#but overall i had a good time at dc today :)

[neonsbian]

would not recommend using heelys as walking shoes bc yes u can walk in them, but they were not designed for that lmao

[genichisojo]

Chihiro's Age and Being the Perfect 18 Year Old Protagonist

Today I will be breaking down Kagurabachi's Chihiro’s age and why he’s a great 18 yr old protagonist and acts his age. Please forgive if my current DC brain rot bleeds into this.

I think Chihiro’s core can attributed to growing up being loved and respected by his parents. One of the first conversations is Kunishige telling Chihiro that if he wants to be a blacksmith like him and carry the burden of the role’s consequences, “…If that’s how you feel, all that’s left, is for me to believe in you.”

I think when you grow up with a loving parent like that, that loving voice is always in your head. He reminds me of that joke that the reason Superman is so good is because both of his parents loved him unconditionally. But who do we get when you have loving parents who get killed in a traumatic way in front of you? Batman, hi! Hi, Batman! Hi! AKA “that nut from Gotham city” and Chihiro already has such a reputation. Not as a psycho, but he’s deemed dangerous and strong. He’s someone to keep an eye out for now. He’s been underestimated before this arc because of his age.

I personally think that had Kunishige never been murdered, Chihiro wouldn’t had ever chosen to wield a blade unless it came to a time of war. But he adapted to the idea easily because he’s been preparing himself his whole life to be responsible for deaths as a blacksmith. What’s the difference anyways when you’re the wielder? Probably a lot, but you’re a teenager and want one thing, and it’s the right thing in your mind so let’s just start moving.

He has assigned himself the responsibility to get the katanas back and get revenge, and he’s very set on it in a one track, 18 yr old way. When Char got taken, his mind was on getting her back. When Sojo was doing his shit, his mind was on taking him down. Then he immediately moves back into getting back the katanas, not really taking time to process literally losing a limb after already not fully healing from a hospital visit. He’s reckless with his physical health- typical for his age.

Older characters around him also treat him his age. Shiba doesn’t really leave him out of his sight if we’re real about it. He lets him fight on his own and trusts that Chihiro has a handle on things because he knows him and probably trained him. He would’ve gone in during the first fight with Sojo had Azami not stopped him. He is willing to hop in when things get bad, and he will always be there to catch him, but overall, he knows he’s old enough to handle physical strain. Still, there’s that famous moment in the train at the beginning where Shiba does warn Chihiro all the hatred he’s been carrying is “…gonna break you.”

Chihiro asks in return, “So you wanna stop me?” And neither of them says anything and continue to go about their mission. Shiba respects Chihiro and his choices, understands he’s an adult and this is what he wants, but he looks out for him because at the end of the day, he’s still eighteen. And his best friend’s baby.

We also have Azami who summoned the Kamunabi because although he he’s been told Chihiro can fight, he also knew that he had never fought another enchanted blade wielder before and knew the city damage could get crazy. In a way, I think it was also a way to keep an eye on him because he doesn’t want him to get hurt, either. Azami has been proven to be sentimental with his phone lockscreen. He kept Chihiro’s existence a secret because until KB’s starting point, he was a child. He’s barely an adult, and Azami who hadn’t seen him in a while, is still like I guess he can handle it, if Shiba says and then absolutely not.

My final point is that Chihiro treats children well. He talks to children in a way kids like to be talked to- like real people. Kids say crazy things, but he still took time to feed and talk to Char and take her seriously even before they were attacked. The same thing occurs with Mr. Inazuma. He gets down to their level, listens to them in the way his father listened to him, and he goes along with what they want while making sure they’re not going to die.

Chihiro was shown to have been a responsible child and he had to grow up quick to be able to accomplish his goals. In a way, an indirect goal of his is to protect the innocent- children. He knows what it’s like to be a defenseless child and to have nobody run to your aid, so he acts the most rational when other people’s lives are on the line. And when it all falls on his life, he lets himself get a little bit reckless because that’s just what allegedly blood thirsty 18 yr old boys do. I’ll come back to the allegedly later.

[merlincmgirl]

Sex Pollen - Tup x FReader - NSFW

Summary: You’re a scientist working with the 501st collecting samples. Tup has been sent to accompany you on your expedition while camp is being set up.

Characters: Tup, Rex

Pairing: Tup x F!Reader

Word Count: 10,849

Warnings: PinV sex, fingering, oral sex (female receiving), hair pulling, dubious consent because of pollen, slight angst maybe?, pre-established relationship,

Authour's Note: So I was writing this before I went into hospital, so I hope it all makes sense. I've checked it but just in case :)

The planet that you landed on was extraordinarily beautiful and extremely dangerous. The luscious pink trees and blue shrubbery were swaying easily in the warm breeze. The trees were taller than a walker and their trunks were as wide as a house. It was beautiful and to the untrained eye, it was a tranquil place, if you ignored all the dangerous wildlife and venomous plants that dotted the landscape.

The 501st had landed on the planet after reports of Separatist activity and that had been an understatement. The fighting had been finished by the time that you had been escorted on the planet by a squad of troopers. Your job was to research and catalogued fauna and flora for the Republic, to explore if there were any uses that could be garnered from the many different varieties of life that was on planets.

“Doctor, we’re still clearing this sector. I cannot guarantee your safety” Rex repeated firmly, before yelling out orders to a group of troopers setting up communication towers. “Give us a rotation and I’ll have someone escort you to get your samples, but until then I’d remain in the camp” Rex advised, cutting off your arguments.

“Captain Rex, I have complete faith that you’ve cleared these jungles. I just need an hour to collect the samples and then I’ll get on the cruiser and be out of your hair” you assured, following after him.

“Tup! Escort our scientist to collect her samples! I want 30 minutes check ins and under no circumstances is the civvie to head anywhere on her own. Clear?” Rex ordered, as Tup jogged over to him and you.

“Yes sir!”

You studied the trooper in front of you. He was tall, like all the clones, and his helmet held the 501st blue as all the other troopers around you. However, his shoulder plates and his helmet all showed a single blue tear. He held his DC-15 blaster in one hand as he also studied you. Truthfully, you weren’t sure what he was looking for but you hoped it was good.

“Lead the way, ma’am” he instructed, nodding his head at you before gesturing you to head into the jungle in front of him.

“Thank you, Tup. I promise we won’t be too long” you smiled, hoping it would set the tone for the following hour or so.

Pushing through the bushes and the large leaves in your path, you and Tup made your way further into the jungle. It was sweltering, and you regretted wearing your long overalls today while in the field.

The silence that had settled between you two was getting too heavy, and you needed to fill the silence. So you turned to look over your shoulder at Tup, noticing that he was scanning the area around you as you walked.

“I don’t know how you aren’t overheating in all that armour. I’m wearing this and I feel like I’m boiling alive” you stated jovially, tugging at your overalls. You were pleased to see that Tup jumped almost, obviously not expecting conversation with a nat-born.

“Oh… erm our bodysuits are climate controlled. Helps with moving to different planets and that” he explained, unsure if you really wanted to know.

“That makes a lot of sense. Unfortunately, the GAR gives the rest of us these shitty overalls that we’re meant to wear in the field” you complained, waiting for him to catch up with you so you could walk side by side. That seemed to surprise him as well, as he kept attempting to fall back a couple of steps, but you kept slowing your own stride until he seemed to just give up.

“Do you get much chance to go into the field?” Tup asked, voice sounding confused through his modulator.

“No, not really Tup, only time I really get off the ship is because of moments like this. Otherwise I’m stuck on the ship, just observing and testing plants” you chuckled, glancing at the map you had downloaded to help guide you in the jungle as you searched for the plants you needed.

“I haven’t seen you on the ship before or in the mess” Tup realised, helmet tilted towards you, and even through the black visor, you could feel his eyes on you.

“That’s true as well. I don’t really spend much time with people, I tend to keep myself to myself. And my plants of course” you grinned wryly, spotting one of the plants you needed to take samples from.

It was a lovely looking yellow flower, barely reaching ankle height but it had the most curious effect on living beings. It could cause those exposed to it to be in fits of giggles for an hour. There was some hope it could be repurposed and used in the medical fields.

Kneeling down in front of the plant, you were careful to not brush against it or let it get on your skin. Although you didn’t mind a laugh, an hour’s worth of laughter sounded the opposite of fun. Shrugging off your backpack, you collected all the sampling equipment that you needed. Carefully, you took samples of the pollen, petals, stem and roots to test further in your lab.

As you were finishing up, you turned around to see that Tup wasn’t paying any attention to you or his surroundings. Instead, he was bent over a large purple plant with green leathery spots dancing along it’s leaves and stem. You knew exactly what that was and reached out to pull Tup away.

“Ah, I wouldn’t touch that one Tup!” you warned him, tugging him further back and keeping your own mouth covered.

“Why?” he asked, taking several steps back as he looked between you and the flower he had been observing. There was a sense of hesitancy and nervousness as he took in your covered face and he reached up to his own helmet and tugged it further on his head.

“Because otherwise we’ll have to get you to Kix pronto” you explained, cutting back on the detail that he would be feeling quite sick from both ends of his body. Nobody wanted to go through that, and you didn’t want sweet Tup to go through it either.

“Oh… fair enough” he murmured, willing to go with your advice and to stay away from it. “Did you get what you needed?” he inquired, as you knelt down to place the samples in your bag.

“Yes, this specimen has been collected, I’ve only got a couple more to do” you smiled, pushing yourself back onto your feet and swinging your bag back on your shoulders. Tup came forward, helping you slip your arms into the loops. “Thanks Tup” you said, appreciating his kind gesture.

“No problem, mesh’la. Where we heading now?” he murmured, seeming to straighten up and take a step away from you.

You didn’t mind, knowing that he was probably just being respectful and giving you your space. The clones were exceedingly respectful. Truly a breath of fresh air from the men that you had dated in the past. “It’s not far from here, we’ve got to go West for about 10 minutes” you told him, reading the map on your vambrace.

Tup came over to look and he nodded in agreement. “You’re right, shouldn’t take us long to get there. You’re a good map reader, mesh’la” he praised, voice full of admiration as he fell into step beside you once more.

Heat rushed to your cheeks and you prayed that he wouldn’t notice. “Thanks, I kind of have to be, otherwise I’d never be able to find the samples in all this wilderness” you chuckled, remembering the time when you had first started and it took you over 2 hours to find the plant. It had been a learning experience for sure.

“With the droids gone, it’s not so bad” he shrugged, pushing away the overhanging branches that blocked your path.

“No, it certainly isn’t” you agreed, flashing a smile at his helmet. Even though his face was obscured, you felt like he was looking at you too, that your eyes were meeting through the black visor. “Although, I’m not sure if this planet would be right for me, it’s boiling hot and we’re not even in the planet’s summer time” you grimaced, pulling at your overalls to try and get some air flowing into them.

As you walked and talked, you came to a small ditch in the jungle floor, a small brook running through it. Tup held his hand out to you, ready to help you across. His glove felt lovely in your hand, and you could feel his warmth seep through the material as he helped guide you steadily over to the other side. “Mind your step, mesh’la” he warned, as you landed wobbly next to him.

Gripping his arm to steady yourself against him, you smiled, glad to have him with you. Getting all dirty and muddy was not on the cards today. “Thank you, Tup” you bid him, squeezing the hand that was in yours once more before pulling away. “The plant should be just along here” you told him, heading off in the right direction but making sure that you stayed close to Tup.

As you walked and talked, you couldn’t help but admire the trooper next to you. He told you about becoming a fully fledged member of Torrent Company and the 501st. After teasingly called him a shiny, he had insisted on telling you how he earned his paint and how the teardrop was representative of the grief and remembrance of his fallen brothers.

“I’m sorry for your loss Tup, it’s never easy losing family” you said softly, reaching to squeeze his elbow in support and sympathy.

“No, but it’s our duty. We do what we have to do” Tup sighed, shrugging his shoulders like it was nothing. It probably was the truth to him, what could he do to change the countless amounts of brothers that had been killed? Nothing, he could only continue to fight and hope the end of the war was coming soon.

Oh this poor man, he had such a sweet and tender soul, he was so sensitive to the war around him and the cost that he and his brothers could pay. You wished that you could end this war, for the sake of him, and the rest of the clones.

“But, I’m glad to have met you. If the war didn’t happen, then this research mission would never have happened and I wouldn’t be here” Tup reminded, bumping his shoulders with yours. He hoped to cheer you up, to not let you become too lost in the thoughts that ran through your head.

A startled laugh escaped you and you turned to look at him in surprise. “Yes, I suppose you’re right, that is a very positive way to look at it” you nodded, “I’m glad to have met you too, Tup. I hope we can continue our talks when we’re back on the ship.”

Even without seeing his face, Tup’s whole body language showed you just how happy he was of the idea as he straightened up, his shoulders relaxing and his head tilted down to yours to give you 100% of his attention.

“Oh, here’s the next one. Sorry, I was so lost in our conversation, I nearly missed it” you grinned, kneeling down in front of Tup and beginning to examine the plant in front of you.

Tup cleared his throat, stepping away before surveying the environment around you both, blaster still resting in his hand, just in case. He kept glancing at you every few seconds though, unable to tear his gaze away from you delicately taking samples of this new plant you wished to study.

“Do you need any help?” he offered, noticing nothing of concern in the area on his HUD display.

“Trying to get this over as soon as possible, Tup?” you teased, placing the root into a glass jaw and sealing it up. You couldn’t help but feel pleased at the shocked splutter he let out at that.

“Of course not, mesh’la! I just meant that it seems unfair for you to do all this work on your own when I’m here to help” Tup explained, hand reaching up to the back of his neck.

If he didn’t have his helmet on, you were sure that he would rub the back of his neck. It seemed that Tup had a nervous tick, and you couldn’t help but find it adorable. Turning to face him, you sent him a reassuring smile.

“I know Tup, don’t you worry. I’m just teasing” you assured, packing everything back into your bag. “Besides, you’re doing the most important job. Making sure I don’t get eaten by wild animals or kidnapped by some errant droids that are hanging around” you pointed out, glad that you had him to watch your back. Again, he reached down to offer you his hand, pulling you back up to your feet. Tup was such a gentleman.

“I wouldn’t count on droids being this far into the forest. They’re more than likely to end up tripped over roots or something” Tup said, hoping to reassure you that you weren’t in any danger, not from the droids at least. Wild animals were still a concern but he would protect you if any of them crossed your path.

“Now that, I can see!” you giggled, nudging Tup slightly to get him moving again. “Honestly, mother nature is wild. It’s not something that an algorithm would ever be able to predict” you informed him, shaking your head at the stupidity of the droids.

“I agree, they can be easy to fool, especially the B1s” Tup nodded, amusement clear in his voice as he thought back to his own experience with the droids and how he and his brothers could destroy them pretty easily.

“They are ridiculous!” you laughed, bumping into him and causing him to let out his own chuckle. “Whoever created them had no reason for making them so sassy” you shook your head, unable to look away from Tup as you felt like the smile on your face was going to make your cheeks sore later on. But Tup was so nice to hang out with, and he was kind and considerate of you, listening you you and being respectful of your opinions, even if they went against his own. He really was a breath of fresh air, and you hoped to continue your talks when you both returned to your duties on the ship. He was just so easy to be with.

As you headed further into the forest, you noticed the path getting smaller, running alongside the edge of a slope that ran further down into a small valley by the looks of it. You went first, insisting it was for the best as you held the map that would help you reach your final specimen.

“Just don’t look down, mesh’la” Tup advised as your eyes wondered over to the slope and travelled all the way down, down, down to the bottom. “Keep moving forward, you’ll be alright” he soothed, resting his hand on your lower back to help move you forward as you were frozen.

Taking in a deep breath, you focused on putting one foot in front of the other, looking ahead of you rather than down.

However, you should have been looking down at your feet. Your foot snagged on a gnarly root sticking up from the ground. “Whoa!” you cried, tripping over the root and feeling yourself start to fall.

“Are you ok-WHOA!” Tup yelled, hand reaching out to steady you. It probably wasn’t the best reaction; however you grabbed onto him instinctively, both of you tumbling down a hill. Tup grabbed at you, trying to place himself around you protectively to take the brunt of the impact.

Groaning, you clung onto him as tightly as you could, closing your eyes as you felt yourself roll and roll, hitting into plants and branches and rocks on the way down. It seemed like forever until you reached the bottom. The air was knocked out of you as Tup landed heavily on your chest, the pair of you dazed as you caught your breaths.

“You okay mesh’la?” Tup groaned, pushing himself up and checking you over.

Thankfully there was no broken bones but you felt sore. Rolling down a hill was a lot different as an adult compared to when you were a child. “I’m okay, just a little sore, are you okay, Tup?” you murmured, brushing away the leaves and brambles that were stuck on you. You noticed a curious pink pollen stuck to your clothes and your hands. Raising it to your nose, it smelled slightly sweet but nothing of concern.

“I’m good, that was quite a fall though. We’ve been knocked off course” he realised, looking back up to the top of the slope where you should have been. “I should update Captain Rex, let him know we’ll be back later than planned” Tup smiled, holding out a hand to you.

