#but tis a completely separate storyline

[dewey-ing-it]

Donald, bursting into the room: You two are having sex!

Panchito, not looking up from his book: Really? José, why didn’t you tell me? I would have put my book down.

[porto-rosso]

olly you should tell us ur vision for the cassie solo, im on the edge of my seat

hi thank you for asking!! sorry for taking so long to reply. long post so its going under a cut

starting off what i really want for cassie is essentially a unique position within the dc universe. at the minute there are 3 wonder girls in the comics (hesitantly could include donna since she's appeared semi-recently as wonder girl in world's finest as well) so for character longevity's sake she really needs to find her own niche. additionally, having her just take up a new hero name feels stale and doesn't really separate her from any other ww character enough to give writers in the future a reason to use her. disclaimer everything i'm about to lay out is very pick and choose with what nu52-present storylines i'm using as canon.

the solo starts with Cassie en route to themyscira. she's kind of tried a year of uni but wasn't really interested in it and socially was still having trouble with the lack of a secret identity. she's not planning on staying in themyscira too long, kind of a gap year situation? just to hone some combat skills, rethink her place as a hero, general soul searching.

through some sequence of events cassie ends up taking up an apprenticeship with one of the amazon's blacksmiths (welcome back Io). keeping with the greek mythology aspect of the amazons, the first arc of this solo follows a 12 labours of hercules format where each issue follows a specific task cassie has been set as part of her apprenticeship. (also means we can get a few young justice cameos for tasks that take her off themyscira)

on the character arc side of things, i think cassie is super in denial about how happy she is with herself. through the arc, i've got the idea that she slowly starts presenting more masculine under the excuse of it being 'more convenient' (first big change, for instance, could be cutting her hair as keeping it tied up for metalworking all the time is annoying). Through a mixture of spending time in an environment mostly free from patriarchal influence (Io being a butch woman in a relationship with another woman is super relevant here) and just undeniably feeling more comfortable with the presentation changes, she gradually comes to understand that being a tomboy when she was younger wasn't something she needed to fix. (<- undecided on this specific way of telling it though because honestly i'd like her to have a bit of a breakdown and cut her hair then. for drama)

first arc ends with her completing her apprenticeship and still feeling a bit lost but much, much more secure in her sense of self. from here, it'd follow her moving back to gateway city and setting up kind of a magical weapons specialty shop, with the idea being that when problems arise in other books to do with magic weaponry/armor/ect cassie can appear and help for the issue (think how when there's a demon problem its highly likely jason blood will show up).

basically it all boils down to giving cassie some long overdue development and a unique skillset! love her character very much lol

[dollypopup]

bridgerton season 3 part 2 spoilers

I want to preface this with saying that I have loved Polin for two years. Two years, hundreds of thousands of words, and almost 50 stories. I have loved this couple through fan edits, through fics, through rereads, through songs. I have loved this couple so deeply and earnestly and endlessly

And so my disappointment in Part 2 stems, predominately, from the fact that I just wish it had been better.

I wish it hadn't been as cut through with plotlines that went, ultimately, nowhere. Will and Alice with the tension of 'I don't want to give up the club' 'Well, you should to suit the status quo' 'Oh, okay'. Benedict with his 'I love being free. Let's shag freely!' 'I may have feelings for you' 'I still just want to shag freely, but now I'm opening up more options' (tho, congrats on the bisexuality!) Violet and Marcus who are just being set up for the final season. Cressida, who's story tugged my heartstrings so much, and ended up in the dirt.

But more than anything, I wish Colin had gotten more. There were so many moments where he could have been expanded upon, where his character could have shined, and I truly want to commend Luke Newton, he did a phenomenal job with the crumbs he was given, but was ultimately shoved to the wayside for the Lady Whistledown plot.

In truth, this is a writing problem. The actors are phenomenal. They have chemistry, they have passion, and they are all believable, but the writing fell flat. They gave too much time to side plots and, frankly, to Debling, who was such a nothingburger and didn't even return that it was evident he only existed because the series was afraid to lean fully into Colin's complexities. You know what is more compelling and more worthwhile to explore than 'Oh, I could lose her to someone else?'

Losing her to herself.

Colin spent part 2 ultimately SAD. And he had every right to be. But instead of fully exploring that, he was relegated to the sidelines to support Penelope's storyline. And I understand completely that this season was for the Pen stans, but damn, I wish he got SOMETHING. Kanthony's advice to him was useless, Colin started the series knowing he couldn't open up to his brothers and still not doing so by the end. Colin saying that his ultimate purpose was to support and love Pen was a horrific cop out and a disservice of his character. It's a bad plotline when a woman says so for a man, and it's a bad plotline when a man says so for a woman.

I love these two so much, and I feel like they could have had so much better. Penelope now writing the same gossip, tying herself to Mayfair, but under her name now, thus ensuring that people are aware and being different around her for the sake of her publication is bad. To imply that her dreams are Lady Whistledown is lazy- Lady Whistledown is a plot device the writers are unable to let go, not Penelope's ultimate dreams.

You want me to believe that this woman's biggest dreams are to continue writing gossip? Not novels? Not stories? Not an autobiography? Not to travel? Not to make more friends? But to have a baby and write about parties? They tried giving legitimacy to gossip as if Penelope ever had any peer review, as if she is the be all end all of what is and is not true- she cannot possibly know fully.

I wanted more for her than to be a teenage mum tied to a gossip blog. I wanted more for Colin than to publish a book offscreen and take over an estate until his son comes of age. I wanted more for POLIN. Their beautiful moments were truly BEAUTIFUL. That first time scene was lovely- but how much lovelier would it be after he knew who she was in full and accepted all of it? Their reconciliation felt hollow because he was not truly given the time to process it. The pain of separation, sleeping on the couch as she took the bed, was hardly explored outside of a few quick scenes.

No montage of their letters, no Colin standing beside her, and that Lady Whistledown reveal where everyone clapped? I don't understand it. I wish so much that this show took a good story and made it better, and that's where my bitterness lies. Not because I'm a hater, but because I'm a lover. I wanted to love it so, so much.

And I know it could have been better. My couple is better than this. My couple is better than Penelope's ultimate goal being independence and Colin's ultimate goal being an accessory. My couple is a pair of equals. My couple is a pairing of two people who love one another so damn much they can't even stand it. Where is my Penelope who fights for him? Where is my Colin who announces to the world he loves her?

I guess that Polin ended up on the cutting room floor in the edits, because what we got wasn't enough for me

[mossxolotl]

OKAY MASSIVE VENOM THE LAST DANCE SPOILERS AHEAD BUT I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS PARALLEL ALL WEEKEND WHO WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT HOW ONE OF THE SCENES AT THE END MIRRORS A PAINTING I wrote a whole analysis under the cut. I’m normal about this symbiote and you should be too

OKAY SO one specific parallel I found is in one of the final scenes of the movie, as Venom is sacrificing himself and saying his goodbyes to Eddie. The positioning of Eddie’s hand and the framing of the reaching shot feels incredibly deliberate, and seems to be a direct mirror of Michaelangelo’s The Creation of Adam, as shown below:

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN THOUGH?? For some art history context:

The Creation of Adam is a fresco piece created by Michaelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Whilst the frescoes in the Chapel were commissioned by a variety of Popes to a variety of Florentine Renaissance master craftsmen, the collection by Michaelangelo on the ceiling and behind the altar, commissioned by Pope Julius II, are widely considered to be the most important. They depict scenes and figureheads of the Old Testament. The Creation of Adam was made in 1511 and took sixteen days of work to complete.

The fresco depicts an illustration of the moment in Genesis where God gives life to Adam, the first man. It seems to be directly inspired in particular by Genesis 1:26:

“Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness"”

The outstretched pose, with the almost but not quite contact, symbolises the divine breath of life, the spark between them that gave mankind life in the first place.

But they don’t touch. Are they reaching out to touch, or are they letting go? If they’re reaching for each other, the painting could depict desire, a want for closeness- and if they’re letting go, an independence, separation, an assertion of “me without you”.

To examine the movie itself: If we look at the screenshot attached, Eddie’s finger placement feels VERY deliberately reminiscent of God’s hand within Michaelangelo’s piece.That outstretched hand, unsure if it’s letting go or grasping out one final time, to Venom’s approaching, then retreating, tendril. Interestingly, though, if Eddie is standing in for God here, he’s depicted in the lower part of the canvas, Venom-Adam approaching from above. This could be reminiscent of His creation becoming “more than him”, ascending beyond His reach.

