#don’t kill off a main character and expect everyone to like the new guy

[novicewriterdeepthoughts]

Something modern writers need to stop doing when given control of an established franchise is stop killing off beloved main characters of previous installments in such disrespectful ways. A lot of people will get upset for the wrong reasons, but it’s also just a bad idea to replace someone that audiences are attached to with a completely new character. Especially if they killed the other guy. You know what I’m referring to…

*cough cough The Last of Us Part II, Star Wars, Borderlands 3, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League cough cough*

If you’re going to kill and old main character off, do it with some dignity ffs. Have them go out in a brave sacrifice or something.

[planetnini]

ONE — MAYBE I COULD FIX HIM ?

with the week you're having, you don't have it in you anymore to deal with anymore bullshit and take it out on your asshole of a roommate gojo satoru (3.8k words)

content. cheating (we don’t do the cheating), named ex: hiroto, shoko is an extremely good judge of character, geto suguru the man that you are, gojo is a bit of an asshole, reader goes off at the end (rightfully so) <33

Whoever said that if you do what you love, you'll never work another day in your life was a liar. Sure it was a well-meaning sentiment and while it filled your soul with some semblance of hope on some days, it was the main reason you were struggling with your degree and drowning in work. 

So much for dreaming big…

“What’s got your panties in a twist?” the girl questioned. The smoke from her cigarette created an odour that permeated the air as you let out a sigh, leaning back on the wall.

“That shit’s gonna kill you one day.” you muttered moving your head toward the cigarette in between her fingers as you turned your attention to the scene in front of you, waiting for her to finish.

“Make sure I have a nice funeral.” she chuckled before puffing out a cloud of smoke as she pulled the cigarette away from her mouth. When you didn't laugh at her comment, she just stared at you. Your eyes were closed and breathing a little jagged as she observed. Did you think she wouldn't notice?

Ieriri does not reveal much about herself, but everyone that was friends with her knew she was deathly loyal and cared for her friends in a unique way. She put the stick up to her mouth inhaling as she spoke, "You look like shit.” 

“You know how my afternoon lectures are.” she sighed.

She put out her cigarette in the ashtray bin and tucked her hands into her pocket. She was not at all convinced by your story. 

“Hold it Missy.” she demanded and of course your feet stopped in its tracks before her, “Tell me what’s wrong now.”

“I’ve been hearing things about Hiroto.”

You don’t think you’ve met someone that hated Hiroto more than your best friend herself. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as you mentioned your boyfriend or as she called him ‘he-who-must-not-be-named’. She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed, her lips pulling into a pout. She always had a thing for the dramatics.

"What else is new? Hiroto is a scumbag."

"Ieiri!" you scolded, frowning at her choice of words. 

She scoffed with a shrug before she linked your arms in hers and started walking toward the cafe. You had no idea what she had against Hiroto. He was the most popular guy in your university, and he was the one everyone wanted to be with, but it came as a surprise when he chose you. He had eyes for you, and you couldn't understand why anyone would want you of all people so he asked you out one day and you didn't have the heart to say no. Even if you had liked him at the time, which you didn’t, you still couldn't have said no, it would have been an opportunity wasted. He wasn’t the nicest guy but you would say he treated you well so you defended him every time.

“I still don't understand what you see in him.”

You smiled faintly, “As much as you doubt him, he really does care about me."

You could tell that Ieiri didn’t approve. She never made her opinion on him a secret, and you don’t expect her to start now. 

She rolled her eyes again and sighed, "Yeah, well you should really find someone better, like a certain someone."

It was your turn to roll your eyes at the thought of who she was referring to: a certain white haired roommate of yours. 

“I hope you’re not trying to suggest who I think you are?” you stated as she gave you a sly smirk before shrugging.

“Have things with Satoru been better?”

You paused, contemplating on how to respond as you both walked into the cafe. You turned your attention to the menu as you stood in line. Your eyes scanned over the pamphlet you received when you walked in as you also looked at the assortment of baked goods and pastries. 

"I still can't quite figure him out." you muttered as you stared at some of the menu items.

Her curiosity was piqued as you said this, already knowing what she would order as she stared at you now. "What's he up to now?" she asked.

When you got to university, you opted to follow your dreams and your heart and while you looked forward to finishing your degree, reaching your dreams and goals was expensive, which was something you had known as a teen. It explained why you had to get a job that definitely does not pay minimum wage and why you had to room with Satoru Gojo, as per Ieiri’s request, just to be able to do what you love.

At first, you had thanked Ieiri for convincing the prestigious Gojo Satoru to be your roommate at the start but when he moved in, you were less than grateful.

Gojo Satoru was a scion of a wealthy and successful family making him the epitome of privilege: rich, handsome, and effortlessly at the top of his class without ever needing to study– he pretty much had everything handed to him on a silver platter. 

The first few months were turbulent, to say the least. Gojo acted like a spoiled prince, which was not surprising, always expecting things to be done for him and showing little regard for your personal space or boundaries. Arguments were frequent and inevitable but you shouldn't be complaining, he was the one paying most of the rent. 

Entitlement dripped from his every pore but then something shifted. With you trying to assert your own space and independence against his behaviour and actions, it was as though he had picked up on your growing frustration and decided to turn over a new leaf or whatever. 

It started with small gestures- he'd clean up after himself, occasionally ask if you needed anything from the store, and even helped out with chores around the apartment. These moments, though rare, caught you off guard. You couldn't help but wonder if it was all an act, a facade he put on simply because you were sharing a living space. Deep down, you were convinced that the 'nice' Gojo was just a pretence to keep the peace.

Yet, there were times when you couldn't ignore the fact that he seemed genuinely concerned about you, though these moments were fleeting– hidden beneath layers of sarcasm and his usual arrogance.

“He is just utterly unpredictable." you sighed as you put a hand over your eyes in frustration.

"Sounds like Satoru." she chuckled.

“I don’t know, it just feels like he’s nice to me because I’m friends with you.”

Shoko raised an eyebrow, a hint of concern in her eyes. "Are you saying he's being fake around you because of our friendship?"

"Yeah, sometimes it feels that way. Like he's just putting on a show."

Shoko's lips pulled into a small frown, her eyebrows knitting together, "That doesn't sound like him at all. Maybe he's just trying to be friends with you."

You had been so focused on the topic at hand, you hadn't realised you were at the front of the line.

You shrugged, "It's probably nothing.”

"Stop thinking about Satoru, you’re holding up the line." she scoffed as she smiled at the cashier.

You gave the worker an apologetic smile before turning to the person behind you, "Sorry, about that."

After ordering your favourite drink and some pastries, you approached a small table to sit. “I don’t know. I mean I guess Gojo and I are friends but still, I’m a bit suspicious.”

“I don’t think he would do something like that for my sake.”

"It just feels like you're trying to get him on my good side, I wonder why that is." you hummed with a tilt of your head, raising your brows at her.

"I think my best friend just deserves someone better." she shrugged with a pout.

"And Gojo is 'someone better'?" you scoffed.

Her hesitance was telling and you could see the gears shifting in her head, "That's like asking if apple juice is better than orange juice."

You rolled your eyes at her and looked around the café. The coffee beans alongside the soft humming of the machine, muffled speaking, jazz that played through the speakers really defined the atmosphere. Perhaps this place would become a regular study spot if they nailed just how you liked your drinks. 

“Thank you for coming with me by the way.”

“No problem.”

You had a small smile on your lips as Ieiri decided to fold the receipt she had in her hand into origami, your eyes leisurely scanned over the cafe's charming layout but then, as fate would have it, your heart suddenly felt like it had been gripped by an icy hand, causing it to skip a beat.

The cafe that once felt spacious now seemed to shrink around you, constricting your senses. Your gaze, once idly roaming the room, had fixated on an all-too-familiar figure.

There, amidst the warm, cosy ambiance of the cafe, sat Hiroto. He was not alone. He was sitting across from another girl, their faces close. A rare smile was etched across his features, who was she to be able to make him look at her like that? He had never looked at you that way… 

Maybe it was a friend?

Ieiri, perceptive as ever, noticed the abrupt change in your expression. Her eyes followed your gaze instinctively, and when she locked onto what you were seeing, her face transformed from one of carefree enjoyment to sheer disbelief and anger. 

Their smiles were flirtatious and you could feel the creeping feeling of fear settle in your bones.

They were completely engrossed in each other, oblivious to the world around them as they leaned in for a kiss. Definitely not a friend.

Ieiri was right. He was a scumbag.

Your mind couldn't quite grasp what was unfolding before your eyes, reality not even seeming real for a second.

Confrontation was the last thing on your mind. You didn't want to cause a scene, not here, not now, even if every fibre of your being screamed for justice.

Shoko's fingers tightened around her origami creation, crumpling it as her anger flared up. Her eyes locked onto the two with an intensity that could have scorched the room. 

She had always been vocal about her disdain for him, and this seemed like the perfect moment to let it all out. Without hesitation, Shoko started to push her chair back, her intention clear: she was going to confront Hiroto, give him a piece of her mind, and let the whole café know about his deceit. To berate him for everything he did to you, everything he did that you were too blind to see. You sat there in silence, your heart heavy with disbelief and betrayal but instinctively your hand reached out for hers. You shook your head ever so slightly, silently pleading with her not to make a scene.

“We can't just let him get away with this." she whispered back, her frustration growing by the minute.

Shoko's anger was palpable, and her lips quivered with the words she wanted to unleash but she respected your unspoken plea, if only for now, and reluctantly sank back into her chair waiting for your order number to be called out. Once you received the drinks and pastries, the two of you continued walking back to your shared apartment, the weight of the situation heavy on your mind as a tear slipped from your eyes. You had no goddamn appetite now.

The evening had taken an unsettling turn for you. After returning from a troubling encounter at the café that you wished you could just forget, you found yourself back in your cosy apartment that you shared with the Satoru Gojo, the most popular boy on campus.

As you pushed off your shoes and set them by the door, you overheard some of Gojo's friends chatting in the main area. Forcing a smile, you greeted the people in the room as Ieiri followed behind you, making her presence known as she greeted them as well. You placed the bag of pastries on the table, knowing that for certain, Gojo would inhale them when he got his hands on them.

“Hey, do you have a smoke?” Geto asked Ieiri as he looked over his shoulder. Next thing you knew, Geto had moved to sit across from you at the island counter while you sipped at your glass of water, mind wandering back to your jerk of a boyfriend. “How are you?” he inquired, patiently waiting for your response.

“I’m alright, thanks,” you mumbled, trying to muster a genuine smile in response to his concern. 

Geto waved a hand in front of your face as your thoughts drifted. Suddenly, you were locked into eye contact with him. Leaning down to eye level, he asked, “You sure you’re okay? You look a bit tired,” a playful chuckle escaping his lips.

You sighed a little before shaking your head resolutely, “Just had a terrible fucking week.”

Geto chuckled, “Tell me about it.” he scoffed, commiserating with your struggles. Although he didn’t know the full story, it didn’t matter, you were seen for a second and it felt good, "I swear they have it out for us."

Ieiri was best friends with both Gojo and Geto in high school. You never really understood their dynamic at all but the brief interactions shared with Geto had been enough for you to come up with a comprehensive answer. 

Many people around had said that Geto was like the sun personified, radiating this warmth and light wherever he went. His presence had an undeniable magnetic quality, drawing people toward him but he could leave an indelible mark on anyone in his presence. It was quite possible that what was true, made you smile a little.

Gojo's friends continued their lively chatter, sharing stories and laughter and it wasn’t until you heard the tap turn on that you realised Gojo is standing right next to you drinking water aswell.

“Hey. You smoking or what? I don’t have all day, Suguru,” Shoko chimed in, her voice cutting through the conversation.

“That shit will kill you one day Suguru.” he muttered next to you.

“Funny. You said the same thing to me today.” Ieiri commented and you could feel all their gazes land on you.

“I guess we’re a lot alike.” Gojo joked and you feel yourself smile at his words as Geto and Shoko shared a look.

Geto cleared his throat, a hand coming up to your shoulder, “Things will get better, I promise.” he smiled as both he and Shoko exited the apartment for their smoke.

The atmosphere inside the apartment shifted slightly as you were left alone in the kitchen with Gojo.

“What was that about?” he spoke, regarding the comment that Geto had just made. 

You turned your attention to Gojo and shook your head dismissively, “It’s nothing.”

“You sure? You can talk to me, you know?”

“I know,” you nodded, “It’s nothing, really.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” he took another sip of his water. 

You paused for a moment, “If I knew you had guests over, I would've brought them some as well.” you stated, pointing at the pastries from the café in the bag.

Gojo raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "So those pastries are for me?" he inquired, his playful tone evident.

"Don't push it." you scoffed, your heart warming at his teasing for just a second. There is suddenly a nagging feeling that tells you he is just being nice to you due to the circumstances.

You clear your throat as you tear your gaze away from him, "Are your friends staying for dinner? If they are, I might skip."  You weren’t exactly feeling like yourself, and would rather not be spending time around people you hardly knew. You were just getting warmed up to the man next to you anyways.

“They’re not staying over. Even if they were, I don't really encourage skipping meals.” Gojo replied, his tone shifting between genuine concern and playfulness.

You can’t even force yourself to smile at his concern, you wanted to keep the discussion going, but your recent experience at the café had left you feeling on edge. "I guess I’ll see you at dinner then." you teased, your playful tone masking the underlying curiosity you had about his intentions. Did he truly want to be friends with you or was he doing it just out of pity? 

He nodded at you and you retreated back into your room to grab some clothes but the voices of his friends drifted into your ears.

“Was that Hiroto’s girlfriend?”

“Yeah.” you heard the familiar white haired boy reply.

Their conversation had been about you, and you knew it. Trying to push yourself to stop them from eavesdropping, you shook your head and continued at finding some comfortable clothes for tonight. You needed to do something to take your mind off the events from earlier.

"Wait, seriously? I thought he was dating someone else."

Their words cast a shadow over your thoughts and only amplified your bad mood. You clenched your fists, trying to push down the mixture of anger and hurt.

“I don’t know how she’s still with him.”

The weight of their judgement had hit you harder than ever, especially after what you had witnessed earlier. As you contemplated confronting them about it, you could hear the hushed murmurs growing louder, escalating your frustration as a couple of voices interject. 

“She’s kind of pathetic. Don’t you think so?”

You weren't ready to hear them belittle you any further, so you decided to retreat to the sanctuary of the shower, hoping the water would wash away the bitterness. 

You turned on the water, stepping into the shower trying to drown out the sound of their voices echoing in your head. You wished you hadn't noticed how little effort Gojo made to defend you. Perhaps you were wrong to think the two of you were friends to begin with and considering his track record, maybe you shouldn’t have been so lenient to think he was different.

As you emerged from the shower, refreshed but still vulnerable, you were in the confines of your room as you messaged Shoko about what had happened. You knew she would give her a piece of her mind when she saw him next. You laid in bed, letting out some breaths steadying your heartrate as you heard Gojo call for you from outside your door. You weren't prepared for this, not after what you just heard between him and his friends.

With your emotions still raw and your nerves on edge, you slowly opened the door to find Gojo standing there, his usual confident demeanour softened.

His presence in the dimly lit hallway was both comforting and disconcerting. You met his gaze, your eyes holding a mixture of anxiety and frustration.

Gojo's voice was gentle but laced with concern as he spoke, "I sent my friends home.”

You nodded, not even bringing it in yourself to even berate him for being an absolute asshole to you when he thought you weren’t listening.

“I noticed you've been quiet since you got home. Is everything okay? Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?"

Your emotions, a turbulent whirlwind of hurt and anger, surged within you. With a deep breath, you finally found your voice, but your words came out sharp and accusatory, "I don't appreciate it Gojo," you began, your tone wavering but determined, "I know what you and your friends say about me when you think I'm not listening."

Gojo's brows furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about," you continued, your voice quivering with anger.

You could see Gojo's expression shift from confusion to realisation, and a pang of regret flickered in his eyes. His usually playful demeanour had vanished, replaced by a sombre and sincere expression.

"I'm sorry," he finally whispered, his voice sincere but unsure of how to proceed.

You felt tears well up in your eyes replaying the pain of your boyfriend cheating on you and the callous things they said behind your back. The disappointment of his apology settled in- he’s only sorry because he got caught. 

“That was the last thing I expected from you.” you spat out. "I thought…” you let out a deep breath, your words hanging with every ounce of pain that you’d felt today. You shook your head as you continued, “I thought we were friends."

"We are." he declared, his eyes wavering now. With guilt or concern, you couldn't tell but you knew he didn't really care.

"We're not." you emphasised, still burning with the fury of all the events that transpired today. "Every day, I see you look at me with those eyes that say how pathetic you think I look."

Gojo's brow furrowed in frustration with himself. He wanted to say the right words, to offer comfort, but he struggled to find them. He stepped a little closer, his hands outstretched towards you. You stepped back, your heart pounding erratically, and he instantly retreated.

“You have no idea how much it hurts but I guess I shouldn’t have trusted you to begin with.”

Without giving him a chance to speak, you shut the door with trembling hands. You felt a thud against the door on the opposite end and you could hear him muttered a few curse words as you slid down the surface defeatedly.

His face that was etched with guilt and regret. That look was embedded in your head as you let the tears slip down your face. He gave a resigned sigh before turning away and trudging off towards the kitchen to make dinner– alone.

You stayed in your room until you heard the door to his room close after a couple hours of distracting yourself: with studying, messaging Shoko how much you hated Gojo, and cleaning your room. Retreating from your bedroom as quietly as you can, you see a plate of food he made for you wrapped up with a small post it note on your favourite drink next to it.

I know you're still mad at me, but I hope you don’t skip dinner. Eat well, you'll need the strength... ᕙ(‾̀◡‾́)ᕗ

You scoffed at his note, scrunching it up, putting it in your pocket. It was all just lip-service.

As you sat there alone, your eyes welled up with tears, and you could feel your composure slipping away. The weight of the day became too much to bear. Your heart ached, the hurt and betrayal coursing through you as you sobbed softly.

What a terrible fucking week.

tags! @stsgluver @pandoraium @cottonheadedninnymugggins @satoryaa @bbyxxm @itsthemodelinme @sattosugu

notes. this is not proofread. i don't think the last half of this is as good but... we move!!! i'm sick and wanted to give back with the first chapter since i have some free time to write now <3 it gets better i promise, please comment and give me some love (or feedback), thank you :)

[showtoonzfan]

Okay so I saw S1E2 of HH “Video killed the radio Star” so here’s my thoughts on that, ⚠️SPOILERS⚠️

- So once again, the pacing is all over the place. In the span of 2 episodes we have to deal with introducing Adam and Lute, the main characters of the hotel, the three V’s and Sir Pen, and I don’t like how the three V’s are introduced in the second episode of season 1. Like…can we just let the characters we know breathe and get to know them before you introduce new ones?? Told you this was going to be like Helluva lol.

