#god these stans are the most infuriating in the whole world

[myguy352forthefuture]

how are people already turning on phil and tommy just cause they havent responded right away to what wilbur did. these fucking dumb ass stans are really the most insufferable dipshits in the world and honestly need to be slapped in the face and told to shut the fuck up and let the two of them process what happened

[cantgetworsethanthistbh]

dumping more of my stancest feels here because i cannot NOT think of them. i read journal 3 for the first time this week and its great because Ford acts like stanley's biggest hater which is pretty fking funny (if not absolutely infuriating at times because omfg stfu you smug prick)

but the moments like this get to me

Ford being blinded by his quest of grandeur, accolades and praise for world changing discoveries, so obsessed with greatness, being the first name people remember, and all the other things his npd-isms tells him he wants.

And then there's "reminds me of camping with my brother. i wonder what he's up to..."

i mentioned in my previous post that stan acts quite a lot like the anchor to ford's boat, keeping him grounded and most importantly, safe from both the bitter and the sweet kinds of evils. but he also represents something so much simpler to ford too: the simple desires he represses so much because its not "good enough" for someone special like him.

he resents stan so much because he represents a "block" against that percieved good enough success he wants, the obstacle that made it impossible to get in a fancy college, become the world renowed researcher, the one who wanted to destroy his journal's and lifes work (even though it was the better, safer option if Bill really WAS that dangerous, which he was) that could still make him famous. because if ford's not "praised and weird" then he's just "weird" and being "weird" was nothing but a pain his whole life that kept him rejected and isolated from the masses. and stan prevented him from that.

(btw "maybe he can prove himself to me" is nasty work my god ford is a douche lmao)

a lot of his projections of something greater comes through with how he treated dipper in the show (his whole spiel in damvtf) and fiddleford in journal 3 where he looks down on the happy life that fiddleford had with his wife and child and saying he was "wasting his talents" making computers. and like, we all know by the way he takes them on high stakes adventures they're not as prepared for compared to him (and end up causing more trouble than not by doing so), he's trying to fill a gaping hole left by someone else. we all know this obviously, we all know what we ship here, but what i came to appreciate the most about it is how much that gaping hole exists in the low stakes

everytime ford is thinking during the "down time" moments, his thoughts always drift back to his childhood, and one person who represents it.

childhood memories, making fun of stans favorite snack, scribbling out a design of the stan o war, whenever Ford lets his mind wander it expresses such an intense yearning for the past before he became obsessed with wanting something more. these are his most utmost and most unfiltered thoughts, which is why he scribles them away or and writes in code. and the fact that he directly says they are about NOT getting married, followed with "wondering what he's doing right now", painting the picture of what his most ideal idylic life is. wanting a return of something lost. wanting Stan back more than anything.

he finally accepts that his dream never really changed, just the same as stan's and so they saild off together for the rest of their days, in ford's own words (which ironically sounds like a marriage to me either way so tough shit ford)

[ladyfeldspar]

21x02: Put It Down

I've wanted to do a watch/writeup of this episode for a while now. Tweek has been my favorite character since Gnomes aired, when I was still in elementary school and secretly watching South Park with my dad at night. Craig, while I enjoyed him as a character before, absolutely won my heart in the Pandemics and gets third favorite. (My second favorite is Clyde but that doesn't matter right now.)

And when I got into SP fanfiction, and discovered that Creek was a thing, I hopped right on that train and have never looked back. Tweek x Craig made my life when I first saw it and this episode... Well, you'll see.

Disclaimer: I have A LOT of feelings about this episode. Sorry not sorry about how long this is.

"...a performance by one of our students who has written a song..." Raise your hand if the first time you watched, you also figured it was Cartman, the most musical one of the kids.

Raise your other hand if you also got unreasonably excited when it was Tweek.

Tweek "playing" piano is both exactly what I would have expected, and nothing at all what I expected.

I really, really just want to give this poor kid a hug, Jesus Christ.

Everyone just looks so shocked, but I feel like Kyle and Stan might actually care?

"He's your boyfriend, dude." Ugh, my HEART. They are legit and adorable and that's not the last time I'm going to say that.

Shut up, Cartman. I mean it's great you don't care if someone's gay or straight or whatever but shut the hell up.

Tweek being scared of his locker slamming, oh my gosh.

Okay. Jesus Christ. This. We've known Craig for almost 21 seasons at this point and he has been incredibly well-established as not caring about a whole hell of a lot. So when he comes up to Tweek actively trying to help him and chill him out it melts my icy heart SO MUCH more than a cool island song ever could.

I generally hate the terms "babe" and "honey" (I'm honestly just not one for pet names) but Craig calling Tweek those things is fucking adorable.

Side thought: I want another episode just about the two of them, and I want Tweek to be wearing Craig's hat.

"Cuuupcaaaaakes!?" Kills me every time.

Heidi is too sweet for Cartman.

Stan you're such a douche but I love you anyway.

Tweek's cupcakes are frosted 1000% better than mine ever are.

But his kitchen looks just like mine after a day of baking.

Fuck you Garrison for ruining Tweek's happy little moment. He deserves all the happiness in the world.

Craig just calmly walking into the kitchen, like, was he there the whole time? Just hanging out letting Tweek do what he had to do and destroy the kitchen? More proof that they're legit - find me anyone else that Craig has supported this much.

Like he went out and bought Tweek a fidget spinner how fucking cute is that?!

Okay. "Go ahead and bomb us, Kim Jong Dong," also makes me laugh for like twenty minutes.

Why is this song so catchy?! Why are Cartman's songs always so fucking catchy?? Like Minorities which I constantly have to stop myself from absentmindedly singing in public.

Logic!Cartman is remarkably inclusive.

Mic drop.

Poor Tweek, like Jesus, his dad is infuriating and so stupid. Not Randy level stupid but like, quit shoving a fidget spinner in your kid's face and actually talk to him for Christ's sake.

But I mean, this is also the parent who pointed a gun at Tweek's head while teaching him how to avoid being abducted, so I don't know what I expect of him honestly.

That poor kid getting run over. And yet it's that part of the story that pushes this episode into feeling like a older episode and is half the reason I love it so much. There's a really good point to be made, but the constant killing of kids by distracted drivers gives it the fucked up South Park edge.

I love PC Principal in this episode too, and how he just doesn't really care what the hell Cartman wants.

Open door, turn on light, close door. "Waaaaaagghhhh!" "Hey, Tweek."

You have to wonder how often this has happened. And AGAIN, more proof that Craig really legitimately cares about Tweek. Imagine if anyone else woke Craig up like this. I really don't think he'd be so calm.

But it's Tweek, so he just yawns and deals with it because that's what you do when you care about someone.

Also, Craig sleeps with his hat on and that's adorable.

I love how they edited Tweek's picture into real photos.

I feel so bad for Craig here. And through most of the episode actually. He's doing all he knows to do, because this is the kind of stuff that helps him. He's really trying, and Tweek's just wired differently.

And he has a stuffed astronaut monkey, because long live Spaceman Craig.

Again, shut up Cartman.

He brought him to an AMUSEMENT PARK, Craig has pink cotton candy, and they're holding hands. It's this kind of stuff that makes my brain explode from cuteness.

"THE FERRIS WHEEL!!!"

Of all Tweek's twitch noises, I for some reason find the, "rrrrgh" he does on the Ferris Wheel one of the cutest ones.

This fight breaks my heart a little because again, Craig is trying. He has put so much effort into doing his best to help Tweek and finally, finally gets frustrated. It shows how much patience he has for Tweek that it took him so long to get to this point.

I just want to hug them both during this fight. God knows they need it. It's just such a realistic argument, ugh.

And then this moment. This moment where everything clicks, both for us (the parallels of Logic!Cartman/logical Craig vs emotional kids needing to grieve/emotional Tweek needing to freak out) and for Craig, who finally realizes that everyone handles stress differently and you have to adapt to their coping mechanisms to be able to help them. And as soon as he puts that together, he's off to go find Tweek because he's worth it to him. And my heart melts again.

And he does so well, too, despite being completely out of his element. Their little smiles after Tweek calms down, Jesus Christ.

This song. THIS SONG. I don't know what it is about this song but it just hits me SO hard every time. Tweek actually being able to play the piano beautifully (I will argue that it's because Craig is there with him and that makes Tweek feel so much better), CRAIG SINGING even though he clearly isn't the most comfortable with it and is obviously doing it for Tweek (ANOTHER point of proof for the realness of their relationship), the chorus, the Cartman rap (!!!!), the memorial of distracted driving victims (Kenny)...

And this moment, right here. When it goes back to the two of them there, and the spotlight focuses on them and they smile at each other, just oh my gosh. I get really weepy almost every time I watch this. They're adorable. They support each other. They're willing to grow and adapt for each other. They have a real connection with each other. They're happy together. Like look at Craig's smile. How can you not love that?!

Thanks for reading my rambling disjointed nonsense. This episode is always going to be one of my favorites. Tweek and Craig forever. The end. 💜

[dailylogyn]

Logyn Meta: Loki & Sigyn’s relationship in the Marvel Comics

Photo Source (by Sexy-Salmon): https://lokisergi.tumblr.com/post/70164902295/siege-loki-problems-it-almost-looks-innocent

Other Logyn Meta’s: https://dailylogyn.tumblr.com/tagged/logyn-meta

Did you know Sigyn was in the Marvel Comics long ago? Did you know Loki had a wife? 

Oh...that’s probably because Marvel wanted you to forget their terrible writing mistakes concerning this great Norse Couple. 

Let’s dive into this exploration of history where the Marvel writers realized they fucked up on telling a perfectly good couples story, and in the process, setting off a spark of rebellion that caused some retconning and a group of fans to demand justice for both Loki & Sigyn -- not just as a couple, but as their own individual beings. 

#JusticeforSigyn #JusticeforLoki #JusticeforLogyn

Where it First Began (Meeting & Marriage of Lies):

In September of 1978, Thor #275 came out featuring the first appearance of Sigyn, Loki’s wife from Norse Mythology. She was introduced as a beautiful Asgardian Loki had randomly come across while looking into a crystal ball inside his castle, wanting to find some companionship to fill his loneliness. 

However, when Loki came with riches and jewels to offer her in exchange for her hand in marriage, Sigyn outright rejected him, stating she would never take someone as vile as him, even stating she was already engaged to an Asgardian Warrior part of Odin’s guard -- Theoric. 

Unable to accept this, Loki came up with a plan to have her fiancee killed during a mission, resulting in the Trickster taking on the disguise of Theoric in order to take Sigyn for his own. Despite having slightly suspicions of her lover being more romantic than before, Sigyn didn't notice that her lover wasn’t exactly who she thought he was.

Now comes the day of the wedding as Odin marries the happy couple. This was when Loki finally revealed his true self and what he had done. Odin tried to null the marriage, but it was against Asgardian law for even the High Father to do such a thing. Hence, Sigyn accepted her fate as Loki’s wife. This caused Odin to name her the Goddess of Fidelity. 

Where it’s Heading (Cargo of Incantation-Fetter’s Arms):

Loki being Loki, he did some shit that ended up with him being imprisoned in a tree by Odin, something that infuriated Sigyn, resulting in her trying to take control over Donald Blake to use over the All-Father as a way to free her husband from his punishment. However, it didn’t work out, resulting in a bunch of other crazy shit happening and putting Thor on their trail.

After Balder was killed, Loki was put on trials for his crimes and received yet another punishment that Sigyn had to protect him from -- having burden over the fact she was “the evil’s wife.” Just like the classic Norse tale, she holds a bowl over his head, shielding him from snake venom and leaving to empty it momentarily when it became full, resulting in Loki cursing her. 

Also, Loki and Sigyn had a child -- Narvi, but they died young, being used as the binding to imprison Loki (following the Norse myth too.) 

Some more crazy shit happens and now Odin has shackled Loki to Sigyn so he doesn’t cause anymore trouble. Loki of course is not pleased about this one bit. Having had enough of this, he went to Odin demanding to be released, only resulting in him being banished to an outpost. 

There Just Might be Hope????:

Some more shit happens again, resulting in Loki being stuck in an astral form and bound to a suit of armor so he could reside in Asgard thanks to Sigyn. A fight happens with Thor, Loki and Mephisto, putting Sigyn in danger. This is when for the first time ever, Loki ends up having a tender confession of love over Sigyn, asking Thor to save her since he could not.

It’s unknown if this is just Loki putting on an act or being real, but you know how the Trickster God can be. 

After the battle, while Loki had released Sigyn from her marital vows, his wife swore to always be there for him when he needed her.

And that’s the last we see of Sigyn’s regular appearance in the comics in 1996. She makes a cameo in Avengers: Unleashed #1 in 2019, but it’s nothing more than a flashback to her time of helping Loki. 

A Hypothesis & Notes on their relationship in comics:

The whole entire plotline consisting of Theoric and Loki killing him in order to obtain Sigyn is just something most of the fandom doesn’t like. Not only does it objectify Sigyn, but it makes Theoric a Pointless character to introduce anyway, only used as a tool for means in which Loki can get Sigyn, when honestly, he could have done so in a different way.

I like that they stick with Sigyn being the faithful wife of Loki (that’s who she is), but they honestly don’t give her any agency in this besides that trait alone. The writers don’t even let Sigyn be her own damn person! She is SO MUCH MORE than Loki’s loyal wife. SHE IS A FREAKIN GODDESS! I know there is more we can do with her.

Instead of pulling the ‘woe is me, my husband is evil and I’ll just go along with it’ card, something else could have been done. LIKE LITERALLY, ANYTHING ELSE! We know Loki can be a troublemaker, but Sigyn knows how to deal with his shit. She isn’t some damsel in distress here! It’s another reason Loki likes her.

Couples can bicker in times, it’s normal in marriages and relationships, but to have Loki whining about how much of a burden Sigyn is is just....WHY? I mean, you went after the woman and killed another guy for her. This is what you wanted! *shakes head at writers*

I will give them kudos though for some of the stuff near the end when Loki actually starts displaying his true feelings of love towards Sigyn. And sadly we only got a little taste of that...and we aren’t even sure if it was an act or Loki being real.

THE FACT THAT SIGYN ISN’T EVEN IN THE COMICS ANYMORE SINCE 1996. She’s only mentioned, but it’s just as a tale, not as an actual person who USED to be his wife. They literally killed her off. EXCUSE ME! #JusticeforSigyn (We’re still waiting for her in the MCU...)

NORSE MYTHOLOGY TIE-INS:

There were some moments in the comics between them that they writers took from Norse Mythology with them. Thought It’d be important to list.

Loki’s Punishment of snake venom dripping onto him while Sigyn holds a bowl to collect it and shield him.

Narvi being Loki & Sigyn’s son who was killed and his insides used to bind Loki for his punishment.

Sigyn being Loki’s wife. 

DIFFERENT WRITERS, DIFFERENT CHARACTERIZATION:

As is the case with everything out there, if you have different writers working on the same project, there is bound to be a difference of characterization and interpretation, resulting in OOC moments or just something completely different altogether. After researching and pondering on this subject, I FULLY believe this is what has happened with Loki & Sigyn’s relationship in the comics. Let’s take a look at the evidence I’ve found:

For the comics Sigyn’s creators were Roy Thomas, John Buscema and Tom Palmer. 