Looking up into his helmet, you smiled at the clone, glad that he had some protection on his head. All that armour was probably a good thing in situations such as this. You were lucky that he protected you from the worst of it. Grabbing his hand, you let him haul you back to your feet, surprised when you landed practically against his chest.

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable” Tup murmured, taking off his helmet and revealing lovely flushed cheeks.

Maker was he handsome! Even though he was a clone, he looked different from others you had seen, his sharp cheekbones and lovely-kissable lips made your heart flutter. The tattoo that was painted on his helmet matched the one on his face, the teardrop under his right eye, adding to his gorgeous face. His hair was pulled up into a tight bun at the top of his head, and you couldn’t help but imagine what it would feel like to let that top knot down. “That’s alright, Tup, you didn’t” you assured, squeezing his hand.

However your eyes were drawn to his chest plate and his hands. They were also covered in a thick layer of pink pollen. “Oh, looks like you landed in it too! At least the pink and blue both suit you” you chuckled, brushing some of the pollen off him. His nose scrunched up adorably and you had to bite back the smile that spread across your face.

“It suits you more than me, mesh’la” he smiled wryly, before his vambrace beeped with an incoming message. “I should really answer this. You just sit down, take a couple of deep breathes in and then we should be heading back” Tup instructed, nodding his head to you sweetly before heading further away to take the comm.

Sighing, you sat back on the ground, trying to ignore the ache in your shoulders and back. Maker you would be sore tomorrow. Although Tup had protected you from the worst of the fall, his plastoid armour was still hard and heavy. When he had pressed down on you with every roll, you had felt the way the armour had no give, instead building pressure against you with every roll. It didn’t matter, as long as you both were okay, but you were sure you’d no doubt have a few bruises and scratches from Tup’s armour. Not that you minded him leaving a few bruises on you, he could leave a few more if he wanted.

Frowning, you pulled yourself back with that thought. Where had that idea came from? Yes Tup was very attractive, but you had only just met him, you barely knew anything about each other. So why were you thinking about Tup pressing marks into your skin, marking you anywhere he wanted.

Shaking your head to try and clear it, you absently brushed the pink pollen away from your chest. Maybe it was the heat that was getting to you, or maybe it was the events of the day changing rapidly. Whatever the reason, you refused to objectify Tup like that. He was a soldier, and one that you wanted to know even more.

It took a few moments before you realised that white boots were in your vision and you looked up to see Tup staring at you with a soft, affectionate look before he tapped on his vambrace.

“That was the Captain, he’s been informed of our delay. He ordered us to collect the sample as quickly as possible and then make our way back to camp” he informed you before bringing up a map of the area on his vambrace. “We should head up this way to get back on the path we need. It’s too dangerous to walk up the slope again, it’s much too steep, and I don’t want to risk you getting hurt if you were to fall again” Tup instructed, pointing out the map to you and the key areas.

“Of course, that sounds like the best plan!” you mumbled, pushing yourself up and brushing yourself off. You had a job to do, it was important for the war effort and it would help the GAR. Whatever you were feeling didn’t matter when compared to the mission at hand.

“Come on then mesh’la” he encouraged, waiting for you to lead the way.

As you walked, you unfortunately had to take the long way to your final plant, and you couldn’t help but feel flushed. It was getting increasingly humid, and you were trying to fan yourself as much as possible as you walked. It felt like your legs were walking through jelly, feeling drained and heavy as you pushed yourself forward. The conversation between you and Tup had dried up, almost as quickly as any moisture on your body in this consuming heat.

Frowning, you loosened your clothes as much as possible, trying to cool down and keep your focus on getting to the other plant that you had to investigate and collect a sample from. It felt like your brain was going to melt, your thoughts scattering as you longed for a reprieve.

Stumbling forward, Tup’s hand shot out and gripped your elbow, keeping you on your feet. His helmeted head tilted at you, silently asking if you were alright. “I’m good, must be all this heat” you assured him, standing up straighter and gripping the straps of your bag to keep you upright.

“Here, drink this. I think there’s a ravine not too far from our next target location. We can refill our canteens then” Tup offered, handing over his water canteen for you to take a drink from.

Murmuring a quiet thank you, you pressed the cool metal to your lips, taking a delicious sip of water. It cooled your parched throat, helping to cool you down a little. As your mouth was against the rim, a sudden thought rushed to the front of your brain. Tup must have drunk from this as well, your mouths pressed against the same rim of his canteen, your saliva mixing like it would with a kiss. Instantly that brought images up of Tup kissing you, how his mouth would feel against your own, his gentle lips prying yours open to deepen the kiss.

Blood rushed to your face and the heat returned once more, searing through your body and stopping at your core. You couldn’t help but clench your thighs together at the thoughts and images that your mind conjured up.

“Everything alright?” Tup questioned, seeing the way you flushed and had stopped drinking. He rested a hand on your shoulder, hoping the supportive weight would help you feel grounded. Maybe he should have run a scan on you to make sure you weren’t injured.

Pulled back to your senses, you quickly nodded, plastering a strained smile on your face. “I’m alright, thank you Tup” you replied, handing him back his canteen. “We should get a move on. We’re not too far away from the other plant” you reminded, stepping away from him in the hope to hide your flushed face and just how nice it felt to have him standing so close to you.

Kriff! You had to get a grip! This was no way to act around Tup, especially when he was helping you and keeping you alive from who knows what creatures in this forest. You shook your head, pushing the thoughts of Tup and how amazing he would feel against you from your mind. You had a job to do and you would do it.

Finally, after walking for a bit longer, you managed to find the last of your flowers that you would have to sample. Collecting everything you needed was harder this time, it felt like your limbs moved at a sluggish pace, as though unwilling to follow through on your instructions. Cursing quietly, you took a sample of the root and shoved it into the jar that you needed to put it in.

Breathing heavily, you glanced around to see Tup bent over, examining something on the bark of a tree. It was harmless, only the moss that was native to this region. But what really drew you attention was the way his skid-plate hugged the curves of his ass. The way the black material stretched underneath it, giving just a small hint to what he would look like without the armour in the way. It would be a very distracting ass you were sure.

You were so lost in your thoughts that you didn’t realise that Tup had turned, and your gaze was still locked onto where his ass had been. Now, his codpiece was firmly in your eye sight and you could just imagine how uncomfortable they must be to wear if they were suddenly aroused.

A cough caught your attention, and you were mortified to look up into Tup’s expressionless helmet. Curse those things for taking away your ability to read his face. He must be so uncomfortable right now, noticing how you were leering at him. Thank the stars that he couldn’t read your thoughts, otherwise he’d be running back to camp without you.

“Sorry… er I… was erm… thinking” you stuttered out, internally wincing when those words were not helpful.

“It’s alright, mesh’la” he assured.

Was it your imagination that his voice seemed a lot more huskier even through the speakers of his helmet? It couldn’t be, Tup wouldn’t see you like that, you’d only just met the man.

“Just wondering if you’re finished up? We can refill our canteens up on the way and still make good time” Tup suggested, kneeling beside you to help gather everything up.

“Thanks Tup, you’re a gentleman” you smiled, carefully packing up your specimen bag and glancing up at him. You were so close you could feel the heat radiate off him, even with his armour in the way. If only he could just take off his helmet, you’d be able to see those beautiful eyes once more.

His hand came to rub the back of his neck before falling down when he realised it did nothing with the plastoid in the way. “Er thanks… you’re welcome” he stumbled over his words, before once again offering you his hand to help you stand. He rubbed his gloved thumb over your hand as he felt you squeeze it in return.

You led the way, glancing down at your map every so often to make sure you stayed on course. Although, with Tup behind you, it was comforting to know that if you veered off, he’d be able to steer you back on course. It was good to have someone so competent and talented with you. Because at the moment, you didn’t think you were 100% focused as you should be.

Sweat was beading along your neck and it was getting even hotter as you trekked back onto the path you were meant to be on. You pulled at the neck of your shirt, feeling the material stick uncomfortably to your skin. Why was it getting hotter? The sun was starting to get lower in the sky, it should be getting cooler.

“Tup… is it?… Is it getting hotter out here?” you mumbled, reaching up to wipe the sweat from your brow.

“You feeling it too?” he huffed, taking off his helmet and swiping at his own forehead. He pushed a strand of curly hair away from his eyes and shook his head.

“Yeah… I think we’re gonna have to stop Tup” you suggested, resting back against a tree trunk. You reached for your canteen, cursing when it was nearly empty. Only a few drops left inside of it. You’d filled it up not long ago, when you had stopped for a break and to refill both of your canteens. Had you really been that hot to not notice you’d nearly emptied the canteen already?

“Here, have mine. I’ve got to update the Captain on our position” Tup offered, handing you his water canteen and stepping a little away from you.

Sending him a grateful smile, you placed the bag down and sat on a nearby rock, taking eager sips of water from Tup’s canteen. You resolutely pushed aside the thoughts of once more locking lips with Tup.

Resting a hand on your chest, you could feel the way your heart was beating rapidly. Too quick even for walking through the forest. After resting and drinking, it should be going down, however it seemed to be remaining stubbornly high. Frowning, you checked your exposed skin, seeing how your skin was darkened from the heat. Your breaths were coming too fast as well, the humid air not doing anything for help. Something wasn’t right, you could feel it.

Suddenly it hit you, all that combined with the heat meant that you were having a reaction of some kind. Tup was also feeling the heat, his whole body covered with a layer of sweat. Even with his climate controlled blacks on. The thought of the pink pollen that had clung to both you and Tup after rolling down the hill came to mind. You had both been covered in the stuff, and you had sniffed it as well. That must be what you were both reacting to.

Wracking your brain, you thought of all the plants that could produce sweet smelling, sticky pollen that was native to this planet or system. You could think of a few that would cause this reaction, but none of them were from this planet, but was native to another a few planets over.

Tup came back while you were lost in thought, trying to figure out what was going on with you. He sat down beside you, gently taking the canteen back and taking a swig from it himself. He sighed heavily, running a hand over his brow before shifting uncomfortably on the ground.

“Tup?” you murmured, and he hummed in response, glancing up at you from his position at your feet. “Can you remember what plants we fell in, Tup?” you wondered, shrugging off the top of your overalls, tying them around your waist.

“I’m not too sure, I think I saw a flower that looked like this” he frowned, tracing a long, elegant petalled flower. It had a thick, twisted stem from what he could draw into the dirt.

Coupled with the pink pollen, you instantly recognised just what type of plant you were dealing with. The dread settled in your stomach, the cool panic almost a relief against the rising heat that was going on with the rest of your body. You had disregarded this plant because it shouldn’t be here, it didn’t mean it wasn’t.

“Tup, I’m so sorry! Things might be getting a bit awkward very soon. We landed in a patch of aphrodisiac plants that are native to the system. However they’ve never been found on this planet, I don’t know how they’ve managed to come over, but they’re an invasive species. The effects only last until the urges are sated, but they’re fast acting. It’s why we’re already sweating, a higher heart rate, increase pupils and… uh increase urges” you explained, cheeks flushing as you felt the affect of the plant. Your stomach cramped, and you knew it would get worse the longer you left it.

Now that you recognised what was going on, you couldn’t help but notice the slick feeling in your pants and the way your thighs had been rubbing together all the time you had been sitting down. Glancing into his eyes, you could indeed see how blown his pupils were, the brown almost completely disappeared. You could imagine your own eyes were pretty similar.

Kriff! This would be so embarrassing, you didn’t know if you could make it all the way back to camp like this. It already felt like too much for you.

Tup shifted a bit further away, biting his lip as he pressed on his codpiece. He’d been feeling the affects for a while, putting it down to the climate and the trekking for specimens. However, even he hadn’t been able to ignore the way that his blacks had tightened considerably with every twitch of his cock. The way his blood had rushed down to chub him up as his eyes strayed to your tantalising hips and your ass.

He had been reprimanding himself all through the walk, reminding himself that this was a civilian contractor, a nat-born as well, they didn’t take kindly to any reminders that he was flesh and blood. But you had been different and it had been hard to look away from how beautiful you were. Especially when he had caught you looking at him as well. To know you were feeling the same way towards him as well… it made him feel consumed with want and need for you.

“We… we have to… give into our urges to make it stop?” Tup questioned, not knowing how to approach this. It certainly wasn’t part of his lessons back on Kamino.

“Yeah, I uh, think you might have to call for a pick up. I don’t know if I’ll be able to manage walking back to camp, I’m sorry Tup” you winced, feeling the throbbing in your core become more pronounced as his tongue came out to flick against his lip.

“Not your fault, mesh’la. You didn’t plan for this” Tup assured, wiping his brow. “It might take a while for them to reach us” Tup admitted, noticing the density of trees around them. His brothers wouldn’t be able to land a craft or drive a speeder through here.

“Kriff! We might have to deal with this ourselves. I can go over there and you can stay here and we can… we can pleasure ourselves until it’s out of our system” you suggested, somehow your face grew hotter and hotter, even though you already felt on fire.

Tup groaned, eyes flickering shut at the thought of you going off to touch yourself. But still, a part of his brain reminded him of the possible dangers you could face if you were lost in pleasure. He wouldn’t be able to protect you if you went too far away from him and danger came for you.

“We could… we could stay here together… help each other?” he breathed, unsure how you would react to his suggestion. You had only just met and now he was offering for you to sleep together to stop this urge and desperation that was clawing at you both.

“I don’t want to force you to do something you don’t want to” you sighed, unable to stop reaching for him and laying a hand on his arm.

Tup’s eyes met yours, the lust and desire hard to miss in his gaze, but he frowned heavily at your words. “You wouldn’t be” he promised, sure of that. It was cute how you worried about taking this choice away from him, but he was certain of how he felt about this, about you. He only hoped you felt the same.

“Sleeping together would work” you confirmed, gaze falling to the way he was panting, his lips parted and already moist from the way he kept licking them.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Tup asked again, beads of sweat already pooling across his brow once more, and he swiped them away in frustration. He already began unclipping his armour, the chest plate falling to the floor as he stood to help get rid of the rest. It helped a little, but not a lot, the heat still racing through him.

“Yes, I’m sure Tup. Are you? I can… I can deal with this myself if you don’t want to do this” you said, offering him a way out. Even at the painful stomach cramps were starting to become constant. Whining softly, you pressed a hand to your stomach.

“I’m sure, mesh’la… I… you’re lovely and maybe after all this is over… we can go out… maybe” Tup muttered, and his face went impossibly redder and he groaned at the sight of you standing and beginning to pull your top over your head.

“Tup, I want that too. But now, I really need you to come over here and touch me” you growled, wanting to feel the way his body would feel against yours, the hard angles of his chest pressing into your soft curves. You could just imagine how those lips would feel wrapped around your breasts. Moaning, you gritted your teeth against the tide of want-need-pleasure that washed over you.

As soon as the words had left your lips, Tup was closing the distance he had self imposed between you, hand wrapping around the nape of your neck and dragging you to him. His lips slotted over your own, the kiss passionate and desperate as you tugged on his blacks, pulling him as close as possible to you. His other arm wrapped around your waist, pushing your overalls off until they pooled at your feet. Tightening his grip around your waist, he picked you up, moving you away from them and allowing you to kick off your boots.

Moaning into his mouth, you pulled away with a heaving chest as you looked up into his beautiful brown eyes. The pupils were blown wide, only leaving a lovely ring of brown around it. He was just as desperate and affected as you by the pollen, and you could feel it in the way that he was pressing against you as well. Slipping your hands down from his chest, you trailed them down until you reached his codpiece. If he was just as needy as you, then you couldn’t imagine how uncomfortable this must be feeling at the moment. So you deftly unclipped it from his blacks and threw it behind him somewhere, not caring where it landed.

Tup let out a loud groan of relief, before pressing his hard covered cock against you. Hearing the soft gasp you let out at that, he began grinding into you, the friction giving him no relief against the burning need pulsing through him.

“Kriff, mesh’la, I need to have you. Please, please let me taste you” he pleaded, burying his face into your neck and raining open mouth kisses along there.

The thought of his mouth drinking in your juices, sucking at your clit and his tongue pushing inside of you had you digging your nails into his bronze skin. “Yes! Fuck yes, I want that Tup” you hissed out, stomach cramping at the thought of him.

Tup grinned against the side of your neck before pulling away and drawing you into another kiss, his hands working on releasing you from your bra, while yours tugged on the top of his blacks.

Growling in annoyance, you pulled away from Tup and grabbed the hem of his shirt, pulling it of and over his head with little gentleness. You wanted to feel him, to see his gorgeous body for yourself, not let it be hidden beneath the annoying blacks that the troopers wore.

Chuckling at your enthusiasm, Tup laid it down on the ground, reaching for your overalls to do the same. He laid it out as best as he could in a makeshift blanket before grabbing your hand and pulling you to lie down. “I don’t want to hurt you by fucking you against a tree, mesh’la. And I’m sorry we couldn’t do this in a bed, so this is the next best thing” he apologised, wanting to make you comfortable as much as possible.

