#but anyway this irks me to my core

[nobie]

A mutual of mine met Timothy Zahn at Comic Con Revolution last weekend. We scream about Thrawn all the time, so I was really excited for her to meet him! It was your usual fan interaction, but something that he told her really stuck out to me. It made me kind of sad too.

He said "If they [Lucasfilm] ever want to continue his story, I'm ready and waiting." (the context: my friend asked whats to come for Thrawn). Thats not verbatim, but the fact that Lucasfilm has not approached him about his OC confirms to me they wrote all his show appearances without even a glance in Zahn's direction.

You could come to that conclusion on your own bc of this "Heir to the Empire" characterization they've put him in. (The legends are great but not canon anymore and Filoni is back on his ignoring canon novels bs)

The fact that this came directly from TIMOTHY FCKN ZAHN himself makes it even more maddening.

[gladiatorcunt]

someone: yeah i like the dick cheating on kori with babs thing and i like writing him ooc-

yeah you’re banned

[ethereal-engene]

i dont think i like her anymore by charlie puth is almost a good song until you notice that the lyrics are demonstrating his loser behavior for not being able to get with a girl and the main lyric that gets me “all girls are the same”

as if men aren’t the same people telling us that we’re not like other girls LMAO

[yanderemommabean]

Hi momma! Im ngl i kinda want smiley corps CEO to spoil me and lock me in a nice room. And sit in a huge porcelain bath tub and he helps me wash away my anxiety. But at the same time being spoiled by money is foreign to me so id probably be overwhelmed and push him away. I would like to hears thoughts of yan ceo in that sorta situation.

If you're like me and money is more commission to commission or paycheck to paycheck, it's understandable that suddenly being cared for and everything being paid for would make you highly uncomfortable! The CEO understands to an extent, but he starts to get a bit irked when you even insist on paying for food, gas, and even paying him back.

Why? That's like returning a gift! Is it too much? Not enough?! What does he have to do for you to accept it and his love?! He gets in such a tizzy you might have to explain to him a few times what's actually going on. Once he understands what the core issue is, he's still lost, but, more than willing to do what he calls "exposure therapy" to get it out of your system. Also known as paying for everything anyway and making you accept it, no ifs, ands, or buts. You WILL like your large room, expensive gifts, and nice long baths, and He won't let you try and talk yourself out of it.

And if you absolutely insist on paying him back, he'll ask that you just sit on his face so he can de-stress and just relax in his favorite position.

-Mommabean

[astro-cattus]

Flatland (The book) is pretty good!

I read Flatland not too long ago, I´m afraid to admit that I saw the 2007 adaptation before I read the book fully. I didn´t change the fact that the movie was a hot mess to me.

At first I chalked it up to be just an indie movie from almost two decades ago, of course the script would be messy and the visuals jarring. But the moment I gave myself the time to read the book in it´s entirety, I realized how bad Ladd missed what the book was aiming to teach, and make fun of. Bigots like him :^/

Not only that, but something that irks me so fucking bad is the whole Chromatists ark in the movie; not only is it extremelly inaccurate to the book. This being A.Square´s retelling of a historical event that happened so long ago, we can´t really take A.Square´s word for it, as it was probably altered to make the Chromatists as "irrational liberals" and the Circular Priests as "the voice of reason".

Bringing this very much innacurate retelling to the present day of Flatland feels to me, like a very poorly made strawman.

I need to mention too, the leader of the Chromatists, an irregular shape. Which could´ve been an interesting approach to the differences between both kindoms. But,, the way he´s characterized really hits me the wrong way, feels extremelly ableist. And just serves to further the point that Ladd Ehlinger didn´t comprenhend the message the book was trying to comunicate.

Or he did, afterall, the Chromatist movement was a in-book version of a human rights movement, as it seeked women´s and irregular liberation and individuality.

To be honest, It could be interesting to explore a Chromatist resurgence in Flatland, the book has plenty of worldbuilding and potencial to have new stories written about it. (I´m yet to hear of a good adaptation though, If you have any good adaptations around this world, I would love to read it!). But not by people like Ladd.

Another thing I would like to mention is how much Ladd butchered A.Sphere´s personality in this movie. I hope I´m not the only one who has this sentiment. A.Sphere is supposed to be humble, he scoffs at the idea of somehow being a supperior, perfect being. He´s also empathetic and patient, things A.Square mentions he associate´s with women, and therefore inferior. Something that is supposed to challenge his view, as he has this notion that A.Sphere is a godly entity.

