#gun's lack of self-awareness is so funny like

[sscarletvenus]

forever side-eyeing gun for side-eyeing ryuhei because blondie abandoned his crew in japan and left to south korea to follow the pretty girl he’d met days prior - the pretty girl who also thinks he's a perverted dickhead- simply fuelled by the sheer power of horny... AS IF gun himself didn’t shove his credit card information and vip passes in the underwear of a pretty boy who broke his arm after gun choked him - the pretty boy who, mind you, also thinks gun's a massive creep in general... the AUDACITY? the absolutely JARRING lack of self-reflection? my brother in christ ryuhei's YOU! and YOU'RE ryuhei! DOG LOOKING IN THE MIRROR! SAME FREAK DIFFERENT HAIR DYE! DAMN!

[supagogoman]

My thoughts on Shadow Generations

I played Shadow Generations. Here are my thoughts about it.

tl;dr it's amazing

Before it was released I was already expecting to enjoy Shadow Generations. It was, after all, a follow up to Sonic Generations, one of my favourite Sonic games, so more of that sounded good to me.

Of course, I'd been burned by this before; Sonic Forces also promised to be 'more Generations' and that game ended up being pretty mediocre. Still, things were clearly different this time. One of those differences was the huge focus on our antihero - Shadow the Hedgehog.

Before I go on, I should preface by admitting that I never liked Shadow the Hedgehog. I wasn't a big fan of Sonic Adventure 2, the game he debuted in, and was of the opinion that he should have stayed dead at the end of that game instead of being bought back for Heroes. He was a fine character in SA2, but the Shadow the Hedgehog game released in 2005, with it's dark, edgy writing, made Shadow a huge joke to me. I'm surprised anyone could take that character seriously after they thought it was a good idea to give a cartoon hedgehog realistic guns. His backstory seemed like the progenitor for those terrible deviantart era OC fan characters. He became a meme for years because of SEGA's seeming lack of self awareness. This edginess continued somewhat in Sonic 06, but after the disasterous result of that game it seems like SEGA tried to course correct, and since then Sonic became much more lighthearted in tone and they became much more self aware.

Perhaps they course corrected too much, as the self-awareness almost went a little too far - at the time, I remember thinking Sonic Colours' writing and simplicity was refreshing, but it seems these days people complain about the jokes and humour in that game, and the kids began to yearn for the wacky shonen anime plots of the earlier games. I didn't entirely agree with this sentinent (I was always worried about what would happen if Sonic went back to it's EDGY phase again), but in the end I didn't care how terrible the story was so long as the gameplay was FUN. I still hold Sonic Colours in high regard, but not because of it's plot, it's because it was one of the few Sonic games that didn't make me want to kill myself (which are surprisingly rare in the entire series).

Frontiers marked an apparent shift to direct the story back to taking itself more seriously, and this trend has continued in Shadow Generations. Actually, I guess Forces also tried to do this, but Frontiers clearly had more competent writers (namely Ian Flynn) at the helm. Compared to it's companion game, Shadow Gens is darker in tone, and way more serious and dramatic. Unlike Sonic Gens, which is a celebration of Sonic's past games and history, Shadow Gens is a story that basically acts as a sequel to the Shadow 2005 game, exploring the tragic backstory of Shadow and his relationship with Maria, Gerald and Black Doom.

From what I wrote earlier you might think that this return to it's edgy roots might be something I was opposed to, and I did have some reservations initially, but it has actually been executed incredibly well. It's dramatic, but not overly edgy. It's darker, but not devoid of personality or charm. They walked a fine balance of making Shadow a more serious character with additional nuance to avoid making him seem like a joke (competent writing and not giving him guns probably helped a lot with this). The game's story, as well as the Dark Beginnings animated short, actually made me like Shadow the Hedgehog as a character for the first time ever. That being said, Shadow has the luxury of being pretty much the only character in the series that has a dark, tragic backstory to flesh out. Sonic couldn't have a story like this because his backstory amounts to being a way past cool dude who like to go fast, and I can't see them doing something like this with any other character (as funny as a stand alone Chaotix game exploring their financial problems sounds) There's nothing wrong with that, but what I'm getting at is I'm hoping whatever the story of the next game is will show restraint and be of an appropriate tone.

Anyway, I have discussed at great lengths about the story. I just thought it was interesting as someone who wasn't a fan of Shadow that it would win me over. I think that speaks to how well it was written Taking plot points from shitty games and working them into something more palatable to me. Even so, none of that would have mattered if the game sucked. As I mentioned earlier, I liked Sonic Colours not for it's story, but for it's gameplay. Shadow 05 has a shitty plot, but I could forgive it if the gameplay was good (it wasn't). So if Shadow Generations was a game that sucked then having a good story wasn't going to save it.

Thankfully, not only is this a great companion to Sonic Generations, but in my view this is one of the best 3D Sonic games ever made. When I played Sonic Frontiers, I wrote how it was a good foundation for what the next Sonic game should be. Although I enjoyed traversing the open zones, I suggested that they could be downscaled, and have more effort be put into more traditional Sonic stages rather than bite sized Cyberspace missions. Shadow Generations does exactly that - it's hub world, rather than being a glorified level select as it was on Sonic Generations, is now expanded to be it's own mini open zone, filled with rails, springs, ramps and many collectables that make traversing and exploring the hub fun. It feels a more polished too - the pop in isn't particularly noticable unlike Sonic Frontiers, and though the scale isn't as impressive as Frontiers it more than makes up for that with it's main stages - each with 2 acts and several mini challenge missions. These are exactly what was missing from Frontiers - gone are the repeated themes and assets seen in the Cyberspace missions, and back are the intricately designed stages with plenty of alternate paths with cool set pieces and spectacles that are fun to experience over and over.

Also contributing to my enjoyment of the game are the controls. I already commended Frontiers for having pretty tight controls for Sonic, and these have only been refined further in Shadow Gens. Shadow just feels incredibly easy to control and being able to pull off those reactions and jumps needed to access those alt paths in the stages feels great. It also does away with the overly complex combat system, there are no crazy dodges, parries or combo moves to do, but Shadow does have his Doom Spear and launcher that mixes things up and ties into level traversal too.

In fact, it kind of makes Sonic Generations feel clunky in comparison. The original game has been 'remastered', but very little has changed, besides some rewritten dialogue and some hidden Chao to find in each level. Graphically it looks exactly the same, and the controls remain untouched. This is fine, the game was and still looks and plays great, but Sonic compared to Shadow feels a lot stiffer to control. The way Sonic handles has been refined in the years through Forces and Frontiers, so going back to a game from 11 years ago, packaged with a brand new game, unfortunately makes inevitable comparisons, and playing the two games back to back definitely takes some getting used to.

My main complaint about Shadow Generations is that there just isn't enough of it. Not that it was a short game, it's length is pretty comparable to Sonic Generations and I can see myself replaying more in the future, plus the hub world exploration certainly adds a lot to the experience. I also understand this is a smaller project, designed to be a companion to Sonic Generations and was clearly made to capitalize on the release of the Sonic 3 Movie, but part of me was hoping for something a little more comparible to the 9 levels Sonic Generations has, while Shadow Gens has just 5.