Maker this man! How was he so sweet and thoughtful in a time like this. Cupping his face, you gave him a bright smile. “All I want is you Tup, it don’t matter if we’re in a bed or in a forest. That you’re worried about that… I’m just so glad that it was with you Tup” you sighed, threading your fingers through his hair and pulling him down with you in a kiss. Carefully, you let your fingers undo his topknot, and you were rewarded with his long curls cascading down around you. He was gorgeous, and the sigh of pleasure Tup let out as you ran your fingers across his scalp had slick soaking into your already drenched panties.

Tup kissed along your cheeks, reaching the hinge of your jaw and letting his teeth graze over it before he worked his lips down your neck. “So soft, you’re so soft” he murmured, hand coming up to tilt your face upwards so he could have more room exploring your neck. He lavished attention on you, marking and sucking bruises into your pretty skin.

You sighed, running your hands through his curls and tugging at the long strands. His groans vibrated against your neck and you couldn’t help but repeat the action, enjoying the way you were affecting him. “So sweet, Tup, you sound so pretty” you breathed, eyes slipping closed as he kissed his way past your collarbones and down your chest. Every touch of his skin felt soothing against your heated skin. Like aloe Vera against a burn, soothing and cool against the fire that had spread through you.

Tup groaned, nuzzling his nose against your breasts at the way your fingers felt against him. His large hands trailed across your stomach, along your sides and up to your breasts, cupping them in each hand. Ducking his head, he captured your nipple in his mouth, flicking his tongue over the nub and squeezing your mounds. His thumb gently brushed against your other nipple, encouraging it into a stiff peak that he could play with and pinch.

“Tup!” you gasped, tugging at his hair to pull him up to kiss him. He relented, allowing you to drag him up your body to press your lips against his, tongues playing and sliding against each other. Letting out a small moan, you wrapped your leg around his waist to secure him to you. His hand squeezed your nipple before he nipped at your bottom lip and pulled away. Groaning, you felt your cramps come back as he stopped kissing and caressing you. “Don’t stop!” you grumbled, trying to pull him back to you.

“I want to taste you, mesh’la. It won’t stop until I get a taste of you” he growled, kissing down your body and hissing at the flash of heat that settled in his stomach. If he didn’t get his mouth on you, he knew he would combust. Groaning, he kissed along your stomach until he reached your pants, and he quickly hooked his fingers beneath the material and tugged it off.

As soon as they were off your legs, he wasted no time in burying himself into your core, the feel of his lips and tongue and teeth soothing you. He kitten licked at your clit for a moment before dragging his tongue down, parting your folds and groaning at the taste of you bursting along his tongue.

You cried out, one hand gripping onto his hair, the other digging into his shoulder, little crescent marks littering his skin. Your racing heart settled a little, but the need to feel Tup increased, and you tugged him harder into your core.

“That’s it sweetheart, show me what you want” Tup groaned, hands gripping your thigh and tugging you closer to his mouth. He threw your legs over his shoulder, they were spread wide as he fitted his broad self against you. He sounded so eager to taste more of you, little moans and growls falling from his mouth, as he sucked one of your folds into his mouth, running his tongue against it up and down before dropping back to your entrance. His tongue prodded at your hole before slowly licked into you, opening you up for him as gently as possible.

As you felt him slide his tongue inside of you, a surge of pleasure washed over you, taking your breath away. Cursing softly, you threw your head back, not really focused on the treeline above you, Tup was taking too much of your attention with the way he kept you still for him as he feasted on you. Whining, your bucked your hips up into his mouth, searching for more of his talented tongue.

However Tup pulled away, sending you a teasing look. You almost growled at him in response. “So eager, mesh’la, are you that needy?” he asked, hands running up and down your quivering thighs.

“You said to show you what I wanted, and I am” you complained, pout forming on your face as you reached to stroke down his arm. He shivered and you couldn’t help but grin, pushing yourself up into a sitting position and trailing along his chest.

Tup sent you a contrite grin before leaning forward to peck at your lips. “Alright mesh’la, I did say that. Lie back down for me, I still want to be able to taste you on my tongue for days afterwards” he grinned, helping you to lie back down. He settled himself back in between your legs, nuzzling into your inner thigh before sucking a mark there.

Sighing at the bruise that would blossom there, you couldn’t think of a better reminder of what was happening to you when you looked in the mirror after this.

Seemingly to have enough of teasing you, he returned to your dripping entrance, surging forward to drink you down and tease you with his tongue. One hand came to grip at your thigh, pushing them wider to fit his broad shoulders and the other came to press alongside his tongue inside of you. He collected your slick and his saliva before sliding his finger into your entrance.

“Tup!” you moaned, twirling his strands between your fingers and pulling him closer to you. He chuckled against you, lips pressing open mouthed kisses up to your clit before taking it into his luscious lips. Tup moaned around you, losing himself in the taste of you bursting along his tongue while his finger stretched you out before he pressed a second finger into you.

Groaning at the stretch of his thick fingers, you pushed back into him, trying to get him to give you more. The heat was building more and more, and you could already feel Tup helping to make you feel good, pushing you towards the edge as he sucked harshly on your clit, fingers curling and scissoring inside of you.

You reached down to guide his hand, showing him just what you liked. Tup groaned, letting his hand follow your instruction as his tongue flicked at your clit, drawing maddening circles against your button of pleasure. However, just as you felt yourself approach the edge of release, it all stopped. It was like there was no other way to continue, you hit a wall and couldn’t finish.

Grunting in irritation, you bucked your hips into Tup’s face, trying to chase the pleasure that he was giving you. “Please, Tup! Please, right there, please!” you begged, desperate to reach that release. Whining softly, you tugged and bucked into him but nothing happened. Even when Tup pressed a third finger into you, curling them and rubbing against the spot that always made you see stars, again nothing happened.

Tup gave your clit a lazy suck and pulled away, frown forming on his face as he saw your distress. “Mesh’la? Are you okay?” he whispered, crawling up your body and cupping your face.

“It’s not working Tup!” you whined, already feeling the heat and cramps returning to you as your heart raced. “I can’t cum, not on your fingers or your mouth” you sighed, tears brimming as your need for Tup increased.

“I’m sorry” Tup apologised, face falling as he pressed closer into you. “What can I do to help?” he asked, thinking of different positions or ways he could use his mouth to make sure you could cum with him. He hated seeing you in pain, the pollen still pulsing in your veins as you demanded satisfaction, something he wasn’t able to give you at the moment.

“No… not you” you mumbled, shaking your head and dragging your hands down his back. “I don’t think it’ll work until we… until we… fuck!” you hissed, burying your head into the crook of his neck. The cramps were rolling through you, and you could barely keep still as you tried to find relief. Tup let out a shaky moan as you warm, wet centre connected with his covered length. His hips ground down into you, and you let out a stuttered moan at the heat that was pulsing in between you two.

“We were… we were mesh’la” he gasped, as you licked at the hinge of his jaw, grazing your teeth along it and causing him to shudder.

“No I mean… need you to fuck me… need your cock. Only way Tup, please” you begged, hands sliding down his gorgeous body and finding the trail of dark hair that led to his lower blacks. You pushed them over his slim hips, and he lifted up enough to push them off his long legs before returning back to you.

“Yeah, yeah mesh’la… I need to be inside of you. Please, I need to feel you” Tup murmured, his own need and the fire in his veins getting worse. Already he could feel the sweat bead across his skin, as he lay open mouthed kisses along your collarbone.

Unable to resist any more, you let out a huff of air, trying to calm your racing heart and your erratic breathing. As you went to turn over onto your hands and knees, Tup gripped at your waist, stopping you. “No, I want to see your face… please” he begged, thumb rubbing delicious circles into your hips that had your mind going hazy at the gentle, reassuring touch. Nodding, you pulled him further into you, your legs curling with his as he nuzzled his nose against yours.

Tup settled himself between your legs, pushing them wider so he could press his cock against you. He ran his hands up and down your inner thighs, squeezing them and admiring the handfuls he could grab. His cock slid between your folds, head nudging at the bundle of nerves.

“Tup!” you gasped, hooking a leg around his waist to tug him closer to you. You had enough with teasing, you felt like you would self-combust if you didn’t have his cock inside of you right now.

“I know, mesh’la” he cooed, hips rocking and sliding his cock against you even more. He groaned as you reached for him, warm hands sliding over his chest and shoulders. Unable to resist any more, Tup gripped the base of his cock, lining it up to your slicked entrance and only pushed in the tip of his cock.

Even after having his mouth and fingers working you open, there was an initial burn of pain as he stretched you with the head of his cock. Moans filled the air, both yours and Tup’s as he slowly pressed further inside of you. The head of his cock was wide, but it tapered down to a thinner shaft that was long and seemed never ending as he penetrated you.

Having him inside of you was already cooling down the heat that was burning through your veins, replacing it with a fire that was much more recognisable as your own desire. Gasping as he finally bottomed out into you, balls pressed to your ass, you whined, looping your arm around his neck and bringing Tup down for a kiss.

It was as passionate and kind as him, even when he nipped at your bottom lip it was full of affection, and you clung onto him tighter. The feel of him filling you up inside and the way his lips felt against yours was fanning the flames in your core.

“So beautiful, you’re so perfect” Tup panted, pulling away to lay a steadying hand on your hip. “Can I move?” he asked, jaw fluttering as you tightened around him at the question. He had to control himself from grinding further into you.

“Yes! Please Tup, I want you to move” you pleaded, running your hands down his sides until you met his ass, squeezing the cheeks and encouraging him to move.

Tup flashed you a soft smile before pulling out, a groan falling from his lips just as a moan fell from yours. He looked down to see his cock slide out of you, his length already sticky with your arousal before he drove back into you.

The gasp that you let out echoed around the clearing as you felt yourself open up more for him. Forcing your eyes open, you met his gorgeous, honey-coloured eyes, watching as he took in the way your mouth fell open. Lust and desire burned fiercely in his eyes, but there was also affection and care, he wanted to make sure you were enjoying yourself as well. You hoped that he could see that reflected in your own eyes as well.

Rolling his hips back, Tup set out a steady pace, but the need to drive into you was getting stronger and stronger with each thrust. His heart was racing, heat was coiling in his stomach and at the base of his neck – the pollen demanding satisfaction – but he wanted to make sure that he didn’t hurt you.

“It’s okay, Tup! Fuck! Oh” you cried, wrapping both of your legs around him. “I won’t break, I can take it” you managed to get out between his powerful thrusts, spearing you open around him.

Tup growled, jaw tightening as he gripped the legs around his waist and pushed them further into your chest. He leant forward, hips beginning to drive down into you at a pace that was almost too much.

“Fuck! Fuck Tup!” you sobbed, each thrust of his cock driving deeper into you at the change of position. It was sending your pleasure rocketing, the feel of his wide tip forcing it’s way in between your walls, the way you clenched around him making him feel even bigger and longer inside of you. Reaching up, you grabbed a fistful of his hair, tugging hard on the strands so he would look at you.

The trooper let out a loud, broken moan at the feel of your fingers pulling at his hair, and his hips rocked into yours harder. His eyes met yours, blown wide with pleasure and lust now that he was fucking into you.

“So good, so good mesh’la, feel perfect around me” he groaned, angling his hips slightly and cursing as he felt you clenched down on him. He gripped your tender thighs strongly, fingers digging into the plush flesh and knowing you would have bruises in the shape of his fingers long after this.

“Right there! Oh! Right there Tup” you begged, feeling the way his cock suddenly brushed against that spot inside of you. With each thrust in and withdrawal out, it rubbed against you and made you clutch tighter onto him.

Panting heavily, you pulled him down towards you, crying out as your legs were pressed into your chest, leaving little room between you and Tup. One of his hands came to squeeze at your breast, groaning when he pinched at the stiffened peak as he continued to pound you into the dirt.

The coil inside of you grew tighter and tighter and you knew this would be it. He would make you cum, make you shake as you finally found your release. It felt like you were gushing around him already, and you couldn’t suppress the cries and moans that you let out at every thrust of his lithe hips against yours.

Tup hissed out, nuzzling his face against yours and squeezing his eyes tight as he tried to keep up the rhythm he had set. “I don’t- I can’t- I won’t last” he panted out, hips faltering already as he felt his balls tighten and raise up. The wave of pleasure was already washing over him, he didn’t think he would last much longer.

“’T’s okay, want you, want to feel you cum inside me” you mumbled, brushing your lips against his as you cupped his face reassuringly.

Tup gritted his teeth and shook his head, the hand on your chest snaking down in between you to flick at your clit. You let out a sob, ecstasy flooding you at the move and you held onto him tighter. “Want you… want you to cum with me… please” he begged, rubbing the tips of his fingers against the swollen bundle of nerves.

The sound of him begging and the way he expertly pushed and rubbed at your clit had you sobbing, nodding your head in agreement. You’d do whatever he wanted just as long as he kept fucking you like this.

“Cum with me. Please cyare, cum with me” he grunted, hips beginning to falter as he felt his release wash over him.

You let out a wail, walls shuddering and clutching at his cock as you fell off the edge. Love, pleasure and satisfaction washed over you, it felt like every one of your nerves were firing off as you came around him. Barely able to catch your breath as the force of your release had you trembling around Tup.

You forced your eyes open, determined to see the way Tup’s brow furrowed, his teardrop moving with the motion and the way his mouth fell open, hitched breaths leaving his lips. Warmth flooded through you as Tup’s shot his load inside of you, his body shuddering and trembling against your own. Distantly you were thankful that you had the implant, because you could still feel him twitching inside of you.

As you both caught your breaths, Tup rolled himself off you and pulled you onto his chest. The flamed desperation that had built inside of you because of the pollen was gone, leaving you both feeling pleasantly buzzed and sated. But that was probably down to the best orgasm of your life.

“How are you feeling?” he asked gently, his large palms stroking up and down your back. It felt nice to touch you so intimately without the clawing need burning through his body. He regretted that this would be a one time thing. There was no way you’d want him after this.

“I feel like I’m never going to be sad again. Like I’m floating on cloud nine and I don’t want to ever come down” you murmured, resting your head on his chest, listening to the way his heart stuttered at your words before beating fiercely. It was incredibly soothing to hear the beat of his heart and feel the warmth of his skin against yours.

“Me too. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this good” Tup murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

“Not even when you were selected to be part of the 501st?” you inquired, leaning your head on his chest and looking up into his beautiful, soulful eyes. You could imagine being picked to be part of the infamous 501st would be a turning point for any young trooper.

“Not even then, Mesh’la” he grinned back, using his strength to pull you up his body so he could give you a gentle kiss.

Feeling warmth settle into your bones at his words, you allowed yourself a few more minutes to just cuddle up with Tup, letting yourselves relax into each other and listen to the sounds of the forest around you. It would be the only moment you two would have together, and you didn’t want it to end too soon. You felt so safe and warm in his arms, like the world just disappeared around you as long as he held you close to him.

Sighing heavily, Tup brushed his lips against yours one last time before he pulled away. “We’re going to have to get up, mesh’la” he murmured, glancing at the sky. The sun was beginning to set, dusk would soon be upon them and they still had to make it back to camp. Listening to your grumbles of protest, he couldn’t help but chuckle, bringing you back in for a kiss before you pushed yourself away from him.

“Fine! Fine! I guess we’ll have to. But I want it noted that I was perfectly content to just lie here for the rest of the night” you protested, looking around for your clothes.

“Duly noted” he smiled, sending you a wink and a cocky salute.

After pulling your clothes back on, you watched Tup skilfully pull on his armour and tie his hair up into a neat top knot once more. If anyone was to look at him, they’d had no idea that you had both been infected with sex pollen and had fucked it out of your systems. You really didn’t want to forget about what happened between the two of you.

Even though you had been infected by the sex pollen, you still had never felt such a connection with anybody else before. The way you both moved together felt so natural and even before, it was so easy to talk to Tup, discussing many topics that you didn’t think he would like but showed you knowledge in those areas. Tup was a breath of fresh air, and you wanted to take him all in.

“Hey, maybe after we leave here… you could join me… for caf… in the mess?” you stuttered, grimacing at how unsure you sounded. You didn’t want to force him to be in your company, not after the way you two had fucked because of a plant. He might not want anything to do with you.

A relieved look passed over Tup’s face, his cheeks colouring slightly as he ducked his head, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I’d like that… a lot, mesh’la” he smiled softly, hope flaring in his chest. He wouldn’t pass up this opportunity to get to know you better, treat you like he would have done if he had met you properly.

Before you could reply, an annoying beep was let out from Tup’s vambrace, pulling you both back to reality. Tup scooped it up, and when he answered, the profile of Captain Rex greeted you. “Tup, where are you? You’re late checking in and you should have been on the way back ages ago” Rex reminded, lips thinning and eyes showing both his frustration and concern for his brother.

“Sorry Captain, there was a bit of a complication but it’s sorted now. We’re returning back to camp” Tup reported, instantly falling back into the role of soldier.

“Alright, just hurry up. It’ll be dark soon vod’ika, I don’t want to have to come get you myself, understand?” Rex sighed heavily, shaking his head.

You could see just how much Rex cared for his men and brothers. No doubt he would be the first to come and look for you as soon as it got dark – and he wouldn’t be as annoyed as he demonstrated he would me.

