannot safely engage in those "shoulds," then they "should not" have sex at all. Which is patently ridiculous. Alice and Daniel actually HAVE the conversation about Alice's needs and wants, and they work together to make sure that they both can safely and enjoyably engage in sex.

I read this after watching season 3 of Bridgerton, and after watching Prudence just NOT ENJOY anything about sex or physical intimacy (but being pressured into doing both anyway), I was SO GRATEFUL that there was consent, accommodation, and everyone involved actually enjoying themselves in this book. I would MUCH rather watch two characters actually have the conversations about how to make sex work for them than watch a female character be forced into sex she does not want to have.

I also appreciated that this book acknowledged that people have weirdly specific preconceived notions about sex and who can/should have what kind(s) of it while also going out of its way to say "no, actually, people should have adult discussions about this and figure out the way that works safely, consensually, and enjoyably for them." This feels vanishingly rare in the here and now, and I adore when books do things like this.

Like the first two Dangerous Damsel books, the writing style in this book was PURE DELIGHT. I literally cannot let that go without saying, because with the rise of GenAI and some publishers trying to replace real authors with AI, I feel it's even more important to highlight it when a writer has a unique style, clear voice, and significantly above-average grasp on language. Especially in popular and romance books, because people tend to use those descriptions to describe literary fiction on the regular--but not all of us WANT to read literary fiction. And those of us who enjoy popular genres deserve to have competent writing from real humans!!! India Holton is just a phenomenal writer, and I will never not recommend her on the strength of that.

Beyond that, we also get more pirate and witch shenanagins, and that's never not a blast.

Overall, this trilogy ended strong, and I cannot recommend the Dangerous Damsels enough.

[a-luran]

I LOVE THE FIC TOO GIVE US A L L THE LORE PLEASE

I WILL. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT THIS FIC ♡

I put a lot of thought into the details in this fic, everything from Dai's jacket (it smells like coffee because he's been working as a barista; Arthur knows that Dai keeps a beaten carton of filters in the inner lining because as Arthur says in the text, these are the kinds of habits you notice when you spend time around the people you love) to the way Alasdair is dressed. This is one of those fics that exists very vividly in the back of my mind!

Although the circumstances that bring Arthur to the emergency room are tragically quite evident, Alasdair's circumstances I left a little vaguer. He's wearing a formal kilt because he's coming in fresh from a wedding or rather, the police station where he was booked after an altercation at a wedding. Arthur notes that his fingers are stained like someone took his prints and in fact someone did. It's also why he's covered in liquor stains and short a coat until later in the scene before they leave the hospital. Another relative had been there, holding down the fort until Alasdair was released. They had Alasdair's coat with them along with the medical power of attorney that grants him the authority to make decisions on his brother's (Sean's!) behalf.

Sean's injuries during the fight are partly what inspired the title as well. I added a link to the original post which gave a cohesive run down of what the Glasgow coma scale is but in summary it is the scale used to determine a person's level of consciousness, usually after suffering some kind of trauma. People don't usually go out light a light and stay in a coma; they slip into it gradually even after they have woken up from the initial period of unconsciousness. (Note as well that Alasdair held Sean as he faded in and out of consciousness, and did not know whether he'd even made it to the hospital alive because he was arrested shortly after the fight; it's why the full brunt of the events don't hit him until the morning after. He doesn't have time to process anything until then. I would also like to note that the reason why Arthur doesn't notice any bruises on him is because Alasdair only stepped in to break off the fight and was therefore released with no charges).

Another Easter egg about the title: if you pay close attention to how Arthur has periods of lucidity that become more lasting the longer he is exposed to an external stimulus (Alasdair touching his arm, his invitation to smoke, their stilted conversation) you might notice that it parallels or well pays homage to the stages described by the scale. He is also Dai's only living relative so all arrangements and responsibilities fall to him. An unfortunate reality is that after a death, accidental or not, it's the families and friends who have to take care of any cleaning. It's why they spend so long in Dai's flat despite it being the last place on Earth Arthur wanted to be in in that moment. For personal reasons I don't like shying away from details like that or glossing them over. Other details though I think are best left unsaid.

Some more details to finish this off on a lighter note. Alasdair lives in a Leith (Edinburgh) tenement near the docks, hence the mention of sandstone. Edinburgh is in fact six hours by train from Gillingham, Kent. Arthur though technically lives in Chatham and is paying his way through uni. Six was Dai's lucky number and in an early draft I'd added a casual mention that it had taken Arthur and Alasdair six months to decide that aye, they were in love. It's another six months on top of that before Arthur finishes his degree and moves in with him. I mentioned it in the tags but it is actually illegal to smoke anywhere within 15 meters of an NHS hospital building so if Arthur describes the the building as something that appears to be far away it is not only his dissociating colouring his perception; they really are far from the building, Alasdair walked them to a bin out by the curve. He doesn't like littering. Dai's filters come in a yellow carton because they're Swans (a brand) and Alasdair hand-rolls his smokes because it is more common here in Scotland to see people carrying loose tobacco than it is to see them packing pre-rolls. It's cheaper. Alasdair is out of filters because he has thick fingers and dropped a fair few. He also is very genuinely trying to quit (and as we see in the story he does eventually!) so he saw no sense in buying a whole lot of filters for the amount of tobacco he had left.

Lastly, something I don't have an answer to: why did Alasdair choose to sit next to Arthur?