Supposedly Sonic Team are still working on their next game - possibly a follow up to Frontiers. I can only hope that they take the lessons they've learned and build upon them. They already have the framework of additional characters, introduced in the Final Horizons update for Frontiers. They could design a more intricately designed hub world in a similar scope to Shadow Generations, interconnecting fun, tightly designed traditional stages. There's a lot of potential here for the next game, and my hopes for the series haven't been this high since... well... since when Sonic Generations came out, I suppose...

[bengiyo]

Theory of Love Rewatch Ep 7 Stray Thoughts

Last time, we spent a great deal of time on the sides as Khai finally pushed Third too far. Khai learned that Third was in love with him, so he decided to drunkenly kiss Third while saying another girl's name, tell Third he didn't remember doing that, and then tell Third he was super serious about this woman. Third, having enough, joined a different group to work on a project and is distancing himself from Khai. Khai is sad about this and has gone to the beach to reflect on his feelings. Meanwhile, Bone and the professor know of their roles now, and she's asserted a professional boundary. Un and Two interacted but I don't care.

I think I like this senior. He let Khai be popular with a bunch of girls to see how shaken he was, and is connecting emotionally with Khai's dilemma.

Ep.07 Flipped

I do like that Khai is given interiority about his bisexual awakening, and he has to consider how his prior experience with women compares to any expectations he has of being with Third. I don't think Khai took his relationships with women very seriously from an emotional standpoint, so there's some layers to unpack here. He has much to lose with Third, and he's lost much already. He doesn't really get friends to lovers at this point because he damaged the friendship so much.

I like the choice to not give us Third's interior monologue for Khai attempting to make a move on him again. We've spent enough time with Third's confusion. I like him being a bit inaccessible to Khai now that we're following Khai.

I'm glad Bone is getting corrected quickly about this editing gig. I did not have interest in that being dragged out.

I'm kinda glad Third is auctioning off the films that sent him into his original spiral.

Oh, Khai, keeping the Flipped movie isn't going to fix this.

Yes, Two. I may not care about your romantic plotline, but you are correct to tell Khai to leave Third alone.

Can't you have another chance? TOO LATE, BITCH.

LOL, I love bros. You can't hang out with Third alone! Oh wait you'll do my work? Well I do like determination.

I'll give them the erection joke as Khai realizes that Third is beautiful.

Just Off characters and his little purses against the world.

I like Third being used to how horny Khai is that he doesn't even consider that he could be the source of it for once after three years.

I'm glad Two is being a hater and giving Khai shit. This is also bro behavior.

Khai's self awareness is still in development I see.

Gun really is just so gorgeous. Like goddamn.

Don't fold, Third. HOLD FAST!

Oh lord, I forgot Khai gets into a crash next episode.

I like how many people are rooting against Khai. It's what he deserves. I don't think people owe him seriousness when he's treated no one else seriously before this. I like watching him struggle to be taken seriously as he reckons with his own reputation, even if he still doesn't get it. It's funny how he thought he was making a point by deleting all those phone numbers when his lack of investment in any of them is the point. It's also interesting watching Third from the outside because he's actually rather aloof.

As always, this rewatch is sponsored by @lurkingshan with support from @waitmyturtles and @neuroticbookworm. Tagging @twig-tea by request.

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: Odd Squad UK -- "Bad-Luck-itis" Episode Followup, Part 2

Reaching the climax of this one. Will Ozzie manage to implode the universe? Or explode it? Find out below the break!

HE BROKE THE FUCKING TUBES?!?!?!?!?

Man, at this point he's gonna have a coronary as the icing on the ca-

Fuck you.

Genuinely, Rob? Fuck you.

Fuck this bait-and-switch with the fury of 999 quadrillion suns.

This wasn't needed. It really wasn't.

Fuck. You.

"Not to exaggerate, but you're going to destroy us all."

Not even the franchise being under the helm of BBC Studios Kids and Family can remove its "destroy is a fancy word for die" curse. Thanks, PBS!

(And I mean that very sarcastically, thank you.)

Lmao at me thinking this is a rip of "Into the Odd Woods" or "A Case of the Sillies" when it's actually ripping off "The Odd Antidote".

The "magic water" bit was a dead fucking giveaway.

Either this is a sign of Rob wanting to break free because this was a shitty job, or this is a sign that he thinks meta jokes are funny.

Which they are. But what Orli's doing ain't it.

Case in point: if Orli were really in a rush, she and Osgood would take the container of water and run.

Instead, she sticks around.

We know why, of course. But in-universe, she doesn't have much reason to stick around.

What having a writer with absolutely no resume does to a motherfucker.

Did they grab this guy off the street or did they go through the proper channels AND THAT IS A VERY LEGITIMATE QUESTION THANK YOU.

HE EVEN HAS A PINK WATCH AS A FOOD AND BEVERAGE WORKER???? LMAOOOOOO.

Took them 8 years, but the bastards did it.

...Okay, I guess that answers the question of why they couldn't take the container and run.

Still stupid self-awareness, though.

God damn, PBS just can't stop Americanizing everything, can they? At this rate they could go 4Kids and remove all the British names and replace them with American ones!

(...They won't. But have fun with that mental image.)

I much preferred when the Guardian of the Rocks was asking about how long Opal and the Van Computer have been partners.

You can't get any more golden than Oswald's face utterly drooping in mild shock and disappointment.

this episode has a rainbow dragon

next episode has a gay triangle villain

One point to Rob. One. Only one.

They absolutely knew what they were doing.

This is the Odd Squad equivalent of firing a gun when you're sick.

No one smart enough fires a gun when they're sick. That's just downright fuck-all stupid.

I mean...okay, this effect is kinda cool. Kinda. Sorta.

Doesn't erase this episode's sins, though.

"Oh, what a day."

Yes...yes, it was a day. Just a day. No adjective. Just a day.

In some cosmic twisted way, this means you can watch "The Odd Antidote" and have the two episodes infinitely loop with each other.

Someone call the FBI, I have a new torture method!

It's contagious...but somehow Orwell didn't get it? And he's the one who got saddled up with Ozzie, so either the man's got a hell of an immune system or it's like "one and done, now you're immune".

And your credits for this episode. Featuring the Three's Company for Witches family!

-----------------------------------

Overall...this was tough to stomach. Easily the worst out of the "find the cure" episodes we've gotten. Season 3's, by comparison, were much better -- "Into the Odd Woods" at least had cuts to Omar completely sending Orla for a whirlwind with his clowning around, while "Off the Clock" brought a unique approach to the cliche and brought a bit of lore to boot.

This one...shot and missed the mark. Ozzie's repeated going into rooms and utterly destroying them was hilarious, and the wizards were fun, but I wasn't invested in Orli's and Osgood's quest through the Mystical Glade nor was I a fan of Orli's painful self-awareness. On that note, Oswald's gripe with technology and reliance on books was far more fun to see, even if just for a one-note wonder.

But of course, having dealt with writers who have lacking resumes, perhaps this shouldn't surprise me. I'd recommend Rob get more practice before returning to the franchise, because oh fuckin' boy does he need it.

Next time will be "The Triangle Sisters", and you can bet your ass I will gush about gay triangle villain. So, so much. We've got disability rep, now let's take the next step.

Seren out!

