#but stan lee kind of didn't really know what to do with her

[spider-xan]

'Gwen never had a personality' and 'Gwen was a boring paragon of angelic goodness' (hater arguments) are not true, but 'Gwen was an extremely complex and consistent character' and 'Gwen is Peter's intellectual equal/superior in science and therefore the only girl for him' (stan arguments) are also not true.

[pluckyredhead]

I have fallen down a Fourth World rabbit hole (this is @ngoziu's fault) and am now reading everything DC has ever published with these characters, in order, as is my wont, and I have a lot of thoughts and feelings, so I'm going to start dumping them all here. Sorry.

Background if you have no idea what I'm talking about but want to read this post anyway (why?): in 1971, Jack Kirby left Marvel because he couldn't put up with Stan Lee any longer and came to DC, where they were like "Yes you can do anything you want" (this was a lie). He immediately began writing, drawing, and editing an incredibly ambitious epic that stretched over four simultaneously published books: Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen (we can mostly ignore this one), New Gods, Mister Miracle, and The Forever People. These books came to be known as Jack Kirby's Fourth World Tetralogy.

The books all center around the war between the utopian planet New Genesis, ruled by the benevolent Highfather, and the dystopian planet Apokalips, ruled by the evil Darkseid. At the heart of the narrative is "The Pact," aka The Cosmic Baby Swap. To ensure a (temporary) truce, Highfather and Darkseid traded sons when said children were very young - so Orion, Darkseid's son, is raised on New Genesis, and Scott Free, Highfather's son, is raised on Apokalips. Neither knows who their real father is until adulthood.

Orion grows up in a utopia, but tormented by his feelings of rage and otherness that he can't explain. Scott is raised in a torture orphanage, because that's just what happens on Apokalips, but eventually he escapes to Earth and becomes the escape artist Mister Miracle. The Cosmic Baby Swap begs what to me is the central question of the Fourth World, which is: what is the nature of good? Which boy will be a hero? The one born to good and raised by evil, or the one born to evil and raised by good?

TRICK QUESTION THEY'RE BOTH HEROES!!! GOOD IS MORE POWERFUL THAN EVIL! LOVE WINS AND FASCISM LOSES! This is so, so important to me and any version of these characters that doesn't understand the really not very complex symbolism here is invalid and kind of embarrassing for the writer (looking at you, Tom King).

Also Scott falls in love with and eventually marries Big Barda, one of Darkseid's fiercest warriors, who was born on Apokalips and raised on Apokalips and chooses good anyway. LOVE WINS AGAIN! BARDA TOPS HER TINY HUSBAND IN THE NAME OF PEACE AND COMPASSION!

Sadly DC canceled New Gods and Forever People after only 11 issues, which kind of killed Kirby's whole vision. Mister Miracle limped along until #18, but as a really pale shadow of itself. So we never really got the full scope of Kirby's original plans.

ANYWAY. That's the background. Now thoughts on the actual comics:

Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen: I love Jimmy, I love Superman, I love the Newsboy Legion, but this book feels very tangential to the whole Fourth World experiment and I think we can safely set it to the side. However, if you love the 90s Superboy series, I recommend dipping into this because it's the source material for a lot of Kon's worldbuilding (Cadmus, Dubbilex, clone Guardian, etc.).

The Forever People (1971): So I originally read all the Jack Kirby Fourth World stuff like...at least 15 years ago, when I was still relatively new to comics, and I'll be honest: I didn't get it. Kirby is sort of an acquired taste, and I didn't really have any context for what he was doing. I understood the metaphors, but I didn't get why people found the work appealing. And Forever People in particular was the book where I was like "Why. What is the point of this" the most.

Rereading it many years later, I find it to be a lot more moving and profound - like, the Happyland issue alone is a knockout. That said, Kirby is, uhhhh...not great at ensemble characterization without Lee, and the Forever People themselves are unforgivably bland. Default Guy! Big Guy! Black Guy! Girl! Kid! Props to Kirby for making it a not all-white group - and for introducing five out of seven of DC's first Black characters in the space of, like, two years - but it would have been nice if he gave them personalities, too.

New Gods (1971): This is Orion's book and the heart of the Fourth World. At its best, it's the pinnacle of "Makes no sense...compels me, though." Like, "Glory Boat?" I don't understand a single thing that happened in that comic but it's so fucking good. I just want to read thousands of words of comics scholars over the past 50 years going "????" in collective confused admiration.

Mister Miracle (1971): This was the book I was most invested in when I read the Fourth World years ago, because I already loved Scott and Barda from JLI, but now I think it's weaker than New Gods and arguably even than Forever People. Kirby doesn't seem as invested in going all in on Big Concepts here, and Scott escaping endless weird deathtraps is only compelling for so long. The later issues, after the other books were canceled and DC made Kirby pivot away from the Apokalips/New Genesis war, are nothing. But Scott and Barda (and Oberon and Shilo) are everything, so I guess it balances out. Anyway Scott clearly already knows a lot about Earth by the time he meets Oberon and Thaddeus Brown, so DC please feel free to hire me to write a Mister Miracle: Year One miniseries about Scott's arrival on Earth, thank you.

Okay, now for the post-Kirby (or really, intra-Kirby) stuff:

Mister Miracle (1977): This picks up the numbering from the Kirby series, running from #19-25, and was written by Steve Englehart and then Steve Gerber, and it sucks so bad. For three reasons, in escalating importance:

Riddled with continuity holes and factual errors that don't match what Kirby established. Himon is shown on New Genesis - how did he get there? Metron is depicted as subservient to Highfather when Kirby showed him as a neutral, independent agent. Etc.

The treatment of non-Scott characters is largely terrible. Oberon is written really condescendingly (Scott's like "Ride on my shoulders like you used to!" even though they definitely did not ever do that before, because Oberon is not a child). When Scott feels guilty that he's not actively fighting the war, Highfather's like "I don't want you to fight because I feel bad that I traded you to Darkseid, let Orion do it" as if that isn't the root of Orion's severe emotional trauma TOO. And worst of all is Barda, who is knocked out and captured in the first issue and spends pretty much the entire rest of the series unconscious, waiting for Scott to rescue her - except for the brief scene where she wakes up brainwashed, requiring Scott to beat the shit out of her. Lovely.

The series is reeeally fixated on the notion that Scott is a god, and extrapolates that to Scott deciding he's the messiah. Now, I'm not going to say that the Fourth World can't be used to explore Christian themes just because Kirby is Jewish, because Kirby was very definitely exploring biblical themes extensively and frankly I don't know enough about the Bible to say whether he was sticking religiously (ha) to the Old Testament. But I do think taking one of the central characters of a Jewish man's magnum opus and making him the messiah is, uh, pushing it. And there's no way to argue he's not a Christian messiah because, uh, he T-poses a lot in this series and Granny also specifically states that if Scott is the messiah, she'll find an anti-Christ to combat him (which...wouldn't that sort of by default be Orion? which just further proves that the idea of a messiah really doesn't work in the Fourth World framework). Anyway it's gross and I hate it.

New Gods (1977): I'm kind of using this as a catchall to cover all of Gerry Conway's New Gods work, which includes the actual 1977 New Gods series (which picks up the numbering from Kirby, so it's #12-19), the conclusion of the story in Adventure Comics, and the Justice League of America crossover with the Fourth World. (Also there's one issue of Super-Team Family where Lightray and Metron team up with the Flash to save Orion, who has grown really really big, but that doesn't fit with the rest of Conway's continuity so I guess we can ignore it.)

Anyway this stuff is not as infuriating as Mister Miracle, but it's also not...good. The central concept is that Darkseid has discovered that the Anti-Life Equation is contained within the brains of six humans, so Highfather sends six New Gods to protect said humans: Orion, Lightray, Metron (he doesn't work for you, Highfather), Forager (also does not work for you), Lonar, and Sensational Character Find of 1977, Jezebelle of the Fiery Eyes (Original Character Do Not Steal).

Mostly this series is frustrating because all the New Gods are wildly incompetent and fail completely at their tasks. Orion is dumbed down to The World's Most Basic Superhero (he has a big O on his chest now!). I spent the whole time yelling "HE CAN'T FLY, GERRY!" at the comics. Forager is lumped in with no mention of that whole thing where...he's a New God who was raised among the Bugs, who are being persecuted by the New Gods? I feel like that should be explained or at least addressed? (Presumably Kirby would have gotten around to it eventually.) Forager also should not be flying but here he does. I guess. Lonar flies too but mostly on his horse, which bothers me less for some reason, I'll accept a flying horse. (Also Lonar's human he's supposed to protect is Inuit and hoo boy is this comic racist. The poor guy wears a fur diaper the whole time and speaks a completely made up language.)

And then there's Jezebelle of the Fiery Eyes. Who is blue, for reasons that are never explained, and wears a bikini and fishnets because it's 1977, and mentions her fiery eyes (heat vision) every time she speaks. She's from Apokalips, but defected to New Genesis during battle. Which, like...I appreciate that Conway recognized that this team should have a female character, but what with Orion, Scott, Barda, and Inexplicably Present Himon, it feels like we have enough characters who have defected from Apokalips in some way? And it's just super weird that the ONLY female characters we have seen from New Genesis are Beautiful Dreamer of the Forever People (trapped in another dimension indefinitely) and Scott's dead mom. Like, what's the implication here? Heaven doesn't have women? Also, I know Conway was going for biblical names to match New Genesis and Izaya (he also introduces a Lucifar), but, like...Jezebelle? JEZEBELLE. Your only female New God and you named her "whore." Amazing.