Maybe because a part of him was looking for pieces of his brother in the people around him and saw the ghost of him in the denim jacket Arthur was wearing. It is something Sean would wear and part of me wanted to give something for Sean and Dai to share despite the fact that, in this story, they will never meet.

[percontaion-points]

The Boy Who Sneaks in my Bedroom Window chapters 1 & 2

Today's review might be difficult for some; reader discretion is advised

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Click here for the rest of the series!

Chapter 1

He was a cute kid, with blond hair and grey eyes with brown flecks in them. He was my big brother, and as big brothers went, he was the best.

It seems kind of odd that she’d describe her older brother as being “a cute kid”. 

 Jake was ten, and was two years older than me, so he always helped with my school work

There is waaaaay too much telling going on right now. 

Also, I didn’t forget to copy the period… There was none in that sentence. Joy. I can feel the headache coming on already. 

“What are you doing here, Liam?” I whispered, wiping my face, but the tears continued to fall.

[...]

“I saw you through the window. I just wanted to come and make sure you were alright,” he whispered back, still hugging me tightly. 

Okay, so the reviews warned that this story suffers from Absent Parent Syndrome©, so IDK why I even bother asking this, but…

So this literal ten year old boy sees Amber crying up in her room, climbs up to knock on the window, and comes in… Yet he himself can’t be assed to tell his parents? Or a teacher? Or literally any grown-up in his life?

 I shuddered at the thought of what my father would do if he had walked in here to find Liam in the house at night-time.

Chapter 1 summary: We’re introduced to 8 year old Amber, who has been living under the tyrannical thumb of her abusive father for the past three years. Although she says that they have a large house in the nicer part of town, she wishes that they could go back to how things used to be, before her father accepted a terrible job. 

Over dinner, Amber accidentally knocks over her drink, which causes her father to lose his cool. He starts yelling at her and hitting her, but when her older brother, Jake, tries to step in and protect her, dad takes his frustration out on him instead.

Later, Amber is in her room when a neighbour boy randomly climbs up to Amber’s window and holds her as she cries. He ends up spending the night with her, which freaks her out. Not because of Liam, but because what daddy-dearest might have done if he’d found Liam in Amber’s bed. 

Chapter 2

[image description: A screenshot of the first page of the second chapter of the book. It has two different fonts that switch back and forth every couple of paragraphs. End description.]

Okay, so I need to highlight this. And I seriously don’t know if this is the PDF, or if this book is seriously like this. 

But does everybody else see this? The fact that there are two different fonts on this page? What the hell is going on? 

Of course I looked harassed, I had half an hour to get showered and dressed.

Okay, so first off, she actively CHOOSES to wake up and only have 30 minutes to get ready for school. So I don’t exactly have a lot of sympathy for her.

Also… Harassed? Are you sure that’s the correct word to use right here? ARE YOU SURE?!

Well, I say left, but in reality Jake and Liam came home early from hockey one day to see that my father had beaten me senseless, and was trying to rape me. Jake had finally snapped, and he and Liam had beaten the crap out of him, almost killing him in the process. They had thrown him out of the house and told him that if he ever came back, they would kill him. He never came back though, that was three years ago. 

Calling the police? Lol what’s that?!

I also love how casually she talks about this. Like it was simply another day. “What did I do today? I went to the store, and then the park. Then my dad tried to rape me, but it was okay because Jake and Liam beat him up. Then I went to the movies.” 

They had thrown him out of the house and told him that if he ever came back, they would kill him. He never came back though, that was three years ago. 

A little while after that, my mom got a job with a huge electronics firm, she was the PA to the director and so she travelled a lot. She was gone twice as much as she was here, so we only saw her for about one week a month, if that. Jake was my only supervision, although at times it was more like I was the one taking care of him. 

As I said, Absent Parent Syndrome©. 

Liam was also very protective of me, but we still didn’t get on - even though he had literally spent every single night wrapped around me in my bed for the last eight years.

Uh-huh. Right. 

 She had dated Liam for a little while, well, if by dating you mean having sex a few times, and then getting dropped. She still wasn’t over it and wanted him back, much to his disgust. 

I have been warned that this is the majority of this book. Joy, I can’t wait. 

 “How the hell can you be unaffected by how freaking hot they are? I mean, you’re so lucky to live with Jake! I would love to watch his hot ass walk around all day,” she purred, fanning her face.

It’s bad enough that we have to have a book in which Amber was almost raped by her father. Do we also have to have weird implications that Amber should be lusting after her own brother?

… so I knew that my brother and his friends were arriving in the canteen. 

Canteen? Yes, it’s technically correct, but I seriously don’t know of a single person who would call a school cafeteria a “canteen”. 

Great, just great! [Liam] was driving me home. Fantastic. He always made the drive home as long as possible just to annoy the life out of me. Then, he insisted on waiting at my house until my brother came home, which meant that I had to cook for him too. Damn it, he is so annoying!

Or you could… Not make him food. 

I’m not quite convinced that Amber’s life improved all that much when her father left. Not if she’s still expected to be subservient to a man who pushes himself onto her 24/7. 

“Hey, where you going?” the other guy asked, grabbing my hand. 

My heart started to race as I looked around, frantically. “I’m looking for my boyfriend,” I lied, trying to sound confident. 

“Boyfriend? I don’t see a boyfriend[...]”