“Of course, Captain, we’re on the move now” Tup assured, sending his ori’vod a small smile before signing off.

Smiling, you gathered your things and slipped your hand into Tup’s. He squeezed it, and you couldn’t help but lean against him as he grabbed his blaster in his other hand. “Come on, looks like we’d best be getting back. I want to take you on our caf date as soon as possible” you told him, making him gape at you.

“A date?” he breathed, as though the thought hadn’t occurred to him that was what it would be.

“A date” you said firmly, leaning up to brush your lips against his.

[drbatsponge]

As many of you may not know at the time of writing this, May 18th, which was yesterday, is the day that marks Cassandra Cain's first appearance in DC Comics.

So, to celebrate 25 years of the character, I have decided to review each of Cassandra Cain's quote on quote "first appearance" comics.

Essentially these comics cover her origins and her first outing as Batgirl.

All of these comics take place during the No Man's Land event.

The comics in order are:

Batman #567

Detective Comics #734

Legends of the Dark Knight #120

Batman #569

Due to Tumblr's image limit you'll only be able to see images for part one of this review, for a review that has more images, please use this link to Amino here:

We'll start with Batman #567 and TEC #734 since both share Cassandra Cain's two-part origin story: Mark of Cain.

Cassandra Cain's origins are very unique in the sense that the character appears first before she ever even dawns the costume, as the costume is currently being worn by someone else, specifically Helena Bertinelli who does have a cameo appearance within this two part story as Batman can be seen confronting her at a cemetery at the beginning of part one.

Cassandra is later shown, and it's established that she's one of Barbara Gordon's couriers that deliver information and supplies throughout the post-earthquake rocked Gotham City, she brings Barbara an apple as a gift for teaching her how to pronounce words.

It's then shown Cass has trouble pronouncing the simplest of words, due to her father depriving her of speech during her developmental stage of life.

Speaking of Cassandra's father, David Cain, Cass eventually runs into him trying to assassinate Commissioner Gordon via sniper rifle, and prevents him from doing so by surprising him and blocking his field of view.

Part one ends with the two having a confrontation where Cassandra finally utters the phrase that Barbara was trying to teach her prior before pushing David out a window.

Throughout the story various little snippets of Cassandra's childhood are shown.

We can see that nothing was wholesome about her childhood, her upbringing was nothing short of cruel, her father having her kill a man at such a young age, which of course left a lasting impact on her.

Overall part one of this story does a very good job at introducing us to Cass and pulling at your heartstrings with her origin.

While part one doesn't have much dialogue, which is obviously intentional because of the character in this story, it has some stunning visuals from the artist Damion Scott and what few bits of speech we do get is enough to serve the story.

I would say Kelley Puckett hit it right out of the park with getting us invested in his at-the-time new character to the Bat Mythos. I would give part one a perfect 10/10.

Moving on to part two, we begin where the first part ended and we have Cass and David continuing to plummet from their dive through the window earlier. Luckily Batman catches David at least, but Cassandra decides to let go of her father last minute, however she still survives, Batman seemingly catching her and bringing her to a cemetery later on. Most likely the same cemetery that he had found Helena at prior.

There, Batman discerns that Cass never learned how to communicate properly and the only language she knows is violence, fighting.

Cassandra and Batman then have a dispute about who should go after David, Batman bringing up the fact he was hired by Two-Face to kill Gordon.

Batman says he can handle both David and Two-Face, but Cassandra disagrees.

Eventually the two go after both separately, Cass taking Two-Face and Batman taking David.

Cass successfully subdues Two-Face by what we later find out is her taking his coin.

Cass even makes it in time to help Batman with David.

The end of the story shows Barbara handing over an old photo of a Batgirl over to Cass, while Batman instructs her to call the other Bat-Family members.

Overall, part 2 is pretty good, I wouldn't say it's as great as the first part of this story, as it does decide to focus more on action instead of any actual fleshing out to Cassandra's backstory, but nonetheless it's still a solid conclusion to the previous story.

As a rating, I would give it a 9/10.

Now moving on to what you could call part three of Mark of Cain but isn't exactly labeled as such is Legends of the Dark Knight #120. I say COULD, because the story itself isn't exactly all that much connected to the prior parts other than beginning where part 2 ended, but it does further Cassandra's story nonetheless as this is the comic where she officially dawns the Batgirl suit. Before that though, she meets the entire Bat-Family, especially hitting it off with Jean Paul Valley, AKA Azrael.

Batman then has a chat with the previous owner of the Batgirl suit, Helena Bertinelli. Essentially Helena kind of has a meltdown before having a falling out with Batman, which I wouldn't say isn't exactly justified, it's implied Batman pushed her too far here and I don't necessarily blame her for wanting to distance herself. Regardless, Batman collects the suit from her and decides instead that it belongs to Cass.

This is not before she's given a lecture on honoring the symbol of the bat, of which Batman already trusts she'll honor, Nightwing on the other hand not being so sure. Oracle makes him second guess his opinions though and then Cass suits up, now Batgirl, and glides out with the Bat-Family into the city.

I'd give this story an 8/10, my only main problem being with it is the art, for some reason the artist here didn't study anatomy, giving Helena and Cass in this story weirdly skinny wastes. 💀 Nonetheless the artist isn't terrible in other areas.

Our final story, Batman #569, or as the official story is called: I Cover the Waterfront, covers Cassandra's first outing as Batgirl.

It starts out with Cass beating up a bunch of thugs who are trying to rob a gas station, for well, gas.

She quickly dispatches the thugs, the gas station owner, Jimmy Sanchez, inviting her into the station to celebrate.

Even trying to offer her a grape soda, but Cass declines as she much prefers to not hear Sanchez constantly ramble on about things, wanting quiet.

We then cut to what we can assume is a scene prior with Batman briefing Nightwing, Oracle, and Cass about a shortage of gas, which they need for generators to power their infirmary unit within the city they call M.A.S.H.

Cassandra is clever and knows where they might find some gas, suggesting there's some in Amusement Mile.

Batman agrees to let her go get the Cass, Barbara remarking how eager Cass is to please the Caped Crusader.

We can assume that Sanchez has the gas, as we cut back to him and Cass, Sanchez yet again going on another long ramble, talking about how the thugs who attacked him earlier used to be good kids.

Cass again, doesn't like the noise and leaves. Later finding out that the thugs have returned and their leader has a rocket launcher. Before Cass can intervene though, Sanchez comes out and threatens the thugs. Cass leaps into action to save Sanchez, fighting the thugs, but to no avail, eventually the leader regains his footing and blows up the gas station.

Cass, thinking she has failed, attempts to kill the gang leader, but is stopped by Sanchez going on another one of his rambles. She listens this time though, as the man reminds her not to give up so easily, so she lets the thug live.

Batman soon arrives and it's revealed that this whole thing was an elaborate distraction from the real stash of gasoline that Sanchez had hidden in a safe location, showing Cass that she hadn't failed at all.

I would say that this story is a decent first outing for Cassandra Cain as Batgirl, and reevaluates what her character is all about, someone who doesn't give up so easily, someone who isn't a killer. I would give this story another perfect 10/10.

Well, that's it, that's all the stories reviewed for my little anniversary special for Cass here.

Probably one of the longer blogs I've written if I'm completely honest. ���

But as always stay tuned! Same bat-time, same bat-channel!

And Happy 25th Anniversary Cassandra Cain!

[have-a-hiddles]

Papas' Favorite Music

I was trying to think of what the various Papas all like to listen to (besides their own music, of course). I'm taking into account what we know of their personalities, their ages, overall vibe, etc. Granted, Copia will probably be the most detailed since he is the one we know the most about thanks to the Chapters.

Primo: Dude is nearly a generation removed from his brothers. He was already a teenager in the sixties, so his taste skews towards the hippie movement. Although I doubt he was active in anti-war protests, I think he likely enjoyed the resulting music. Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Doors, Rolling Stones. Was dude at Woodstock? Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe... Strangely, he is NOT into Elvis at all. Not that he hates him or anything, but he will change the station if Elvis comes on the radio. Jailhouse Rock is the exception to this rule. Also really likes Johnny Cash and wishes to Satan and all of the Kings of Hell that his range was as deep as Johnny's. Modern music? Today's music often leaves him a bit empty since it's so mass-produced and lacks much complexity. There are some exceptions. Adele, Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, even some Taylor Swift.

Secondo: Mister I Must Be Edgy himself, Secondo is one of those people who detests anything deemed "popular" by the masses. As such, he actively dislikes The Beatles, The BeeGees, the Monkees, etc. Any artist/band that had screaming teenagers after them, really. That being said, he did latch on to the burgeoning hard rock/metal genre. Aerosmith, AC/DC, Blue Oyster Cult, Black Sabbath. There were two main exceptions to his hatred of popular music: Queen and David Bowie. He's not entirely sure if it's because the music is actually that good, or if he just really wants to fuck David Bowie and/or Freddie Mercury. (He did both, by the way, although not at the same time, much to his regret.) Want to see him singing into a hairbrush like a teen girl? Play Under Pressure.

Terzo: He likes EVERYTHING. He doesn't give a shit what genre a song is from; if he likes it then he fucking likes it! Shakira? Yeah, his hips don't lie either, gorgeous. Backstreet Boys? Yes, please! Britney Spears? Hit HIM baby one more time! Taylor Swift? Well he was definitely trouble when he walked in. Dolly Parton? Jolene, Jolene, JOLENE, JO-LEEEEEEEEEEE-EEEEE-EEEEEEEN! Opera? You can try to tear Marriage of Figaro from his white-gloved hands. Broadway? Homeboy will belt out Defying Gravity with the best of them. Disney? He will make you WEEP with his rendition of When You Wish Upon A Star. He even likes bands that constitute his "competition". Rammstein? JAWOHL. Nightwish? He will happily walk the Elvenpath. Random internet hits? He literally harassed Secondo with What Does the Fox Say? for three weeks when the song first came out. And Baby Shark. If a song spawns a meme, Terzo is all over that shit. And, yes, he has Rick-Rolled pretty much everyone at one point or another. Copia continues to fall for it. However, he LIKES that song, so the joke's on Terzo.

Copia: Speaking of Copia; much like Terzo, his tastes defy genres. He is very much into anything with a theatrical bend. Broadway and movie musicals are his bread and butter, including Disney/Dreamworks/etc soundtracks. He will put on entire one-man versions of shows to an audience consisting entirely of his pet rats. He ALMOST has that rap in Hamilton down. You know the one. There is a debate on whether taking Copia to Walt Disney World at any point would be a fantastic idea or a terrible one. Because he absolutely will sing at the top of his lungs the entire time and may frighten some small children. And yes, he absolutely has cried listening to Terzo sing When You Wish. With that as the foundation for his music tastes, he mostly likes music that tells a story or that has an accompanying music video that plays out a story of some kind. Think Meatloaf, Michael Jackson, Imagine Dragons, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Fall Out Boy, 30 Seconds To Mars, etc. That need for a story does spill over into his own music videos; Rats, Danse Macabre, Hunter's Moon, and Jesus He Knows Me. (I consider anything released after 2018 to be Copia's writing, with the exception of Mary On A Cross and Kiss the Go-Goat since they are Nihil's songs in-universe).

Fun Unrelated Fact: If my math is right, Primo is a baby boomer, albeit a young one. Meanwhile, the other three are thick into Gen X territory. Splains a lot, eh?

