#but doesn't put on that performance with them

[asagewitch05]

(you inspire me sm)

Dick isn't sure why, but the scene in front of him hurts. There's nothing wrong with it; in fact, it's so wholesomely domestic that it should make his heart all fuzzy and warm- like how he gets when he gets to spend some time with his siblings, or when Damian sleeps over.

But it doesn't. It makes his heart twist painfully, like someone is trying to tug it out of his chest. It doesn't make sense, and that hurts too. Why does this bother him so much?

Bruce is sitting, chatting with Tim about some science article, with Jason sarcastically adding in every once in a while when he looks up from his Jane Austen- Pride and Prejudice, again. Steph and Duke are gossiping about some celebrity, while Barbara scrolls through her phone, trying to find the cat picture she had saved to show Damian, with Cass peering over her shoulder. Alfred is watching them all with a small uptick of his lips, a slight crinkle to his eye that shows how happy he is.

Dick doesn't fit in this scene. He knows he can, if he sits on the free couch, or on Jason's couch where he was splayed because he'd- begrudgingly- make space for him. Damian would likely sit beside him with ease, managing to finally tell him about an art assignment he has to do.

But he doesn't just slide into it like the rest of them. He can distantly realize he's been standing in the shadow of the doorway for a while, but no one has noticed. Even him.

He's pretty sure the issue is Bruce. He'd had a rapport with Bruce, he'd had a dynamic and he still does, but it isn't like his siblings and Bruce. Bruce doesn't have that same smoothness of chatting about his life anymore. That same ease.

He remembers the Titans being utterly horrified that Dick had trained so hard under Bruce, been so mistreated and neglected (although he still found that hard to swallow as a concept because Bruce was just Bruce. That was how he acted. Except not with Jason. Or Tim. Or Steph or Cass or Duke or Barbara. It's just him and Damian. And he'd finally understood why the Titans were so upset and angry at Bruce when Dick saw how Damian was being pushed to the side because he didn't deserve that.) He remembers even more so how angry they were that Bruce only treated Dick that way.

And Dick has shrugged it off and smiled because the performer, the supporter he is wouldn't just let himself admit that it was wrong.

He is glad, though, that no one else got that cold shoulder. The pure exhaustion of training until you passed out and then getting up and doing it all again. He did have to admit that it kept him alive and safer when he was with Slade, but still. He guesses that's why he watches them closely, when they train or spar with Bruce. Because Bruce never knew Dicks limits as a kid, why would he know theirs?

He feels guilty, and horrible for that wretched twist of jealousy in his gut, at both his siblings and his teammates. Their mentors knew limits. Knew when to stop. They knew that passing out or vomiting up bile was more than enough reason to just stop training for a bit.

'Why couldn't he have had that Bruce?' is what he always asks himself. But then he remembers that they would have gotten that Bruce too if Dick hadn't charted out some of the path for Bruce. Smoothed out his ragged edges.

So he shoved down that writhing feelings monster in his gut and puts on his best smile and walks in, sitting down at the free couch.

After all, he is but a performer.

Me after making this:

I hurt myself so bad man. Not even joking this was painful to write (totally not projecting *at all*)😭😭😭

Ok, but a canon-divergent AU where Bruce is a terrible father figure to Dick, but he doesn't know it.

Of course, in canon Bruce is far from being a perfect father (even a good one in many cases), but at least he cares about Dick, even if he has a peculiar way of showing it (I'm talking to you, Bruce, who decides if saving the world is worth it only if Dick will be okay).

But imagine an AU where everything happened the same, or almost, except that neither Alfred nor Bruce cared to show, not even kindness, but that much empathy for Dick. However, in this AU Dick's father was not very affectionate either, so Dick does not associate male figures as affectionate.

It's not until Dick is with his team that he learns... That's not normal.

Dick: So... You guys didn't train until you pass out? Weren't you taught that the only way to get better is to push your own limits?

Roy: *wanting to kill Bruce* No, Dick. The first thing they teach you is how to stay safe, you know, avoid getting to the point where you pass out from the effort.

Dick: Oh.

Donna: Dick, you should rest, you're hurt. You literally have a broken ankle.

Dick, who is at the gym, doing arm exercises and twists that are not at all safe for an injured person: I'm fine, Donna. I'm just warming up. I've been on patrol in worse conditions.

Donna: Wdym by that? Worse???

Dick: Yes...? Villains don't take a break just because you're hurt, you know that.

Donna: That's why there are other heroes to help!

Dick: Don't you guys have a rule about not taking help from anyone? That shows weakness and...

Donna: No, Dick, no.

Dick, confused: Oh.

Wally: Please tell me you're not doing that thing again.

Dick: What thing?

Wally: Not sleeping or eating to be on guard.

Dick: Well, it's my job, so...

Wally: You. Are. A. Human. YOU NEED REST AND FOOD.

Dick: I'm fine, it's not like...

Wally: Don't you dare say that Batman made you stay in those conditions for more days. That's NOT normal, Dick.

Dick: ... It's not?

Dick: So... you guys aren't on guard all the time waiting for your mentors to surprise attack you to test your reflexes?

Roy: I swear to God I gonna kill him.

Donna: I'll help.

Wally: On it.

Dick: *panics*

It's even worse for his friends when they discorver that his siblings are being treated much better, as after he leaves, Bruce and Alfred finally begin to notice how to treat children.

Dick was literally trial and error.

[sadlynotthevoid]

An enstars social media fic with outsider pov included (aka, fans and the public) must be very funny because then you'd have:

• Random no idol fan person asking why is a highschooler going around with a sword.

• Video compilation of Rei Sakuma acting like a vampire.

• Video compilation of Rei Sakuma acting like an old man.

• Conspiracy theories about Eichi Tenshouin and how he "is totally hiding something guys. I don't trust him!"

• "Yes. Wataru. He's hiding Wataru. Look at his hair! That guy can't be human." As a reply to above.

• Alkaloid spotted accounts because they still believe they're not actually famous.

• Regarding the above point, Mayoi's photos are mostly purple blurs or dark corners where you can see a figure who somehow the fans know it's Mayoi.

• Aira's are taken mostly at idol events— others' idol events. A moment you're waiting in the line with your friend, the next you look back and realize the dude behind is Aira from Alkaloid.

• Tatsumi is greeting or smiling at the person behind the camera in most of his, except when he's getting out of a car. Then he's smiling the brightest— and everyone else is pretty much not.

• Hiiro's are a mix of 'spending time with friends/his brother' or a selfie with the person with the camera after he almost gave them a heart attack by dissapearing and reappearing right next to them.

• Shun's accounts in anywhere having an apparently random number added at the end. It actually is the number of the times he had to get a new account to the date.

• Madara fans putting his face in cowboy pictures and cowboy memes the same.

• Madara putting his face in cowboy memes himself and refusing to use normal ones.