The roles here are pretty self explanatory. When the symbiotes first landed on Earth in Venom (2018), it was discovered that they could not survive without an oxygen-breathing host, hence the beginning of the symbiosis trials by Drake in the first place. In providing Venom with a suitable environment in which to live, it could be said that Eddie gave Venom life. The inverse could probably also be said to be true- Venom healing Eddie, and providing him with all the strength he does, could be seen as godly acts, especially in the revelation in The Last Dance that he was directly responsible for Eddie’s resurrection. Perhaps one interpretation puts Venom, the strange alien with the ability to keep Eddie walking no matter what, as God initially created Adam with the prospect of eternal life. The other could be stated that Eddie is directly allowing Venom to live in providing him with the perfect host, in a unique way to any other temporary host.

The Venom story in Spiderman can be seen as biblical, anyway - a lot of Venom’s scenes are around churches, and the storyline shows Peter paying for his sins, purging his “inner demon” and being reborn. A lot of Venom’s storylines can be seen in a similar way, with him being a literal personification of a violent, intrusive line of thoughts before he and Eddie find a way to coexist in a healthier (albeit imperfect) way.

The science bit that ties it all together:

A deeper dive into the composition of the fresco reveals a lot more, though. An article written by Frank Lynn Meshberger, MD, makes an argument that the painting can be interpreted in a neuroanatomical manner. The shape of the drapery and the angelic figures around God resemble a human brain, in surprising anatomical detail. 

In this interpretation, God is superimposed over the limbic system, which is responsible for emotion, memory, learning, behaviour and motivations. His arm extends through the prefrontal cortex, “the most creative and most uniquely human region of the brain”.

Michelangelo had a lifelong interest in anatomy that extended beyond the artistic, participating in public dissections from a very young age. Thus, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that this brainlike imagery is entirely deliberate - especially when his religious views are considered. He believed that the divinity we get from God is not life itself, but our intelligence, that it is one thing to give life to stone but another entirely to give it the ability to “try all things received”. In the painting, Adam is completely formed, aware, alive even, so perhaps it is not the gift of life being given in this moment - it’s the intellectual spark that the artist believed makes us human rather than beast, and the awakening of human ability and consciousness.

In this line of reasoning, the symbolism in Venom: The Last Dance makes even more sense with Eddie as the Godlike figure in this instance. In a literal sense, Venom lives within Eddie’s mind when he is dormant, and puppets his body similarly to an external nervous system. More figuratively, though, at this point in the movie, it’s perhaps made most obvious just how much Eddie has changed Venom. He is capable of emotional reasoning, as starkly shown in his sacrifice. He has spent half the movie reminiscing on his and Eddie’s memories. He is very obviously a being that behaves very differently to how he did in Venom (2018), with very different motivations.

Eddie, in metaphorically reaching through that prefrontal cortex towards Venom, has made him more human, has gifted him with that human spark of life and intelligence and human ability to do and to be and to try all things received (and he does, most dramatically, in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and in his enthusiasm in throwing himself into things Eddie is more hesitant to - singing in the car, dancing, gambling even). And that’s how he dies - humanly, emotionally, simultaneously reaching out to Eddie and letting him go in the same motion, independent from him in a way that is both a first step into individuality, and the last sacrifice he will ever make for his best friend. (Well, boyfriend. Come the fuck on. “You would make a great father” and then the wedding scene cut?? MARVEL WHEN I GET YOU MARVEL)

ALSO THE FACT A PAINTING ABOUT LIFE’S CREATION MIRRORS VENOM’S DEATH?? HELLO. Either this is some massive dramatic opposition for effect or it’s foreshadowing. What if something was created at that moment. Cue the cockroach, cue the whole thing with Knull. Even if we don't get Symbrock back, Venom's probably making a return in some form - Venom or some other symbiote. Teddy's symbiote is still alive, after all - and so is the cockroach.

[daydreamgoddess14]

The Ties that Bind - Chapter 1

*Chapter 1 written ahead of season 4 launching, this has been in my head a while ago, so it's amazing to find a scattering of similarities! Though as this will become romantic, it's obviously completely separate from any existing and future storylines.*

River decides, finally, that David needs some help at home, so sets about employing someone to do just that without really thinking of the consequences.

River Cartwright / Original female character (Seren is named, but feel free to insert yourself should you wish).

Masterlist

Chapter 1

River was late, of course. He'd tried to get out earlier, but he'd had to break up a fight between Louisa and Shirley. A full-on argument that had nearly escalated into physical violence and all because they were both stupidly stubborn. They’d patched things up when Shirley slid a cup of coffee onto Louisa’s desk along with the last of the Jaffa Cakes. They’d mumbled apologies and were laughing like nothing had happened when he’d ducked out. He tried not to dwell on his own stubbornness as he drove. He was already dealing with his lateness, and that was enough for right now. There was a small beat-up car parked alongside his grandfather's when he arrived, and the owner was nowhere to be seen, which meant she must have ventured inside. That was far from ideal. He hadn't had much time to broach the delicate subject with his grandfather, but he already knew from past attempts that it wouldn't be well received. The doctor had made the suggestion this time, though, that had to count for something? David had, of course, scoffed at the idea, but then two days later nearly burned the kitchen down whilst cooking dinner. Again. River was at his limit. With work so unpredictable, he couldn't be there when David needed him, and something had to change. He’d been loath to admit it, but then the doctor had passed the number to him, and he figured it was worth a try.

*

She'd answered on the second ring, bright and breezy.

“Hi, hello?”

“Are you… are you the person offering in-home support?” He asked hurriedly, as if his grandfather would overhear him despite the distance between them.

“No, Poppy, not the icing just yet, sweetheart. Sorry, yes, that's me. I'm just with a family at the moment. It's my last day so we're making cakes.”

“Cakes? I didn't know that was part of what you do?”

“Well it depends on the family, really. I've been looking after Poppy's mum, while she recovers from an operation, so this time it's been school runs, helping with homework, general domestic work. My last family before this one I was looking after an elderly couple, cooking, cleaning, administering medicines. My duties are often different depending on the people. I used to just sit and read aloud to one lady.”

“Oh.” He said quietly.

“You're new to this?” She guessed. “That's OK, why don't you let me know your circumstances?”

*

And so here he was, about to be in trouble on all fronts. His grandfather would hate that he was hiring help, and the woman he hired was about to bear the brunt of David's temper and his rapidly deteriorating mind, so of course, she’d end up hating River for that. He braced himself for a frosty welcome. He opened the old oak door with a soft click, trying not to insert himself immediately into the argument which was… not occurring? He moved quietly through the downstairs of the house, following the sounds from the library.

“And now, my dear, you see I have you in check.” His grandfather said, River could hear the smile in his voice. “We also have company at last. Come on in, my boy.” Rumbled. He peered around the door to see a teapot and three cups laid out on the table with two in use, and his grandfather sat across from a woman with the chessboard between them. “This young lady is from the book club at the local library. She’s trying to get me to sign up!” A frown crossed River’s face.

“Well actually,” the woman began,

“Sounds great, grandad. And you're… teaching her to play chess?” River interrupted.

“Exactly that. It's a curious game of logic and passion, everyone should learn it.” David replied gleefully.

“If I could just have a word, Mr Cartwright?” The woman spoke up again.

“Yes?” Both Cartwright gentlemen answered before River took the lead,

“Yes, of course.”

“Always turned by a pretty girl,” David rolled his eyes.

“Thanks for that, Grandad,” he muttered. “I'll put some more tea on?”

“Good man.” David settled back at the table and reviewed the chess board. “Don't go far, young lady, there's still a lot to learn.” The woman followed River to the kitchen where he braced his hands on the countertop with his head down.

“I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry I'm late.”

“Nice to meet you. I'm Seren.” She offered her hand, and he shook it.

“Yes, yeah, sorry, that too - nice to meet you, please, call me River. He thinks you're from the library?”

“I did introduce myself, we started talking about books, so I think he must have mixed the conversation up a little. It's no harm, but we should let him know why I'm really here?”

“And we will, for sure, I just… he's… the Old Bastard isn’t going to be happy about this, so I need to do it in the right way. Names and faces are getting harder for him. I’ve lost count how many times he’s nearly burned this kitchen down. He sleeps with a gun by his bed for fucks sake. Sorry.” Seren stayed silent and he prayed to any deity he could think of that she wouldn’t walk out.

“It's best not to prolong the lie, it'll cause more confusion later on. If it helps, I have a lot of experience with this, I’m not scared of the outbursts and moments of confusion and I’ll be right here to remind him of that during his times of clarity.”