[kassandrasdisciple]

~~~ batman CC spoilers ~~~

Honestly this is the best DC project in years and a return to everything that was good about the og animated series whilst including all the elements of DC cannon that have been created or expanded upon since.

Just a few of my favorite things:

- the SETTING, going back to the 40s noir vibe is a perfect choice, the fights are beautiful and not overcomplicated by gadgets and tech, also allows for some gratuitously beautiful shots that play with shadow.

- batman's age, I don't think Bruce is ever given an age in the show but he seems to be mid 20s early 30s and still an urban legend as the batman, we don't have to waste time with an origin episode/season but we still get to experience a Gotham who doesn't fully trust their vigilante.

- VILLIANS, for me the stand out was harley quinn, divorcing her from the joker allows her character to fully shine, she stays somewhere in the grey but still firmly an antagonist. It's one of the gripes I have with new harley that once she leaves the joker she always becomes more of an anti-hero/hero, keep my girl villainous. Also her psychological background is in full swing, I've always believed Harley is most dangerous when she's in your head and the show leans fully into it. Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss indeed.

- villians pt.2, keeping the theme of the animated series we have our villians for villainy antagonists like penguin and thorn who seem to live on in their counterparts, onomatopoeia and firebug, but we also get nuanced character arcs for 2-face, Natalia and clayface, echoing baby doll and calender woman.

- supporting cast, I'm only familiar with the comics in passing but if attorney Barbra is a new invention then whoever thought of it needs a raise. Also aging her up to be in her early 20s is an incredible change from the animated series where she floated around the freshly 18 mark. It makes her a hero in her own right even if she isn't batgirl (yet), and let's us see Gothams worst and how she's already fighting for change.

- Supporting cast pt.2, Montoya! My beloved, I'm not sure where her romance with harley is going but I can't wait, it's great to see such an archetypal noir cop, even more so than Jim, who speaking of I love as well, his want to protect the city but also butting heads with barbie on methods is perfect characterization in my option.

-baby bruce, horrifying, I love him. Alfred has personal beef with harley now, the second he saw an opportunity to throw that man in therapy she gives him valid paranoia of the entire profession just as he was thinking about trying it properly, I know it's on sight for him going forward.

- art, I've binged the animated series many times at this point and it's a running gag in the fandom that some frames are ... unique. Obviously the animators were working with what they had, but the step up in fight choreography and flow is spectacular, the whole show is a love letter to old batman with a new varnish of the animation productions of today.

Overall an amazing show that had me laugh and gasp in equal amounts, it took itself seriously in a way most superhero media won't do anymore, I distinctly thought in ep.9 when batman swings away from Montoya and Jim "wow they didn't put in a stupid snark about him being dramatic or having a nice ass ect" and it's like a breath of fresh air.

As far as nitpicks go I wished we had more of Bruce in isolation, or having real conversations, but I realize the focus of this season was his loneliness and how the final episode states he's opening up more to the 3 main supporting characters. I'm also worried for how important the joker might become but that's basically instinct at this point (please kill him off, i want to see the reactions).

Going forward I can't wait to see if we get any follow up on the Easter egg characters, killer croc, the 4 Robin's, king tut. I'd love to see the batman as a dad he's got a lot of kindness modern adaptations don't include, but still that overwhelmingly lonely nature. I'm hoping harley and the joker never cross paths in this universe but I won't hold my breath and I'd like to see if we will get a batgirl/oracle storyline as well.

Anyways looking forward to the confirmed second season, and if you read this without watching the show, start now.

[ectonurites]

I haven’t been keeping up with current dc comics, what’s happened with Kon? I keep seeing people talk about it but it’s all vague

Basically, Kon had a really fun and overall good mini called Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow which ended this week. This book ended with Kon in a good place and having really seemed to find his place in the world again after the rough last several years (since getting reintroduced in YJ 2019 into a world that didn't remember him) he's had. That book ended technically last week via digital release, but this week in terms of the physical release.

But then... also this week... we found out via a Bleeding Cool article on Sunday that there was going to be a backup story featuring Kon in Action Comics this week which... suddenly made Kon/M'gann—a ship that originated in the Young Justice cartoon which has literally nothing to do with main continuity comics, a ship between two characters who have barely if ever spoken a fucking word to one another in actual main continuity—be dating. With absolutely no build up.

Queue people being concerned/stressed/angry/etc etc. And now today the issue dropped. And well it's just as bad as it seemed like it was going to be.

It basically just... manages to mention Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow while also regressing Kon back as if the development he had in that book hadn't happened at all, have Kon be ridiculously rude to Ma Kent out of nowhere in a way he never has been before (like... even the at-many-times bratty Superboy '94 era Kon wasn't like that towards her! it is seriously out of nowhere i am utterly fucking baffled), stick him back in fucking high school again (as if YJ 2019 hadn't... had him explicitly on page decide he was done with that and done with just trying to be a carbon copy of Clark BEFORE he even got sent to Gemworld!), and just have a poor grasp on his current history/his personality/his voice as a character imo.

I have seen several people point out that the writer of this backup story doesn't actually have anything else with Kon currently slated so it's very possible that other books may not really be paying all that much mind/attention to this story/the characterization/choices in it, and so while it's frustrating that it exists it could in the end not have the biggest impact on things in the long term, but it's still just... wow. It feels like such a slap in the face after Superboy: Man of Tomorrow, I can tell ya that.

And like... one thing I do want to note, is that in the comments the writer has made about this story on twitter, she's made it clear part of what she was going for here is trying to approach who Kon could be outside of/after Superboy... but I simply do not think undoing the character work that was literally just done with him is the right way to approach that. I think from where things left off in Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow one could easily have started to ask those sorts of questions and approach that subject without backtracking and random retcons and OOC behavior which all make it really frustrating to read for longtime fans of the character.

[agentnico]

Agatha All Along - season 1 (2024) review

Down down, down the road, down the Witches Road…

Plot: A spell-bound Agatha Harkness regains freedom thanks to a teen's help. Intrigued by his plea, she embarks on the Witches' Road trials to reclaim her powers and discover the teen's motivations.

I’m not going to waffle about my complaints with the current state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I’ve already rambled on a substantial amount in my previous reviews regarding this subject matter, so let’s leave it at the fact that my opinion and thoughts have not changed. That being said, WandaVision was one of the few enjoyable projects in the post-Endgame MCU era, as it had that original and unique flavour with messing with different television formats, and additionally was interesting in how that show explored the effects of trauma and grief. Naturally due to its success, Disney being Disney and Marvel being Marvel meant a sequel or a spin-off was inevitable. In this case it’s Agatha Harkness, who was played with a lot of funky energy by Kathryn Hahn in WandaVision. As enjoyable as she was, I never considered her to need her own show. I guess really anyone can get their own Disney+ series these days!

Kathryn Hahn is the primary reason to watch Agatha All Along. She’s as enjoyable as ever, cackling and wincing her way through each episode, and it was entertaining to constantly question her moral code, if she’s a villain or if she was turning to the good side. Hahn is great, and I am so glad she’s getting the recognition snd good roles now. As for other cast members, they are okay. Joe Locke as the teen came off a little pretentious, and Patti LuPone was the only witch I actually cared about. Aubrey Plaza as the mysterious Rio ends up being exactly what you expect her to be, and though Plaza nails the sarcasm, it’s nothing you haven’t seen her do before.

In regard to the series’ style, it’s really campy. The trailers in my opinion promised more horror aspects which were not present in the final product, but my main complaint is with the show’s look. It feels cheap. From the costumes to the sets, the whole thing is reminiscent of a CW or SyFy show, and you can tell Disney is probably tightening their budgets following the backlash of recent releases. But with something like Marvel you still expect to see something of visually interesting style, especially as they are sourcing a lot of narratives from comics and graphic novels, which one would assume would inspire more colourful and memorable set pieces. Unfortunately this show doesn’t offer any of that. The best you get is some rip-off witch costumes from other Disney projects, which I felt was more so for Disney to show-off how much Hollywood they own.

As for the narrative, for the most part this show is dull. It’s a very repetitive concept where in every episode our witches take on yet another trial, and though some trials do stand out more than others (episode 7 where a character time-jumps using tarot cards was particularly memorable) as a combined package it meant that catching up every week with a new episode was at times a chore. The other infuriating factor was the endless foreshadowing. This show consistently would bash you over the head with clues of what’s to come, but the clues were so predictable that when the reveals finally did pay-off they were not surprising even remotely. Reminded me a little of that Walk Hard segment where the kid says “ain’t nothing bad gonna happen today” only for him to get spliced in two 5 minutes later.

Superhero fatigue is real everyone! It’s happening! I’m kidding of course, I’m still holding out hope that Marvel and DC will get back to their former glory, but evidently there is still a long ways to go. Agatha All Along didn’t do it for me, however I do admit that Witches Road song is a banger and has been stuck in my head ever since!

Overall score: 4/10

[hoopster321]

Someone fact check me if I’m wrong lol or straight up reaching

This is for Emily Engstler/DC/Mystics fans/followers

TL;DR: There might be an Engstler to Golden State plan in the works, but regardless of the case, if Mystics don’t protect her, she’s a favorite to get picked up. Ultimately I believe Mystics SHOULD protect her.

************************

Could there be an Emily to Golden State agenda going on ?¿ Bc Em followed Natalie Nakase today on Insta, AND IT COULD LITERALLY JUST BE OUT OF SUPPORT, given Natalie was announced as the head coach today.

But! Most ppl following Natalie are mainly Aces players/staff, w/ the exception of 5 players from other teams (Delle Donne, L.Hull, N.Cloud, A. Stevens, and C.Osborne // My creds: I follow all active players on each roster; guess u can count out EDD for now)

Now real talk, would Engstler be chosen in the draft pool if Mystics don’t protect her? I can say w 85-90% certainty Golden State would choose her. ‼️If you’re not aware, Valkyries can only choose one player from each team ‼️

We all know Atkins, Sykes, Austin, Edwards, and either Dolson or Samuelson will be protected (the last two I’m actually not 100% sure but they’ll prob be prioritized). Teams can protect whoever regardless of contract!!! Now Elena Delle Done coming back? If that happens, I doubt DC would let her go.

As for everyone else, they’re p much free game.

************************

✨Now I’ll admit I’m a big Emily fan, so y’all can call me slightly biased for thinking she’s the top choice for Golden State’s pick from the Mystics pool if unprotected, but let’s list actual facts✨:

Comparison from before to after the Olympic Break

- Points per game avg: 4.5 to 7.6

- Mins: DNPs to 20+ mins/game

- Started the final 3 games

- 1.8 AST & 1.4 BLK after the break

- FG%: 43.5% to 51.9%, 49.4% Overall

- Shot 51.4% from 3PT (post break), and a collective 47.4% for the season

(this is a very efficient 3PT% for any league, to put it into perspective, Steph Curry from around the same career period as Emily rn shot at about 45% from 3PT. I understand he had WAY more volume/attempts, hence why I tried to compare it to similar time periods/progressions in their careers. Steph for his overall career is around 42%, and is currently the #1 active 3PT league leader)

*********************

Looking at her games pre-Olympic break, for a majority of those, whether she played 2 mins or 20, she was EFFICIENT, at times still grabbing 2-4 points in just 1-2 mins of play, or still getting stats in other categories. Either way, she played solid minutes & contributed to DC’s earlier wins.

Emily’s a well-rounded player, who can bounce between the 3/4 position, which are the most versatile and physically strongest positions. Her defense has always been her selling point and biggest strength, but now we can really see her ability as a scorer and honestly a playmaker. Her passing ability and court vision is underrated IMO, like she can really pass the ball, to where it directly leads to scores/assists. She also has good length, instincts & TIMING. There’s a reason she’s able to deflect & get picks, and is able to block, especially those with height advantages over her. She’s also shown hints of flashiness/shiftiness (i.e. behind the back/wrap passes, reverse step through layups, etc.)

The growth she has had during this season was drastic yet super impactful and helped out w the Mystics success, especially during their turnaround.

Anyone who’s followed her since her college days can see she has always had the ability & potential to be this player, and still has more improvement that can be done, and is (hopefully) on a consistent, upwards trend.

I’m not just trying to hype her up personally, I’m taking praises and words from her literal teammates, coaches, other colleagues, sports analysts, commentators, etc.

Now my final concluding note: I think Mystics should protect and keep her, not just for the next season, but for the long term future. Emily is still young, yet has shown big glimpses of her full potential. Per Mystics GM & Coaching staff, they want to prioritize rebuilding w/ a young core, as well as take into consideration how individual players mesh w the others from this current roster. Chemistry’s already been established and we’ve seen the evidence of that on full display especially during their turnaround.

Also it’s not like Emily’s a whole new face to some of the current DC players. Bc of her 2023 preseason period w DC, she has teammate experience & chemistry w Sykes, Atkins, and Shatori. Her & Shakira go even further back to 2018 bc of HS/Pre-college tournaments. Again, watch any interviews where coaches or teammates are asked abt Engstler, nothing but pure praise and support.

So yep… at the end of the day, it’s gonna be sad to see any one of these players go. Every team’s gonna look a little different next season, and that’s unfortunately how the league works. But for now, as I am both a DC & Engstler fan and I just wanna support this passionate dawg of a player, I just wanted to give my reasons to why she deserves a spot in this league, but also why Mystics should keep her.

[robinsnest2111]

this weekend's fleamarket treasures <3

I went to 3 markets in total, one on Saturday before work and 2 today.

orange -> saturday; blue -> sunday

I got the necklaces because the red one looks like drops of blood (vampire vibes <3) and the black one because black, also because I'm a sucker for this style of necklace. Obligatory aviator sunglasses inspired by my favourite old man Mick Mars (also because I wanted to buy something off of my coworker who had a table at one of the markets), fishbone and ankh (silver) pendants to turn into earring charms/necklaces, and red eyeshadow

Of course I couldn't leave without at least a couple CDs! I picked out the Scorpions - Virgin Killer album because the boys look so strange in all their late 70s glory and I'm so curious to hear what their earlier songs sound like lol

My favourite seller handpicked the Iron Maiden - Killers album and The Sweet - Castle Masters Collection compilation just for me <3 The Bravo Hits 15 sampler was a blatant nostalgia buy because it's 40 of the most popular songs from the year I was born! Michael Jackson - Bad was a spur of the moment buy and the Zombieland DVD was another nostalgia buy, it's been a couple years so it's high time for a rewatch <3

I already have a couple thrifted denim jackets and vests but I was missing a cool cropped vest to go with my more high-waisted 80s looks so into my bag it went, just gotta add 2 buttons in the back to cinch the waist a bit more. The overall style dress is such a good basic layering piece for my whimsical looks, it's also giving me subtle Miss Beard But Goth vibes lol

The silhouette art was the most expensive piece that day, but I had to have it because I looooove the vibe of the fancy 18th century lady and the devil cherub whispering into her ear 😈

Bought the Black Sabbath t-shirt because of the print and because I like the brand that makes these bandshirts <3

got the AC/DC tanktop because of the Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap print, and the striped button up for a certain flavour of 90s/2000s outfits (mainly inspired by Adam from the first Saw movie lol)

---

That's it <3

[mcytblr-archive]

Early MCYTblr Interviews: mcyt-quotes

today's interviewee is mcyt-quotes, one of the first MCYT quotes blogs, member of MCYTblr since SMPLive, and winner of the first MCYTblr elections! below is a transcript of their questions and answers.

Q: To begin with, what was your overall MCYTblr experience like? Does anything particularly stick out to you?

A: it was fun, by and large. a good outlet for me to talk with likeminded people, and a good distraction to get me through my senior years of high school. i’ve been a public figure in a few online fandom spaces, now, and i think what stood out the most in the mcytblr space is the fact that some of the larger blogs were almost treated like mini-content creators themselves ? i got fanart a few times, especially through the whole election fiasco, and i remember there being incorrect quote blogs etc that i would pop up on now and then. i’ve never seen it happen on that scale before - it was odd, but fun in its own way. defiantly gave early-mid MCYTblr its own personality

Q: Speaking of the elections, do you remember what it was like to run in them? I remember that you won, but I'm interested to hear what it was like from your point of view.

A: ahahaha that was an experience. i fully signed up as a joke - i wasn’t very active on discord or very close with many of the other blogs, and i didn’t realise that my follower count was on the higher end of the spectrum, so i didn’t think i had a chance. just wanted to muck around and procrastinate studying for my final exams. things sorta spiralled though - i got hooked up with two bloody fantastic vice candidates (@the-royal-bat-snake and @sosigshoney) who did literally everything, and i also underestimated MCYTblr’s tendency to do it for the bit. i remember my campaign being something to the effect of promising a militia of arsonists, kitten genocide, cannibalism generally, and a total removal of free speech and thought ? and then i was elected and i was like ah fuck, i don’t have time for this. and then suddenly i was in the middle of some vast RP conspiracy that i was mostly asleep through, being Aussie, and very lost

Q: You mentioned that in the MCYT fandom, blogs were treated like smaller content creators-- how was that different from your other fandom experiences, out of curiosity?

A: so that sort of environment has popped up in other fandom spaces that i’ve been in - most obvious would be (and i want no judgement) the instagram DC and Marvel comics community, where i spent a few years running a large page. there were definitely elements of it - pages would get memes dedicated to them, etc. but lore ? i’ve never seen that before. i think it might be something about the nature of MCYT - aspects of the fandom, especially post Dream SMP (when this behaviour became most common) was built on mythologising people. not in the sense of worshipping them, but more so in the sense of fitting them into fictional narratives, just like the Dream SMP. and the blog owners themselves were primed to happily accept RP scenarios (something which has historically been seen as ‘cringe’), particularly those which blend absurdism and emotion. so the prison blogs, the election and subsequent RP, the penis SMP, the incorrect quotes blogs dedicated to fandom blogs (literally fandom-ception) came pretty naturally

idk, with more and time and reflection there’s probably something interesting there - Dream SMP was pretty unique in it’s time, and tumblr (especially post 2012) is a unique platform, so it makes sense they combined like that

Q: That makes me wonder, too-- it hasn't come up much before this, but I think it's an important aspect to examine: Do you think that large numbers of people (especially younger ones) being quarantined contributed to the intense/fast-paced fandom?