• Kanata logging in once a month to post the name of a submarine creature and nothing else during the rest of the day. Sometimes with a picture for reference, which can vary from a photo of the species to a bad drawing of a fish.

• Madara evolving to put his face on mom memes.

• Someone jokingly asking Madara if he can adopt them and getting a positive answer. But they have to call him Mama.

• Hiyori's fans asking him every morning what's the veredict. If he answers Good Hiyori, they rejoice and act like they're going to have a great day. If the answer is Bad Hiyori, they rejoice and take meassures to prepare themselves for a shitty day.

• No one knows if they actually have good or bad days as per Hiyori's answer.

• Occasionally, Hiyori is going to reply with a Good Hiyori but remind to take their umbrellas anyway.

• In an interview, Hiiro is made a question about what song did he enjoy performing the most and he answers sunny trip summer. Immediately Aira affirms that is because he wants to eat lemons. The conversation sidetracks and now no one know if that is the real reason or not, just that Hiiro likes lemons a lot.

• "Alkaloid sidetracking compilation" and the video is four hours long.

• Sakuma Ritsu falling asleep video compilation.

• The rest of Crazy:B exposing Rinne for fun and revenge every so often. It goes from stories from when he just arrived to the city (once he got Niki really pissed off) to his latest act of brotherly pride to, one time he made HiMERU snap, finding any embarrasing moment of his and @-ing Hiiro at it.

• [Many days] since Eichi had to be ingressed into the hospital.

• Hokuto-senpai.

• Knights posting a photo of a small part of the lyrics for their new song:

"what kind of writing tool is that?"

"is that ketchup?"

"why is it written in ketchup"

"Mustard doesn't have the same effect."

• "If I had a nickel for every time [an idol used ketchup to write on non-edibles] I'd had two nickels, which is not a lot but is weird it happened twice".

• "It happens more than you'd think". Actual ES member response.

• People asking Koga to recreate the fight with the guitar.

[le-fruit-de-la-passion]

I ran here after your response to that musical!reader headcanon and the mention of Jekyll and Hyde has me SWOONING.

I saw a local production where the woman playing Lucy went out into the audience during "Bring On The Men" and flirted with people, she even sat down on her friend's lap!

What if musical!reader did that to Viktor 🤭

OH MY G O D THATS SO COOL???

Viktor would DIE. Like actually just pass way. Stop breathing and ascend to the next plane of existence. Glorious Evolution TM.

Viktor is usually very appreciative of music. It's similar to mathematics, in many ways, equations of numbers and notes put together for a new and unique sounding result. He does enjoy theater as well from time to time: it requires a lot of practice, experience, trial and error... by that logic, musical theater should be an art form just as objectively interesting in his eyes.

If what you're doing on stage right now is musical theater, though, he's having a VERY hard time staying objective about it.

It's nothing short of dirty. From the corset that hugs your waist and reveals way too much of your generous chest, to the way you're spreading your legs invitingly for the entire audience to see, everything about you screams sex. He's absolutely transfixed, incapable of looking away from the way your hands touch your own body to the beat of the invisible orchestra.

He's only pulled away from the moment when some students a few seats away start loudly whistling and whooping for your attention, like this is a strip club and not a college play.

THAT'S when he starts to get mad.

He's suddenly very aware of the fact that there's about a hundred other people in the room, students and faculty members, watching the same performance he is. How many of them will imagine you in their bed tonight? How many of them are imagining you in their lap right now?

The smile on your lips speak louder than a thousand words: you're enjoying this, the thrill of the stage, the eyes undressing you while you sing your pretty little song about getting fucked by nameless strangers. Even worse, he's certain you're taking pleasure in knowing he's got front row seats for it, that you've effectively got him powerless and chained down while you're giving a show he should be the only one witnessing.

You've flipped over your roles as student and teacher, and now, he's the one who has to sit silently and drink every word from your lips. It's devilishly clever.

He would be genuinely impressed if he wasn't burying his nails into his cane with one hand and trying to cover the tent in his dress pants with the other.

The projector suddenly moves; it follows you as you're going down the few stairs from the stage to the floor, heels sharp against the concrete floor.

So lets bring on the men

And let the fun begin

Your eyes finally meet his. They're filled with bright sparkles from the stage lights, teasing and provoking. Tauntingly asking if he's ready for what's next, when you both know he doesn't have a say in the matter. The show must go on.

'Ah, shit' is the only thing that comes across his mind before you sit on his lap, the spotlight blinding him.

A little touch of sin

Why wait another minute?

Your movements are calculated and precise, applying just enough pressure on his clothed cock for you to feel how hard he is, without granting him any relief. The audience cheers; he thinks he's having an aneurism.

You bat your mascara heavy eyelashes at him, abandoning the play for a triumphant instant. 'See?' he can almost hear you say. 'I knew I'd get your attention eventually. What's your next move, professor?'

Oh, he is going to make you regret this.

[fophelia1331]

Aight, I'm kinda tired so I'm gonna wait to give the whole big lore drop, but here's some stuff about my Project Sekai unit swap AU.

All the cutouts are courtesy of @prosekaiuwu, aside from the VBS Miku, MMJ Miku, and Luka heads (which I cut out myself).

Groups:

COLLAGE

A performance squad that blends wildly different sounds together. The roots the respective members have in classical, idol pop, musical soundtracks, and street songs are all honored in their new sound.

Genre: Mixed

Faded Smiles

Many smiles and cheery sounds, though the lyrics they sing often have deeper meanings. Each member has loved and lost... you can hear it in their voices if you listen long enough.

Genre: Indie Pop

fragile

The lyrics are distorted, the melody is crisp yet echoing. The nostalgia for childhood from an observer far away. The sound of crystal and glass.

Some Notes:

Genre: Denpa

Heartbreak Re-Take

Lone souls put their hearts together in this band. Half rough around the edges, half polished to perfection. The songs call out, the music tells you that it will all be okay.

Genre: Shoegaze

Monochrome (K)Nights

There's a story to every tune, and a hundred more they could tell. Three members of different background and talents work together to immersive each passersby. Every day a new tale is woven.

Genre: Lyrical (with aspects of musical numbers and indie)

Serpent Intent

Mythology, folklore, and tradition are at the core of this group. They pay homage to what has brought them to this point in life with music that carries one through time itself. The wings of a butterfly... the words of a serpent.

Genre: New Wave

Haruka enrolled at Kamiyama instead of Miya Girls. She's in class 1C with Akito, and he ends up shooing some nosy classmates away from her a couple times.

RIP to the Wonder Stage, the source of the easiest backstory angst for Emu. Sorry hun. (In clearer words: the stage was demolished. I didn't do it because it was easy, but it is easy angst.)

Honami dropped out of Miya Girls early into the year, but was classmates with Emu for a short time. She's doing online courses now.