“I get that, I do,” he stopped, looking out at the garden. “I don't know how to do this.” He admitted sadly. Seren joined him at the window.

“No one does.” She said softly. “I recommend we start with keeping it very simple, very factual. Explain that you're worried and you think having someone close by will help put your mind at rest.” He nodded in agreement.

“Can't promise it'll go well?”

“I know you can't. Unfortunately, neither can I.” She reasoned. She let him lead the way back to the library where David was still plotting his next move.

“Grandad? I think there's been a mix up. I thought we could do with some help around the house, this is Seren. I’ve asked her to look in on you, maybe make a bit of dinner a few evenings a week.”

“A babysitter?” David’s previously amenable demeanour was gone in an instant.

“No, not… not a babysitter at all. Just some extra help, some company for you?” River held up his hands in surrender.

“Young lady, get out of my house,” David demanded sternly.

“Stay, please Seren.” River implored. The woman looked genuinely torn.

“Let me give you both some space,” she concluded, turning to River. “I’ll be in the kitchen.” He nodded gratefully, the relief that she wasn’t leaving the house entirely was clear to see.

“Grandad, please?” River pleaded once they were alone. The elder Cartwright ignored him, turning his attention to the chessboard again. “I’m worried about you. Fires in the kitchen? A gun by your bed?”

“They’re always watching, we must remain vigilant.” His grandfather said quietly. River dragged a hand down his face.

“No one is watching you.”

“How would you know? Over with the rejects, out of the loop and fussing over parking tickets and unpaid licence fees.” River felt the blow. He’d worked so hard, or as hard as was allowed at Slough House, to prove to David that he was still a capable Agent. Someone who did have a future with the service. His grandfather had never doubted the Stanstead stitch up, in fact it was more proof to him that they were trying hard to erase the Cartwright name, but there was still an unspoken assumption that River could have and should have done more. River felt the pressure of it every day in the offhand comments his grandfather made. And those were only getting more frequent with David’s declining mental capabilities.

“You’re right. I don’t know,” River was forced to admit. “But the thought of you here alone terrifies me and I need you to understand why I’m doing this.”

“I won’t pay her.”

“I will.”

“I won’t speak with her or engage with her while she’s here.”

“Fine, I’ll let her know.”

“I don’t like this, River.”

“I know you don’t. But it’s happening. I’m sorry, but… I can’t take no for an answer on this. I’m giving her a key to come and go as she needs to. Speak to her or don’t, she’ll make sure you have food, she’ll collect your medications, she’ll be here whether you agree or not.”

“I think it’s time you left, don’t you?” David concluded, completing the chess game he’d ultimately ended up playing with himself. River placed a hand on the old man’s shoulder and gave a light squeeze.

“I’ll be back in a few days,” he promised. He found Seren in the kitchen, as promised, her head deep in the fridge. She pulled out a few items and threw them into the open bin she’d pulled closer.

“Something stinks in here. I’m just getting rid of anything out of date and I’ll refill it tomorrow.” She told him, grimacing at the smell from the salad drawer. From a quick glance, he could see that the teapot and cups had been washed, the table was clear of clutter and crumbs and the grimey window had been pushed open to let in the last of the day’s sun. He released a long sigh he hadn’t realised he’d been holding in.

“Thank you,” he began, not really knowing what to say. She’d done more in the ten minutes she’d been left alone than David had managed for the last six months or more. He took a key from his pocket, along with his wallet, and started counting out a few twenty pound notes. She closed the fridge and turned back to face him.

“The seal is gone on the fridge door. I’ll get a new one and fit it in the next few days.” She scribbled on a notepad he hadn’t spotted on the table, the makings of a to do list. He could already see clean windows and food shop on the list. He took out another twenty quid.

“This is all the cash I have on me right now,” he explained, holding it out. She took the notes from him, kept twenty and passed the rest back to him.

“This covers the shopping. We’ll work out the rest later.”

“He won’t give you a penny-”

“I know, and that’s fine. I can handle this.”

“He’s going to be mad at you when he’s with it enough to know what’s going on, and he’s going to be mad at you when he hasn’t got a clue who you are or what’s going on.”

“So he’s going to be mad at me. I’ll get over it.” She assured him. He stared at the woman in front of him, a smear of dust on her forehead and her hands on her hips. His grandfather’s comments rang in his ear; always turned by a pretty girl. River sighed.

“Are you sure?”

“Let me do my job, Mr Cartwright.” She told him, taking up her notepad and the key. “I’ll be over in the morning with some shopping, I’ll batch cook some meals and start some household stuff. I’ll keep out of his way unless he needs me for something.” And then she was gone, only the scent of her perfume remaining.

*

It became a ridiculous dance. More often than not, River would arrive in the early evening a couple of times a week to find Seren in one room and David in another. He would go between the two trying to determine whether it had been a good day, a bad day or just a day. By the end of the first week, River was convinced Seren hated him for dragging her into his mess. David wasn't speaking to either of them unless it was to shout at them (separately of course). Eventually River was somewhat forgiven enough that David would at least speak to him but he knew that the same could not be said for Seren. River found himself half dreading and half looking forward to his visits. His grandfather essentially ignored Seren which made for an unwelcoming atmosphere but she'd quickly become the highlight of his day.

“Is that for me?” She asked one month into the role. She'd been standing on a windowsill when he arrived, cleaning what she declared to be the final window. He'd set about making dinner and trying to convince David to at least be cordial. She came down a short time later, gathering up her book, phone, notepad and anything else she intended to take with her to find that River had three meals plated up.

“If you'd like to stay? Thought it might be nice?”

“Nice?” She looked behind her to check that David wasn't in earshot, “River, I have spent a month being ignored when he's lucid and shouted and screamed at when he's not. I've cooked, cleaned and fixed things. In that time he has not spoken a single nice word to me, and that's absolutely fine, that's his choice. But I'm sorry, I don't intend to stay a little longer because you've cooked.” He looked aghast.

“I'm sorry. It was selfish to think that you might want to stay.”

“No, it's… it's not selfish. It was thoughtful of you, thank you. I just can't stick around. I'm not wanted here, that's been made clear. I just want to do my job and go home and drown in the bath.” Images which would likely earn him a black eye filled River's mind.

“Leave the girl alone River, let her go home.” David said entering the kitchen. Seren took a big step back, River hadn’t realised how closely they'd been standing.

“Goodnight.” She mumbled and headed out the back door.

*

Seren rested her head against the steering wheel of her car. For six long weeks she’d been David Cartwright’s metaphorical punching bag. Unwilling to tolerate her presence when he was lucid, he was angry and rude, and then in moments when his memories and mind were not his own, the outbursts were worse. She wasn’t sure which of his personalities she preferred, neither were remotely nice to her. She’d transformed the house, fixed multiple broken household items - the fridge, the floorboard she kept tripping on in the hallway, the plug socket she’d been horrified to see sparks coming out of when she used it. Fortunately it had been a socket David hadn’t bothered using, if he had, she was fairly sure the house would have burned to the ground long ago. The fridge was stocked with easy to heat up meals and snacks, and every single surface and window had been cleaned. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she roused herself to retrieve it. River’s name displayed on the caller I.D.

“Hey, how did it go today?” He asked as soon as she answered. She sighed heavily,

“Yeah, fine. Same as usual.”

“Are you sure? Are you ok?”

“I’m sure.” She said firmly. They fell into silence.

“You’re lying, aren’t you?” He asked. She stayed silent and swallowed thickly, her shaky breath giving away the tears that rolled down her cheeks. “Seren, I don’t… is there anything else I can do?” He begged.

“No. We’ll get there, it’s just taking some time. I’m fine, really.” She brushed the tears away, angry with herself for letting the situation get to her, angry with the Cartwright’s for being so stubborn.

“I’ll be there tomorrow.” He promised. She hung up without saying goodbye.

*

The next morning she let herself into the house as usual. She called out and made her way to the sitting room to offer a cup of tea, as she had every morning and as he’d ignored every morning. David met her in the hallway, a pistol in his hand pointing directly at her. Her hands went up immediately and she searched his face for whether or not he recognised her.

“Who the hell are you? What are you doing in my house?” He demanded.

“David, it’s Seren, I’ve been helping out for a few weeks? Cooking, making sure you’re taking your medication and stuff like that?” She spoke softly and tried desperately to keep the tremor from her voice and tried to bring down the tension.

“I don’t know you. I don’t want you here.”