- So hell is freaking out that the extermination got moved to 6 months later, but Charlie of course isn’t the focus of this episode. It’s mainly the three V’s + Angel/Al/Sir Pen. It still bothers me that the reason behind redeeming sinners is not because Charlie is sick of Hell being a damnation but because she doesn’t want them to be exterminated. It’s such a drastic change from the pilot and the character motivation that it still throws me off sorry.

- So, I actually like Vox. I take back bitching about Christian Borle playing him because while his suave voice may not fit the twink design, he does a fantastic job either way as expected, making Vox an intimidating person. I had thought before that Vox was going to just be this dumb henchman, but I actually like how he’s the runner of things. He’d be so cool if he didn’t curse and talk like every other character in the show though.

- Good GOD Valentino. I already shared how I felt about him when the dialogue leaks came out, but I HATE how his character is just this idiot man baby who throws temper tantrums and legit needs to be “calmed down” by Vox because he’s such an idiot. Like…Velvette calls him a piss baby and Vox legit had to talk to him as if he was one, that’s how dumb this guy is. There’s a scene where Vox asks what they should do about the hotel and Val says “just put something inside, that’s how I get the bitches”- like…kill me. The fan interpretations were better. He was actually someone you didn’t want to mess with and had an intimidating voice, here he’s a whiny baby that you have to remind yourself is the same guy who forces himself on Angel. The Addict and comic version of this character is not the same as the one we have now. His voice is too high pitch, it sucks and his accent goes on and off constantly. Viv can’t write abusers for shit, she sees everything as a joke. Again, how are we supposed to take abuse seriously if this is how you portray your abuser. Crimson is more intimidating than this joke of a cockroach.

- Alastor has been gone for seven years, yeah that “Lilith is Rosie and Al is working for her”- allegation is 100% true like it perfectly lines up together since Lilith has also been gone for seven years. Only for Alastor, it makes no sense. Like…wdym he’s been gone for seven years. The pilot is canon and they state he’s been at the hotel for a week. Alastor was literally walking around town when Charlie was on the news. Do they mean that it’s been years since he’s done his radio show? Viv, when you retcon shit you need to specify. You’re just confusing everyone again.

- They need to explain why exactly it’s dangerous to make a deal with Alastor because all this vagueness isn’t helping the story. The whole reason Vox sends Sir Pen out to be a spy was to make sure Charlie didn’t make a deal with him, yet you literally have Vaggie making a deal with him like it was nothing in the last episode. I also fail to see why exactly Vox cares about Charlie making a deal with Alastor in the first place. Is it because he doesn’t want Al to have more power? Is it because he doesn’t want Charlie to have power? EXPLAIN.

- Yay more retconning and woobifying. So Angel Dust is a whiny wimpy bitch in this episode, he’s very out of character. When Sir Pen comes to the hotel, he’s extra pressed about that, when in the pilot he couldn’t even take Sir Pen seriously and was acting nonchalant towards him. Then when Charlie starts getting all giddy and complimenting Pen, Angel gets sad and jealous??? This is the second fucking episode of season 1. I thought the whole point about Angel and the hotel was that he didn’t trust Charlie nor take the redemption stuff seriously. Now apparently he wants her approval? And then when he finds Pen out, Pen insults him and that causes Angel to just fucking lunge at him and start punching. When did Angel get this goddamn sensitive. Why did the wimpy snake character who’s supposed to be a loser get under his skin THAT much? It’s even more jarring because the last episode Angel was literally saying he loves being exploited and in the pilot he’s presented as someone who could give less of a shit of what other people think, now a simple jab at him being a slut made him go off. Remember when Travis called him a slut in the pilot and Angel just laughed it off? What happened to that Angel lol.

- Vaggie has a line that flat out calls Angel a sexual harasser. And yet we’re supposed to feel bad for him and root for HuskerDust. Makes perfect sense Viv, fuck you. She has no idea what sexual harassment even is because she sees actual harassment as quirky funny jokes and paints it as genuine love. Pick a side. Is Angel an asshole who sexually harasses people or is he an uwu baby who deserves to be with Husk. Clearly Viv chose the second option.

- I liked Vox and Al’s song, tho I wish it was more singing instead of talking. Charlie’s song in the end was boring but at least it was short. I still don’t know how to feel about Pen being at the hotel tho. Like I get he’s a loser and not a big threat but him happily joining the hotel now is way too structurally fast. There’s a lot of things that feel like Viv changed at the last minute compared to the pilot and it shows. Pilot was better.

That’s it, not looking forward to the third one which is HuskerDust focused (female centric show my ass)

[myths-tournaments]

Awful Characters Round 2 Part 1 (2/8)

Propaganda under the cut!

IANTHE TRIDENTARIUS

Her number one hobby is ruining every person's that she knows life. Her second hobby is being soooo slutty about it despite looking like a literal wet rat. Her third hobby is having an extremely unhealthy relationship with her twin. Her other hobbies include cannibalism, wearing a maid outfit, being extremely convinced she is the main character, the badboy sexy love interest and the villain. 'Why', you may ask. Well, the answer is, for shits and giggles #justgirlythings i, aswell as literally everybody else in the fandom have gone through the pipeline from hating her to desperately wanting to fuck her. expect for i still fucking hope she dies and doesn't come back for good. (that would literally solve all of everybody's problems) as god intended (EXPECT FOR. one of her hobbies literally is gaslighting god) She is fucking horrible i will love her until i die and even after that

parks and recs jean ralphio voice she's the woooorst!! The moment she learns she has to kill someone to become a Lyctor (aka a more special necromancer), she doesn't hesitate to kill and cannibalize the guy who has been her cavalier since childhood… cavalier who she also totally bullied as kids, she was allowed to choose one guest for her and her twin sister's birthday party each year, and she would always pick whoever she thought her cavalier didn't want to see there! While other characters are shown to regret the process of becoming a Lyctor (which involves someone close to them dying)/were forced into it because of circumstances, Ianthe has absolutely no regrets, she believes she did what she had to do

The author once said of Ianthe: "I don't think she's been nice to anyone, if she has I'll go back and change it." She killed and ate the soul of someone she has known all her life so that she could become a necromantic saint and tormented him plenty before that. General negging, ganging up against him, always inviting people he didn't like to their birthday parties. She doesn't regret killing him. I think she is repulsed by the idea that his digested soul is affecting hers. She helped her crush lobotomise herself so she would be in Ianthe's debt, and later lied and said she didn't see the corpse of a woman her crush killed under her bed (why did she do that? I do not know). She has a bone arm because her original arm was cut off, she hated the replacement so her crush cut THAT off and grew her a new one out of just bones. She had it gilded and only after that did she decide to help her crush deal with the person who had been repeatedly trying to kill her. She wants so badly to be the main character but people keep interrupting her villain monologues.

she has her own content warning tag

She's such a bitch to everyone all the time, she causes nothing but problems, she tries to do a villain speech but fumbles it because her tummy hurt, she is the awfulgirl of all time

THE SKULL

he is an evil ghost who used to be an assistant to a mad scientist gravedigger. accomplice to murder and torture and general evil scheming. now he lives in a jar and is besties with a teenage girl. and by besties i mean he encourages her to kill people and constantly cheers when her friends almost die. overall a silly little decapitated head <3

It is literally a skull in a jar. (More context if you don’t know the books/show: it’s a ghost source that’s been trapped in a silver container so it can’t escape. And it’s exceptionally powerful which means it can actually communicate with mc.) It frequently encourages the mc to commit various morally reprehensible acts such as homicide (she never does). When it was alive, it was a teenage boy who was apprenticed to an evil scientist.

[runabout-river]

I know people are coping hard for Part 2 but…

They are probably overthinking Kenjaku scene.

Takaba's ability is manifesting ideas he seems funny, so he manifesting his duo in his routine to be funny with him. That's not real evil Kenjaku, just a product of Takaba's CT, a comedic version of Kenjaku.

I bet it wasn't intended to be serious, it was supposed to be funny. Takaba scene is a part of typical "everyone gets a happy ending" montage.

Mei Mei/Simple Domian “plot” is over.

Zenin clan is gone, Gojo clan is irrelevant without Satoru, Kamo is chilling somewhere. What clan wars do people expect?

Tengen/Merger/Culling Games plot also get it’s rushed unsatisfying conclusion this chapter.

I also see a lot of people saying that next chapter might introduce new villain for Part 2 but again I don’t expect anything serious. I expect "last mission" to be another oppapi joke like "we need to save Yuta" and mostly light-hearted chapter about the main trio being happy together.

At course, I might be very wrong, but I honestly don’t see any set up for a sequel right now. Gege killed all potential plot lines. Was it satisfying end? No, but it reads like definitive end.

The only thing that was left if Gojo’s funeral but it seems that we won’t see it. I’m so happy that Gege wrote about Sugar Guy’s bullied classmate but couldn’t force himself to add a couple of panels where characters say something nice about Gojo who sacrificed their life for them /s

I agree on Kenjaku. The speech bubble over the guy's face with his hairdo still visible is a dead giveaway that's supposed to be taken comedically. Either that's a poor guy who is now forced to look like Kenjaku or its a strange CT construct Takaba made who could be a depowered Kenjaku clone. The real Kenjaku could've survived but not in Geto's body.

Okay, the happy ending montage.

There are so many happy endings, it feels like Gege changed JJK's genre all of a sudden. JJK was never this happy. Even Gojo's stint as a soul meeting his old buddies again at the airport which I already found too happy, was still steeped in his and everyone else's gruesome deaths.

Taking this at face value, it looks like Gege fumbled his ending. So right now it looks like he'll go the "the story continues peacefully but it still goes on" route. Did he have to break established canon for that though?

Like, why did the CG end all of a sudden? Sukuna's death or Tengen getting freed from him shouldn't just end them. That was never established anywhere. What was established was the hosts of the reincarnated sorcerers being lost. They can't be saved outside of Megumi and Hana but now Maki says they will save them one by one.

You could say, Gege sat down and wanted to end everything, even if it was rushed and cut off.

Or you could try reading this theory how the last 3 chapters were actually an induced dream sequences that Yuji is cooking up in his head right now while he's about to die.

All these super happy endings for everyone, the thematic of making sure that neither Megumi nor Yuji are to blame for what had happened, drawing inconsistencies, the lack of Gojo and Choso, and how no other conflict exists right now even though it should like the invasion and JJ soictey instability, all of that could be explained by Yuji thinking of everyone ending up happy while also pushing the dead and other conflicts away from his subconsciousness.

And I gneuinely, genuinely think Gege would pull something like that off. Making everyone, the audience and Yuji, think they had their happy ending when in reality Sukuna won (or the merger started or sth similar). That could be why chapter 268 was titled Finale and why this chapter is titled Dream's End.

As it stands right now, JJK will end okay-ish. This chapter itself could've been the last chapter except Gege wanted to make one last time skip.

But if Gege really went for the "memories that never existed" route, then JJK will end bombastic.

[charliewalkersgf]

All Too Well - Part 2

Ghostface was well and truly back. Sam and Tara didn’t even get to the police station straight away the previous night, they were nearly shot at the bodega. The group were now being as cautious as possible. Mindy’s version of ‘cautious’ was rounding off the suspects.

The group were now currently sat on the campus of Blackmore University, Mindy stood in front of everyone.

“Okay, nerds! Listen up! As terrifying as this all is, I’m actually glad I get a chance to redeem myself for not calling the killers last time... It’s fine. Okay. The way I see it, someone is out to make a sequel to the requel.”

Anika raises her hand.

“Um, what’s a requel?”

“You’re beautiful, sweetie. Let’s hold questions till the end.”

Anika smiled at her before Sam spoke up.

“Stab 1 took place in Woodsboro. Stab 2 took place in college.”

Tara looked towards Sam.

“So we think the killer is trying to copy the movies?”

Mindy pointed at Tara.

“That is one possibility. Heroes now in college: check. Suspicious new characters brought in to round out the suspect list and or body count: check, check and check.”

She pointed at Quinn, Anika and Ethan.

“I don’t like this.”

Ethan said before Molly gave him a pat on the shoulder.

“But it can’t just be about Stab 2.”

Mindy carried on.

“Why not?”

Tara’s eyebrows furrowed.

“It would make sense if this were just a sequel. But we’re not in a sequel, because nobody just makes sequels anymore… We’re in a franchise! And there are certain rules to a continuing franchise.

Sam, Anika and Molly sighed.

“I had a feeling.”

“Rule 1: everything is bigger than last time. Bigger budget, bigger cast, bigger body count. Longer chases, shootouts, beheadings. You gotta top what came before to keep people coming back.”

“Beheadings?”

Molly and Chad said in unison.

“Beheadings. Rule 2: whatever happened last time, expect the opposite. Franchises only survive by subverting expectations. If the killers last time were whiny snowflake film nerds with Letterboxd accounts instead of personalities, you bet the opposite will be true here.”

Nobody seemed to notice the face Ethan made when Mindy made a comment about Richie and Amber.

“And rule 3: no one is safe. Legacy characters? Cannon fodder at this point. Usually brought back only to be killed off in some cheap bid for nostalgia. It’s not looking too good for Gale and Kirby. Oh and that’s not even the worst part!”

Chad continues to write in his notebook.

“This is the part where she tells us the worst part.”

“The worst part is franchises are just continuing episodic instalments designed to boost an IP. Which means main characters are completely expendable now too. Laurie Strode, Nancy Thompson, Ellen Ripley, Sally Hardesty, Jigsaw, Tony Stark, James Bond - I mean even Luke Skywalker all died so their franchises could live on! That means it’s not just the friend group. Any of us could go at any time… especially Sam and Tara.”

Sam and Tara exchanged worried looks.

“Wait? Any of us?”

Everyone turned their heads to Ethan as he spoke.

“Yeah.”

“Am- am I in the friend group?”

“Yeah.”

“Am I like one of the targets?… At least I won’t die a virgin.”

The entire group gave him puzzled looks whereas Molly hit him on the arm.

“Babe, seriously?”

Mindy looked kinda grossed out.

“TMI, keep it in the bedroom. But it brings us to our current suspects.”

She stepped in front of Ethan.

“Ethan. The shy and dorky guy who no one suspects because he’s so shy and dorky.”

“Okay, why am I on the suspect list because I’m randomly Chad’s roommate?”

Ethan motions towards Chad defensively.

Mindy looks at him like he’s an idiot.

“Roommate lotteries can be juked, you could’ve fixed it to get next to us! And the fact that you just so happen to be interested in Molly?”

“Okay, what does Molly have to do with this?”

“Well, we all know how her last relationship turned out…”

Tara and Chad immediately jumped to her defence and everyone else seemed surprised at Mindy’s audacity.

“Mindy, seriously?”

Tara looked at her angrily.

Chad looked very irritated.

“Mindy, come on!”

Molly was staring daggers against her.

“Can you not bring up Amber?”

Mindy shrugged her shoulders.

“Whatever, I’m just saying… be careful…”

Molly furrowed her brows and felt a pit in her stomach.

Molly blocked out the rest of what Mindy said. What if she was right? What if Ethan was the killer? What if he betrays her just like Amber did? She tried to snap out of it and tell herself that he’d never do that but the voice at the back of her mind was telling her to never say never.

She was snapped out of her thoughts she. Sam spoke.

“Okay, so we have our rules and we have our suspects.”

“Wait, what about you guys?”

Ethan motioned with his hand to the 5 survivors.

“I mean, I think it’s pretty safe to rule out the 5 of us who went through this last year in Woodsboro.”

Chad smiled at Mindy.

“Agreed.”

Quinn shook her head.

“Not agreed. What if the trauma you all went through caused one or more of you to snap?”

Ethan agreed with Quinn.

“Yeah, or if the fame you got from the killings made you thirsty for more. I mean, let’s be honest here, some of the theories online about Sam are-“

Tara immediately cut him off.

“Don’t you fucking dare.”

Molly hit him in the arm again.

Anika tried to diffuse the situation.

“Okay, she’s right though. I mean face facts, if we’re all suspects - you’re all suspects.”

The 5 looked at each other worriedly.

Molly gets up from her seat.

“As much as I love discussing which of us I think is a murderer, I’m going home.”

Tara gets up from her seat.

“I’m coming too.”

Molly looked at Ethan.

“I’ll see you later.”

He nodded.

“See ya.”

The pair immediately walked off before anyone else even moved. Tara just knew something was wrong with Molly.

“You okay?”

Molly nodded her head.

“Mhm… just thinking about what Mindy said.”

“Just ignore her, alright?”

“No, Tara she’s got a point. It could easily be him.”

“But it also might not be him.”

“Let’s face it, he’s either the killer or he’s gonna get killed. That’s just how it works.”

Tara linked her arm in Molly’s.

“As long as we stick together as best we can, that should keep us all safe. And I’ll always be here for you.”

They looked at each other and smiled softly.

“Thanks, Tara. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

After a few seconds of silence, Molly spoke up again.

“Y’know, he really reminds me of Wes.”

Tara looked at her.

“Yeah?”

Molly nodded whilst holding back tears.

“Yeah. They have the same stupid smile.. and they’re really good at cheering you up. When I first met Ethan I just immediately felt like Wes had come back to me.”

Parts of Ethan made her think of Amber too - the way they’d both comfort her when she needed it, the way they’d let her vent about her dad, the fact they were both the first people she’d go to if anything happened, the way she thought of them as her entire world - but she couldn’t bring herself to talk about it.

Tara and Molly arrived back at their apartment and sat down on the couch together. Not long after, the sound of keys could be heard and Sam came in.

“Hey.. are you okay?”

The girls shrugged.

“I just really don’t want to go through this again.”

Tara put her arm around Molly.

Sam sat down on the couch with them.

“Hey, I promise I’ll do everything I can to protect you. To protect you all. Which reminds me, I’ve told everyone to stay over here tonight.”

“That’s a good idea - safety in numbers.”

“Exactly.”

Sam smiled at her.

“Everyone will be here in a little bit so it’ll just be us three until then. If you want, we could go to the store and buy some food so we can cook dinner later?”

Tara and Molly nodded.

“That sounds nice.”

Sam got up from the couch.

“Come on, we should go while it’s still daytime.”

A couple of hours go by. At this point, everyone is at the apartment… except Ethan. He told Chad and Molly that he had an econ class. What was so urgent about a college class with everything that was going on?

Molly didn’t like Ethan’s absence one bit - it was just making her more and more worried. Tara and Chad were the first to notice.