[cloggedarteri]

ive been reading the ffxv japanese translations and ive been taking notes as usual. take a peek if you'd like (this shit is not proof read, this came straight from the dome)

--ch 1:

♡the way regis speaks to noctis is so informal compared to eng...hes very close i feel

♡"Prompto: Ah, they sell Ebony here. Ignis will be happy"---prompto is so considerate bruh. its so sweet that he had an eye out for things ignis likes. it says something to have someone remember things about you....prompto has the fattest crush on ignis i can smell it

♡prompto is so cute omg: "Hooray. Just one more!" he says after their second fight with a herd 

♡dave asked for assistance in hunting down the last of the varmin in the area and there are three options: 1. do it for free. 2. do it for a price--2AP. and 3.ask my friends--150. the response for the second option is so awkward, noctis says: alright we'll do it...um the reward? AND THEN THE THIRD OPTION HAS IGNIS saying: It’s dangerous if we leave as it is. Tell us more about it......its so funny that ignis is very "he asked for no pickles on his burger" coded, speaking up for noctis

♡boys are very gun-ho/very impulsive...gladio had to hold the boys back before they attacked the infected dualhorn...very dad coded i love that for him

♡boys trying to figure out whos going to drive the car after its repairs... noctis is funny as hell. prompto said that he wasnt confident in his driving and noctis said:"im confident i will break the car again"...hes truly a passenger princess and i love it. a very self aware passanger princess

♡noctis is such a bro...he hears prompto wants to visit cindy in the future and he offers for him to borrow the regalia

♡ignis isnt saying his signature puns bruh...umbra came with the notebook and all ignis has to say is that hes a reliable messenger WHILE ENGLISH IGNIS SAYS THAT UMBRA "certainly nose how to find us" 

♡ahhh noctis is blushing when gladio puts him on the spot about wanting the marriage and prompto fucking calls it out too omg

♡gladio saying he wants to go for a dip in galdin quay makes me think of him dressing up as a mermaid for a party with the tail and pearls and everything...omg he does a little mermaid performance for iris's birthday b/c like any little girl she had a mermaid phase and he didnt want to disappoint his baby sister 😭 omg gladio i love you

♡with all the uncle ardyn fics ive read i find it really funny that during their first encounter arydn flicks the coin at the boys and says: "consider it your allowance"...arydn would be that uncle that pulls out a whole roll of 20s and 50s and 100s but then hand you a fucking dollar and say dont spend it all in one place...hes such an asshole😭

♡noctis is so cute bruh, he defo pegs me as a boy lacking in life experiences because he was all starry eyed when the zuzu flew away and said: "whoa, so magnificent", hes such a dork i fucking love him omg

♡the boys just called prompto a personality hire without substance when they were comparing him to dino

♡you know whats fucked up, everyone in the group had lost someone following the attack but we dont get a second to think about. yea noctis lost his father but the boys have all lost people, have all lost their homes...fuck gladios father died in action. ignis' uncle possibily died in action too. prompto's family situation is difficult but we can assume that his parents were lost in the casualty 

♡never noticed that this is probably the first time the boys see magitek troopers. it sounds like they know of them though (prob royal personel collected information about nifilheim tech---giving very cold war vibes ngl) gladio says: "so these are MTs

♡ end of the chapter gives us radio announcements and theres a segment talking about noctis: " He’s a calm person with a very gentle heart who loves animals and nature" --- now who the hell is telling them this. it gotta be regis wanting to gush about his boy     "And he’s also very serious, well-behaved, and always a top-scorer student." ---i had no idea he did well academically bruh. i cant help but imagine the effort it would have taken for him to be such an honor student, not only from noctis but from the boys too. how many late nights did he and the boys have to make sure he passed tests...ignis and gladio are very older siblings parenting their younger siblings coded and im so fucking sick        "On his day off, he seems to be doing community service to helps citizens." ---- NOW WHY THE FUCK DIDNT I KNOW NOCTIS HAD DONE COMMUNITY SERVICE, HE WAS REALLY THE PEOPLES PRINCE I HADNT KNOWN OMG HE WAS THE MALE PRINCESS DIANA IM FUCKING THROWING UP OMG MY SWEET BOY I LOVE HIM SO MUCH 

[smileymoth]

all jokes aside what has ronnie radke done? I've heard a bunch of shit from rape accusations to homicide accomplice to like???? there's an article that im mad i can't find that started with the lines 'Assault. Animal abuse. Drama online. Ronnie Radke is in the news again, for all the reasons' or something like that and it haunts me but genuinely, how much of this shit is actually true? Deeply confused and very out of the loop over here.

okay well. this is what i know. so don't quote me on it but i hope it clears some things up?

he got jailed for wearing brass knuckles to a fight in a state that they were illegal in, he did NOT get jailed for killing a man, his friend however got time for self defense, because the guy who died was threatening them with a gun so Ronnies friend shot him. iirc.

the rape and domestic abuse accusations were dropped by the court because of the lack of evidence, so there's really no saying in how accurate or inaccurate they are, since we know how easily sa accusations get brushed to the side...

he threw a metal mic stand to the crowd and injured a fan in the crowd, he did pay for all the hospital expenses with no issues (i think) so that was solved. still a shitty thing to do and most venues now (or the one that it happened at) banned metal mic stands. that's less of a "kill him now" thing but still kinda funny and odd that it happened in the first place ?? y'know ??

i have NO clue about the animal abuse. i just know he has a dog called Lobster and that's it

Mostly what he's done in the past years that i'm aware of:

he's chronically online and can't take criticism whatsoever

he thinks everyone criticizing his music is attacking him so he has a fullon meltdown on his twitter (that got banned for harassment i think. imagine getting banned in elon musk era twt??)

he has really transphobic views, he went off about the ''trans women in bathrooms'' ''debate'' and was just NOT listening to anyone. he can NOT be wrong in ANY scenario. he will just attack you. people were very calmly trying to explain to him why he should reconsider his comments and he just.. went off on them. it was so stupid.

he bullied non binary teenagers (mostly fans) on tiktok for using they/them pronouns. this was like 2 years ago. i think his tiktok got deleted?

constantly getting into random arguments with other musicians he doesn't like. it's just unnecessary

he has also made ableist remarks about a girl in a wheelchair to her face at a meet and greet (allegedly), racist, homophobic and other transphobic comments, that i have not witnessed myself but i've heard from people online and i do believe he has made those because he's just... a handful.

he's just a massive cunt really but, knowing that he has quite a big platform it just pisses me off. as sb said on reddit, it's his massive ego, inability to take criticism, bigoted comments, and victim complex...

so he's very much a red pilled transphobe who kind of scares me because why are you as a 40 year old bullying children on tiktok and commenting about where trans women can piss. please get a hobby

and i'm obviously missing things but this is what i am aware of and have witnessed live on twt and tiktok T_T unfortunately

[anoushka69]