“I know, I know. Believe me, that’s an ongoing battle for another time. Can we put the gun down, David, please?” She pleaded. She knew that he was still physically fairly healthy, strong enough to slam doors in her face and throw the odd mug of tea across the room when he so wished. He was at least as tall as River which meant he towered over her by nearly a whole foot. The gun shook in his hand and she began to fear that rather than pull the trigger on purpose, he would do it by accident. She backed up slowly, towards the foot of the stairs and as soon as she had space between them, she ran for the only room she knew had a lock on the door. Age on her side, she slammed the bathroom door as he reached the top step. She pushed the lock into place and dropped down away from the door, crawling under the sink. Her phone was still in the back pocket of her jeans so she dragged it out and dialled the number that had last called her.

“River, he's just pulled a gun on me. I thought you were making shit up before but he has a fucking gun!”

“Shit, shit. Is he… himself?”

“No, he has no idea who I am.” The bathroom door rocked on its hinges as David banged on it, causing Seren to scream down the phone.

“I’m on my way.”

“I need to call the police.”

“No, please, please don’t do that. I’ll be there in an hour. Less than. Stay down, keep the door locked.” He begged and hung up before she could argue. The door stopped shaking. She waited quietly,

“Get out of there before I shoot through the lock!” He bellowed, banging the door again. Seren flinched, hugging her knees. She knew full well it would take longer than an hour unless he broke every single speed limit on the way. Seren was eyeing up the window and trying to work out if she could manage the jump without breaking anything when the door banged again.

“Shit!” David called out, clearly in pain.

“David? Are you ok? What happened?” She asked as gently as she could, crawling back towards the door. She knelt in front of it and listened for movement on the other side. There was nothing but silence. “Shit, shit, shit.” She cursed, there was no decision to make, she knew what she needed to do but still dreaded it. She reached up to slide back the lock and opened the door a crack. David sat in the hallway, leaning against the wall with a bloodied hand in his lap. He looked up at the daylight spilling into the space and saw the tears on her face and the fear in her eyes. “What happened David?” She whispered.

“Oh. Oh my dear girl, I’m not sure,” he sounded confused and scared, no longer imprisoned by his mind, he recognised her. “Seren, I’m not sure what happened.” He admitted. She fell to her knees in relief at hearing him use her name. She moved close to sit by him and gently reached for his hand. A small cut ran from the side of his little finger down towards his palm, nothing serious but with all the banging and commotion it had bled probably a little more than a normal hand injury. He suddenly felt so frail to her and it was heartbreaking.

“It’s ok, I’m here now. I’ll help you get that sorted.” She said softly, carefully and kindly taking his hand.

*

When River appeared 57 minutes later, he had not expected to see Seren and his grandfather enjoying tea and lemon cake in the kitchen. Since the day he'd introduced them he hadn’t once seen them in the same room.

“River, what are you doing here? Should you not be at work?” David asked. River’s eyebrows landed somewhere in his hairline and it took a look at Seren and the barely visible shake of her head for him to recover. He noted the bandage on David's hand.

“Had some time to spare, thought I'd drop in.”

“Never missing out on cake, I see. Seren brought this from the bakery.”

“We can have a walk there tomorrow, if you like? Get something nice for lunch?”

“Now that does sound an excellent idea.” David smiled.

“D'you hurt your hand?” River asked.

“Aye, caught it on a loose hook by the bathroom door. Gave Seren quite a scare when she came out of there.” He explained.

“I'll bet.” River took his time sitting down, using the time to appraise Seren and the scene before him. He could see she'd been crying. She offered a small nod, acknowledgement that she was OK, but the sigh indicated that there was definitely a conversation to be had.

“Why don't I take the tea to the sitting room? You can catch up while I finish cleaning up upstairs. Go ahead Mr C, make yourself comfortable.” She helped him up from the table, he was clearly exhausted by his exertion of the morning. She piled up a tray which River returned for once his grandfather was settled.

“Well?” He asked impatiently.

“Well River, your lovely Pops pulled a gun on me at the front door and ordered me out of the house. I managed to hide in the bathroom where I called you and you begged me not to call the police. I think he scared himself when he cut his hand. It brought him back from,” her hand waved in the air above her head, “wherever. I think he scared himself enough to realise that I might actually be here to help.”

“And the gun?” She passed by him in the narrow space between the table and the counter and opened the freezer, pulling out the handgun.

“Didn’t know where else to put it that neither of us would use it.” She shrugged. “Anything like that happens again, and I'm gone, got it?” River nodded, suddenly grateful that he hadn't come across a crime scene. Even more grateful that Seren hadn't walked out and left them.

Chapter 2

[bung3665]

Some Dynamics and Character Lore From GGZ

Given the title, this won't cover everything, especially the dynamics that are present for GGZ-only characters, but I thought I'd make a post for Hi3 characters that are present in GGZ for those of you who like to draw fanart/write fanfiction. As well as the fact that I like talking about GGZ.

Fair warning: this is going to be long, I have a bad habit of going into too much detail on things like this, so please bear with me.

For this post in particular, I was going to focus on multiple characters but this ended up being so long I relegated to it just being about Kiana and Mei, and more specifically two versions of them. I might make a follow up post for Bronya/Seele/Sin at another time.

Trigger warning for attempted suicide below. I feel like I should include this just in case.

Short introduction but that's all I have to say before diving into the material.

Kiana/Mei

It shouldn't really be a surprise that Kiana's greatest dynamic is with Mei and only Mei. The two are a lot more blatant with their feelings and relationship in GGZ. However, their relationship is also more tumultuous than in Hi3. They are a good example of doomed yuri, besides the ending to the Reborn storyline, which is bittersweet at the least and good at the most.

The writing of GGZ carries the same theme as Honkai 3rd, fighting against the fate of the world and for all that's beautiful. GGZ tends to explore the darker aspects to this setting, often times mixing in heavier themes while doubling down on the struggles of the characters. At times, it can be almost over the top, but I think its cohesive and still a finely crafted story.

It should come as no shocker that Kiamei is the primary ship of GGZ, it's outright confirmed that they love each other at points throughout the story. Sometimes it is for lesbian bait, but on the whole I think their writing is good and the way they rely on each other for support is nice.

Kiana and Mei are more grounded in GGZ, if I had to word it. They're still incredibly resilient, but there are times where they crack mentally. It happens to Kiana more than it does to Mei (save for the last arc, where it's all about Mei suffering), but seeing them work through these things does deepen the bond they have.

Now with all that said, let's move on to the actual content of this post.

Retrospective

Retro is the story you play when you first start the game, this is the "first half" of GGZ's story in some regard. GGZ's story and setting is divided into separate eras, with the main two being Retrospective and Reborn. Era Zero, taking place before both of them, was never fully completed unfortunately.

In Retro, Kiana and Mei initially start off on the wrong foot. Mei is sort of hostile towards Kiana (a result of her becoming a Herrscher) and Kiana is a bit insensitive to Mei on introduction, but after learning about Mei's past, Kiana manages to get through to Mei after their battle and the two make up.

Will put it out there that much like Kiana in the Hi3 mangas and early Hi3 story, she's a perv here. Yet her crush on Mei is a genuine thing.

Things calm down for a while, but when Bronya enters the picture and Mei begins to dote on her like a big sister, Kiana gets a little...possessive, and jealous. She's quite immature when it comes to romance in Retro. And while Mei is more serene about things she does care for Kiana too.

The two have their own unresolved matters, however. For Kiana, it's finding her dad who went missing when she was young (note: Kiana in GGZ is not a clone like in Hi3, this is the real and original Kiana Kaslana). And for Mei, it's regarding Ryoma's sentencing and his ties to Anti-Entropy. The two bring it up at points and reassure each other that they will find their dads which is sweet.

Things take a turn for the worse when Cocolia attacks St. Freya with the Moonlight Throne battleship. When the ship crashes into the church where the furnace containing the core of the second Herrscher is (yeah they stored Sirin's core there), Kiana somewhat fuses with the core and has a complete mental breakdown when Cocolia reveals the truth about Siegfried and how Kiana murdered him when she accidentally became a Herrscher while young.

This causes Kiana to become a Herrscher due to the rising amounts of Honkai energy in her body. If you're wondering about Cocolia, she dies by heading into the Honkai furnace and gets swallowed up by all the Honkai.

Kiana kills everyone after becoming the Herrscher of Finality (or Herrscher of The End, Final Herrscher etc), and the last person she kills is Mei.