Molly went into the kitchen to get glasses for the dinner table. Tara and Chad were in the middle of cooking when she walked in and her entire demeanour was off. They exchanged a look before Tara put a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey. You okay?”

Molly nodded but her face remained emotionless.

“Yep, fine.”

Chad knew better of course.

“Dude, come on.We know when something is bothering you.”

“I said I’m fine, Chad.”

“We know there’s a lot going on and I know you’re probably worrying because Ethan isn’t here-”

“Chad. Look, I appreciate it but I’m fine, alright?”

Chad and Tara looked at each other again before looking at her again.

“We’re here if you want to talk, okay?”

Tara’s voice was full of genuine care and concern.

“Thanks…”

She left the kitchen and placed the glasses on the table.

Mindy and Molly entered the kitchen a couple of minutes later.

“Sam!”

Mindy called her into the kitchen.

“Yeah?”

“We do not have to stay here.”

“Well, too bad. I insist. Safety in numbers.”

Chad had a big smile on his face.

“This’ll be so fun. A little slumber party with the Alive Five!”

Sam furrowed her brows.

“Alive Five?”

“Yeah.”

“The fucking what?”

Molly looked at him with a very confused expression.

Tara looked at him in slight disbelief.

“Did you just give us a nickname?”

“I sure did. We’ve been through a lot together, and it’s a pretty cool nickname.”

Molly and Mindy just looked at him like he was stupid.

“That’s debatable.”

Sam looked down at the floor, holding in a laugh.

“It’s extremely debatable.”

“You can’t just give yourself a nickname, dingus.”

Mindy smiled mischievously.

“Of course I can, dingus, because I just did. Alive Five, up top!”

He lifted his arm, waiting for a high five.

Mindy shook her head.

“No.”

He turned to Tara.

“Down low!”

“Get that away from me.”

He then turned to Molly.

“Come on!”

“Fuck off.”

He finally turned to Sam.

“Please, for the love of God!”

Sam was smiling and it was clear she was tempted.

“Don’t do it!”

Mindy begged Sam not to go along with his bullshit.

Everyone was on the verge of laughing.

“Y’know, I would actually like a little more respect and support from my fellow members of the Alive Five.”

Their attention was then turned to Anika when she shouted them.

“Guys! What the hell?”

She turned up the volume on the TV and everyone went into the living room.

The news headline read ‘PRIME SUSPECT SAMANTHA CARPENTER’.

“We’re hearing from sources inside the homocide division that the prime suspect is none other than Samantha Carpenter, one of the survivors of the Woodsboro killings in 2022, seen here attacking a woman on the streets last night.”

It then showed a video of her ‘attacking’ the girl who approached them after the Halloween party.

“In the wake of the Woodsboro tragedy last year, rumours sprouted online that Carpenter was responsible for the killings, blaming the crimes on her boyfriend, Richie Kirsch and teen Amber Free-”

Sam grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. She walked into the dining room and sat at the table, looking downwards.

Tara cautiously followed her and sat down next to her.

“I know you’re not a fan of the way I’ve been handling things, and that I’ve been giving you a really hard time. But I can say that none of us can relate to what you’re experiencing. And I’m really, really sorry that you have to do that alone.”

The twins, Molly and Anika listened to what Tara was saying to her sister and they were all relieved that Tara was finally getting along with her compared to recently.

Sam shook her head whilst holding back tears.

“It’s not your fault. And I know I shouldn’t care what people think.”

She pauses for a second and wipes a tear of her face.

“It just sucks being this hated.”

The twins and Molly then walked in.

“Hey. Just a reminder, not a single person in this room hates you.”

Chad said as the three of them sat down.

“Okay? We have all been through some fucked-up stuff, and we are coping with it differently. But, I mean we moved here together for one very specific reason… We’re a team.”

Sam smiled at Chad’s words.

“We are the Alive fuckin’ Five.”

Mindy smiled as she said this.

Chad turned his head.

“Thank you very much.”

“I hate myself.”

The twins exchanged a high five and Molly quietly laughed.

“You said it.”

Tara was smiling a lot, as was Sam.

Chad looked so proud.

“That’s what I’m talking about. It’s the Alive Five.”

Mindy looked at Tara.

“Say it.”

“No, I’m not gonna say it.“

“Molly, come on you say it.”

She laughed and shook her head.

“Definitely not.”

Chad tried to convince her.

“Come on, it’s got a nice ring to it.”

Sam suddenly spoke.

“I’ve been sleeping with Cute Boy from across the hall.”

The group went silent before they erupted into cheers.

“I fucking knew it!”

Tara clapped her hands together.

Sam looked confused.

“Yes! Chad, give it, come on!”

Chad rolled his eyes whilst smiling and handed Molly $20.

“Knew it from the day you had that hickey.”

Mindy’s comment made the group laugh.

“I feel like we should high five or something.”

Chad held his hand towards and the group all joined hands.

“The Alive Five high five, may we please?”

Tara laughed.

“Don’t call it that but we’ll do the high five.”

Sam’s phone started ringing and Danny’s name was lit up on the screen.

Tara’s face lit up and she held the phone up.

“No, Tara.”

Sam was holding in a laugh.

“Hey, so what are your intentions?”

The group burst into laughter.

“Tara, give it here.”

Tara went to pass it to Molly, the pair of them laughing, before Sam took it back.

“It’s fine. I’ll call him back.”

“Poor guy.”

The sound of Quinn moaning could be heard. Not like it was an unfamiliar sound.

“Oh my god, Quinn and her gentlemen called are back at it again.”

The group looked towards Quinn’s bedroom door.

“She’s getting it too? Okay.”

The group were still laughing.

Quinn’s moaning got heavier and at the same time everyone’s phones went off.

They all got their phones out to take a look. Danny had air-dropped them all a picture. It was of Quinn. Getting attacked by Ghostface.

The sound of Quinn shouting for help was then heard.

The group sprung from their seats and ran to the living room. Anika sprung up from the couch to see what was going on.

Quinn then screamed. Tara ran towards Quinn’s room before Chad pulled her back.

“Tara, wait!”

Not a sound could be heard. The group waited for any kind of noise but there was still nothing.

“Run.”

Quinn’s door burst open and Quinn’s dead body was thrown at the group, landing on Anika and pushing her on the ground.

Anika screamed in terror.

Sam and Molly got on the ground to pull her off.

Chad pulled Tara with him as he ran out the apartment.

“Guys, come on!”

Ghostface stood there and tilted his head, looking at Mindy.

“Oh, fuck.”

He sliced her in the arm with his knife.

She threw herself back in pain, holding her arm.

“Mindy!”

Anika grabbed onto his cloak as he tried to move towards Mindy again.

“Stay the fuck back!”

Molly quickly stood up and tried to pull him backwards. He immediately grabbed her and threw her to the floor and she hit her head on the ground. She held her head in pain, trying to get herself up but by the time she was in a state where she could, Anika was at the other end of the room and Ghostface was dragging a knife through her stomach and she was screaming in agony.

She quickly stood up but before she could get to them Sam came in and hit him in the head with an empty knife block. He fell on the ground, giving the girls enough time to run into Quinn’s room and lock the door.

Ghostface then started pounding on the door before it all went quiet.

Sam looked behind them and saw the bathroom door was still open.

“Molly. Bathroom door, hurry!”

She got up and went into the bathroom but stopped in her tracks and screamed when she saw Quinn’s boyfriend dead in the shower.

“Fuck!”

She then looked up and saw Ghostface standing in the doorframe and screamed again. She tried to shut the door but he kept pushing it open. Sam ran in the bathroom to pull her out and back into Quinn’s room.

They locked the door but he just kept pounding and pounding on it. He was strong so the lock kept unlocking. They pushed a dresser in front of it but it then got pushed backwards due to a hard kick to the door.

Sam and Molly stood with their backs against it to keep him out. Sam then saw Danny out the window, trying to get their attention. She ran to the window and opened it.

“Don’t worry, I got you!”

He pushed a ladder out his window.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“You got a better idea?”

“Fuck. No.”

She reached her hand out and pulled the ladder so it reached them.

“You gotta come one a time!”

Sam turned to the girls.

“You three go first!”

“No!”

Molly and Mindy were pressed against the dresser but they were still struggling.

“Guys!”

“Someone needs to hold the door, we’ll send Anika next. Go!”

Sam looked hesitant.

“Go!”

The girls said in unison.

Sam got onto the ladder and started crawling towards Danny’s window.

Mindy and Molly were still trying to keep the dresser against the door.

“Sam, she’s losing a lot of blood!”

“Say something more positive!”

Sam managed to get across and then the sound of Danny and Sam could be heard.

“Come on!”

Mindy looked towards Molly.

“Molly, go!”

“No!”

“Molly-”

“You’re injured, I’m not. I can hold the door. Get Anika on the ladder, then both of you go.”

She hesitated and then moved towards Anika and helped her off the bed.

“You have to go first-”

“I can’t!”

“You have to go!”

“No, Mindy no! I’ll be right behind you, I promise!”

They kissed before Mindy reluctantly got onto the ladder.

As Mindy struggled to make her away across, Ghostface kept pounding on the door. Molly and Anika kept yelling for her to go.

Mindy made her way to Danny’s apartment.

“Guys, come on!”

“Anika, go.”

“What?! No, I’m not leaving you!”

“Anika, go! I’ll be fine, I promise!”

The others continued to shout.

“Guys, come on! Hurry!”

Ghostface pounded on the door even harder.

Molly tried not to cry.

“Ani, please!”

Anika looked at her tearfully before getting on the ladder.

“Oh my god… I can’t! I can’t do it!”

Ghostface is slowly getting the door more and more open.

“Anika, go! Quick!”

Molly is struggling more and more to keep the door shut.

He bangs on the door which prys it open, pushing Molly forward roughly. She tries to push it back again.

“Fuck…”

She looked to see how far Anika had gotten, which sadly wasn’t very far due to her gutted stomach.

Ghostface manages to bang on the door enough so the cabinet is knocked forward causing Molly to fall to the floor.

“No!”

Ghostface approaches Molly and she tries to keep them away. Ghostface grabs her by the neck, lifts her up and shoves her onto Quinn’s bed.

Everyone is terrified for Molly and Anika’s safety.

“No! Molly!”

“Anika, move!”

Molly tries to block him so he’d be at least injured to give Anika more time.

Ghostface slashed her hand and she screams in pain.

Molly’s scream only slows Anika down.

He lifts Molly off the bed and slams her head into the cabinet, knocking her out and leaving her for dead.

By the time she woke up, she was in an ambulance. She tried to lift her head up but winced in pain. She noticed the bandage wrapped around her hand. The group immediately got to her side.

“Molly! Hey, you okay?”

She could hear Chad’s voice but her ears were ringing.

She looked around to make sure everyone was there and okay. She saw Danny, Sam, Tara, Chad, Mindy… her heart almost stopped when she didn’t see Anika.

“Where’s Anika?”

Mindy was distraught.

“She’s dead, isn’t she?”

The group all nodded.

“Oh my god…”

She put a hand on her stomach.

“Oh my god, Anika…”

She looked at Mindy.

“Mindy, I’m so, so sorry.”

She got up from the stretcher and sat down next to her. She put her head on Mindy’s shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, Mindy. I tried to help her but I just let her fucking die.”

She broke down crying as she said this.

“Hey. Hey, it’s not your fault, okay?”

She wrapped her arm around her shoulders.

Chad and Tara sat down with them.

“She’s right, Molly. Don’t blame yourself.”

Chad put his hand on her arm.

Tara grabbed her hand.

“You put yourself at risk just to protect her, you did the best you could, alright?”

“I didn’t do the best I could because she’s fucking dead.”

Tara was taken aback when she snapped.

“Sorry, I’m sorry Tara.”

She shook her head.

“Don’t be.”

Sam put a hand on her shoulder.

“I’ve got you some water.”

She handed her a water bottle.

Molly sniffled.

“Thank you.”

The group ended up spending the night at Danny’s apartment whilst the police inspected their apartment, not that any of them could really sleep properly anyway.

The only thing Molly could think about was where the fuck Ethan was.

[youngpettyqueen]

DS9!!

two people sent me this but Sarah you got it first!

The first character I first fell in love with: Juliannnnn <3 he had an unfair advantage, showing up in TNG and having very good interactions with Data, I knew IMMEDIATELY upon seeing him that if I ever started DS9 he would be exactly my type. I am nothing if not incredibly predictable

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: I'd have to say Odo! I knew I'd like him from the moment I met him, but he honestly compels me so much more than I thought he would. when they established in the first few episodes that he's the 'only one of his kind' type of character, I expected him to be similar to Spock and Data, so his intensity caught me off guard. and honestly, I love it. and, again, he's just so goddamn compelling. searching for his species, a sense of belonging, his history with Kira and with the Cardassians... I eat it up

also its just. very funny that a guy who looks so deliberately bland speaks like he's constantly on the verge of snapping and killing everyone around him

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: I honestly cant think of a character I dont really enjoy! I also dont know if ive met the entire cast, im just starting the third season literally as I type this, so for all I know new characters could come in that I won't care about. the only addition to the cast in the future that I know of is Worf and I know I love him <3

The character I love that everyone else hates: I dont really interact with any fan content of DS9, and ive never been into the tags, so ive seen very little of what people think about the main cast. I dont know if there's anybody who's generally hated, so hard to answer

in terms of characters who ive never seen any fan content for but who I love, that would be Jake! no idea what fandom opinion of him is, but fandoms tend to not enjoy child characters/pass over them, so I'll say him. I love him a lot, he compels me, him and Sisko are so sweet I love their bond. Jake's determination to be friends with Nog is also very sweet

The character I used to love but don’t any longer: so far I still love everyone!

The character I would totally smooch: Kira Nerys I am free Saturday night if you are also free I would love to take you to a romantic dinner on Saturday night when I am free

The character I’d want to be like: so far I'd say Julian. his commitment to his patients is admirable, I really loved The Wire for showing the lengths he's willing to go to to help somebody. I would also love to be that charming and slutty tbh

The character I’d slap: I say this with so much affection: Quark

A pairing that I love: Kira/myself Miles/Keiko they're so cute and in love and I love that the show takes time to show that!! theyre married and they have a daughter and they take vacations together and make out and flirt and have a sex life they feel so REAL. I love them sm

A pairing that I despise: I dont think I have one I despise tbh. like, of course any ship involving any adult with any of the kids, but besides that the potential pairings I can see are mostly fine!

[autodach64]

Detective L

Crossposted from my Dreamwidth:

Finished Detective L tonight! Very fun❤

• Luo Fei is very pretty and the show milks this by putting him in various outfits and situations - it knows exactly what itch it wants to scratch, haha. Bai Yu voices himself which is always nice. • Laid it on a little thick with the plagiarism. Come on guys you didn’t have to lift the main theme from BBC Sherlock. • Qin Xiaoman is a typical young protagonist: Fresh off the academy, enthusiastic but naïve, she struggles to adapt to the realities of the world and of police work. Luo Fei is her foil: Experienced and resourceful, he knows how to navigate his environment. He has a playful side to him, while Qin Xiaoman is more serious. Both of them are kind and hardworking people. They work well as protagonists and I enjoyed their dynamic ❤

Haphazard (spoilery) notes per case under the cut:

• Case 1: Cheongsam Lady gets murdered (or does she?) I like the case. I expected Luo Fei to solve the first case flawlessly as an introduction but he actually doesn’t get his way immediately. And it turns out to be no murder at all! Very fun. One caveat: I don’t like the mean-spirited way a lawyer’s work is portrayed, a very common problem of the genre. A lawyer telling his clients about their rights is sinister and malicious, while police trampling all over these rights is good and necessary. Urks.

• Case 2: Accountant Lady gets murdered OMG it took me forever to figure out Ben Jie Ming is called Benjamin XD. I like him though. Luo Fei and Qin Xiaoman go undercover as a couple! Delightful. I love that it fails immediately lol. The conclusions here are a bit... unsatisfying? They had no proof against this Chen guy, I don’t like the assumption that a man in a wheelchair can’t possibly ever walk, and there is no answer to the threat letters at all.

• Case 3: Evil Music This is where I started shipping the main characters ❤ Nice actions scenes, and I liked the deductions too. I did not expect the final twist at all! Although some aspects seemed… oddly familiar… *cough*BBC Sherlock*cough*

• Case 4: The tailor’s wife I could see the solution coming, but I was surprised the murderer managed to kill everyone she had a grudge against - I expected one potential victim to be saved. That first victim was really dumb. Why did she tell her about how they tried to kill her and steal her money? Keep your mouth shut and you get to live.

• Case 5: Arson Predictable, but still fun to watch it play out, and they had the balls to make an established character the murderer. Loved Qin Xiaoman and Luo Fei’s little pyjama party, and the 4th wall breaking in the extra. Super cute ❤

• Case 6: Return of the laughter killer I called this one too! I knew it would be her immediately. But overall the conclusion was lackluster – none of them has a proper motive. Killing random students because your girlfriend’s dad was a clown??? (Did I miss something?) This case is where I started shipping Luo Fei/Xiaoman/Benjamin OT3❤

• Case 7: Agatha Christie Murder Mystery They all look so prettyyy! ❤❤❤ I did not see the brother switcheroo coming! The motive was again a little wonky.

• Case 8: I don’t even know? What is this case??? What’s going on? Who are these people? Why should I care? And wtf is this ending??? The show does a terrible job of introducing the new characters and the story - I could not get invested at all. Why not instead make use of the characters that we spent 20 episodes establishing for the big finale? Even Dr. Huo could not save this mess of an ending – or rather, lack thereof. I dislike this on principle. We ended this one on a low note folks ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Overall I liked this drama. I feel like it knows what it wants to be and succeeds at that beautifully – if only they had kept it up for the those last few episodes!

[songwolfwildblogs]

ok fuckers.

Info dumping about my aus time

Let's start simple.

A forgotten tale/scrappedtale:

An au I throw all my abandoned ideas in a sort of like an omega timeline but for scrapped ideas expect they aren't fucking safe from error because it's a normal au expect it's just a bunch of scrapped shit. The main guy of this au is the first fucker who appeared in the au named Scrap, who is a chill guy with ADHD and autism because his original au was called "Whatever the fuck is wrong with me tale" he is the proud father of two bitties named sunny and paint, they are very silly, Scrap is also a musician

Undermmo:

Chara, Asriel, papyrus, undyne, and alphys, well technically not them but I'll call them that, (note they're all human) after some crowdfunding make an mmo, all the characters in the mmo are based on either the staff behind on the mmo or people the staff know (like toriel in the mmo is based on asriel and chara's mom) but 2 characters are unique... sorta, gaster and sans are papyrus' characters family which papyrus is using as a way to cope because trauma, as the mmo continues to update gaster and sans being to become more and more aware... gaster is the first one to Crack and gain sentience (well some form of sentience since sentience in it of itself is poorly defined but anyway) but manages to stay on task and continue to play his role meanwhile sans is going slightly insane, then the 7 fallen update drops, bringing in 7 new characters making Chara's character no longer the only human, 6 of the seven are completely original to the mmo while frisk is based on chara and asriel's adoptive sibling, frisk almost immediately gains sentience thanks to the player (not the in universe player, the YOU sort of player) and they basically get to decide whether or not they want to follow along with the script of their life or find a new path for the story

Chara and the rest of the irl crew have their own plot line but it's mostly them being goofy and overworking themselves because their publisher is giving them strict deadlines. Also at one point irl toriel plays the game and says she really likes the sans character which causes a weird running joke in the office about sans fucking your mom.