Learning to be kind to others also to yourself is hard work and no one says it’s easy being kind but it’s important for your mental well being and we need to hold ourselves accountable when we’re being rude or say something inappropriate you might think that you’re being funny or it’s attractive if you speak like you don’t care or you simply think it’s not that serious but it is that serious can people judge you by noticing how you carry yourself how you speak,behave,act it’s not rocket science it’s basic and you’re impressing no one by being unkind to anyone cause you think it’s funny. We are accountable for every word that comes out of our mouth also it’s shows how little awareness and self control you have like speaking out the first thing that comes out of your mouth without thinking for a second that maybe it’s not exactly adding value to the conversation so,maybe let’s not speak that let’s first run it through our mind and see if it’s appropriate or not it as it might end up hurting someone’s feelings. As humans, we need to be aware of other peoples feelings and what kind of impact hateful words has on someone for instance things people say in a fight that’s the kind of damage that’s irreversible once you say something hateful the bullet has left the gun. Learn to take a deep breath and sit back and think what I’m about to say is it adding any value to the conversation if not let’s not say it .you must have heard that listen more,speak less as we learn by listening not repeating what we already know it’s important to unlearn bad habits and behaviours so we don’t end up hurting the ones we love cause we don’t have the self awareness to know we’re crossing a line. Lack of self awareness is a dangerous thing if you can’t see your patterns,habits and behaviours it creates problems also self awareness is not enough you can know all you want if you can’t work on it then it’s all useless it’s like confusing attention with love like somebody can give you all attention you want but it doesn’t mean they actually love you so,basically you can have all self awareness but if you don’t work on it then it means absolutely nothing. It’s hard being accountable for your actions at times but it’s important to work on yourself for yourself.I will definitely say you’re dealing with your impulsivity or trying to heal and change behaviour it’s hard and I’m rooting for me and you to heal and become better versions of ourselves . Let’s heal

you will unlearn all of the bad habits you taught yourself and you will grow into someone stronger than you ever imagined you could be

[non-binharry]

.

[shoutokozume]

Water Park with JJK

Navi

Warnings - Some swearing, crack.

Characters - Megumi, Yuuji, Toge, Nanami, Yuta, and Gojo.

---

Megumi

° Lathers himself in sunscreen, but still manages to become as red as a lobster afterwards.

° Refuses to go on the enclosed waterslides, worried he'll somehow get trapped in them.

° Is much more of a beach person, especially since he can play with his divine dogs on the beach.

° Always gets splashed by the rides, even if someone is in front of him.

° Goes on the flume ride with Inumaki, all because he was promised a slushie afterwards.

° Gets checked out by a lifeguard, but completely oblivious to the staring.

° Does have fun despite his lack of enthusiasm, but he will be in a lot of pain the next day.

° Shoko has to step in and heal his sunburns because they are that bad.

° It's then when he realized Yuuji watered down the sunscreen so they wouldn't have to buy another bottle...

"Goddammit Itadori..."

...

Yuuji

° Was the one who came up with the trip idea, and has been planning this for months.

° Sukuna will occasionally pop his mouth out of his hand, ordering an extra slushie than needed.

° Is determined to go on every ride, even the ones meant for children...

° Convinced that one slide is faster than the other even if they are the same pace.

° Buys the most random shit from the main entrance, he bought a derpy cheap rubber duck wearing a cowboy hat.

° Taps his foot while waiting in line, his boyish grin never leaving his lips.

° Loves wave pools the most, begging Megumi to join him but settles for Yuta and Toge.

° Gets a nice tan, since he doesn't sunburn easily and instead tans... Unlike Megumi.

° Wore heart sunglasses most of the time, so the next day he had pale heart shapes over both of his eyes.

"Megumi, look. I'm the heart emoji!"

...

Toge

° An excited bean that is precious!... (I'm sorry I'm a simp.) but seriously... He can't stop smiling.

° Wears a mask when he's not on a ride, got a compliment for his "tattoo" in the wave pool.

° Him and Megumi both wear tank tops, Toge because he's a bit self conscious and Megumi because of the sun.

° Purposely back hugs whoever is dryest after he finishes a ride, sometimes shaking his hair at them.

° Will use his seal to skip the line, but only a few times. He doesn't want to cough up blood.

° Hides in the shade as best as he can, fully aware that he's on the paler side.

° Climbes onto Yuta's back if the concrete is too hot, his expression neutral as if his friend isn't burning his feet off for him.

° The master at water gunfights, his inner rage can be seen when the gun enters his hands.

° Has the fluffiest hair after drying it off, laughing when Yuuji pats it a couple of times afterwards.

"Let me go first."

...

Nanami

° Is there as a responsible adult to watch over his students... And Gojo.

° Dresses like such a dad it's not even funny, all the way down to the black flip flops.

° Takes photos of everyone playing, enjoying the sight of his students being carefree for once.

° Will cave in for Megumi and Yuta... That's it. Maybe Yuuji if he pouts hard enough. But not Gojo or Toge, he knows their tricks.

° Plays a couple rounds of pool volleyball, sighing to himself when Gojo screams in victory from beating his students.

° Buys all of the food, tickets, and merchandise. He doesn't want anyone to pay him back, it's his treat and part of his gentleman personality.

° Packed extra towels, fully aware that someone would forget one. He also packed water bottles, worried it would become too hot outside.

° Gets a couple phone numbers from single moms and dads, baffled at the multiple slips of paper.

° Gets teased hard by Gojo, getting called the parent magnet and ultimate dream daddy.

"I don't even know their names, why would they ask me out?"

...

Yuta

° The ride supporter, the person Yuuji can count on to go on rides with.

° Is scared of really high waterslides, but won't admit it because Yuuji and Toge look too happy.

° His feet become the most burnt, thanks to carrying Toge around the waterpark.

° Adores the lazy river, even when Toge attempted to flip over his floaty. Yuta knows it won't flip that easily.

° The second best swimmer, Yuuji only beating him due to speed. They are practically at lifeguard level, and are more than capable of helping someone out.

° His mouth turns blue from eating multiple cones of cotton candy and a blue slushie.

° Never surfaces gracefully, he's almost always coughing and having hair stuck to his face.

° Everything goes well in bumper boats, until he tries to turn to shoot at Gojo and fee ends up in an endless circle of spinning.

° Is always shotgun, not because he asked for it. But because he was the only one who didn't.

"Why am I still spinning? I can't stop!"

...

Gojo

° By far the most chaotic person to go anywhere with, and this definitely includes water parks.

° Has no shame, and had to be talked out of wearing a speedo by Nanami.

° Arrives at the bottom of the waterslide resting on his side, an arm on his hip before winking at whoever his eyes land on.

° When racing Yuuji down the waterslides, he suggests a countdown but ends up rushing down once Yuuji begins counting.

° Surfaces so fabulously it isn't even funny, he looks like a merman and he knows it 100%.

° Doesn't use a floaty in the lazy river, instead back paddling through all of the floaties.

° Blasts his music through the radio while on the drive back home, still hyped up from the day.

° Becomes hungry fast after all of the rides, nearly devouring five hot dogs.

° Keeps his bracelet in a small memory book, smiling everytime he sees it.

"What? Never seen a hot guy before?"

[chickenparm]

Okay, soooo... I loved the angsty one with Silco and I can't not request another. So how about one with an insecure reader, that things she can't compare with the other girls like Sevika and Jinx etc? Like she tries ti hide it behind self deprecating humour?

Of course it's fine if you don't want to, I just really like your work!

Have a wonderful week and thank you for feeding us Silco simps! :)

sorry about the wait on this one! here's a lil body positivity for ya skrrt ---

The first time Silco overheard you making one of the unusual comments was not too long after he put a label on your relationship. You'd been sitting alongside Sevika in the empty bar, sharing a bottle of cheap brandy as you cleaned your guns and she did maintenance on her arm.

He hadn't caught the beginning of the conversation, but something about your words bothered him.

"Well, if I can't be beautiful at least I'm funny, right?"

"Funny lookin', maybe," Sevika snarked back, and the laugh you let out wasn't as joyful as he was used to.