Honami also doesn't work as a caretaker at all, so definitely not for Kanade.

Kanade was going to visit her father in the hospital when she heard piano music from down the hall. She ended up in the ward Saki stayed in and saw Saki at the piano. Kanade listened for a bit, but Saki couldn't play for long because of her health. Kanade left, but she didn't forget the song Saki played.

Ichika couldn't always make it out to visit Saki at the hospital. Thus, she ended up giving some notes and gifts to Tsukasa so he could deliver them. The two had an excuse to spend some time together, which was equally appreciated. Ichika and Tsukasa were both kinda lonely, so it was nice to have someone around.

Ena ended up needing to go to extra lessons before her night classes, which Tsukasa also was a part of. Ena immediately would say Tsukasa was annoying, though she admired how bold and upfront he seemed to be.

Though Ena and Tsukasa weren't really friends, Tsukasa was one of the few students in their extra class who went out of his way to speak to everyone. He was one of the only people Ena had interacted with at school. When Ena got forced back into day classes and put into class 2A with Tsukasa, he immediately offered to help her get used to the new schedule. Ena's fate was sealed. She became friends with Tsukasa.

Shizuku can play violin. Look at her. Violin. Shizuku. Yes.

Mizurui friendship in middle school. Mizuan friendship in their first year of high school. Rui transfered to Kamiyama, falling back in with Mizuki, and now An. Mizuruian rooftop trio.

(M(K)N was the first group I came up with. I really liked the way An and Mizuki looked in the knight costumes? (I don't remember what it's called, but it's in the base game, no card unlocks.) So I added Rui in there, and I loved that group ever since. What a dynamic. I could see them going roller skating on the weekends.)

Serpent Intent: also known as, how much can I angst Minori while building that Miya class 1A group? I mean, there will be Shiho and Kohane angst too. But the start of the group is built on Minori angst.

Kohane will totally get a glow up, and it's [hopefully] going to be a bit different from her VBS one.

I said this would be simple. I think I lied to myself. Well I'm gonna call it here for now, but I'm totally going to put up some more about this AU, so stay tuned! And I'm open to questions/asks too. Thanks for checking this out!

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

I think the underground intern surgery club would be a point of contention between Lena and Lexie. I can see Lexie chafing under the treatment they experience at the hands of the residents, and falling prey to peer pressure.

But between being competent enough to earn a modicum of respect from the residents, and being confident enough in herself to learn by observing and practicing on fruit and grocery meat, the other interns would probably know not to include her.

And when Lena eventually follows Lexie to where the club is doing their thing, and sees them doing their thing, she's livid. She confronts Lexie, and tells her how stupid she's being, and Lexie is all "you don't understand, they actually let you do things!"

They part in anger and an ultimatum from Lena: "stop this, or we're done."

Which means Lexie continues, and a rift forms between them. Things are icy, but Lena doesn't say anything to the residents. It's the only acquiescence she makes. Until one night one of the interns has the bright idea to do a practice appendectomy on themselves.

When things go south during the procedure, because of course they do, Lexie doesn't immediately turn to the residents for help.

"Someone get Lena."

Lena immediately goes into surgeon mode the instant she sees the tableau before her. She moves into position and starts working to stabilizing the "patient", even as she starts barking orders of her own.

"Go get Bailey and Yang. Now!"

When Bailey and Yang arrive, they help Lena through the procedure without banishing her. After, Lena earns a commendation from the chief of medicine while the other interns are put on probation.

When the chief is done chewing out the interns, he's about to leave when Lena speaks up.

"Sir."

The chief turns back to look at her.

"With all due respect, sir, this did not happen in a vacuum. This happened because you built a team of brilliant, driven doctors and then failed to utilize them to their full potential. We are all here to learn, and not all of us are being given sufficient opportunity to do so."

The chief's face hardens, outrage creeping in around the ages, but Lena does not quail.

"We are expected to perform procedures we've barely even observed, let alone practiced. I have learned more from my textbooks than I have from this *teaching* hospital! And yes, what these fully grown and highly educated adults did was incredibly dangerous and *stupid*, but sometimes.... sometimes stupidity is born from desperation."

The chief stares long and hard at Lena, seemingly on the verge of an imminent and vicious reprimand. But then, shockingly, he relents.

"I agree." He turns towards the line of observing residents. "Earlier this year Seattle Grace Hospital was ranked 12th in the nation. Since then, I have seen more and more of the deficiencies that led to that outcome. Moving forward, things will be different. Very, very different."

The residents all look at their feet, suitably chastized. After one last hard look, the chief dismisses them. "Now all of you, go home."

The assembled doctors all turn to leave, all except Lexie, who hesitantly makes her way towards Lena.

"Thank you--"

Before she can finish, Lena turns and walks away without a word.

[indie-ttrpg-of-the-week]

His Majesty the Worm

its wormin' time Genre: Dark(?) Fantasy, Dungeon Crawler, OSR

Touchstones: Classic TTRPGs, Dungeon Meshi

What is this game?: His Majesty the Worm is a Tarot-Based game that aims to take all the boring parts of OSR and make them into goofy and fun features

How's the gameplay?: Hoo boy, this is gonna be a dense one His Majesty the Worm takes on a Maximalist approach to game design, with many sub-mechanics affecting your overall performance, the core game's mechanic is using Tarot instead of Dice for randomization, while a Tarot deck (w/ minor arcana) is recommended, the game is designed so a standard 52 card deck could also work, albeit not recommended. Whenever a character needs to do something a TEST OF FATE starts, characters have stats based on the Arcana's suits, Wands, Pentacles, Cups, and Swords, and whenever a TEST OF FATE starts, they draw a card from the Minor Arcana deck, then add that stat to the number they drew (Face cards are 11-14, Fool is a 0). Characters have a choice between 4 paths (also corresponding to the Suits in a minor arcana deck), a Kith (species), and a Motif (a quick sum up for your character), if I wanted to play a crotchety wizard asshole I would play a Path of Wands character with the Motif "Grumpy Scholar" and the Kith Underfolk, since my wizard is a halfling. The game is split between two distinct phases, Crawling and Citying, The crawling phase is going into the megadungeon and looking around for loot, while the City phase is going into town and buying shit! This game really focuses down on the minor, mundane parts of adventuring, Food management, Managing what you're currently holding, Torch supplying, Equipment Upkeep, and Weight management are all vital parts of a character, this might sound boring, and in any other game it'd be! BUT his Majesty the Worm is built entirely around these granular, seemingly inconsequential mechanics, they feel warranted and fun. The game also has an in-depth Guild building mechanic, after paying the 50% tax that all adventurers must pay to enter town, you gotta use up all that gold from dungeons somewhere! and the best place to put it in is equipment, but second place is helping out your community by starting an adventurer's guild! By investing your hard earned gold into your community you can build many things! like Taverns, Unflattering statues of your rival guildmasters, Monasteries, and other such fun things! This isn't even getting into things like Sorcery and Alchemy and how those end up mattering, Status effects, Language management being a part of gameplay… His Majesty is a maximalist game in every way, but it knows how to blend all of its strange and seemingly menial mechanics to make a very fun experience, it takes some of the most unfun games in the market and goes "Ok but what if it worked?"