Yes, that’s why she’s LOOKING FOR HIM, dipshit. 

“I hate rushing around; I’ve looked and felt like shit all day,” I cried acidly. 

I… I simply feel like the author thinks that she’s picking the correct adjective, but in actuality, every single one she selects comes off as clunky and awkward. 

THERE IS LITERALLY NOT ONE SINGLE THING WRONG WITH “SAID”. FUCKING USE IT. 

“Goodnight, Angel,” he replied, kissing the back of my head.

Chapter 2 summary: 8 years later, and now Amber is 16, which puts Liam and Jake at 18. He’s been spending literally every goddamned night with her. 

As mentioned, almost in passing, Amber’s and Jake’s dad tried to rape her one day. Liam and Jake happened to come home at that time, so they beat him up and kicked him out of the house. They haven’t heard from him for the past three years. Also, mummy-dearest is absent, which allows for a lot of… well. Stuff that she probably wouldn’t allow if she was actually there. Like Liam spending every goddamned night with Amber. 

The three of them go to school, where some random girl tries to hook up with Liam, but Amber slut-shames her. Then she hangs out with her friends, who ask why she hasn’t tapped either of the boys. Amber is more horrified over the thought of them suggesting she should hook up with her own brother. But she also tells the readers that despite everything, she and Liam are barely friends. Which seems like an odd choice to make, but sure. 

I would also like the record to state that every second I spent being forced to read the interactions of Amber and her friends, I could literally feel my IQ dropping. 

After school, Liam gives some excuse as to what Jake is doing, but it’s literally not important. He and Amber go to the store, where Amber is sexually harassed by some random boys. Liam has to rescue her. 

She later gives him dinner, and they watch a movie together. Liam leaves for a bit, but comes back so that he can spend his night with her once again. 

[maeve-on-mustafar]

The first person to explain attachment in the movies is Shimi Skywalker. She lets Anakin go and live a better life bc she is not attached to him. She tells him to not look back. This is the woman who raised Anakin. He was raised in a no-attachment household. He has no excuse. He was always taught about attachment. He knew what he was doing was wrong. He did it anyway.

Lol, I've seen this argument before: "Shmi raised Anakin to not have attachments, but Anakin had attachments anyway! So he has no excuse for having attachments later!"

I've always got to love the mental gymnastics and argument acrobatics to avoid mentioning that Shmi and Anakin were slaves and had zero rights and zero fucking choices in their situation, and therefore by definition cannot have attachments. You've got a best friend who's also a slave? Too bad, they got sold to a Hutt who lives on Nar Shaddaa, and you'll probably never fucking see them again. Oh, you've got an attachment to food? Well, Watto lost big on his latest bets and pissed about spending more money on rations, so it looks like Shmi and Anakin are going to be sharing one portion per day for the next month.

Shmi didn't make the choice to teach Anakin about not having attachments. Because there was no choice for them. They couldn't have attachments because they had no choices. And anything or anyone that they valued could be ripped away from them at any given moment, simple as that. And--listen carefully, because here's where a lot of fans seem to get lost--the reason for this inability to hold onto possessions or relationships is they were slaves without any kind of rights and who would be beaten for disobedience (this is canon, at least for Anakin).

This was not Shmi attempting to instill Jedi philosophy in Anakin from Day 1, this was simply the harsh reality of their lives. Because until Anakin came to Coruscant, his life was just one big giant trauma of never being able to control any of his own circumstances because he was not considered a person. I do not understand how many people in fandom completely miss his various obvious circumstances on Tatooine.

All the time, people try to hold up Shmi's advice to Anakin of "Now, be brave, and don't look back. Don't look back," as some kind of beautiful teaching moment, but it wasn't. It was the final goodbye of a mother who knew she was doomed to a life of toil and servitude on a hellhole planet, but who wanted better for her kid, because she knew he had a chance. That isn't some triumph for Shmi or the Jedi. It's just incredibly sad that she knew her life had no chance of improving and that it was unlikely Anakin ever would come back to free her, and that the best she could hope for was him having a life where things were better, even if it meant forgetting her.

And I know somebody will or has already said in the comments or tags of this post something to the effect of, "🤓 Actually, Shmi Skywalker was never meant to be an important character, just the catalyst of a coming of age story for Anakin, so all of the discourse around her is really unnecessary and overdone, and actually, no one should talk about her."

To that, my response would be, "Then it's certainly convenient how Shmi only brought up in defenses of the Jedi as yet another way to shame Anakin, with no one actually taking the time to consider the tragedy of her situation. And also, stop encouraging viewers to overlook narrative misogyny in media, especially in this film trilogy where the female lead gives up and dies of a broken heart and there's only one female Jedi who ever has a speaking role (and that's just in one scene and then no lady Jedi ever speaks again)."

What pisses me off sometimes is that many of the people in this fandom already understand attachment but just choose to not use that understanding for the Jedi.

Like. If you weren’t completely confused by Shuri’s arc in the new Black Panther you understand attachment.

If you understood why elenore let chidi leave in the finale of the good place, you understand attachment.

In fact I can think of like eight super hero movies where attachment (and learning to let go of it) is the KEY conflict.

Attachment is not a hard concept to grasp at all. “Letting go” is NEVER portrayed as a bad thing in media. Like. Never. Especially when it’s about letting go of a loved one who died instead of getting revenge.