Underspore:

Sansby au where snowdin is overrun by a fungal parasite and grillby's becomes a safe haven because the fungi is weak to fire, snowdin is put into quarantine separating sans and papyrus becomes papyrus was staying with undyne for "training camp" before the outbreak happened, sans get infected of course and the au is basically grillby helping sans fighting off the infection while knowing that ultimately sans is going to die. Sans dies in grillby's arms, blind and unable to move

Anyway Sans aka spore is really silly and strange while infected and I love him but he keeps fucking dying

Understage: pretty simple an au where fights are actually stage performances, almost everything is solved via improvised plays, you can choose to play along or actually fucking kill people which is really easy in the beginning but after awhile people stop performing with you and you have to chase them down and kill them as they struggle to fight you, anyway everyone has on stage personas expect sans who is one of the stagehands, toriel is retired, papyrus's fight is silly, undyne's fight is pirate themed, mettaton's fight is a musical (don’t ask how he manages to improvise an entire musical, he's gay) asgore is the only non genocide fight that is an actual fight but it still happens on a stage. Sans just beats you too death back stage because he's tired of your shit

Those are my core 4 non-multiverse aus. I would go into extreme detail about everything about these aus but I don't think you want to read all of that

Next time we cover my multiverse aus

[madtomedgar]

books read in December:

The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race, Jesmyn Ward: Great essays, really liked it, learned a lot. At the same time I am starting to feel like the issue isn’t so much needing to learn new information as much as it is consistently listening and understanding and applying what I do already know, and I do wish there was more about that, if that makes sense.

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, Matthew Desmond: I had been putting off reading this for years because it felt like a book I should read and I kind of assumed it would be like a long article or a series of housing white papers. It is the opposite of that. It’s rare you find writing this good in nonfiction. Everyone should read this. I did have to keep taking breaks because it was very upsetting, just the realities of this system which I knew about already from the perspective of working with voucher holders and people trying to get vouchers. But probably the best nonfiction I’ve read since the pandemic.

Chemistry, Weike Wang: I liked the stream-of-consciousness style, almost like reading someone’s diary. I found the main character’s struggle with expectations, with herself, and with coming to terms with both what her parents did to her and and did for her really compelling. It helped me better understand my friends who are or have been in graduate programs. A little hetero for me but nothing’s perfect.

False Bingo, Jac Jemc: So the stories are clever and the author builds suspense well, and the one about the board game couple was a  delightfully scathing portrait of trying to have friends in your 30s. But. They were mostly kind of boring, kind of caught up in their own cleverness, kind of suffused with a certain middle-class midwestern realism that I find dull and off-putting, and occasionally kind of tone-deaf to the point of offensive. There’s one where these women in this town keep getting attacked and the twist is that one woman lied about being attacked to get herself out of a difficult conversation with her boyfriend, and then all the others wanted to feel special and included so they faked it too, and the people honestly upset about the violence against women are chumps who should have known better. And like... sure, fiction should absolutely be able to just go “if there were two guys on the moon and one killed another with a rock would that be fucked up or what!” but. Jac Jemc isn’t Gillian Flynn, who can and does pull this type of subversion off well. And reading it during the current backlash, in the wake of the Amber Heard debacle and while Meghan Thee Stallion was being pilloried for being attacked and daring to say she was, like I said, tone-deaf to the point of offensive.

Last Night in Nuuk, Niviaq Korneliussen, trans. Anna Halagar: Mama Mia wishes its big night was half as wild as the big night in this story. Again, I found the stream of consciousness style enjoyable, though this was more like being tapped into someone’s internal monologue who is very hung over. It’s gay, it’s queer, it’s trans, it’s complicated. I... really wish authors would stop having their queer women characters declare that being with a butch woman is “just like a man without the penis.” And like. How you know they’re Real Lesbians is that they’re into women not ugly bull-dykes. I also wish the trans man’s trans-ness had felt less like it could just have easily been stone butch-ness. But I think that’s more of a me problem where like... I have had enough people treat the state where I exist comfortably as both gross and a pit-stop on the way to inevitable transition (which I don’t want for me) that stories that even unintentionally play into that aren’t enjoyable to me, even as I recognize that they’re transformative and important for others.

[denimbex1986]

'When you search for the Batman on Prime Video, its extensive library will spew out a plethora of titles for you to select from. However, despite the overabundance of the DC Comics superhero in films, including some memorable outings (Joaquin Phoenix’s the Joker, Robert Pattinson’s the Batman), Christopher Nolan’s telling of the caped crusader remains the most deeply etched into the public memory.

It’s fascinating how Nolan has chosen to release his much-hyped new offering Oppenheimer three days after The Dark Knight turned 15. Is it a coincidence? Or was this the plan all along? Would it be a stretch to think that the two films may have some mind-bending, discernible-to-no-one-but-devoted-Nolan-fans commonalities? The suspense will end on July 21.

Julius Robert Oppenheimer, on whom the film is based, was an American theoretical physicist, best remembered as the father of the atomic bomb, the main man behind the blasts that blew up the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 ending World War II and killing over 2,10,000 people. Taking cognisance of the horrific havoc his nuclear weapons wreaked, Oppenheimer famously said, “I have become death, destroyer of worlds.”

His work and its harrowing after-effects haunted him to the point that he swore off creating any more bombs for the American government and vehemently opposed its attempts at making the hydrogen bomb, so much so that he was written off as a communist and his security licence was withdrawn. Not just that, he dared to visit Japan in 1960 and publicly condemned his actions. Notably, Oppenheimer never resumed government service. In fact, he became a staunch advocate of using ethics in science. His incredible story strongly echoes the all-too-famous dialogue from The Dark Knight: “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

His life's journey, contribution to atomic science, and leanings have been so tumultuous that it is difficult to slot Oppenheimer with either the Batman or the Joker. He was an agent of chaos like the Joker. But he was also an outcast capable of making the choice no one else could, much like Batman. He was both of them. He was neither. Nolan, too, is keenly aware of this perplexing uncertainty that underlines his newest protagonist. Talking about it, he said, “I think of any character I’ve dealt with, Oppenheimer is by far the most ambiguous and paradoxical. Which, given that I’ve made three Batman films, is saying a lot.”

As we celebrate 15 years of The Dark Knight, what to expect of Oppenheimer? Memorable characters, of course. Barring Bruce Wayne and the Joker, even though everyone else—Harvey Dent, Alfred, Rachel, Jim Gordon, and Lucius Fox—had limited screen time, each had a sizeable impact and iconic cinematic moments.

Next, stunning storytelling and didactic dialogue. You may not remember Dent or Gordon’s exact job title, but there is no forgetting “Whatever doesn’t kill you, simply makes you stranger” or “Do I really look like a guy with a plan?” or “Madness is like gravity. All it takes is a little push” or “Sometimes, truth isn’t good enough. Sometimes, people deserve more. Sometimes, people deserve to have their faith rewarded.”

Some feisty female characters too. Although The Dark Knight only had Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and Oppenheimer is already crowded with too many important men (Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon), I am looking forward to what the film does with Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh. I hope this Friday’s two big Hollywood releases don’t turn out to be as gender exclusive as the aggressive Barbenhiemer promotions have had us believe.

Finally, the defining expectation? To have our faith rewarded. It isn’t easy to make a hopeful film about a man as complicated as Oppenheimer. But then, Nolan is no ordinary filmmaker. Remember the sequence towards the end of The Dark Knight when Joker makes two ships—one full of criminals, the other civilians—pit against each other, forcing each to blow up the other first? However, notwithstanding their worst fears, no one does. I hope I leave the theatre with renewed hope in humanity this Friday, the way I did on a similar Friday 15 years ago.'

[the-cat-chat]

April 15, 2023

It Chapter Two (2019)

Twenty-seven years after their first encounter with the terrifying Pennywise, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back.

JayBell: Since we decided to do Stephen King month, we thought we might as well finally watch the sequel to It (which we watched the previous Halloween). When this movie came out, I remember people being disappointed by it, so I went into it with my expectations pretty low.

With that said--yikes. I’ve never read the book, so I don’t know how much they stuck to the book or not. Either way, the plot was just bad. Half of the movie is the group of kids (now adults) revisiting the past and trying to “remember” the events of the first movie. It was as if they had a bunch of unused scenes from the first movie and thought, “well let’s just stick these scenes in the sequel and call it a day.” It was boring. And honestly I’m not sure what these scenes really added to their characters, with the exception of Richie’s character (Finn Wolfhard/Bill Hader).

And don’t get me started on the stupid ritual stuff. [redacted]. The movie also gives us this quasi-origin for Pennywise with his daughter and the picture on the wall. But it’s vague and then never brought up again. Beverly doesn’t even mention it to the rest of the group. Like “hey guys you’ll never believe who I saw in a picture at some old lady’s house!” Nope. It doesn’t mean anything and the info has no bearing on events.

And the love triangle again, my god. Spare me. The movie doesn’t even provide any new development to the relationship between Beverly and Ben. No. It’s just about this stupid poem he wrote to her when he was a kid. Ugh.

The only good thing about this movie was that the adult actors had much better banter between them, especially compared to the kids in the first movie. And Bill Hader did provide some humor. He was definitely the best part of the movie.

Oh I haven’t even talked about the ending. [redacted]...so it’s completely stupid. Like we kill the clown by hurting his feelings and making him feel insecure? Ughhhhhh. And the overly sentimental send off for the kids come on.

Rating: 2.5/10 cats 🐈

Anzie: This movie feels like it broke me. I know I say that a lot, but I really mean it this time. I have so much to say, yet nothing at all. Let’s start with the positives. I wanted to see the sequel in all honesty bc Bill Hader was the grown up version of Richie. And I love him and think he’s soooo funny. I’m sad to report that’s not enough. (Remember THIS is the positive). That’s it that’s the positive. Oh and the ending the ending is realllllly great. Like the actual ending. She. The torture is over.

Nooow. I felt confused the whole time. Not like I didn’t know what was going on - I just didn’t know whyyy. That’s the whole 3 hours I will never get back. Asking why?? Why would you do it?? Gross fortune cookie baby fly spider things? The weird leper with the tongue? I get, I really do but still. I hate it. Mind you I totally forgot everyone else hated- but the hate is justified for obvious reasons. The majority of the movie is trying to figure the which kids match to the grown up version- then whyyyy they can remember anything- yet Stan did?? Right?? Does that make anyyyy sense???? How did he if the others didn’t? Was he still in Derry??? Whatever. And then they ALL split up??? They do know this crazy clown wants to kill them AGAIN?? And I stilllllll have no clue why they have the story of Pennywise being an immigrant that then joined the circus??? Since it’s something entirely different that I can’t figure out - bc whatever IT is takes form of a very specific thing- and whatever IT was to an ancient civilization IT is a clown when it comes to Derry, Maine. Makes sense clowns are terrifying. But heyyy even worse is his giant spider legs. Oh and when he shrivels into a gross little baby clown when they shoot him down and tell him he’s nothing. Like honestly- between allll of them seeeeeing their worst fears and memories- they couldn’t have pieces it together quicker. And did we really need anymore of the dumb romance stuff agggaaain.

Honorable mention to the freakish naked granny and Stan being turned into a weird head on spider legs. Really didn’t need that in my life. Thanks.

Rating: 0.1/10 Cats 🐈 (that’s me being generous)

[halfricanloveyou]

marvel movies are always: here’s a white dude superhero that’s literally just a male power fantasy. he’s super strong and he’s wearing a very boring spandex suit to show off his muscles. it’s all cgi btw. he has a best friend who is funny but also not as hot or strong as he is and said friend is always telling him how cool and strong and amazing he is. because he’s already perfect he will have no character development but he is allowed to get stronger.

okay now here’s his love interest. get this: she’s hot and under 120 lbs and she’s white or light skinned and has long straight hair and she wears make up (but not TOO much make up) and dresses but TRUST US, she’s not like the other girls. her main character trait is that she is easy to kidnap and needs to be rescued a lot. she will not have any back story or character development because she is hot and pretty so she doesn’t need it. all of her scenes will be cgi btw. she won’t be in any fight scenes but we’re gonna cgi everything anyways.

last but not least here’s the bad guy. something traumatic happened to his wife or daughter or whatever and that made him evil somehow. we’ll introduce some random side character to explain that. it’s gonna be a 3 sentence scene and then the bad guy will kill him because he is bad. he wants to kill everyone because he’s soooo evil and he kidnaps the love interest and scares her a lot but ultimately doesn’t actually harm her. his entire body is cgi btw.

okay so get this. the bad guy and the hero fight and a car gets thrown multiple times and explodes. then there’s lots of hand to hand combat scenes. sometimes people go flying. it’s all cgi btw. sometimes we will have stunt doubles for the hand to hand combat scenes but it’s still gonna be completely cgi.

for the plot the hero gets beat up by the bad guy but then he gets stronger and at the end he beats the bad guy up. hot girl is so impressed she falls in love with him instantly and then he says some one liner and she responds with a second one liner and then they kiss (no tongue for 20 seconds). then everyone else claps and the president comes down and is like “wow you’re so powerful and strong and you beat up the bad guy. do you want to be a soldier cop and join this hero club we started so we can make a second movie?” and then the hero says yes and delivers a witty one liner. btw the entire scene is cgi including the president. all of the outfits are also cgi to make them look like they got a little dirty and damaged after the fight.

the credits will roll and then after the end of them we will add in a scene where there is a new bad guy and the old bad guy is actually still alive. and then another strong cool hero guy will be there to set up the sequel. it’s all cgi btw including the second guy. we actually just took a clip from a different movie and put it in but we used cgi so it looked different.

it’s literally the exact same thing every single fucking time. the only thing they change is the actors. even the fucking fight scenes are boring and the exact same for every fucking movie. they aren’t interesting or funny or cool and i’m saying that as someone who LOVES watching fight scenes and action and gratuitous violence. everyone eats that shit up because disney made it so they don’t care if it’s good or not and then they advertise it so obsessively you are literally forced to constantly hear about it whether you want to or not. at a fucking JOB INTERVIEW one of the questions was “what marvel superhero would you like to be and why?” and if you say “idk cause those movies suck shit” you’re seen as not a team player, someone who doesn’t know how to have fun or participate in fun things.

fuck disney and fuck marvel and fuck corporate america. fuck trends and fuck societal expectation to participate in them or face ridicule and judgement that has real life consequences.

[all-about-the-tea-parties]

House of the Dragon Episode One thoughts as I watch:

I really like the two young girls so far they’ve been captivating and Matt Smith is promising as a creepy grooming uncle

Not sure I enjoy the… visuals?? It’s kind of uncanny valley. It both feels too real (because I can tell it’s a set) and not real enough (because I can tell it’s a set). Nothing wrong with the sets in question, just… disappointingly obvious. GoT had sets too (alongside a plethora of locations which gave it a valuable realism) but all the sets in Game of Thrones weren’t overly noticeable which meant they felt beautifully rich in terms of world building.

Also don’t like the editing style. Early GoT was frugal w/ editing. The dialogue took centre stage and actors were allowed to command a scene from beginning until end (unless there was a poignant reaction). So far the editing feels sporadic and unintentional. And certain camera shots feel a tad ambitious for no particular reason, which makes it seem indulgent. It’s all a little distracting.

The dialogue is actually good! Not word play levels that I expect, but contextually there isn’t much need yet. Not much politicking happening because there’s no real “enemy” whereas in GoT the enemy was everyone, so much politicking all the time. The dialogue, though clever, is very upfront (because the targs are unquestionable in their power). So it’s good. No need to distract ppl with so many cuts and weird shots.

Maybe they’re trying to distract from the sets?

It just feels a bit… modern? Staged?

A quick question: idk if it’s my tv or not, but like is the frame sped up? On my tv it all feels s little too fast in movement (sometimes tv offers a “hyper realism” thing and that might be messing w/ my experience)

There’s def a lack of proper intrigue. But I know that’s to come, so it’s fine.

Really it’s the visual part that bothers me.

Not sure I enjoy seeing Matt smith in a sex scene but alright

The girls are the best part for sure, and I know they’re the point of it all, so I do hope the writers aren’t sacrificing the intrigue of other characters for them.

Like imagine game of thrones if D&D framed Jon Snow as the main character from the beginning. It’d be boring af

I like seeing my guy from outlander here tho. Not enough variety in accents in fantasy and I appreciate it here.

NOT THE HORSE

I HATE JOUSTS

NO MORE HORSE ABUSE

Is it ok? It’s ok?

I wanna be grossed out by siblings being in love but like considering the family they’re in, it’s probably at warped attempt at normalcy. Like at least they were married to each other and not an aunt/uncle (or PARENT)

Ugh the “impossible choice” fucking starting to see this trend in film where men are shown to have to decide women’s lives during childbirth (obviously at sn attempt to humanise them and make them good “but in a bad position”) like honestly it’s the new “turning your wife’s death/trauma into your own for a plot point” like spareeee me the angst most men HISTORICALLY had no issue killing their wives

Oh fuck me he’s gonna kill her

Never mind he’s a bad person

Never mind it was gruesome

They didn’t frame it as a difficult choice or like “he didn’t have any other option” or “he’s still good actually because we cut away from it all”

Holy shit MAJOR trigger warning for a torture scene

Like sure yeah maybe they were both gonna die but the doctor clearly didn’t give af about the queen so I doubt there’s was much investigation for a better option (that saves her)

Wait so he has a son now

Oh the baby’s gone

I LOVE how Valyrian sounds 200 years before Dany

The rolllls

Small touch I really enjoy? The fires give off so much smoke and I’ve never seen it before in a show. Do they normally cgi it away?

Not sure I’m hooked, again, intrigue is missing, character across the board that are all thoroughly interesting, but I DO like our main contenders.

They did NOT just throw the Game of Thrones ending shade like that

They. Did. Not. Just say DANY was meant to get the throne (even if for a short while because I feel she’s only meant to have it to unite the realm for the battle and likely leaves/dies after, as an end to an age of magic).