And with that, we have covered the New Gods in the 70s (minus some Mister Miracle/Batman teamups). Next time: the 80s, and Kirby tries so so hard to kill Orion but DC won't let him.

[bunchofdoodlesinspace]

Wendy (and co.) Hcs bc I finished rewatching the show again and I'm trying to cope

[these ones will be sort of a mix of pre, during, and post-show]

Being the only girl in a household of men and boys comes with,,,a certain kind of pressure, especially when you have a rather intense father like Manly Dan. Not that he doesn't love his daughter, but...the loss of his wife hit him extremely hard, and he put a lot of pressure on his kids to be ready for absolutely anything and everything as a result.

It didn't help that Wendy has a decently laid back personality. She's not actually extremely competitive, perfectionism was something impressed upon her by her family. It was the accumulation over time of her current friend group that helped her sort of grow out of that shell of pressure, and gave her a space to just sort of goof off and have fun. Her rebellious phase started pretty early as a result (I'd say between 11-13)

Again, this isn't me saying her family is mean to her. They've just been through a lot. Wendy understands that. She dreams about her mom constantly and dearly misses her. She just really wishes her father wasn't so paranoid.

Wendy, Robbie, and Thompson are all childhood friends. Nate and Lee are Also childhood friends but they didn't really know the others until later on. Tambry was always more of a lone wolf until she steadily got pulled into their shenanigans.

Oh yeah Wendy's bisexual btw. Like aggressively. Like "everyone around me knew I was bi before I knew what that word meant" levels of aggressively (if Mabel didn't explain it to her, Tambry did)

Robbie has had an off and on crush on Wendy for AGES. He'd actually asked her out before, a few years ago, but was turned down because "he's a jerk to everyone". She thought he'd maybe sorted out some of those issues by the time they dated again during the show but, unfortunately, that was not the case. :')

They've since reconciled and have found a way to remain friends, though it's taken a lot of time and work on Robbie's end (and a lot of emphasis on Tambry's that he actually wasn't that bad when he stopped trying so hard to be "cool" and "emo" all the time) before she could actually start to trust him again.

She adores both of the twins, they've become her unofficial siblings and she would kill for them. I don't personally see her being closer to either of them. She loves hanging out with Dipper, playing video games, going on adventures in the woods, and she also loves doing girlier stuff with Mabel (she doesn't get a lot of opportunities to indulge in that at home, so it's a nice change of pace). Either way, those are her kids. Touch them and die.

She and Ford have the potential to be a SCARY combination imo. At least for anyone that makes the bad choice of messing with them (or their families). If you go ahead and throw Stan into the mix then yeah, you're absolutely fucked.

[gaybananabread]

hii! for the tickletober prompts, how about lee dipper with day 12? like the ler (they can be whoever you see fit!) knows/discovers he is really weak to them so they get him. hope you're doing well!

TickleTober Day 12 - Nibbles/Bites

Thank you! I had a helluva time picking a ler for this, but I think Stan fits best. I need to write for him more anyways. This idea ironically happened less than 10 minutes after I finally chose Stan. My brain is weird like that (TvT). I hope you have a fun spooky season, Enjoy!

Lee: Dipper

Ler: Stan

Summary: Dipper is stressing out over the summer spooky season. Stan decides he needs a visit from a special kind of monster.

Warnings: none! This is a tickle fic, so if you don't like that, scroll away!!

Once again, the Gravity Falls Summerween store opened its doors. The odd tradition began again for the year, residents joyful as they picked out candies and decided on costumes. Well, every resident but one.

A certain brown-haired, blue-hatted tween was sitting in the Mystery Shack gift shop, biting at his fingers. Ever since the whole "Summerween Trickster" fiasco, Dipper had been wary of the town's strange holiday. He would never forget the scene of Soos eating that thing…ugh.

Stan was taking inventory, making sure nobody had nicked any of his moderately overpriced merchandise. His eyes eventually drifted over to his worrisome great-nephew. That kid would worry himself into the ground if Stan let him…

"Hey picks-a-lot, those cuticles taste good?" He walked over to the teen, flicking the bill of his hat. The older man didn't mean anything malicious by it. He's just unapologetically mean sometimes. Dipper was used to his Grunkle's antics, brushing the comment off.

Dipper tucked his hands in his jacket, looking down at the register. "Sorry Stan. Just thinking about…stuff." He hadn't realized he'd been biting his fingers again. It was an old habit, one he wasn't keen on picking back up. Yet there it was.

The uneasy expression on his face was barely hidden. Stan didn't really know what to do about the kid's nerves. Normally, he'd sick Mabel on him. The tween was out with Candy and Grenda, so that wasn't an option. What to do, what to do…

"Uh…look kid. You want the rest of your shift off? I've got the shop covered, and you look pretty dead." He gave it to the kid straight. Dipper looked like he was one loud noise away from snapping, his fraying nerves and general high-strung mindset on overdrive. Stan could handle the almost empty gift shop, Tuesdays were always slow.

Dipper nodded, hopping off the creaky cashier stool stool. "Yeah, please. Thanks, Grunkle Stan." He lumbered up the steps to the attic, gently closing the door to his shared room behind him.

What was Stan gonna do with that kid?

-

The next few days weren't any better. With the rapidly approaching local holiday, Dipper's nerves only grew. Mabel didn't really notice, too enamored by costume ideas and trying to figure out Waddles's measurements.

He didn't really know the absolute cause of his worry. Was it the chance of Mabel getting hurt? The possibility of another garbage candy monster? The fact that he still can't unsee Soos eating his way out of the monster? All are good guesses. He just wished he could pinpoint which one it was.

His antsy demeanor hadn't gone unnoticed by the other Mystery Shack residents. Soos had tried to get him to play some arcade games at the mall, but he just wasn't up for it. Wendy had little to no luck, her attempts to get him to loosen up going nowhere. It was up to Stan…and he had no idea what to do.

He had tried things that worked before, offering him an extra break and listening to his rants about the Journals. Dipper just wasn't up for infodumping at the moment, and he just got lost in thought on his breaks. On the morning of SummerWeen, Stan finally threw in the towel. He did the only thing he had left; asking Mabel what to do.

-

When he opened the door, Stan was met with Mabel trying to put a superhero suit on Waddles. She was dressed in similar attire, her cape dragging behind her. "Oh, hey Grunkle Stan! You come to see the best heros this side of the Falls kick some butt?"

Stan chuckled, shaking his head. He felt a bit bad for the pig, he doubted those tights were comfortable. Better Waddles than him, though. "Nah, I'll be quick. What should I do to get your brother to loosen up? Kid's been freakin' all week."

Mabel's eyes widened as he said this, her brain quickly piecing together the signs she hadn't noticed. "Crud…he has been anxious." She fidgeted with her hair, giving the pig a moment to nibble on his cape. "I normally talk him down, but if that hasn't worked…maybe make him laugh?"

Stan sighed as she said this. He considered himself a pretty funny guy, but his humor normally made Dipper groan or question his existence. Not the best for making Dipper laugh, though it always gets a chuckle out of himself

His thoughts wandered to the times he had made the kid snicker, landing on a few well-timed zings and one-liners. The last was when he had been messing around with Dipper in the gift shop. He poked his great-nephew's side, and he squealed. He hadn't done anything then, but now? Oh, it's perfect.

"Hey Mabel…your dorky brother is stupid ticklish, right?" She nodded, a smile slowly forming on her face as she figured out her Grunkle's intentions. Waddles nudged her arm, showing off the lovely slobber stain in his cape fabric. "Silly guy, now I gotta redo your cape! Grunkle Stan, do you think you can get Dipper to be less Dipper-ish by 6:30? Our costumes this year are super, heheh"

Stan rolled his eyes, his mischievous mind racing with ideas of how to get Dipper back to normal. Well, as normal as the tween gets. "Yeah, alright. If you hear girlish screaming, cheer me on." He shut the door behind him, leaving his grand-niece to her silliness. That kid never fails to make him smile.

-

Dipper was in the living room, a costume hung on the chair in front of him. Mabel's costume idea that summer was super heros, with him being the villain. It was actually kinda cool, with the utility belt of fake gadgets he and Mabel had put together. The only problem was him.

He was worried about putting the costume on. First off, it would mean going out and trick-or-treating with Mabel. Nothing's wrong with it, his brain was just telling him it's childish. There's also the fact that he's worried the Trickster might come back. Black licorice was bad enough before, but now he can't look at a stick without getting shivers. They very easily could've died.

Stan was creeping in the doorway, watching the tween's inner dilemma. If he wanted to be mean, he could've scared the crap out of him. But, showing a shocking amount of restraint, he knocked on the doorway. Stan walked over to him, ruffling the boy's hair. "Anybody home up there?"

Dipper, successfully snapped out of his daze, swatted at his Grunkle's hand. "Stan! Knock it off!" The older man chuckled, pulling his hand away and smirking down at the tween. That look…he knew that look. The look that meant Grunkle Stan was up to absolutely no good. "Stan…?"