When people watch a super hero movie and the super hero starts acting like a villain and a side character goes “you’ve got to let her go” I never find paragraphs on tumblr about how the hero should have kept acting like a villain and that side character was the real bad guy.

It’s just that the Jedi don’t struggle with it. The Jedi already practice attachment. They’re already at peace. And since Anakin has been a Jedi for so long and has given no real indication of struggling (I mean they don’t know about his secret wife), they just tell him to practice attachment and think that’s enough. Bc he should already know.

And when people say they shouldn’t have expected this of Anakin bc he wasn’t raised a Jedi… the Jedi are not the only ones who don’t act on attachment. The first person to explain attachment in the movies is Shimi Skywalker. She lets Anakin go and live a better life bc she is not attached to him. She tells him to not look back. This is the woman who raised Anakin. He was raised in a no-attachment household. He has no excuse. He was always taught about attachment. He knew what he was doing was wrong. He did it anyway.

Anakin was not confused by attachment. And neither is the audience really. There are so many stories about how attachment is bad, Lucas just calls it by its name. People choose not to like the Jedi bc they don’t find them interesting. Which is fine I suppose, but if you don’t like the Jedi bc the sith aesthetic is more your speed, just say that. Stop pretending you don’t understand a very common moral conflict.

[gravehop187]

Im at the point to where I do not fear death. I welcome it openly, not to be mistaken for seeking it. I feel the stresses and pain I've endured over 24 years is enough for a lifetime. I understand many have been through worse but their reality is separate from my own. I have my sympathies fir them but I cannot feel their pain because I'm not them. I feel like even though in comparison my life is far better off than most, but still, I don't feel like this world has been kind to me. Since I could ever remember my life has been nothing but turmoil. Child abuse that had run rampant for years.

My mother would beat me, starve me, pinch, kick punch, slap, spit and degrade me. All because of something I presume is that I look like my father the most and when she drank she took that out on me. I can't even remember a good chunk of everything because my brain shut it out. I don't know who I really am now. I am just here.

I developed an eating disorder about at the age of 6, because of the starving I would eat anything I could get my hands on because I had no idea when we would eat next. After awhile she would check rooms for food and I had to stop storing it for my siblings and because my mother would get blackout drunk and not feed us for atleast a few days and if we snuck any food there will be hell to pay. I sacrificed myself for them because even though I was hungry it was my responsibility to be the one that provides since we in a sense had no mother. I was the pursuit of my mother's gaze and I tried to stay out of sight the best that I could. Reduced my physical being into a for that you would not even know existed. Still to this day and even writing this messge, I still have the ability to cry silently. You would only know I'm crying if you'd look at me. Any sound was a detrimental mistake.

Even to this day I have never changed from the child I was because it still lives with me mentally and I have to endure that torture daily, but I am still expected to do so much that many people have no issues with. It's just alot of weight to bare on my shoulders. I must at all times contest with the past, present and future. No good things come without its conditions and even when I try to move past preconceived notions about related events that happened they are always reinforced. Giving me the sense that these things will always happen while also thinking it won't happen. I prepare to prepare preparing.

This foresight and the ability to read others comes at a price. It came from daily abuse over many many years since I was atleast 2. I had to be observant and diligent to avoid being beaten unconscious. I can't let others know what I know. It appears to make them feel exposed and I thought about it and I can understand that. So I need to be able to use that ability while not letting others know or not be so blunt. I know exactly why they behave the way they do. And they are scared to confront it. And rightfully so because it's uncomfortable and they are not ready but I want to be able to heal those who are hurt themselfs because atleast my suffering would be of use to others. I will give them the courage to fight and confront those dark thoughts because they can't hurt you and have no tangibility.

That is what I think logically. But the nightmares that haunt my mind daily give a sharp, jagged reminder of the past that was stolen from me. The part that got shattered, absolutely broken is still with me. And it is an existence I would wish on no one.

I cannot commit suicide, I only cut when the emotions are all used up. That is my spirits biggest obstacle. Suffering in a world of immense pain with an enevitable, yet uncertain way out. I live in limbo.

I have learned not to fear death because anything is better than the hell I live here.

I am thankful for the many good things to happen in my life and I will cherish those now and after.

In the end I will have at last receive all that I ever wanted.

Love, Happiness and peace.

I hope you can find it too.

[quercus-queer]

The main theme of Stranger Things is summed up by Eddie: “Forced conformity, that’s what’s killing kids.” The central characters of Stranger Things are outcasts of society. They’re either poor, queer, black, “soft” men, unapologetic women, weird, crazy, or a mix of these undesirable traits.

The Byers and Nancy embody this explicitly enough for the general audience to understand every season. Jonathon and Will are pretty self explanatory. Joyce is always the social pariah of the town and her dynamic with Police Chief Jim Hopper the “Everyman” is draining at times. It’s draining because Joyce is right and we know she’s right but the rules, the laws, and “common sense” which Hopper is meant to represent, say otherwise. And every season Hopper’s resistance is broken down and he works with Joyce. If he doesn’t work WITH Joyce he nearly dies. If he doesn’t believe her at all, bodies start dropping. You have to go “behind the curtain” and accept the weird to survive or make progress as a general narrative rule, the entire show.