Loki’s creators for the comics were Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby, Violet Barclay, and honestly, many others.  

My favorite quotes on them from the comics:

Wait? Despite the crappy writing, I actually have quotes I like from the comics? GASP! I call these the only positives from the comics of their relationship. 

“My Sigyn-- the love of my immortal life...” — Loki, Thor Annual Vol 1 #19

“Aye-- For only Sigyn, of all in the realm eternal, feels love for Loki. And among all Asgardians, only for Sigyn does Loki feel...” — Loki, Thor Annual #19

“Sigyn loves me-- just as she is the only thing in the nine worlds that I truly love.”— Loki, Thor #483

Photo Source: https://www.zerochan.net/1262293#full

Fandoms Wish for MCU & Future Appearance Justice:

Fans would like to see Sigyn make an appearance, not only in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), but also the Marvel Comics once again. They would like to see Loki & Sigyn’s characters done justice with proper writing, especially regarding their relationship with each other. 

This is why there is plenty of fans out there writing Fanfiction, making Fanart, Roleplaying and even Cosplaying them, giving their interpretation’s of what their relationship would be like. This is THE VERY REASON this blog and @sigynappreciation​ was created to help spread awareness and unite fans who feel the same way. 

These characters are very near and dear to our hearts. Some of us even worship them in our religions. We would like to see their relationship grow and portrayed in a way that helps fill the pieces of the missing puzzle to how they came to be in Norse Mythology. 

CONCLUSION:

Although their relationship in the comics usually leaves fans grimacing, at least we got to have it explored. Who knows if Marvel will ever touch anything with them ever again, but at least it’s brought together a small community that continues to go strong -- and honestly, that kind of unity is what Loki & Sigyn would want. 

So imagine to your hearts content! Draw that fanart! Write those fanfictions! Dress up in that cosplay! Be those characters! But just remember, you have a family here to love and support you. 

SOURCES:

Sigyn’s info on Marvel Database: https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Sigyn_(Earth-616)

Loki’s info on Marvel Database: https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Loki_Laufeyson_(Earth-616)

Sigyn on Marvel Universe: http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/sigynthor.htm

Logyn on the Shipping Wiki: https://shipping.fandom.com/wiki/Logyn

Loki & Sigyn’s relationship through Media: https://www.alehorn.com/blogs/blog/norse-mythology-loki-and-sigyn

[blushing-starker]

Insanity brings me truth and you

can you guess what Peter's doing to not be understood by the guards?

It's not easy, being crazy. There are expectations to run away from, a bar to limbo under, a specific number of people one has to betray and scar. The unknowable becomes knowable, so you have to skirt the edge of that Venn diagram very carefully. Or very recklessly. Either way, it's a complex thing except for when it's not. Jesus, how infuriating to think about. The point is, the paradox that crazies carry on their shoulders? It's a fucking hassle, a tricky one and Peter is tired of it.

He sighs, lets gravity bend him backward, legs slipping dangerously off the blanket he's hung as a hammock inside his cell. Act like a psycho and you're predictable, don't act like an ax wielding murderer and whoops! Predictable. It's the downside of being insane; you leave the weary capitalist consumer mask out in the world, probably set that shit on fire and make yourself sick with the fumes. But you just replace it with the one labelled 'danger to society' and get forced to play along with that. He did what he did to avoid the world and its predetermined fate, its standards.

Peter closes his eyes, thinks of the nauseating smell on his left. Rupert, the guard that dared graze him while he came back from the shower naked, has a broken nose thanks to Ned and his loyalty to him. The idiot barely cleans the open wound and the whole cell reeks of pus because of it. He does the math of how long it's been going on for and shudders in disgust. His bare calves slip a little more.

An inhale near the front of his cage. Slow, but controlled. Not the usual. Thank God for a circus family and heightened senses.

The doctor is paying attention to him.

"Doctor Stark. Gnittor gnihtemos llems ouy nac?" Rupert grumbles from his perch on the second floor, curses a hare brained psycho that's incomprehensible. Peter hums, pleased to know that after ten months, nine days, twelve hours, and...

Breathe in. Breathe out. Focus on sinking deeper into nothing, into a yawning void. The blanket shakes and his thighs are starting to tremble. Blood is rushing to his head, veins most likely beginning to protrude. Irrelevant.

His favorite guard Stan wears a Swiss watch his wife got for him on their fortieth anniversary. It sings to him now, smooth and cool like a river. A skipping stone is thrown, tic, a fish heads towards the sound, toc. Above all the other stimuli in the room, the watch announces itself. Ten fifteen.

Ten months, nine days, twelve hours and twenty minutes into a game, his tiny gnat still hasn't caught on. Not like the charming doctor. He sees him then, behind closed eyelids, as clearly as a sweet nightmare. Tall, taller than Peter, but less strong. Wide shoulders that morph into a slim waist and a delectable ass he aches to sink his teeth into. Shapely calves from running, curiously delicate looking ankles.

Down and back again. A full head of dark hair with a dusting of silver. Dangerously clever mouth, what his aunt would call a noble nose. Agreeable cheekbones. Piercing eyes that tear his walls down, rip apart the bricks and mortar until he's scrambling on the other side, desperately, clumsily attempting to reinforce them for the millionth time. Those eyes saw the trick, the mirror reflection on his second day here, Peter offhandedly talking in reverse with Ned when they passed the new doctor. A dark gaze had pinned him in place, a spider fixed in place with its own silk against the cold dissection table.

Ned had rambled on, Peter had met a worthy playmate and the doctor had seen all he needed in that eternally prolonged glance. That very afternoon, a psychiatrist signed on as his very own voyeur.

Doctor Stark seems to be as interested in cutting him open to peek inside as Peter is in taking a dagger and comparing their hearts. He does this a lot; wonders how fate and the absence of lucky fate led them here. On opposite sides of a prison when perhaps it should be the other way around. Or perhaps there should only be Peter and Doctor Stark.

He feels himself falling, plummeting ever downward into fantasies and hazy dreams. It's not until the good doctor sharply calls out his name that he realizes he's also plummeting towards the floor. Now, MJ had warned him; had specifically said that the hammock being ten feet off the concrete ground was a bad idea. Ned had said he'd be fine and Peter loves the guy, ok? He has to do everything he can so that his best friend wins a bet over his other best friend.

Peter slightly regrets that when he's forced to arch his body backward, flip right side up in order to hit the floor on his feet instead of his face. The impact chokes the air right out of him, shakes his bones, but he doesn't react. Cracks his neck and that's all. Most of the guards were kind, some shade of understanding. They weren't harmless, though. He knows what he looks like, knows how many hours these men are cooped up with the scum of the earth.

"To answer your question," Peter leaps onto the bars of his cell, slithers higher than any sane person would and somersaults off the vertical slits, sinks into his trustworthy hammock with its trustworthy knots (MJ and Ned had tied them, one each), "yes, I do. It's less potent this time."

He stills, frowns. "How? There haven't been any changes. External or internal." No need to act like the Mad Hatter when the conversation could be had normally. Quicker and more reliable with meanings. But the doctor pauses, enunciates his next words slowly.

"Ti koot uoy erom emit yadot." God, he loved hearing Doctor Stark talk that carefully and smoothly. It was as comforting as it was uncomfortable. (He and sex don't particularly get along. It's like a headache that comes and goes; with the right medicine it can dissipate and evolve into something soothing, pleasant. With the majority of medicine, it blossoms into pain and soreness, a dry throat clogged by a thick syrup that won't leave him be no matter how much water MJ and Ned encourage him to drink. Peter isn't yet completely certain which side of his scale the doctor falls on, but he's guessing it's likely the first.)

(The man seemed to live in the grey areas; fitting that with this, too, he'd reside in the in between.)

The reverse effect is in play and he grins, genuine and wide, when he catches it. "Monsters are visiting more frequently, taking up space in the light." His nightmares had intensified recently, and they're starting to accompany him even in moments Peter knows are real; shapes drifting by the corner of his eye. As a coping tactic, he rips parts of his nails off. Not entirely, just the corners. His mind could concoct lots of things, but in his dreams his hands are always pristine.

(He hasn't caught up with it, hasn't noticed that although his nightmares have a clearness to them, a bright intensity, Peter can't shift enough focus to realize his hands aren't his own. They never are. But he usually has more pressing bodies to deal with than the good doctor's.)

Another pause, this one being done by Tony Stark, doctor and healer of men, instead of Doctor Stark, curious keeper of deranged souls. "I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe this will help." Peter peers over the edge of the grey hammock, watches with interest as the doctor approaches his cell with a glass bottle of clear liquid sloshing inside. The other man stops an inch away from the bars, looks up at Peter.

There's a slow tension simmering between them, something as thick and addictive as honey. There's scientific curiosity, a desire to seek out and maybe comprehend the unknown lurking inside their mirror image, as other and as alike as oneself. But there is also a gleam of something he's afraid of acknowledging in Doctor Stark's eyes. A madness once tucked away steadily unraveling itself with each glance they share.

Peter returns the look, unblinking and thinking. " 'If you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.' " A lesson Nietzsche offered to those wise enough, sane enough to live blind.

The doctor raises an eyebrow, is otherwise still. Sometimes, if Peter considers their current predicament for too long, his grasp on his masks loosens, and the Spider begins to spin its deadly thread round and round its very own body. He sees a guard exchange money with a partner; the crazy quota has, he guesses, been filled for the week. And they had such a nice streak going on, too. Oh, well. This web is unavoidable anyways.

He pitches himself forward, is the one who controls the descent instead of gravity this time. Letting the air rush up to meet him, he inhales, tastes a distinct sharpness around him. Crouching, Peter takes it all in, every last detail. Looks, really looks, at the doctor and suspects.

As if he were none the wiser, he calmly heads to the front of the cell. Meets the doctor at the divide and wonders what it'll be. Wonders if he'll rise higher than ash and flame, an acrobat testing the fates by flying just seconds ahead of death. Doctor Stark hands him the bottle and he can see now, tiny pieces of lavender. A distraction for the guards. "That should keep the monsters in the dark. Use it before you got to sleep and tuck away your hair."

Like a schoolgirl with a crush, he self consciously brings a hand to his curls. They're getting a bit long, but the warden only allows haircuts once a month or two. "I don't have anything to use." Digging into his lab coat, the other man retrieves a single black stick.

Well, to everyone else it's a hair pin. Peter knows the truth though, can see it and smell it and very nearly touch it. As it is, he gently plucks the items out of elegant hands and refuses to look at them. Looking draws attention. Doctor Stark gazes at his face, eyes flickering in a rehearsed way around his own, but not into them. That's alright, he understands.

"The lack of movement around your face should also help." The question of why is out before he can reel it in and act as a sane, normal person. Christ, he could handle crazy, not rude. He would have to practice being in control so as not to slip up when the doctor is around. Said doctor cocks his head, doesn't have to do anything more for Peter to get the message: go on, ask the devil why he made the deal.

Peter B Parker does not back down when intrigued. "Why are you helping me sleep better?"

Why help me escape?

"It's my duty." Three words. Not the explicit declaration of affection typical, normal, dull people receive from an admirer or partner. Not a grand proclamation of wanting what the heart wants, or a sonnet regarding the connection between star crossed paramours. Simple, short, concise; enough to turn to religion, to sanctity and salvation if it means hearing it again. He'd do anything, including putting on a discarded mask from his past if it gets him what he desires. Peter would suffer through sanity for this man. He would if it means hearing what sounds silent to those around them.

You're my duty. Whatever happens tonight, Doctor Stark believes it's his duty to see it through. To see him through, in a way.

"Why would you accept?" Ah, silly doc thinking any of his principles have changed since the first time they met, since the first time he brought fire to life and gave death in return. Peter smiles, brings forth the prisoner that had not seen the light of day in almost a decade.

(His uncle often said Peter's greatest gift to the world was his smile, his true smile. His aunt said it was the final move needed to capture a king and make him his pawn.)

"Why, doc, you know I hate to be bored." Call him a psycho, a freak, a sick, pitiful creature. Call him anything and everything and maybe those words would ring true. But Peter will never allow himself to be bored, not when there's so much fun to be had. Especially with a doctor as crazy as he is. "This looks...promising."

" 'He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster.' " The first part of Nietzsche's warning.

"Nietzsche didn't understand; those who fought monsters were already fated to become what they struggled to defeat. They believed salvation could be found by killing the monsters outside, but all they did was feed the ones inside."

Anthony Stark, the truest version, grins at him, all glinting eyes, sharp teeth and a crooked smile. Peter Parker, armed with a match, gasoline and soon to be glass shards, grins right back. In this instant, being crazy isn't such a hassle. After all, he has someone to share the crazy with now.

[minrathcows]

I was not (pro)active enough in this fandom before (hopefully I can fix that after I transfer my blog and scrap these ones, and I can commit to posting consistently again), not enough to know what the thing with JC stans was, like I'd heard they were yikes but I never paid much attention as to why, so I ended up discarding it from mind. And then here I am after the donghua finale and I think I'm getting why lmfao.

I cannot believe I have to see with my own two eyes, people unironically making takes like "JC never consented to WWX golden core"... that's like the stupidest thing I've ever fucking heard in my life and it tells a lot about these people's ability to intelligent conversation and comprehension. Sure, you can say “JC never asked for WWX to do this” and it’s correct to some extent, you could see it as a 「余計なお世話だ」 or like it was none of WWX’s business but here is the thing:  

JC did say, on one front, that he was ready to do anything to get his core back, and 

on the other front, the very point of WWX's sacrifice is that is was unconditional, same as everything he has ever done. 

To frame that sacrifice, made out of love at the end of the day, as something bad - and here I am particularly uncomfortable with the phrasing “JC hasn’t consented”, and with the use of the word “consent” particularly, something we use when referring to violations, of physical, emotional, intimacy boundaries, a breach of consent implying, at least to me, a complete lack of care and dismissal of someone’s boundaries and well being - to frame that as something JC is now, aware as he is, obligated/forced/scarred to live with, when to begin with the arrangement has been a positive impact for him... that whole conversation is wildly baffling and infuriating to me.

Whether, if he had known what WWX wanted to do, he would have chosen to stop him, or go through with it same as it happened anyway, that in itself is quite irrelevant, WWX to begin with had not told JC about his sacrifice precisely because he didn’t want to be owed, not because he wanted to violate him in any way, but because he wanted the best for him without any other obligation, at worst you could bring up his guilt and sense of duty but ultimately it was a sacrifice borne of love at the cost of himself (and not at all at the cost of JC). 

If anything, that frame of mind is how JC himself sees the world, and his relationship to WWX, hence why he constantly holds everything WWX has ever done, or what he himself/his family has done for WWX in turn on a ledger to be reimbursed. WWX was similarly saved by JFM without condition, out of empathy - having a conversation about consent involving things that... characters do for each other purely out of love, without expecting things in return is just so... stupid and represents such a shallow understanding. And since I brought up this comparison, inb4 y’all are gonna start unironically asking why JFM saved WWX at all when he didn’t have WWX’s consent... hell, make it even more braindead and say WWX was a minor who couldn’t consent to being saved while you’re at it, why don’t you. I swear to fucking god, is this the level we’re at?