I believe this was a counsious desition; by scrumbing this character of this personality, now he doesn´t have to challenge A.Square´s (and by proxy Ladd himself) bigoted views.

I can still understand people might´ve grown attached to the character, I trust you have two brains and understand the core message of Flatland regardless.

This just goes to show media literacy is a very crutial skill, specially as an adult.

Anyways, have this quick thingy before I run to my Uni because just now I realized I ranted too much and now I´m late lol

[dagnab]

ur so right abt Viktor's seasons 1 vs. season 2 characterization!

after re-watching season 1 tho the framing of Viktor's earliest private forays into body modification are framed/"shot" like they're a dangerous, taboo transgression. as a disabled person that really irks me because the writers/narrative like to pretend they're impartial but they're really really not. like people can be like well the hexcore/arcane was dangerous and it was reckless but that was of approaching narrative analysis completely sidesteps the fact that everything about the world was a choice made by writers/artists and probably shaped by execs. idk it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth because he's doing it because his body is getting in his way at a time when time is of the absolute essence and he really is one of the few people capable of making massive change in Zaun with his work. Feel like people's kneejerk to that is he could've left it to Jace, he didn't have to live to see the fruits of his labour but Jayce has shown him he cant be fully trusted to stay the path.

anyway sorry for jumping into ur inbox and rambling. i just wanna see more discussion around Viktor from disabled ppl because he's rotating like a microwave hotpocket in my mind atm

No seriously thank you for reading my rant and chatting up my inbox!! I need to converse with people about this or ill go stir crazy 🙏 anyone's always welcome to drop in. This activated another long ass manifesto from me so I'll put it under a cut.

On your point about Arcane's disability narrative- I totally agree. Looking back at season 1 I'm struck by how much better characterized Viktor is, but I agree that the disability metaphor isn't well thought out.

I can tell they course-corrected on purpose for season 2. Viktor's story became very much an anti-eugenics, "you were never broken" thing, and I appreciate that sentiment. But that misses the mark too in many ways. Many people have already posted about this, but isn't it reasonable for Viktor to want reprieve from his chronic illness, which was a result of his childhood poverty? In a world where people can replace limbs, doesn't it make sense for him to want to alleviate the pain of his bad leg and back with mechanical augments? It's pretty clear in s1 that Viktor isn't motivated exclusively by shame, he just doesn't want to die. Super reasonable goal, as you mention!

IMO they just kind of wrote themselves into a hole that couldn't be thematically tied up all that well. And not to be a preachy OG machine Viktor purist.. but I do think this started in season 1 when they decided to make the hexcore like an evil manipulaty magicy entity. IMO it should have stayed just an unthinking tool, like a hammer, able to do good or hurt depending on the will of the wielder. They even set that up here, in this scene:

This is just like, so much more interesting. These are devices explicitly made to help the working class.. but it's so obvious that they will one day be misappropriated as weapons. Heimerdinger's warning about the arcane corrupting it's users still applies even if Hextech isn't all inherently evil. Power will do that on its own. Viktor and Jayce want to use hextech to help the people, Piltover elites want to use it as a weapon. I think they should have just stuck with that core conflict. No need to twist hextech into an ontological evil. It majorly distracts from the class divide, which used to be THE overarching plot of Arcane.

In general, making the hexcore all sinister is one of those super common cop-out writing choices where the "villain" is obviously right so they need to find some way to "complicate" things. The hextech-evilification was also what led to Sky getting fridged, another meh writing choice they tried to roll back in s2. When I think about it, all of my (few) complaints with the first season's writing are a result of the hexcore turning purple! That deviation from the original lore ended up compounding in the long run, leaving us with a messy Viktor arc, political narratives being sidelined. etc.

I think the Viktor self-surgery scenes SHOULD have been dark and scary and full of shame and resentment, but NOT because "hexcore taboo". Instead the emphasis should have been placed on Viktor having to try to treat himself all alone, isolated in his lack of support. No need for Sky to get dusted, it's tragic enough that Viktor is resorting to playing solitaire operation. The finger of blame should point at Piltover, not at one disabled guy trying to survive.

Imagine you grew up next to a chemical plant and every other kid in your city had incurable lung disease and nobody in power was interested in researching the one possible treatment, they only want to develop it as weaponry. I'd become the machine herald too.