Like the point of GoT was obvs that the politicking WASNT the point but it’s suchhhh vindication that Daenerys was magically destined to ascend the throne

I don’t care if you think Jon is an option - she was the mother of dragons not him

Doesn’t mean Jon doesn’t do important things during the war to come, or even become a king after Dany, as this show said a Targ w/ dragons is needed to protect the world from a position of monarchy - doesn’t mean that monarchy exists for very much longer after the war ends.

So TECHNICALLY she both WINS the game of thrones AND breaks the wheel

Coupled w/ the fact that they HIGHLIGHTED Dany’s name at the beginning

G RR Martin is practically shouting who becomes the head of Westeros during the winter war. (Again, not necessarily the PTWP, because this is a separate Targ dreaming, not the prophecy that Rhaegar became obsessed w/ but now I see why he became obsessed w/ it if he was given this info by his dad before hearing it).

Ahhhhhhh

V I N D I C A T I O N

[farfromstrange]

Foreigner's God: Chapter 7

Main Masterlist

Pairing: Matt Murdock x OFC

Chapter Summary: There is something incredibly off about Tony’s behavior, and Eliza decides she can’t do it anymore. She’s done. The fight leads to several revelations. One, she might be going slightly insane and two, Clinton Church is actually quite the nice place to go to if you’re having a panic attack. Other than that, Matt is still himself. While that might lead to some tension between them, she’s never been happier to have a place to go to that isn’t lonely, and he cares. This friendship might just be all she needs, after all.

Warnings: this is so long, mentions of drug abuse, alcohol consumption, there’s some foreshadowing, Tony Stark is being slandered, a phone call with Peter, hallucinations, panic attack, religious imagery, confession, praying, S3 spoilers, Eliza’s ever-lasting guilt, arguing, yelling, daddy issues (not the sexy kind), crying, not feeling good enough, some bad humor & cliché age gap joke

Other characters: Natasha, Steve, Thor, Bruce, Tony, Clint, Peter Parker, Father Lantom & Sister Maggie, also some random homeless man just trying to help a girl out

Word Count: ~ 10k

A/n: I tried working out some of my own religious trauma with this one and also… well, this shit is plot-heavy so you might need a clear head to read this. If anyone asks, no I’m not okay. And no, Tony just acts like an asshole. He ISNT the villain. Still haven’t done him dirty enough, but we’ll soon be done with the slander. The next chapter will be posted tonight as well!

Likes, comments, and reblogs are always appreciated!

Read Chapter 7: right where you left me Here on AO3!

18+ MINORS DNI

The first time Eliza Bennett met Tony Stark was the day Loki destroyed New York. She’d only been working for SHIELD for a short amount of time back then, trying to get accustomed to her new life, her new identity. It’s safe to say she has always been exceptionally good at it. At being an Agent, being a hero, and every other thing way beyond her maturity level. She was never taught any better. Being an Agent in the field resembled her life at Hydra almost down a tee. Except she wasn’t killing people and she had her own free will, which was nice, but also not so much. She followed orders but she had a choice to stay or to start a new somewhere, get a taste of that human lifestyle everyone kept telling her about. It was new and scary, and she hated the fact that it didn’t feel like her.

May 3rd, 2012.

She was undercover at a gala when she heard the static rushing in her earpiece. “Mission’s over,” Natasha said. 

“What?” Eliza looked down at the glass of Martini in her hand, then back at the dance floor on which the Senator she was watching kept twirling his date around. “I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet,” she said. “I practiced my tango, like you told me to. It’d be a shame if I couldn’t show it off!”

The woman laughed. “I’d love to see it, but this is urgent. Pack up! We’re going back on the Helicarrier. I’ve got someone else covering our Russian spy senator and his bimbo.”

“Don’t call her a bimbo, Nat.“

“But it’s true. Admit it.”

“No.”

“Okay.”

Eliza left the party, the black limousine waiting for her at the entrance. The nice valet opened her the door, but he was dangerously pale around the nose. She cocked her head. Someone had been threatening him.

Natasha sat in the dark of the backseat, holding a file. She should’ve expected the redhead to make her appearance so soon. Urgent meant nothing less than time sensitive and when it came to matters with such a label, she was always first on every scene.

“Wait, weren’t you just in some Russian guy’s lair?” she asked her.

“Yeah, Coulson bailed me out. Threatened the guy. I almost had him. Ended up kicking his ass like the little bitch he was.”

“Did you get the intel?”

“What do you take me for?”

“Of course, you did. So, what’s up? What’s up with the urgency?”

“I know you’ve never done this before,” Natasha said. She handed the file over, her hand enveloped in black leather gloves. “But the fate of the world depends on it, and we could really use your help right now.”

She opened the brown folder, the first page a picture of a glowing blue box. “The tesseract,” Eliza choked out. An object with the most magnetic pull.

Fury never once allowed her to be less than ten feet of it. She had to stay in the circle. Why, she didn’t know, but he had his reasons. 

“Yes, it’s recently come into possession of a, uh… I don’t know what he is. An alien? Some guy with greasy hair and a spear. He’s not of this world, that’s for sure. He stole it from the base earlier tonight.”

“This thing has unimaginable power. How could he just steal it?”

“As I said, he’s an alien. And he’s Thor’s brother. Turn the page.” She did. The next series of pictures were screenshots from the security cameras. The man with black hair stared straight at the screen. He was attractive, sure, but the crazy in his eyes killed the mood.

“Jesus.” Eliza shook her head. Somehow the glow of his scepter felt… familiar? It was just a picture, it was probably stupid, but she felt drawn to it nonetheless. “What’s the procedure?” she questioned. 

Natasha smirked. “We’re getting the band back together.”

With the band, she meant the Avengers. The Avengers Initiative failed before. Imagine her surprise when the pair set foot on the Helicarrier to find the group of unlikely allies meddled together for the first time ever. None of them looked like they belonged there.

“I could imagine better things than to be trapped on here with the Hulk,” she told Natasha. “And the guy whose brother is currently threatening to take over the world.”

“He’s still my brother!” Thor snapped from somewhere in the distance.

“He killed eighty people in two days.”

“Well, he’s adopted.”

“And I’m a former Hydra operative. What’s your point?”

“See, so even you have made mistakes, earthling.”

Eliza glared at the blond man. He was attractive. He was tall and muscular and every woman’s dream. In that moment though, all he did was infuriate her to the point, her blood boiled.

“Don’t call me earthling, you daft Asgardian Shakespeare.”

“I feel like you have been misinformed about me. I’m Thor, the God of-“

“Thunder, yeah, I know. I don’t care.” She turned to the rest of the team. “If I end up squashed,” - she pointed at Bruce - “under the edge of a Vibranium shield,” - she pointed at Captain America - “shot with an arrow through the eye,” - her eyes narrowed at Clint - “hit with a magic hammer or ATTACKED BY A FUCKING METAL SUIT, MISTER STARK!” Tony felt her finger poke deep into his chest. “I will make sure we all die up here,” she finished. “You got that?”

But Natasha taught her all about control, so she swallowed the red threatening to expose her and focused back on the task at hand.

Tony was actually the only one to eye her with curiosity instead of fear. “Do they usually start this young?” he asked. 

Eliza used to be a very superstitious person. She didn’t trust anyone outside of her fellow Agents and even then she kept her distance. She was a scared girl in a big world, not knowing who she was or how she got there, with powers raging inside of her that she couldn’t quite grasp. The Avengers were a pool of strangers that she was tossed in without ever having learned how to swim.

So, naturally, when Tony made his jokes, she put her guard up. “No,” she told him, “We usually start younger.”

“So, baby spies?” He’s never been a particularly serious person.

It was twisted that this was the thing that enthralled him about her. He couldn’t keep his mouth shut for the life of him. Eliza was so frustrated to the point where she considered putting a bullet through his iron suit. Though when he flew that missile into space, she couldn’t help but pay her respects to his heroic antics. The careless man she’d met before somehow appeared in a different light then.

“You’re a great kid,” Tony said to her after the battle. “We should do this again sometime.”

That was four years in the past. 

Eliza warmed up to Tony instantly. The respectful, caring side of him. It was the original reason why she agreed to move into Avengers Tower in the first place. She ditched SHIELD for the Avengers. He mentored her. Tony was the first person after Fury to see something in her, willing to do just about anything to bring it out in her. 

Tony Stark made her feel loved for the first time in her life. Perhaps that’s why it hurt so much to see their once so-invincible bond break apart. 

Eliza asked herself where exactly they went wrong. Was it something she did or something she could’ve prevented? As so often, there was nothing to explain Tony’s behavior other than the fact that he was just Tony. 

Tony wasn’t the man he used to be, and he certainly didn’t portray as the kind of person he wanted to be. He turned from an idol into an antagonist – Eliza wished it would’ve been a sudden change, but reflecting on the past two years she realized it was meant to happen.

Eliza knew better than to try and make him see. He had to fall head-first into the abyss to realize his mistakes. He needed a swift kick in the ass and an excellent punch to the face. She couldn’t do that. Life had to do it to him.

Like Steve once said to her, “If holding onto something hurts you more than letting go, you need to let it go. If it’s meant to be, it’ll come back to you. If it’s not, at least you got rid of the pain.”

By the time Happy pulled up to the compound, Eliza accepted the fact that it would never be the same again. She had to let go eventually. She would give him one last chance, she decided, and if he decided to turn around and shit on it, she would take Steve’s advice and save herself. For once in her life, she had to listen. Holding onto the wrong people was her best talent, but sometimes even talent has to be laid off to protect your fragile little heart. 

“We’re here,” Happy snapped her out of her thoughts.

She dreaded every step into the compound. Her heart beat up to her throat. The oxygen supply sank with every passing second.

Eliza took the familiar road to Tony’s office. He was waiting for her behind the door. She hesitated, hand on the handle. She hated confrontation. She didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t her turn to apologize, but somehow she felt like she had to. Sad, wasn’t it? He had her judging guilty without even trying, even when she didn’t need to. She was just that dependent on his approval. 

She pushed the thoughts away. She wasn’t a child anymore, she was an adult. Adults don’t make their lives dependent on one person, no matter how much they mean to them. Adults are supposed to stand their ground. She had to learn how to do that. She did it the previous night, she could do it again. Tony didn’t own her.

“You came,” Tony’s voice sounded breathy, hungover, from the corner of the room.

Eliza exhaled, a mix between a sigh and a scoff. “You left me no choice,” she said. “Sending Happy to my place was a desperate move.”

“I couldn’t reach you. At first, I thought maybe you lost your phone, but then I realized you blocked my number. If anything, you left me no choice. I wanted to talk to you without dozens of people around to ask stupid questions.”

“Why?”

“You left before I could talk to you last night.”

“Seriously? You’re just gonna act like this is all it is? Miscommunication?”

Tony scoffed. She saw the bottle of Scotch on his table, the half-filled glass. It was ten in the morning.

“Are you drunk again?” she asked.

“You don’t get to do that.”

“I don’t mind day drinking, I only mind hypocrisy.”

“I asked you here to apologize for what I said.” He took a sip.

“You were drunk, Tony.”

“And I’m sorry for that. I had one too many drinks because I didn’t want to face Secretary Ross sober. Every time I see him, I’m reminded of Rogers and what he did.”

“What Steve did?” Eliza glared. “You both screwed up! It wasn’t just him.”

“Don’t you think I know that?”

“It kind of seems like you don’t.”

“Give me a break!” 

She flinched away. Her eyes fluttered close, her feet carried her a step back, and her arms instantly lifted themselves in front of her chest as if physically defending herself was going to block the words from entering her ears. It didn’t. 

Tony’s frown crumbled. He didn’t have the power of empathy on his side, but he saw the fear displayed in her eyes and he felt a sudden ping of regret. “I’m sorry,” he said, quieter this time. He opened his arms - a peace offering. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.”

“You’re drunk,” she whispered. The tears stung behind her still-closed lids. “You’re drunk,” she said once again. She opened her eyes again. “I know what chronically drunk people are like, so I know that anything you say could either be complete bullshit or the honest-to-God truth. Tell me, why should I believe anything you say right now?”

He watched the tears slide almost elegantly from the corner of her left eye, down her cheek, and her neck. He waved his hands a little. “I’m not drunk. I’ve had two glasses of Scotch to fight off the hangover.”

“There’s still alcohol in your system. Too much to consider it sober.”

“You’re right, I’m not sober.”

“I know. What I don’t know is what you want from me. My pity?”

“No!” Tony scoffed. “It’s just been hard for me,” he began to explain himself. “Ever since Rogers - Steve - left, I’ve been feeling like I failed. Do you know what that’s like? I’m the man who killed the Avengers. I saw it. I saw it with my own eyes.”

“Oh, come on!”

“No, hear me out. When that little witch Wanda played with my head, I saw it. I saw all of you, dead. It was my fault. I’m comparing these two right now and I don’t see much of a difference. Look, I’m on my last straw right now.”

Eliza shook her head. “You could’ve told me,” she said. 

“I tried! I tried to tell you that this is my worst nightmare come true. So many times.”

“How, by calling me a lost orphan in front of the most powerful people in New York City?”

“You don’t understand,” he said. “I was drunk and angry and I didn’t mean it.”

“You’re right, I don’t understand because you’re not making any sense.”

“I made our friends enemies of the State. I did. Rogers, Romanoff, Wanda, all of them! I killed the Avengers.”

“And you know, Sam, Scott, even Vision, just because he’s in love with a fugitive. Can’t even say their names, can you?” 

“Jesus!” He scoffed. “You’re turning my words against me.”

“Can you blame me?” Eliza asked, challenging him. 

“This isn’t about blame.”

“What, you want me to feel bad for you?” She cocked her head. “This is on you, not me. If you’re waiting for the pity party, you’re not getting any.”

“Listen, kid. I know you’re struggling and I’m sorry I’m not there for you like I used to be, but this is hard on all of us. Especially on me. This shit show is getting on my last nerve. The press, Ross, fucking Rhodey and Happy- you know, it’s not easy when the world is resting on your shoulders,” he said. 

The exasperated laugh was an answer of heavy proportions. “Boohoo, cry me a river, Tony! Honestly, you either complain or apologize, you can’t do both and expect me to roll with it.” She wished she had the same glass of Scotch he was carrying only so she could swallow the horrendously bitter taste on her tongue, but she didn’t. She was glad she didn’t. She wanted to be better than him. She wanted her words to be sober. She wanted him to understand, for whatever the desperate attempts were worth.

Tony shrugged. “It’s true. There’s a lot more I’m carrying that you don’t know about,” he said, “and I’m glad you don’t.”

“And you don’t know about the shit I have to carry,” she replied. Her lip twitched into a sour smile. “But I’m glad you don’t.”

He smirked, but it was fake. The way she spoke left no space for interpretation of just how sour she was. She was mad, offended, disappointed, all of those things and yet, she came. She always did. 

“All I need is some time to clear my head, and Scotch. Lots of Scotch.” He poured himself another glass from the small bar in the corner of his office, a small mahagoni table overlooking the New York skyline behind the compound. The perfectly trimmed grass and bushes in the front yard lead to the small forest separating the Avengers from downtown. It was beautiful. 

“You need time,” she repeated his words. “It’s funny because when you say it’s hard on all of us, I feel like it only entails you. I had to clean up your mess, again,” she said. “I shouldn’t have to. I struggle too, you know. I’m not saying you aren’t, but maybe you should take your own words into account and think about the people around you. You aren’t the only one who lost, we all did.” 

His shoulders tensed. Something changed. Was that regret she saw in the colors around his soul? She could’ve sworn she saw black somewhere, but it was hard to tell with the mess he was and the alcohol that seemed to turn the shade of anger darker, and the pride threatened to consume him. 

“I always have to take care of everything. I trained you, Eliza. I made us a team. I got you all a job you could count on. You had all the benefits in the world. Healthcare, stability, housing… you had all of that. It was safe. You guys were safe. And yet - and fucking yet - we managed to blow up. We always do. Everything always blows up, no matter what I do, and I’m tired of watching it happen without having an ounce of control in it. I think it’s time I finally focus on myself.”

“How can you say that after everything that happened? I can’t take this anymore,” she said, and she meant it. “I have to soften all the blows. It’s not even my job!”

“You need to learn how to take responsibility,” he argued.

“Responsibility?” That was the last straw. “I’ve been taking responsibility since the day I got here! I’ve been cleaning up the messes you’ve made again and again. Now, I didn’t mind. We were a family, but lately, it feels like I’m just doing it because I’m supposed to. Maybe I shouldn’t have. Maybe I shouldn’t have accepted being used like that.”

“Being used?” Tony asked, voice dangerous as he rose from his chair. “I did everything for you. You got a home, money, and a job. You met people others can only dream about. What else do you want?”

“Maybe some appreciation, for a change. I mean, are you treating Peter the same way?”

“Peter- is this what this is about? Are you jealous of that kid?”

“No!” maybe a little. “My point is that I was around Peter’s age when we first met. After everything you learned over the years and what I’ve been through, don’t you think it’s my right to tell you your place?“

“Pepper took you under her wing, Happy worries about you all the time, I mentored you. I got you back on your feet. I made sure you didn’t go to jail. Hell, I even funded your drug addiction when I didn’t even know you were taking those stupid pills, and yet, I’ve never asked you to pay me back!” 

“Oh, please,” Eliza spat back. “What would you ever do without having my mental illness as a justification for your actions? Honestly, you’re acting like that’s all I am. Fuck you, Tony! I thought you cared about me.”

“I do!” he said. “All I ever did was because I care about you. I saw your talent when no one else did. Not even Fury shaped you the way I did. So don’t tell me you’re not being appreciated! I care more than anyone else on this planet. I saved your life, goddamnit!”

“Jesus Christ, Tony, why can’t you just listen?” Fresh tears pooled in her eyes. The water crept dangerously close to the brim, threatening to bubble over. Eliza wasn’t even surprised.

She’d cried more in the past couple of days than ever before. She was a wreck. Time had done its damage. Life had taken its toll. She was bound to break eventually, she just never thought it would happen like this. She never thought it would come to this. The world stopped spinning the day the Avengers left her behind.

“I’m so sick and tired of fixing everything,” she said. “I’m not your therapist. Hell, I’m the one who needs one. I’m not just some messed up orphan that’s become your burden. You were everything to me…” The ocean was too wide and she never learned how to swim. “I looked up to you. I idolized you and wanted to be like you. You taught me so much and yet nothing prepared me for the person you’d be.”