-

The second was when you were making dinner with Jinx. He'd walked in right when you spoke, and could see that you immediately regretted your words after noticing his presence.

"I just don't think I could pull off that style you wear, Jinx."

"Oh, come on! Y'never know until you try it."

"It just wouldn't look good. I'm not the right... type for it."

Silco tried not to level you with an unimpressed stare when you saw him round the corner, instead only sidling up next to his daughter with the intent to file this incident away until a later date.

-

The third, surprisingly, was straight to his face. He'd tried to slip into the shower behind you, but he was surprised when you'd locked the door to the bathroom.

Afterward, when he made his intentions known as the two of you curled around each other in his bed, you broke down and explained the depth of your insecurities - Your lack of confidence in your appearance, your envious feelings of other women for having body types that were more conventionally attractive.

"I've seen you naked many times before," Silco tried to reason as he dragged a palm across the skin of your upper arm.

"During sex - It's different when the context is... different. I'm scared you won't like what you see when there aren't... hormones running."

"First of all, I am well passed the age of allowing hormones to rule my decision making. I am man." Silco rolled on top of you, caging you in with his arms so you wouldn't be able to look anywhere but at his stern, emphatic expression, "Secondly, I am well aware of what you look like in every situation. I like what I see. I enjoy what I see - Very much."

"You do?"

"Of course I do," Silco's lips brushed across your eyebrow to emphasize his words, "I wouldn't say it if I did not."

[voluntaryvictim]

ok i’m gonna go on a bit of a rant here about viva las vengeance and its music video so if you don’t care about patd you don’t have to read this lmao

as a former massive patd fan who started listening to them before i was 13 i unfortunately know that band like the back of my hand. listened to pretty much every song knows the history of the band etc. the development (and essentially downfall) of the band is pretty clear to anyone even those that aren’t big fans. it only seems to be getting worse and less genuine with each album release. extremely true for viva las vengeance. i like many other people thought the song not only just sounded bad but was a step down from the already hated pray for the wicked album. not a good look for urie for sure especially after a 4 year break (bar that. song he did with taylor swift)

but it wasn’t only just the clashy sound that i found unpleasant there was just a certain. lack of integrity which isn’t new to panic in recent years but it was particularly evident with vlv. the lyrics were their usual “quirkiness” seen in previous music however they just didn’t feel genuine. and when they weren’t like this it was clear that they were a jab at “cancel culture” and the negative response towards urie (“kids with guns” “buried alive”) and possibly his old band members (“someone did me wrong/stole my favourite song”) which to me it’s just. iffy. and this was SO predictable it’s not funny we all knew he was gonna write about these topics right out the gate with his first comeback single and it wouldn’t be surprising if his album carried that theme (as if “vengeance” in the title isn’t a hint)

about the music video however i also felt something off about it. see, a music video doesn’t need to have a particular story or meaning or anything. it can just be plain old fun i literally don’t care. vlv’s video though seemed like an attempt at a video that something lying underneath it. it had the campiness and exaggeration but there was something just missing. perhaps self-awareness? a more obvious message? it was just a performance, not simply that though, as there were moments of showiness and lore (?) at the end, so it just didn’t feel mixed well for lack of a better word. there was no actual heart to it. no story to thread this all to. no obvious motif that explained it. maybe i’m just overthinking about it but especially when compared to panic’s past music videos. i’m not suggesting that they repeat their old work in this, but like i said before the downfall is obvious.

all in all. things aren’t looking up for the future of patd. as expected.

[agentnico]

Black Bird (Apple TV+, 2022) Review

This show was great and all, but the most unrealistic part of it was Taron Egerton’s prison shirt. Usually prison wear is quite baggy, and for other prisoners in this show it is, but Egerton seems to have a clause in his acting contract that states he has to show off his big muscles on full display. Hence why he wears the tightest prison top possible, and I’m sure Egerton fans are nothing but pleased seeing him tense his guns, but I guess that is realism out the window. 

Plot: As Jimmy Keene begins a 10-year prison sentence, he gets an incredible offer: if he can elicit a confession from suspected killer Larry Hall, he will be freed; completing this mission becomes the challenge of a lifetime.

Can’t remember myself getting so riveted by a crime show since....ever. I’m not really one to watch TV crime dramas, however Black Bird is such a well written, superbly acted show that hits themes of deep moral complexity. What really works in this show’s favour is it’s unrelentless well time paced. It doesn’t rush, it is a slow burn after all, however it keeps the central core mystery compelling throughout, as well as having relying upon being a two-hander about two men laying bare their true natures in thorny, anxiety-dripping back and forths. 

Taron Egerton is absolutely sensational in this role, and again, I’m not simply talking about his veins sticking out of his muscles. It’s the emotion he shows whenever he listens to Larry’s ‘lies’ and stories, and the true horror and disgust he feels whilst still trying to hold up the act of being his friend. In the last few episodes especially Egerton lays it all dawn raw and its incredible to watch. Paul Walter Hauser is aptly creepy and unnerving as Larry, and his high pitch voice, though amusing and tad funny at first, amplified the uncomfortable notions every time he appeared on screen. Hauser makes Larry an absolutely vile presence, but also the script does this interesting thing where it allows Larry to have a mind-set of a victim, where whenever he does the horrible things he does, he manages to spin it around to seem like he had no choice. As if he was doing in in self defence. And naturally the knowledge and awareness of how messed up he is as a person and his lack of morality make for one of the most unpleasant criminal psychopaths in crime TV for a good while. This series also sees one of the final roles of recently deceased Ray Liotta, as Jimmy’s hard nosed ex-cop father who suffers from the constant feeling of guilt that he has failed his son. Having suffered a stroke, Liotta hits the stammering tone and frustration that comes along with a debilitating incident in a heart-breaking way. Whilst Hauser’s Larry provides feelings of disgust and spine chilling fear, Liotta is both adorable and sympathetic, and it is so sad that we have now lost this acting legend. Sepideh Moafi and Greg Kinnear round up the cast as the detectives trying to figure out the truth outside of the prison walls, and both do splendidly in their roles. 

The main thing Black Bird suffers from is it is a tad short. Running at a total of six episodes, it wouldn’t have hurt having an extra episode or two to tie up a few loose ends. There is a guard in the prison who always makes things harder for Jimmy, as well as a Mafia boss who ends up feeling betrayed by Jimmy’s actions, and both of these side-plots end up going nowhere, and I feel should have led to more interesting conclusions. Regardless as a whole Black Bird is a fantastic crime drama. The methodical script is absolutely stellar, keeping you on your toes throughout, and always keeping you guessing. It’s an incredible true story and this is crime TV at its finest.

Overall score: 9/10

[wellofdean]

Endversetober prompt, Day 10: Gun

Whelp. I wrote this. Part of my pledge is just to post what I come up with and not be too precious about it, so here goes.

Cas is unwell, and suggests the improper use of a firearm.

I should warn you that this one is a bit on the dark side.

Cas has been laid up for a month with a broken foot, and he’s feeling a way he never thought he’d ever feel: fed the fuck up with Dean fucking Winchester.

Maybe it’s the painkillers, maybe it’s the ongoing and fucking exhausting lack of Grace and all the attendant eating, sleeping, farting, pissing, shitting, and not having any idea what the fuck is going on, but he is fucking done. Cas is self-aware enough to know that he’s never had what anyone would properly call a ‘sense of humor’ but he has stopped being able to see even the potential for humor in anything, and forget about the potential for anything else. For fuck’s sake. Every other word in his internal fucking monologue is fuck. That can’t be a good fucking sign.