A: oh absolutely. it was pretty crazy to watch as a (semi) outsider. i joined the fandom in 2019, when it was Very small on tumblr - there maybe three other blogs i could follow who were MCYT related ? and then Covid hit and it bloody exploded. as i’ve mentioned, i was in my final year of high school, plus my town was only quarantined for a small period of time, so i didn’t really get that classic quarantine experience of having nothing to do. but christ, you could tell that so many people were spending practically their whole lives living through MCYT. and i don’t think that was a bad thing - it was clearly a great experience for a lot of people. but that’s why you had things popping up like the high school au blog dedicated to other MCYTblr blogs (where i think i was actually used as some evil class president or something ?? idk), which you would Not have seen in any other environment, i reckon

and i cannot stress your fast paced comment enough - every time i woke up it felt like heaps of astronomical events had happened in the few hours of USA timezone that had passed

it was fun - i felt like a long suffering older cousin at some points, but i don’t mind. that’s part of why i leaned into the election RP - if i could be as evil as possible, i gave them something to have fun with

Q: Now that you mention it, it's really interesting how that played out almost exactly as it did in the DSMP itself! A less-invested party coming in with a cartoonishly evil plan and winning the election to be played off of in roleplay, it's amazing how it worked out like that.

A: ahaha and it wasn’t lost on people at the time !! i was known for quite a while afterwards as a Schlatt-kinnie, which i was happy to lean into. a lot of the plot after that was lost on me - it was my two vice’s that i mentioned before and the rest of the cabinet which really carried things, and i would just pop in whenever i happened to be awake to endorse kitten genocide or something like that then go back to studying. but i’m pretty sure it did continue to trace the DSMP for a while afterwards - i banned the cult party [silverfish2020], so they were pretty quick to form a rebellion group, while i just continued to make worse and worse decisions. to be honest, though, it eventually spiralled out of control - i was taking it so laissez-faire that i forgot some people were genuinely invested, and while i forget details i definitely genuinely pissed a few people off at some point. i remember pretty vividly at one point someone made a post where they said they were worried i was going to doxx them or something like that (?) and i was like damn, this shits more serious than i thought it was. so i arranged to have my character assassinated and noped out - i couldn’t tell you what happened after that (or, frankly, before it). honestly, if you’re interested in niche fandom history though there’s probably something interesting in what went down - worth looking into if you’re bored

Q: Do you remember any other 'Big MCYTblr events'? It's alright if you don't remember what happened during them-- if you can't recall, I'll use them to ask around for people who participated!

A: i don’t rlly remember any other events…i know they happened, but i really had no interest in getting involved beyond answering whatever asks i would get about them. the election from memory was the first Big one (unless prom was first ? idk they were close together) and after that i was very happy to let Quotes as a character die, and i mostly ignored them

plus, it was about that time i started leaving the fandom - maybe a month or so later. by that point the community was Big, and moving fast, and a lot of drama had begun to leak in. you’ve covered some of the controversial blogs etc, and while i didn’t care about them personally they were indicative that the fandom space was different. combine that with me moving out of home and starting university, and i pretty much shut the blog down

Q: What led you to create the mcyt-quotes blog in the first place?

A: ummm i reckon just to have somewhere to talk about minecraft monday. there wasn’t a very dedicated fan base, and fuck knows i wasn’t gonna be talking about minecraft irl in a public aussie high school (i don’t have a death wish) so it just gave me somewhere to collect my thoughts. nothing interesting 🤷‍♀️

Q: Now that you mention it-- what are some of your most memorable moments from Minecraft Monday, whether from creators or the fandom?

A: ahhhhh there were some good ones. the fandom was deeply toxic during minecraft monday, but in a fun way - it felt sorta like following a sport more than anything. a niche reference here, but it felt the same as being a fan of australia’s soccer leagues - everyone hates each other, the organisers are greedy pricks who have no idea what’s going on, and there’s a new, entirely avoidable catastrophe happening every week. i think top moments include: the /top incident, where the fandom was divided after a scandal where Techno used an exploit to beat Vikkstar in an arena game; the a6d beef, where a6d was banned for not having enough viewers and then snuck back in and got into twitter drama with Keemstar; the week were Carson tried to sabotage Techno, leading to some of the most awkward moments possible and resulting in a lot of hate for the guy when he was otherwise still popular; week 7, where literally everything that could be broken was broken; James Charles getting adopted by the Minecraft community after his first cancelling but before everything that went down afterwards; and week 14, where a hacker griefed the arena, destroyed the event, and then accidentally doxxed himself while streaming it all. a fitting end

the main outlet for MCYT back then was actually reddit - there was a very active MCM subreddit which had a ton of statistics etc. the fandom was very into statistics back then, and actually analysing who would be a threat. that increased even more when serious esports players were added to the mix, like XQC and T1yler. they brought the toxic sweaty gamer energy to the competition, and the MC youtubers generally found them hilarious

it’s actually funny how much the vibe of the fandom changes depending on what’s most popular - MCM felt like sports fans, SMPEarth felt like historians, and DSMP was a giant role play arena

Q: Were you a part of the subreddit? (And, if so-- was it any different from MCYT Tumblr?)

A: yeah, i was crazy active on that subreddit !! i was always rooting for either Techno, Schlatt, or James Charles - Techno because he permanently dominated, Schlatt cause i was a casual SMPLive fan, and JC for the meme - and because at the time he was pretty widely accepted, since people loved that he genuinely seemed to get into the competition. funnily, the only time i’ve seen this competitive energy recreated was in the Techno vs Dream duel (which i also got way too competitive about). MCM was the first serious introduction of old school MC youtubers to the new generation - it was fun seeing all the classics slowly come around to Techno when they realised he wasn’t a sweat he was just good, or seeing them try to navigate conversations with the SMPLive gang when the old guard was still trying to be family friendly. the best week was actually Week 14, when a collection of old MCYTbers and new MCYTbers (and James Charles) decided fuck it and went to play on Hypixel for a few hours. it was great. i was also, later, very active on the SMPEarth wiki (the main hub for the fandom in those days) - that place is a gem to this day, and i’m not just saying that because i wrote far too much of it

Q: As time went on, did you see the culture of the fandom shift? What was it like to watch?

A: it shifted a Lot between different phases. even the demographic changed, at different points. you would be hard pressed to imagine that the fans of SMPLive were the same as DSMP, even though there was overlap in creators. even something more recent, like SMPEarth to DSMP - totally different vibe. you can see aspects that influenced each other, though - for example, the SMPE fandom’s obsession with making flags for different factions and putting factions at war with each other absolutely led into the establishment of L’Manburg. then Eret had his betrayal moment, and it turned from SMPE style war roleplay (which you would have on SMPLive, even, for example with the Stal conflict) to actual personal role play, where there were characters separate from the content creators. that division had never been identified before. that was when u started to see a lot of the mainstay parts of today’s fandom pop up - e.g. the c! vs cc! shorthand, or the constant division of content creators onto duos or other groups, and (of course) the shipping debates started up. they had always been there, especially in the Dream side of the fandom (which evolved spiritually from the Skeppy side, imo, which had similar debates) but they Really blew up with DSMP

that’s sort of when i stepped out - nothing against that style of fandom, it’s just not for me

Q: I've heard a lot of people who were in 2019-2020 MCYTblr say that the fandom was a lot more close-knit during that time-- was that your experience of it, too?

A: very much so. it was inevitable, we were a small bunch. i wouldn’t go so far as to say that everyone knew everyone, but everyone definitely had a mutual friend. i mean, hell, even connections to the creators were common - a lot of people on stuff like love or host were fans themselves. of course, looking back at the way that power was abused by certain creators paints it in a different light, but at the time it was fun

Q: Are there any fandom in-jokes, copypastas, running bits, or anything similar that you can remember from your time in the fandom?

A: too many to name. most of them id get in my inbox and just be confused, tbh, like the Kroger anon or some of the kinnies. i’ll try to go through some pre-DSMP era ones from the top of my head. the Hey Wilbur copypasta was cursed, as was SMPRompa (which i actually read the first couple chapters of, out of morbid curiosity. it was an experience). Stal, of course, was iconic in its time, as was the cuck shed. there was Keemstar being referred to as a gnome, his beef with the Skeppy gang, the ‘I could kiss you’ incident, ‘Hey Technoblade’. Jschlatt’s love or host bit where he was a closeted, deeply christian man made the rounds. Technoplane, of course. the Carson crying meme, and Gumball killing James Charles. Petezahutt dropping MCM to spite Keemstar, and Keemstar lying about it. ‘Preston is rusty’ was a classic MCM era meme, after the two fucking dominated. the sheer amount of times MCM got hacked was a bit of an in-joke, as was who actually won week 7 (to this day we didn’t know)

Q: Alright, and last one! Is there anything else you can remember/want archived, or any comments about MCYTblr as a whole?

A: ummmm i don’t think so ! i’ve said pretty much everything that immediately comes to mind. definitely an interesting fandom - one of the most unique i’ve seen. i appreciate your account a lot ! it’s funny to see old posts pop up again

[asyastudieskorean]

9/20/2023 — Hello, studying world. Today I start my journey of learning Korean with my first university Korean class (online). We didn't have any work on the first day, so all I did was read the syllabus (the most basic, non-informative syllabus I've ever read, ha), set up my new desk space, and updated my student bio on Canvas. I haven't been a college student for about 3 years, so it felt like I accomplished a lot. When the readings and assignments start coming in, I'm sure reality will hit.

I've always wanted to learn Korean, and my goal is to reach a near-fluent level, but I know it'll be hard, especially with my full-time work priorities. Eventually, being able to teach and work in translation is my goal. FYI, Chinese, Thai, and Japanese are on my list, too, but I'll be realistic and focus on one language for the foreseeable future.

Last week, as it so happens, I had to move from my family and childhood home, and I am lacking in the positivity department rn, so I think having a place to chronicle my studies and the progress I make will be good for me. I tend to start a new blog on here when I'm having a hard time, and it helps.

So, the plan is to take two full academic years of Korean (that's 3 quarters per year at my university). That's just how much Korean the school offers. I graduated in 2020 from this same university with a BA in English with a focus on professional and creative writing, and I really enjoyed the overall experience studying here.

I spent a whole lot of time obsessing over grammar, reading new and old literature, trying to understand poetry, and just enjoying the inner peace I felt when writing fiction. It was maybe my most happy time because I had no other real responsibilities or worries besides school. All I did was read and write.

Anyhow, fast forward to now, after pondering different language learning options (which are limited in my area), I decided to take my Korean classes at the university level because the classes will show up on my official university transcripts, and I imagine that will be best when I apply for future Korean-related jobs. I am also hoping that by taking university-level language classes, they will have some sort of superior level of... intensity? accuracy? efficiency? Something like that. Granted, this route isn't the best for my finances, as there is no aid for non-matriculated post-grads, and the cost of a single class is quite ridiculous. But alas, here I am, with an empty wallet and hope in my eyes.

Upon reading the syllabus today, which could basically be summarized as "TBD," I realized the textbook I bought, the textbook I waited over a week for, the one listed on the online course materials list, is, in fact, not the correct textbook.

And, icing on the bitter cake, the correct textbook appears to be a rare Pokémon that isn't available anywhere except the dark corners of eBay, where shipping will take at least 2 weeks. Like how did other students get this? Did they order it two months in advance? Meanwhile, I have my first assignments and readings due Monday.

I quite literally just sent an email to my professor and asked what I should do, so we'll see what she says, but I really wasn't hoping to be that one student, emailing the professor about an issue on day 1.

Since this is my first post here, here also is a tiny bit about me:

My name is Asya ("Asia"), and I'm a 24-year-old English grad based in Washington; no, not the one followed by DC, but the state with a lot of rain and trees. Twilight? Starbucks? Amazon? Yes, that one.

Since graduating in 2020, I've been a freelance editor and writer. I'm taking Korean both for passion and for work purposes, and I really should have started sooner. But I guess we're all on our own timelines.

I've been on Tumblr for a long, long time, but I've never been part of the studyblr sector. I'm glad to be here. :)

[popculturebuffet]

Supermay!: Superman Vs the Elite: Chunky Greatness (Comissioned by Brotoman.exe)

Hello all you happy last sons, daughters and that beautiful rainbow inbetween of krypton and welcome back to SuperMay! Last time I took a look at a true classic in superman's long history What's So Funny About Truth Justice and the American Way? You can find that review here

What's So Funny... was a rousing sucess, not only leading to Manchester Black coming back a few times, but the elite getting their own justice league spinoff i've never read. Black would also show up quite a bit post-rebirth, before his recent death so Lex Luthor could make everyone forget Superman's secret identity.. or else. Note that this is lex trying to HELP superman. Lex can't even try to do good without doing a murder, suprising no one.

Despite his promience though so far Black has only shown up thrice in other media: In the arrowverse for Supergirl, in the lego batman games, and in today's subject. While it was likely hard to put black in kid shows because his job, hobby and what gets him off at night are all murder, DC had another way to animate this wanker and adapt this story: The DC Universe Animated Movies

Yeah while many a nerd know of them and i'm sure most nerds reading this post know, a refresher: the DC Universe Animated Movies are direct to video movies put out by dc multiple times a year. They've been doing this since 2007 Superman Doomsday with July's Crisis on Infinite Earths Part 3 being the 55th film overall. They've adapted tons of stories from the comics: The Death of Superman (Twice!), Justice League the New Frontier (A personal faviorite), JLA Earth 2, JLA Tower of Babel, Batman: Hush, Batman: The Long Halloween, The Dark Knight Returns, Under the Hood, the first two arcs of Batman/Superman, several tales of the green lantern corps stories, Superman: Braniac, Justice League Origin, Flashpoint, Throne of Atlantis, Batman and Son, The Killing Joke, The New Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, Superman: Red Son,Batman Year One and the doom that came to gotham, cumilating in their soon to be completed three part adaptation of Crisis on Infinite Earths. The adaptations vary from fairly loyal, to loose as a goose and ready to gander, but i'ts nice to see so many stories get direct adaptations. Some are better than others sure, but it's nice to see DC's finest on the screen since some wouldn't work for live action, either due to budget or the simple mechanics of running a film shared universe.

So that brings us back around to today's film: Superman Vs The Elite. SVE, and god is it nice to have a story that I can reduce to a simple acronym, is the sixth superman film made for these, fifth if you only count full length ones but Superman/Shazam: the return of black adam is too good not to even at only half an hour. DC tends to focus on it's big cash cows, hence the early films mostly being superman, batman, superman and batman or the justice league, with green lantern being the notable exception as they wanted to cash in on his hit movie with first flight.. then greenlit first flight despite that hit being directly to the face because it made me personally happy. I have to assume. We also got the very first wonder woman film and weirdly DESPITE diana's spike in sucess post her solo film only that one and the godawful bloodlines. The films WOULD loosen up in terms of scope in the late 2010's and 2020's, with films for the Teen Titans, Justice Society, Suicide Squad, Justice League Dark, Harley Quinn and Constantine, but it's still very bat and league heavy.

Out of the 55 films so far (counting the soon to be released Crisis Part 3), 15 star batman (including the Batman/Sueprman Duology) and a whopping FORTY OUT OF 55 FILMS, 43 out of 58 if we count stuff they weridly left out like the RWBY crossover and the choose your own adventure adaptation of batman. I love batman but my god give him a fucking break dc.

Anywayas point is they love their man of tommorow too, and it's telling out of a collection of his more recent and influentual stories this one got called up for adaptation, others before this being his death and return (which , once again, got adapted AGAIN for a fuller adaptation later on.. and yes I own both adaptations), the two big opening arcs of Batman/Superman, the all-time classic and goat All-Star Superman which I plan to cover next supermay (And would gladly cover earlier on comission or if I had the time), and after this one Braniac, the Geoff Johns classic redefining the character.

This film's also notable is out of the MANY adaptations present it's one of only TWO films to be written by the same writer as the story it's adapting, the other being Judd Winnick on Under the Red Hood. Darwyn Cooke likewise seemed to at least consult on new frontier, which is good as that story is that man's heart and soul and one I'm kicking myself for not thinking to review sooner. Seriously check it or the film out. True masterpiece.

This isn't a knock against the other adaptations, there's a lot of good ones in there, it's just remakrable. it also makes sense why tap Kelly: At this point Kelly had been running Man of Action stuidos for 7 years having co-created Ben 10 and Generator Rex, both shows I highly love, along with Ben 10 spinoff Alien Force which I also dearly loved and was showrun by the late great dwayne mcduffie, who also wrote a lot of direct to video films including what i'm told is a truly excellent adaptation of All-Star Superman I still need to check out.

So Kelly was an experinced hand at animation, and Winnick likewise was, having created and written a decent chunk of the Life and Times of Juniper Lee. So it does make a bit more sense to tap these guys when they know how to screenwrite for animation already.

Kelly does a phenominal job here, expanding the story and making the elitie more fleshed out characters. Their still assholes, but you understand them a bit more and the ones who don't wear a union jack get to actually talk. Also Coldcast is no longer wearing the most unintentionally racist outfit i've seen in an american comic, for the love of god don't send me competitors. The result is a film that's also awesome. Yeah like the story it's based on I won't hide that I loved this film on watch. It's not perfect, what is, but it is still an exellent film that wonderfully expands on an already great story to make it better. So join me under the cut as the world's saved.. but humanity is lost.

SVE is intresting as an adaptation in that it has the same core, a new group of up and coming superheros shows a darker way of doing things superman disapproves of and they come into conflict over it, but takes an entirely diffrent approach to pacing and the elitie themselves. The Original Story hits you lik ea train, starting with a dead gorilla, piling up the bodies nad having the elitie be pretty one note assholes.. they raise valid points, but Manchster is also portrayed as a racist asshole, constantly saying racist shit and then saying "I can say that because i'm one 45th something", something I forgot to bring up in the original review. I mean he's dead on for Mark Millar's version of the Authority, props to that, but otherwise as they are in the original story, the Elitie are just assholes who think they know better and we only get hints of WHY their like this.

The film .. still only gives hints for the non Manchester members, Minager's backstory with the men in black is removed as their absent from the film, but treats them more as people. Not good people by the end, but more as indivduals and it makes the story stronger. We meet the elitie not as swaggering gods, but as swaggering newbies. Their powerful, but at first have no idea what their doing or the true limits of their powers.