Eliza wiped her cheeks furiously with the back of her hand. “This isn’t you! Ever since you and Steve fell out and the Avengers broke up, you’ve been spiraling out of control. You changed! You turned into this wreckage of a man, a shell of who you used to be, and that shell is filled with so much sour hostility. The Tony Stark I know wouldn’t risk everything by putting down the guests at his party. He wouldn’t hurt his friends and family in front of everyone. The Tony I know would listen to what I have to say. He’d take my worries into account. The Tony I know would do anything to protect me, but you’re not there. You haven’t been there in a very long time, but I lived with it because I still had hope. I had faith in you, Tony.” 

He aggressively downed another glass of Scotch, knuckles turned white from the hold he had on it. 

“You taught me to always believe in the good in people, and help when someone needs it. I made it my personality trait. What happened, Tony? What happened to make you this way?”

“You don’t get to do that,” he said. “You don’t get to ask me what happened when you were the one who completely lost herself all those years ago!”

“I picked myself up again! I admit that I’m broken, but that doesn’t give me the right to take it out on people. That’s what you do. You blame everyone but yourself for everything that’s wrong with you-“

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“See? That’s what I’m talking about. You won’t listen!”

“Oh, I am listening. I am listening very well. Let’s talk about what I’m listening to, yeah? Except for the fact that you’re trying to make me feel bad for one stupid slip-up-“

Eliza interrupted him with a frustrated groan, “It wasn’t just one stupid slip-up, Tony. It’s a fucking series and I’m done watching!”

“Don’t interrupt me,” he said. “You call me a hypocrite, but while you accuse me of neglecting you, it’s you who won’t listen. You think you’re so smart, prancing around at night, behind my back, with a criminal? And then you have the nerve to pretend like you’re a good girl and lie to my face! That’s what hypocrisy is, Eliza! You’re a hypocrite!”

The words tasted like poison on her tongue.

Tony was nowhere near done. The fire just kept on burning. “You’re jealous of Peter? Well, he learned his lesson after I called him out. You didn’t. You did the exact opposite of what I told you. Fucking hell!”

“What are you even talking about?” she asked.

“Daredevil.”

“What?” The name rang in her ears. Her mind instantly went to Matt. It made her wonder just how much he knew.

“Don’t play dumb now,” he bellowed. “I know you’re working with him. You’re following down circumstantial leads that almost got you killed.”

“How would you even know?” 

“I’ve got eyes and ears everywhere, remember?”

“It’s not what it looks like,” she tried to justify herself, but it was essentially all useless. Her secret was out. What terrified her most was the fact that she didn’t care.

“It’s not? Who do you think is keeping the press off your ass right now? It’s only a matter of time before your little secret comes out and then it’s Ross knocking on my door all over again.”

“You didn’t listen to me.” She remained dangerously calm. “So I took matters into my own hands.”

“What do you think you’re doing?” He threw his hands up. “You’re not a vigilante! You were with Pfeiffer when he got shot. What did he tell you? Did he play into your suspicions?”

Eliza cocked an eyebrow. “How do you know I was there?” she asked. The truth itched the back of her brain.

Tony sighed, nostrils flared. “I put a tracker into your SIM card when I got it for you.”

“You did what?”

“In my defense, you tend to get into trouble quite a lot.”

It wasn’t that easily justified. He was monitoring her like a criminal because he didn’t trust her. If her heart hadn’t been broken already, it surely would’ve broken right then and there.

“This only proves my point,” he said. “You could’ve gotten shot over a suspicion! And now Pfeiffer is dead and his blood is on your hands.”

“Don’t you dare,” she ground her teeth. “It was Hydra, you and I both know that. You just don’t want to acknowledge the fact that we failed.”

“You’re paranoid, Eliza. I stand by that. People died because of your inability to stay out of shit that doesn’t concern you-“

“It doesn’t concern me? Tony, they stole my childhood, they experimented on me and tortured me! There’s nothing more of my concern than that stupid organization! This is so much bigger than we thought. You’d know that if you’d just listened.”

“I listened, I didn’t like what I heard so I’m cutting you off,” the statement was final, she saw it in his eyes. But Eliza was done for good. He could do whatever he wanted. She was done.

“You know,” she said, “We used to be such a good team. We swore to eliminate threats. What happened to that?”

“Agendas change,” he stated.

“No, not this time. You just want to control me. I don’t know why, maybe you’re scared or maybe you just don’t have any faith in me. Either way, I’m not gonna stop. We both know that.”

“You’re making a mistake.”

“Am I? Or am I just not following your orders?”

“Not following my orders is a mistake. Trust me. You’re doing the wrong thing, Eliza. You’re chasing the wrong ghosts. If you do this, I can no longer protect you.”

She shrugged. “I’ll take that chance.”

“You don’t understand. If you do this, I’m gonna stop. If you do this, you’re no longer an Avenger.”

“I haven’t been an Avenger since Berlin.”

The emptiness in Eliza’s eyes put a distance of miles between them. Tony was waiting for her to pull back from the edge of the cliff, to run back into his arms. He was waiting for her to make a different decision, one that didn’t entail losing her, but one look into her eyes told him that he was no longer welcome. He wasn’t just losing her, he already had.

“I didn’t ask you to keep the press off my ass,” she said to him. “If Ross wants to arrest me, let him. I’d rather go to jail than sit back and do nothing to save this city. If you decide to do the latter, that’s your choice. It’s not mine. I want to see them burn the way they burned me. If you try and stand in my way, I might just burn you too.”

“Are you threatening me?” Tony asked.

“No,” she smiled, “it’s a promise.” The door handle felt hot instead of cold under her hands this time.

She looked down. The veins underneath her skin were glowing bright red instead of faint blue. In the reflection of the window, she caught a glimpse of her eyes. She was standing knee-deep in her misery and the pain did little to help her stay in control. 

He’s lying to you. She tilted her head.  Her reflection moved towards her. The window turned into a one-way mirror. Smoke started to pool at her feet. The stranger was trapped behind the glass. She pressed her hand against it, eyes switching between Tony at his desk and Eliza, clawing at the door handle. A strange magnetism kept her tied to the metal. 

She tipped her chin. Leave. Her mouth wasn’t moving, so how could she possibly hear her voice, so close yet so far away? 

Don’t look back. 

“If you walk out that door,” Tony said, one last attempt to close the distance between them, “We’re done.”

Eliza pulled. “That’s fine by me.”

“Maybe you should just think this through-“

“I did. I made this decision on my own. Nothing you say or do can change that. I may not be an Avenger anymore, but at least I’m not the one that killed them. You killed the Avengers, Tony. You ruined us. Do with that as you will, but if I were you, I’d rethink the decisions I made.”

She wasn’t sure what came over her.

“Eliza-“

“No, I’m done. Paint me the villain, I don’t care. At least then I know I’ve done it right. Here,” Eliza reached into the pocket of her jeans. The film of pictures weighed heavy in her hands. She hesitated, though the decision was a conscious one. “Good luck cleaning up the mess you made.” She let the snippets fall to the floor. Her face was broken in half, eyes scattered around, all familiar faces that once had been there but were long gone. “I’m not gonna do it for you,” she said. “You can lie in this yourself.”

All the strength Eliza displayed at the compound magically evaporated the second she set foot outside. She didn’t even tell Happy why she was running or where, for that matter. She wasn’t even sure where she was going. All she knew was that she needed to get out; she needed to put not only emotional but also a physical distance between her and Tony and everything else that reminded her of the life before, and just get out of the life she once lived for good. It was over anyway. 

Happy gave her space, he always did. He thought it was because of what Tony said, but the truth was much worse than that. She couldn’t stand being around him. He would do anything for her and that thought was so suffocating, especially after the conversation, that all she wanted was to abandon him completely. It wasn’t for her good, it was for his. She would always push him away, she would always hurt him in some way, and he would always come back, no matter how hard she kicked him.  

Eliza only realized she was running when she came to a halt in front of the memorial established downtown. Their names were engraved golden on the metal plate. The Battle of New York. A silent reminder of the day the sky opened up and aliens invaded the planet. Proof that humans weren’t alone in the universe, after all. 

She’d torn apart the last piece of them she had left to prove a point. It was pathetic. Those were just names on a plate, meaning the world to people. The faces lay scattered on Tony’s office floor. People read the sign and remembered the destruction. No one cared about the faces behind the names, unlike they used to.

They used to be a family. The names on the sign slowly grew into strangers. Eliza felt like everyone else, bystanders watching from the outside. Just names, no faces. Those heroes saved the world once, but that was all they were. The memories of happier times slipped further away. It seemed like she’d watched the time fly by from her little bubble like she hadn’t been part of life back then, only a watcher amid the public eye. 

She’d told Natasha once, “I’m afraid that if I accept this to be true, if I accept this one good thing for myself, that I’m gonna lose it eventually. Because there has never been anything good in my life before and I’m scared. Good things don’t come to people like me, not without a price.“

How right she’d been. Yet she was foolish enough to accept Natasha’s reassurance. “Stark may not be the most promising person, but I think he’s onto something with this group,” she’d said. “You deserve this more than anyone. You deserve to be part of a family. No one’s gonna take that away from you. I can’t speak for the rest, but I, for one, will always be there for you.”

“Always?”

“Always.”

I guess always was a lie, too.

Eliza wiped her nose. “No,” she whined. “Get out of my head!”

The sight must have looked insane. Anyone walking by could have easily mistaken her for a psychotic. 

Why? It’s not like I’m doing anything.

“Then why the fuck are you talking to me?”

I’m… not? 

“Liar.”

Well, to be fair, you kind of brought this upon yourself. The young woman looked like her. Same hair, same body type, same eyes, but there was something eerily different about her too. In every nightmare she had, the demons didn’t have a face. She was tormented by memories and self-deprecating thoughts.

If hell was real, she assumed this was how Satan and all her demons spoke because she hated it and it made her want to die.

Did you really think you could continue lying to yourself?

“Peter, hey,” she spoke as soon as the line of her phone clicked. “How are you?”

“Liz?” the boy’s confused voice sounded from the other end. 

“Hi!”

“Is everything okay?”

She silently wiped the snot from her nose. “Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” she said, and then she laughed. She laughed as if what she’d said was the truth. 

“Oh, you just usually don’t call me unless it’s urgent,” he said. “So I thought something happened. Is it the Avengers? Do we have a mission?”

“Yeah, about that…”

He’s not gonna understand. 

“What?” The school bell rang distinctively in the background. “I actually have class right now, so if it’s not that important and you don’t mind, maybe you could make it quick? Or perhaps call back another time? Not- not that I think what you have to say isn’t important. It always is! It’s just- I’m kind of behind with my grades and stuff and I really want to get into MIT. Spider-Man has really been kicking my ass lately.” He chuckled.

You’re gonna hurt him.

Eliza copied him. “It’s fine. I just- I have something to tell you and all I ask of you is to just listen. Can you do that?” she asked. 

There was a pause. “Okay,” Peter agreed. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m officially done with the Avengers. That’s the truth.”

And you can’t change who you truly are. 

“What-”

“Hear me out. Don’t say anything. Please.”

Don’t fool yourself again.

“O-okay.”

“Truth is, I’m done, Peter. I’m no longer an Avenger and I no longer want to be. Tony said some things… he said and did some things and I just- I quit. I know you look up to him, it’s your thing. You see him as a mentor and I want you to continue doing that, but my time here is over. It was the second Steve got onto that ship, I just didn’t want to acknowledge it. I tried to stay strong, and I tried to keep my faith, but I can’t. You’re too young, you haven’t known them as long as I have – hell, you didn’t know them at all. It’s a good thing, Peter, because that means you’re still innocent. There’s still hope,” she said.

The tears clogged up her throat and it was getting significantly harder to breathe. “I know you wanted us to be friends and I’ll continue being there for you, but it’s time I face the facts. The Avengers are done, at least the way I know them. I should’ve left earlier. It was only a matter of time before this would all escalate. There are some things you can’t be involved with, like the things I’m about to do, the things you’re gonna hear about me… The less you know the better.”

The cabby stopped where she told him to, his head turned patiently, waiting for her payment. She exhaled into the phone. 

“Eliza, you’re scaring me,” Peter’s voice was small. 

“Don’t be,” she told him. “There’s nothing to be scared of. I’m just trying to make amends before it’s too late, that’s all.”

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but it sounds like you need me right now. Maybe I should-”

“Drop my number, Peter. It’s for the best.”

“What, no!”

“I’m sorry.”

The phone cracked between her fingers. Glass scratched the inside of her palm. She watched as the broken device fell to the ground. She stepped on it, once, twice, until it was nothing but flat garbage. The SIM card was broken entirely, and the tracker was disabled and gone for good. Tony didn’t have anything on her anymore. She could go wherever she wanted, do what she wanted and say what she wanted. She didn’t need him and he didn’t need her. It was over. She was free. Though if that had been the truth, she should’ve felt that way, too. She didn’t. Instead, she felt fucking trapped. She felt chained. War was only just beginning. 

Eliza stood alone in the middle of downtown New York. There were no walls around her, not a shield to protect her. People bumped into her on their way down the street. The briefcases of businessmen dressed in black suits hit the back of her knee, making her stumble left to right. They were all so focused on themselves, she was nothing but a mere rock in the way that could be pushed aside. In our most natural habitat, we’re all selfish assholes focused solely on whatever target we’ve set our minds to. 

The voices were so loud, she could hear the conversations overlapping. Her ears were ringing. Emotions swarmed the air like an army of mosquitos. The tornado was heading straight for the village, strong enough to destroy everything in its path. 

Congratulations, Eliza. You just fucked up everything good in your life. 

“We’re a team,” she remembered Steve saying. “Ain’t getting one without the other.”

“I think Steve might be onto something,” Wanda came up to her one night. “I don’t know a lot about working as a team, but you guys make it seem easy. Makes me want to try and be better, you know.”

“You might just be the last straw holding this team together,” Natasha said shortly before they arrived at the UN, a dreaded talk on the plane after the events in Lagos.

“We knew this would happen eventually.” The worst part wasn’t the words coming out of Steve’s mouth, it was the way he said them. He sat in the dark, glass of Scotch in hand, blue eyes endless like the dead sea. “In the end, I don’t think we were meant to be,” he said. “Every great hero falls eventually. I think this is it. This is our fall.”

She begged him to stop, begged him to find another way, but to no avail. You can fill in the blanks on this one.

At the airport in Berlin, she looked at her friends for the last time. She had the choice between helping Steve or staying on Tony’s good side. Back then, she truly believed in him. She promised her loyalty. As she watched her friends get carried away though, her heart screamed, “You made the wrong choice!”

Eliza crossed the corner into an alley just in time. She pressed against the brick wall, the darkness shielding her from the tourists and native New Yorkers crowding the streets. So many people, and so little space. The walls caved in on her. There was so much oxygen in the air and yet not enough to make its way into her lungs the way it was supposed to.

She tore the hoodie over her head. Sweat ran down her spine. Her chest ached and the burning was only getting worse. She tried to breathe - she tried to exhale, inhale, then exhaled again. She tried everything she could think up in her fogged-up brain, but the air tore through her lungs like a flaming fire.

She threw her head back. The stone dug into her skull. Her fingers tingled. Thousand little ants covered her skin. She scratched, she gasped, but the animals fed at her like a cannibal’s teeth. The sea brought its waves higher, water filling her chest, choking on salt. She was trying to stay afloat, but it was getting harder and harder to breathe and the current grew strong enough to pull her down. 

Tony was going to let the press eat her alive, and in tow with the press came Secretary Ross. She only read the first couple of pages of the Accords, but it clearly stated that any kind of mission had to be approved by the government first. Even just the suspicion of risk had to be shared before hunting down leads. No playing the hero without the official ‘go’. Those were the rules. She broke them, clean through. She was playing the vigilante, jumping into the line of fire, using the dark web for answers. She believed Hydra was still out there and she had proof, too. She was obligated to tell Secretary Ross since Tony refused to listen - technically. Technically, she was supposed to be the good girl and wait. Sit down, look pretty. Technically. 

Eliza was never one to accept technicalities. She rather fought for what she believed in instead of following the rules. It was foolish, she knew that. It was stupid, reckless, and lacking common sense. She was aware of all of that and yet when it came to her gut, she knew she could count on it. 

Secretary Ross would arrest her the second he found out. He’d incarcerate her. She didn’t even want to imagine what they’d do to her in prison. Being an Avenger she might as well just walk naked into a lion’s den. 

Hydra was out there. They were more than willing to kill her. While she was hiding in an alley, tucked away from the world, there were people out there getting kidnapped for human experiments. The only thing standing between Hydra and success was Eliza and maybe Daredevil, but she was the bigger threat. 

Eliza loathed herself. She hated her body, hated the mind she was in. None of what she had on her felt like it belonged there. She didn’t deserve the powers, she didn’t deserve the love and care she received. Her existence was trouble, it brought danger to everyone close to her. She was cursed. She knew she was cursed, she had to be. 

You care too much about people - you might just be digging your own grave.

“Hey, lady, you alright?” the homeless man next to the trash container leaned over. She hadn’t realized he was there.

Eliza blinked through the smoke standing up to her ears. “What?” she wasn’t even sure the words came out.

“You look a bit pale. Want some beer?”

She shook her head. “I- I need to get out of here.” Her fight or flight response was damaged, she knew that better than anyone. She needed to get out, she needed to go somewhere safe. Somewhere no one could find her. Somewhere she wouldn’t be recognized.

Sure you do. Run. It’s all you know how to do. Run from the truth, run from who you are. 

She bumped into someone. “Sorry,” she apologized. 

People turned to the disturbed woman running through the masses. She paved the way by elbowing her assailants in the ribs. She ran without destination. She knew New York like the back of her hand, but the many sounds and the people made it hard to focus on the map she had painted up in her head. 

Can’t you see everyone is lying to you? Open your eyes. This is all a lie.

“Stop it! Get out of my head!”

Not gonna happen. Sorry, sweetie. We’re stuck together now. 

“Who are you?” Something high and sharp pierced her eardrum. 

I’m you. The real you.

She couldn’t see five things, only the sun blinding her into oblivion. The white stairs set in stone seemed like enough of a haven. She jumped the steps and through the gigantic doors, not knowing exactly where she was until she smelled the distant scent of candles, rosemary, and roses. Three things she could smell. That was a good start. She closed her eyes and felt the cold of the steel doors, the cool air on her heated skin, and the marble under her boots. The world finally seemed to slow down. The walls put space between them. She breathed. It wasn’t good, but it was better than nothing. 

“Can I help you?” the voice startled her. She reached into the back of her jeans only to realize she wasn’t carrying any weapons. 

Wide eyes looked around. It was no wonder the voice echoed off the walls. She stood in one of the largest rooms she’d ever seen. The windows were painted with colorful pictures -  pictures that told stories almost every child knew. Wooden benches paved the hallway. Marble walls stood high and mighty above them, almost threatening. 