And Dean just… fucking Dean. Just sitting there, slouching like that in his chair, cleaning his fucking gun in his underwear and socks, taking up fucking space and air like he always does, with all that big Dean energy. Fuck, Cas is sick of him. Sick of the way he sneers certainty all over everything all the time and the way his voice is always so fucking full of the conviction that every fucking thing he says is fucking important? Like he’s the only fucking guy who can whatever the fuck he’s saying he’s gotta fucking do?

Cas is also, he has to admit, just fucking tired. He’s tired, and he’s also fucking high as fuck. And, in fact, he’d like a fuck, please. He hasn’t had a good fuck in some time. Dean and his gun. Just fucking sitting there. Clean that fucking gun, Dean. Yes. That’s what’s important.

When Cas was powered up, he’d thought of guns with pity – a crutch of the powerless. All they had to defend themselves. Now he sees what they really are: a crutch for the impotent. A fucking second cock you can use if you’re feeling weak, and now that they’re living in a properly post-apocalyptic hellscape constantly in danger of being overrun by virally mutated former humans, and everyone’s feeling a little weak, aren’t they. Cas suddenly feels like crying. He wants to be held. He hasn’t been held in weeks. It’s painful, not being held.

Dean seems to like his guns. He hangs them on his wall. Tucks them jauntily into his waistband in the back, wears them sexily strapped to his thigh – and Cas can tell: they make Dean feel like a big man. Big man with a big gun. Oooh Dean, is that a gun in your pocket? All at once it’s hits him how fucking ridiculous a thing a man is, and laughter just forces its way out. A little explosion. A short, sharp burst. Oh great, maybe his celebrated sense of humor has returned.

“What’s so funny?” Dean shoots at him.

“Pew Pew!” Cas thinks, delirious and unsteady. Like he’s falling from a great height.

“Absolutely nothing, Dean,” he pulls himself together to shoot back, serious as a heart attack.

Dean rolls his eyes and goes back to his gun. Cas watches him ream out the barrel for a moment, not without a certain tinge of longing, and then just says it:

“Dean, I want you to fuck me.”

Dean doesn’t even bother to look at him, just says “Nah. I’m busy.”

“With your gun, Dean. Fuck me with your gun.”

Now Dean does look at him. He doesn’t say anything. Just stares. Lets his face say it: “What the fuck?”

“I’m serious, Dean. Let’s go all the way.”

“Cas, shut the fuck up,” he sneers. He looks at Cas with those beautiful, dead fucking eyes in that beautiful fucking face, and then: “What the hell happened to you, man?”

Like he doesn’t know.

Cas just looks at him for a beat. His face feels uncomfortable. Like he can’t quite tell what it’s doing. Doesn’t know what his stupid human face is saying without his permission.

“You, Dean. You happened.”

That’s when he loses it. Just starts laughing and laughing. His face a rictus, tears rolling down his cheeks. God, it’s all so funny. So fucking hilarious. He can’t stop. It hurts. He just keeps laughing and laughing. At least he thinks he is? He’s not so sure. All he knows is that whatever he’s doing, he’s powerless against it, and he can’t stop. It feels like laughing, right until it doesn’t.

Then it feels like dying.

Dean turns to face him. Stares for a moment. His mouth turned down at the edges and something bordering on an expression in his eyes.

“Hey,” he says, “hey… hey, hey, hey, hey Cas. What the—?”

Cas folds himself in half. Hugs his arms close, feels like he might fly apart. Wishes he could! And then Dean is there, a hand on his shoulder, a hand in his hair. Oh.

“Hey, Cas. Buddy. C’mon,” he says in a voice Cas hasn’t heard in far too long. “C’mon Cas.”

“Don’t say ‘it’s ok’ Dean. Just don’t,” he sobs, stupidly.

“Man, I know it’s not ok. Cas, look, I’m sorry, man. I’m sorry. I know this is all on me. I’m just… so sorry. I’ve ruined everything. I’m poison. Don’t tell me I ruined you, too.”

“Even me, huh, Dean? Jesus. Fuck off,” Cas says into his own hands, “This is not ‘you’ time.”

“Cas, Cas. I need you,” Dean says, “I need you whole.”

“I’m not whole, Dean, and I never will be.”

Dean pulls Cas’s hands away from his face, takes his head in his hands. Makes Cas look him in the eyes, and now Dean’s eyes aren’t dead. They aren’t. They’re wet and shining. They’re so green, and they are full of Dean again. Like… he’s home again.

“That’s not what I meant,” Dean says, soft, without all his bluster. “That’s not what I meant, Cas. You know it’s not.”

Dean wipes at Cas’s tears with his thumbs. It's rough and clumsy, but it's Dean.

“I’m not going to fuck you with my gun,” he says gently, “that’s not me, Cas, and it’s not you either.”

_____

Also here:

Endversetober 2022 (1758 words) by wellofdean

Chapters: 2/?

Fandom: Supernatural (TV 2005)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester

Characters: Endverse Dean Winchester, Endverse Castiel (Supernatural)

Additional Tags: Endversetober | Endverse Inktober (Supernatural), cocks vs hands, Feelings, References to Croatoan/Endverse (Supernatural), suggested misuse of a gun, angst and sadness

Summary:

Short fics and drabbles in response to Endversetober prompts.

[troquantary]

Edward Cullen: That Boy Ain’t Right

So I was doing a reread of @therealvinelle 's collection of Twilight metas, as one does, and in "Edward, Denial, and a Human Girlfriend" she mentions that she doesn't believe Edward is sane. I thought, "ha, yeah, he's definitely not," and also, "but wait, what does that mean exactly, please say more about that." But since she's already inundated with asks, I've decided to use my own head-muscle and explore this idea. (TL;DR: I start out more or less organized, synthesize some points Vinelle has made across several posts (and have hopefully linked to them all where relevant but please tell me if not), touch a little on narcissism, then take a hard left into the negative effects of being a telepath.)

Just a couple things to note at the outset, though. Theses have been written already (probably) about Edward as an abuser. Edward being insane doesn't negate that at all; he's definitely an asshole and just...a disaster of a human being. (I find it more funny than anything, but YMMV.) I'm also going to try to avoid talking specifically about mental illness and how it relates (or doesn't relate) to abusive behavior -- that's territory I'm not really equipped to discuss, like at all. My starting point is "Edward has a deeply warped perception of reality," not "Edward has X disorder."

So: deeply warped perception of reality. The evidence? Goes behind a cut, because my one character trait is Verbose.

Vinelle provides a great example of it in the post linked above, which I'll just quote because she does words good: "[Edward] keeps acting like his romance with Bella is a romantic tragedy, and all the cast of Twilight are actors on a stage making it as sublime as possible." Edward's the one to pursue Bella, but he does so with the full belief, from the very beginning, that it will never last; Bella will "outgrow" him, go on her human way, and he can spend the rest of eternity brooding magnificently over his too-short romantic bliss. [Insert premature ejaculation joke.] Turning her is never an option, even though Alice, Noted Psychic, says that romancing Bella will either end with her dead (exsanguinated) or dead (vampire).