With Nancy, her motivations are justice (which the world is not ready for) and rebelling against the perfectly structured boxes society has put in place. These two go hand in hand, she can’t get justice because people don’t want a disruption to their neatly structured lives. Working around the common people is a nuisance for her. She talks often with Jonathon about how she can’t conform to the lifestyle her parents do (implied racist + homophobic without actually having to say/show it explicitly in the show through the support of Regan and Karen’s Thatcher convo) how the cookie cutter lives with reality shuttered out would kill her.

With Lucas in s4, he is trying to save himself from being othered by conforming in the most palatable way he can without sacrificing his own happiness. Him trying to be “better” isn’t framed as bad thing (which is how the audience seems to be taking it for some reason), it’s framed as a hopeless endeavor because it’s never going to be enough. Even if he’s not being targeted at the moment, people he loves are and regardless of what he does it’ll circle back to him eventually.

Eddie is the “worst of society”. He’s a poor good for nothing loud mouthed idiot, obnoxious, disrespectful to authority, crazy drug dealer, and gay (implied). But he’s idolized by Mike + Dustin and the narrative makes him very human and kind. He’s also the only one that gives any relief to Chrissy who is literally cracking under the pressure of acting normal. No one except Eddie and Max notice or says she’s acting weird, no one except Eddie and the counselor try to help her, and Eddie is the only one to make her feel even the slightest bit better. And the reaction to her cracking from her peers is to blame the crazy person instead of admitting she wasn’t perfect which is framed as a ridiculous and violent cult mentality.

This is all to say that every character we are meant to like is a social reject and have a sense of solidarity with other social pariahs… meaning that none of the central characters or “heroes” of Stranger Things are gonna be purposefully or blatantly homophobic or racist. It is the 80s (minorities still existed btw) but it is also a FICTIONAL show. They dropped the ball using a slur towards indigenous people of the arctic, but before that racism and homophobia were punished by the narrative.

Billy was racist. It’s not up for debate. He was racist, among other things, and he was punished dearly for it. The bullies are punished for being racist and homophobic and then never seen or mentioned again. Is that realistic? Nope, but they’re not important after they’ve been punished. The one character we’re meant to like that has been homophobic was immediately beaten up for it and after development has an arc accepting a queer woman.

Steve went from a perfect stereotypical jock and bully unhappy with his life and relationships, to a happy loser working in a video store with a weird kid and a lesbian for best friends. When he gave up trying to fit a mold, he became a better person and his life became infinitely better and he is consistently told how great it is that he’s changed. We don’t ever see his parents reactions or his old friends after he ditches them because their opinions don’t matter. We only see the praise he’s gotten and the fact he’s happier. Is that realistic? No. But it’s the narrative being made.

You know what is realistic though? A tight knit friend group that grew up being ostracized and bullied, witnessing their friend they’re devoted to being bullied for maybe being gay. Even more realistic is that the gay kid is still loved by those friends regardless of whether the bullies had some truth to their taunts. These kids are genuinely hated by most people and only have each other to depend on, every issue they’ve had they’ve gotten over. They apologize to each other ALL the time and they all have a surprising amount of emotional intelligence (yes even Mike, he’s a dick because of trauma + internalized homophobia and he’s aware he’s being a dick and takes responsibility for it when it’s not jeopardizing what he’s feeling is his safety).

In conclusion, none of the characters are going to be homophobic, sorry to ruin your fantasies. It’s unrealistic, out of character, and goes against the core themes of friendship and unconformity set up in the show.

[kasienda]

Qilin - Another Powerful Episode

I connected to this episode on a personal level so much!

Look teens are wonderful! I love them SO MUCH. And clearly so does Sabine. Look at the way she sets everything up for Marinette in the morning! And then oh so patiently reminds her of all the things she needs to remember, KNOWING Marinette isn’t going to remember. And then when she’s right and Marinette doesn’t, there’s no anger or frustration. Only fond exasperation and the ability to cover for her. It’s beautiful!!

At another point in the episode, Marinette was talking to Tikki about wanting to be more like her mom and just not feeling like she was there yet. And then a few minutes later we saw Sabine pulling off a lucky charm worthy scheme with a paintbrush to make the world a better place! Showing us quite beautifully where Marinette gets her crafty creative mind and her sense of fairness and justice. Showing us that she’s already a lot like her mom even if she’s a little less polished. Again! SO BEAUTIFUL!!! 

As for the cops, I just, I love that this was portrayed this way! I loved Megaleech where Roger was shown doing the bidding of wealthy white men and arresting protesters who had the right to be there, but this episode took this so much further and I appreciate it SO MUCH! It may not be perfect, but like showing a negative portrayal of cops in children’s media is something that I like never see! I can’t think of another example. While pro cop propaganda is friggin everywhere. (Baby shark which is meant for like toddlers has a whole song about the “kind brave” police sharks).

Whereas here, they showed bus ticket guy check Sabine’s ticket and no one else’s. He didn’t make any effort to confirm her story with anyone else there before immediately accusing her of lying and committing fraud.

The show portrayed Sabine feeling relief when they met Roger. Here was someone that she knew and who knew her. He would vouch for her right? But cops are very buddy buddy with each other and tend to choose each other over others.

Sabine very quickly gets told she’s being disrespectful and challenging their authority. And they put her in cuffs, surround her with four guys in armor. OVER A BUS TICKET! (And guys, the number of times police get violent with people (usually people of color) during traffic stops in real life, it’s not even an exaggeration. Or rather, it’s making it look MORE civil than it often is in reality. One of the most common stated reasons for arrests is “resisting arrests”, but when you ask what they were originally going to originally arrest the individual for, the police aren’t good at providing reasonable answers.