The balding man lifted his arms with a smile. “I come in peace,” he said. 

Eliza took another look around. “I-“ she exhaled. “I’m not supposed to be here.”

“Please, this door is open to anyone. Would you like to sit down for a moment, catch your breath?” 

She hugged her arms around her torso. Her legs did feel kind of wobbly. “Yeah,” she said, “sitting sounds good.” 

She followed him to the closest bench. He took place next to her, but he didn’t speak until she found her sound again.

“I’m sorry, I’ve never been to church before. This is all very new to me.”

“You seem like you’ve been looking for a safe space,” the man said. “There’s no place safer than church.”

“What do I call you? Sir? Or is it Father?” 

He chuckled softly. “I’m Father Paul Lantom, but you may address me however you like. You want to tell me your name?”

“Eliza,” she told him.

“Well, Eliza, what are you running from?”

“I don’t know, life. I gave up everything I once knew, abandoned the people I loved - it was all I had left and I threw it all away. I thought I did the right thing. But now… I think I just made a huge mistake. Oh, God,” she sobbed. “I’m sorry, I probably shouldn’t have said that. Fuck!”

“Do you want to talk about it? I promise I won’t tell. I’m a priest, I’m under the oath of confession, no matter what you tell me.”

She wiped her cheeks. “So you’re like a therapist in a cloak?” 

Father Lantom laughed. “If that’s what you want to call it, sure,” he said. “I can tell you don’t have the best relationship with church. Would you still like to talk?”

“I don’t know. Faith and I aren’t exactly on speaking terms,” she said.

“Religious trauma, I take it?”

“How’d you know?”

“Well, religion is supposed to be comforting. You don’t appear comfortable.”

“I’m not.”

“You don’t have to see this as confession. When you say you struggle with faith, that’s your thing. I won’t talk you into something you don’t want to. God wouldn’t want that. You can just sit here and compose yourself in silence if that’s what you’d like. I’m just going to lend you some company and an open ear, if the need arises, to make sure you’re alright.” 

Eliza frowned. “What does God want, exactly?” she asked. “Why does he let bad things happen to people?”

“God isn’t a person,” the father explained. “He’s a spirit, a deity. He’s a name, not a face. He’s whatever you believe, whatever you want him to be. Some people might see God in their pets, while others simply see him as a voice of guidance. Others don’t acknowledge his presence at all and still believe faith will show them their way. It’s not about God, it’s about what’s in your heart. Despite what a lot of people think, he’s not in control of the world. Things happen, some bad, some good, and some might be even considered a miracle. But he’s not a hero. He’s our hope, our faith, and with these two things you can turn bad things into good ones. For yourself, for others. That’s the thing about religion, about God, about faith – you don’t have to believe in him for him to have your back. Just because you’re an atheist doesn’t mean you’re going to hell. God doesn’t differentiate. We’re all the same in his eyes. Metaphorical eyes, of course.”

She clung to his every word. What once used to be forced on her seemed like a whole different thing now. The faith she used to have was twisted. It wasn’t God she prayed to, it was the face of evil. Hearing father Lantom’s words changed something inside of her; it opened the doors to her heart. She pulled her knee up to her chest. The candles on the altar in the front flickered with the comfortably cold chill. 

“I abandoned my old life to do something I believe in,” she decided to tell him. “Does that make me a bad person?”

“You say you believe in it?”

“Yeah.”

“Is it your purpose?”

“I don’t know, I’m still trying to figure that out.”

“Look inside yourself,” Father Lantom said. “Do you have to do it? Could you do something else and still get the same results? Do you live for it, or do you think about it at night because you can’t get it out of your head? Does it feel right, when you think about it?” 

She answered instantly, “Yes, to all of it.”

“Then it’s your purpose. You made that decision for a reason. You wouldn’t have abandoned your old life to pursue something you only believe half of. Also, if it was so easy to abandon it all, maybe it wasn’t meant to stay that way in the first place. There’s always something waiting for you out there, sometimes it just takes some time for you to find it. It may come in the shape of a task, a purpose, or maybe even a person. And sometimes it’s all of that combined into one.“

“What if I’m not sure yet? What if I still question if I did the right thing?”

“You’re going to find the answer,” he stated. “Sometimes it just takes a while. That is something God can’t do for you. He can only guide you in the right direction.“

“Yeah, but how do I know that?”

“Let me tell you this: when the time comes, you‘ll know. There’s no guide to faith. When you’re on the right path, you’ll know because you’ll feel it deep in your heart.”

Eliza lowered her head. “I never saw it like that,” she admitted.

“Hardly anyone does.” He smiled. “Faith isn’t a task to be accomplished. You have to open your heart to it and when you do, you also have to enjoy it. It has to make you comfortable. If it doesn’t, it may not be the right time for you.”

She thought about it. No pressure, that’s what he was saying. She always thought religion, and going to church, always came with the pressure to dedicate yourself to the cause. She’d always imagined it had to be the way Matt saw God – having blind faith, always. Once in, you can’t pull back out. Just like that. 

This time, Eliza felt comforted. 

“So does God ever send you, I don’t know, signs?” she asked him then. 

“The way you’re asking I assume you’ve been asking yourself this for a while now,” Lantom replied. 

“Yeah, you could say that. A couple of days now, actually.”

“You met someone?”

“Yeah, how did you-“

“I’ve got a lot of people asking me this particular question lately. It’s like a global epidemic has broken out.” Eliza chuckled. He smiled at that. “Everyone’s seeing signs of God everywhere. It sounds crazy, and it probably is too, but I think it’s nice to hear some positive things for a chance. God knows I haven’t been getting much peace.”

“So it is possible?”

“Everything can be a sign, Eliza.”

“It’s like God sent me an Angel,” she blurted out. At this point, the confessions came straight out of the bottle. It wouldn’t stop. “When I first met him, I didn’t think much about it, but the things he makes me feel… no one has ever taken care of me the way he does. He understands me. He came when I needed him most – no, I needed someone and then he was just there and everything made sense. Or well, the things that need to make sense make sense, the rest is just… blegh.” 

“You want to have my advice?”

“Sure, why not.”

“Seems like this is something you should pursue before it slips through your fingers.”

“He’s just so good.”

“Who’s to say you don’t deserve it? Nothing good is ever truly good and nothing bad is ever truly bad. You can’t sabotage yourself just because you think the good things aren’t meant for you.”

“They usually don’t come to me,” she argued. “Or when they do, they break.”

“That’s fear talking. You can’t let that take over.”

“But-“

“Stop making excuses. Someone you speak so highly of seems like someone you should keep around. Maybe he is a sign of God, maybe not. Does it really matter?”

Eliza pursed her lips. “This all just seems so surreal.”

“I know it does.” Father Lantom slowly rose from the bench. She looked up at him. “Think about it,” he said. “And when you need any more guidance, you know where to find me.” 

“Father,” she pulled at his robe, “Thank you,” she said. 

He smiled, patting her hand. “Anytime, Eliza.”

“Would you, uh, mind if I went to the altar and tried to pray?”

“This is a church. Why would I mind?”

His playfulness awoke a feeling of warmth within her. She nodded with a smile, excusing herself and making the long road toward the front. The cross hung high as Jesus lay nailed to it. She knelt, the steps turning colder beneath her knees. 

“You know, when all else fails,” he turned back to her on his way to his chambers, “Talking to God almost always leads to revelations. He listens, even when you think he doesn’t.”

Eliza crossed her chest. She’d seen it in movies, but there was usually a lot more holy water involved. Father Lantom made her believe that there was no wrong way to speak to God. There was no right way to believe. She stared at the altar. How easy it must come to Matt, the times he went to church, the times he went to confession. It was almost like second nature to him. He carried his faith close to his heart, always.

“I don’t know how to pray,” she admitted into the high walls of the church. “But I’ll try because I need something to believe in. I tried to hold on to hope like I was taught. I thought I could do this on my own. God, I was so wrong. I have neither hope nor do I have my life under control,” she said.

Eliza stared up at the angels set into the ceiling. They soared across the sky, watching over her. God isn’t a face. Though as she looked up, she could’ve sworn she saw a silhouette in the clouds. Hidden between the angels and the endless blue, she liked to believe she wasn’t talking to a ghost. 

“I’m kneeling here right now with nothing left to lose,” she said. Her knees ached, but she suffered through it. She suffered in the hope that if she surrendered completely, the sky would provide her with answers. “I have these powers raging through me, powers I don’t even know the full extent of. They’re- they’re changing the way I’m changing, and they’re growing, they’re getting stronger, and I’m so scared of what’s gonna happen next. I’m scared of what’s about to happen to me. It’s different when almost no one believes you. It’s just that everything and everyone’s slipping away from me. I’m scared I might even lose the last good thing in my life before this is all over.” 

She sounded so desperate, so broken. Her cheeks were wet from the tears, lips salty with the taste. She was on her knees, begging, crying out; she felt like a little girl all over again. Submissive, at the edge of the cliff. 

“I’ve been surviving for so long, I forgot what living feels like. No one’s taught me how to. And I can’t live, not like this, not when the fate of the world is on my shoulders. I just need a sign, anything, to know I can win this. That all the pain was worth it. It’s tearing me apart. I don’t know how to hope anymore. I regained some faith in this, in you, and for the first time, I feel like I have a hold on religion. But these people I’m hunting, they’re set out to destroy everything in their path. I can’t keep faith knowing I might just lose everything.”

Her lip quivered, “I can’t lose him, God, I can’t,” she said. “I like to think he came around for a reason, perhaps even a sign from you. He’s led by his faith and his grief, and all he cares about is doing the right thing. He thinks you gave him a purpose. Maybe this is mine. Maybe this is what I was made for, though I haven’t quite figured out what this is. I just know he’s with me and I’d be damned to lose him. 

“I promise to worship at your feet every day from now on if it means we make it out of this alive, that these men get what’s coming for them. I’d do anything for that sliver of happiness. I need to finish this chapter once and for all. If I have to die to ensure everyone’s safety, I will. I’d do just about anything, I swear. Just make sure the people I care about don’t suffer for my mistakes. This is my battle. My sacrifice. No one else deserves to die.” 

“You have so much love left to give,” Natasha’s voice sounded in the back of her head. “Don’t throw that away. Fight for what you want. No matter the cost.”

“I’m willing to pay every price,” Eliza spoke, God as her witness. “I’m done being in pain. I want to believe in you the way Matt does. I do. I need to win. I need this. I’ve sacrificed too much. God,” she cried. “Just this once I am begging for you to listen to me. I know I’ve committed many sins, and I know I’m probably going to hell, but if there’s at least some salvation left for you to give me, I promise I’ll be forever grateful. I’m going straight now. No one deserves to suffer the consequences of my actions but myself.“

You need to learn to take responsibility.

“I’m your disciple,” she swore.

I’ve been struggling with questions of identity as of late.

“Just don’t let me down, please. God, I’m begging you!”

Who am I?

“I need answers. I don’t know if I’ll be able to find them, but I have to try. What I’m about to do, I’m gonna do for a reason. Please, forgive me.”

He listens, even when you think he doesn’t.

She crossed her chest. “Amen.”

In the corner, where the confessional booth had its place, father Lantom watched from the safety of darkness.

“Lord, have mercy on her,” he quietly prayed. “Give her all the strength you have because that girl needs it.”

Eliza rose from the marble stairs. She was fragile, barely an adult. Deep down, she’d missed so much, she just wished to be a child again. She needed to lay in the comforting arms of her parents. All the things she’d lost, she just wanted back. 

Father Lantom copied her, crossing his chest. His face had fallen, a worried crease above his brows. The shadow next to him shifted.

“I hope all that praying was worth it.” He watched her strut the hallway towards the door. “And I hope to God he listened to a word she said or else our boy’s gonna be in a lot of trouble.”

Sunlight fell on the face beside him. Soft features had all crumbled up in worry. She stared up at the father, the crucifix clutched tightly between her thin fingers.

“You think it’s her?” the woman asked.

“Hmm. I could tell the second she stepped in.“

“What should we do?”

“Nothing,” father Lantom stated. “If I learned one thing from listening to his confessions all those years, it’s that Matthew is his father’s son. He doesn’t give up, even when he should.“

“I wish he did,” she sighed. “Just once, I wish he’d stop.”

The metal doors fell shut with a loud bang. Eliza’s steps disappeared onto the streets of Hell’s Kitchen, swallowed by sun-hungry people and the summer air.

Father Lantom gave the nun a gentle smile. “Your son is resilient, Maggie. He never goes down without a fight, and he also never loses. Besides,” he looked over at the empty bench in the back, “I think Matthew finally found a match that doesn’t completely manipulate him.” 

Maggie kissed the cross in her hands. “I just hope you’re right,” she said. 

The last thing she wanted was to lose her son before she even got the chance to explain herself to him.

Matt could hear Eliza's heartbeat from miles away. He picked her up around the area of Clinton Church, but his abilities didn't quite place her in the confines of his favorite place in Hell's Kitchen, neither did he manage to pick up the father's signature voice serenading her and taking away some of the built-up anxiety. By the time he sought her out, she was on the run again, on the way to her apartment and then, sometime later, carefully making her way to the closest taxi cab.

She told the driver to stop two blocks from his apartment building. On her way, she made sure to take extra turns just in case someone was following her. He figured the action was intentional, just something she had gotten used to, and she wasn’t going to stop, especially not in times like these. 

Then, her scent filled his nostrils, followed by the steady thump, thump, thump of her heart. She came in and the world lit up. Her presence brought fresh air into the four walls he called home. Though there was something about the way she acted. Her voice dropped a few octaves, her steps dragging tiredly across the wooden floor. It made him worry. He wondered what happened. Even the last spark he had seen hours before had vanished completely, lost somewhere on the dirty streets outside. 

Foggy had poked around, asking him all kinds of questions about the night before after he quickly showed his face in the office. He asked about Eliza and if he could get her number to check on her, just to see if she had gotten home alright. Even Karen worried. Any normal person would be after the events that took place at the party. The worst part was that Matt had to make them believe that everything turned out alright. 

“I walked her home,” he lied. “She’s… what can be expected. Stark really got to her but I, uh, figured it out. She’s okay.”

“Man, that sucks,” Foggy pouted at him. “I thought he was the good guy.”

Karen only laughed sarcastically at his words. “Won’t make that mistake again, will you, Foggy?”

“No. No, I guess I won’t. I’m sorry. Tell her that.”

Matt wasn’t planning on it. 

“Don’t you have a front door?” Eliza asked from the staircase that lead from the rooftop to his apartment. “I mean, when you said ‘backdoor’, I imagined a ground-floor apartment, not this.” She gestured to the controversial entrance. 

“I thought it would be better if no one saw you coming,” he said. 

She hummed. No smart remark, not a single joke, nothing. The wood creaked underneath her boots. He tilted his head to listen closer. He analyzed the way she inhaled, slightly quivering with every second drag, and her voice was significantly more hoarse. 

She placed what he suspected to be a duffel bag on the leather couch. “I made sure no one was following me,” she stated, concerning his earlier words, no doubt. 

“Yeah, I heard.” He felt stupid just standing there, but he didn’t know what else to do. 

“So you’re stalking me now?” What was meant as a joke sounded way more serious. 

“What if I were?” he asked. 

“I’d be offended, but given the circumstances, I’d forgive you.” 

Matt chuckled. He moved over to the kitchen, his steps methodical, knowing exactly where he needed to go, yet his arms stretched further from his body in case something might end up in his path. 

“You want anything?” 

Eliza looked over at him. “Sorry, what?” she said. 

“You want anything?” he repeated his question patiently. He opened the fridge, his bicep straining against the white dress shirt that hung clad to his torso. He had long discarded the suit jacket and the sleeves were rolled up. “I’ve got beer, wine, and water. That’s about it. I, uh, don’t keep many groceries here. I have some leftovers from the Thai place around the corner. Oh, and there’s an apple. It’s all that’s left from the gift basket I got from our last client.”

She chuckled. The truth was, her heart hurt. Not just her head but her soul. The new environment made her feel exposed. At least at the church, she had found solace. Under Matt’s gaze which wasn’t even a gaze, to begin with, but an even closer observation of her behavior, she felt naked. She felt vulnerable. He saw right through her, still trying to cover it up to allow her some modesty, but goddamnit, she knew that he knew something wasn’t quite right. He could probably smell the holy water on her. He could smell the sweat of anxiety, the dried tears, and the blood from gnawing on her lip too much. She wanted to run, though she decided against it since he would’ve found her sooner or later anyway. She couldn’t hide from Daredevil, not anymore. 

“Have you eaten yet?” he asked. “You sound exhausted.”

“I’m fine,” Eliza intercepted. 

He fiddled with the fridge’s door handle. “Are you sure?”

“I’m fine, really,” she said. 

“Hm.” She was lying to him. 

Against her claims, he handed her a glass of tap water. His nod motioned for her to drink. A silent demand. She lowered her head. It worked. She took a small sip, keeping her eyes on him as he brushed past her, hand ghosting against her lower arm. He didn’t have to speak for her to know. 

Once again, she looked around the apartment. The sun was slowly coming down, darkening most of the apartment and if it hadn’t been for the gigantic billboard across the building, she would’ve been wandering in the dark. 

The billboard would’ve been quite a nuisance to a seeing person. There couldn’t be many people who would volunteer to take such an apartment for longer periods unless they were, like Matt, blind. He probably found the soft buzzing at night comforting. 

Eliza felt drawn to the different pictures flashing across the screen. She walked up to the window to take a peek outside. The glass was slightly milky in its natural state, slightly discolored too, but that’s what interested her in the first place. The architecture of the place fascinated her. It suited Matt, although it was nothing like what she had expected. 

She wiped at the window, removing some of the fog caused by the sudden change of temperature inside. Matt liked his apartment cold, she realized. The windows couldn’t keep up with the presence of two people without condensation starting to prickle at the edges. 

The billboard showed a commercial for an insurance company. Ridiculous, she thought. He probably didn’t even know about the kinds of pictures that flashed across his windows every night. Insurance companies, condoms, groceries, and from time to time, tv show announcements. Not that he would even care about the show that was put on in front of his apartment. It was new to her, all of this. He had a different perception of things. What she found annoying, he enjoyed. What he hated, she considered normal. She couldn’t see herself falling asleep to condom advertisements, but the colors were nice, so maybe it wasn’t all too bad even for a sighted person after all. 

Matt chuckled behind her. “Say it,” he said. 

“Say what?” she asked. 

“You think it’s annoying.”

“What?”

“The billboard.”

“Well, this place is a shithole.” She shrugged, “but I don’t know, I think it’s a nice shithole.”

His chuckle transcended into laughter. “Yeah,” he grinned into his glass, “Sounds about right.”