What's the setting (If any) like?: Uhhhh, there's a setting alright! It shows up in bits and pieces of flavor text and the like, but there doesn't seem to be a setting guide or anything, the setting is fairly malleable, but a general dark fantasy vibe is the norm, the game explicitly says its not supposed to have a set in bedrock setting

What's the tone?: Goofy Dark Fantasy, its a grim world, but its also silly and pokes fun at tropes of the genre as well as just has copious amounts of poop jokes, its not a game to be taken seriously tonally speaking

Session length: 4 hours minimum, this is a complex game

Number of Players: 5 is my recommendation, 1 gm and 1 player of each path

Malleability: Very malleable! its an explicit design goal!

Resources: The game's website has many resources available, including an online tarot deck, player sheets, and a guild sheet

I really didn't think I'd like this game that much! it's an extremely well made and well thought out look at the OSR genre, if we keep getting OSR game I hope they look more like His Majesty

[number1villainstan]

Hard agree with most of this, and further hot take: Kai using and abusing those he cares about, without seeing any conflict between the two, is just him picking up what his environment is putting down. And I don't mean Garaki's orphanage.

It's canon that Chisaki Kai spent his late childhood, teenage years and young adulthood as part of the Hassaikai, but we know very little about that time before canon starts. We do get one flashback in the anime, where Pops lectures Chisaki for beating up some other kids for calling the Hassaikai villains, but also thanks him for defending the honor of the Hassaikai. Clearly, this is meant to portray Pops as a sympathetic Good Father Figure, but that falls apart as soon as you start looking at the details and question what's going on. Right off the bat you have to notice the mixed messages Pops is sending. It's bad to beat up other kids, but it's good to defend the Hassaikai (by beating up other kids)?? And then there's the lack of context--why are these kids calling the Hassaikai villains? Did Chisaki just come across them talking about the Hassaikai, or were they taunting him? Chisaki's implied to be violent and over-zealous, but was he instead being provoked by kids who actively wanted to get him in trouble? And, most damningly in my mind, we don't see Chisaki's face in the flashback. It's all from Pops' point of of view--in a sense, he's the one controlling how we see Chisaki and himself.

We also see flashbacks to just a year or two before canon, with Chisaki taking in Eri at Pops' request and then experimenting her and putting Pops in a coma. Again the same pattern: on the surface, it portrays Pops as Good and Chisaki as Evil, but any analysis of the details makes it all fall apart. Like--why the fuck didn't Pops take care of Eri himself? Why did he give her to Chisaki, who had a track record of going against his wishes? He stated something about taking care of Eri being supposed to teach Chisaki empathy, but that displays a stunning lack of it towards Eri herself. And further--why is Chisaki still in need of being "taught" empathy? Pops has been his parent for over a decade at least, and there's no indication that Chisaki would be your typical rebellious teenager. The fact that Chisaki hasn't "learned empathy" points to Pops not modeling empathy. Which makes a terrible amount of sense. You can't teach what you don't know, after all.

And then there's the way Chisaki's storyline ended (badly, so fucking badly good GOD, I couldn't even fully read it because just glancing at it made me FUME)--with Pops pushing responsibility for looking after Chisaki onto Kurono, who was Chisaki's age, and promising to never ever ever let Chisaki forget his guilt.

And now we get to the part of your analysis that I don't agree with:

The Boss took him in and loved him and cared for him

...did he? And even if the Boss did love and care for him, was it the good kind of love? The healthy kind of love? The kind of love that respects the personhood of what it loves? Because looking at Pops as a whole (especially that ending) gives me the impression of a highly conservative, emotionally neglectful, Never My Fault kind of parent, treating his adoptive son more like a yakuza grunt than a child to be nurtured while performing empty gestures of 'love' to reassure himself that he's being a Good Parent. (That's right motherfuckers this trauma is GENERATIONAL--) And it's not even Chisaki. We know that Pops has a daughter, Eri's mother, and we know only two things about her: that she ran away from the yakuza (and from Pops), and that she ended up abandoning her child to the yakuza that she herself ran away from. Does any of that sound like "healthy family dynamics" to you? Because it doesn't to me!

And when you take all of this into consideration, you get a Pops who's hypocritical and shallow, and a Chisaki Kai with self-worth lower than the Mariana Trench who's desperate for any praise from his father figure. Of course Chisaki treats Eri the way he does--his only model of a good parent isn't actually very good of a parent.

Do you think in the most twisted, misguided, disgusting, and almost idiotic way, Chisaki saw his young self in Eri, and thought he would be to her what the boss was to him. Like. This lost young orphaned child with nothing but the clothes on their back taken in by a Yakuza. That's literally their only similarities but do you think Chisaki decided that was enough? That he should be the one to "save" her?

I know it sounds ridiculous but just stick with me here.

This single image from chapter 136 screams so fucking much about Kai's brain and his relationship with Eri to me. Because ask yourself. "Why doesn't Kai just put Eri into a coma like he did The Boss?" Because that would solve so many of his problems. No chance of Eri escaping. No chance of any Heroes finding out about her. There'd be minimal resources spent on her since all he needs is to keep her alive regardless of physical condition. It literally solves everything, it almost feels like a plot hole. But then you remember the fact that Eri was entrusted to Kai by The Boss, and then you take another look at the image above, and it kinda clicks, doesn't it?

He doesn't do that because he genuinely, truly wants to take care of Eri. He might even really see himself as her father figure. And I think that makes so much sense, especially with his other relationships. Case in point, Shin Nemoto.

We saw the results of Shin using his Quirk on Kai, and he says straight up, "I like you, I trust you, your presence makes me feel at ease." And he didn't even seem shocked or upset after saying it, so it wasn't a truth he was unaware of or didn't want Shin to know. That's simply how he felt, cut and dry. But, with that being the truth, he was more than willing to use him as an expendable asset, have him be a fall guy after the raid with the other Bullets, and fuse with him, which he seems to believe will fucking kill him. That's not Kai using a pawn: That's just how Kai is with someone he cares about.

So, it wouldn't be far fetched to say, the same applies to Eri, and that really does recontextualize every one of their scenes, huh?

"You're the centerpiece of my plan."

"To this girl, you're no hero."

"You're cursed, every action you take kills someone."

"Someone else is going to die because of you!"

"She doesn't want you."

None of this is manipulation or scare tactics or anything like that. This is just what Kai thinks of humans. That he can hurt and pull and abuse them in the worst ways possible, and do it over and over again, and not understand when they want to run away. And I feel like him being raised in one of Garaki's "orphanages" just rubs salt into this wound.