[thatfeelinwhenyou]

i didn't want to bring this up on my page because i didn't want the negativity to affect my readers who are just here to have a good time. but awareness needs to be spread.

admist the chaos of sasaengs not knowing how to respect enhypen's space, i would like to reiterate that enhypen is not my, yours, or anybody's plaything. the audacity of some fans to think that sitting beside them on the plane, or calling them repeatedly over and over again at 2am will magically make them fall in love with you is crazy. get a grip. the boys are already enduring so so so much, heck we all know they have nothing but genuine love and respect for their fans. the least we can do as fans is to respect their basic human rights.

it irks me to my core to see every single fancall/fansign interaction to be along the lines of pretending they're your boyfriend. fym you want them to praise you like a dog? what good did you do anyway? have some fucking respect, not only for them but yourself. the lack of appreciation for enhypen as artists is unfathomable. its always about how handsome or boyfriend material they are but never how talented and amazing these seven boys are at what they do. it just never ceases to surprise me when people don’t talk about their artistry and stage presence. it's to the point other fandoms know them as the "fan service group". fuck. these boys are more than your vampire boyfriend… yes i write AUs but i don’t expect myself to be dating any of them?? if anyone doesn't agree with this (for some unworldly reason), feel free to unfollow me.

if you have time, i urge yall to go on the X. there's a bunch of xhs and weibo accounts that you can report for appalling sasaeng behaviour towards enhypen. enhypen support is also mass emailing belift to get their shit together, pls pls pls do so too if you're capable!

[chaosmagetwin]

Read the Original HDG

Surprisingly, I didn't find it all that hot, although i did find it intriguing. It hits certain notes for me at times, but the rets just gives me intense feelings of disquiet. Akash reads as cold, and not very caring, who's reaction to Elvira doing anythign is mostly just "Get drugged dummy lol". There's little.... hmmm.. dialogue? Respect? Care? The end goal being "you are going to be too drugged out to even think about projects and goals beyond functionally ipad games" really irks me in some way.

I care a lot for a soft dommy approach for a brat, but Elvira's form of brattiness was mostly just terror. And racism. Speciesm? I struggled to relate to her, because she wasn't curious. She didn't want to ask questions, or learn, and she slipped from "Rebel Fighter who Hates Plants" to "I need to be touched RIGHT NOW" so quickly as to give me whiplash. I think the part about Elvira that bothers me most is that she doesn't really have anything going on besides being a rebel.... and then a floret. And in that core part, it felt like that was the end goal for everyone; there could be no joy in anything except obedience. Also, I wish her being trans had been brought up earlier, cause it kind of felt out of the blue, but I enjoyed the inclusion.

Perhaps the part that got to me the most, though, was the sections with Mara. It felt more emotionally true for me. I wish I'd had more time with Mara, and exploring their relationship, but the sections I did get felt very powerful. There were a few moments with Akash that really spoke to me, too, especially around her doting on Elvira, and getting worried for her. The more tender Akash got, the more I wanted Elvira to actually give in, but those moments felt so few and far between for me.

Anyways, gonna read Abcission and Divaricated now, and then some more if those two catch my attention.

and if they don't, well, that's okay.

[patheticallyinfatuatedwithu]

spider, pham hanni

you visit hanni after a terrifying encounter with a spider.

having lived and born in australia, you'd think pham hanni would be used to it. well, you're dead wrong.

it was the end of last period and you've bid goodbye to your friends and headed to hanni's classroom, where you found her to be the last one left inside and gingerly packing her things up. you let yourself in and strutted to where she stood, stopping right behind her. "why are you always the last one out?"

zipping her bag closed, she turned around and huffed, slinging her bag on her back and walking past you. "geez, i just asked. don't get all grumpy on me now."

she stayed silent and continued to walk in front of you, her eyebrows furrowed and arms crossed. you know that you should be concerned for your life, but you just couldn't bring yourself not to laugh at her adorable state right now.

she scoffed when the sound left your thoat, slightly glancing at you before looking back forward. it irked her that you could laugh at a situation like this right now when you should be fearing for your life. she parted her lips to say something, but it was cut short when a spider hung right in front of her face.

hanni let out a scream from horror movies.

if you weren't there and hadn't witnessed what happened beforehand, you would definitely thought that she was being chased by a murderer. the vietnamese jumped towards your arms, catching her with ease as she hid in the crook of your neck.

you stifled a laugh, "are you alright?" the question was choked and forced out and you had to bite your lip harshly to avoid laughter from erupting. you felt her grip on you tighten and just as how fast the spider appeared, your smile dropped.