Anyway, this bullshit take about JC “”not consenting”” to the golden core is not only by far the most braindead thing I’ve had the misfortune to be subjected to in recent memory, it also brings the same exact emphasis JC does on relationships as transactions. And why is that, because all throughout the story JC has benefitted from having a core, but now the issue of consent is coming up, why exactly - because JC brings up “owing” WWX because of the reveal, thus now he’s not “allowed” to scream and lash out in his face anymore because suddenly JC is faced with the reality that his martial brother has always loved him and done things for him out of that love, while all he was able to return was hate and death to everything he tried to nurture.

JC owes WWX nothing, because WWX never wanted JC to feel indebted, he never wanted to be owed, his sacrifice was a result of his love and thus it never had a price to begin with, to him it was... the only thing to do for his brother/family. JC is the only one who consistently makes everything about “what the Jiangs did for you/how much you owe the Jiangs/now it turns out I owe you?”, WWX quite literally died giving all he had and all he could to the Jiangs, and then to the Wens he saved, and in general he gave so much of himself to everyone who had need of it at the cost of being hated and misunderstood. WWX was there for JC, supported him after the clan’s demise, throughout the campaign, they were together up until the Wen issue came up, at which point JC was the one that was not there for WWX anymore - even as WWX is torn between two clans and wanting to protect both.

Also since I’ve already ranted like a madman for so long, I might as well go and say that the thing with JC’s seclusion is blown out of proportion a bit in my opinion, like... based on the donghua alone... wasn’t JC’s first impulse when faced with his clan’s demise to like.. go die himself lmao. The golden core reveal obviously cannot be on par to that, but I think claiming that him running away for a bit would be OOC is a bit of a stretch since... this is the™ character that consistently runs away and throws a fit before he picks himself up. When the clan was massacred he wanted to join them in death were it not for WWX holding onto him (not to mention he didn’t even consider his sister Yanli being left alone in the world lol), before he got back a core and sprung back into action and assumed responsibility. 

Maybe it’s just me but I don’t find the thought of him running away a bit and leaving A-Ling to be that outrageous for him, he’s not exactly an exemplary uncle either, just as he’s not an exemplary brother. Also A-Ling has his other uncle now so it’s fine, I’m sure WWX won’t mind spoiling his other little one and catching up on missed opportunities with him. The seclusion being an unnecessary change... maybe... although it’s an adaptation, it has no obligation to follow the original 100% and I wish people understood that... that’s the thing with adaptations... but throwing a fuss over it and screaming that it’s OOC and going so far as to talk shit about the animation team... my dudes consider going out to feel the breeze a bit.

[mxrekai]

You see this tweet? This tweet right here?

It’s gross and I’ll tell you why, and I’ll break down the article as well because it makes me as angry as a bull.

You simply CAN NOT break these characters down to these (biased!) individual traits. And in Jason’s case, it’s not even a trait, it’s just damn slander with a photo of him dead attached to it, because DC still likes to push the narrative that it’s his fault he died. When in reality, he was a CHILD who was tricked and betrayed by his mother, and in the end still tried to save his mother who was responsible for his death. Joker and Sheila are responsible for this child’s death, NOT HIM.

These are all incredibly complex characters, with incredibly biased descriptions.

For Dick (the only one with his hero name for some reason), the oversexualized Robin by the fandom is more like it rather than ‘the cute Robin’. Which is kinda sad because he has a lot of depth that can be explored and stories that have been told that are really great (not Ric, screw that guy). Like his relationship with Bruce, his relationship with Damian, his relationship with his teams, his life outside of heroism, police life, dealing with his mental health, etc.

From what we’ve seen if I had to pick a single descriptor for him, I’d pick “The protective Robin” or “The first Robin”

Because he’s always willing to throw himself into harm's way to save others. Especially when it comes to his found family. Or the first Robin works well because he was the first. He started the whole Robin line.

For Tim, I’m sorry but I can’t really comment on Tim because I haven’t read his run yet, it’s on my to do list. But from what I have seen from other comics that include him, ‘the smart robin’ doesn’t fit very well because to be Robin they ALL had to be smart. And they all were smart Robins.

If I had to describe Tim, it would be “the detective Robin” because out of all of them, he is the best detective and is the most proficient at it.

For Damian... oh boy, I’m so sorry but he’s not my favorite Robin at all. But I know he’s complex and has depth. If anyone who reads this is a Damian stan, feel free to add onto this and tag me.

And last but definitely not least... Jason Todd.

This whole tweet and the article attached is Jason Todd slander (not what I pay for the DC Universe app for!) and a misrepresentation of his character.

“The Robin we’d like to smack some sense into.”

He👏was👏not👏a👏bad👏robin👏

He was a CHILD who just wanted to help and make a difference! He wanted to help the people in crime alley because he knew what it was like to be in that situation and he wanted to save people! When he first put on his Robin suit it gave him MAGIC. He had Robin magic but that Robin magic wasn’t enough to save him from getting beat to death by the joker.

Yes, sometimes he did not listen but that goes for EVERY robin, my girl Carrie Kelly included.

He had sense, he was also a child who made mistakes! Like all the other Robins!

Then he was brought back under the WORST possible circumstances, to come back and find out his death had little to no impact (unbeknownst to him of Bruce’s grief). Then go under some intense training, deal with pit madness, have his mind tainted with, then grow some problems with the man he loved who took care of him. His father.

If I had to pick a label for Jason? It’d be the discarded Robin. He was this boy who was thrown away by the fandom at the time by murder. Then like a broken toy, the writers proceeded to get a new Robin.

Or the redeemed Robin. When Jason was reborn as Red Hood, overtime he became a fan favorite in the DC community. Even won DC’s sexiest man. He was hated at first but is now loved by many.

Heck, maybe even that label because he’s grown from his first resurrection so much. Instead of being angry at the world, he’s now chosen to accept what happened to him and even reconcile his relationship with his family.

Or even the

Now onto the article...

Holy moly, this article sucked all the life out of me until I was left DCeased (get it?). It is way too obvious an angry stan wrote this.

Oh. My. God.

How is this in any way Jason’s fault? I don’t recall him having the ability to write his own comic book? This is the writers fault, not Jason’s.

Onto the second one.

Okay, sure it was rude to interrupt them, I’ll give them that one. But I’m also pretty sure Jason’s insert was for comedic effect. Tons of comic books have these moments.

I had to laugh at the “SO NATURALLY JASON TODD DID SOMETHING ANNOYING TO INTERRUPT IT” it’s just, damn. This article just reeks of bitterness.

This one confused me, so I went to go read the comic book that they were talking about. This, once again, was intended to be a comedic moment. Jason was simply expressing his excitement for going to go to the Gotham library so he blurts our “Holy Gutenberg!”. Bruce spins him around and tells him to never do that again. Even Jason’s confused on why he doesn’t like the reference. I think this is simply comedy, such as when he threatens to fire Carrie if she moved the batplane in the animated movie.

If a crowbar was right there Bruce NEVER would have grabbed it to hurt Jason over a REFERENCE. No sane person would.

Let’s look at the keywords here,

“Nightwing took a heavy dose of Scarecrow’s fear gas and had an extended nightmare about an alternate life.”

Once again, YOU WANT TO BEAT JASON UP FOR SOMETHING OUT OF HIS CONROL, AND NOT HIS FAULT? TO TOP IT OFF, NOT REAL?

Want someone to blame? Blame Scarecrow and the fear toxins for making Dick see all that. This was an alternate dream reality, no characters were in control or even there.

Yknow what, valid. Honestly, I’m pretty sure the heroes there have memorials elsewhere as well and Jason only got that robin suit on display (which was honestly more so to remind Bruce of his failure and make himself feel guilty), but fair.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, this better have been some abstract marketing (which I hope it was) for the new Death in the Family movie coming out.

All in all, the Jason slander from DC was infuriating and frankly unnecessary. He deserves so much better because once again, he is a complex character who deserves a deep dive. 

Please remember that this is just my two cents/opinion, and it is totally okay if you disagree with anything I said here. 

Have a good day :)

[jentlemahae]

I hate stan twitter, and fanwars, and stuff like that. It's so sad. Most people participating in fanwars are young teens who are looking for something to base their self worth on. Oh, my favorite group got more sales than yours, therefore I'm better than you! It's so bad for them in so many ways. And there are also adults in their twenties, and they make thousands of tweets about how other celebrities suck, encouraging the kids to participate in the discourse. How Taylor Swift is trash and Gaga is queen, how BTS is the greatest of all time and NCT sucks, and it's so stupid. Such a waste of time, and it infuriates me. We have such short lives and the idea of spending entire days trash talking oomf's faves is depressing. There is a whole world out there, there are flowers and oceans and there is a sun and crisp air. And even if one doesn't like going outside, or the outside isn't accessible to them, with the same phone they can watch a movie or read a book. Something to fill their soul with warmth and their minds with knowledge. I just feel sad that teens are wasting their youth on this stuff. I wish we could go back to listening to the music we like, supporting the artists we want, and leaving others to listen to whatever other music they connect with.

(God, I sound like such a boomer)

oooh i completely agree with u!!!

i think what’s also a problem in my eyes is that most people who get into these fights on stan twitter are so vile and aggressive and insult others in such heinous ways while being so so young (eg l*l n*s x), and that makes me worry and makes me sad 😐 bcs a) they’re probably gonna grow up and regret what they did, and b) what kind of adults are they gonna become if they display this behaviour at such a young age ? like what adult will they be when as 12 year olds they regularly log onto sns and tell ppl to k/ll themselves ? and i hate that its so normalized !! like i hear ppl saying ‘oh thats just how they talk on stan twitter, its normal!’ well let me tell u none of that is normal . it is not normal to call people slurs or tell them to die bcs u dont like them or u disagree on your media preferences . it is not normal and it honestly fills me with sadness and worry

[justice4sasuke]

thank god someone hates obito on this website, I thought I was going crazy. listen he could have been such an interesting character if they'd put any focus on the fact that madara isolated and groomed him. instead we get chapters and chapters on team minato angst and "u understand because ur best friends" thanks himbo-sensei that makes no fucking sense. a bad person can be a good character but he's just. boring. and it's so disappointing tbh.

“madara isolated and groomed him”

Kishimoto would have to get up pretty early in the morning to pull that shit off. As it is it seems like Madara was sitting in the corner saying the world sucks while Obito fucked around for like a week. Then he went skipping off and as soon as he sees the girl he likes getting murdered, or the girl he objectified to the point he only saw her as a symbol for what is good in the world (thanks to that one Obito stan), he goes full mass murder, terrorism, inciting and taking part in genocide, putting bombs on an infant. The level of asshole Obito turns out to be is not congruent with what he went through. Not to mention the most cardinal of all the sins, Kishimoto wants us to feel bad for him and thinks he should be forgiven because ~Madara manipulated him~ (and Madara was manipulated by some lady’s will who has a male voice and a rock apparently, thanks for ruining your one good villain with that one Kishimoto). No bitch, you made your own fucking decisions and you got to deal with them. 

ALSO this whole manipulation thing fucks me right off because manipulation works as an excuse only when you do an oopsie daisy, not when you’re taking part in genocide. Once you start killing lots of people manipulation and grooming is only an explanation for a behavior, not as excuse that makes it forgivable.

But I agree with bad people being good characters obviously. Obito is boring, not fun, and the fact that we are expected to feel sorry for him is infuriating. Evil characters that I like are none of those things.

[msbeccieboo]

Arrow 8x09 Brain Dump

It was...not all bad. I really want to like this. I love Mia, William and FTA. I want to enjoy BS like I did in S7. I want to see Dinah written consistently with any kind of actual character. Well, at least my love for FTA is still intact 😂😂

Mia

Kat was brilliant in this episode. Her leading lady really jumped out 😂😂 Her emotional moments hit the mark, and I think she juggled her post-Crisis new life with her old memories brilliantly.

We opened on her waking up in the Queen mansion(!), with a very yummy Diggle Jr in her bed, only it’s JJ not Connor 😱😱 She’s also surrounded by adorable family photos, showing that Oliver got his wish of her and William growing up together (and confirmation that the Olicity Love Cabin still existed!) Basically, she’s living the best life that Oliver could have wished for her, without him in it, of course 😭

Probably the most notable change in ‘new Mia’ (other than her being infinitely happier and living in a crime-free city) was her social poise. She’s been brought up in Oliver Queen’s old world, and is quite the socialite, only without any of the haughty frivolity that one might expect (I imagine we have Felicity for that 😍). She loves her life and her friends, and she defends them, especially in the face of Laurel, who seemingly does nothing but scoff at her lifestyle for the whole episode 😒 I loved her addressing the press!! That was pure Queen! Maybe the influence of a certain Aunt Thea?

Source: feilcityqueen

More below the cut…

Basically this Mia is smart and loving and happy, and Oliver gave her a warm and otherwise full life, save for finding her true purpose (which is gonna be vigilanteing, of course). So of course BS and Dinah rock up and upend it all 😂 I really liked how they made the returning of Mia’s memories a source of conflict, as well they should. It was so brutal to just return them with no preamble, to destroy what happiness Oliver had given back to her, just because, what? BS couldn’t complete her own fucking mission? (More of that later lol) Then Mia standing up to BS when she went as far as to mock Mia’s new world, just gave me life!!!

Anyway, with her memories restored, and bad guys to track down, of course Mia couldn’t resist her heroic calling and suited up, then proceeded to be the epic badass that we have grown to love.

Source: kathmcnamara

I loved seeing her struggle with her memories returning, and the guilt that they brought with them of not living up to Oliver’s legacy. At the same time, she appreciates what Oliver did for her, that all he wanted for his family and the city was to be safe and happy. She ultimately decides to remain the Green Arrow, taking up the guard of her city in her father’s memory, to protect the new world that he sacrificed himself to create.

Source: felicityqueen

We’d seen she’d developed her ‘street smarts’ in the flash-forwards, so I think she’ll end up bringing these together with her new social skills, and badass moves, and be an unstoppable force!! Hopefully that will include her old FTA team as well, and not just the two feathered ones 🙄

FTA/JJ

God this needed more FTA.

We got a small amount of William, more of JJ, what with him being Mia’s fiance (!!), and little more than fleeting glances of Zoe (!) and Connor. The disrespect!! 😂

William (who even knows his surname in this new life?) continues to hold my whole heart in his hands 😍😍

Source: oliverxfelicity

LOOK AT HIM!!!!💗💗💗

He seems to have been least affected in terms of his character, post-crisis. It’s implied that he’s running Smoak Tech, and that he and Mia grew up together and are basically each others’ ride-or-dies 😭😍😭 

I truly hope if the show is picked up, that they increase the William content by a solid 1000% 😂 He brings so much heart and a certain humour and lightness, just like Felicity brought to Arrow, and Ben is such an amazing actor. The new show will need a William. BADLY. He really seems to have his shit together (in the very limited time we have seen him of course 😒), but I’m hoping that that doesn’t lead to Mia keeping her memories from him for long (although remembering who their Dad is, I’m guessing she could take a while 😂😂).