He barely gave Dipper time to think before he snatched his great-nephew in his arms. It killed Stan's back, but it was worth it to hear the shocked yelp and protests from the kid. "Put me down! Stan- get off! Mabel!"

Stan flopped down in his recliner, holding Dipper in his lap. No help was coming for the boy. Mabel was in on it, as he quickly learned, and nobody else was at the Shack. It was just him, Stan, and the evil look on the older man's face as he wiggled his fingers. Crud.

"You worry too much, kid. You're gonna have more grays than me, and I put up with all'a you!" Those wiggling fingers were getting a bit too close to his stomach for comfort. Dipper squirmed, but with the way Stan held him, he was trapped. "Always thinkin' about these monsters and crazy creature things. You're so stuck in yer head, you didn't even notice the monster right in front of ya…"

He tazed Dipper's side, making him squeak at the unexpected touch. "Stahan, wait, plehehease-" He was so unbelievably screwed. "The TICKLE MONSTER!" Stan finally put his wiggling fingers on the boy's stomach, clawing and digging into the ticklish area.

Dipper squealed, shoving at his Grunkle's hands and writhing in his lap. His negative and anxious thoughts quickly faded to fuzzy, ticklish surprise. He hadn't expected this from Stan of all people. Mabel, absolutely, but Stan? He didn't really know how to react. "STAHAHAN! WHAHAHAT ARE YOUHU DOHOIHING?!"

"What's it feel like I'm doing, ya goofus? I'm tickling the snot outta ya. Now hold still." He spidered his fingers across his belly, making sure to get a few scratches in his belly button. "GEHEHET OFF! GRUHUNKLE STAHAHAN!"

Dipper kicked his legs, wishing the recliner was bigger. He barely had any room on Stan's lap, his legs nearly hanging off the armrest. Stan had him positioned so that his midsection was almost unprotectable, his arms practically pinned to his sides.

The tickling, as unexpected as it was, wasn't awful. He'd never tell the old man, but he was having a bit of fun. It was nice to let loose, to let his worrisome thoughts melt into giggles and squeaks.

The boy's laughter was, in Stan's eyes, adorable. It was nice to see the nervous kid laugh like that. Thinking of the night to come, he imagined the kids' costumes and candy-grab ideas. Candy...an evil idea bloomed in his mind. An evil, ticklish, awful idea. "I'm getting pretty hungry, Dipper. Might just have a quick snack…" He pulled up Dipper's shirt, waiting for the teen to catch on.

And catch on he did.

"Stahahan- Stan don't! Nonononoho!" Dipper's eyes went wide when he figured out Stan's plan. There's no way he could handle those. The tween desperately tried to get away, kicking out and trying to grab his Grunkle's hands.

His Grunkle easily pinned Dipper's hands, smirking down at him. It was almost too easy. Stan lowered his head, nibbling on his great-nephew's poor belly.

Dipper shrieked.

"NAHAHAHA! GRUHUNKLE STAHAHA- STAHAHAP!" He tossed his head back, kicking and thrashing under the ticklish nibbles. Stan's old man stubble wasn't helping. The scratchy texture made it so much worse.

Stan was enjoying himself. Hearing the kid's laughter reminded him of the stupid things he and his brother would do as kids, the fun they'd have. Before it all went south, they'd do this all the time. The best part was that he knew Dipper didn't mind it.

Just to be a jerk, he started making little "nom" noises as he nibbled the boy's stomach. Dipper twisted and shoved at his head, but Stan wouldn't budge. The tween resisted the urge to hit at Stan's head, instead gripping his silver hair. He didn't tug, but just grabbed on, needing something to do with his hands.

The nibbles traveled across his midsection, going from his stomach to his ribs, then back down to his belly button. Dipper was in stitches, the simple action reducing him to a cackling mess. He could barely think, his mind reeling at the assault on his nervous system. It wasn't bad, but it was mean.

Dipper managed to last for another two minutes before reaching his limit. The boy's laughter had taken on a breathy edge, his thrashing slowed with exhaustion. He patted the top of his Grunkle's head, tapping out.

Just like that, the torturous sensations stopped. Stan chuckled, raising his head and rubbing his great-nephew's midsection to try and ease the phantom tickles. Dipper curled into himself as he giggled out the leftover buzz. "Youhuhu…you suhuck…"

That got him a poke to the side. "Watch it, giggles." And Dipper, not having much of a choice, giggled. Stan let him go with a knowing smirk. The tween quickly slid off his lap, rubbing his sides. The clock read 5:30, just in time for him to get ready. "Your sister wants you dressed in an hour. Don't be late."

He left the room, leaving Dipper alone with his costume. Stan knew it wasn't a permanent fix. The boy was always stressing about something. He just hoped that the playful moment eased his worries for the night. Those kids deserve a good night.

The tween looked over at the suit, a small smile still on his face. The negative thoughts from before were gone, replaced with a light and happy feeling. He picked up the dark fabric, sliding the mask on over his red face. Maybe the night wouldn't be so bad after all…

[alchamy34]

Gwen Stacy is the most tragic spider hero because of death loving every version of her

Okay so, this is a bit touchy but not towards real life stuff. Even though we have a Gwen Stacy who didn't die but instead became a superhero, she is still no exception to the one thing every version is famous for: Death.

I am aware that Stan Lee didn't intend for the original version to die but his employees decided it. So when a love interest of a marvel character dies, then most fans immediately think of Gwen Stacy. I do, I never really hated the normal versions, not even from spectacular spider man (but I still ship Peter and Liz).

Gwen is just addictive for death. There will come a time where earth 65 gwen stacy will be the only one still alive. That is something the Spider Men should worry about. Gwen Stacy was more than a victim. She was smart, kind and always wanted to help others.

She would've even become president in some spiderman comics.

Some comics had her look a little like the punk rock spider gwen. Ultimate Spiderman comics had one who was rebellious and tough but always protecting those who were bullied such as Peter.

That leads to Spider Gwen. Instead of being dead, she experienced death around her. Her mother died when she was six so she was already used to being at funerals since then. She also had difficulty handling her double life. I'd say more difficult than Peter or Miles because her father was hunting her alter ego.

So I understand why she's aloof and isolated herself. To prevent possible deaths among people she cares about. Despite the witty, sassy humor, she still has a complicated and dark life. Not because she's Gwen Stacy or that she has to be in dangerous situations on a daily basis but she's still just a teenager/young adult.

I emphasize with the character because death loves her. She said it as a joke but we can see how dark and heavy that statement really is for her.

Its also why she can't be in a romantic relationship. It wouldn't be fair and she knows how dangerous that could be if she told her boyfriend/girlfriend about her secret.

This is really tragic yet Gwen still wants to use her powers for good, and do what's right.

That's selfless and shows how driven she is to be a good person no matter how bad things go. This character deserves her own franchise and her recent comics are better than the very first run.

[martyrbat]

But, having just reread the stuff, some of it for the first time since the original publication, I'm mildly amazed at how cohesive it all is. It really does form a single, unified narrative—what today would be called a graphic novel. Does that mean that when we introduced Talia we knew that eventually her father would be presumed dead, and she and Batman would finally enjoy a walk into the sunset? No, certainly not. Rather, I'm sure, we understood the characters well enough to keep them from doing anything alien to them and, with that as a constant, the narrative grew organically, each incident suggesting others. The overall design was never imposed on the material; rather, it emerged gradually as we produced the individual episodes. We were guys sticking tiles up on a wall, just interested in covering the space, and after a while, Look at that! Darn if we didn't make a mosaic! This kind of process is denied to storytellers who create conventional plays, movies, novels-forms that demand structure with clearly defined beginnings, middles, and ends. It lets the writers and artists share, at least to some extent, in the audience's pleasure of anticipation, of being surprised by what happens next. It can be an absolute joy.

(full ID below cut)

[ID: an afterword by Danny O'Neil on the collective comic ‘Batman: Tales of The Demon’ from 1991. Text reads:

If you're reading these words after you've finished the stories collected in this volume, you may have noticed some things. For example, you may have observed that although the hero is often driven and desperate, he isn't quite as grim as today's Batman. He banters with the bad guys, he essays the occasional mild wisecrack, he is more openly compassionate. Nor is he quite so superhumanly competent; would the present Batman ever be flattened by Molly Post and her lousy skis? Not likely. You may wonder about some of the captions—the alliteration, the chatty little asides. (“Did you catch the key to the mystery, as did the Batman?” a typical one asks.) But then, you surely remind yourself, these tales first appeared almost two decades ago, at a point in Batman's 50-year history when a lot of the elements of his persona were still being defined, as he was evolving from the cheery, sun-drenched do-gooder of the 1950s and mid-1960s to the present Dark Knight. As for those captions...like Batman himself, comic book conventions and technique were changing; in particular, many young comics professionals were influenced by Marvel Comics' Stan Lee, whose writing teems with friendly comments to the reader. And almost nobody working in the medium would admit, under torture, to taking the work seriously. In a cutesy mood? a writer might ask himself. Then knock out a cutesy caption. It's only a comic book...