"hanni..." you whispered and the girl just quivered in response.

it must've shaken her to the core seeing that spider.

"alright, don't worry about walking home, i'll carry you there." you felt her nod against your neck, feeling her warm breath against your skin, you blushed, mentally face palming that you had the audacity to blush while your friend was scared to death.

you started to move and her grip on you tightened again, and you couldn't help to think that she was cute.

it was the next day and hanni hasn't returned to school, which caused worriedness to wash over you and visit her after school. you knocked on her door and waited for a few moments before the door opened. you watched as her eyes went wide as an owl's before shutting the door on you.

...what?

"h-hanni," you stammered, greatly astounded as you reached to knock on the door again. before you could anyway, the door opened and she pulled you in. now, you were more confused than before. "are you okay-"

she pulled you in for a tight hug, stopping in the middle of the room and basking in your warmth, the back of your shirt crumpled under her hand. you hugged back, deciding to carry her towards her bed and place her down, but she resisted and took comfort in your lap instead, her hands now found way to your hair, tangling her fingers in it becoming one.

"are you alright?" your voice was quite muffled from her locks, but it wasn't as muffled as hers. "'m fine." you glanced at her, adjusting her in your lap as your arm held her waist to hold her in place. "you sure?" she nodded.

"how come your room's dim?" you questioned, gazing at the single lamp whose light is mostly restricted and towards the ajar positioning of her blinds. "i find it more comforting." she mumbles, further more hiding in your neck.

it was only then she shuffled that you realized what position the two of you were in, and you couldn't help but flush. you were sitting on the edge of the bed, back facing the wall as hanni straddled you, warm breath fanning your neck as you lightly shivered.

"y/n..."

you hummed, free hand sliding up and down her back to ease her fear. "i can still see the spider when i close my eyes." you frowned, and you felt her move away from you and stared at you, eyes travelling over your face, lingering the most on your lips.

"but with you here... i feel more safe." a warm smile replaced the frown, the hand that held waist unconsciously tightened and it was your turn to hide your face in her neck. she chuckled, fingers playing with your hair.

she can feel the warmth your face emitted against her skin, "you're embarrassed?" you nod against her, already knowing what she'll ask next. "you think too highly of me." she shook her head, "i should be the one embarrassed. i screamed so loud yesterday, and right in front of you too."

"what's wrong with screaming in front of me?" hanni stayed silent, and you were almost sure that you had made her uncomfortable, silently beating yourself up for it. as you were about to apologize, hanni had taken your jaw and threw it on the floor.

"i like you, that's why." the movements of her hands ceased, and the whole room was enveloped by silence. both your hearts beated erratically and was almost sure that the other could hear, hanni holding in her breath as she braced herself for rejection.

you pulled away, a smile on your face that brought a question mark above hanni's head. "i like you too." you replied, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. she tackled you in a hug, your back colliding with the bed's soft mattress and sheet as her hair created a curtain between you two and anyone who might walk in.

she grinned as she pulled away, which grew larger in size when you reached in to give her a peck on the lips, palm on her cheek as your thumb caressed it, before hanni leant down for a kiss. "that spider's a damn genius."

broken records i know i have requests but i wont be able to work on them yet since assessments are appearing and i figured that you all need to be fed so i've published this one in my drafts which has been here sinve day 1

[cyanityy]

One plot hole that really irks me in Bully is the Help Gary mission. After how Gary boasts about taking over the school in front of all the clique leaders, with a reputation of being sadistic and untrustworthy beyond that of the usual teenage banter, why the flippity is there no resistance against his rumours?? Anyway, my two cents on the ordeal:

First, scrap Gary as a guide throughout the entire mission. Why are we still in tutorial mode while navigating the basement I see literally zero purpose for that. We could easily resolve the mission's rigid direction by making the betrayal happen moments before, instead opting to chase Gary for revenge - a revenge that remains unsatisfied when we realise we’ve been set up to fight Russel. I think it would’ve been much more elaborate while still retaining the element of betrayal bc as it stands, Jimmy just. Ignores these kids filtering in during Gary’s dialogue?? Jimmy being punished for wanting revenge, his core value, would be a more interesting narrative. Gary should exploit his hotheaded, impulsive nature and anticipate Jimmy will chase him to lead him to the Hole for public humiliation.