“Rent’s probably through the roof, right?”

“Oh, yeah. I got a discount because of the Billboard since no one else would take it, but it’s still a lot. Especially for someone who doesn’t even make money.”

“Expensive shithole then,” she said. 

He nodded. “Expensive shithole.”

The apartment's location was unfortunate, but the room itself wasn’t all that awful. Eliza stopped at the small wooden desk that stood in front of what appeared like a supply closet. Files were scattered around, a braille printer to one side and a laptop to the other. She traced her fingers over the rough wood, feeling the dots on the papers. She wished she could read Braille, but it seemed like a hard task to learn. 

“Thank you for inviting me over,” she said.

“Sure, yeah,” he said. “How was your, uh, meeting with Stark?”

Eliza stiffened.

“You know what, forget it.” He placed his hands on his hips. “I shouldn’t have asked. It’s none of my business.”

She didn’t wait. “I quit.” Her nails dug into the paper. “I tore up our family picture and then I left.”

“What?”

“I left. I just… left.”

“Well, that’s- are you alright?”

“He knows about us, Matt!” The words came in a single breath.

“What?” he asked. 

“Not about you, about Daredevil.” she had to clarify. “He knows we’ve been working together,” Eliza said. “He’s known ever since our second night together. The press caught wind of it. He said he was the only one between the news and Secretary Ross. If he found out-”

“You’d go to jail,” Matt stated. She nodded weakly.  “Fuck! How did they- what is Stark gonna do now? He has to have a plan, right? He won’t just tell everyone. That’s not like him. Tell me that’s not like him.” 

She couldn’t do that. She wasn’t sure if it was like him. In the past? Definitely not. After what she experienced in the past couple of days? Who knew? 

“He said if I walked out that door, he wouldn’t protect me anymore.”

“God…Tell me you didn’t just walk out. At least not without negotiating a deal first.”

“I walked out.”

“Damn it, Eliza!” 

“I don’t care!” her voice cracked. “I don’t care, okay? Ross can arrest me, I don’t fucking care! I realize that now. I don’t care, even if it lands me in jail. The Accords are stupid rules. Why should I have to live by them anymore?” she said. “The Avengers are toast anyway. It’s not like I’m hurting anyone who doesn’t deserve it. I’m not making entire cities float. I’m simply fighting a fight no one else wants to. If that means breaking the rules, so be it.”

He began to pace the room. “This can’t be happening…” One of his hands got tangled in the mess of brown locks on his head. 

“It’s not about him. It’s not about me. This is about doing the right thing. You taught me that!” 

Matt turned around. “Do you even realize how much danger you are in?!” It was the first time he yelled at her and he regretted it the second the sound had finished bouncing his way across the apartment, and it slapped her right across the face. 

Eliza swallowed hard. “I-” she blew air through her nose. “I’m sorry.”

“No,” he cooed softly. He took a few steps closer. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

“No, don’t touch me!” She shied away. Her armor faltered. The leather of the couch welcomed her with open arms. Teardrops pearled off the fabric, leaving even darker spots where the liquid slipped from her skin. 

He wanted to punch himself. “I’m so sorry.” He slowly fell to one knee next to the armrest. “I didn’t mean it. I’m not angry at you,” he assured her, but his words meant nothing. She was scared. 

Once again, she backed away until her thigh hit her duffel bag and she had to stop in the middle of the couch so as not to throw her belongings on the ground. Her hand remained in the air, a silent warning. He didn’t move, he remained on the floor, even though his knees hurt from the wood and he could feel his stitches barely holding on for dear life. He didn’t care though. This was his fault. 

She lowered her head. “I didn’t sign up for this,” she whispered. “I didn’t sign up for any of this.”

“I know you didn’t. The reason I yelled-“ he sighed, “The reason I yelled was not that I’m angry at you. It’s not your fault. I just don’t want you to get arrested. They’d put you into special containment. They would lock you up for good,” he explained. “From what I’ve heard, enhanced individuals are considered flight risks to the government, so if you were to get arrested, they could easily use that to their advantage. I can’t let that happen.”

Eliza nodded quietly. 

“I was wrong to raise my voice. I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she whispered.

“You sure?”

“Yeah.” 

“Okay, I’m sorry. I- I just don’t want you to get arrested because of me,” he said. 

“But it wouldn’t be because of you.”

“No, it would be. You know why?”

“No ‘cause I’m not a lawyer,” she told him.

He hung his head, chuckling. “In the eyes of the law, Daredevil is a criminal. I read the Accords after we met. I wanted to know how far you’re allowed to go. You know they don’t just apply to you as a group?” 

She shrugged. Her fingers fiddled with the necklace around her neck. She had forgotten it was still there. A nervous tick he had picked up on when he first met her at the police station, out of his costume. 

“You know.” He nodded slowly. “I figured. You read them.”

“The first few pages,” she said. 

“Not all of it?”

“No, it bored me.”

He shook his head.

“What I read though, I remember. I remember every word.”

“Alright. Well, the Accords state that you’re not allowed to work on missions without the government’s consent,” he said. “You cannot take any cases that haven’t been checked out by either the Secretary or his committee, and when they say you have to pull out, you have to comply. You’re a dog on a leash. Or, the Avengers are. Since you signed them, you are legally obligated to follow the Accords. If you break them, you’re automatically breaking the law. You’ll become a felon, there will be court proceedings, and then, depending on the extent of the crime, you could go to jail.”

“You did your research, huh?”

“It’s not just a rule book,” he insisted. “The Accords are the law now.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Eliza snapped at him. 

“I know you do.”

“Then why are you trying to make me feel bad?”

“I’m not! I’m trying to tell you that the rules that apply to the Avengers as a group apply to you as well. You each have to follow the rules, even outside of working together. And you know why? Because you’re not the ordinary human population. The government doesn’t want you guys allowed to roam freely.”

“If I do anyway, I’ll go to jail. Yes, I’m aware. Hey,” she asked, “where are you going with this?”

“This whole thing is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode! These people can prove you’re working with me, that we were with Pfeiffer that night… They have the means to destroy you. Because of me, you’re in danger. That is where I’m going with this.”

“Oh, not this again.”

“You know, perhaps it’s better if we part ways. Spend some time apart until all of this has calmed down.”

“I made my choice!” Eliza cried. “This decision is entirely on me. My life, my rules. I take responsibility for what I did, and for what I’m about to do. This has nothing to do with you. You want to save this city? So do I.”

His breath came in hot, labored puffs of air. 

“It’s not just some personal agenda that drives me, I actually care about the people! Don’t make this about you, Matt, not right now.”

“I’m not making this about me!” he argued. “I’m just trying to take care of you. I can’t do that if you’re in the crosshairs.”

“I’ve been in the crosshairs from the beginning. I grew up with several targets on my back. Even the law has known me for as long as I can remember.”

“What if I can’t protect you anymore, what then?”

“Then I’ll die!”

“I don’t want you to die!” He was yelling without even raising his voice, something she had done the night of the party after she found out who he truly was. They weren’t so much different after all. 

Eliza wiped her cheeks. There weren’t any tears. She wasn’t crying, she doubted she had any tears left to shed, but she wanted to. The feeling burned in the back of her throat. 

“We’ve still got time,” she said. 

“Time? We’re running against time, Eliza! I may not be able to read the clock, but I know when a timer is running out.”

“I just have to be careful! We’re in this together now, Matt. We were the second you jumped into that Butcher shop to save my ass. Your desperate need to push me away just to protect me can’t control you. I’m not going anywhere. You gotta deal with that or else we’re gonna have a problem.”

“No, you’re gonna have a problem because you’re the one whose life is in danger and whose freedom is being jeopardized just by being with me. This- this isn’t a joke. This is your life you’re gambling with, you realize that, right?”

“I’m trying to tell you that I don’t want you to leave me!” she cried out. “Don’t you get that? I don’t want you to go.”

Matt’s eyes softened. “What?” he said. 

Her bottom lip tangled with her teeth in a desperate attempt to stop it from quivering. Like her entire body though, she kept shaking. It was deadly quiet when she spoke again, and her voice paid the price, “You’re all I have left.” 

He rose from the floor, situating himself on the couch next to her. She curled in on herself, too scared to even look at him. He reached his hand out. “Eliza-”

“You promised you’d be there for me,” she said. “That’s what I need you to do. To be there.”

“I’m not leaving,” he breathed. 

“Are you sure because you seemed pretty convinced just now?”

“No.” He reached for her. This time, she let him. He tugged at her arm, gently at first, though when she didn’t get the hint, he hooked his arm around hers and pulled her towards him. She fell into his open arms only hesitantly. “I just don’t want to watch you die, okay?” he admitted. “And I don’t want them to take you away.”

“Maybe you can take me away,” she muttered. Her hand began to claw at his chest, her lifeline. 

He chuckled breathlessly. “And where would I take you?”

“When this is all over, I mean. I heard Hawaii could be nice.”

“I’ve never been north of 116th street.”

“The more reason for us to change our identities and travel to Hawaii.”

“Sweetheart,” he said, “When this is all over, I will take you anywhere you want.”

They sat like this until the earth finished turning and the sun disappeared. Soft moonlight mixed with the ads crossing the billboard screen. His heart beat steady. She used the sound to come back to her body.

“The world feels so surreal,” she spoke into the comfortable silence. “Like I’m detached from its axis and I’m just spinning there like a broken record, lost alone in the vastness of space.”

She inhaled his cologne. Hints of sweat and rain, and sandalwood on his skin. He was so warm, a human blanket draped over her, almost like a shield from all the evil in this world. His grip tightened around her shoulders; she allowed herself to fall further into the embrace. She allowed herself to drown in his touch. 

“It’s like I’m bacteria floating around in an organism, but that bacteria doesn’t have a name yet. I’m just… there. No one knows who I am or what purpose I serve, but what’s for sure is that I’m meant to cause damage.”

“You’re not bacteria,” Matt told her.

“But what if I am? What if I’m the virus? This story seems to depend on my talent to destroy things. Everything’s just gotten worse because of me. Because I got involved.“

“They would’ve found another way to cause damage.”

“If I hadn’t gotten involved, this could’ve been solved without having people die for it,” she said and pushed away from him. His arm caged her, she needed to get out. Matt continued to keep his hands on her. He let her bring space between them, but as she tried to flee, he pulled her back gently so she was facing him. 

He didn’t need sight to see that she was burning red. The temperature of her skin mixed with the jitters told him enough to conclude.

“Hey,” he said, “you’re the one who broke this case wide open.”

“I don’t- what if that’s not true?” Eliza sniffled. “What if, in some twisted way, I’m the reason Hydra is doing this? You heard Pfeiffer, they’re trying to make more super soldiers, stronger than ever before,” she said. “They learned from Project Chaos, they saw what Strucker managed to achieve with the Maximoff twins. What if – just, what if – they’re doing this because we survived, and now they’re trying to combine the elements to make something far, far worse than what Wanda and I turned out to be.” 

“Yeah, but what if scenarios are just speculation? It’s not real, at least not until it’s proven. What we need to focus on are facts. Plain and simple. Facts are what make cases. That’s our start-of point. Asking yourself what if will only hurt you more. Believe me, I know.”

“What am I supposed to do then?” 

“Trust me,” he begged. “That’s all I ask of you.”

Eliza tasted the words on her tongue. She wiped the tears away, though the sticky feeling of dried salt on her cheeks remained heavy. She leaned down slowly, her forehead pressed against Matt’s chest. His hand went around her neck, holding her there. The other rubbed comfortingly up and down her back.

“What does that even mean?” the sound was muffled through the fabric. “I mean, what are we?“ she asked. 

Matt ran his thumb along her pulse point. “I’m just as confused as you are,” he admitted. He felt her pulse jump directly behind the skin. 

She hummed. “I wish we would’ve met before. You know, before everyone convinced us that life is war.” 

He pulled her closer. His chuckle blew through the tiny hairs standing off her scalp. “No one has proved us different,” he said. “Life is war, we were just taught to always fight on the front lines, no matter what happens. We were taught that being soldiers is the default for people like us. And now… now we can’t live without it.”

“We were just kids.”

“We didn’t know any better.”

“Yeah… we still don’t.”

“No,” he smiled, “we don’t.”

Somewhere in the distance, church bells rang out. Reality crept through the cracks in the floorboards and polluted them with its negative energy.

Eliza sat up again. This time, she reached for her duffel bag. “We gotta follow down that lead,” she stated, and so the mask went back on. 

The softness of Matt’s features was etched in seriousness. He began to peel the tie off around his throat. It was a fascinating transition. The caring man she knew as Matt Murdock turned within a matter of a few seconds and there he sat Daredevil. He didn’t have to put on the suit, his attitude spoke for itself. There was just something about him, something that enthralled her, even as he turned into a cold piece of stone. She knew there was a broken, gooey nucleus inside – the man he presented on the outside was just an act. He kept the real Matt Murdock under locks, tucked neatly away where no one could find him. 

Eliza should’ve felt honored to have him be so vulnerable around her. Yet, she believed there was still plenty to learn about him and this complicated piece of a soul he harbored inside.

“What do you have there?” he asked.

“My suit.” She opened the zipper. “Not the one Tony gave me. It’s my old SHIELD uniform. I asked to keep it before I joined the Avengers. Also,” - the cell phone fell into her hands -“I got a new phone. Tony used mine to track me.”

“So you just keep an arsenal of phones around you?”

“Yeah, why? You don’t?”

“I don’t think that’s something normal people do.”

“I’m not normal,” she stated plainly. “In this line of work, you better come prepared. I have a lot more where this comes from. I could fake my death and no one would know if I wanted to.” Eliza got up. She asked, “Where’s your bathroom?”

Matt pointed in the direction he memorized.

“Thanks.”

Her footsteps disappeared. The door fell shut. She turned the lock twice, making sure it was secure, only then did he hear the shuffling of clothes on the floor. He chose not to invade her privacy. Instead, he made his way into the bedroom. He took the suit draped over the sofa and changed into it with precision. The door stayed open, just in case Eliza came around. He didn’t care if she saw him undressed – hell, he was as open as one could be. Some part of him wanted her to, some perverted part he didn’t want to listen to. Not that he expected an attempt on her life in his apartment, considering no one knew she was there, but he could never be too careful. 

His stitches pulled hard. The leather didn’t do much to protect his wounds. He groaned, some sounded louder than he planned to. He was in so much pain, every inch of his body sore, and all he craved was a good night’s sleep. But he couldn’t think about that. There was no time to rest, he told himself. Not until the worst was over.

“You okay?” Eliza stood in the doorway.

Matt struggled with the belt. “Yeah, fine,” he said curtly. His shoulder burned - the one part that wasn’t injured was giving him the most trouble. 

“Need any help with that?”

He sighed in relief, nodding. She helped him get the rest of his body tucked into the suit. The leather sat securely around his waist and everywhere else where it needed to; he couldn’t have done it better.

She peaked up at him and he tried his best to reciprocate the action. Judging by her smile, he missed her eyes by miles once again. He chuckled. “Guess I’m getting old,” he said. 

“How so?” she questioned. 

“My back is killing me.”

“You are, indeed, an old man,” she swatted some dust off his shoulders, “but that’s okay.” 

He pinched her side. “Careful. This old man can still kick your ass.”

“Oh. Do I need to have the nursery home on the line?” She spread her thumb and middle finger to the sides, mimicking a phone. “Shall I tell them to book you a single or double room, grandpa?”

The baton flew in her direction. Right before it could hit her in the face, her hand shot up to catch the piece of metal. She switched between him and his weapon, not sure whether to be impressed or annoyed. 

“Fuck off!” he said. 

She smirked. “I’m getting you back for that.”

Though once the baton was back in the air, his arm was already extended to catch it mid-air, his height offering an opportunity he didn’t miss.

Eliza remembered their first meeting. The way he flipped the sticks of metal expertly, almost like what he was doing right there, in front of her, smug and knowing damn well what he was doing. “Show off,” she said. 

Like on the first day, he forced one of the batons into her hand. “Try not to kill anyone,” he retorted.

 She saw an opportunity too and she surely didn’t want to miss it. “No promises.” 

[moonlightdancer26]

What are some tropes (not hp tropes) that you HATE?

Oh boy *cracks knuckles* I have a lot.

Aight, let’s get to work:

A character misunderstanding or only hears a part of it then gets mad and doesn’t let the other person explain (this pisses me off so much)

Miscommunication (LIKE BITCH TELL THEM WHAT’S BOTHERING YOU, YOU COWARD. IT AIN’T THAT HARD), like it’s so lazy and is only there to create drama

Main hero getting with the main heroine. It feels so forced and most of the times they’re so much better as friends. Like damn platonic relationships exist too.

Little miss prefect gets with the popular jock and the author portrays it as ‘‘power couple material’’

Fake dating (I hate this trope so fucking much)

Finding your lost long family (or family member). Just… no.

Everyone is a good guy in the end (like no stop ruining my evil faves)

No one dies and they all live happily ever after (JUST NO. I WANT PEOPLE TO DIE AND SUFFER 👹)

Forced marriage trope (ew)

Pregnancy trope (unless it’s at the end of the story). It completely ruins the ENTIRE story for me, not even joking.

The villain saying shit like ‘‘if you kill me you’re no better/different’‘ like no there’s a clear difference. Go jump off a cliff, you wank stain.

Old friend suddenly disappearing during the main character’s childhood, and after like 10 years (or more) they come back and the main character falls in love.

The main character is the new girl and there’s a ✨mysterious bad boy✨ whom everyone fears—despite the fact that most of the times the ‘‘bad boy’’ is cringey af and is a try-hard—and the main character changes him. Get this cliche ass bullshit away from my face.

Badass feminist tomboy who has like 1000000 older brothers who flip flops her long ass hair like some fucking horse and expects it to be attractive whose horrible deeds gets brushed off. Or worse, when the girl points out bad things other characters did (in which the circumstances are 100% different) and victimises herself. This might just be my least favourite trope.

The guy leaves the girl cause it’s ‘‘what’s best for her’’ like dude she can take care of herself, thank you very much.

When someone’s possessive and jealous to the point of actual stalking and obsession and it’s portrayed as romantic

Love triangles (though sometimes it can be good). Like ffs polyships exist.

When the main character is stuck between two brothers which consist of one really nice guy who treats her with nothing but respect and of one really shitty dude who bullies and harasses her because ‘‘i liked you and didn’t know how to deal with it’’ (like dude stfu) and both brothers are drop dead gorgeous and the girl is supposed to be average and “relatable uwu.” [Ok this is oddly specific..]

Stockholm syndrome. pls no-

There’s a million more but I’ll shut up. I’ve been called picky but I don’t think I am, I think these are pretty normal tropes to hate (correct me if I’m wrong).