Because, he takes care of Eri, doesn't he? He gets her toys and a pretty room and a soft bed, and he's nice and calm with her, doesn't even use his quirk to kill her and bring her back to life painfully as punishment! He doesn't seem to be physical with her at all, outside of the blood extractions. She has everything a girl could ask for, and she spurns him? Runs from him? Well, no matter. That's just how children are. Ignorant, illogical, they just don't make sense.

...It's such an incredibly fucked up way of thinking. And I think it's ingrained so deeply in Kai's mind because it's what he thinks he never had.

I think the way he treats Eri is how he thinks loving parents would have treated him. Pretty toys and nice clothes and good food and absolutely nowhere in his mind does any genuine relationship dynamics or aspects of unique personality come into play because after years and years of not having it he just. Doesn't. Get it.

So that's why it's lacking in his relationship with Eri. In all of his relationships, really. Because The Boss took him in and loved him and cared for him and Kai knows that but he doesn't understand that. So he's trying his best to "love" and "raise" Eri by being an empty photocopy of a parent at his best, because that's all he is. That's what defines Kai, till the very end.

He's empty. And so is his love. So Eri's room will always be full.

[girl-debord]

River's 13 Punk & Metal Albums of 2024

13. Paprika - Let's Kill Punk

As one of the more conventional hardcore albums on this list, Paprika's debut LP stands out by doubling down on everything I love about the genre. The bass is rough, rough, rough, and the vocals sound like they were recorded in a storm drain, giving the album an almost-live quality. The only thing it loses points for is being so short, but even that's in the spirit of hardcore.

Favorite track: Greasy Pig Disease

12. drive your plow over the bones of the dead - tragedy as catharsis

I know, I know. Yes, Gen X followers, it's an emoviolence album. If the high-pitched vocals & aversion to capitalization don't scare you off, I think you'll enjoy how this sound is pushing the powerviolence formula forward. It is possible to be sad & kick ass at the same time.

Favorite track: arrangement

11. Traumatizer - Traumatizer

This is a 12-minute/7-song hardcore debut that won me over almost instantly. The vocals remind me a bit of early Nausea, and the bass-forward breakdowns are scratching that NJ hardcore itch that I've had since Sick Shit broke up.

Favorite track: Outnumbered

10. Paysage D'Hiver - Die Berge

Paysage D'Hiver embodies that horseshoe theory approach to atmospheric black metal--when you make something noisy & lo-fi enough, it starts to sound ambient. To put it a different way, this album has more in common with a lot of my favorite dungeon synth releases than most conventional metal. It uses repetition to its advantage & really gets that bleak, wintry vibe across. That being said, how often do I have nearly two hours to dedicate to a single album? Maybe a girl with a longer commute would rank this one a little higher.

Favorite track: Transzendenz II

9. Thou - Umbilical

It's been way too long since we had a proper Thou album. Needless to say, I was stoked about this one. Umbilical is overall less sludgy, often speeding things up for more hardcore- and grunge-adjacent tracks, but it keeps the vocal style and metal guitar sounds that Thou is so known for. It doesn't feel as thematic or directional as most of their earlier releases, but it gets at the stuff I like without being similar enough to feel stagnant.

Favorite track: I Feel Nothing When You Cry

8. Poison Ruïn - Confrere

Poison Ruïn left themselves big shoes to fill with last year's Härvest, but that's one of my favorite albums of all time, so I'm trying to cut them some slack. The new sound they bring with Confrere is a little less focused on stenchore-nostalgic riffs and has more in common with old-school hardcore. It works really well on a few notable songs--like the title track--but the rest of the album feels a bit like filler (even the dungeon synth parts, which are still pretty strong). I think there's just not enough going on on this album to turn a few great songs into a great album--but damn, those great songs really are great.

Favorite track: Execute

7. Bootlicker - 1000 Yd. Stare

I somehow missed this album when it came out in May, so when I finally listened to it a couple weeks ago, I had to totally rearrange this list to fit it in. It's worth it--Bootlicker brings an unlikely combination of clunky d-beat production & oi-tinged vocals that ended up sticking with me more than I expected it to. The band also seems to have hit its stride in using the military/military-fetish theming to maximum caustically-ironic effect.

Favorite track: Mercy Dog

6. S.H.I.T. - For A Better World

Some of the best drumming from this year in the vehicle of an extremely short lo-fi hardcore record. It feels like a Discharge demo tape performed with a sneer and stimulants. I only wish it was longer, even just that last track could keep going for 10 minutes & this might be my #1 pick.

Favorite track: Imminent Destruction

5. Lagrimas - A Life of Destruction

I've been keeping up with Lagrimas for a few years and I'm excited to say that their first LP cashes in--and improves--on everything I love about their recorded material up to this point. The grind drum licks, the lacrimose emo guitars, the post-rock song structures--it's all here & turned up to 11. The Habak features are great, but the band really stands on its own now. If I had to pick something to complain about, it would be the extended dialogue sampled in the middle of the album, but even that contributes to the overall tone. More than anything, I'm really excited to see people my age doing something new with the crust punk genre.

Favorite track: Cultural Destruction.

4. Trhä - ∫um'ad∂ejja cavvaj

Damián Ojeda's project Trhä had crossed my path before with albums that combined black metal & dungeon synth with a mix of softer electronic sounds and danceable drum machine tracks. This album, on the other hand, is much more traditional, but I find myself drawn to it because of that--it seems to descend into a primordial era of black metal where the realms of crust punk and death metal aren't so far away. Maybe that's only the hallucination of a poor traveller lost in the world of Trhä's atmospheric invention, missing her precious d-beats, but the madness this album has afflicted me with isn't going anywhere. The tremolo picking starts to sound like bowed strings & juggles minor and major keys under howling vocals. I'm totally entranced.

Favorite track: ah qältak da £ä Kado£ m £ä Nahatlav

3. POLLUTE. - Microplastics, Massive Profits

https://pollute.bandcamp.com/album/microplastics-massive-profits

POLLUTE's demo tape back in May had already put them on my list of acts to keep an eye on. This album is everything I had hoped to see from them, and so shortly after that first release too. In a genre as niche as d-beat punk, it's impressive to get so much variety on a single album--at only 20 minutes long, no less. "Castle Freaks" does something to the style I've never heard before, and I can't wait to hear more innovations like it--and that's not even the high point of the album for me. POLLUTE's got the right mix of cruster craziness & hardcore deliberateness, bringing very controlled breakdowns to their most off-the-walls tracks. It rules.