It's a sad scene through and through, and the CGs are great. Even more so because at the end, when Kiana and Mei are floating above the world, Kiana still cries while the world ends.

See you in the next world originates from this scene. Very good piece of music.

So what happens after? The world ends, Mei and everyone die, but what happens to Kiana?

Kiana became a puppet for the Honkai, even after the initial catastrophe that occurred at St. Freya, small groups of people managed to survive the world-wide Honkai eruption. But they too would be wiped out by Kiana.

She didn't move, she didn't think anymore, and she had no emotion. Only when the Honkai needed her to kill whatever remnants of civilization rose up did she move.

This carried on for hundreds of years, or tens of thousands, but by the end Kiana had killed all of humanity.

And then she regained her consciousness and was faced with the reality of how many she had killed and how much blood she had spilled. To save herself from the suffering she tried to end her life, but because she was a Herrscher, she was immortal.

No one could kill Kiana, not even Kiana herself. When Kiana realized this fact she gave up all resistance. She deluded her mind with memories of the past and paralyzed herself on the spear she had impaled herself with, until the day Honkai disappeared from the world.

Quite the terrible end. I won't be covering Reborn in this post, but I thought it would be cool to write about the Fire Moth DLC side story, since their relationship in that story builds off of Retro.

Fire Moth

To understand Kiana and Mei's relationship in Fire Moth, you first need an understanding of the setting. The events of Fire Moth happen during Reborn's story, during the story chapters as a matter of fact.

But Fire Moth itself technically takes place in a stigma space where the world has turned desolate five years after Kiana became a Herrscher and destroyed everything. It should be noted that this is the world contained in the stigma space, so the setting of the story is not taking place in the real world. The backstories and characters are acting upon how they were in Retro (and were materialized by Kyuushou's memories of them).

This is Kyuushou's stigmata space, and she has the stigmata of both Kiana and Mei from Retro. Hence why this world bears so much familiarity to Retro.

Most life on the surface is dead, and the survivors in Nagazora have banded together to form the organization "Fire Moth", or "Moth Who Chases The Flame", under the leadership of an older Bronya.

Houraiji Kyuushou is the protagonist of Fire Moth, and you play through the story as her amnesiac self. Kiana is still the Final Herrscher, and rather than a being who is carrying out the Honkai's will endlessly, or someone who still has enough emotion and humanity to cry, this Kiana has gone deep into nihilism and has become devoid of most emotion.

This is a Kiana who knows what happened thousands of years ago and guilt has eaten away at her and left her with nothing.

CG of Kiana when Kyuushou first meets her in a dream.

To get a good idea of what Kiana and Mei are going through in Fire Moth, how about this short conversation I machine-translated. Might be inaccurate, I don't know Chinese that well! But hopefully it helps. Some of it has been taken from Guns Girl Z Cutscene Interpreter as well, I translated some of the text that was still in Chinese.

(Mei's text is purple, and Kiana's is blue).

Mei…what would you do if the world didn't fall apart?

If it hadn't collapsed...

I would probably have been like an ordinary girl, studying something I like, enrolling in a university I wished to go to, and then starting my own family, and walking through a happy and uneventful life with the person I love.

Kiana, what about you?

For me…as long as I'm with Mei, I'm already satisfied.

Really…don't say such embarrassing things...If it's Kiana then there must be something more worthy of pursuing.

If it's the old me…I do have hundreds of wishes I want to fulfill...

I wanted to attend the same school as Mei, eat our bento together under a cherry blossom tree, and spend our entire lunch break lazily.

I want to travel around the world with Mei, take pictures of us in beautiful landscapes, and keep our figures in a precious photo album forever.

I want to build a small cabin by the sea with Mei, watch the tide rise and fall together, collect seashells on the sand blown by the sea breeze together, and then fall asleep under the embrace of the moonlight.

There are so many more wishes…well there are so many more plans too..

But now…

I just want to stay by your side quietly like this forever.

Mei...please give me your hand.

Yes...

If it's possible, will you stay with me until the end of the world?

Kiana…thank you.

Thank you for loving me so much. For protecting me so much.

But both of us, no, we all, we all understand.

That this is a long-cherished wish that simply cannot be fulfilled.

Because...because all of it...has been destroyed by your hands.

Every promise has been turned into ash... and we can never go back.

I'm so sorry Kiana...I'm so sorry.

It's time for us to say our farewells...

(Kiana alone with Mei's ribbon).

...

I understand.

In fact, I understand it better than anyone.

This is the mistake I made...I've destroyed our future with my own hands.

Such an ending is the best punishment for me.

Alone in a world without you. Even death is too kind for me.

(There's a little bit more to this scene, but it's not relevant to this post).

During the final battle between Kiana and Mei (they're both in the same nihilistic and existential boat here, so naturally they are the two overarching antagonists), when Mei falls in battle, Kiana bids her farewell and calls Mei her "only regret".

At the end of Fire Moth, Kyuushou manages to reignite Kiana's wish from forty-two thousand years ago, which was to bring hope to the world. What Kiana was chasing all this time was a sliver of hope in a world that gave her none.

Kiana relinquishes her existence after their battle, so she along with Mei disappear from the world entirely. No one remembers them and nobody recognizes their names. Kyuushou remarks that Kiana's dream was to live in a world without Honkai, a sentiment echoed by both Kiana and Mei.

Fun fact: if you 100% all of Fire Moth, you get this wonderful CG of the two.

Conclusion

If you made it this far, thanks. I'm a bit out of my element when writing things like this, so if you have any questions on anything I'd be happy to answer them. I appreciate GGZ a lot, so making this was fun and I hope I can do more of it for the others.

I have a nagging feeling this was a bit too long, so I apologize for that. I ended up explaining a lot of GGZ's lore when this was mainly supposed to be about relationship dynamics...oops.

But to summarize, Kiana and Mei's relationship isn't entirely different from what they have in Hi3, but just like in Hi3 they have their own struggles and nuances. Mostly in the formed of doomed yuri but that's beside the point. I like their relationship in GGZ, at times its as simple as a few exchanges before a battle, and at others its the crux of the story itself.

With all that being said, I hope you enjoyed the read!!

[skadiis]

Well, I've had a little bit of time to think on the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC ending...

I've seen a lot of people arguing about how they hate the ending, and a brave few stating that they like the ending.

I think the reason the SoTE ending doesn't work for me personally is that the Miquella ending reads as a main story ending storyline and not a self contained DLC storyline. Other FromSoft DLC tend to offer short stories with a set ending (Painted World, Old Hunters, Artorias of the Abyss), those stories were self contained enough that they didn't feel like they overlapped with the main story, only enhanced it. SoTE feels like it competes with the main story however, because it's suggesting another ending, however it's an ending that is withheld from you. It's unsatisfying at its core.

The DS3 Painted World DLC enhances the main story, but does not change the main story. It deals with a separate painted world that is connected, but cannot affect the main world, only offer a suggested future after the main storyline. Same with the Bloodborne Old Hunters DLC--the storyline takes place in a dream that gives much more information about the main world, but does not change the core story. SoTE takes place in a separate world that is intimately tied to the Land Between, with a story that does impact the Lands Between. With the Painted World and Old Hunters DLC the player cannot get too bothered about the endings of the DLC, because they don't have actionable implications about their core game experience. The SoTE ending would impact the core game experience of the Lands Between if Miquella succeeded though.

So now we have a problem. Such an impactful ending needs the player to have personal choice about that ending. There are a ton of shit endings to Elden Ring, but we get to chose whether or not we want to take them. You have to work towards an ending, and even with the Frenzied Flame ending you can walk back your decision (very carefully) and chose something else. This DLC has no choice at the end though. There's no option to decide for yourself whether you want to participate in the Age of Compassion, it's just a hard no. You cannot complete the DLC without nullifying the Age of Compassion. Your decision is made for you. You are fated to be unsatisfied with your powerlessness in a game full of options.

Love it or hate it, I really think Miquella's storyline could have worked with a little finagling, but I don't think it works as DLC. I see a lot of people compare him and Ranni, and compare their planned Ages, but the nature of the DLC means this isn't a fair comparison. The story has already told you Miquella is 'bad' narratively, whether you agree with that or not. Had Miquella's storyline been a proper main story ending I think there would be a lot less upset over it.

What do y'all think--am I way off base? Obviously I'm not addressing everything in this little blurb, but this isn't something I personally have seen a ton of people talk about. I also could also say a little about hope as a theme present in other FromSoft DLC but absent here, but ultimately I think that speaks back to my point about personal choice.