This framing, where he's a dark anti-hero in love with -- but never tainting! -- the pure maiden and eventually leaving her in a grand, tragic sacrifice to preserve her soul? It's fucking bonkers. Bella isn't a person to him in this scenario. As Vinelle points out, Bella's never really a person to him at all; he falls in love with his own mental construct, cherry-picking from what he observes of her behavior and her responses to his 20 (thousand) Questions to convince himself that she is the ideal woman.

Bella's not the only one who gets the projection/cardboard-cutout treatment. Edward sees everything and everyone through a highly particular, personalized lens. He filters his entire reality, which we all do to an extent, but the thing with Edward is that he starts with his conclusions and then only pays attention to the evidence that supports those conclusions. Often that evidence consists of what he admits in New Moon are only "surface" thoughts -- but recognizing that limitation doesn't keep him from taking those thoughts as representative of what people are. Edward then becomes absolutely convinced by his own "reasoning" and won't be swayed from what he has decided is Objectively True. It's obvious with Bella; it's also painfully obvious with Rosalie. (Vinelle explains this and brings up Edward's raging Madonna/Whore complex in the same post, so refer to that again -- she's right.)

He also catastrophizes. Everything. Bella's just vibing in her room, rereading Wuthering Heights for the 87th time? She's gonna be hit by a meteor, better sneak into her room while she sleeps. Bella's going to the beach with the filthy mundanes their human classmates? She's gonna fall in the ocean. Jasper's cannibal pals are stopping by for a visit, but know not to hunt in the area? DISASTER, DEFCON 1, ALSO FUCK YOU JASPER FOR EVEN EXISTING IN MY AND BELLA'S SPHERE YOU UNSPEAKABLE BURDEN. Edward must believe that Bella is vulnerable and in near-constant peril, to support the reality he has created in which he is the villain turned protector and maybe?? hero??? (!!!) for his beloved. So when the actual, James-shaped danger arrives, he goes berserk, snarling and flipping his shit and generally not helping the situation. His fantasy demands that Bella remain human, so instead of doing the very thing Alice, Noted Psychic, assures him will neutralize the threat (and not just a threat to Bella, either, but to Bella's family and any other human James might decide to include in the "game"), he vetoes it immediately, no discussion. Bella Must Not Turn, and he sticks to those guns despite James nearly reducing her to ground beef, despite leaving Bella catatonic with depression (but human! success!) in New Moon, despite Aro's order and his family's vote and, let's not forget, Bella's clearly and repeatedly stated desire to be a vampire. It's going to happen. But he doesn't accept it until Renesmee busts out of Bella like the Kool-Aid man and the poor girl's heart finally, unequivocally stops.

Sane people don't behave this way. I don't want to slap labels on Edward, but I can't help but note that he comes across as highly narcissistic. He's the only real person in his universe, the lone player among us NPCs. That probably has a lot to do with him being frozen in the mindset and maturity of a seventeen-year-old boy, but I think it's also just...him, on some fundamental level. His failure to connect with others and recognize them as full, independent beings with their own wants and priorities isn't like Bella's failure -- she's badly depressed. Edward is...something else, and I get the sense that his sanity has been steadily deteriorating over time. And a cursory google of narcissistic traits turns up some familiar-looking stuff. He's self-loathing, yes, but also grandiose; he hates himself for the monster he is (and hates most vampires besides Esme and Carlisle for their monstrosity, too) but still feels superior to humans, to the extent that he felt entitled to human blood and resented Carlisle for depriving him of his "proper" diet. He eventually returns to Carlisle, but he's far from content -- the beginning of Midnight Sun finds him in a state of ennui, bored and dismissive of (if not outright disgusted by) everyone around him, that has apparently persisted for years and years. He doesn't play the piano, he doesn't compose, he doesn't enjoy anything...at least until Bella comes along and then he becomes obsessed to a disturbing degree with her and his new, romantic tragedy spin on reality.

[Next-day edit: I’m not sure where else to fit this in, but the way Edward casually contemplates violence against people who have, at best, mildly annoyed him is...chilling. I have a hard time writing off his strategizing how to murder the entire Biology class as a result of bloodlust -- it’s so calculated, nothing like the blackout state of thirst Emmett describes when he encountered his own “singer,” and that is probably the default for when a vampire is extremely thirsty. But even ignoring the Biology class incident, Edward still does things like consider, with disturbing frequency, how he might grievously injure or kill Mike Newton, all because...Edward considers him his romantic rival (despite Bella barely giving the kid the time of day). He thinks about slapping Mike through a wall, which might be an amusing slapstick image, except as a vampire Edward’s actually capable of turning this boy’s skeleton to a fine powder. So it’s, y’know, kind of sick when you think about it.

But even worse than that, when Bella tells Edward about how she flirted with Jacob to get at that sweet, sweet vampire lore, Edward chuckles and then, after dropping Bella home, flippantly observes that now that the treaty’s broken, why not genocide? I’m not even kidding, it’s right there in Midnight Sun; he seriously thinks about the fact that he’d be technically justified now in wiping out the entire tribe because a teenager tried to impress a girl with a spooky story. That is fucked. Remember, Edward was there with Carlisle when the treaty was first established. He knows how remarkable it is that they even came to a truce in the first place, that it was only ever possible because Carlisle is...well, Carlisle, and that it marks a pretty significant moment in supernatural history. He doesn’t care; he doesn’t respect it, or he’d never think something like “Ha ha, if I went and killed them all, I wouldn’t even be wrong. I mean, I won’t do it, but I’m just saying, I wouldn’t be wrong.”

Again: not the thought process or behavior of a sane person. (Or a person that respects life in general -- sorry Carlisle, big L.)]

Finally, whether he's a narcissist or not, I think the fact that Edward has constant, unavoidable access to everyone's thoughts is a powerful contributing factor to his instability. He can tune out the mental noise to an extent, but he can't stop it -- so he comes to rely on it like another sense. This causes issues with disconnect and lack of empathy, of course, but there's another facet to this shit diamond: he's basically experiencing a ceaseless flow of intrusive thoughts. His narration in Midnight Sun suggests that he "hears" the words people think, can "see" what they visualize in their mind's eye, and can sense the emotional "tone" and intensity of their thoughts. Therefore, perceiving Jasper's thirst through his thoughts makes Edward more aware of his own, "doubling" the discomfort. This would be a lot to deal with even from just his immediate coven members, but Edward gets all of this pouring into his head like a firehose on a day-to-day basis because the Cullens live right alongside humans. I know Meyerpires have galaxy brains or whatever, but that's a ton to process.

Besides the compounding effect on his own thirst when he "feels" the thirst of others, Meyer never suggests that Edward has difficulty separating his own thoughts from other people's; even when he was newly turned, he recognized Carlisle's "voice" in his head as Carlisle's. That would create a whole different host of issues around identity, but it looks like Edward's escaped that particular torment. However, I can easily imagine that what he does experience is just shy of unbearable nonetheless, with an eroding effect on his sanity over decades. He can't sleep to escape it; he's on a dishwater diet and probably (like the rest of his family) experiencing a perpetual, low-grade physical discomfort due to his thirst never being fully satisfied; and he's around far more people than is the norm for vampires -- even discounting all the humans, his own coven is unusually large -- meaning more noise.

Honestly, it would be weirder if he were all there, considering.

And even though I feel like I lost a sense of structure around where I started ranting about telepathy, I've written like 1.5k words about Edward fucking Cullen and I think that's enough for one post.