So JJ proposes to Mia at the beginning of the episode!!!! Apparently they are the love of each others lives here. Dig clearly learned from what Connor told him, and steered JJ away from becoming a murdering gangster...YAY! Although it seems that in doing so, our darling boy Connor ran into a few issues of his own 😫😫 It looks like there is no love lost between him and Mia, that he has been in and out of rehab, and is now somewhat of a bad boy 😏😏 But when they first lock eyes there is still definite history and heat there and, just HJJHDFVGDFK 🔥 BACKSTORY IS NEEDED!! Then at the end, JJ has his memories restored by scary-dude-in-cloak (who I was totally hoping would be Dig or Oliver tbh 😂), so I’m super interested to see how he copes with his dual memories!! So now Mia loves JJ, but knows he was evil and killed Zoe, and she hated Connor, but now remembers they had feelings for each other and that he is a beautiful soul, and all the shit is gonna hit the fan!!! I usually hate love triangles, but this is so exciting, with the good boy/bad boy switch up, and then the opposite memories being returned...YAAAAASSSS!! Although I’d like to make it clear that, whilst I’m going to enjoy the drama getting there, I am firmly in the SmoaknHawke end game camp!! 

And as excited as I just got, all of this took up just about 5 mins of screen time 😫😫 It reminds me of what Arrow was lacking in its early episodes...heart and hope. They lucked into it with Felicity/Emily, but they have it here, ready and waiting, and are so far not using it.

Kat knows what’s what. This is the show we deserve. 

Birds

There was a lot of bird action. Apparently in shaping a perfect future, Oliver saw fit that Mia never met BS or Dinah...this is why we stan 😂😂 Dinah has also seemingly been erased from the history books 😬, waking up after Oliver’s funeral (😒😭) 20 years in the future, so naturally becomes a bohemian, opens a bar and sings a lot. Cool, I’d probably do the same 😂😂 Laurel, it seems, went off to spend time with Sara, and has apparently become a solo time-traveller, trying to stop 2041 from becoming a really bad year. Righto. 

Dinah was actually ok in this episode, if not hugely out of character, but that in itself has been inconsistent throughout the show, so here’s hoping that the zen-filled peacemaker that she was in this episode continues! Dinah’s new-found peace and bearability seemingly comes at the cost of Laurel being utterly awful. She rocked up in the future like Billy Big Bollocks with a huge chip on her shoulder, just sneering her way through the episode. She had such bitterness, disdain and anger directed towards Mia (and Dinah, at times) for no apparent reason, when they seemed to have somewhat bonded previously?! She spent the majority of the episode sauntering around looking down on everyone, portraying a bitchy-tomboy type, deeming anything vaguely typically feminine or not hard-moody-’badass’ as beneath her. This is not #girlpower. Fuck off.

Then we have that clusterfuck of a scene at the exhibition 🙈🙈 where BS tries to tell Mia that she used to date her Dad, before quickly correcting herself to “some version of him, anyway”, as if they were one and the same 🙄 Laurel’s continual need to imply that she knows, or has history with our Oliver is infuriating as hell. E2 Oliver died on the Gambit in his early 20s. Even if he was similar in character to E1 Oliver up until then, that person bears no likeness to the man he became. Her past with her ‘Ollie’ is entirely irrelevant to the man that was Mia’s father, who she barely even got to know at all save for a couple of episodes in S8. And not only the implication that she knew him, but then to actually try to trash him as well, to his kid?! All to push her idea that all versions of people are the same (which was refuted when JJ doesn’t even turn out to be behind the Deathstroke mask anyhow)? NO! At least Dinah and Mia were cringing along with us 😂

It’s just astounding, the turnaround they’ve managed with Laurel/BS. They already did the unthinkable in S7 and got a lot of people from this side of the fandom to empathise and warm to her, without pissing off her existing fans. I really did grow to like her in S7 (check my reviews, I still can’t believe it 😂), she was snarky, but not bitchy, and showed some heart and vulnerability. So it’s mind-blowing how they took all that growth and just obliterated it this season, and then even more so in this episode where she is just plain nasty and unlikeable. 

I do think, however, that giving BS and Mia a tempestuous relationship from the off was a good idea, cos let’s face it, you can tell there is no love lost between them. But they could have made them clash in a better way than BS just being an arsehole to Mia for most of the episode. My best guess is her anger comes from Mia coming out of Crisis with a life untouched by violence, whilst her earth was still lost? (Was it? I can’t actually remember if E2 came back.) She can’t complete her self-appointed mission on her own and knows she needs Mia’s help to do it?? I don’t know. She had a lot to say about JJ supposedly being a ‘homicidal manic’...pot, kettle much?! She also seemed to find the notion of Mia initially wanting to just appreciate the peaceful life she had been given and not becoming a vigilante reprehensible, but why? BS is the one that needs to atone for past sins. Mia does not. 

Stray thoughts

That cliffhanger!!! WHO TOOK OUR WILLIAM?!?!?!

The music was...not good. Especially during the fight scenes. Arrow was always so on-point with its score. I don’t understand how this can be so bad?! I did like hearing Mia’s theme in there, though, that was a nice tie-in the old flash-forwards.

Who is this Kevin that cheated on William? He must be destroyed!😡

Some of that future make-up was really something 😬😬 2040 is all about the severe/dead and unblended looks, apparently. The fashion was fabulous though!

The dialogue in the action scenes was soooo hammy.

Who is the mysterious, villainous “she”???

“Frack you!” and “I’m not interested in joining your Canary club” YAASS MIA 😂

William and Mia’s “pet rock” talk was super cute 😍 

Oliver’s statue!! 😭😭😭

Hopes for the future, if series gets picked up:

Increased focus on Mia/FTA. We have such a fresh, interesting, diverse cast, with intertwined back stories ready to go for this show here already, waiting to be used. USE THEM.

A deadly outbreak of avian flu 😂🙊

Failing said outbreak...keep the birds in the background or MAKE THEM LIKEABLE. This is a chance for a clean slate!

I wanna see Papa Dig so bad. David had said we’d get to see 2040 Dig in Arrow, but looks like that isn’t going to happen now, and I’d just love to see how he is. I can also imagine David being entirely done, and not wanting to be a part of this, however, but a cheeky little cameo would be amazing 😂

SmoaknHawke to RISE 🔥🔥🔥

As it stands, I’ll watch if it goes to series, but for how long remains in question. I just know I cannot get on board with the faux feminist “heart/vulnerability/girly is ‘weak’! Let’s be hard/edgy/angry badasses and fight men and show the world we’re strong pow pow pow” narrative that BS in particular, but also the general tone of the show overall, is trying to portray. I really think that if the show is picked up that they should look to see what is working and what is falling flat on its arse. It’s in dire need of more heart and fewer birds imo, but we can have both, if they’d just write them as better people.

Thank you to the beautiful gif-makers 😘 Any uncredited gifs are mine.

💗💗💗

[thehollowprince]

Okay. Another Endgame semi rant: You've sorta talked about this on your blog, but those Steve fans who like Steve's ending ( or least their trying to make the best out of it god bless 'em) and chastise other who didn't like Steve's for being salty shippers ( and that's a legitimate gripe- like no-one thought Stucky was going to be A THING, but we all hoped that their deep bond, which goes all the way to when they were like SIX- okay fine *9* would be honoured and respected) are clinging so 1/?

so hard to the idea that Steve created an alternate timeline, where he can do *anything*. Like rescuing Bucky and that timeline's Steve, and stopping Hydra from infiltrating SHIELD. When the intention of the Russos and the writers was quite clearly for him to retire and have life and not be a soldier anymore. (I swear the Russos said that before the backlash became overwhelming ) Like they put him back in the fight when the intention was for Steve to stop fighting, so they'll write passive 2/?

Passive aggressive asides - (sorry lost my train of thought) about how if we don't understand that it's a different timeline, and of course he's not just going to sit back or whatever- and it's like "GUYS. You ALMOST GET IT it's because the idea of Steve sitting back and doing nothing in the main timeline- and almost certainly not getting back in the fight in the alt timeline- because again, The Russos were like "LOL He & Peggy are going to make baby," before Joe was like "He can do anything" 3/

(Okay tumblr conked out so I don't know if you got my last ask) so as I was saying: "We just didn't want our favouite character to be destroyed?" (Well he was in my eyes at least) Anyway sorry for filling up you inbox with asks, I just, had enough of reading those posts and needed to vent you know?

____________________________________________________

Okay... sorry it took me so long to get to this but I wanted to make sure I was awake and ready to tackle the whole thing. These caught me at a bad time but now I'm all rested and ready to dig into the meat of it.

To start off with, I have never had an issue with people who liked (or tried to see the silver lining) in Steve's ending. We live in a very big world and it would be rather dull if everyone shared the same opinion on everything, but I wasn't aware of how big the divide was growing until almost a month after I saw the movie. I was upset at Steve's ending and I made a joke about it, and before you know it I have people that are making passive-aggressive posts or even calling you out for not being "a true Steve fan."

And I gotta say, seeing that made me immediately take a step back from the fandom. Like, woah! When did the pro-Steve side become the new Tony stans? Because that's exactly the mentality we were mocking and pointing out for years now, how Tony stans didn't care about anything else except their favorite character's happiness, even of it completely contradicted all of the canon that came before it.

But once I started seeing it, I started seeing it everywhere. Blogs that had been inactive for months started waking up and spreading this idea that you weren't a real fan if you didn't love the ending that Steve got. And while they've changed the way they phrase it, the idea persists. Now it's usually just something along the lines of "wow, look at the character they really like", which is usually pulled out if you try and mention Steve's relationship to Sam or Bucky or Wanda or whomever. And I k ow I've said this before, but that's part of the reason I loved the MCU version of Steve so much. He was more than just him. Steve was Steve because of those around him, how he related to them, how he helped them and how they believed in and followed him despite overwhelming odds. So to just cut all that off, despite that being one of the cornerstones of Steve's fandom and claim that people don't really like Steve unless it involves X character is super disingenuous.

To make matters worse is the actuality of Steve's ending. If you've accepted that Steve did that at the end of ENDGAME, then you have to try and wrap your head around the actuality of what happened. Did he open a new timeline or was he always Peggy's husband in this timeline? If he did open a new timeline, did he prevent a whole bunch of horrible things from happening or did he just sit back and relax and ignore it all? Did he awaken frozen Steve and have him do all the fighting or did he just let everything play out the way it did originally? No one knows because even the writers and directors, the idiots who came up with this idea, can't agree on what happened! It's a clusterfuck of a situation that only gets worse when you apply it to fandom.

I shouldn't have to dig into the whole Steve/Peggy situation, because I've done it before, but just for the sake of completion I'll mention again how nothing ever actually happened between Steve and Peggy aside from that one kiss. They could have been something epic but they missed their window and the fact that the four morons behind Steve's journey couldn't remember that is infuriating. The new thing now, of course, is to mock people who point that out by saying that "Steve and Peggy knew each other for years during the war and just because it's not shown doesn't mean it didn't happen", but them completely miss the irony in stating that something that we have no concrete proof of is canon. It's a godamn unsatisfactory bitch of a situation.

There was even one blog who came out of hibernation that accused me of being "fake woke" for mentioning the negative impact of having arguably the MCU's most political character played by one of their more vocal actors go back to the "good ol' days".

At the end of the day, would I have loved for Stucky to happen? Of course I would have! As has been stated multiple times now, I am severely underrepresented in the MCU and I latched onto anything that could be construed as representation in any capacity, but I also never expected it to happen. This is Disney! I just find it disheartening that our concerns and opinions are considered less then because we turn to these friendships and so on as to why Steve should have stayed, especially because he's one of the few male protagonists that is more than just his physicality but also his emotional connection to people.

I maintain, to this day, that Steve should have just retired in the modern world (or as he called it - Home), because not only would it have made sense for his character arc, but it would have opened up the doorway for a potential return for the next big Team-up movie. Just imagine Steve swooping in and saving Sam with a "Captain America needed my help" line.

When all's said and done, we all have our own opinions on that ending, and the MCU in general, and I've found that it's only a few that are diehard about supporting Steve's ending. I have several mutuals that liked Steve's ending even though I and others didn't, and I wouldn't get rid of them for anything.

[kabira]

Hi! I read your other post about considering to leave the fandom and it's really quite hard to do so, right? I had this time around 2018-2019 when I completely slid off of kpop fandom bc I needed to focus on my studies. It happened gradually but it felt so suddenly as I realized I wasn't feeling a vibe with kpop anymore (but I thought it was just the hyperfixation that went away bc I still liked some kpop music that time.) (con't)

I tried to focus on other things like movies just for the sake of leisure and my sanity lol. I just got back with my interest in kpop this year, mostly because I finished my obligations in the semester. But when I got back, it all happened in a blink of an eye and boom, I'm too drawn into it again. A few months in and all these controversies about my faves arise, I suddenly wanted to be off of all these things again. It's especially hard for me to do it now since I'm in this stage where (cont.)

I'm too attached to nct as I just only got to know them better around few months ago. They're holding a special place in my heart rn but I really hope they'll stop subjecting themselves to even more controversies (well they might not know they're digging up their own graves but they should be by now bc this isn't the first time this happened). (cont.)

(cont) [this was too long I'm sorry] I think I'll be okay with liking their music but I most likely won't tolerate repeated mistakes, especially with how many times they've been called out for it. Idols are humans too who make mistakes, but they're public figures and they should know better as role models of the people who look up to them. Letting go of their music could be harder for me though, as it was what dragged me into this hell of a tangled world almost ten years ago.

god, the way i felt this ask. i’ve been wanting to leave the fandom for so long but it’s SO HARD. there’s the matter of idols becoming your ‘safe space’ which makes their mistakes a hundred times more upsetting. the same thing happened in the wake of the curry issue, because up until that point i had treated seventeen like my comfort idols and, despite my preaching, had unconsciously put them on a pedestal in my mind by thinking they could do no wrong. so in a way the whole incident was actually good because though it left me in a dark place for weeks, it helped me understand that treating idols like that is a very harmful mindset because each and every single one of these groups is bound to fuck up at some point.

i’m going to sound really baised when i say this but the reason i gave svt the benefit of doubt was because there hasn’t been any other incident of racism in their entire career. if they repeated the exact same mistake, after being made aware of what they did wrong, then i’m done. i still derive comfort from them but i’m wary of how much love and effort i pour into stanning them, because while it’s okay for your idols to make you happy sometimes, it’s very unhealthy to be completely dependent on them.

with nct...well. if you saw the thread (which is not entirely accurate actually, but most of the incidents are true), then you’ll see that this isn’t the first time they’ve done this. not ‘this’ as in some general act of racism, but the specific act of mocking traditional indian dancing. they’re grown men who need to be held accountable. i know it doesn’t sound like it, but it broke my heart to go through that thread. i’m more angry because i know that sometimes idols are simply ignorant, but there are certain cases which are straight out ??? like johnny talking about dreads despite having been brought up in america. that’s definitely not ignorance. you can’t look me in the eye and tell me he didn’t know it was wrong.

as for boycotting them...well. the only real harm will be to the company, which is the real target. in my experience of kpop i’ve seen that sometimes idols are willing to apologize, but are held back from doing so by their companies, which is so sickening and infuriating that i can’t even talk about it without getting angry. like in pledis’s case, there was talk of them not being aware of the issue but they literally said they had no statement, which is so arrogant and insensitive it still makes my blood boil. boycotting won’t harm them much - if you care about the boys, you will care more about educating them about real world issues than them getting paid a little less. 