Okay, granting all that, you still have a question. You've given the stories titled “The Vengeance Vow” and “Where Strike the Assassins” your close attention and you want to know how the Batman found the Bronze Tiger in the hospital after the fight with the Sensei's thugs. Well, try this: it was simple detective work. He knew, from the amount of blood on the ground, that the Tiger was badly wounded and so would probably seek help at the nearest medical facility. The hospital was it.

Not satisfied? No problem. There are other possible answers. (He spotted the killers and tailed them, hoping they'd lead him to the Tiger? He was able to follow the trail of the blood itself? He questioned someone who saw where the Tiger went?] You might be able to think of something better than any of these. Me—I don't know if I had an explanation and forgot to include it, or if some months passed between the writing of the two stories and I didn't remember that the Batman's fortuitous arrival at the Tiger's bedside hadn't already been explained, or what. Maybe I would have fretted if I'd noticed the omission after the story was published—maybe I even did. I don't know. We weren't taking notes back then. We were just dashing from assignment to assignment, producing monthly entertainments and, frequently, having a pretty good time doing it. What we weren't doing was expecting that those entertainments would ever be collected in a single, rather portly book with an introduction by Sam Hamm and a postscript by the undersigned.

But, having just reread the stuff, some of it for the first time since the original publication, I'm mildly amazed at how cohesive it all is. It really does form a single, unified narrative—what today would be called a graphic novel. Does that mean that when we introduced Talia we knew that eventually her father would be presumed dead, and she and Batman would finally enjoy a walk into the sunset? No, certainly not. Rather, I'm sure, we understood the characters well enough to keep them from doing anything alien to them and, with that as a constant, the narrative grew organically, each incident suggesting others. The overall design was never imposed on the material; rather, it emerged gradually as we produced the individual episodes. We were guys sticking tiles up on a wall, just interested in covering the space, and after a while, Look at that! Darn if we didn't make a mosaic! This kind of process is denied to storytellers who create conventional plays, movies, novels-forms that demand structure with clearly defined beginnings, middles, and ends. It lets the writers and artists share, at least to some extent, in the audience's pleasure of anticipation, of being surprised by what happens next. It can be an absolute joy.

Of course, it does cause the occasional glitch, such as Batman arriving at a hospital without anyone, maybe including the writer (maybe especially the writer), knowing exactly how he got there.]

[iamgroot-42]

10th best marvel movie of all time: Thor Ragnarok

To start off this list of the top 10 best Marvel movies, I'm starting off strong with #10. Thor Ragnarok. This movie is one of the most underrated movies in MCU history, and I'll go down to my grave believing this. Obviously, I'm gonna talk about how it has an amazing character development shown, great comedy, and an amazing villain. Not only those things, but there's also thrilling music and the whole story behind it is just genius.

Not only is the movie itself so good, but watching it just brings back so many good memories. For example, the very first time I saw this movie, it was in theatres with my mom. We would always go watch the new Marvel movies together and share popcorn and orange soda. Even now, on rainy days, when we're both free, this is our go-to movie.

To dive a little more into detail into the character development, Thor specifically had a lot of learning in this movie. Like literally in the first 20 minutes we see his hammer get destroyed and that's what he would really rely himself and his powers on beforehand. For example, whenever he faced a difficult challenge or anything of the sorts, all he had to do was reach his hand out for his hammer. We even saw this happen when he first showed up to Sakaar, he reaches his hand out, and when it's not there it's just an “oh sh$t” moment. This movie really forced him to grow and learn the potential of his powers if he just put his mind to use and concentrated. I really liked to see him develop and mature throughout this movie and see his full potential finally.

The other character development seen is Loki. He FINALLY starts to become self-aware of all his flaws but doesn't really believe he can change, resulting in him flip-flopping, but this time it's actually kind of sad because we know he's actually trying. I especially love watching Loki's character development in this movie because of my love for Psychology. He's always very conflicted, trying to do what's best but doesn't want to at the same time because it's difficult. I think he is so interesting to analyze throughout the movie.

To continue, like always, it is just hilarious. I love this aspect of the movie so much because I adore anyone with good humour. It is one of the most important characteristics in a person for me. My dad is the funniest person I know, and he's always cracking jokes that I can't help but laugh at, just like the ones in this movie. He also is a big Marvel fan, so we get to enjoy watching Thor and bonding over the humour.

The characters are just so lovable and funny. Like Korg, this big scary rock man. Turns out he's this super sweet and super humorous character that no one was expecting, but adores to see him in further movies. Korg is definitely one of my favourite characters in this movie. Not only him, but the little jokes cracked here and there by Thor himself, the Hulk, Loki, Valkyrie, and even Stan Lee made a funny appearance. The humour is definitely up-to-date and perfectly timed, it just adds the little details that make this movie so good.

Furthermore, to dig even deeper into the movie, I'm gonna talk about Hela and what she represents. So she is the main villain, and she is a great example that history is literally written by the victors. Although she is seeking revenge, and that's not all the greatest, she does have a reason to be angry. Her history was completely rewritten to favour the "good guys". I'm not going to go into further detail with that because I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't watched it. Hela had insane potential to be a great hero in the MCU universe, but didn't get the right guidance.

So yes, this movie is not only hilarious, but there is so much underneath the surface that needs to be acknowledged, so it deserves its spot rightfully at #10.

[duckapus]

So, not sure how many of you remember this, but I've come up with some ideas for it.

First off, when Candace first wakes up in the Mystery Dungeon universe she's deep inside one of the most dangerous dungeons in the area, because of course she is. She nearly gets eaten by a Druddigon, but gets saved by a Mismagius, Kilowattrel and Klefki (not that she knows what any of those are). They escort her out of the dungeon and into the nearest town, Sunrise Cove, which also happens to be where the local Explorer's Guild is located. She's given permission to stay at the Guild headquarters while she's getting her bearings in this new world, and she obviously ends up joining officially because otherwise we don't have a story. Speaking of which, I actually don't have a proper story yet but I do have some characters.

So the Guild is called the Whirlpool Guild, and its Guildmaster is an elderly Empoleon named Lester. He's basically a big jolly grandpa kind of guy who doesn't take himself too seriously, but it's clear from his scars and the way he carries himself that he earned his position, and could probably still hold his own if he ever had to.

The Rescue Team that saved Candace are Team Mystic, consisting of Astrid the Mismagius, Bullet the Kilowattrel and Jangles the Klefki.

Astrid is Lester's second in command, and is very stoic and businesslike in contrast to her boss's more playful attitude. But serious doesn't have to mean unkind, and she's got a bit of a reputation as the honorary Guild Mom.

Bullet's the Head Training Instructor for new recruits, so if this were an actual game you'd be seeing a lot of him during the tutorial section. He's extremely loyal to those who've truly earned his respect, especially his teammates and the Guildmaster.

And then there's Jangles, the Keeper of the Keys, who's basically in charge of the Guild's security. They take their job very seriously. Also, they have a not-so-secret crush on Astrid, because I thought it would be cute.

On to Team Buster, Candace and Lena act pretty much how you'd expect based on their source material and the fact that they both have amnesia, while Nugget is both their excitable little brother figure and their guide to the new world they've ended up in, particularly what exactly Pokemon even are.

Team Buster has rivals in the form of Team Venoshock, consisting of Sting the Hisuian Sneasel, Harvey the Grafaiai, and Sprout the Oddish.

Sting initially seems like your classic bully towards Candace, but it quickly becomes apparent that not only is she not really antagonizing Candace in any substantial way, but she's actually looking out for her in a sort of roundabout fashion. She's also convinced that Guildmaster Lester is hiding something and thus doesn't fully trust him or Team Mystic.

Harvey on the other hand is pretty much exactly what he seems like; an easily offended hothead who isn't too bright and prefers to follow Sting's lead. He and Lena butt heads a lot.

Then there's Sprout. He's... well, he's kind of a scaredy-cat and doesn't have much self-confidence. He actually only joined the Guild because Sting and Harvey saved his life on their first mission and he wanted to pay then back for it. Still, the fact that he's still around and actually doing a decent job says a lot.

Now for some of the residents of Sunrise Cove.

Usually in the town square you'll find a lute-playing Pikachu named Ben. He's always got a new song to play or story to tell. He also knows a lot more about the lore surrounding the main plot than a random musician probably should.

Then there's Rusty, the best postman in the world, who is definitely an ordinary Delibird and not a poorly disguised Iron Bundle, honest!

The bank is run by Silver the Gholdengo. In his defense he was named that before he evolved and didn't feel comfortable changing it to something more fitting.

A Sawk and Throh named Stan and Lee run a dojo where they teach Moves that you can't learn just by leveling up. No one's sure exactly what their relationship is, and as is typical in small towns there is much speculation.

The Kecleon shops in dungeons are still thriving as usual, but around these parts they answer to Viola the Tsareena, who runs the general store in town. Considering what Kecleon are like in the PMD universe, one can only imagine how strong she must be to have that kind of power over so many of them.

Over by the docks is Cap'n Salty the Perrserker, an old sailor who takes Rescue Teams of sufficient rank out to any dungeons you can't reach by land.

And also by the docks is the Crashing Wake, a diner run by Meloetta of all Pokemon. Nobody's entirely sure what's up with that, but she serves the best food in town so they're not about to complain.