Second, if the decision is that Jimmy will not be encountering Gary for the rest of the story until the climax then his absence should've been enforced. For most parts of the story, we do forget about Gary because the story explores each clique, the only other times we notice him is maybe in two mini cutscenes but after that, it boils down to what Gary's already done/said (Like when Dr Crabblesnitch says he's been saying some "interesting things" about him, or when Pinky tells Jimmy she's told he's "sexually confused"). despite the choice to design him as a 'sneaking puppeteer', it makes for a severely passive antagonist until chapter 5. NPC Gary could've been spawned into certain locations close to or in correlation to the story mission's location to remedy that and it's up to the player to pay close attention to what's going on around them. It would make him an active character without diverting too much from the deliberately under-wraps role that R* assigned him because it's Jimmy's perception that Gary's not an immediate concern but the players themselves can see something is brewing. It would also exempt Petey from having to remind us about Gary throughout the playthrough.

And as an extension to that last point, Gary's word against Jimmy's should not have been as one-sided as the story let itself be. We're informed pretty early that the school consensus is Gary is sadistic, sociopathic and scares the rest of the students so it should have very little weight that his manipulation works. I understand the idea that leading by fear over love is a motto integrated heavily into the game, but it's also extremely complex and not touched upon at all. Jocks are tight-knit and acknowledge they're the reigning clique (until Jimmy slapboxed them too) so it makes sense to think that Gary mindgamed them because that's their weakness, the same idea that bribery might've yielded better with the preps for their materialism. I don't see that making Gary exclusively spread gossip is as sufficient as the game makes it out to be. The point is that we should've been shown how Gary managed to turn the cliques against him, using what he's observed from Jimmy, along with what he knows best: Violence and Apathy.

[whppxdit4chi]

I’ve always been a huge fan of personality typing, and have been a sort of quiet member of the MBTI community.

Let me tell you when I randomly decided to look into enneagram and subsequently tritype theory I descended into a whole new realm of madness.

How does this relate to ASOIAF you ask? Well, ofc, as you do, I spent quite a while on PDB and Reddit, only to discover that some people genuinely take some of the shit that happens in ASOIAF at face value and it irks me to my very core.

As per Robb Stark brainrot. I took it upon myself to visit the PDB pages:

TV Show Ver.:

Book Ver.:

Excuse me guys, are you okay?

Who the what the when the

WHO DECIDED HE WAS A 1 JUST CAUSE HE’S HONOURABLE?!?! WHO SAID 3 ?? I mean I get it but … no!

Anyway I will eventually grow the motivation to explain my reasoning but:

Robb Stark is an ENFJ, 8w9 and the 278 Tritype

I will die on this hill

Granted, I am basing it more on the books. But anyway stay tuned for the reasoning.

[carnivorousyandeere]

Erik with an Insomniac Darling

For Mazzy friend~ hope your day at work is going well @darling--core 💕

Erik is very particular about his sleeping arrangements.

Well… he’s particular about everything, but his sleep habits are on a whole different level.

They have certain shirts and sweatpants that they wear to sleep. Erik goes to sleep at a certain time every night, and spends about thirty minutes or so before that reading in bed. He has to have silk sheets, with the bed made, the fan on overhead, a glass of water on the nightstand, and, as of late, you next to him.

Any disturbance in these irks him greatly. So, of course, they’re perturbed when you wake them by crawling out of bed in the middle of the night and walking around the apartment. It takes him a few minutes to wake up fully and figure out what feels so off.

Erik stumbles out of bed, a headache beginning to gnaw at his temples, but his irritation dies out the second he sees you on the couch. The way you’re sitting with your arms wrapped around your knees, looking so upset… it kills him.

You just couldn’t sleep tonight. No matter how hard you tried to let go of the day and relax your body and mind, they just would not cooperate. You’d done your best not to wake Erik, but here he was, disheveled and staring at you blankly.

“Sorry,” you offered, lowering your gaze. “Couldn’t sleep.”

They hummed in acknowledgment. “May I sit with you?”

You think about it, and nod slowly, hoping he’s not going to fuss at you. He sits beside you gingerly, careful to leave a little bit of space between you since your body language is so closed off.