[rwbyconversations]

Why Oscar’s writing has been disappointing

Stories rely on their characters. You can tell a grand, sweeping narrative that spans continents and timelines but if you don’t give a rats ass about the people at the center of these events, viewers won’t care. Stories with high kill-counts like Walking Dead, Game of Thrones and Attack on Titan rely on audiences forming an attachment with characters very quickly, so that the possibility of their sudden death is all the more painful for the viewer. Long story short, if you can’t make an audience care about your character, it can be hard to keep them interested. 

RWBY has overall done a fantastic job at getting people to fall for its cast; I’m a case in point with how hard I’ll go to bat for Emerald and Mercury. But be it the obvious choices in the main cast, the wide array of villains to obsess over. The fandom even has a few eccentric folk who stan for people not seen in years! (shoutout to CFVY fans, who knew you’d get rewarded over the whole Coco in Chibi thing by getting a book?) But rather unfortunately, while one character has managed to earn a fanbase happy to see them get content, the writing has consistently failed one particular character, through constant refusals to allow them the screentime they deserve and often putting it in the wrong places when they do get morsels of time to shine each year.

Oh no, not you. I’ll get back to you before this hiatus is out. 

... actually why are his gloves orange of all colors? And what’s with the banages, is he planning on cosplaying Dazai from Bungou Stray Dogs at an Atlas convention during the off-season?

Yeah, no, I’m talking about Oscar Pine. First introduced in Volume 4, Oscar has now been a part of the main cast for half of the show’s runtime. In that time Oscar has developed psychosis, met a ticket-punching man, got stuck in a house for a month, fought a teleporting staircase man, was involved in a train crash, bought new clothes, and stole military property. 

Notice something? Nothing in there mentioned Oscar getting character development. Or rather he does... but it’s always offscreen. Oscar is infuriating in the sense that he has a lot of wasted character potential to be one of the best characters in the show- a simple but efficient design, great voice work from Aaron Dismuke and a charming personality that makes him a likable hero. But in spite of that all, Oscar constantly get the shaft when it comes to his screentime showing him developing from his problems, and each volume so far has had Oscar be faced with a trial that would make for a truly fascinating character arc, only for him to get over it while the camera’s focused elsewhere. And that’s what I’m going to focus on in this essay- I’m going to go over why I think Oscar’s writing has been consistently mishandled, and my hopes for the character in Volume 7. 

God damn I don’t like doing this, I want to like the farm boi most of the time 

1) Volume 4: All these voices running through my head, I’m on fire, face burning red

Oscar is introduced very early in Volume 4- as in, he’s in the first episode and is the eighth character we see onscreen after the villains. Oscar is in fact, if you don’t count Ruby’s character short, present in Volume 4 before the title characters. His first episode is... a lot of nothing, mostly just Oscar doing some farming. Oscar’s introduction does a good job telling us a bit about his character without him saying much- he’s prone to daydreaming while working on the farm, clearly not enjoying himself and his work. It matches up with what we learn later, that Oscar dreams of becoming a hero. It’s a stock motivation, and a stock background, but a simple and effective way of setting up a hero who desires the chance to prove himself in the wider world. His intro scene is a nice, quiet beat between the dark opening of Evernight and Salem, and the more frantic action of RNJR fighting the Geist. But overall the time the fandom was wondering what was up with Oscar- he wasn’t in the OP and nothing had set him up before now and yet here he was, getting focus before the main girls.

It takes until Oscar’s second appearance, three episodes later in Family, that we get the real reason for his importance- Ozpin’s in his head, but it would take another three episodes, in Punished, for this to be elaborated on in an unintentional Christmas gift from Rooster Teeth; Ozpin’s in his head due to their Auras and souls merging thanks to Ozma’s pact with the Archangel Asshole a few centuries back, and now Oscar is starting to act like an Assassin’s Creed character with all the memories that are in his head that he didn’t create. It’s a cruel irony for Oscar- Ozpin plays on how Oscar wants to be more than just a farmhand to try and get him to go to Mistral, but Oscar’s body language and face make it clear that this wasn’t how he saw himself getting some new life choices. Rather tragically, Oscar finally gets the chance to be part of something bigger but the manner in which it’s offered to him is anathema, as it’s coming from a literal voice in his head who claims to be a dead headmaster, and more importantly, he was never offered a choice- this was thrust upon him, a young 14 year old child who never asked for this burden of responsibility. And the last shot of Oscar in this episode already has him cracking under that burden, stuck on his knees and unsure what to do. 

(also btw Oscar’s Aunt tells him to clean his hands but Oscar’s model has gloves on all the time, so... how would he clean his hands? Or does he read books with dirty gloves? Eww)

It’s an interesting place to leave Oscar, at the metaphorical and and spiritual crossroads, and means the viewer wants to see Oscar’s next actions and the deliberation between the easy, boring life he knows or risking everything on a voice in his head telling him to try his chances in the big city. Sounds pretty interesting, right?

Not to the writers, unfortunately. Because when we next check in with Oscar three episodes later during Kuroyuri, Oscar’s already on the road to Mistral with his backpack all ready to go. That deliberation, the consideration, Oscar eventually choosing to trust Ozpin and go along with his plan? All done offscreen. Similarly, Oscar goes from treating Ozpin’s voice as an irritating thing to be annoyed has been chucked out a window- now out on the open road, it doesn’t “feel crazy” anymore. It just feels like such a cheap way to handle Oscar’s writing- rather than show his development naturally, it just fast-forwards until it reaches a point where it skips all that. And unfortunately, this isn’t the first or last time Oscar is victim to the writers fast-forwarding through his development moments. Given how much of Oscar’s arc hinges on this crucial first step, it just seems inane to me that of all of the potential Oscar scenes to cut... him coming around on Ozpin and making the call to leave was what got the cutting room floor. Especially since nothing in his Kuroyuri scene was all that essential for Oscar in contrast, barring setting up the the mystery Hazel and Ozpin’s past.

Oscar doesn’t appear again after his encounter with Hazel until the finale, when during the montage of Ruby’s letter (that consists of half her dialogue this season) we see Oscar on the train to Mistral, which really only caused a problem thanks to all the people who used it to ask why RNJR didn’t take a train. He also appears in the post-credits scene, meeting Qrow at a bar and asking for his cane back, the volume ending on Oscar extending the cane experimentally. 

Being blunt, I feel like Oscar should have been cut from Volume 4 and just introduced in Volume 5 with the bar scene. Volume 4 already had to juggle far too much in RWBY and Cinder’s plots, and adding Oscar to the mix unfortunately meant the screentime for some characters had to suffer- especially Yang. His time this season ultimately goes nowhere and only gives him a basic background that most fans would have already guessed from his character design, and the already wobbly Jenga Tower that was Volume 4′s screentime didn’t need more blocks thrown on top. I like a fair few things in Oscar’s arc, but it’s content that ultimately I’d have been fine having left on the cutting room floor. Hell, if nothing else, Oscar’s first scene should have ended with Ozpin’s reappearance, that these are two separate scenes is mind-boggling and left the fans wondering what the hell was Oscar’s purpose for weeks. 

Oscar’s debut arc has its ups and downs, much like the volume itself. His intro scene and argument with Ozpin are both well-executed and show the viewer the vocal dynamite of Dismuke’s performance or just set up his base character, but for every good thing to come of Oscar’s arc, it’s fraught with issues- most notably, his scene of choosing to leave his home being omitted and beginning the unfortunate tendency for Oscar to get the short end of the stick when it came to development and agency, which undermine his choice to leave. But overall, Oscar built himself a small but dedicated fanbase with his debut volume, even immediately shooting up to become a potential target for Ruby’s affections in the fandom shipping wars. It was a rocky start, but surely now that Oscar was going to have his plot merged with RNJR, he’d be able to handle his screen-time more effectively, right? 

Right? 

Volume 5- Two for one on meatsacks

Volume 5 is Oscar’s worst volume so far, being blunt. It’s a lot of people’s worst volumes though (Cinder, Ruby, Weiss, Mercury, Adam, mine) that at least he can share the load. It doesn’t help that he’s not in half the damn thing because his body is being used by Ozpin to regale the audience with expositon that makes them actively yearn for the sweet embrace of death... or just the return of the World of Remnant shorts. Oscar’s first scene in Volume 5 is just a recycling of the Volume 4 post-credits scene, which raises the question of why the scene was used in Volume 4. I don’t think it’s even touched up, they literally just copy-pasted it. Much like his first scene in Volume 4, his intro scene this volume is intercepted by comedy relief- last time it was Jaune’s miserable attempts at being a strategist, this time it’s Drunkle Qrow.

... You know, this scene ages poorly in hindsight given how just one volume later Qrow’s alcoholism is treated with ice-cold severity. 

Episode 3 follows up on this and gives us Ozcar’s first major scene of the volume, and unfortunately also sets up their dynamic this volume. Oscar gets some awkwardly charming moments with Ruby but overall the scene is dominated by Ozpin taking over for the first time and explaining his reincarnation powers alongside setitng up RNJR’s plot for the season- “training.” An episode later sees the entirety of this training, with Oscar and Ruby engaging in hand-to-hand combat and Oscar getting a lore dump from Ren (in hindsight this is novel not just because they’re outside during it but Ren’s the one delivering the infodump and not Ozpin). Ozpin barely even factors into the episode barring some fisticuffs and a generic speech at the end. But the scene is overall just pointless to the narrative beyond loosely setting up Jaune’s own Semblance unlocking, and this is the last we hear of RNJR “training” for the upcoming trials at Haven. Hell, even though the story makes a point of noting Oscar still hasn’t unlocked his Semblance, that still hasn’t come up two years later. This scene really only pays off in one immediate way:

This is Ruby’s sole contribution to the Battle of Haven after getting KO’d by Emerald outside of just yelling orders for offscreen fights, and all this helped do was begin to convince people that “MERC’S A BAD FIGHTER WITHOUT EMERALD.” 

Lighting the Fire’s training scene is one of Oscar’s only major scenes where he interacts with RNJR to boot for the entirety of Volume 5, and it’s quite sad that nothing really comes of it. It just serves to highlight how little Oscar interacts with the other kids, as most of his dialogue this season is just as Ozcar.

Necessary Sacrifice then, should be great on paper. It’s an entirely Oscar and Ruby scene with Ozpin only chiming in at the end. It has Oscar confronting Ruby and himself on his fears and how Ruby can put up a brace face, and Ruby finally gets to open up a little about losing Penny and Pyrrha at Beacon. But the scene just falls flat on its face and botches the execution. Putting aside Ruby’s own problems in this scene (her speech feels incredibly pre-rehearsed, as if she spent hours practicing it in the mirror to ward off anyone actually prying into her life). Oscar’s anger and fear come out of left field with nothing setting this up in his prior scenes this volume. Ruby needed a scene where she talked about losing Penny and Pyrrha, but it should have been during Volume 4, with Jaune. Having it now with Oscar feels like the writers apologizing for having Ruby get shafted for screenitme during Volume 4... during the volume where she gets shafted by literally everyone else. The scene is frustrating to me, it could and should have been a lot better (musically at least I love the reprises of When It Falls and Lets Just Live), but it just feels like a hasty patch note. Oscar doesn’t really develop from the situation and his fears are just forgotten for the rest of the volume. 

Oscar then proceeds to basically sit out Volume 5 barring Chapters 11 and 12. I still don’t get why he wasn’t part of the dinner scene with RWBJNR, since it would have been so very easy for him to be part of the dinner and get the chance to interact with the rest of the kids. Oscar wants to be a hero, so let him... actually interact with heroes his age. Have him brought up to speed on the crazy adventures the team have, let them get to interact with Oscar without having to deal with his backseat driver. You could even make something tragic of the scene where Oscar is forced to go away so Ozpin can take over, and the team’s faces fall flat when Ozpin gets right to talking shop which leads to the YOU TURNED THEM INTO BIRDS exchange. But otherwise, the rest of the House scenes revolve around Ozpin talking. The kids talk past Oscar, and again, you can very easily make something tragic of that as Oscar could grow to resent Ozpin because none of the others see him as himself, just a puppet on strings. But again... Oscar’s just not allowed to develop onscreen in this show.

And perhaps the worst thing about all this is that whenever Ozpin actually is called out on his tactics, one of the most pressings ones in his possession of Oscar,a  14 year old boy, is never used as fuel. Granted, yes, Ozpin has no control over who’s his next host but surely someone, somewhere is going to opine how morally bankrupt it is that Ozpin essentially conscripted a child not even old enough to get a learner’s permit into his eternal shadow war. It’s times like this that my theory that Jaune was going to be Ozpin’s original replacement before the backlash to Jaundice made them backtrack looks more and more possible. 

The Haven Battle episodes quickly have Ozpin force control away from Oscar, but it’s not like Oscar did much before then anyway other than serve as the conduit for another lore dump on Hazel’s backstory. He doesn’t try and learn why Leo defected and manages to trounce the headmaster so well one wonders how the hell Leo got put in charge of a combat school. After that, Ozpin takes over (and we admittedly get some of the coolest fighting in the actual Battle of Haven in Ozcar vs Hazel) and Oscar only briefly returns in the last seconds of the finale to drop the sequel hook that they need to get the lamp to Atlas.

Volume 5 is just a bad season for Oscar- this is the one time we don’t get his eternal phantom of offscreen character development because it’s not fair to say Oscar has any development in Volume 5. He’s immediately forced to the back to serve as a projector through which Ozpin can put the audience to sleep, most of his actual scenes are irrelevant or just feel like a waste of time and he basically sits out the entire finale. It’s just infuriatingly incompetent writing- we’ve gone from Oscar being a waste of time in Volume 4 to just being a waste of a character in Volume 5 who barely gets to express himself. Little is done with Oscar that could not be achieved by putting a tape recorder beside a lampshade and calling that Ozpin’s new host. Volume 5′s bad for a lot of characters, but at least most of the rest of the cast had good seasons beforehand to show how well they could be handled or written. Oscar didn’t have that, and while ultimately the blame was placed more on Ozpin for hogging the time, Oscar’s critics began to grow and he was derisively seen as just a plot device to let the writers bring Ozpin back and serve as a mission marker for the heroes. One more bad season for Oscar could spell the end to his character ever having a warm reception among the fans and critics. Drastic action would need to be undertaken in order to regain trust in Oscar. 

3) Volume 6- Tossing out the baby with the water

So the big plan to give Oscar some screentime... was basically cut Ozpin out of the story entirely. Oscar is almost entirely himself after the fourth episode, it’s the longest run of episodes with Oscar as himself that we’ve gotten in the show to date and Ozpin doesn’t even surface until the finale. There’s a lovely line of Oscar’s in episode 4 that finally lets him address some of the fears and concerns he should be rightfully worried about- “I’m just going to be another one of his lives, aren’t I?” Oscar’s tone is just so bleak there, it works super well and it was nice to finally see Oscar expressing human emotions. It even my cynical heart hope that Volume 6 would finally see Oscar get the limelight he had been denied for two years running.

But then the ball is just dropped hard. Oscar’s left in a background role for the Brunswick episodes, stuck working on a tire while RWBY encounter the Apathy. What’s already a somewhat rushed resolution to the whole plot of “RWBY express concerns about going onward to Atlas in light of Jinn’s revelations” now leaves Oscar, the guy carrying Ozma’s soul in him, out of the moment. He just gets to be tired and tell Blake to make food if she’s hungry. 