Also of note are two regulars at the Crashing Wake, a Dewott named Macy who's clearly infatuated with Meloetta but doesn't have the courage to actually make a move (can you say Long-term Sidequest?), and a Whimsicott named Nimbus who may or may not be a notorious pirate captain.

[the-firebird69]

Percent James back and forth too to talk about what she and Jim were up to and you're a fun little stories

She was saying a lot of stuff and knew about my husband saving her son

Saw the movie and said that's not how it happened right now and he's broken and he says come on Grandma I cannot reveal the toe this is actually it's like rain with jeans and she started laughing he just said he's so funny Ellie was there and the queen said what is so funny no Ellie did damn it and the queen said I didn't let the story out because of his toe it's like Wrangler jeans and Ellie started roaring in the movie theater and Trump was mad it was him can't be a real creation and it was why not that's a secret he was filming went around asking and the queen said with her brilliance you can't really do that he goes oh it's in human inhuman and my husband says I'm not one of the humans or an X-Men I can't find myself in those things it started laughing and said which one are you it says real slow human hulk and he said no way we thought it was super boy yeah so you start laughing and start looking for a human hulk and he couldn't fight it he could not find it you try and searching everything so he's asking people too Bill Bixby and he's asking his son his ass Stan Lee and all sorts of people finally he came to rest and said I can't figure it out it was pestering people went away for a while came back a year ago and someone said they thought they saw something he went to the shop and he couldn't find it and the guy would not tell him who it was and it was near fort Myers and it was about to spandex cuz he tries to wear spandex is huge and they think it's a superhero because he was gigantic anything he does think that they put him in a comic book because of the spandex and it's not a bad one it's like a good guy he shows up very little in the whole series and fixes some things and goes away and they say that's what he's doing a little bit and it's true the comic book guy knows which comic book it was and everybody wants to know it's more like his Colossus character at 6 ft 6 and then he gets bulkier but yeah that guy is huge in the comic it's probably 15 foot but it's not as bulky but that's what they say it looks like maybe they shrunk more but no he's a good guy in that so we have come up with some things he can't bypass things I'll go around them but he's found out it's mostly mostly would have to do with the math and the math is what kind of dictates what's going on and really it's about the max and death and rubbing it in and saying it's going to happen cuz it happened to your family and all sorts of weird things they're not really the family and it proves it and they have this math and that's what they want to run and it's like is his brother's house it's kind of terrible

Hera

Olympus

[livinglifeonpause]

Build Up: Final One

- oh shiz, this episode is 2 hours?? I hate watching live shows, but at least my babies Seunghun & Jeup are in it. - awwww, somebodys Umma's there crying already! - Bain looks good with that hair - why does my baby Donghun just never have clothes that fit? - mf'ing like :30min in and NOTHING HAS HAPPENEDDDDD WATERFIRE V4: Sunyoul (27) (UPT10TION) 2 > 2 > 6 > 6 > x ( V12: Wumuti (24) (Solo?) 8 > 6 > 7 > 6 > x ( V7: Kang Hayoon (20) (Loud) 7 > 5 > 5 > 2 > x ( V17: Choi Suhwan (22) (X101) 3 > 4 > 7 > 9 > x  - for me, Suhwan > Wumuti >> Sunyoul >>>> Hayoon. - Hayoon's voice doesn't blend and I don't like that at all. it's jarring in a gross way. - it was fine and the song was fine. Like 6/7. - ew. Jaehwan. I would not bang you with those long ass nails like that. why dont stylists catch that kind of shit? PARTNERS V34: Park Jeup (30) (Imfact) 8 > 10 > 8 > 8 > x ( V20: Lee Donghun (30) (A.C.E.) 6 > 10 > 8 > 7 > x ( V3: Bain (22) (JUST B) 9 > 6 > 6 > 7 > x (orange hair) V11: Jeon Woong (26) (AB6IX) 3 > 4 >4 > 5 > x ( - UHHHHHHHHHHH, can you imagine Jeup as a casual cafe worker? Looking all sexy like that? pssssht. - but also that breaks my heart. Imfact deserved so much better. - in fact, so does A.C.E. (and CIX) - hahahah, Jeup saying "Jesus Christ" like that will never get old - also, I like when Jeup gets comfortable enough to be loud and goofy. I wish we got to see more of that in the programme. - again. WHY BAEKHO? get Bumzu up in there. Baekho ain't it. - Bain, baby. It's kinda hard to empathize with you wanting to debut with this team sooooo bad when you're currently on a world tour. - this isn't a good song.... - SO. Lets debut Jeup and Donghun, then lets debut Chan and Jun from ACE - OH! there's junnie! in the glasses. Also the Ab6ix kids I don't know and BX and Channie! - these subs are awful. WTF is Solar saying to them?? HUN-MIN-JAY-BIT V2: Jay Chang (22) (ONEPACT) - 8.5 > 8 > 10 > 5 > x ( V36: Bitsaeon (28) (M.O.N.T) 5.5 > 3 > 10 > 5 > x ( V1: Seunghun (24) (CIX) 4 > X > 7.5 > 8 > x ( V39: Kim Minseo (21) (nothing) 4 > 4 > 5 > 6 > x ( - haaaaaaa! they showed Solar's shit for the producer example but not the Jaehwan song! - ighhhhhh, Seunghun grinning at Eunkwang like that! - Eunkwang just makes shit fun! asking them all individually. - Jay Chang is SUCH a fuck boii. - fuck you Jay Chang's voice. like damn. And fuck your foundation that's too light. - we only half way through and they're done singing. WTF we gonna do for the 2nd half? - the fuck did Jay randomly punch Minseo for? - oh look! Yonghee next to BX! - haaaa! poor Suhwan! Jeup did him dirty!!! but not really, Jeup's pretty pure, so I get him scheming. Like with the tea. He didn't want the camera time, he genuinely wanted to try the healthy tea. - Wumuti "doesn't want attention" psssssht! - okay, his little gay look before he answers his question is adorable. that feels real. - Jeup said "I'm not an easy person to be friends with" fuck. where is that one homie who did the personality things for the kids on The unit. I'd looooove that. https://theunit-mbti.tumblr.com/post/170622967698/the-unit-mbti-jeup-mbti - Suhwan seems like such a sweetie though! I guess he's a dick in real life! - awwwwwwwwwww, I want more truth or dare! - omg, it took me until the 2nd card to figure out why they have a "random" cut out of Bain just chilling there. - idk what the fuck Jeups laughing at, but I love his "ha hah ahha ha" laugh. omfg. - awww, Jay actually looks nervous when homegirl announces the results! - I want the moms to have labels. "Jeups Mom" If that's her with his sign, she doesn't have a wedding ring?? - as much as I want this for Seunghun and to see more of Jay, and even though I 100% want this for Donghun. I WANT THIS FOR Jeup MOST! :'( - Jay Chang crying FOR REAL! awwww! - Seunghun's like just chillin! ha! - Seunghun telling Jay to say it in english. Smart man!

yay BDU! stan Jeup though!

[chaithetics]

i saw sharp stick and it was… awakening 😳😳😳 the plot was kinda not good (it felt like it was trying to be absurdist but not fully committed if you know what i mean, but the performances……..)

and honestly i totally get what you feel, i’m still not over succession that’s kinda why i veered toward a rewatch then exploring something new (it felt safer 😂😂😂)

and the BEAR …. honestly jamie lee curtis was phenomenal, it really triggered my flight of fight instinct, it was eerily accurate and painfully familiar. and yeah Clare is just … a character… that’s the best non mean thing i can say 😅😅😅😅😅.

THE FAMILY CHRISTMAS episode left me unwell , it was so heart wrenching knowing what lied ahead for all the characters (especially Mikey). the fact that it was five years too really just drives home just how much and how long of suffering there was.

I too am a sucker for pain that’s why i’m on the hunt in the Mikey fanfic tags because i need moar!

I AM A NATALIE STAN UNTIL THE DAY I DIE season 2 just made me love Pete more, Natalie really is doing her best to break the cycle.

i’ve heard so many good things about Sharp Objects (i think that’s the one with amy adams, who i love, i think she’s criminally underrated, one of the most versatile actresses ever)

i’m wrapping up Punisher season 1 and wow, i forgot how much of hardcore Kastle stan (frank x karen) i was, their chemistry is actually so crazy and they’ve never even kissed, it’s like ‘in a another life’ type of thing. it was so apparent in season 2 of daredevil but i forgot how much it’s expanded upon in season 1 of punisher and honestly how could i forget. (i’m digging in my ao3 bookmarks for the proof lolllll) i also really love the romance between Elektra and Matt (matt really did Karen dirty it’s okay tho she has frank) it’s also very starcrossed… i also think i’m so romance focused because succession and the bear really gave crumbs and said bon appetite 🤪🤪🤪🤪

anyways i do really love the action sequences, and dialogue it’s very comforting and familiar which is what i need lol

now i’m off too browse Kastle tiktok edits hahahaha

I know what you mean! I think the performances of like the two leads were good but the plot wasn't great. It wasn't the worst film I'd ever seen but it certainly wasn't the best. I also just couldn't get over how kind of unbelievable it felt that the MC (I don't remember her name) was such an innocent Mary Sue I guess? And she had come from a very sex positive and open household but didn't even know what a blow job was etc. I felt like Lena Dunham thought she was saying a lot more than what she really was? Also those last shots with the single pair of hands, it reminded me a little of that scene with Theo from Hill House on Netflix with the hands but that was done so much better and had more meaning. Felt like she just wanted to make an artsy sex comedy but couldn't really commit to it. I don't know what to think about the film honestly.