Then, when Sabine is an akuma, all she wants is for someone to take off the cuffs!

The police? They bring in more armored officers with riot gear, they bring in helicopters, and call for tanks. This has been escalated to a full on militarized strike! Again, OVER A BUS TICKET! Miraculous literally just showed you an over militarized police force abusing its power!

Then, when Ladybug shows up and tries to de-escalate the situation, they turn on her, label her a criminal, and escalate the situation further (after she just saved their lives).

No, I love this episode. I get to watch it with my daughter in a few years and we get to talk about these very real life issues! We even get to talk about if it was right for Marinette to agree to pay the fine. Though I know that if I experienced something like that, I would agree to that as well. She literally just saw what the NOT akumatized police were willing to do to her mom OVER A BUS TICKET! It wasn’t shown but I would have been terrified in that moment, and would do anything to appease them even if it wasn’t fair. Fifty euros over my mom getting cuffed, humiliated and possibly physically beaten? Yup! I’m paying the fine, too. I don’t know if that’s what the writers were going for. I actually doubt it. I think they had to appease someone else themselves! But isn’t that also a good talking point???

And Chat Noir - a white guy - standing up to authority to protect Sabine, a women of color, from cops who would harm her?? Yes!! Love the role model this sets as well!

Overall this season, Guiltrip, Megaleech, and Qilin are my favorite filler episodes this season for the representation and values they explore. For the conversations they will allow me to start with my daughter and my soon to be son!! Amazing!

[spidori]

I think you bring up a really important point with the breaking of Toa code, and I wanna sprint with it.

Consider for a second, how vastly different the daily realities of life are in the Bionicle universe, especially in the times before Mata Nui (the island) as a setting. The Matoran didn't even actually eat? Just absorbed energy? Their lives were entirely concerned with their jobs which would each contribute to the maintenance of Mata Nui (the robot) even though they didn't truly understand what that meant?

Essentially, Matoran were worker drones, and had no concept of anything else even really being possible. Toa were slightly more advanced soldier drones, and got an even more restrictive set of social rules to follow to match their potential to damage workflow. Even Turaga were essentially just middle managers with no real understanding of how their job fit into the gigantic clockwork they only kinda sometimes realized they were actually literally maintaining.

It's only when the Matoran lived on Mata Nui (the island and also the face of the robot) that they experienced anything different. Thankfully for them, the amnesia meant they once again didn't have any concept of anything different, because all of their time as drones was completely forgotten. They got to start fresh, and didn't have the weight of social rules which had been beaten into them as the only acceptable way to exist for literal millennia to process and attempt to reconcile with their new existence.

Only the Turaga have to deal with that struggle. And, as anyone who has tried to overcome a shit upbringing can probably attest to, that kind of thing sticks with you in all kinds of insidious ways. It may become infrequent if you put in a lot of effort, but every now and then you still find another little piece of it buried in some behavior you didn't even notice and have to root out what else it's tied to.

And the Turaga don't have therapy or a sufficient support network to help either. They've done what they can, but those patterns of UNITY:DUTY:DESTINY are still on repeat in their heads, and they still fall back on them because it's what they know and they're just trying to do their best to protect the people they care about and prepare for the catastrophes their increasingly certain are coming.

So it makes a lot of sense that they would find it incredibly difficult to share the Hordika saga. After all, the running theme of the whole mess is that their Hordika instincts were at war with, and sometimes even overcame, those three ideals they were both taught (brainwashed into believing really) were the highest form of good, and strove to make the core of their personalities in some form or another.

The Matoran may not know anything besides a life with some semblance of balance between the laws of the great beings and the instincts of actually living beings, but the Turaga do, and it makes sense that they're still struggling with that. Hell, it's only because the Turaga put in so much work unpacking and overcoming what amounts to essentially generational trauma with how they chose to guide the amnesiac Matoran that said Matoran have such a rich existence. I think they deserve credit for how much they overcame the unhealthy patterns which were programmed into them- both biologically and mechanically- and grace in dealing with the ways they're still struggling with guilt and shame over not "living up to" impossible ideals; one's which, it should be noted, were probably intentionally made impossible to live up to because the guilt and shame not doing so would engender would ultimately help keep the maintenance drones in line.

I'm going through the Bionicle books for the first time and hearing the turaga talk about the hordika as if it was some horrible event when really they were just animals for a little while.

Really gives off: "WE CAN'T LET THE MATORAN KNOW OF OUR FURRY PHASE"

[itsallyscorner]

Teaming Up with Sam and Bucky ft Zemo

Pairing: FEM!Reader; Bucky Barnes x reader, Sam Wilson x reader; platonic(?), let’s throw in some Zemo x reader

Summary: What it would be like to team up with our favorite duo. Takes place during TFATWS.

Warnings: none, TFATWS SPOILERS. Lowkey a mess :D

A/n: Ever since TFATWS came out I’ve been reminded of how much I love Bucky and Sam. Also I have a new found love for Zemo. I’ve just been so obsessed with this series and I’ve been reading so many fics about it, so I decided to finally write my own :) Enjoy my loves❤️

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

✧───── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *. ☽.* :★. ─────✧

You’re basically working with a bunch of children.

The children mostly being Sam and Bucky, though Zemo does have his moments once he joins you three.