Argus at least alludes to putting Oscar in the driver’s seat for his own solo arc where he explores the city alone after Jaune physically assults him (why didn’t anyone stop Jaune from hurting Oscar two people saying Jaune’s name with all the concern of someone stubbing their toe just feels cheap). Even though I was cold on the episode as a whole, Dead End did set up the wonderful idea of an Oscar episode, one where he maybe forces Ozpin to come out so they can talk frankly for the first time in two volumes. Maybe they could even rip off Avatar (some more) and have Oscar meet Ozma himself, using his conversation with the two as his own chance to rally onwards and decide to bring the fight to Salem.  It could have been a really sweet moment of him backing Ruby up in her desire to keep going, the two forming a mutual bond of bolstering each other’s hopes as they carry the burden for their team. 

But no. Because I can’t have nice things, in an otherwise near-perfect episode where I actually got Mercury and Emerald screentime and the lovely Pyrrha statue scene (which I low-key feel like Oscar should have been a part of but that’s a subject for another day), Oscar just gets over his issues, buys a new outfit and dodges past his problems, getting to develop past them, off-screen, for the third time in a row. 

As far as I care, Oscar stole the money for this costume from either Qrow or Jaune and I don’t care if Miles says to my face he earned the money legit, I’m keeping that headcanon. Also, why are his gloves still orange? They don’t fit the rest of his costume.

If there was anything that got cut from Volume 6′s final half, I’d bet money on it being Oscar’s solo arc. Kerry himself has admitted during the RWBY Rewind for the finale that stuff got cut, and it’s very likely (going off comments from Miles that The Lost Fable was a huge resource drain) that this content was going to be part of the entire episode that was cut (Volume 6 initially had 14 episodes but around Christmastime this was remedied down to 13). It’s actually downright insulting and infuriating that Oscar got the shaft again, especially when Volume 6 finally seemed to be addressing the issue of Oscar never getting growth or focus. He was free of Ozpin, and with Ozma’s history revealed it was the perfect time for him to embrace the past forced upon him and resolve to become a hero. But no, the episode count went down so we had to wave goodbye to Oscar’s agency again. 

Just think of how beneficial it would be for Oscar to actually confront his sorta-not-really ancestor, who may have had to watch as soul after soul gets consumed for him. Has Ozma ever had someone tell him none of this was his fault? I feel he needs it. 

If I was a more suspicious person I’d say it almost feels deliberate, that someone on the writing team doesn’t like Oscar and is purposefully keeping his growth offscreen out of childish spite. But three volumes in a row now, Oscar’s growth has felt artificial and fake, and leaves him feeling like an afterthought. I know it’s not a problem of RWBY not being able to write new characters well, just look at how fleshed out and beloved Maria was after just her debut season. But Oscar just can’t catch a break and it’s frustrating to watch. In a volume that otherwise made huge strides in solving many of the pre-existing issues in Volumes 4 and 5, that 6 still refuses to treat Oscar with anything other than mild apathy is just mind-boggling. 

Like, what was even the point of having Jaune say Ozpin was just pretending to be Oscar? To make Jaune look irrational? To plant the red herring in the viewer’s minds?  The rest of the volume itself shoots the idea down hard, and it feels like it was going to be used during Oscar’s potential cut scene, but again... it was cut. I can only go off what’s in the volume and unfortunately, Oscar in Volume 6 is only marginally better than he was in past Volumes. Bless his heart, Aaron is trying to save this character but the writing itself is dragging Oscar down every chance it can get. 

4) Volume 7- The potential breaking point

Oscar’s character is currently in a make or break spot, and Volume 7 will either finally solve his growth issues or this will be it and his fandom will reach a boiling point. The worst thing is, it’s a very easy solution to fix Oscar.

Just put his character development onscreen. 

That’s it, the golden answer to all of Oscar’s problems is to just stop cutting his development and agency short. Oscar has potential to be the most tragic character in RWBY- someone who wanted to be a hero, only for the responsibilities to be forced on him without his consent. He’s someone who the rest of his companions oftentimes don’t see as a person, just a walking telephone to their boss. Imagine how dehumanizing it would be, especially after Qrow’s “Don’t lie to him, we’re better than that” line? Imagine being someone effectively living on borrowed time because sooner or later, your consciousness will be absorbed what makes you you will be but a distant memory? Oscar could easily be a shining example of character growth, he could easily have a great arc of learning to deal with the burdens of Ozma’s struggle, of being the target of Hazel and Salem’s ire when he did nothing to earn it. But it needs to be soon, or all the potential in the world won’t be able to save Oscar. 

Perhaps Volume 7 will have a flashback to Oscar in Argus having that confrontation with Ozpin and getting his new outfit. Perhaps Ironwood will be mistrusting of Oscar claiming to be Oz, and Oscar will have to step up and prove he is who he says he is. Qrow never apologized to Oscar for punching him, so an apology would serve both Qrow and Oscar’s arcs as Qrow reignites his spark to fight. A potential confrontation with Salem where Oscar may try something the previous Oz lives didn’t could work wonders for Oscar. Volume 7 could still easily have Oscar get spotlight, but with how many plates the season is already planning to spin (Tyrian and Wattts going to Atlas, Cinder and Neo going after Ruby, Weiss dealing with her family, Ruby learning about the Silver Eyes with Maria, a likely return of Faunus racism for Blake and Yang, Atlas class warfare, the token reminder that Pyrrha died so Jaune, Ren and Nora can be sad, etc.) I’m already accepting that Oscar is the most likely candidate to get the boot again. It’s happened before, and I try to avoid being a sucker who falls for the same thing over and over. Definition of insanity and all that. 

5) Conclusion

Oscar is... I hate to say this again, but infuriating to me writing wise. He has so much potential as a character in terms of his growth but despite having had main character status for half the show’s runtime now, it’s hard to really care. Oscar keeps getting the short end of the stick, and if it turns out that the whole reason he got shafted for years was because of M&K’s mystery fetish, I might actually throw a chair out a window.  

What makes it worse is that Oscar is not a character with no hopes of being salvaged! There is a very easy way to remedy the problem and it’s just to let him have his time to shine and develop offscreen. Flashbacks covering the lost events such as his leaving his farm or gaining confidence in Argus (or even giving Oscar a character short specifically to address these issues) might be belated and feel like damage control- let’s be fair, after Adam’s short this wouldn’t be the first time they resorted to doing damage control in their shorts- but it would be a step in the right direction and show the team are committed to working to salvage Oscar. But they want to do it, it has to be now. If Oscar leaves Volume 7 suffering from the same problems, he might as well get killed off in Volume 8 because that will be it for his character, no one will defend him and Oscar will fully become the heroic Cinder in that no matter what, you can rest assured they won’t get onscreen development from anything that happens. In the meantime, all I can do is hope that this time, things will work out for the farm boi. There’s a goldmine of a character here guys, someone’s just gotta put the work into finding the first nugget. 

In short, Oscar can be a great character, if the writing lets him become it onscreen. But until then, it’s going to be a frankly depressing journey to get there.

Thank you for reading. 

[jmespottuh]

❛  if there’s one thing the gods love, it’s tragedy. with wings that burn and boys who fall. ❜

* ╰   brandon arreaga  ;  17 ;  he/him  —— wow, james potter sure has changed. i guess he is feeling isolated from the other gryffindor members. guess you can’t really blame them. i still remember them being so charming & incisive now they just seem dependent & inexorable.  guess being a  pureblood isn’t helping matters much either.  i’m hopeful though. they’ll be just fine.

links: pinterest, stats character parallels: bellamy blake ( the 100 ), shane madej ( buzzfeed unsolved ), jake peralta ( brooklyn nine-nine ), stefan salvatore ( the vampire diaries ), scott mccall ( teen wolf ), steve harrington ( stranger things )

james henry potter ( named for two his two grandfathers, maternal and paternal respectively ) was born on april 4th, 1960 to two of the most loving parents a child could have.

fleamont and euphemia had been trying for a child for years. they’d been together for basically all of time, having been that typical good-looking, well liked couple in hogwarts that everyone always just assumes will get married ( spoiler alert: they did ), however had had to postpone kids due to fleamont’s brief stint as a professional quidditch player for eight years following their graduation. after that, they would try every month for a child, and after many years of disappointment, eventually gave up. it was during this time that fleamont developed the sleekeazy hair potion which only added to their immense wealth. 

finally at age forty-one, they were surprised with the arrival of james. obviously, they saw him as their miracle child, and as such he was pampered and completely spoiled from the moment he was born.

i cannot stress enough how much this spoiled upbringing shaped james into the person he is today. if you’re wondering why he was ever an arrogant prick, it’s because he was always used to getting absolutely everything he ever wanted. he grew up with money, he grew up with fame and with every bit of attention he could garner, and so it was really no wonder he was a bit of an asshole by the time he started at hogwarts.

obviously, james had a pretty cushy childhood, and as such, shit didn’t start getting real until he started at hogwarts. 

it took all of three seconds for the hat to sort him into gryffindor, and i guess you could say he pretty much considered himself to be the gem of the house. he was the absolute epitome of a gryffindor, basically considered him the poster boy and all but expected everyone to love him.

really did not help his ego to know that everyone did.

in typical sterotype-gryffindor fashion, james hated slytherin. he had always been taught growing up that purists were basically the root of all evil, and his father had had no qualms in lumping all these people in with the house of the snakes. james and his friends took a particular disliking to severus snape almost immediately for the poncy way in which he seemed to believe he was superior to all for his intelligence and his house status, and this dislike only grew when lily evans was tossed into the mix, too.

for basically the first four or five years of hogwarts, james really was that stereotypical arrogant asshole that he’s often made out to be. he always got everything he asked for, he was incredibly popular and incredibly intelligent, he had the most amazing friends and his eyes on the most amazing girl. he was set!! shit was good!!

shit was not good, though. definitely was not.

despite having known of remus’ furry little problem since second year, things didn’t really start to settle in james how awful it was until third or fourth year. he hated seeing his friend in pain, he hated that he couldn’t help, and so he rallied the boys to put into action their worst plan yet!!!!

becoming animagi!!!!!!

it took fucking forever, obviously, but by the end of fourth year they did it!! we stan icons

except then in fifth year shit hit the fan again in just, like… so many ways

first, it was the whole severus ‘mudblood’ situation. honestly, james was absolutely furious. he’d always hated snape but this just made everything 1000 times worse. even if it had happened to anyone else, he would have been fuming. but for it to have happened to lily like… yikes. 

this was also a horrible time for james though because lily rejected him for the thousandth time. like, look, what a yikes thing to think when she was just called a mudblood, but frankly he was sick of being rejected and he was sick of being the asshole who kept pressuring her so that was the breaking point — he gave up on her. 

and tbh, he changed a lot from here on out. grew up!! became a better person bc he saw how horrible snap was and decided he was sick of horrible people!! saw, recognised and acknowledged that just bc he was hot and intelligent and rich he wasn’t always going to get everything he wanted ( see: miss evans ) and just generally learned that oh shit the world doesn’t revolve around him!!!

oh and then there was that whole thing with sirius and snape and remus the werewolf and ohhhh boyyyy…. that infuriated him. 

he loves his bros so much and y’all know he would die for them, but to see his friend abuse remus’ pain and suffering for his own gain was heart wrenching. it just pushed him further to pull him in line, to realise that not everything was about games, or petty rivalry, or ‘ getting the girl ’ — life was heartache and mistakes and it was never going to go the way he wanted it to.

now look, this isn’t all to say that james is now a super strict, super intense, brooding weirdo. he’s still a bit of a child, and he’s still a bit of an arrogant prick, but ultimately what wins out is his morals — every time. he wants to lead the world to a better place, without war and without hate, he wants everyone to have the same opportunities he had as a kid and he wants nothing more than for blood purity to be eradicated.

get that shit outta my house!!! gross!!!!!!

now in his final year, james is always flipping between taking his role as head boy deadly serious and turning it into one big game of mischief. he’s still a marauder at heart, after all, and has definitely abused his power sometimes for the benefit of fun and games, but when it comes down to it, he can be very strict and lowkey paternal. the leader really just…. popped right outta him, it came to play and it came hard, and really you’d think he’s minister for magic with how serious he treats it sometimes.

i hate him.

the disappearance of one of his best friends, one peter pettigrew, landed james to flop pretty fucking hard on the side of seriousness. once you spend months without knowing where your best friend is, thinking he’s dead, you’re bound to start to lose a bit of that which once made you smile. it was this piled on top of what james had already been feeling which led the head boy to start finding ways he could join the revolution within the walls of hogwarts --- it’s been bloody hard but james is determined to make a difference, to make sure no one else he loves suffers in a war that they never asked to fight in the first place.

anyway here’s some fun facts that didn’t fit up top

james is a lot less intense with his hatred for slytherin’s. he has come to recognise that not everyone from that lifestyle is going to be the same, not everyone who grew up a certain way or was sorted into a certain house is going to think with a deadly mind, and while he’s still a bit wary, he’s a lot more relaxed about it, especially as head boy ( gotta at least pretend shit’s fair !!! )

he’s very dependent as in like… boi cannot go a week without his friends. he is used to having people to bounce off, that’s always the type of leader he has been, and as much as he would probably be amazing at anything on his own, he’s never really tried. too scared!! i hate him!!!!!

super unforgiving. like, if you have gotten on his bad side…. i’m sorry. it is going to be very difficult to return from there. his moral compass is pretty black and white, you’re either good or your bad, and if you’ve done something he considers bad well sucks to be you, i guess. sorry not sorry.

takes his quidditch very seriously tbh. so many people have told him he needs to be a pro like his dad, but he’s like haha fuck you i know what i wanna do ( hint hint: he wants to rule that goddamn auror office, make that shit far more efficient then he thinks it is now ). but srsly, he’s so intense abt the game and it really like… idk gets him in the zone, keeps him level-headed in amongst all this chaos. 

he’s smart. i guess. straight a’s and shit idk. just very naturally intelligent, finds everything he does easy, like.. really is that asshole who is just good at everything he does.

[gay-spaghetti]

A Much Needed Reunion - FriendlyPack Gifted Heart AU Fanfic

Summary: The traumatic death of Staniel Wheeler has left Jimmy heartbroken—literally and figuratively—and every day is a constant struggle without his best friend. Stan, now a ghostly spirit, follows the lonely drug dealer wherever he goes, desperately wishing to be seen and heard by him.

Rating: Mature (17+) Triggers/Warnings: Strong language, suicide mention, suicidal thoughts, death, attempted rape (The attempted rape is incredibly sfw. It's still a heavy subject though, so I knew I needed to mention it regardless) Chapters: 1/1 (One-shot) Word Count: 4,616 Inspirations: @haepherion , @missfeisty199 , Tags: @stanthewaterman , @friendlypack

Note: This isn’t the entirety of the AU, just a snippet of it. The AU will never be a full fic, although there will be doodles and comics created for it to expand the story. ALSO::: I know the triggers are heavy, but I promise you the ending is happy.

Jimmy Bending collapsed to his hands and knees, a cry of anguish unsteadily spilling from his lips. He wasn’t pushed, nor had he tripped. Rather, the death of his best friend Staniel Wheeler tore at him so severely, that he couldn’t keep the pain in any longer. Stan had only been buried just two days ago, and Jimmy was visiting his grave during a heavy rainfall—one that had made the grassy ground a soppy mess. Stan’s marble tombstone was adorned with all kinds of flowers and surrounded by rock-filled water bottles. The bottles were there in memoriam, the weight of the stones keeping them in place. They would’ve all been filled with water, but everyone knew that Stan wouldn’t have wanted any of it to go to waste.