“Is there something on your mind?”

You snort at the absurdity of the question, stopping yourself short of a full, humorless laugh. What isn’t on your mind, honestly? Your thoughts have been going a mile a minute all day, with no signs of slowing down.

“Just… everything,” you sigh. “Everything is a lot right now.”

Erik shifts in his seat uncomfortably. He’s not sure how to comfort you yet, and he’s even less sure as to why he’s so compelled to try anyway. Erik isn’t one to take risks and brave the possibility of failure. And the chances of him cheering you up seem low.

“Is there anything you need? I have some melatonin, or maybe you could try some wine? Are you perhaps… thirsty, or hungry?”

“No, I’m alright. Medicine and booze haven’t worked in the past, anyway…” you pause, blinking away the frustrated tears that had been building up as a devious little idea strikes you. “Maybe… it would help if we cuddled and you read me a story?”

“That’s…” absurd, is what he intended to say, but the way you’re looking at him so hopefully tugs at his heart strings. He looks away and coughs lightly into his sleeve. “I… suppose I could do that. Just… choose any book from my shelf. I’ll be waiting in bed.”

With that, he stands and stalks his way to the bedroom, hiding his face. He can’t hide the way the tips of his ears are flushed pink, though.

[bloomeng]

Watching Bojack and being ace and not liking Todd that much is quite an experience.

I really liked Bojack, I thought the writing was great and this definitely includes Todd. He’s some of the best ace representation in television.

But here’s the thing; the humor in Bojack…. I don’t like it. Not because it’s bad, I just don’t find it funny. To me it ranged from mildly entertaining to downright annoying. I remember sitting through the last season and hating the bit between the two journalists and the dawning horror of realizing it was gonna be a multi-episode bit. And the thing about Todd is that he was usually the front-liner for the show’s comedy alongside Mr. Peanutbutter. So yah he wasn’t my favorite. I loved his arc and the real moments he got to have. But the thing is… his ace experience doesn’t match mine at all.

This of course doesn’t make him bad at all. People on the acespec or just people in general are going to have different experiences. I didn’t get to have the sort of connection some of my peers did but that’s okay. Todd acted as a lot of people’s first exposure to aceness as a concept, which no matter what is super cool. My real issue is how people treat me when I say I didn’t relate to his journey.

I have a friend who had been telling me to watch Bojack for years. She watches once a year (the masochist) and she knows I’m a sucker for good writing about complex issues. So I watched it on her recommendation despite not loving the first few episodes. And yknow what yah I did really like it. I could go on and on about Bojack and Diane and Princess Caroline, but everyone already has so I won’t. Anyway, after I finished I came back to her and because she knows I’m ace she (in good faith) asked about how I felt about Todd, to which I answered honestly. She was genuinely shocked. At first she also took it as criticism of the show, but she couldn’t wrap her head around me being ace and not relating to him. Which really irked me.

Tons of people in the queer community complain about how media and culture in general act as if there’s a single narrative for what being gay or lesbian or trans is supposed to look like, yet the same queer people turn around and can’t fathom that an ace person might also have varied experiences. Not every ace person is sex repulsed and it’s especially laughable to me that it’s assumed that aceness only has one “mode,” when—unlike most other sexualities— the spectrum is always the core part of the discussion around asexuality. I’m not mad at my friend for not knowing this, it’s just frustrating.

[deathinfeathers-a]

Collision

She still remembers how big his hand felt clutched about the back of her neck like a vice, dark fingers applying just enough pressure to her carotid arteries to make her head feel light and flimsy. But she was still alert and keenly aware of the mess she'd made. The trouble she was in. The looming threat of oblivion creeping in out of the corners of her vision, an abrubt and unceremonious end to a short and miserable story. Only appropriate, Eluthéria supposed—that she would find her end in the clutches of the man she was born to live and die for.

Commander Adam hoisted her Petite frame off of the shiftless cadaver upon which the dimunative soldier had perched like a peckish kerstrel. She heard him click his tongue through the thumping heartbeat in her ears, but she couldn't see him. He made sure to angle her head far away from his person, tapered talons digging deep trenches into the base of her skull. She struggled to find her footing. Skinny arms rose to cross themselves over her naked chest—the motion exacerbated the cat-o-nine-tail's latest object of vicious art stretching astride her pale back. A fresh, abstract portrait in the museum of suffering that is her frangible body.