Favorite track: Cancer They Create

2. Lifeless Dark - Forces of Nature's Transformation

https://lifelessdark.bandcamp.com/album/forces-of-natures-transformation

The first time I heard this, I stood there with my mouth open through, like, the first three tracks. I just can't believe anyone is making music like this in 2024. Holy shit. The reverb-y vocals, the Bolt-Thrower-esque riffage, it's all perfect. Lifeless Dark doesn't just worship the stenchcore gods, they understand them.

Favorite track: Feeding the Light

1. Kriegshög - Love & Revenge

https://lavidaesunmus.bandcamp.com/album/love-revenge

There's nothing like a band you've never been super attached to releasing a completely flawless album. From the first note I just couldn't believe what I was hearing--it's an incredible balance of being legible and--dare I say it--catchy while being totally uncompromising on the drive of d-beat hardcore. The vocals are shouted with just a hint of a shriek that gives the lyrics an urgency unhindered by language barriers. The guitars are fuzzy and distorted but kept under tight control, passing melodies back & forth and dropping out to let the drums shine at key junctures. It's beautiful. It's Motörhead a few decades after being abducted into a post-apocalyptic alternate universe when the bloodlust has really started to sink in. I hold Kriegshög fully responsible for making me start working on a new spiky leather jacket & knocking over college kids in the train station, plus any other acts of depravity from this year not fit to print. This album has become my mantra, my pulse, my anthem.

Favorite track: Grey Agony

[rainystressed247]

Ohhhh!! Can we talk about the Pokemon AU?? What ideas do you have for professors and gym leaders? What about a regional champion?? I 100% think that Techno is the regional champion and Phil could be either a professor or part of the Elite 4! Tommy can be the scrappy teen that is trying to accomplish the gym challenges and try to fight Techno for the title! Dream can be his unofficial mentor the one that comes by when things get tricky with the evil team and then had a dramatic twist of “he is the villain but actually not, he is just a tragic figure”

*crack my back and rise* Be prepared for a long post because I have a lot of them in my brain.

Original pokemon AU (base plan):

The original headcanon I had for the pokemon AU is more based around cc!Dream with a dash of drama from canon linked here! You are absolutely right that Techno is the champion and has and will continue to challenge and enter competition even outside of his region! Phil can absolutely be one of the professors! He can be invested in the study of fossil or death >.< The gym leaders are pretty loose as I don't give much thoughts to that tbh, but I do think that Tina as grass leader, Puffy as water, etc. Maybe I will throw in the newer mafia, who knows? I definitely see Tommy, Tubbo and Ranboo as the trio working their way through gym challenges, stumbling into villain organisation and accidentally saving the world hahaha.

Dream in this AU is more laid back, not liking to battle but his pokemon has maxed out friendship and can definitely rain hell on any trainers foolish enough to approach with ill intention. He works in a pokemon daycare during his free time and will give out friendship eevee for those close to him. His care to the pokemon means that most of the eevees have good EV! He definitely gets dragged into the plot unknowingly, much to the dismay of his close friends.

This AU is mostly chill and just shenanigans!

The B side of the Pokemon AU:

This, this is the part where things start to derail for me because if I can have a pokemon AU based on the cc why not go all the way to c!Dream as well.

So this is an alternate Pokemon AU involving c!character. In this side of the AU, c!Dream still possess the revival book and because of that, he forces himself to release all his pokemon with the intention to perish witht the revival book. In the process of destroying the book, he accidentally intergrate the book with himself so we now have an immortal walking revival book that is Dream. Worried that he and any of his close ones will get targeted, he devoted himself a life of a lone hermit and proceed to travel the land in hope to find a way to truly end his existence. He does, however, perform small miracle act subtly whenever he passes by someone or some pokemon in need of help as a way to atone for his sins. He makes sure to do it discreetly so that he would not gather unintended attention.

Alas, sometimes people still put two to two together so he still occasionally gets targeted. What he doesn't know is that most of the people he helped one way or another, does in fact help cover up his trail, misleading any hunters after him. Dream has one pokemon willingly follow him; a stubborn Charcadet, which prove to be a good helper by saving Dream multiple time in their travel.

Dream can hold his own against pokemons in this AU. He kinda has to, as he doesn't have a companion pokemon of his own for the longest time. Phil, as the angel of Death or the guardian in pokemon term is actively tracking down Dream to detain the revival book, but after he witness the bond between Dream and Ceruledge, he let Dream go with the condition that should Dream one day run into any problem bigger than he could handle, he would find Phil to help.

Techno is one of the child Dream helped revive on a whim. He was born sickly and wasn't supposed to make it past the night, well, if Dream hasn't shown up like a wet cat on his doorway. Techno still makes fun of him on the off chance that they met. Because of the second chance, Techno was able to become an extraordinary trainer. He helps out Dream whenever he can and even offer a roof for the homeless Dream to stay in. Dream refused ofc, but he would crash in from time to time to rest.

Speaking of the B side, it leads to an uncontrollable spiral in which I start imagining Pokemon with any and most of my AUs. Like would syndicate!Dream has an Eevee as well or would he has a Arcanine, I can totally see him accidentally taming Zygrade (Dog) without knowing it as a legendary. Also witch!Dream would have a Hatterene. Cornelius can have a Floette, Hubert and Indeedee works because of the bulter theme. Can you see how I am absolutely normal and not being able to talk about this has only made me more normal?

Anyways, thanks for the ask and sorry for taking so long to reply. It is...a lot.

[mimsypoo]

(i also see smithers as transfem, i use she/he interchangeably due to my headcanons on how gender feels for her. hope u don't mind 👍)

i don't have time to respond to all of your individual points, but i will say a bit.

"just because it doesn't revolve around your ship." firstly, please don't condescend to me like that. yes, i enjoy burnsmithers, but that's not really the point i was making here. anyone who knows me personally will know that i don't care that much about canon/canon ships. even with burns and smithers, i don't actually think about them getting together very often. i like it, but i don't need it. my attention towards the ship comes more from the fact that i like both of them a lot individually, so it's convenient to have them in a little package like that. (and i like seeing smithers win.)

i am glad that you are able to personally enjoy and accept the characterization of smithers in more recent material, i truly am. having so much content of a character you love is very lucky.

i'm incredibly picky, though, and i don't think all of the changes in her personality can be reduced to 'character development.' she was written by people, writers who make decisions and have thoughts and change things based on their experiences and biases.

just because the writers may be trying to give their characters 'happy endings' as you put it doesn't mean i'm going to like their creative decisions. it's the simpsons, it's so highly episodic, and even moments that were advertised as big changes in the status quo were eventually abandoned. the writers do not like having to see big changes through. (cough cough cough the burns cage cough)

their dynamic, at its roots, is based around codependency. that's where it was born. without an understanding of that, they lose a lot of their nuance and depth because of how much they're defined by each other. this may not be true of modern writing, but it is true of the early seasons. i don't mean that they can't exist at all without each other, and i apologize if the way i said this lacked clarity, but what i meant was that their personalities were developed with room for their codependency. even when they aren't near each other, they are still people who are capable of relying on each other. the way their characterization has shifted does not often leave that space in their personalities.