That makes sense! Rewatches are safe haha!

"Clare is just...a character..." DEAD. But you're not wrong that's it sadly. Yes it was truly painful! You're right, suffering is such a long journey and can be such a buildup it's not an overnight thing. SAME I WILL DEFEND NATALIE FOR LIFE! Yes, Pete is so sweet! I recognised the actor from a show called Love and he seems to do a good job of playing sweet goofy men that are simps. We love a simp here, as a woman I am a simp for women. We should all be simps for women! Yes, Natalie is really doing the best to break the cycle! She's doing that for her family she's starting but also with Carmy as well, she's so supportive with him and we see throughout that she really cared about Mikey and tried her best.

Yes, Sharp Objects is with Amy Adams! Same! I love her so much, she is so underrated and precious! I will admit I've made NO progress on Sharp Objects since my reply mentioning it lol...

I LOVE KAREN SO MUCH! I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY SHE GETS SO MUCH HATE FROM THE FANDOM! AND I THINK DEBORAH ANN WOLL DID AN AMAZING JOB PORTRAYING HER! Sorry I just needed to say that! I'm glad that at least most of the fanfic I've read on here writers are kinder to her. They do have great chemistry! I do think she's a great actress and everything I've seen her in she's so talented at having convincing chemistry even if it's subtle. Elektra and Matt makes me sad and anxious. Star-crossed lovers are tragic. Yeah, Succession and The Bear aren't super big in the romance department haha. Makes sense! Comfort is what we need after S4 of Succession and S2 of The Bear. Good luck finding for the Kastle edits!!!!

Thanks for sensing this in Bear Nonnie! Appreciate you! 💗🐻

[kraviolis]

ive done it. here's the rough excerpt for it bcus if i dont post it here then it is never going to see the light of day because this crossover AU exists almost exclusively in my mind.

fandoms: TOH, GF, OTGW, TWDG, SU words: 1k ford's pov

_________

“i completely forgot!” sara smacks a hand to her forehead. “camila called me back last week!” 

“really?” wirt and lee ask at the same time. 

lee continues, “the last i heard from her was a year after manny's funeral.”

“poor dear,” ma sighs, shaking her head. “wish she wasn’t so stubborn about askin’ for help.”

“yeah. can’t be easy.” shermie agrees gruffly. “hopefully she hasn’t had to worry about money, but with how they’re taking care of vets these days…”

“cami’s always been stubborn,” lee smiles softly. “sara, remember when mom told her she didn’t have her blessing to marry manny?”

mabel’s eyebrows go high at the realization that there’s a family story she doesn’t know. “what happened? what did she do? you gotta tell the story now!”

sara giggles. “fine, yes, i'll tell it. but first you need context first. this happened right after camila had graduated, probably within the same week. at this point, she and manny had been together since she had started college six years before–”

“wasn’t the only reason they didn’t get married in college because your mom told her to wait until she graduated or else she wouldn’t help pay for the wedding?” wirt clarifies.

“i'm the one telling the story, here.” sara pinches the thin skin on the back of her husband’s hand playfully. wirt makes an apologetic noise. “but yes, they had only waited because mom asked, but then mom went back on her word and said camila wasn't allowed to marry manny at all.”

“but why?” mabel asks.

“yeah, why? they were already six years in– that’s basically married, aint it?” stan says, scratching his beard. “i can’t even think of a reason anyone would say no at that point.”

“mom’s christian,” lee explains plainly. “but the nocedas are catholic.”

“that’s… stupid.” dipper squints. “that’s pretty much the same thing.”

there’s a wave of laughter around the adults at the table. “don’t let your granny everett hear you say that.” ma warns with a smirk.

“did she not have a problem with your conversion to judaism, sara?” ford asks, tilting his head as he catches his niece-in-law right as she takes a bite of her dinner.

wirt shakes his head and answers for his wife. “she didn’t. she was actually really happy for sara– she just has some weird grudge against catholics specifically.”

stan snorts. “ahh, good ol’ delilah. never change.”

“like i was saying, camila was furious about mom not giving her blessing.” sara continues. “manny kept saying he would be okay with converting, but she wouldn’t have it.”

“cami didn’t want to give her the satisfaction,” lee chuckles, obviously fond. “our mom had been pushing for her to go into medicine, or some kind of STEM field at least, but camila had wanted to do professional costume making. they'd fought for a long time over it, but in the end she compromised with our mom and became a veterinarian."

"me going into professional ballet and lee becoming a historian probably didn't help." sara admits. "but camila gave up her dreams just to make our mom happy, and she wasn’t about to give up her soulmate, too.”

“awww,” mabel coos, squishing her cheeks together. “sheeeee loooooved hiiiim.”

“yep, your tia loved your tio a whole lot.” sara smiles at her daughter. “she loved him so much that when your granny everett denied her blessing, camila met with manny’s priest the very same day and converted to catholicism before getting married to him right then and there.”

"they had a real wedding later," lee clarifies. "when mom had calmed down enough. she's all bark and no bite-- she even cried during the ceremony."

stan barks out a laugh. “see, i’ve been telling you all for years that cami is an honorary pines! that story just proves me right!”

“you just don’t want to be the only pines who had a shotgun wedding,” shermie teases, and stan narrows his eyes at his eldest brother. “or do the words ‘marilyn’ and ‘vegas’ not ring a bell?”

mabel gasps. “her name was marilyn?” she grins, and scribbles something on a notepad she pulls from her sweater.

“me an’ marilyn were nothing like camila and manny.” stan argues. “for starters, i only knew marilyn for six hours before i signed the papers.”

“stan,” ford blinks, attempting to wrap his head around all the information he's received. “when was this?

“ahhh, let’s see…” his brother glares up at the ceiling, gears turning near-audibly. “the twins were, what, four? almost five? must’ve been… yeah, back in oh-three or oh-four.”

“so i’m legally married to a random woman you met in vegas?”

“no,” stan answers quickly, and ford sighs in relief. “you’re legally divorced to a random woman i met in vegas.”

“stanley.”

“hey, if you had been in my position with a lady like marilyn, you woulda–” ford pointedly raises his brows at his brother, whose indignation quickly deflates. “ah. right. maybe you wouldn’t.”

“is she doin’ alright, sara?” andy finally pipes up. “i’ve been thinkin’ about flying up to– where’s she live in connecticut, again? gravestown?”

“gravesfield,” sara corrects. “and yeah, she sounded like she was doing pretty well, all things considered.”

“did she mention luz?” clementine asks, her voice quiet but still carrying across the table.

“she did! actually, speaking of– camila shared some pretty big news with me and gave me permission to tell everyone to save her from making seventeen different phone calls.” sara smiles, and the whole crowd of family goes quiet in preparation. “my baby sister seems to have picked up a few strays over the summer, so there’s gonna be a couple new noceda kids to welcome to the family when she hosts christmas this year.”

mabel cheers, getting to her knees on her chair as she pumps her fists in the air. lee beams brightly and shares a look of glee with his own adopted daughter. clementine wriggles in her seat, more childlike than ford has seen yet.

"mazel tov!" ma raises her port in a half-toast. "they're gonna need some luck, bein' brought into a family like this."

"you're the one who started the family in the first place." dipper says but raises his pitt soda with her.

"and don't you forget it, zissele."

mark smiles and mimics his MIL-in-law. anna claps in excitement over her new grandchildren. sherman’s eyes twinkle in delight as he knocks back the dregs of his diet coke.

“fresh meat, eh?” stan grins, sitting up and leaning forward. “you got any more info on my new great nieces or nephews? names, for one?"

“their names are vee and hunter.” sara tells him. “hunter is the oldest– he just turned seventeen this past october– and vee is the same age as luz, give or take a couple months.”

“new twins?” dipper lights up.

“new twins!” mabel shrieks, making the people sitting closest to her wince and rub at their ears.

“she said months, not minutes.” clementine insists, frowning with her hands firmly over her ears.

“eh, it’s close enough.” stan shrugs. “so what if one was a little early?”

“stanford was a whole fifteen minutes early.” ma tells clementine, winking.

“ma, how old are we, now?” stan turns to their mother. “you don’t gotta keep reminding me that i’m technically the youngest, yeesh.”

“don’t talk to your mother like that.” ford nudges stan with his elbow, basking in the recognition of his older brother superiority.

“can you believe the newer generations? so disrespectful towards their elders.” sherm sniffs.

"i know, right?" wirt crosses his arms and raises his nose in the air.

"they're soooo entitled." sara flicks her hair behind her shoulder.

mabel rolls her eyes with exaggeration. ford hides his snickering into his drink. "ugh. someone needs to teach them manners."

stan opens his mouth to argue, only to be cowed by a dangerous solitary brow being raised by their mother. he grumbles into his beer, and accepts lee and dipper's shoulder pats of younger-sibling solidarity.

how do i include the nocedas in my gravity falls/steven universe/over the garden wall/walking dead game crossover family tree

[imaginestuffs]

ABOUT YOU? -CATWS Cast x Platonic reader

Word count:858

Warnings: none, just fluff.