"Drop it."

She'd only ever heard his voice booming from the Carmine pride skies on the eve of new years, the thunder which heralds the great annual slaughter of the wicked and damned. It didn't sound half as imposing inside this cramped stone chamber, but she would not make him tell her twice. Wouldn't dare—not inclined to make her suicide any more torturous than it needed to be. Spindly fingers uncurled from about the circumference of the spear-head she'd illicitly nabbed from the arms depot. Blessed. Deadly.

It clattered to the ground at her feet. The pool of ichor dampening the sound of metal meeting with stone but she flinched anyway. That made him laugh. It's was soft but pointedly derisive sound.

"Woof! Feisty little thing. A bit on the scrawny side. Are they skimping on your rations? For shame. C'mere. Let me look at you."

With that, his big hand slid Up along the meager curve of her neck, his fingers, thick and coarse, bunched her ratty bird's nest up into the hollow of his palm, which promptly balled into a tight fist, flush against her scalp. Adam turned her head on the axis of her spine so that she would face him, vis-á-vis, his gilded lightning against her ruby flames.

She remembers thinking that he had beautiful eyes. An odd thought to dedicate to somebody so vicious, maybe, but she always had a way with finding beauty in the macabre.

Those eyes roved her tremulous form, clad only in a threadbare pair of boxer type shorts.

She'd never felt so naked. Not because his gaze was overtly lascivious in nature but because it pierced and bored through her, like he was looking right into the core of her being. For a moment she wondered if he might be able to read her mind, but she banished the notion quickly. If he could see the playback of the events which had transpired inside this chamber, now tomb, he would not be so soft. This was his subordinate, after all, a trusted comerade in arms, and she had not been kind in her ministrations. She made him suffer, the same way he had made her suffer.

And she enjoyed every second of it.

If the commander had not barged in, she would've liked to spend more time with his body, looking at his insides, picking them apart, watching as every sign that this thing had ever been alive slowly evaporates, and chiseling it all into the deepest niches of her mind so that these precious moments might continue to bring her joy for the rest of her life—however short it might be.

But when does she ever get the things that she wants?

"You know, ordinarily, this type'a stunt might have left me a touch, hmmm, irked. But hell, i gotta tip my proverbial hat to you, pretty bird. Impressive work! Really! The cards weren't exactly stacked in your favor—I mean, obviously...look at you! Shrimpy little cherub looking ass! Hah! And yet here you are, alive and kicking. I dare say we might be looking at an act of divine intervention. What a world!Allelujah, amen and all that good shit!"

Swaying on her feet, Eluthéria looked up at this man, who was easily twice her size, with all the bewilderment of a toddler hearing a foreign language spoken at her for the first time in her life. She saw his lips move, heard the sounds but she couldn't by any means process what exactly he was trying to tell her. Adrenaline. Exhaustion. Fear. It all bore down on her like a big stack of cinderblocks, threatened to crush her frangible faculties under it's enormous heft.

Tears. First one. Then two. She blinked, and all at oncethe floodgates ruptured. This took him off guard.

"Oho, no,  no! None of this sniffling nonsense! You don't perform a top grade kill like that and then cry about it! Come on, girl, suck it up."

Adam swiped a calloused hand somewhat brutishly across her porcelain countenance, whisking away the brunt of the tears and the blood and the sweat. She didn't object. she wanted to, make no mistake. The touch of his skin against hers felt like needles in her brain, an absolutely vile sensation, she wanted nothing more than to be rid of it, but she hadn't the verve to make a fuss.

He shrugged his intricately embroidery cloak off his shoulders and draped it around hers.

Warm.

"Alright, come on, let's see if you've got any more fancy tricks up your sleeve, eh?"

His grip on her stark white locks slackened, and he ushered her towards the steel doors.

She remembers thinking that this was the day she was going to die.

In many ways, she supposes that wasn't an entirely inaccurate assumption.

[hawkzeyes]

why is everyone against bernard being the question guy wouldn’t it bring more to berdnard anyways

Mmm there are a lot of reasons personally for me! I’m gonna go ahead and say I’m incredibly biased and DC’s recent choices have my eye twitching.

1. Renee deserves to continue as The Question. DC has done this thing again, where an effective and exciting woman hero gets shifted backwards and we just lose all character development for no reason at all. This isn’t the first time DC has done this and it certainly won’t be the last time unfortunately. I’d like to see it fixed tbh and I’d like to see her back in the mask!