i do not mean they always need to be around each other or thinking about each other. what i mean is that their personalities were created as foils, and they are losing that in the writers' inclination towards projected individualism.

in earlier seasons when they're pictured without each other, i like them just fine. i agree that there is more to them than each other. my critique was not that their characters have no potential, it was aimed at the writers' inability to properly utilize that potential.

they have their moments in modern simpsons, but overall, i think it says a lot that my favorite independent modern smithers appearance was one where she doesn't even talk. (werking mom)

on werking mom, i need to bring up that my complaints about smithers' identity come from ME being gay, transgender, and hell, even a doll collector! i see SO MUCH of myself in smithers. and yet, with modern smithers, i experience a palpable detachment. like suddenly, there's something off.

a lot of that does come from the new way they use smithers' gayness. i like it in earlier seasons because it feels so casual, like it doesn't have to be said for us to know it. it's more human like that. modern simpsons is OBSESSED with saying it. constantly. over and over again. in every scene. and it annoys me because it feels like they forgot that there IS more to smithers than that. smithers' experience with gender and sexuality will always inform her life and interests, but the modern emphasis on that doesn't feel like a nuanced exploration on the influence of lgbt identity on everyday life or something. it feels cheap and performative.

when i say "smithers has been reduced to his gayness," what i mean is that his characterization has become a lot more stereotypical. the fact that her writing has become more shallow makes this noticeable to me because most of her episodes revolve around gayness in some way. even if bottle episode wasn't about her being attracted to men, it was still dependent on gay stereotypicality to make the episode work. even the wine court stuff was tied to her involvement in the lgbt community. part of this comes from the simpsons' inclination to make her nicer- it feels like they see 'gay' as being a positive trait rather than neutral, so they struggle not to see gay people through a positive lens. that's stereotyping, even stereotypes that intend kindness can be condescending if they lack depth. smithers being depicted as better than he was in the past is, at least partially, intrinsically tied to her identity as gay.

lackey is in and of itself an example of this double standard. it's noticeable that nowadays, smithers doing good deeds always feels intrinsically linked to her gay experience rather than her individuality. along with that, it's hard to read as 'character development' because, to me, smithers already feels like a husk at the beginning of the episode. his being a good person is tied to his relationship with michael, how she wants love but won't take it at the expense of others... then keeps working for mr. burns. you relate this to in-universe explanations, but it isn't a real thing that happened. it was a thing that people wrote. along with that, it doesn't feel like a development or change. it feels like an easy thing for the writers to do because it would be annoying to let smithers have a new boyfriend. it would do too much to change the show's overall formula, and it's easier to just make smithers drop him to keep things the same. it doesn't matter if your excuse as to why is incoherent, so long as they've dropped the new player by the end.

when i say, "smithers isn't allowed to be gay for mr. burns" anymore, what i mean is that acknowledgments of that attraction feel half assed and chorelike. the writers do not care about the way smithers likes mr. burns. i stand by what i said. the writers don't want to write burns and smithers being codependent, they want to write AROUND it. as in, i believe they want it to affect their plotlines as little as possible. their lack of chemistry is an important signal at the writers' lack of interest in their relationship. to me at least, it just doesn't feel like the writers understand how or why the two could like each other, and bottle episode really encompasses that frustration for me.

i just don't like the decisions they make for their characters in modern simpsons. you mention flanders' grief, so i'll say i didn't like o c'mon all ye faithful's handling of that, either. it has the same problem as smithers' relationship with michael, it has to do with a fundamental fear of change.

at the beginning of lackey, smithers doesn't have a boyfriend. by the end, smithers doesn't have a boyfriend. at the beginning of faithful, flanders believes in god. by the end, flanders believes in god. any "changes" that occur in the plotline are illusory because these episodes pose no threat to the writers' routine. my complaints are not just me wanting burnsmithers fodder. i think the way they're handling the characters is bland, clunky, and uninventive. any 'innovation' is wholly performative or intended to lampshade a flawed understanding of the characters themselves and why they were entertaining and charming at their inception.

thinking abt bottle episode now -_- i think it's so exhausting to watch burns and smithers in recent seasons because it feels like the writers are trying to write AROUND their codependency? they can acknowledge it exists on paper, but in practice, they fail to anchor their interactions in a logical understanding of it.

like, they had burns pestering smithers for help early in the episode to the point it was a catalyst for the plot, and yet, when smithers is INCARCERATED burns doesn't notice until he's specifically told? it just feels like the writers don't want to engage with how these two need each other to function, not just from the watsonian perspective but doylian as well.

without smithers, burns becomes just an evil old rich man. without burns, smithers kind of just exists??? they are both SO important for contextualizing each other and creating respective depth.

along with that, i think smithers' personality has become way too reliant upon his gayness. in the name of "representation," they've brought it into the forefront of his characterization and, in doing so, dropped most of the shit that actually made him unique in the first place. of course the writers can't see why he would like mr. burns anymore! they just see him as a nondescript spineless gay guy! i believe his writing is way more homophobic than it was in the early years because it feels like being gay is all he has at this point. and yet he's also not allowed to be gay FOR mr. burns. and mr. burns is a pathetic old man, but he's not allowed to need smithers because he has to be one dimensionally evil and capable of performing functional independence.

their newfound lack of chemistry drastically impedes their ability to be enjoyable and entertaining, and i think the writers know that but don't realize it's their own fault. it seems like they don't have fun writing the two as the unit they're supposed to be, so they go to great lengths to mischaracterize them even further just to keep them from interfering with each other's plotlines. i mean god, take thirst trap for example. i'll just post what i said about that one on discord.

[text: they got the "smithers likes mr. burns" thing down and they don't seem to know anything else about them and i'm just staring at them like there is no world where mr. burns marries a random shady woman who is blatantly using him for his money and smithers is just like Yeah she's cool because she likes Mr. Burns too!

No. He would want to kill her and wear her skin]

more than anything i wish that burns and smithers would be allowed the codependency that defined them in the first place. they don't just like each other, they NEED each other, and that fact is supposed to create an obstacle that defines them intrinsically. that's where their writing begins. can we just go perform a simpsons coup d'état

[enbysiriusblack]

i think one of my fav wolfstar aspects is independent, free thinking, wild sirius and dependent, reliant, conformist remus

like sirius who doesn't need anyone. who's can fix stuff himself, who doesn't care about other people's opinions, who does what he wants. and remus who needs people. who relies on support from others, who cares deeply about people's opinions, who does whatever the norm is.