[thebuckandeddiething]

queer buck is not a synonym for buddie hope this helps

(disclaimer: once again, this is from some time ago and I'm sorry for overlooking it)

Of course it's not! Buck being bisexual is a completely separate and amazingly important storyline that deserves to be told.

It's powerful representation on mainstream tv, a lot of people feel validated by it, Oliver clearly cares, I care and appreciate that they finally leaned into it. As Oliver said, it's Buck's personal journey and should not be tied to anyone, whether it be Eddie or Tommy.

[I'm gonna ignore the passive aggressive tone of your ask because I really hope none of my posts gave you the impression that I treat Buck's sexuality arc as any stepping stone for Buddie]

[reikunrei]

Omg thank you for your post about El!! That theory is fun and all but I can't believe people think it has any chance of happening in the show. It would amount to a "it was all a dream" ending, people who hate it, and most of all, as you said it wouldn't make sense. I wonder what you think El's ending is going to be, staying true to the themes of the show? I have no idea what they're going to do with her character and I'm really curious to find out. There's also that video of Millie saying she saw her character's ending and thought "ooohh" and walked away slowly. I feel like dying isn't a good choice but then she's just going to be living her life with her friends and her new found family? That seems too... simple. I'm curious to know your thoughts!

yeah, it's a theory that really drives me up a wall because it sequesters el into this "she's not actually important at all" role, which is just... shitty. for all their flaws, the duffers have a pretty good track record when it comes to writing strong female characters (for the most part), and so it feels just wildly out of character for them to pull the rug out from under el and say "oh, she wasn't actually real the entire time" (whether that be for will-based or mike-based manifestation theories. in both (or any) cases, it pushes her into a position of solely aiding her male counterparts and undoing everything handled in her own personal arc. thus: misogyny).

like you said, it really does feel akin to the "it was all a dream" types of storylines, which the duffers have explicitly scoffed at and said is not what's happening. so like, even if it wouldn't completely undermine the story as it's been presented to us thus far, we have more-or-less solid confirmation that it wouldn't be the basis of st5's conclusion, straight from the horse's mouth.

the only time "it's all fake/it's not real" really comes into play (from what we've seen) is regarding stuff with the lab and, specifically, the mf and henry. the "it's all just a dream" stuff is already explicitly presented to us as a bad thing, or not the solution and rather part of the problem. even as it specifically ties to el, nina is something that's largely or entirely fabricated (even if it has real anchor points), and while she comes out of it having regained her powers, that's very likely not the only goal of nina (but i won't get into that here, that's something james talks about a lot in his upcoming thesis post) and the unreality of it all is much more nefarious than it's been presented as thus far.

i mean, even thinking about st2 and will facing the mf as if it's not real/just a nightmare that he can tell to "go away"... only to have that trust in unreality be his whole undoing? like... it just doesn't make sense to me to make "she's not real" a conclusion when every single bit of unreality we've seen thus far has only aggravated things.

and i know i said this in the tags of that post earlier, but just to bring it to the forefront here... it really confuses me to have el's arc be about being different, being an outsider, and feeling like she doesn't belong because she's weird or "the monster"... only to say she should just be shut away forever or killed because of it? like... just say you think "undesirable" weird people should be separated from society and be done with it.

it's the antithesis of the entire show. stranger things, at its core, since the beginning, has been about society's outcasts trying to find their place in the world and accepting their "freak" side and not trying to "fit in." our introduction of henry has explicitly furthered this idea by putting the burden of accommodation on society, not on the individual. and i'd be shocked if they had her reach a point where she felt like she couldn't find a place in the world when we already see that she's more than capable of fostering a comfortable environment with her friends. it's too much like just... giving up, to go the route of "she's not real."

as for what i think the end of her story will be... i have no idea LOL i don't feel confident enough in anything to put down something concrete here. basically, i just don't think it's going to be something akin to "she's a figment of someone's imagination" or was "created" by one of the other characters. she has her own story, her own history, her own life. i don't know what millie could have been reacting to, but i wouldn't be shocked if it was less so "el's ending" and more so something about answering the question of who she really is. so... less of "what's her last scene on the show" and more just... generally figuring out what her whole deal is, you know? because there's still a lot of holes in her past that need filling.

so i guess an answer i can give here, which is definitely wishful thinking, is that i believe the way her story is "wrapped up" will revolve around learning who her parents really are and the actual history of her life (ie. she's not actually jane ives, one of the henries is her parent in some way shape or form, perhaps even brenner is her biological father in some way, etc.), while also touching on the truth of what happened in the lab in 1979 and forward/figuring out just how messy the order of events presented in nina was. like, i firmly believe that the ending of her arc will involve having to come to terms with some really harsh truths about herself and her lineage, and finally wrap up the whole "monster vs superhero" argument she's had going on in her head. so i do think she'll get her "happy life" with her new family and friends, it'll just be a very messy road to get there.

which ties very neatly into some of the overall themes of the show: that sometimes good people do bad things, bad people do good things, not everything is black and white, and the answer to everything is love, compassion, and understanding, even when someone does something "monstrous."

anyway. thank you for giving me a reason to talk about this more and sorry for rambling LOL this stuff just gets me heated!! it annoys me to no end to see characters constantly shoved into the position of "supporting byler" at the expense of their own arcs, and it especially stings for me when it's done to el. especially because i'm in the camp of, if the show had to pick a singular main character, it would be el. she's the tie between the outside world and the lab. she's the one person who helps to really keep everything together and offer answers. so it just feels wildly counterintuitive to essentially give all of that to someone else and make her an expendable middleman.

[zahri-melitor]

Newish Comics:

Batman #148: so I read it again and honestly? Still reasonably happy with where this ties things off. It's rushed but Zdarsky manages to use a range of characters (who are the same ones he was focusing on in Gotham War anyway). Excited for the new storyline once we get back on track after Absolute Power.

Birds of Prey #10: I love how much fun they've been having with costume design in this series.

So this is pulling from some interesting and unexpected inspiration places. I'm still trying to get a handle on everything that Kelly Thompson wants to reference, but while Velvet Tiger is a fascinating archive-pull, what more notable to me is I just realised she's framed the Cass and Barda friendship on very similar grounds as the Cass and Basil Karlo friendship. Which is quite a reference to use! It's actually a really neat little marriage up of preboot Cass with Rebirth Cass, hanging onto a nice note.

The Boy Wonder #2: it's the Jason issue! I. Hmmm. Don't necessarily agree with all of Juni Ba's characterisation of Jason here, but that's fine, because it's an interesting interpretation. I did have a little snort at giving Jason glowing green eyes, because it's so very imposed by magic, and it's hmmm an interesting fillip in what people could actually do with Post Lazarus Pit Syndrome if they actually cared about anyone else's dip in the pit and the array of side effects it has had. Sadly... (like, a magic user sending Jason back into the state he was in immediately after coming out of the pit, while actual Pit Madness takes him over for a couple of minutes? And Jason fighting as it wears back off? Fascinating idea! Absolutely not how fandom usually approaches it).

Shazam! #12: Finally we get some more Pedro, Eugene and Darla action. Also nobody loves Hoppy like Josie Campbell loves Hoppy, but I am here for the way she writes this rabbit.

So this is actually quite interesting in terms of the posited distance between Billy and the Captain, because how much they are the same person and how much they are separate people varies between runs and universes. This feels like it's leaning into the way Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! treats them as two completely separate personalities who can keep secrets from each other.

I also have an impression, from how Campbell writes about this, that she has some experience or connection with fostering and wards of the state, given the way she keeps characterising it for the kids. It's just...really centred on the children's experiences themselves.

The Warlord #55: This week in Skartaris, Travis, Shakira and Tara come across Aram Al Ashir in the middle of a siege on a neighbouring castle as they travel back to Shamballah.

Ashir has his usual effect on the women of the party.

(Ashir was negotiating an arranged marriage to Tara for political reasons about 15 issues ago, if you forgot)

Travis decides to get involved in Ashir's little war because he's the Warlord.

The decision of how to approach the siege is honestly one of the funniest versions of the Trojan horse I've ever seen. Let me break this down for you:

No way.

The castle gets suspicious:

...it's all a distraction as they attack around the back! This is incredible! I am incredulous it worked!

And then by the end of the issue Shakira wanders off to have other adventures, Travis and Tara get back to Shamballah, and we once again highlight that Joshua is still alive and bopping around the background of the books.

(Look how much he's grown!)