2. The Question seems to get just the title of a “conspiracy theorist” which is what I see B*tfam Stans using as a reason as apparently Bernard has had this trait, but that’s a huge misconception (mostly because of JLU love it though) sure he works with conspiracies but mostly because they are linked to corruption, which is really what he actually handles most of the time. Along with Renee! He just happens to be really cryptic about it, giving him that mysterious ‘crack pot’ vibe. That’s the purpose of The Question though. To go where the person behind the mask can’t, to stop the corruption at its core.

3. The DC comic verse has done enough sacrificing other characters for the b*tfam honest to god. Ppl are getting really tired of it. There has been plenty of this talk outside of the b*tfamily circle but it’s generally missed by them because they tend to stay in their circle. Which is totally fine! That’s their space, but the rest of the families/fandoms are irked. The way multiple characters have been altered and changed just to fit along that family is A LOT in the N52/Rebirth situation. The rest of the characters in DC are not responsible for Bernard being more interesting. If writers want him to be interesting they ought to just develop him as a person? Renee doesn’t deserve to lose the mantle because y’all want Tim’s boyfriend to be a cool conspiracy guy

4. If y’all want to see this, write fanfiction about it? That’s what fanfiction is for. What I don’t want is it being pushed at DC because A LOT of writers right now are waaaay too involved in fandom spaces rn (which I find highly unprofessional. Like I’m not saying you can’t be a fan, obviously I would prefer that, but starting fights with fans, beefing over Twitter, and using your power in these comic companies to run over others opinions and or steal ideas from fans is weird) and they do take from it. T*m T*ylor.

5. I think it would actually crush me to see Renee lose the mantle because of fandom space after Vic (who is one of my favorite characters) trusted her with it. The person who has it now respects Vic and the meaning behind the mask, because that very much matters when it comes to The Question, instead of just “lol conspiracies 🤪🤪”

6. If I remember correctly isn’t Vic back confusingly? With the whole Manhattan Flashpoint mess (please don’t ask me to explain I literally never understand the flashpoint LMFAOOO) So if Renee really is done with the mask… and Vic Sage is literally right there (I think) and about a million times better than Bernard would ever be at being The Question since he is literally the original, why should he? Bernard has literally done nothing to prove he would be better than either of these characters or has really done anything to show he deserves the mantle.

[shirann41]

Color Pallete pls just make up ur minds are you gonna write tsukasa as a silly little goofy man for the funnies who shouldn’t be taken that seriously bcs most of his weird interactions are meant as a joke or as a kid who's loneliness and concern forced him to grow faster and dedicate his life for his family instead of himself and a pretty evident mafuyu parallel because you CANNOT HAVE BOTH

I get that some people don’t like tsukasa angst and feel like it’s just people wanting to see something that’s not there or that it’s just exaggerating but like, you guys. C’mon. All of WxS have pretty sad stuff going on and are not only connected bcs of smiles, but also loneliness.

AND. LIKE. How am I supposed to take him seriously when they literally treat him like a joke?? WxS interactions w him are mostly pretty obviously meant to be humorous, with emu ignoring all he says, nene making fun of him, and rui being rui. Toya’s adoration is also portrayed as a joke a lot of times, and generally kasa is portrayed as a joke; a loud, obnoxious, arrogant kid who does silly poses and embarrasses himself on public and writes silly plays like Romeo battle royale. And it just annoys me cuz we know a lot about him and he’s so much more and yet nothing really changes. And I guess nothing *can* change bcs those are his character traits and like the core of the character. And his sekai. But it also sucks and feels kind of unfair to me that he’s not really allowed to be taken seriously even after all his events.

He’s literally mafuyu’s parallel. Mafuyu was an unwilling marionette of his mother, molding herself and her life around her, even though she convinced herself that she didn’t care about that, about anything, while Kasa almost wanted to be be one, and molded his identity based on what he thought would make others happy (his family, after what he saw on that show), even though in his main story he seemed to have convinced himself that he was doing it for himself. (And eventually remembered that it was for others)

This whole post makes absolutely no sense probably cuz I haven’t rlly organized my thoughts I’m just rambling and so I’m not gonna tag it but. Idk there’s something about how kasa is portrayed that irks me???? And it just doesn’t feel right

Edit: I changed my mind I’m adding tags anyway lmao