Jimmy cried his heart out, feeling too vulnerable to weep at the funeral, so he did it here. He crawled to the grave and hugged the drenched tombstone, muttering incoherent apologies and babbling out Stan’s name as if saying it enough times would bring him back. A sudden strike of distant lightning startled him from his sobs, and he wiped his face with his jacket sleeve. “Why, Stan? Why?” Jimmy choked out, desperately asking his deceased friend why this had happened. His cause of death was an overdose on Oxycodone; police and friends alike debated on whether it was suicide, a terrible addiction, or just a fatal mishap. Jimmy didn’t want to believe it was suicide, but the last texts that were found on Stan’s phone were of his ex wife telling him to “fuck off”. That infuriated Jimmy to the bone.

Would Stan really have taken his own life?

The question had reminded Jimmy of his own suicidal thoughts. He couldn’t take this horrendous aching in his heart; he needed Stan. That man was the only person in the whole world that he cared about, and now he was gone forever.

Shakily, Jimmy got to his feet and turned away, walking to his car to drive back to the apartments. His plan was to end his life; he had plenty of drugs he could easily overdose on. When he stepped inside his room though, he looked down at the blue, heart-shaped locket he wore around his neck. He had bought it the day of Stan’s funeral. It was something he could wear every single day to remind him that, within his body, he was, quite literally, carrying Stan’s beating heart. The doctors told him that upon hearing the news of Stan’s death, Jimmy suffered what’s called “Broken Heart Syndrome”. Stan was an organ donor, and his heart just so happened to be compatible with Jimmy’s body.

He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t kill himself. That would be such a terrible waste of Stan’s heart. How could he dishonor his friend—the man who generously donated his own organs. Jimmy should feel lucky to go on living while Stan was six feet under. He didn’t feel lucky though. He felt like the unluckiest person in the world, and he felt selfish for feeling that way. Why did he have to live on while Stan–

Jimmy shook his head and pressed his palms into his forehead, as if he were trying to shove his depressing thoughts out of his mind. He threw off his jacket and fell into bed, not even caring that he was still soaking wet with rain water. It took an hour and a half, but the lonely man eventually passed out from exhaustion.

—–

Black. All he could see was black—the complete and total lack of any sort of light. He waved his hand in front of his face, seeing absolutely nothing. Where was he? The last thing he could remember was being in his apartment, …had he passed out? If so, why was everything still so dark? Fear quickly gripped him, but it slowly faded away when he could see a blue light doused in faint sparkles slowly getting bigger. The man shut his eyes, and when he opened them, he was standing in his apartment!

Stan took a deep breath of relief and ran a hand through his blonde locks. He then placed his hands at his hips, turning his head and observing his… wait, this isn’t his apartment. The delivery man’s eyes widened when he realized… this is Jimmy’s apartment! What was he doing here? He made his way over to his friend’s bedroom, assuming he was in there. When he opened the door, his assumptions were confirmed at the sight of a very tired-looking drug dealer sleeping in his unkempt bed. Still confused, Stan took a few more steps in the room, tempted to wake Jimmy and ask him how he got there. Unexpectedly, Jimmy stirred and lazily slumped out of bed, standing to his feet.

“Hey Friendly! Sorry to wake you, I just wanted to ask how the diddly darn I got here!” Stan stated with a warm smile “All I can remember is being in my own kitchen, and then–”. Jimmy trudged towards the door, not answering or even looking at Stan “Um… Jimmy?”.

Jimmy got closer, so close in fact that the two men’s bodies would have pressed together if it weren’t for the fact that Jimmy had just walked straight through Stan to close the door. The younger man shivered and wrapped his arms around himself, getting back under the covers and drifting off to sleep pretty quickly.

Stan stood there in utter shock. He slowly looked down at his hands, seeing that they were the color of the sky during the day–a nice baby blue color. He also noticed little sparkles that would twinkle all over his blue body and clothes. The self-proclaimed water man whipped around and hurried out of the room, closing the door behind him. He nearly tripped as he rushed to the bathroom to get to a mirror. When he was there, he didn’t like what he saw: nothing. He had no reflection. He desperately waved his hands in front of the reflective piece of glass on the wall, but nothing changed: he still had no reflection. Stan stumbled back up against the wall and rested his palm on his forehead, trying to remember what had happened to him. He tightly shut his eyes and was finally able to recall the biting text he received from his ex-wife. He then remembered the urge to take all of those oxy pills, thinking that enough of them would fix his broken heart. Cold tears rushed down Stan’s transparent face as he remembered falling to the ground and everything going black.

The realization was terrifying: Stan had died.

—–

For the next two weeks, Stan followed Jimmy wherever he went, which was really just around the apartment. The poor man rarely ever went outside anymore, that being insanely abnormal for him. For the first few days, Stan desperately tried speaking to his friend, even reaching out to him and trying to grab his arm. Nothing worked. Whenever they made contact, Jimmy would shiver as if a gust of frigid snow had pressed against his skin. He even got really angry at the sudden drops in temperature, one day shouting out “GOD DAMMIT, why is it so fucking cold?”. That outburst deeply upset Stan, and for the rest of that day, he just sat alone in the corner of the living room.

Every day was an unbearable struggle for both men. Jimmy had to leave his apartment eventually, and when he did so, Stan stayed close beside him. Walking down the city streets was agonizing for Jimmy; all he could remember was spending time with Stan in the most craziest of situations. Memories of their wild adventures flooded his mind, and he had to wipe his eyes under his sunglasses. Stan, the ghostly figure walking just beside him, felt a painful sting in his chest at the sight of his friend rubbing the tears out of his eyes. He reached out and took Jimmy’s hand, but it was quickly pulled away at the icy feeling. Stan sighed sadly, muttering out a soft “please don’t cry, Jimothy. I’m here… I promise I’m here”. Of course, Jimmy couldn’t hear these words of reassurance, and just continued walking as if he were the only person on the sidewalk.

Later that night, Jimmy entered his bathroom and left the door open, which made Stan assume that he wasn’t going to use it. Even though he lived alone, Jimmy always closed the bathroom door if he was going to shower or use the toilet.

Instead, the friendly drug dealer pulled out a bottle of hair bleach and began applying it to the teal-colored portion of his locks. Stan watched in surprise as he did this “Oh, Jimmy what are you doing?” he said quickly “Your hair’s not stupid, I swear! I was just teasing you before, you don’t have to change it!”. His efforts proved to be futile though, since Jimmy quickly finished bleaching the dyed part of his hair. After letting it dry for a while, he stumbled into bed. Stan would always just sleep on the couch. He knew he didn’t physically need the rest, but what else was he going to do?

Soon enough, Jimmy’s casual attire was completely dedicated to Stan’s memory. He bleached part of his hair blonde, and he constantly wore a little heart locket, a sunflower-shaped pin, and a few star-shaped pins for his hair. Stan felt so honored that his friend did everything to keep his memory alive. Jimmy went as far as delivering water on the days where he felt less shitty than usual. That filled Stan with so much appreciation and love. He wished he could thank Jimmy.

One night, a full two weeks after Stan’s funeral, Jimmy was treading down the street with Stan’s spirit when he suddenly got a text message from someone he didn’t want to see ever again: Alabaster Slim.

“So, Aurora, you thought you could avoid me without consequence, hm?”.

Jimmy’s heart dropped fearfully.

“You’re gonna pay for this, he-bitch”.

Recognizing that he was in danger, Jimmy stumbled back, turned around, and sped away to get to the safety of his apartment. Stan followed, still completely unseen by everyone. Jimmy’s efforts to escape were halted though when he was suddenly grabbed by the arm and yanked into an alleyway. He pushed and shoved at the stranger, noticing there were three of them and angrily telling whoever it was to let go. It didn’t take long for him to realize that these three massive thugs were past sex clients. “Shit, p-please don’t hurt me” Jimmy stammered out as he anxiously reached into his pocket to retrieve his knife, ready to kill all three of these sons of bitches.

Unfortunately, the man that was holding onto his wrist took note of the tricky movement and easily stole the weapon away from him, tossing it aside “Stupid whore, we wont be needing that~” Jimmy shook in terror as the vile man ran his hand up Jimmy’s clothed chest and pressed his palm to the younger one’s throat “now be a good little he-bitch and open that mouth of yours”.

Tears brimmed Jimmy’s eyes, but he stayed strong “I’ll bite your fucking dick off” he warned.

The ugly criminal grumbled in irritation and squeezed Jimmy’s neck “Fine. Have it your way, pretty boy. We’re going to make this harder than it has to be.”

Stan watched in horror as the three men worked to get Jimmy undressed. They pulled his jacket away and ripped off his jeans with a mighty force. They felt up his body and violated him in any way they could, one of them licking and biting the young man’s neck roughly. Jimmy tried fighting back, but the three thugs were way too strong. So, just accepted his fate, and allowed his arms to go limp. Being unable to hold it back anymore, he started weeping quietly.

“Stop bitchin’, you little slut” Barked one of the bastards.

Stan couldn’t take this anymore. The sight of his best friend being tormented like this angered him to his core. So, just before the douchebags could get Jimmy fully naked, Stan rushed over, grabbed one of them, and harshly shoved him to the ground. The thugs stopped in total confusion, looking around for anyone who could’ve done that. The one on the ground got up and clenched his fists “SHOW YOURSELF!” he growled.

This gave Jimmy the chance to run away, so he scrambled out of their hold and tried making a run for it. Sadly, he failed, and the annoyed criminal shoved him to the brick wall and kicked him in the stomach when he fell to the ground. Jimmy cried out, shaking pathetically on the ground like an injured dog. An enraged fire ignited inside of Stan, and he, without hesitation, threw his fist directly into the crook’s face. The vicious man shouted and painfully held his now broken nose “FUCK! FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?! AHHHG! FUCK!” he screamed. Stan then attacked the other two, throwing one against the ground and shoving the other against the wall. In a confused panic, the three attackers ran away as fast as they could, terrified of the mysterious force that was defending Jimmy.

Stan was breathing heavily, fury still pulsing through him. He was so mad that he didn’t even realize that he was finally able to physically touch people.

With shaky arms, Jimmy pushed himself up to his feet, completely baffled yet relieved that he was saved. The beaten man wasted no time in throwing his jeans and jacket back on, and hurrying back to his apartment. Stan followed like always, really wishing he could ask his friend if he were okay.

When they got home, Jimmy plopped onto his bed and stressfully pulled at his bright yellow hair. A sudden wave of emotions overwhelmed him, and before he knew it, he was sobbing. Stan just stood in front of him, his own tears falling knowing that he couldn’t hug Jimmy or tell him that everything was going to be okay.

“Stan… oh Sunflower” Jimmy cried, gripping the heart locket and holding it close to his chest “my sweet sunflower…”. He stayed in his bed like this for a good 15 minutes, only calming down when he felt his empty stomach growl hungrily. That’s right… he hadn’t eaten anything at all the day before, and only had a small sandwich for lunch. He should really eat something before hitting the hay.

Stan sauntered into the kitchen with Jimmy, always being just two steps behind him. Wanting to go to bed as soon as possible, Jimmy just threw together a little bowl of cereal and walked over to the counter to eat. As if his bad luck had a sick sense of humor, Jimmy slipped and accidentally let go of the cereal and milk-filled bowl “SHIT!” he sputtered out, steadying himself and preparing for cereal, milk, and glass to shower the kitchen.

Reacting on instinct, Stan grabbed the bowl before it could hit the ground “I got it!” He said, letting out a sigh of relief when he successfully prevented a big mess. It took a few seconds, but Stan soon realized that Jimmy was staring at the floating bowl with wide eyes and a terrified pale face. “Oh, sh-shoot!” The flustered ghost placed the bowl safely onto the counter and hid his hands behind his back, as if he were ashamed of a crime he just committed.

Jimmy took a few steps back, his eyes frantically scanning his surrounding area “Shit. I’m going crazy. SHIT!” he thought to himself worriedly.

“Nice going, Stan. ..You really did it this time” Stan muttered sheepishly, feeling like a pathetic loser. Shockingly though, Jimmy flinched as if…. he could hear him. Stan perked up “Jimmy! ..C-Can you hear me?”.

Jimmy could definitely hear the disembodied voice. He shouted and jolted backwards, his back pressing up against the kitchen wall. Just when he thought he couldn’t lose his marbles any further, a blue shine of light materialized in front of him, and the shape of a six foot human formed. Before he even knew it, Stan appeared in front of him, finally being fully visible. Jimmy nearly forgot to blink. The sight was unbelievable.

“J-Jimothy, can…can you see me?”.

The younger man screamed “N-NO NO NO NO, Th-This isn’t real. You’re not real. You’re dead. You’ve been fucking dead for weeks. ..Sh-Shit shit shit” he began hyperventilating, and Stan was worried he would faint.

“N-No no! Jimmy, I-It’s really me! Stan the water man!”.

Jimmy was still scared and in total disbelief, looking like a cornered animal. Tears raced down his face. Was this his punishment? Seeing his dead friend right after getting sexually assaulted? Was the whole world out to get him?

“Oh, no no no, Jimothy… p-please don’t cry. I promise it’s me. I-I’ve been with you for the past two weeks. I’ve been trying t-to get your attention all this time” Stan stepped closer, and the other man just tried to get away, but there was no where to go. Instead, he sank to the ground and hid his face, basically cowering in the kitchen corner. “Jimmy, …” Stan kneeled in front of him and gently placed his cold, transparent hand onto his friend’s leg as a sign of comfort.

Jimmy uncovered his wet face and looked into Stan’s deep blue eyes “Starshine? I-Is that really you? I-It can’t be…”. The thought of Stan as a ghost crossed his mind, but he still couldn’t believe it. Stan inched closer and held his hand out to his fearful friend. Jimmy gulped silently and slowly rested his hand onto the sparkly sky blue appendage. When they made contact, they could finally feel each other. Jimmy’s bottom lip quivered and his vision became blocked with brimming tears “STAN!” he cried as he threw his arms around the ghost and hugged him tightly, holding onto him for dear life. Jimmy cried and cried and cried, running his hand through the back of Stan’s hair and gripping onto him as if his life depended on it.

Admittedly, Stan was a little startled at this reaction. He expected it, but he had never been held like this, so he was a little overwhelmed. He quickly returned the loving hug and tenderly combed Jimmy’s hair with his frigid fingers “Shhhh, Jimtohy. I’m here… I’m here. It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay.”

Jimmy didn’t even care how little sense this made; he was just so relieved to hold Stan in his arms again. His friend looked very different, his whole entire body was colored with different shades and tints of blues, and so were his clothes. Tiny little sparkles glimmered around his body, and he was very cold. But this cold was a nice kind of cold. It was cool, and extremely comforting. Jimmy just melted into Stan’s arms, never wanting to be apart again. They stayed like this for a good amount of time, until Jimmy’s gentle crying drifted him off to sleep. Stan pulled away from the hug, still holding the sleeping man close “Oh Jimmy…” he muttered softly “let’s get you to bed”. With that, Stan stood up and carried him to bed, tucking him in and turning off the lights. That night, Jimmy had the best sleep he’s had in weeks.