So it also gives us a nice dynamic that helps deepens things wholly unique to this film: Superman.. mentors the elite. When he first meets them stopping an attack from warring nations Bialya and Polkistan, which naturally are both very real nations from superman comics. Biyala was a longtime hive of criminals first showing up in one of my all time faviorite comics, Justice League International as a stand in for middle eastern countries, being a small one itself, and picking up traction afterwords while Polkistan was ran by a version of General Zod that wasn't kryptonian. It was a weird time.

This war between the two is a new addition, replacing both the attack on japan and the men in black from the original.. and it's one I like. It fits the Elite better that the thing their interfering in is two warring dictators who don't care who gets hurt in the crossfire and puts more of a face to the ones their caving in. It's easy to say superman could've dealt with super samurai metal men or the worse version of men and black, harder to have him deal with two nations who refuse to just sit down and talk instead of killing civilians to send a message. They still use fantastical means, the Elite first meet clark when he's trying to take down some bioweapons and are key in helping him stop them.

It's also neat to see how both sides greet each other: Superman.. acts how clark always does with a new hero: he's encouraging, kind, and the only negative he has is some gentle cricisim on collteral damage, a nice bit of foreshadowing to the team becoming what it later is. Likewise the eliite are all happy to meet him, with Manchester dropping the swaggering ego he puts up to be genuinely excited like a little kid. Unlike his comics counterpart Manchester still looks up to superman when this starts and it's adorable and humanizes the asshole really well. The others are also mostly starstruck.. except minagre. She's just super horned up. But like in the comics at the time of the original story, Clark's married so, nope.

The rest of the Elitie are fleshed out more here. Manchester's still the focus character and thus the most fleshed out, getting more depth, but the rest of his crew have actual personalities. The Hat is playful and likes to drink a LOT (the last part was in the comic but is more emphasiesed here), Menagire is flirtatious to a creepy and predatory degree (something to the film's credit seems intentioanl) and Coldcast is sarcastic. Their not super deep, but they make the eliite feel like characters and not hired goons.

Superman seeks the elitie out not because their a danger this time.. but because he geninely wants to know them better and help mentor them. We don't get to see Clark mentor often when it's not Kara, so it's another nice addition to the story.

They end up meeting again in London as .. well Manchester Black, while a mystery to the world, wears a flag on his chest and speaks in a cockney accent. Even Black can't help but poke fun at how fucking obvious a step this was, but in another nice touch instead of being touchy welcomes superman into his past, happy to give out his secret origin.

While we got Chester's origin in the comics, this one is more involved and likely what Kelly flehsed out when he wrote the character more later: here he was a tween whose dad was an abusive alchollic rather than a soldier who died in war, the fourth of five kids, his sister the fifth, and none really loved or wanted. He eventually leaves, taking his sister with him for her own saftey and the two scrape by stealing wallets. Unfortunatlaly a constable is lead to them by one of the couples they stole from and the ensuing confrontation, predictably for police, ends with her nearly getting ran over by a train.. till Chester's powers kicked in. Then a bunch of stuff happened he dosen't get into and boom. He HEAVILY implies she died.. but the fact he dosren't say it outright naturally means sh'es alive.

The film wisely plays with this later, revealing that the story is true.. black just sanded off the rougher edges: he KILLED his dad and the train he stopped injured a lot of people. What I like about this though is the lie dosen't come off as Black simply being a manipulative wank phesant. Partially yes, the way he phrases Vera's death is bad.. but it could simply be knowing Superman may not take the news as well, that his hero may abandon him and his friends. Both acts are also gray: he did kill his dad sure.. but we never see the actual act and Chester WAS still a young teenager at the time. He coul'dve easily ratonalized that it was the only way to save his sister. Or simply could've given in to his darker impulses. I'm a lot easier on a scared child whose being acvtively abused than a grown ass man who could've gotten therapy. Same with the train: he knew he could influnce minds from the papa murder but didn't know his telekenisis coudl stretch that far. That one Clark probably would've understood more as growing pains. Finally with Vera it could just be annoyance she didn't join him in quitting the agency or manipulation. I like that the film leaves it vauge instead of making Chester out to just be this massive dick crater. He grows INTO that but i'ts more itnresting to have some ambiguity into how manipulative he was being.

Superman has the elitie help with a nearbye tunnel collapse with a train from terroists.. something their not sure they CAN do as they've only used their powers in combat. Superman however is an excellent leader, it's hinted at the league exists here but wisely they arne't fully mentioned. For all we know he was chairman of the legion at one point and still superboy here. But he's a natural leader and helps the elitie stretch their powers.

The problem is that as much as Superman WANTS to help these new younger hereos learn to be the best they can be... they have diffrent ideas. The divide here is summed up best with this quote from another franchise, from Grant Morrison's incredible run on New X-Men

It's the simple but painful divide that happens as Manchester brutally interrogates a terroist: Superman has his dream of a better world, of inspiring hope to make it so.. and Chester has one of remaking it in his image. Of taking it away from the hands of those he deems to be children playing dangerous war games that end with real bodies strewn across continents. As much as Clark WANTED to guide them.. it was already too late. The world had already made Chester decide what he wanted to be long before he met supes and while he respects the man.. the two ultimately can't coexist. That respect makes Chester more intresting as rather than be just an edgelord who wanted to show up superman, he's simply a 20 something who sees a broken world and has the power to change it and wonders "Why don't we?" instead of seeing it's more complicated than that. By making Chester more of an actual human instead of a mark millar character, it makes the story hit harder and the darker roads he goes down hit harder. IN anotehr world the elitie would've been having teamups with the tians or the justice society, helping make the world better best they can even if they hit harder. Here though... they choose another way.. a way Superman simply can't follow and that puts them at odds. To use x-men again...

Things escalate after two events: Black's message to the world which this time.. we actually get to see which I feel makes it more effective. Having him broadcast to the world "You asked for us world, now you have us". It both instantly puts superman off his game and shows what the Elitie's real plan is.

They also make a welcome change to the attack in japan, now in Biayla: besides the setting being more plot relevant... superman's disabling is unintentional. They still slaughter a bunch of people horrifying clark, but it feels like less of an intentional dick move and fits the change in tone: in the original they were trying to piss superman off. Here it was friendly fire.. but it's clear they've now crossed a line he can't let them keep crossing by slaughting soldiers.

The film is good in asking the question: Should heroes be super proactive and make the world better by force.. or do everything they can within reason? Not buckle to the system.. but not break it over their knees either.

This all brilliantly comes to a head with atomic skull, a plot point i"ve been keeping on the sidelines so let's move it on up front: Before the elitie arrive we get two important events. The first is a dig at superman's cheesiness as Clark lisenses out a very goofy cartoon. I also like when lois presses him on this he points out his procedes ARE going to charity and he has someone looking at it. And he's just so happy to

The more important one is a fight with Atomic Skull. Atomic Skull is a recurring superman villian i'm not super familiar with whose had a dozen iterations... with this version choosing none of them, instead being a remorsless killer with radioactive powers.

He's a good choice though: a villian superman can't depower like certain other parties, who kills and will again and thus brings front and center the biggest part of a debate on the effectivness of normal costumed heroes, a piece somewhat missing from the original with it's faceless goons and men in black: Should a hero kill so a villian dosen't kill again?

The answer Superman gives, and I support is.. no. Gratned i'll add the asterix of "Unless there's no other option". Sometimes your only option is to kill a being or let it kill untold others. Shockingly NOT using x-men for this example, even though I have one ready, let's instead look at Man of Steel. Yes. We're going to THAT scene. And honestly while I have major issues with Man of Steel and most of them involve one man who thankfully chucked himself into a tornado but unthankfully came back as a ghost because god hates me, the idea of the climax isn't one of them.

For those less familiar in the climax Zod, on the verge of defeat, starts letting loose with his eye beams. He's preapred to kill EVERY PERSON he can just to spite clark.. so Clark begs and begs him not to.. and then snaps his neck when it's clear he has no other option. Now do I think having superman kill in his first film was a good idea? no, not at all. But for all Zack Snyder dosen't get Supes... he gets he'd only kill with no other option. If it's this one person or millions in that moment and no where else. No one else could stop zod and he didn't have time or knowledge to incapacitate him. He made the ahrd call and it tore him up. .until it didn't but this is a film where Clark's dad thinks throwing himself into a tornado is more important than clark doing the right thing with his powers sooooo

My point is, unless the situation is that dire.. you shoudln't. If your skilled enough, you can find another way. There's a fine line between doing so because your backed into a corner with no way out.. and diong so because "let's make the bastard pay". It's easier to kill when you have a choice, when you can justify it in your head... and thus it becomes easier. and easier. Until it stops being "because their a genuine threat" and because "They disagree with me". "because it's all I know" or worst of all "because it's fun".

And that all comes together... for the death of the Atomic Skull. The Elitie try to handle it while superman' son the way, get their asses kicked, and are forced to accept his help, despite having humilated him. Our heroes win.. but then comes the breaking point. In the original the killing was just..t here.. but here.. it's been built to slowly, a nicely slow boil over the whole run time: Superman treid his best.. but Manchester Black was a powderkeg waiting to go off.. .and he asks someone to give him a light.

Now remember how I mentioned a UN member was helping superman? Same guy clearly belivied in him and was even shown defending him against Rush Limbaugh. A few more years and it would've been tucker carlson, a good load more and it would'v ebeen.. uh... that other generic white guy they got to replace hm after he got thrown under a bus.

So naturally.. the poor man dies, his son having rushe dout to see his heroes the elitie.. only to instead see his father dies. The following scene is just.. pure pain, it's well done. The kid BEGS superman to kill Atomic Skull.. but he dosen't. It's not what his father would've wanted and would be a stain on his memory. But grief.. grief dosen't care what the person who died wanted... pain dosen't care.. and vengance... dosen't wait. Black, taking advantage of the poor teen, says to "Say the word kid"... and with one do it... Clark can only gape in horror as Atomic Skull dies.. and the crowd ERRUPTS. Only Lois and Jimmy are horrified as a man dies. Did the atomic skull deserve to die? Probably.

He killed a lot of people and you can understand where UN Guy JR was coming from.. yet it dosen't bring his dad back. It dosen't undo all the lives lost. It stops more from being killed.. but also outlines the probelm. People CHEERING for their heroes to kill someone, egging them on, telling them to kill kill. Turning normal people into a bloodthirsty mob who preys fo rthier heroes to kill their enemies. It's the other reason why don't kill: Because it gives the people you inspire the wrong message: that we will solve your problems for you and we will spill blood for you our masses. Pray to your new gods and we will deliver unto you blood.

Now i'm not saying superheroes should never intervene, fuck no, and like I said there are times to kill.. bu tyou see the problem with letting them solve every problem of the world: not only would humanity stagnate, relying on their saviors to do everything for thema nd tell them what to think... but they cease becoming seen as men and become gods. Vengeful gods who can do whatever the fuck they want. It's waht the Manga Death Note and i'ts anime adaptation got at: you let someone be ultimate judge, and they will develop a god complex and what morals they have slip. Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely, and tha'ts why heroes don't give themselves absolute power even if they can move suns.

And it's what the elitie have become: four 20 somethings with a god complex who decide they make the rules and anyone else can die slow die fast now.

This is where the movie dovetails more into the comic as the last act or so adapts it pretty closely, iwth a few bits rearranged: the public starts to cheer the elitie and the scene with the kid saying "superman is so beat"

And clark's talk with ihs dad are in tact, simply done a touch later. Superman's also not AS afraid of the elitie here.

So we payoff the Bialya Polkistan war runner: Superman stops a conlfict with zero loss of life, knowing the elitie are watching.... only this time rather than threaten to kill someone... Manchester did it 20 minutes ago.. or more like two. He just went and killed the heads of state. And the thing was Clark WASN'T sitting it out or planning to let the war go on: he was going to force the two to sit down, an option I badly wish we had in the real world. Instead.. all Chester's done is create a massive power vaccum in two countries already teeming iwth bioweapons and regular weapons. He's removed a diseased lung but taken both countires kidnies, heart and spleen and mugged the patient whlie he was at it. It's the problem with the Elitie's move fast, break things approach: they solve an issue for NOW.. but leave a giant clusterfuck to solve later. And "I'm going to kill you if you don't do better" only works as long as your alive or someone doesn't find a way to kill you for being a tyranical wank phesant.

Superman stews in his fortress.. and the elitie visit and offer him an ultimatium: stay in his lane or else. Clark responds by clocking chester... and Chester decides if your not part of the problem.. etc etc. Tommorow. Noon. Be there.

It's here I want to give some props to Manchester Black's voice actor, Robin Atkin Downes, a vetran voice actor i'd heard of vaugely but didn't really know what parts he played, I haven't gotten around to playing the no more heroes trilogy yet after all. He's done a LOT of dc work including for these films and absolutely kills it as black, bringing that nice combo of arrogance and genuine fire that black has. When you have a character that makes a LOT of grandoise speeches, you need someone who can deliver them with pure power and fire and Downes does so beautifully. Downes gets that right combo of snotty kid and broken man that we need.

We get the lois and clark scene again and i'll say in this film.. Lois is done dirty. She's played by Pauley Perette of NCIS fame, part of DC"s weird obssession with hiring actors from random prime time shows to do the big parts. This film mostly dodges that but she sticks out in a sea of voice actors. At any rate she does her best.. but Lois is just underwritten here. Her needling clark at the start is about th ebest we get: she spends most of the film looking into black's history a good idea.. but her method is just "Scream at mi 6 and hav eblack's sister hand her the goods, then the british government somehow blocks the story despite Metropolis being in america and the US usually not giving that much of a shit." I'd suggest sex blackmail but then the idea of perry white having sex nearly imploded my brain so I won't be going down that rabbit hole. Unless he was fucking bugs bunny, then i'ts impressive. Bugs is a fuck machine.

The climax.. plays out almost exactly as in the comic. While this adaptation changes a lot to make a more compelling story, the end point.. really didn't need to be fucked with. It's remarkable just how much they straight up adapt it. They tone down the violence SLIGHTLY, but only as much as needed to not get this rated R.. if DTV movies get rated r. It' sprobably why bisected Gorilla was left out. RIP Bisected Gorilla

It's chillingly well done. The beat down, superman's hoplesness.. and then... "Thank you". And it's all perfectly delivered by our superman for the evening, George Newbern. Newbern is probably my faviorite superman with close seconds being Tim Daly in Superman the Animated Series (Who Newbern replaced) and Jack Quaid from My Adventures WIth Superman, though Quaid is getting close. I grew up with Newbern's take on justice league, where he evolved Timy Daly's portryal and went on to portray superman a lot when DC neede dhim including in the injustice games.

Newburn nails it here, being the kind, hopeful man we all know.. and then giving us this nightmarish pivot. He makes the wise choice to make superman a soft spoken sadist... to have him not scream at his foes but calmly talk to the elitie as he picks them off one by one. The direction plays this scene like a horror flim and perfectly so, the terror on the Elitei's faces as they each go down, as the killer picks each one off leading it down to blacka nd down to metropolis as the world gazes in horror at what superman has become. It shows what sinking to this level does to you, how EASY it is, and how horrifying it'd be if superman actually did this. We've gotten plenty of "evil superman" takes from Invincible with Nolan to the boys tv show with homelander, that show what an indocirinated good solider or utter bastard with a god complex would do.. but this example still stands out despite all those deconstructions.. because it's clark. Because it's THE superman. It's not someone who wears a similar costume.. it's clark doing it, one of his most recognizable and best performers doing the performance, and it is fucking chilling. The performance was great in the comic.. but it's ASTONISHING here with all the extra florish.

And as before.. it was an act. The film does act like superman actually depowered them all, but I don't think he gave black a lobotomy as the pop is still present and he still zeroes in on the growth his powers come from. So at worst he simply removed a benign growth and at best it was temporary. Some, including tv tropes, think this kinda underminds thing that superman isn't judge and jury.. but I disagree. He didn't kill them, he just took their power away after they'd killed dozens of people and tried to kill him. It's like I said earlier with the superheroes killing thing: if ther'es no other way sure. It's insurance if the elitie hasn't learned there lesson and like the comics he probably coudln't strip them of power permenatnly. It's also why Atomic Skull was a good choice: there's no real way to remove his powers without potetntially killing clark himself, creating a wave of radaition etc. Here.. superman was in a controlled environment for 3/4 and for the last one knew exactly what to do to remove his powers. Superman give shis iconic ending speech about hope and flies off and the movie ends.

This movie.. is a standout, a true classic worth seeking out and most copies aren't super expensive. It takes a great if hard to find story and punches it up considerably, keeping the key points and refining them while making the opposing side less caracatures to make the point stick better. As i've said, Black is accurate to mark millar's writing.. but as a result he's still a strawman. Here he's more a character and the point at large is more fleshed out and naunced: we see the consequences of superman's style of justice.. but then see what would happen if he decided to play it the elitie's way. This film is a true classic and I highly recommend it.

Next Time: Superman fights the Klan as we tackle an old radio serial!

[bluejaysandblackbats]

11.3k km

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: Willis gets a new job on one condition: he works the night shift for his first three months. With Catherine in rehab, Willis is forced to contact his ex-wife to take their five-year-old son into her custody for the summer. But there's a catch. Willis promised her every summer after in return for her help.

Chapters: 4/?

Characters: Willis Todd, Jason Todd, Catherine Todd, Sheila Haywood

Additional Tags: Split Custody AU, Canon Divergent AU, Fluff, Angst, Kid Jason Todd, Jason Todd Has Three Parents

Chapter Four: Bert and Ernie

Sheila’s day off was on a Wednesday. Jason woke up, searching for Mrs. Abebe. Sheila woke up and left her room to check on him and ran into Jason in the hallway. “Good morning, honey. Why do you look so upset?” Sheila asked as she picked him up. 

“Where’s Mrs. Abebe?” Jason asked. 

“It’s my day off, Jason. So, I’ll be home with you today. What do you want to do today?” Sheila asked. 

“Can we mail letters today?” Jason asked. 

Sheila kissed his cheek and nodded. “That’s a great idea… And let’s go pick up our pictures, so we can mail them to Willis and Catherine. How about it?” Sheila offered. Jason nodded. “Go get ready. I’ll catch up with you in a few minutes.” 