[ijustcrypretty]

Football vs. Futbol

Summary: Your parents are a former 49er and a retired ballerina. They gave birth to you, a soccer star who played at Stanford from 2018-2022 (and three-peated), and your twin brother, a UC Berkeley basketball player. You are currently playing for Bay FC after leaving Chelsea and moving back to the states, as well as the USWNT. Your brother is a rookie for the Sacramento Kings, and well… bitches are thirsty for him. Your family ties and the increasing fame that comes with being your generation's greatest female soccer player lead to you being in room with many interesting and exciting people, including the mysterious and elusive Joseph Lee Burrow. 

Reminder: THIS IS FICTION. Y/N is not a real soccer player that exists, the character of her dad and brother aren’t based on actual athletes, etc. The only part of this story that is based off real people is the Joe Burrow aspect of it all. His character will for the most part remain true to who he is, or who people perceive him to be, in the real world. Everything else I am literally pulling from my ass. 

Also MDNI. This will be a story about ADULTS doing ADULT THINGS so go to your 3-hour shift at Jamba Juice and mind your business if you're not an adult. Please and thank you :) 

ALSO. I will hopefully maintain writing this specific storyline and sequence of events but I am very open and would love to write random offshoots and blurbs with the same characters involved. So PLEASE feel free to send me any requests/asks for little plotlines you'd like to see and I may include them in this storyline or write a separate story/blurb when I have time. I may keep up with that more than I keep up with writing the full on story because I get bored and sidetracked easily :(

. . .

You tried. You really did try to pay attention as your manager Becky droned on and on about all the opportunities you were getting and should be taking. “Its important for the world to see a successful female athlete dominate the world and not give a shit what people think. Its what the boys do,” she says. 

“I mean signing a contract for 15 million a year is unprecedented Y/N. Completely unheard of. You should not be sitting here doubting yourself, bringing yourself down. You’re the shit, and you should be allowed to know that about yourself”. 

“Becky. I know I’m the shit. I just don’t necessarily need to be going on fucking Pardon my Take. What's next, you want me to get in with the guys at Barstool? I feel like all this press shit is a lateral move at best” you argue. The last thing you want to do is not be true to yourself. You are not doing any of this for men. Being sexualized by men in sports media has been bad enough, but if you began to lean into that? God, you’d hate yourself.  

“Y/N, the entire world is looking at you. This is an opportunity for you to break down doors and let other women in with you. I know you don’t necessarily WANT men to like you, but what's wrong with having male fans? You have an opportunity to expand your fan base? Take it.”

You left the meeting in a huff, knowing that Becky was right, but your pride was not allowing you to accept the facts. Yes, you have a lot of fans because of my talent. But plenty of your fame has come from the completely and utterly thirsty people of the internet. It just feels so much worse when the sexualization comes from straight men. Even though that is ironically exactly the group of people that you want to be attracted to you. 

But Becky was right. You needed to stop avoiding spaces dominated by men simply because you were afraid of being sexualized and not taken seriously. It was going to happen regardless, might as well take all the opportunities you could get. So you dialed the number. 

“Heyyy Y/L/N”

“What’s up Big Cat. I’ll do it.”

. . .

“Listen imma be honest, I didn’t know how this was gonna go but you’re actually so dope” said Big Cat. “However, I am unfortunately going to have to appease the fans and at least try to get some of these answers okay?” 

“Oh God. Hit me with it I guess” you responded. 

“Lets say that hypothetically” PFT began, “you were single.”

“Oh Godddd” you groaned. 

PFT laughed. “I’m sorry. We have to. It's our job.”

“Listen Y/N, we have all the connections,” Big Cat said. “Just give me 3  Inames of any athletes, and I can try to set you up. I know you must have some dusty motherfuckers in those DM’s, let me figure out what you like and maybe get you someone quality okay?”

“Listen, I appreciate it, I really do. But I don’t have a type. And I sure as hell will not be saying any names,” you say. “But if you know anything Big Cat, let me know. Because some of these guys are all talk but don’t make a move when they get the chance.”

“Ohhh I know things Y/L/N,” Big Cat replied. “I ask this question to everyone, and they all have a little crush on you, and they all ask me to cut it out. I’ll tell you after.”

“Oh jeez I appreaciate it i guess?” you said. 

“Wait you’re going to Paris for the athlete fashion things right Y/N?” PFT interrupted. “Because boy do we have some info for you.”

“Haha yeah I’m going. I’m super excited to get more involved and it’ll definitely be fun to meet new people. I’m really passionate about fashion so I’m really excited to do more of that this year” you said. “But I am NOT going for any other reason okay? Just for the fashion.”

“Righttttt” Big Cat replied. “But it won’t hurt that a bunch of 6’4 athletes will be there will it?”

“I guess not Big Cat, I guess not”

[bigbrownboots]

my thoughts on ‘listener characters’, and the freedom of what is the ‘canon’

to start, this isn’t targeted at anyone specific, or attached to any one argument, but i’ve been reading some posts surrounding what people deem ‘canon’, or at least, very strong ‘headcanon’ for characters - be they listeners or speakers, and i had some thoughts on the matter.

some people may interpret the ‘listener characters’ as entirely separate people from themselves, and listen to the audios with the mindset that they are watching characters (albeit voiceless ones) make choices and interact with the world.

others may interpret it like they are ‘playing a character’, similar to a concept like DnD: Erik has created the world, setting and storyline, along with the characters to interact with, and you - as the listener - do so, meaningfully and emotionally, through your character, sharing as many or as few similarities as you decide with them.

and then, some people may simply use the ‘listener character’ as a space to wholly insert themselves into the story and setting directly, as if they live within this world - completely as they are (granted, perhaps with the addition of powers, depending on which audios they enjoy)

with this in mind - because i want to be crystal clear here: all of these are valid ways to listen and enjoy the content (and if you happen to have your own unique way of interpreting the listener character that i haven’t listed, you are also valid. these are just some examples) i think it’s important to keep the discussion of ideas of what is ‘canon’ when it comes to identity (for listener characters especially, but this goes for speakers too) open-minded, and subjective, and kind.

i see so many back and forths of “this character is -“ “this listener is -“ “if you think of this character as - you are wrong”, and as much as these may be jokes and light-hearted fun, i believe it’s important to remember that everything about the listener characters - and their relationships - are entirely up to individual imagination. of course there are always exceptions, as there is with everything, (and these are usually story elements: ‘Freelancer’’s magical awakening did not go well with their parents, ‘the applicant’ had poor relationships with the people around them and felt incredibly isolated in their life just before the events of Sadism’s Hold, ‘Angel’ had at least one boyfriend before David, etc.) but these aren’t usually giant aspects of the character’s… well… character, and any specifics that are mentioned are never tied to the listener character’s perceived identity.

when it comes to the identity of listeners, there are no wrong answers. again, that’s entirely up for individual interpretation. the audios are all titled [M4A] for a reason. for anyone.

if there was a ‘correct’ way to view them, Erik would have given the listener characters specific information concerning their identities. there would be mentions, descriptions, observations made by speakers. there aren’t.

if certain speaker characters ‘could only be this one sexuality’, their respective listeners would be gendered. they aren’t.

also, Erik has mentioned during livestreams that, in fact, none of the speakers have a ‘set’ sexuality. there are small tidbits here of previous relationships: Sam with Alexis, and Geordi with Ben, etc. - but as far as i’m concerned, none of that is ‘proof’ of anything. as it was so wonderfully printed on the cassette tapes in the older videos, ‘sexuality is a spectrum’. also, bi people exist and i’m sick of people pretending we don’t.

there’s also been a lot of discussion about listener characters’ races. again, a reminder that some people see themselves as the listeners, whilst others don’t. to claim that one idea of a character’s race is ‘correct’ or ‘incorrect’ when considering that people are inserting themselves into the space of these listeners is going to be more harmful than not.

it is okay to have a diverse cast of characters you came up with! have fun figuring all the wonderful ways your listeners interact with each other, all the backstories and fun details and unique moments!

it’s also okay if you see all of your listeners as the same person, just re-skinned with different outfits and stories! have fun coming up with different scenarios to think of them in, and playlists and aesthetics you picture for them!

big, long ramble aside, i just hope everyone can be kind to one another. the whole Redacted experience is just: enjoying some incredible stories though the medium of audio and theatre of the mind, after all. as long as we can be respectful of each other, let’s have some fun.