[coconut530]

[variousqueerthings]

keep thinking the Enduring Image of their relationship for me isn't the romantic-looking her reaching for him on the train. it's before that at the peep show

she emotionally fucks with him to such an extent (and for so many days -- i need to think of how much sleep he gets because i think "barely any" about covers it, that man is operating on a loopy fucking brain by the time the train scene happens) that he breaks down sobbing (on his own, the first - and so far last - time we've seen him that broken up) and then gets him to come to a Peep Show to see her -- something that is totally outside of his code of being and his comfort level, and makes everything seedy and transactional between them -- and then the way it's framed puts her in the seat of objectifying him, which was such a narrative and visual Choice

it's the way she's always framed as watching him by the presence of her reflection, but outside of the opening few lines and when she says "i need you" she's always shot like this:

in control of the scene, because after all, she set it all up to be exactly like this and he's doing everything she tells him to. she is objectifying him and not the other way around

(which, is the "i need you" framed with fraser in-shot because she's performing for him as an audience and not for us-the-audience only, and it reiterates that she's not for real....?)

compared with fraser throughout the whole conversation:

on re-watch there are several parts of victoria's side of the dialogue that focus on fraser's reaction to what is being said to him -- the camera is on his tired, distraught face for well over half of the scene. we are watching him like victoria is watching him, through the glass reacting to her words, like he's on display... at a fucking peep show that she made him come to!

meanwhile most of the time when he's speaking we don't know what her in-the-moment reactions to him are, because all of his lines also focus on him. we're deliberately kept as much in the dark about her reactions as possible. it's not an equal back-and-forth, it's her digging in the knife and enjoying his distress (again, and i just cannot get over this, at a peep show)

AND THE SCENE PROPER:

VICTORIA: Hi.

FRASER: You must really hate me for what I did.

VICTORIA: Yeah. Hate. Love. Those two emotions about cover it. FRASER: The girl in the car wreck was your sister.

VICTORIA: She borrowed my car. The police just assumed it was me. I had an opportunity. I took it. Fooled everybody. FRASER: Except Jolly. VICTORIA: Except Jolly. There were only two ways to end that relationship. One of them was with me dead.

FRASER: What do you want, Victoria?

VICTORIA: You. FRASER: No, you don't.

VICTORIA: Why do you think I did all of this?

FRASER: Revenge.

VICTORIA: Maybe. But I need you. I want you to go away with me.

FRASER: You know I can't do that.

VICTORIA: Why not? You don't have much to stick around here for. You won't like prison.

FRASER: I'm sorry.

VICTORIA: [her voice shakes] I'm sorry, too.

[her voice immediately hardens] Because I need you to make an exchange. If you don't, there's a key. This key fits a locker. In this locker is twenty-five thousand dollars in sequentially numbered bills. The key is at your friend Ray's house. You have one hour to decide, and then I call Internal Affairs and tell them where to find it.

[the money runs out and the screen goes down]

also, in my heart, this woman killed her sister. she loves the drama of the Narrative, she came back into fraser's life full of stories she was telling about how she'd take away everything in his life that distracted him from her and she'd leave him no choice but to come with her or go to jail and all of this was definitely love... so yeah, her sister dying in a tragic accident and people just assuming it was her not long after she was released from prison..... doesn't sit right with me considering how much she plans these narratives out + i think fraser's subtle headshake after she tells the whole story suggests that he doesn't buy it either

victoria: my sister mysteriously died and then i just had to kill my old partner in a way that would implicate you so you don't have any choice but to love me, which you owe me anyway because you feel bad about putting me in jail back in the day *bats eyelashes* anyway I'm gonna send your best friend away for life if you don't commit crimes and run away with me... also you're definitely An Object to me

(all of this on the back of a show in which fraser is objectified constantly anyway.... wild)

i guess where i land on the victoria x fraser dynamic is that i wanna notch it up juuuust that little bit more to make it fucked up in a way that i feel like the show was dancing around a bit and not quite committing to, although it did lean on it a fair few times (especially when taking in the conversation with his dead dad where he confronts him). i do feel like -- setting aside that she was a big-time criminal from the beginning -- considering she:

fucked with fraser's head by making him think he'd seen her several times before she actually appeared (and then pretended it was a coincidence, and the thing about fraser is... he trusts people too much, he's an overly literal autism-coded takes-them-at-their-word guy, it's such a good gauge for how easily she can mess with him afterwards, like damn girl, how much did you learn about him back in that snowstorm??)

shot diefenbaker (with intent to kill)

manipulated fraser pretty much the entire time -- pushing his buttons (first playing soft and flustered, then going hard on the guilt which was immediately followed by taking him to bed WHICH IT WAS TRIGGER!SNOWING DURING DAMN, then disappearing and making him desperate to find her, constantly having him running for her right up to the train...)

fucked with his head again by getting rid of all her fingerprints + presumably hair in his flat so that everyone thought he was lying, crazy fucking level of going about all this

destroyed his father's cabin

blackmailed him into putting himself in serious danger, and then attempted to blackmail him further in order to, essentially, force him to come with her (so... attempted kidnapping, with the addition of trying to frame him as a criminal in order to further force his hand)

attempted to frame ray and get him arrested for her crimes, despite promising fraser that she wouldn't do that if he helped her (which, to be fair, at that point he no longer trusted)

there's a lot suggesting that she's just pretty straightforwardly a villain, there's no reason why she wouldn't keep fucking with fraser if he had assented to come with her. there's a lot suggesting that her little "you'll regret not coming with me" is as much a game as everything else she does. there's a lot of material to play with where one could lean into fraser as a deeply lonely person who was easily taken advantage of (after all, it's established he doesn't really "get" what love is supposed to be about -- so why not about all of the above?)

it's just unfortunate that the show ultimately framed as this ships in the night thing or something, and not... just a straightforward fucked up violation on her part. it weakens her presence in the story, assuming she never returns. like i'd want her to be this Force that eats into him and his sense of identity, not as a "what if I'd gotten on the train to run away with my one true love"

(and I like @pigtailedgirl's read of the train as self-destruction in terms of his speech in the episode letting go: "i think you do care. i think you care so deeply that when he betrayed you, you tried to do the only thing that made sense, you tried to destroy yourself. don't let him do that to you." -- it makes that train ending sooo much more full of Stuff)

i can play with it, for sure

[rosenfey]

I need to have the phrase "just because a piece of writing is published and has a large audience doesn't mean it's good" tattooed on my inner eyelids so I stare at it whenever I start doubting myself

[moe-broey]

Textpost redraw that only works in a modern setting, so. I gave them silly outfits (and a little bit of lore!)

Some zoom ins on the illusts!

And Lore

Moe is like. A SHUT-IN shut-in. So in any modern setting that isn't "Hey wanna visit my hometown for a sec (events so far have followed canon at least loosely)", it would have to meet Alfonse under Extremely Specific Circumstances.

And finally! Textpost under cut!

[a-compass-without-a-needle]

"I've connected the dots"

"You didn't connect shit."

"I connected them."