Jason rushed off to his room before throwing on his clothes. He knocked on Sheila’s door, and she answered, giggling as she looked at him. Jason had overalls on and a firetruck cardigan as a shirt. “Oh, honey… Where’s your shirt?” Sheila asked. 

“It’s this,” Jason replied as he tugged on his cardigan.

“No, honey. That’s like a jacket. C’mere. Let me help you,” Sheila replied as she took him to his room. “Where’s your little Bert and Ernie shirt?” 

Jason looked in his bottom drawer and gave it to her. “Mommy, how long is it gonna take for Mommy and Daddy to get my letters?” Jason asked while she unbuttoned his cardigan. 

“Um… Maybe three weeks. Or four. So, let’s say a month. It takes a long time, but I’m sure Willis and Catherine will appreciate it... Unless we express mail it. Then, it might be five to eight days,” Sheila whispered. Jason nodded. “What’s the matter?”

Sheila unbuckled one of the straps to his overalls before slipping the other one off his shoulder. Then, she slipped the shirt over his head. “I think I miss Mommy and Daddy,” Jason whispered. Sheila leaned back with her tongue in her cheek. She was jealous and a little irritated, but she tried to hold it together. 

“Jason, lean forward. Let me fix your straps. They’re all twisted,” Sheila complained. 

“Mommy, did I do something wrong?” Jason asked. Sheila sighed. 

“No. You didn’t do anything wrong. Mommy needs a little outside time. Stay right here,” Sheila whispered as she reached into her pocket, clutching her pack of cigarettes. 

Jason watched with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as Sheila left the room. He waited a few seconds before following her to the front door, and he sat by the door, tying his shoes. His stomach growled, and he leaned back against the wall. It reminded him of Gotham, except he didn’t know the city. He didn’t know their neighbors or the language… And he didn’t know Sheila. Not well enough to know why he’d upset her. Not well enough to know she’d come back. Jason curled up, hugging his knees as he started to cry. He didn’t make noise. He was afraid of what Sheila would do if she came back to him sobbing. 

He waited so long for Sheila to return that he fell asleep. She returned after two cigarettes with a hand on her hip as she stared at Jason sitting fast asleep, his face hidden in his folded arms. 

Sheila scooped him up, kissed his cheek, and picked up Jason’s stack of drawings and letters. Jason stirred, draping his arms around her neck, and she kissed his cheek. They didn’t say anything to each other. They went to the store to get their photographs, and the post office and bought stamps and envelopes. They sat out front in the sun while Sheila showed Jason how to fill out the addresses on the envelope. 

**

Jason ran around outside while Sheila smoked another cigarette. “Mommy, look!” Jason shouted. He did a perfect cartwheel. “Mommy, didya see? Didya see me?” 

“Wow! Look at you go, honey bun!” Sheila shouted. Jason ran toward her, his chest heaving  up and down with every breath once he reached her. She pulled Jason onto her lap. “Do you want some water? Let’s have some water.” Sheila stomped her cigarette out and gave Jason a sip of her water that she got with breakfast. “A little bit more.” 

Jason took another sip. “Ameseginalehu… Mommy, is it lunchtime yet?” Jason asked. Sheila nodded. “Gomen wat?” 

“We can have all the gomen wat your little tummy can eat. Tomorrow we’ll have pasta. Do you like pasta?” Sheila asked. 

“Okay,” Jason answered as he leaned forward for another sip of water. “Mommy, can I have juice?” 

“You can have some juice when we get there,” Sheila replied. He hopped down from her lap and took her hand. “Oh, you’re ready to go right now.” 

** 

Sheila fell asleep watching a VHS tape at home while Jason sat on the floor putting together a puzzle. He turned and looked up at her before draping a blanket over her. “Poor, Mommy,” Jason whispered before returning to his puzzle. He turned to face her while he worked. Sheila remained in a deep sleep so long that Jason ran his bath and got ready for bed. He brushed his teeth after he took his bath, and he read half of the first chapter of a Bailey School Kids book before falling asleep with the open book in his lap. Sheila awakened with a jolt before looking around at the tidy living room and blanket on her lap before panicking. “Jason?” Sheila whispered. She tossed the blanket aside and looked under the table before pushing her hair back. “Jason? Jason!” Sheila ran down the hall and didn’t see his sneakers. “Jason!” 

Jason sat up and rubbed his eyes. He stumbled out of bed and into the hall. “Mommy?” Jason whimpered. Sheila ran a hand over her face with relief. “Are you okay?”

Sheila picked him up and showered him in kisses. “I woke you up?” Sheila whispered. Jason nodded as he lay on her shoulder. “I’m sorry. Did you take your bath?” 

“Uh-huh,” Jason mumbled.

“Brush your teeth?” Sheila questioned. Jason nodded. “Go potty?” Jason nodded once more. “Wow… All by yourself?” 

“I had to,” Jason whispered. Sheila frowned. 

“Okay… Let’s go back to bed,” Sheila whispered as she tucked him into bed. She squeezed Jason’s cheeks to get a better look at his teeth in the dim light. “Oh, wow. You did a great job on your teeth. And your tongue, too…”

“Daddy says the tooth fairy only buys good teeth,” Jason answered. Sheila nodded seriously. “I never lost a tooth before. Not ever. Will it hurt?” 

“No,” Sheila whispered, “It just feels… Funny.”

“Funny?” Jason asked as he closed his eyes. 

Sheila made a soft noise as she turned out the light. “Yeah… Just different… But it won’t hurt. You’ll know when your tooth is loose,” Sheila replied. Jason softened and sank into his pillows. 

“How many teeth do you lose?” Jason asked.

“You’ll lose twenty… Then, you’ll eventually grow twelve more teeth, so you’ll have thirty-two by the time you’re grown up,” Sheila replied. 

Jason pushed his bangs back and opened one eye. “That’s too many teeth… Mr. Griffin’s a grown-up, and he has four teeth,” Jason whispered. 

“There are exceptions to every rule, I guess,” Sheila replied.

Jason shut his eyes and smacked his lips. “When I was little, Daddy took me to Baskin Robbins to have a hot sludge sundae like Shrek. It was my birthday,” Jason mumbled.“What’s that, Jason?” Sheila asked. No answer. Jason was fast asleep.

[quackle]

So what’s your final opinion of Disventure Camp All-Star now that it comes to a end?

Also regarding winner, you are right! They didn’t go with “Who deserved to win” and tons of fans are piss off.

and so we have made it to the end. dcas is officially over... sobbing a lil at that fact. now. finale rambles under the cut (tldr: 7/10 season):

i think dcas was pretty nice for what it gave. i know a lot of people think it's shit, and i do nod my head at most concerns i've seen through posts on here and elsewhere. but idk. i had a relatively good time these past couple of months while watching!

let's start with...

Things I Liked:

The Main Premise (and in extension, Riya's Story) — this season showed that it truly wasn't about who deserved to win, it was about who wanted it most. and riya wanted it badly, to the point where it changed her for the worst whenever a camera was around. it took me until ally's elimination to see the direction this season was going (so... basically near the end LOL), but once it clicked, i was like. wowie. this is a bold choice of a winner. and interesting as fuckkkk, despite it not being hinted at as much as i hoped it would near the beginning. i don't think i've ever seen someone who is deemed as a villain be the only winner of a show like this. no alt endings or anything, just a villain win that sort of translates into a loss when you really think about how nobody is in riya's corner anymore. i know people (mostly riya fans) were disappointed with how sad and slightly open ended riya's conclusion arc was, but i personally can't be that upset at it. rosa maria's message during her elimination in season 2 really hit here. riya let the game change her, and though she won three million dollars, she has absolutely nobody (except potentially her sister eesha, but even still, that's not the best way for things to end for her). tis the way the cookie crumbles. i'm glad the writing team decided to go with this instead of the jake ending like thank GOODNESS for the proofreaders omg this is what proofreaders are for!!! (also. i'm clearly biased to the 'faking in front of cameras/others just to become a realer version of oneself once that's tested' characters in particular. look at my icon rn. i think you can understand why i'm such a big fan of this)

Allyson Amber— obligatory ally mention LOL. i think i already rambled enough on why i love ally so so so much as a character, so i will avoid. today. just know that opinion still stands.

Voice Acting— i am not a voice actor, just a voice actor enthusiast, so idk how much my words truly mean here. but i absolutely loveeeee the vocal direction this season went. best vocal performance in the whole series thus far. i can tell each actor + anybody on the voicing team worked hard to deliver! each character's voice really fit and everyone is so talented. hashtag i love connecting voices to characters. i'm excited for s4 voices ahhhh <3

The Grett + Gabby Friendship— we had her for like a good two eps and it still solo'd. going from what had happened in season 1 to what happened in season 3 was chef's kiss. it showed that both grett and gabby grew as characters throughout their whole journey on dc. idk i just love their bond so much, hashtag thank you for adding that.

and now...

Things I have Mixed Feelings About:

Gabby and Ally's Elimination— am i that mad that they ultimately left? eh not really, especially after i learned what type of story onc was aiming to tell this season. but am i mad about how they left? absolutely. because it was bullshitttttt omg. last minute, out of nowhere changes that cause eliminations of characters will never fail to piss me off. personally. even if real life is unfair like this too. (i'm only human LOL let me live)

TomJake Plot-Line— the good news (?) is that i don't find it absolutely mind-numbingly awful anymore. jake's cool. tom's okay. so overall, now i just think the plot is thee definition of mid. improvement! but still mid! i think certain ships in media are not for me, and this is one of em. sorry tomjakers, they should have had a meaningful conversation a long ass time ago. (also why tf they the finale thumbnail like MOVEEEEE with yall yaoi moment /lh)

Connor's Marriage— not that big of a deal, props to connor for finallyyyyyyy retiring from his savior complex (like i genuinely clapped for him cause that was a LONGGGGGG time coming), but a record scratch DID go off in my head when i saw that lol wedding pic. like OH... okay! congrats? i guess? (idek why i had this reaction or why i'm even writing about it lol, connor is Just Okay to me so)

Certain Lack of Character Interactions— i know this is a parody of reality TV and the show can only do so much, especially for characters that got eliminated early on. and i know i can quite literally go on something like ao3 and either find some fic that caters to my tastes or create it myself. but i frowned a lil when i realized certain characters wouldn't talk that much canonically. the curse of an all stars season is that they're bringing back some of the best characters this series has to offer. so when i don't get to see them interact, i go "aww. fair. but aww." (biggest examples here would be grett and hunter during the returnee challenge (because they can serve as interesting parallels (why would they finally make me gaf about hunter just to make him have like 30 seconds of lines ugh onc i am GLARING)), and jake and tess in general (the slightly healed meets the destructive work in progress. the difference in mental health journeys and how they can reflect within gameplay + outside convos. we coulda squeezed a lil somethin here. for me.))

Ellie's Plot-Line— one of the main reasons why i found ellie so compelling as a character is because the choices she made, both good and bad, all connected with her need for money due to being a college student who's not that well off. so to see that written off at the end was... well. eh? like cool, she's got gabby and grett, and they do matter the most, and i loveeeee their bond, but like. girly is a student in nyc and losing all that money is fucking huge. (i think it's mostly the bad pacing here, so i'm not giving it too much critique)

Grett's Plot-Line— onc introduced that whole tree scene (one of my fav scenes btw), and i thought that was so inspiring. "oh my gosh, i can't wait to see grett shine after she was constantly disrespected by some fucker that should have gotten his ass beat a long ass time ago!" i exclaimed. and then, she was eliminated. look. i get the whole premise of this season. i like it, too. so even though i think grett deserved to win the most, i can understand why the writers didn't have her win. BUT i think they should have written her arc with way more care and attention. if anything, i remember more harmful moments than good. grett deserved better than that. to me.

Huntally Plot-Line— i like huntally. and i wish it was written a bit better. it felt... rushed in comparison to other things we've seen here. granted, they couldn't do as much as others when hunter was eliminated so quickly, but still. meh overall.

and finally...

Things I Didn't Like:

The Staffs' Plot-Line— yall. the way i grew to not give a singular fuck about this plot... i saw people complain about tomjake screen time or jake screentime or ally vs jake screentime or connor vs riya screentime or riya screentime. which, okay whatever i guess. but LOOK AT THE REAL CULPRITS HERE... they're already getting a spinoff, idgaf about some staff when i won't be able to see some of the contestants ever again after this season!!! trevek irritated the absolute hell outta me, kristal made me side eye, marcus, nina and oliver were there i guess, and emily? man. i think that alone needs another bullet point hold on-

Emily's Plot-line (if you can even call it that)— yes, yes, i already know, emily was terrible, this was shown in the very first ep, she was never supposed to be rooted for, blahblahblah. but why. why did she decide to help yul. why did she decide to help trevor. why is she helping men so much. why did she turn so cartoonishly evil in the end. why is she like that. it's so uncanny to me. it just feels like she's more of a plot device that she is a character, which makes her fall so fucking flat. it blows. to me.

The Therapist Characters— ashley and tess are the biggest examples of this. not to say that friends irl don't ask this question, but fuck, did i get tired of hearing "are you ok?" or "what's wrong?" or "here let me give you some advive." it feels like such a reduction of their characters, which really sucks considering they didn't get much characterization in comparison to other characters in the first place.

"Be the Bigger Person, Ally"— okay. the more i think about this the more it pisses me off. this is a quote from episode 18, where connor tells ally to be the bigger person in her whole situation with jake. now riddle me this, chat. why is it that connor only tells ally to be the bigger person, then a few minutes later when talking to jake, he goes "oh there's only so much i can accomplish with jake" in the confessional? you didn't even reiterate the same words old man. that makes it seem like ally should do more and adjust what she deems as okay and not okay, just so her tension with jake can dwindle, while jake gets a sigh and a slap on the wrist and a "welp i tried." despite her more immature reactions later on during this plot, ally had every right to be bitter toward someone who kept snapping at her and giving her attitude because no good communication was being used to explain why he kept doing that. instead, i wish the message could have been something like "communicate, then try to insert yourself in their shoes so you can understand each other better because you're more alike than you think" to BOTH ally and jake, because this conflict involves BOTH of them, and needs to be worked on by BOTH of them, not just by one damn party. (i could dive into shit like the sexism connotations of the message "be the bigger person" only being directed to the female character here, but ehhhh, not today + people would think i'm overreacting when i know i'm not)

Yul— look, even if i put the whole slur slinging slanger incident that occurred to the side, i still was not a fan of how yul was portrayed here for that long. idgaf if he's sometimes funny. it just made me feel uncomfy seeing such a disrespectful piece of shit get this far with a burn to the face that didn't even stay permanently. like oh so emily can be in bandages for "a year or two," but bigot mcgee here gets off burn free? okay. don't piss me off. and yes, i understand his sponsorship ending where he's still acting fake because "it doesn't matter to him whether he's liked or not," and i know he serves as an okay parallel to james at best. but personallyyyyy if we were going with the whole "yul is the worst type of famous person imaginable" angle, you could have at least made the consequences of his actions stick to his face forevermore. (that's like the only thing they got right with endeavor from my hero like come on)

and that's about it. i think. overall, i'd give this season a solid 7. i know it looks like there's more stuff i didn't like or felt indifferent about,but i just feel like i have to explain my distastes a little more so people can understand me pfft. but yeah, it's not too bad of a season, even if i side eye some things.

and i'm looking forward to season four! from what i've seen, from the short character dialogues in the voice acting tryouts (ruby save me), to the potential storyboarded scene of the setting (abandoned carnival vibes???), i am most certainly sat. i really hope onc improves from here on out :)

[pbandjesse]

It was a nice memorial day today.

I slept fine last night. I woke up a few times but when I woke up at 9 I felt pretty good. James came and laid in bed with me. They had already done laundry and gone for a bike ride. They told me the world was beautiful today. We would lay in bed for a bit longer but we would get up and went to get dressed.

I liked my outfit. It's the same new shirt I got on Friday and it is so soft. It's great.

I felt pretty good overall. James made a coffee and I had some soda and we decided to go out for breakfast. So pretty soon after that we were off and into the world.

We decided to go to Broadway Diner. And it was busy! I wasn't shocked, it's a bank holiday. James and me have an ongoing will they won't they about the right side of the restaurant. Which we have never once sat at. Every time we go to James makes a whole thing about how this is going to be the one!!! But nope, we still seated in the left side.

We had a quiet brunch. My stomach continues to hurt when I eat but I still enjoyed the morning with my husband. I would people watch and we looked at things on each other's phones. I had shared the styles of doors I would like for the house. The type of fence too. It was a good morning.

While we were out i decided I would like to stop at the craft store because I wanted to get yarn. And so we did exactly that.

The yarn was not as on sale as I was hoping. But I have an idea about creating a double layered loom knit blanket. Almost like a puff quilt.

We did have a 20% coupon though and I got 6 skeins of yarn for my project. I am very excited and I really hope that it works out the way I am imagining. It is going to be a lot work though! Nice to have something outside of my temperature blanket though.

We would get home and have a few hours to just chill. James would play some video games. I would work on knitting. We had Ruby trying to clean but she kept getting stuck. Poor Ruby. She has her good days and her bad days.

We would leave here around 1. I would do a quick little vacuum of the frog tank because the snails were going crazy. And very soon we were on the road.

It was a nice drive to DC. I worked on knitting and we listened to a podcast. There wasn't much traffic. And we would arrive in Eve's beautiful little neighborhood a little after 2.

She is moving to Trinidad at the end of the summer but she's going to do some other traveling throughout the summer. But the state department is sending the movers to come pack all of her stuff up tomorrow. Crazy! I am very excited for her. Like it's going to be a really amazing experience I am sure!!

When we got to her place her and her roommate had us up on her roof. We were the first guests but more would come. We had burgers and dogs and fruit and an amazing lemon cake. And I was just having a really good time.

I would have some great conversations. Specifically with this girl Charlie. She was so nice! We exchanged numbers and I hope we hang out some time because she was so lovely. Me and James would tell a whole story about when I was a furby influencer. And there was lots of baseball talk. It was fun.

Eventually we would join the table with everyone else. Where I had a really great time talking to one of Eve's friends who is into mushroom foraging. I got to show him my mushroom pictures and he was able to name them all!! He's much braver then me and actually eats them though!

We would be there for 5ish hours. We all tried to download an app to do palm reading. We had amazing lemon cake. We told stories. I got to talk about my arthritis stuff which was nice. It was nice to be able to talk through the whole craziness of last year and the chemo and the weirdness of that. I am finally feeling like I'm back to myself after a year.

We would leave there around 6. And after stopping in her apartment to use the bathroom and say hi to her beautiful cats, there were hugs and then goodbyes!!

It was a nice drive home. But the sky was getting darker and darker. There has been a tornado watch in DC and a severe thunderstorm warning in Baltimore. It felt like we were racing the storm home. But it would start to come down right before we parked.

But it wouldn't get bad for a little while. We were safely and securely in the house when the sky opened for real. Lightening and thunder!!

James would paint their nails. And I would just chill on the couch. Had a little dinner. And we have just been resting and having a nice evening.

But now I would like to go shower and get ready for bed. I have a long day tomorrow. Both camp and then an event. I really hope that it is an easy transition. Fingers crossed.

I hope you all sleep well tonight. I love you all. Good night!!!