[star-trek-fandom-confessions]

In response to 1145 (Eugenics vs genetic modification):

Genetic modification has its own issues completely separate from eugenics even now and Bashir's storyline touches on it too and so does Una's in that genetic modification is seen as bad because an unborn fetus can't consent to being modified and may disagree with their parents when they grow up about the modification. Genetic modification is an extreme procedure to perform on someone to make them fit your standards, even if those standards are to terraform the person to meet the planet. That's a very superficial thing to change without consulting a person first and since you can't consult the person you shouldn't be doing it. Children are not their parent's property to play around with.

If you don't want it, fine, but getting rid of a fetus and fundamentally changing it because you don't want that child is wrong.

I can not, in any instance, understand where anyone could get the idea that genetically modifying their people over terraforming a planet is the more ethical of two chocies. Let me fundamentally change this child down to a genetic level because it's so much better than trying to plant grass on Mars?

And while yes it would sound great to find the magic gene to wipe out an illness, they don't exist. You want a red-headed child? Okay they are now more resistant to anesthesia, produce their own vitamin d and have a lower threshold tolerance to pain because random chance tied those codes together.

You can't just pick the one without changing several other things. Which is why there's no ethical reason to genetically modify a person that can't be solved by something way less invasive.

Apologies for the very late late posting.

[asfodelle]

As tragic as it is to see He Tian battle so hard to get out of what his family has decided for him, I’m gonna be screaming into the night about how sweet it is to see the other three be dead set on not leaving him behind.

Jumbled thoughts incoming

And like, it makes total sense at this point. Mo has been looking for He Tian like a compass seeking North whenever he’s not on sight and ZhengYi are Loyalty Personified but I love that all three not only wait for him, but take an active role to go and look after him. (And it’s Mo leading the operation!! And He Tian sees it!! And that he’s touched by it!!) They could consider he’s with his family and to not intervene, ZhengYi could be leaving together but nope, they were four when they arrived, they’ll be four when they leave. Which also makes me wonder if Jian Yi already has an idea of what could be going on, he’s already got kidnapped, is somewhat aware of his family’s endeavors and how they’re tied to He Tian’s. 

We’ve often seen both He Tian and Jian Yi being alone, pensive, surely burdened by what their future could entail. So far, we’ve had a better view into He Tian’s mind and where the antagonists want him but not a clue (unless I forgot them) as to what happens to TianShan during high school or when they’ll meet again precisely. Narratively, it would make sense for He Tian to leave now that they’ve made their bond official through the piercing but ya know, let me hope that they still have cute moments together before the big sad hits.

Almost on the contrary, the timeline for Jian Yi is set in stones but the motives and the amount of knowledge Jian Yi has about his fate at that point are a bit more blurry and more complex? (Like it would appear his mom and his grandpa have contradictory goals, maybe neither he nor his mom know what'll happen because why would he even enroll in high school?) And it might be wishful thinking but I badly hope pushing ZhengYi into comic relief has a purpose for the story more than just being a way for them to be included during the TianShan focused arc. Maybe Jian Yi is in a phase where he’s hiding his own anxieties and fears behind a facade of naivety and cheerfulness? All things that could return to hit him in the face when he sees He Tian can’t escape no matter how much he tries. 

To return to him, I have no idea whether we’ll still see what happens to He Tian once he’s separated from the rest but there’s a possibility we’ll have parallel storylines, him alone on one side, the other three on the other, and part of me would love to see that and learn more about his family dynamic but there’s also the possibility that he’ll just vanish for us readers, just like he’ll vanish from Mo’s point of view.

No clue how it’ll unroll because let’s be honest, TianShan is what caught a lot of the more recent readers and if we’re a little cynical, maybe the author doesn’t want to just cut them up completely for a very long number of chapters. I could totally see visual parallels of them alone in their respective rooms, we don't even know if they'll go completely no contact for years but if they do, it'd be harsh to just... not see He Tian anymore. Though Old Xian has very very often decided to not show us everything, so I wouldn't rule that option out completely.

Either way we’ll get long chapters of sad lonely Mo??? Thinking he was abandoned soon after coming to terms with his feelings??? Who still decides to keep the piercing and the guitar and to keep working hard????? So no matter what I’m getting my heartstrings played with but if we could have a little insight into the He family as a compensation and heavenly sent ZhengYi development, I wouldn’t mind it. 

[sapphire-weapon]

So. I gotta say some shit.

I think we all have a tendency to be more gracious to Ada's character than she rightfully deserves. I'm guilty of this, too. We all want to give her the benefit of the doubt and insist that her character serves a purpose and is worth talking about because she's A. such a huge part of Leon's character and B. the only non-white member of the cast, but like.

There's nothing there.

I noticed this when I rewatched Separate Ways recently (because fuck ever playing that shit again holy fuck Separate Ways sucks to play).

After RE2, Ada isn't a character anymore. She has absolutely no arc; her character never develops or goes anywhere. She's not tied to anyone or anything in the plot in a way that matters -- even her relationship with Wesker doesn't fucking matter, because there's no fallout or consequence as a result of anything she does to/with/for him, whether it's beneficial to him or against him. She has only one facet to her personality: snarky and mysterious. We never see her emote or speak in a context removed from either of those two qualifiers. Ever.

She has some softer moments here and there, but they last for like a single line of dialogue or two and then the scene just completely moves on without them -- so, those softer moments never actually matter anyway.

She doesn't enhance or enrich Leon's character in any way; the only thing her character serves to do is isolate him from the main cast, which gives his character nowhere else to go other than horrible, spiraling depression because every action he takes in his life turns out to be completely meaningless -- because it's not allowed to mean anything, because he's become so far divorced from the central plot of the series.

The only functional purpose that Ada Wong actually has is as a plot contrivance to explain how a bad guy did a thing. Other than that, she exists solely as a pair of legs and tits for Leon to chase after.

We all hold out hope that Remake is going to change this and turn her into a real person with autonomous motivations and goals, and there might be some merit to that, but like

She's not there yet. She's just not. There is no there there, when we talk about Ada's character.

And this tiptoeing around that we all do to try to make it seem like we're supportive of her character just

strikes me as silly a lot of the time, man.

I understand wanting to give credit where it's due, but it's not due for Ada's character. And I understand the desire to not be seen as misogynistically bashing her, but I feel like supporting her character as it currently exists is what's actually misogynistic. Because her portrayal in canon is misogynistic.

And I also understand the desire to not be seen as being a ship war fuckhead, but like. It's not about the ships, man. It's about Ada. Specifically Ada. She just sucks, dude.

And this is coming from the person who has probably written more meta about Ada Wong in an attempt to justify her character than basically anyone else in the fucking fandom.

idk I've just been thinking about this lately while perusing EagleOne fics. It feels like everyone in this ship feels obligated to address The Ada Problem before they can start to justify a relationship between Leon and Ashley, and it's like

No, you don't. Especially in Remake canon, you absolutely do not have to bring up Ada at all. Because Remake seems very self-aware of the fact that the problem with Leon's character has always been Ada, which is why they seem to be actively writing her out of his overall arc.

Like. Let's just call it for what it is. Ada is the worst part of Leon's character. The relationship is poorly written and poorly executed and doesn't make any fucking sense for who both characters are actually meant to be. They actively hold each other back -- not as people, but as characters who are meant to meaningfully contribute to the storyline.

And idk I'm just tired. I'm just tired of always having to do the hand-wringy "oh no no, Ada's really cool and great and I'm not trying to diss on her, and her relationship with Leon actually matters" shit, man.

Because she's not cool or great and her relationship with Leon doesn't actually matter -- and if it does matter at all, it's due to the negative impact that her presence brings -- not just to him, but to the entire fucking plot of the series.

She's the worst recurring element in the entire series, and there's not even a close second.

[starrycomics]

Catching up on Ram V’s Detective Comics and, even though I read them as completely separate storylines, it’s really interesting the overlaps they have in Bruce and his fraying mental state

Obviously in Zdarsky’s Batman, Bruce is at war with the failsafe in his brain, Zur En Arrh, who almost represents this ‘pure’, unemotional, logically-driven version of Batman untainted by Bruce’s personal ties and human failings

But in Detective Comics, the demon that lives in and is trying to hijack Bruce’s mind is the exact opposite of Zur En Arrh - Barbatos is Bruce’s darkest self, this primal thing that lurks in his subconscious that he’s eternally resisting

Zdarsky and Ram V are both playing with this idea of Bruce’s subconscious and Batman as this exercise in control, but in two very different ways - if we’re getting Freudian about this, Zdarsky is exploring the superego (strictly ‘moral’ and rule-driven), Ram V is all id (primitive and desire-driven)