The next morning, Jimmy woke up feeling actually kind of refreshed for once. As soon as he got out of bed, he remembered seeing Stan’s ghost last night. “Damn, what a wild dream” he thought with a humorless chuckle “At least it was much nicer than my usual ones…” . Having the rare motivation to shower, Jimmy left his room and pulled his shirt off on the way out. He stopped in his tracks though when he saw a sparkling, blue-hued Stan floating just a few feet away from him.

“Jimmy! Good morning!” The spirit said, floating back down to the ground with a welcoming smile. He blushed a deeper blue at the sight of his bare-chested friend, but he just tried to act normal “Did you have a good sleep?”.

Jimmy was so startled that he tripped over himself and fell backwards, landing on his back. He anxiously backed away, still on the ground “Y-You’re—y-you’re- you’re..” he stuttered, in complete shock and disbelief.

“Not again…” Stan thought to himself “Calm down, Jimmy. It’s okay. It really is me, I promise” he stepped forward and lent Jimmy a hand in getting back up .

“This can’t be happening, …Stan, y-you’re… you’re dead.”

Stan nodded ���I’m very aware of that, Jimothy” he stated softly “but I’m here” he looked down at himself “I guess… I’m a ghost.” Kind of an awkwardly blunt thing to say, but it’s all he could think of.

“Welp, I’ve officially lost it” Jimmy spoke flatly, placing his palm against his forehead.

“No no, Jimmy! I really am here! What I said last night was true! I’ve been following you around for the past two weeks, unable to talk to you or touch you! But, for some reason, I was finally able to last night.”

Jimmy’s usually tired eyes lit up “W-Were you the one fighting off those fuckin’ rapists last night?” he asked as he put his shirt back on.

Stan slowly nodded.

“Y-You… you really are here” Jimmy stepped closer, and the two carefully embraced in an unsure hug “S-Stan… O-Oh Stan, I missed you so much…” the waterworks started up again, and he squeezed his friend closer.

“I’ve missed you too, Jimmy. I’m so sorry it took this long… I couldn’t stand seeing you cry yourself to sleep every night, b-but I had no choice! I could only touch objects, but I didn’t want to freak you out or anything..”.

“It’s okay, buddy. I’m just so glad you’re here. I-…I can’t describe how badly I missed you” They pulled away from the comforting hug and looked into each other’s eyes “… I, … never realized how much I needed you, Stan. You’re my best friend, a-and the only person who’s ever showed genuine kindness to me”. Stan didn’t say anything, he just let his loving smile do the talking. It worked, because Jimmy returned the wide smile. Stan missed that handsome smile of his so much, it was a rare sight, even back when Stan was alive. “Fuck, I-I can’t believe you’re actually here!” Jimmy suddenly laughed excitedly as he hugged Stan yet again.

Stan giggled and squeezed him close “Who are you and what have you done with Jimmy? I’ve never seen you this happy!”.

“Of course I’m happy!” Jimmy responded cheerfully “Staniel Wheeler is still kickin’, even after death!”.

They let go of each other once again and Stan rubbed the back of his neck “Y-Yeah! …” his smile slowly faded “….y-….yeah”.

It took no time for Jimmy to realize “O-Oh, …r-right. Sorry, I know you’re probably really messed up after all of this. ..Um, … if you… don’t mind me asking, … what happened to you?”. Stan looked at him with a sort of, …sad confusion. “Sorry. I-I meant, just… why did this happen to you? You… overdosed on oxy. You didn’t… do that on purpose, ..did you?”.

Stan shook his head solemnly, relieving Jimmy of his worries that his best friend committed suicide “It was an accident. I just, … took too many I guess.”

“Oh”.

The two stayed silent for a moment, until Stan thought of something “Hey, I um… know you haven’t eaten in a while. How about you grab something to eat while we catch up?”.

Jimmy smiled and nodded “That would be great.”

—

“So you can float, huh?”.

Stan, 3 feet off the ground, giggled at the question “Yeah! Isn’t it so cool?” He levitated back down and sat on the couch next to Jimmy. The druggie finished up his bacon and eggs and took a swig of water “Hey um, ..Jimmy?”.

“Yeah, Fanny pack?”.

“Um.. H-…How many… How many people showed up to my funeral?”.

Jimmy’s eyes widened in horror at such a intense question “O-Oh, …Stan. Tons of people showed. Even some people I didn’t know. You made a lot of friends, Stan” he gave the once blonde, now blue-haired, ghost a friendly smile.

Stan returned the smile, but it was short lived “… M…Maybe this is a dumb question, b-but… Um…were Denise and Roy there?”.

Jimmy’s head slightly lowered, but he took Stan’s hand and looked up at him “I’m sorry, Stan.” Tears brimmed the ghost’s eyes, and he leaned against Jimmy’s shoulder, crying into it quietly. Jimmy wrapped an arm around him “Hey, forget them. They don’t deserve you, Stan. If they can’t see what an amazing person you are, ..u-um, were… well then, to hell with them!”.

Stan sniffled “B-But my baby boy…”.

“Stan. I’m… sure … Roy… loves you very much” he lied, but he knew he had to “but, you know how Denise is. You should focus on the tons of friends that attended your funeral. Kiki was there, Tyrone…, Selene, …Mel, Ziggy, … and I think I even saw Brenda!”.

Stan wiped his eyes “R-Really?”.

“Really.”

“Th-Thank you, Jimmy. That d-does actually make me feel a lot better”.

“No problem, bud. Oh! …uh, … that reminds me. I need to thank you too.”

“Hm? Thank me?”.

Jimmy nodded “Yeah. You’re the reason I’m still here”. Stan looked at him as if he had said that fire was cold. Jimmy noticed the confusion and realized that Stan might not even know his that his heart is in Jimmy’s chest “Well, Stan, when I heard the news of your… Death, I…apparently had a heart attack.”

Stan looked at him in shock “What? Heart attack? B-But, you’re not even 30 yet!”.

Jimmy nodded and rubbed the back of his neck “Mhm. It’s called Broken Heart Syndrome. My heart failed at the… Stress, I guess” he shrugged “I needed a new heart, and… You just so happened to be an organ donor.”

“That’s right…” Stan said softly, remembering when he signed up to die as an organ donor “so… That means… My heart is… In your chest?”.

Jimmy nodded “funny, isn’t it?” He commented with a bittersweet smile as he rested his hand on his chest.

“Oh, I’m so honored! Now I can be sure that my heart went to someone good” Stan wrapped an arm around his friend and pulled him into a nice side hug “so… You had a heart attack… At the news of my death?”.

“Of course I did, Staniel. You’re my best friend. I love ya, man.”

Joyful tears brimmed Stan’s eyes and he grinned gratefully “I love you too, Jimmy!”

The two just enjoyed their hug for a moment, the both of them being so incredibly grateful to have one another again “So.. You’re a ghost, huh?”.

Stan pulled his arm away and looked at his hands “Yeah…”.

“Do you have unfinished business or something?”.

The spirit stayed silent for a few seconds, as if he were lost in a trance “No… No. I think, … I think I’m going to stay with you as a ghost until you die”. Stan’s words were spoken in a strangely flat way, almost like an empty demon had possessed him.

“What?”.

“I don’t know, Jimmy!” His cheerful attitude returned out of the blue “something tells me that that’s just the case. I’m sticking with you until you die. And then, we can both rest in death”.

“That’s…. The creepiest fucking thing you’ve ever said” Jimmy stated, raising and eyebrow and leaning away from his friend.

“Sorry. My gut’s just telling me that’s what’ll happen.”

Jimmy stood up “Well, how about I shower and then we can make some water deliveries! Maybe get into some trouble, I dunno. OOH! We could totally prank some assholes with your ghostly abilities.”

Warmth filled Stan’s, rather metaphorical, heart, and he smiled ear to ear. It was such a relief to see his best friend back to his old self “That sounds like a wonderful idea, Friendly J!”.

[butchedyke]

(for the char thing) stanley uris, mike hanlon, and patty blum

migz!!!! i’m sorry i abandoned this in favour of video games and capitalism i hope i can make it up to u uwu

this is mostly going off the movies but there’s occasional book and miniseries input- i’ve only read the first few chapters, a few wikia pages, and some character meta from the book and i’ve only seen the miniseries once vs the however many times ive watched the movies in the last 2 months so don’t expect consistency between canons

 (also i’m gonna put these under a cut because this post got really long)

stanley uris

How I feel about this character:

there is a reason i use the tag baby boy for stan (and also for miniseries eddie)!!!! he’s my favourite loser other than eddie and i want to like. hold him and make sure he’s happy and healthy and i think stephen king should treat his characters better.

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

patty!!!!! their relationship in the book makes me so happy and anyone who’s ever spoken to me about stanpat knows that i am at all times thinking about how she calls his car sedanley.

that being said, i respect stenbrough, stanlon, and streddie but overall this is a stanpat household

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

stan with all the losers but especially richie! which isn’t very original since they are literally best friends but their dynamic!!! good!!!! i’ve not been able to stop thinking about that one scene from the miniseries where richie introduces stan as “this is stan the man uris, he’s a jew,” partially because it’s fucking funny because who says that richie what the fuck, but also because stan just instantly follows up by saying that richie has a high metabolism which makes him hyperactive, and maybe it’s because the miniseries is campy and a little bit shit but the delivery of those lines makes it seem like they do this a lot! they have these introductions ready to go! and i love the idea of them as a platonic package deal even if we don’t get to see much of that in the movies

My unpopular opinion about this character:

i don’t think i really have any? i tend to follow people who hold the same opinions as me tho so i have no idea what’s popular outside of that dshfk

i mean i do think fics that save eddie but not stan aren’t really fix-its and going off the amount of fics where stan’s still dead i guess that’s somehow an unpopular opinion? i know everyone’s focused on reddie rn but god like. stan is right there can we stop ignoring him pls

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

i mean the most blatantly obvious answer here is that i wish he didn’t die! he should’ve gotten to go on his holiday and rail/get railed by his wife and live to meet his friends as adults, catch up on the 27 years they didn’t get to be with each other. he should’ve gotten to have kids, once everything was over, and they should’ve been able to grow up with 5 extra uncles and an aunt bc u can’t tell me the rest of the losers wouldn’t be deeply embedded in their lives. i just wish stan had a chance to be completely, 100% happy without the underlying terror of his childhood.

on a smaller note i also wish we’d gotten to see more of his interest in birds in the movies bc like. he’s babie. and who knows! maybe would’ve helped stop the perception that his entire personality is just being a bitch that hates richie jshfd

mike hanlon

How I feel about this character:

part of the reason i wanted to read the book was for more mike content because i adore this lil farm boy and the movies. well. y’know. :). characters who just openly and whole-heartedly love their friends and go straight ride or die like 10 minutes after meeting them have my whole heart! he’s so smart and so kind and just wanted to protect his friends as best he could even though he dragged them into this whole mess bc he doesn’t want to lose them again!!!! mike deserves the whole world and if his way of getting that is by getting out of derry and getting to know that his friends remember and love him and each other then that’s all i want for him.

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

i wasn’t overly set on any particular mike ship until i watched the miniseries and saw the homoerotic bike montage and now i’m fully on the hanbrough train. choo choo.

just like with stan i support stanlon but endgame hanbrough is just. it’s right there in the text. bill didn’t divorce audra for nothing in ch2.

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

this also kinda ties in with the last point, but jane @billdenbrough opened my eyes, in the middle of a very in-depth conversation about audra’s minion strap, to the world of best friends mike and audra who are both with bill which is both galaxy brained and an incredibly good concept which i think about a lot

also i think mike and ben could’ve had something Incredibly soft if mike wasn’t treated like a background character in the first film and a quest-giving npc in the second one :) :)

My unpopular opinion about this character:

i headcanon mike as gay, i have no textual evidence for this, i just think he’s neat. i think it’s a pretty popular opinion that the movies treated him poorly? and i also think that in ch2 he was just trying to protect his friends in a scenario that did not lend itself at all to protection. drugging bill and not telling the others about the full ritual might not have been the best thing to do, but he was in a goddamn bitch of an unsatisfactory situation, and he was trying his best to save his friends no matter how impossible it may have been.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

i uh :) i don’t know if anyone’s figured out yet :) that i wish many things had happened with mike in canon :) :) the first film doesn’t give him much but the second film just infuriates me completely tbqh! he’s basically entirely there to push the narrative (his dialogue doesn’t even sound like dialogue! it sounds like prose explaining the plot and the next steps the characters have to take!), or to drug and lie to his friends. i wish they’d kept his backstory the same, that we’d actually gotten to see him find his token, that he’d gotten a token relevant to him as an individual rather than the group, that we’d gotten a flashback for him, that he was given more screentime and development across both films, like... i wish he’d been treated like the other losers and not a plot point.

i also wish we’d gotten to see him on his travels post-canon, seeing the other losers, and just generally actually getting to be happy- we see the start of it but god i just want to see him having a good time outside of derry.

patty blum

How I feel about this character:

if she were not stan’s wife she would be my wife. we don’t get to see much of her in the movie or miniseries and that is a fucking crime!!!! i’ve already mentioned sedanley but like. sedanley. i’ve read patty’s bit in the book and that’s all i need the other 1100 pages can get fucked, she’s just here to watch family feud and love stan which i can confidently say is a huge fucking mood

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

STAN. i guess i already talked about this before but i’ll keep going!!! my love for stanpat overwhelms my usual distaste towards straight relationships bc they’re so good!!!!! the fact that they’re really the only happy relationship to come out of the 27 year gap and they love each other so much and so like... wholesomely? but they still blow each other’s backs out on the reg and it’s what they deserve.

also i sometimes think about patty/audra as like. kind of a crack ship kind of a “i’m a lesbian and i’m desperate to see lesbians” ship. i haven’t thought about it in depth i just want to plant the seed

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

stan introducing patty to the losers and patty becoming an honorary loser is my weakness!!!! patty being comfortable enough to rib richie (and richieandeddie) with stan, but also vice versa going along with richie’s bits. patty and bev getting close because as much as st*phen k*ng and co push bev as One Of The Boys(tm) there’s just something in having another woman around that can be refreshing especially when they’re both bicons. patty and mike enthusiastically sharing holiday pictures and tales of their trips. patty noticing when eddie’s having a bad day, whether it’s anxiety or lingering trauma, and supporting him through it, regaling him with stories about stan and what essentially amount to dad jokes (sedanley!!!) and making sure he knows he’s loved and supported by all the losers. patty, the teacher, and ben, lunchtimes-in-the-library ben who never outgrew his love of reading, nerding out over shit that the others don’t really know about. bill telling patty all about what stan was like as a kid in that way only bill can, richie chiming in with crude comments sometimes but noticeably keeping quieter than usual, and patty returning the favour, telling them about the last 27 years, and not even richie makes a single joke when everyone tears up (because he’s tearing up the most). stan sitting there the whole time not even bothering to point out that he’s right there because it’s enough for him to see the romantic love of his life and the platonic loves of his life bonding, and yeah, maybe it was worth sticking around for.

My unpopular opinion about this character:

i don’t know if this is unpopular but patty pegs. that’s all.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

more patty. let me see my wife.