Summary: the 'Winter Soldier' cast describes their youngest cast mate (the reader)

"A few things that would describe (y/n), oh wow ok there are a lot." Sebastian said. 

"Anthony you go first I'm still narrowing things down." He spoke up again. The interviewer chuckled before turning their attention to Anthony. 

"Well, that girl is crazy. She is extremely funny and very witty. Really hard working when it comes to acting and her college work we're all proud of her for that." Sebastian nodded his head in agreement. 

"When she reads scripts she gets really into it. She read a part in the newest script and we all of a sudden just hear this loud gasp and turn to see her with a hand over her mouth. She is very dramatic without the purpose of being dramatic. She also loves to compliment people on anything. If she think someone looks extra happy she has a huge smile on her face and tells them they look beautiful. She's a sweet girl and we all love her." Anthony finished up his answer. 

"That's amazing I'm really excited to meet her." The interviewer spoke once again. 

"Sebastian, what do you think?" 

"Yeah like Anthony said, she's nothing less than a sweetheart. Her kindness is seemingly endless. Honestly, I don't know how she does it all the time. Even when people are unkind to her she will always be kind to them. She's the youngest cast member at just 20 years old. She doesn't seem like that, she is mature for her age. She takes things seriously when they need to be and takes criticism well. Of course she's silly and fun but when she needs to she gives her best. It's amazing really. She tends to be hard on herself, which we all can be but with her it hurts to see more than you would think. When you see her like that it just proves how strong she is. Going through that, while dealing with college, work, and just daily life she pulls through and it's amazing to know her." He finishes with a smile. The interviewer smiled brightly at them both and concluded their time together. 

Then it was time for Chirs Evans and Scarlett to answer the question. 

"So what are a few things to describe (y/n)?" 

"There are so many things to say about her wow. She's an inviting and welcoming person. When you first meet her she can be a bit shy but she isn't one of those people who will keep quiet as a mouse. She'll be soft spoken but you'd never feel unwelcome with her. You know her when she opens up more she is not as afraid to really have a one on one conversation. She actually loves them. Being able to ask someone about their day or how their life is going. She doesn't just hear what you're saying, she listens to you. She just cares so much for the people around her." Chris paused and Scarlett took a chance to speak. 

"It's true she will never not give her best to understand someone. She's so young but understands and knows a lot more than you would think." She said, 

"Yeah she always gives her best and puts everything she has into everything she does. It's not an easy thing to do a lot of the time but she does it. She sends us letters all the time. Like actually handwritten letters and sends them to us. She writes poetry and the first thing you read in every letter is a new poem she's written. It's always exciting when I find one in my mail. I love her so much." Chris finishes. 

"(Y/n) has one of the biggest hearts. She always does things for others to get a smile from them. All she wants is for people to be happy. She never forgets special occasions whether it be a birthday or even just a silly holiday she's prepared for it. On set when we first began filming she heard that Sebastian's birthday was coming up. Keep in mind we all just met her. She baked him a cake, got him a little card and a gift. She didn't know what he would like so she went to Chris to ask.

She ended up getting him a vintage comic signed by Stan Lee. She also went around set to each of us and asked for a video of each of us saying Happy birthday and stuff. She compiled it all together and played it for him. That was one of his happiest days on set. She almost cried when he thanked her for it. She loves to see people so happy and knowing she did that for them. She's just the sweetest. We all love her like she's a little sister." Scarlett ended her little speech and smiled. 

---

The video ended and you had tears in your eyes at their kind words. A fan had sent you that video and after a hard day you decided to watch it. You missed everyone and it really struck a chord, you made sure to send each of them a text reminding them how much you loved them.

[gaybananabread]

For a request, I’ve been on a Gravity Falls kick again and ticklish Dipper is so adorable 💖 Maybe something where Ford sees that Dipper is feeling a little down so he asks Mabel what he can do to cheer him up. Of course Mabel spills that he’s super ticklish so some Ford and Dipper bonding ensues. Take all the time you need and hope you had a good New Years Eve!

Thank you! I've been wanting to write for these two! I love how sweet they are! (I'll be honest, I wrote most of this at 2am, so sorry for any mistakes!)

Lee: Dipper

Ler: Ford

Summary: Ford notices that Dipper's been down in the dumps. Mabel helps him find a smile-worthy solution.

Warnings: none! This is a tickle fic, so if you don't like that, scroll away!

It was morning, the Mystery Shack quiet and peaceful. Dipper was just rolling out of bed, still exhausted. He'd been trying to classify some of the nearby anomalies, and hit a dead end. Scratch that, ALL the dead ends. To say he was tired was an understatement. The bags under his eyes showed that feeling.

Ford was setting up the lab, ready for the little hangout Dipper and him had after breakfast. They had been working on a tree that dropped peanut butter acorns last time. Lately, they'd hit quite a few walls in research. Ford was used to it, nothing happened without lots of failures and mistakes.

When everyone had reached the kitchen, Stan served his Gravity-Falls-Famous Stancakes. They were shaped like question marks, very on brand. Dipper had a few bites, Mabel split hers with her pig. Overall, it was a normal morning.After the fluffy meal, Ford and Dipper went to work, as Mabel went to play with Waddles.

Their new journal open and ready, the pair discussed their research. Ford went first. "I've searched the far quadrant of the forest, but the most interesting thing I've seen are gnomes proposing to squirrels." Dipper sighed, then presented his with a frown. "I'm trying to test this rock candy cave over by the cliffs, but everything's coming back blank. Same with the strange energy field by the lake. I'm just... blocked."

Ford patted his shoulder. He knew that feeling well. It made up a good chunk of his life. "It goes away eventually. It makes you feel a bit hopeless, but it's not permanent." The technically-teen tried to smile, but it came as more of a grimace. Ford brought out some files, and they started to work with eacother.

An hour later, their meeting was done. Neither of them were any closer to their goals. Dipper looked miserable, tracing back up to the attic for the day. Ford felt awful. He hates seeing Dipper like that, but he didn't know how to help.

An idea popped into his head: Ask Mabel. They're siblings, she can help! Walking into the living room, Ford saw Mabel bedazzling a pig-sized sweater. "Hey Mabel, do you have a minute?" She patted the couch, setting down the shiny garment. "Yeah! What is it?"

Ford explained the situation, how Dipper's mood had been, and the brain block. She thought for a moment before her eyes lit up, a hint of mischievousness behind them. "If you need Dipper to smile, just invite his favorite monster! He lights right up, and he can't stop smiling!"

"Really? Which one? Is it the Gobblewonker, because he was obsessed with that one before we found it." Mabel laughed, patting her Grunkle. "No silly, the Tickle Monster! You can't tell me you haven't seen him. Dipper is, like, insanely ticklish. It's kind of his talent." Ford shook his head, smiling as he remembered tickle fights between the siblings. Sure enough, Dipper lost every one he could think of. "Thank you, Mabel. I'll be putting this information to good use."

----

Up in the attic, Dipper was pouring over books, papers, and graphs. He was getting nowhere, and it massively sucked. When he heard a knock at the door, he just grunted, thinking Mabel was there to bug him. He was surprised when he saw his Grunkle walk through the door instead.

"Hey kiddo. What's all this?" His head snapped up at the voice, not expecting Ford to be there. "It's just some research stuff. Not like it's doing me any good." He huffed, shoving some papers and books away. Ford was trying to keep his poker face steady. "Mind if I take a seat?" The boy just shrugged, which he took as a yes.

The old man sat close to the foot of the bed, subtly blocking his great-nephew's escape routes. "You know, I've been thinking about this one monster today. You've known him for a while now." Dipper seemed intrigued. "Which one? The only dude I can think of is Steve. Eugh."

Ford laughed, a mischievous smile spreading on his face. He moved closer to Dipper, snatching up his hands and pinning them above his head. Surprised by the sudden movement, he didn't put up much of a fight.

"The Tickle Monster, of course!" He started skittering his hand up and down Dipper's stomach, and the boy knew he was screwed. Squeaky giggles began to fill the room, brightening up the place. The attic needed some laughter.

"Gruhunkle Fohohord! Whahat are you dohohoing?!" Dipper tried to squirm away, but every escape route was blocked, and Ford had a strong grip on his wrists. He was trapped. "Tickling you, of course! The Tickle Monster's victims always stress out and overwork themselves, which makes you the perfect candidate!"

Ford started to venture upwards, scribbling on his ribs. Dipper squealed, twisting and squirming, trying to escape the tickle sensation. Laughter poured from his mouth, bright and joyous. "NAHAHAHA! IHIHIT TIHIHICKLES!"

A few seconds later, Ford paused to give him a break. Dipper sucked in air, giggling off the ghost tickles. His cheeks were bright red, a goofy smile plastered on his face. He looked happier than he'd been in days.

"You okay, kiddo?" He looked up at him, still a little tickle-drunk. "Yeah, Ihi'm good." He wouldn't say it out loud, but this was the break he'd been needing. He felt a lot less stressed, and a bit more calm. "Great. I've got just one more spot to try."