You’ve known dumb and dumber for a few years now, being part of the Avengers, you’ve worked with Sam on multiple missions. The friendship blooming somewhere in between.

You were also close friends with Steve; when he first came out the ice, you were assigned to help him adjust to the modern world by Fury. He would tell you a bunch of stories of him and Bucky running into trouble or Bucky always saving his ass whenever he was getting beaten up.

Eventually, you finally got to meet Bucky, though he wasn’t Bucky, he was the Winter Soldier. Your introduction to each other was quite memorable to say the least.

He choked you with that metal arm of his and for a split second you swore you might’ve found it attractive—till he threw your body against a car.

You sided with Cap during the accords and helped him protect Bucky. When that whole mess was over, Steve asked you to stay with Bucky in Wakanda to make sure he would be safe.

You were the first person to have some kind of bond with Bucky. Before and after he was freed from Hydra’s hold on him, you were always someone he knew he could trust.

When Steve told you what he was going to do while retuning the stones he told you to watch over them.

“Promise me you’ll keep an eye on Buck and Sam?” He asked you, sitting on the edge of your bed. He had snuck into your room late at night, knowing you were wide awake.

You squeezed his hand reassuringly, a lazy smile on your lips, “They don’t need me, I’m sure they’re capable of surviving on their own.” Steve breathes out a laugh and shakes his head, “You’d be surprised.”

“But seriously, (y/n), they need you. You know how they get when they’re together. You’re the only person in the world who knows how to deal with the both of them at the same time.” Steve reasons, his baby blues sparkling in the darkness of the guest room of Tony’s lake house.

“Make sure they’re not on the verge of killing each other or running into too much trouble?” You tiredly nod, sleep slowly consuming your body. “I promise, they’re gonna be alright, Steve.”

Sometimes you found yourself looking up at the sky, cursing at it—or Steve—for leaving you with two of the most childish and stubborn men you’ve ever known in your life.

You were like the mother of the group; breaking up fights, making sure they skipped no meals, patching up their boo-boos, etc.

“Will you stop staring at me?” Sam snapped, tossing his goggles onto the seat beside him to glare at Bucky.

“I’m not staring at you.” Bucky remarked from across Sam. His flesh and metal arm crossing with each other as he stared at Sam challengingly.

“Yes, you are. Your eyes are connecting with mine. You’re literally staring at me right now!” Sam pointed out, to which Bucky rolled his eyes at.

“Because I’m talking to you, genius. I wasn’t staring at you.” Bucky quipped.

“Yes you were!”

“No I wasn’t!”

This continued till they were sick of bickering with each other, finally yelling out your name for help.

The arguments were straight up petty. Bucky wouldn’t admit it, but he was the pettiest.

Exhibit 1: “LoOKiNG StrONg jOHn!”

Like seriously? Bucky’s the pettiest bitch, nobody can tell me otherwise.

You and Sam would definitely find it amusing how Bucky doesn’t trust Redwing.

Obviously, you all despise John Walker. Just the thought of him left a bad taste in your mouth.

He was like a fly that you all couldn’t get rid of. But because you were all painfully patient people—mostly you and Sam—you had to deal with his bullshit despite the way he annoyed you all.

Totally loosing your shit when Bucky helps Zemo break himself out of prison.

“Please tell me you didn’t do what I think you did.” You groaned, fingers pinching the bridge of your nose together.

Bucky looks at you with feign innocence; his mouth agape and puppy eyes. “I—didn’t do...anything(?).”

“You helped Zemo break out of prison didn’t you?” You crossed your arms at him, hip jutting out. As if on cue, Sokovian sugar daddy walks into the abandoned garage you were all in.

Before you can explode on him, Bucky tried to calm you down, “Wait, I technically didn’t do anything though! It was his plan!”

Zemo definitely lives up to being the ✨Sokovian Sugar Daddy✨ of your dysfunctional group.

I think you’d all be surprised at how rich he was. The amount of connections he had wasn’t that big of a shocker.

No like seriously, homie was pulling all sorts of shit out his ass; cars, private planes, houses in different countries, etc.

You all had a love hate relationship with Zemo. On days when he was actually helpful, you all got a long. On the days when things got horribly messy, Zemo couldn’t even let a word out since Sam would tell him to “shut up”.

Though that still doesn’t excuse the fact that he got the Avengers to spilt up and go against each other.

When you guys are all hiding out in one of Zemo’s apartments or homes, you would probably cook breakfast, lunch, or dinner for everyone.

They actually loved it when you cooked because it made the atmosphere feel a bit homey and calm compared to the current situation you were all in.

You were the person they can all go to. You were easy to talk to, making it easier for them to open up to you.

You always checked in on them mentally and physically. For example, you knew Sam felt guilty about giving up the shield, but Bucky never made him forget about his choice. You were there to reassure him that he thought he was doing the right thing and didn’t know the hidden agenda of the government.

You were like their on the go therapist, babysitter, and partner.

Sometimes Bucky and Sam would even argue for your attention.

“Can you stop hogging (y/n) please? Her ears might fall off from hearing you yap all day.” Bucky said as he gently took your arm and dragged you away from Sam.

“You literally spent the whole day with her yesterday, you’re the one who needs to stop hogging (y/n).” Sam argued, grabbing onto your other arm.

“I didn’t get to spend time with (y/n).” Zemo mentioned from his seat in the kitchen, a glass of whisky in his hand. Bucky simply turned to him and pointed, “NO!”