Before he could even react, Ford shoved both his hands into Dipper's armpits, digging into the sensitive flesh. The reaction was immediate. Loud, shocked laughter erupted from the boy, his hands weakly pushing at Ford's arms.

"GRUHAHAHAHAHA! NAHAT THEHEHEHERE! HAHAHAHA!" He thrashed around, arching his back. It was so bad! Every twitch of his Grunkle's fingers sent him further into hysterics.

Then, just as soon as it began, the tickles stopped. The wiggling fingers turned into rubbing ones, messaging out the phantom sensations. Dipper was so tired, his late nights finally catching up with him. He fell asleep right there, calm and happy. Maybe taking breaks isn't so bad.

[red1ight]

more of my silly little opinions under cut bc i don't want to spoil also it's unreasonably long

well simply i loved it 🥹 and was it perfect? well no, but the vast majority of 'issues' (if you could even call them that) i had with it were so minute and nit-picky that it really only comes down to preference and the fact that it did not come directly from my head so therefore it is not my completely perfect version of wicked fkjskls BUT i was coming at it as a skeptic, and i thought overall it was lovely

and you know what, the 2 parts, i GET it now. yes, it still may be a blatant cash grab BUT it really feels like a wicked movie for the stans.. the movie is a fully faithful adaptation of act 1 but they just let it breathe. like, you kind of forget the show is so fast-paced it's an absolute marathon. i feel like this movie was for me in the sense that it's for the the ppl that see wicked and then think, wait i want to live in these moments a little longer. so. i approve! lol

and so, cynthia erivo. LOVED her interpretation of elphaba. for her iteration she really played strongly into her innocence and faith in the wizard, as opposed to a more skeptical brutish and angry elphie (which i also really enjoy) which made for a very satisfying betrayal scene at the end (well, of act 1) because you can really see the gears turn in her head and her worldview change. i found her elphaba to be a bit reserved? which was interesting

ariana grande did a good job she really delivered with the operatics, esp. for no one mourns the wicked. and she went for the opt up of course! really loved no one mourns the wicked, that one made me feel the most emotional, probably. i CANNOT wait for her thank goodness it's gonna be devastating

cynthia erivo's the wizard and i. and that's all. INCREDIBLE. show stopping to me. i felt compelled to applaud in the movie theater for a second there because oh my god. head in hands.

what is this feeling was fun i thought the choreo with being able to hear the percussion of the footwork was SO fun and satisfying

i was pleasantly surprised by jeff goldblum! thought he was great as the wizard

cynthia erivo's i'm not that girl was also so stunning.. and that one's not usually a stand-out song for me but. loved that

the dancing through life scene at the oz dust ballroom where glinda joins elphaba🥹wow🥹 when she touched her face😭

popular was good, once again i say good job ariana grande

as for the things i disliked:

main thing being the lighting. my god what was going on. now, it wasn't bad throughout the whole movie, thankfully, but it was actually distracting during the first half of dancing through life when they were in the library. it was so backlit 😩

there were also some camera angle choices that were puzzling to me. why so many shots of their backs when they're singing

lots of cgi but oh well what can you do, especially with the Animals

i like michelle yeoh and i liked her acting as morrible, but unfortunately she is simply not a singer. i hope it's not rude to say, but i reallllly would have like to see sheryl lee ralph do it

wasn't feeling the vocals for nessarose either unfortunately

wasn't really into the new orchestration to dancing through life, didn't really like the percussion/dance beat thing they had going on in the background, though i liked the new dance break arrangement

as i mentioned, while i enjoyed the movie giving certain scenes and numbers room to breathe, there were 2 moments where i thought there was maybe too much space/too many breaks in the music - one of those scenes being dancing through life, and the other being the very end of defying gravity aghh i liked the scene where she was falling and seeing her younger self, but i think once she gets levitating on that broom don't break up the music! why do we hear madame morrible's speech again? i really liked seeing everyone's reaction, but i wished they had shown that earlier on. i felt like the song lost some momentum, though i feel like it was attempting to do the opposite

also all the flying effects and the giant ass cgi cape was all a bit much and i think it could have been toned down a tad. but that's enough of my snobby opinions lol

OH wait another thing. One short day! the new song/cameo was nuts dkjs idk if the ppl know but i am famously not an idina enjoyer SLFDK so idk. i though the idina/cheno cameo was fun for the first few seconds and then.. they just kept singing 😭 i've always thought they sounded excellent together but the part where idina does the defying gravity riff i really did not like. it just came off as gimmicky and i'm not a fan of breaking the fourth wall unnecessarily. also i kind of feel like it stole a bit of cynthia erivo's thunder ! sorry for being a hater🙏🏻

even though i wrote all this i feel there are many things i am forgetting somehow sdjflsk anyway if u read all of this thank u also i'm sorry<3

i am SEATED for wicked. presently. I will be having opinions!!

[moviesstoriesandbooks]

Kinnporsche finale(🤧🤧 )thots

1) apo and mile are so fine. And fine actors. And have good chemistry . Like all of that together. Wow.

2) p'tong did a wonderful job in the three brothers scene. And he looks like the elder brother when they're all sitting together. He's taller.

3) but jeff was the one consoling him. I kind of think kim didn't know daddy korn didn't die. Even he didn't think korn would take it so far as to fake his death . It's my feeling.

4) someone make a side by side gifset of that stan lee librarian fight in andrew Garfield's spidey movie , brooklynn 99's gina and kimchay scene. It was fuckin hilarious. But also extremely romantic. Like , kim tried to not break bottles in the beginning. 🥺 So that chay won't be disturbed or even slightly inconvenienced. 🥺🥺🤧 Lovely.

5) the shot of the theerapanyakun crest being shot multiple times during the confrontation scene in the porch🤌🏽🤌🏽🤌🏽🤌🏽

6) Did daddy chan know?? I feel like he may or may not have. His death was cinematic excellence though. It kind of gave off the vibe that he won't be mourned. Maybe bodyguard deaths are not mourned.

7) it's also kind of sweet how the elderly guards like erika and chan may see kinn still as the boy who would play pretend or run through the hallways or mess with them on their duty hours and shit and i dunno it kinda hurt seeing how erika was like get kinn out of here and chan was like they're coming fuckin run I'm sorry i couldn't stop them 😢😢😢🤧

8) also we didn't get MUCH of arm , pol and pete bodyguarding because they were with tankhun and all of us like to make fun of them that they're scaredy cats and all that. But do you think, for even a minute , that Korn would place his eldest heir under the protection of weak men? No no no. Those are the best guards under their payroll. They're also the MOST LOYAL and TRUSTWORTHY ones , which is what tankhun needs. And boy they delivered.

9) bible. The scenes where he breaks down. Acting🤌🏽🤌🏽🤌🏽

10) like if we're gonna mention acting we'd be here all day. Every single cast member did their job. The mother- creepy as hell and made us question if this was really the end , WITHOUT OPENING HER MOUTH EVEN ONCE.

Korn- master deception but gentle and calm hence we're bound to fall into his trap like a snake moves with the charmer

Gun- violent explosive loud so we're less likely to listen to him ,but more likely to suspect him.

Chay- his childlike innocence still there , but clouded by kim' s dark aura which is still shy of leaving him alone

Kim- still can play guitar and hold a gun , won't bat an eye while killing you , and many many things which even the main family spies probably haven't a clue about I'm sure.

Like all these different character portrayed with utmost care and precision. The entire cast deserves a second season.

11) most favourite scene is vegas going "or heart?" And kinn screamed YANG!!! . Like that's love bitch. 😔

12) second fav scene has to be jeff kicking ass while making all of us collectively drool.

13) pete and vegas was the couple i was most scared they'd leave as a cliffhanger or somethin but thank God. Also macau💕💕💕💕. They're a family and i like to believe that prosche protects them from afar which is how he gets the minor family to behave.

14) the rings. They got the matching rings. I'd like to believe kinn's is platinum and prosche's is gold.

15) vegas took multiple bullets. There may have been an alternative ending in my mind for like a few seconds where i thought pete would shoot the last shot to finally kill vegas coz he didn't want vegas to die by another hand.

16) i mean the sight of apo coming in with guns blazing , tits sculpting white tee and all which cut right through his biceps had me moaning so it's no wonder kinn's hand strayed a little far from the gun . 👀👀

17)tankhun had his fun. Like he wasn't afraid to kick ass from afar. Please sniper tankhun in season 2 🥺🥺

18)also people have been saying kinn is stupid and all of that and he's not fit to be a leader . I'd like you to consider .. the gun -porsche-kinn scene. He tried to talk his uncle out of it.

19) in the meeting after korn's supposed death , that's when i felt that kinn was most out of reach. Without porsche by his side his animalistic side has the wheel and that's not good for anybody. But with porsche back at his side , kinn sees reason.

20) and which is why kinn is better than korn. Kinn is not a manipulative violent asshole . He also doesn't trust his father(asks porsche "do you believe that?")maybe we'll get to see kinn finally grow out of his father's mould and be better than him in next season.

all is well..... I guess.

I have certain expectations or theories for the second season and i want them to be real so bad. Maybe another post ..... Hm...