Honestly what’s a friendship with Bucky and Sam without some harmless flirting. They weren’t gonna lie, you were gorgeous, the most attractive one out of the group.

When you guys had to go undercover at Madripoor, both times with Zemo and Sharon, you had to wear dresses that were a bit revealing. Maybe your chest was a bit shown, but the dress definitely showed off your legs.

“So what do you guys think?” You stopped at the bottom of the stairs of Sharon’s apartment, doing a little spin to show off your outfit.

Both Bucky and Sam’s jaws drop, Zemo probably nodding in approval in the corner.

You can’t forget about the nicknames: maybe doll, sweetheart, or darlin’ from Bucky and the typical Louisiana Cher from Sammy.

While fighting against the Flag Smashers or anyone in general, you guys always had each other’s back.

You could directly be fighting someone, but you’ll naturally have an eye on Sam and Bucky to make sure nobody was sneaking up on them.

It’s a given that you all patch each other up after some fight.

You were all very protective of each other. If there’s one thing Sam and Bucky can agree on, it’s their instinct to protect you.

Like how you kept an eye on them, they also kept their eyes on you. Even though they knew you could hold your own.

“Could you walk?” Sam asked you as you laid on the concrete floor. You were double teamed by a couple of Flag Smashers. Two super soldiers against a normal person, you totally got your ass handed to you.

You pushed yourself up to rest on your elbows, “I’m fine, just got dropped kicked twice, but I’ll be fine.”

Sam smiled at you, “That’s my girl.”

Though the two can be a handful and argue almost every minute, you loved the both of them tremendously. You wouldn’t have it any other way.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

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[wuxiaphoenix]

An Experiment in Isekai POV

I don’t expect the story to write exactly like this, but... here’s a bit that came to me of Jason panicking about a problem in his situation. Bear in mind I’m using the rule of thumb, “start your idea for what the character thinks of with what you know out of your own head, then research to find out if it’s actually a good idea.”

So yes, this is all out of my head, not cross-checked with research!

----

...These are the writings of a desperate man. A man at the end of his wits, and the end of his rope. A man who (through events I’ve recounted elsewhere) is now, effectively, the guardian of an unrelated 14-year-old girl, who is understandably having a hard time dealing the realities of life in 1600s Korea.

(So am I, but I’m the grownup here. No matter how much I want to whine - or panic! - I have to keep my head. Being grownup sucks.)

Did I mention 14-year-old girl? Thank god for tea. Caffeine helps with the mood swings. And Jue Chin-san’s medical treatments help when things get painful. Or maybe Mary just wants to steer clear of getting poked with copper needles. I couldn’t blame her....

Anyway. Those help, but they’re not enough. I need to do the impossible. I need... to get chocolate.

In seventeenth-century Korea. I’m doomed.

...No, no, don’t think like that. I didn’t live through a dragon attack to get killed by cocoa cravings. What do I know about chocolate? Besides the fact that it takes the kind of processing steps that didn’t get invented for at least a couple more centuries in our timeline-

Stop panicking, and get to the basics. You’re a historian, you know chocolate. Comes from cacao beans, originally got beaten into a froth with red stuff - annatto, maybe? - so the Aztecs looked like they were drinking blood. Later spawned a lot of theological debate about whether or not it constituted food and thus breaking the Sabbath fast, which led to riots and maybe at least one poisoning in Mexico City when some priests said it did and the starving noble ladies of New Spain revolted....

Right. Mexico City. Cacao trees come from Central America and Mexico. It’s 1618, Spain’s had the Aztec Empire ground under long enough to know a good thing when they drink it, they have cacao beans. And export them.

Export them to where, though? I know the Manilla Galleons are up and running, trading silver for silk, but do they also bring cacao? Even if they do, how the heck do I get to Manilla? It’s not like Korea sends a lot of ships out! If they send any....

But China does. China sends plenty. Silver is money, and if barbarians want to trade it for silk that can be made every year, so much the better. And China trades with Korea, because Korea has ginseng. China wanted that in our history, and they definitely need it here if they want stable mages.

So. Here to China to Manilla to New Spain. There is a way.

It just might take a while. Oh god, I’ll never survive.

Deep breaths. Close your eyes, count to ten, and hopefully you won’t open them to a teenager on a weepy tear.

First things first. Talk to Chin-san. She uses all kinds of herbs, she’ll know if something new and edible - if bitter - came in by way of trade. Heck, if it’s bitter she’d be even more interested, because bitter often means alkaloids and new medicine.

Theobromine is definitely medicine in my books. Women have it, they tend not to kill people. We stay healthy.

So Chin-san may know. And if she doesn’t, or even if she does, talk to Chae. She deals with silk traders, outsiders, and people from... well, everywhere. She gets letters from Ming China, Japan, and who knows where else. She’d hear something.

And if all of that comes up empty?

...Then I need to get to Mexico. Because we have no peace in this house, and with my headache I’m getting to the point I want chocolate. Just for me.

Huh. Chocolate was associated with blood by the Aztecs. Maybe Lee Cheong could have it too?

...That is an awesome and excellent idea, the guy has too few treats in his life. We’ve got to get to New Spain.

Across the Pacific Ocean. When the Little Ice Age is messing with the winds, meaning the round trip could take a year.

A year away from a moody teenager. Not seeing a downside, here....