[aion-rsa]

Doctor Who: Perfect 10? How Fandom Forgets the Dark Side of David Tennant’s Doctor

https://ift.tt/2URb21b

As recently as September 2020 David Tennant topped a Radio Times poll of favourite Doctors. He beat Tom Baker in a 2006 Doctor Who Magazine poll, and was voted the best TV character of the 21st Century by the readers of Digital Spy. He was the Doctor during one of Doctor Who‘s critical and commercial peaks, bringing in consistently high ratings and a Christmas day audience of 13.31 million for ‘Voyage of the Damned’, and 12.27 million for his final episode, ‘The End of Time – Part Two’. He is the only other Doctor who challenges Tom Baker in terms of associated iconography, even being part of the Christmas idents on BBC One as his final episodes were broadcast. Put simply, the Tenth Doctor is ‘My Doctor’ for a huge swathe of people and David Tennant in a brown coat will be the image they think of when Doctor Who is mentioned.

In articles to accompany these fan polls, Tennant’s Doctor is described as ‘amiable’ in contrast to his predecessor Christopher Eccleston’s dark take on the character. Ten is ‘down-to-earth’, ‘romantic’, ‘sweeter’, ‘more light-hearted’ and the Doctor you’d most want to invite you on board the TARDIS. That’s interesting in some respects, because the Tenth Doctor is very much a Jekyll and Hyde character. He’s handsome, he’s charismatic, and travelling with him can be addictively fun, but he is also casually cruel, harshly dismissive, and lacking in self-awareness. His ego wants feeding, and once fed, can have destructive results.

That tension in the character isn’t due to bad writing or acting. Quite the contrary. Most Doctors have an element of unpleasantness to their behaviour. Ever since the First Doctor kidnapped Ian and Barbara, the character has been moving away from the entitled snob we met him as, but can never escape it completely.

Six and Twelve were both written to be especially abrasive, then soften as time went on (with Colin Baker having to do this through Big Finish audio plays rather than on telly). A significant difference between Twelve and Ten, though, is that Twelve questions himself more. Ten, to the very end, seems to believe his own hype.

The Tenth Doctor’s duality is apparent from his first full appearance in 2005’s ‘The Christmas Invasion’. Having quoted The Lion King and fearlessly ambled through the Sycorax ship in a dressing gown, he seems the picture of bonhomie, that lighter and amiable character shining through. Then he kills their leader. True, it was in self-defence, but it was lethal force that may not have been necessary. Then he immediately topples the British Prime Minister for a not dissimilar act of aggression. Immediately we see the Tenth Doctor’s potential for violence and moral grey areas. He’s still the same man who considered braining someone with a rock in ‘An Unearthly Child’. 

Teamed with Rose Tyler, a companion of similar status to Tennant’s Doctor, they blazed their way through time and space with a level of confidence that bordered on entitlement, and a love that manifested itself negatively on the people surrounding them. The most obvious example in Series 2 is ‘Tooth and Claw’, where Russell T. Davies has them react to horror and carnage in the manner of excited tourists who’ve just seen a celebrity. This aloof detachment results in Queen Victoria establishing the Torchwood institute that will eventually split them apart. We see their blinkers on again in ‘Rise of the Cybermen’, when they take Mickey for granted. Rose and the Doctor skip along the dividing line between romance and hubris.

Then, in a Christmassy romp where the Doctor is grieving the loss of Rose, he commits genocide and Donna Noble sucker punches him with ‘I think you need somebody to stop you’. Well-meaning as this statement is, the Doctor treats it as a reason to reduce his next companion to a function rather than a person. Martha Jones is there to stop the Doctor, as far as he’s concerned. She’s a rebound companion. Martha is in love with him, and though he respects her, she’s also something of a prop.

This is the series in which the Doctor becomes human in order to escape the Family of Blood (adapted from a book in which he becomes human in order to understand his companion’s grief, not realising anyone is after him), and is culpable for all the death that follows in his wake. Martha puts up with a position as a servant and with regular racist abuse on her travels with this man, before finally realising at the end of the series that she needs to get out of the relationship. For a rebound companion, Martha withstands a hell of a lot, mostly caused by the Doctor’s failings. 

Read more

TV

Why David Tennant Lost Hannibal Role According to Bryan Fuller

By Kirsten Howard

TV

Staged: BBC Comedy Confirms Sheen & Tennant’s Double-Act Greatness

By Louisa Mellor

Series 4 develops the Doctor further, putting the Tenth’s Doctor’s flaws in the foreground more clearly. Donna is now travelling with him, and simply calls him out on his behaviour more than Rose or Martha did. Nonetheless the Doctor ploughs on, and in ‘Midnight’ we see him reduced to desperate and ugly pleas about how clever he is when he’s put in a situation he can’t talk himself out of.

Rose has also become more Doctor-like while trapped in another reality, and brutally tells Donna that she’s going to have to die in order to return to the original timeline (just as the Doctor tells Donna she’s going to have to lose her memories of travelling with him in order to live her previous life, even as she clearly asks him not to – and how long did the Doctor know he would have to do this for? It’s not like he’s surprised when Donna starts glitching). Tied into this is the Doctor’s belief in his own legend. In ‘The Doctor’s Daughter’ he holds a gun to Cobb’s head, then withdraws it and asks that they start a society based on the morals of his actions. You know, like a well-adjusted person does.

What’s interesting here is that despite presenting himself as ‘a man who never would’, the Doctor is a man who absolutely would. We’ve seen him do it. Even the Tenth Doctor, so keen to live up to the absolute moral ideals he espouses, killed the Sycorax leader and the Krillitanes, drove the Cybermen to die of despair, brought the Family of Blood to a quiet village and then disposed of them personally. But Tennant doesn’t play this as a useful lie, he plays it as something the Doctor absolutely believes in that moment, that he is a man who would not kill even as his daughter lies dead. It’s why his picking up a gun in ‘The End of Time’ has such impact. And it makes some sense that the Tenth Doctor would reject violence following a predecessor who regenerated after refusing to commit another double-genocide.

In the series finale ‘Journey’s End‘, Davros accuses the Doctor of turning his friends into weapons. This is because the Doctor’s friends have used weapons against the Daleks who – and I can’t stress this enough – are about to kill everyone in the entire universe. Fighting back against them seems pretty rational. Also – and again I can’t stress this enough – the Daleks are bad. Like, really bad. You won’t believe just how mindbogglingly bad they are. The Doctor has tried to destroy them several times by this point. Here, there isn’t the complication of double-genocide, and instead the very real threat of absolutely everyone in the universe dying. This accusation, that the Doctor turns people into weapons, should absolutely not land.

And yet, with the Tenth Doctor, it does. This is a huge distinction between him and the First Doctor, who had to persuade pacifists to fight for him in ‘The Daleks’.

In ‘The Sontaran Strategem’ Martha compares the Doctor to fire. It’s so blunt it almost seems not worth saying, but it’s the perfect analogy (especially for a show where fire is a huge part of the very first story). Yes, fire shines in dark places, yes it can be a beacon, but despite it being very much fire’s entire deal, people can forget that it burns. And fire has that mythical connection of being stolen from the gods and brought to humanity. The Time Lord Victorious concept fits the Tenth Doctor so well. Of all the Doctors, he’s the most ready to believe in himself as a semi-mythic figure.

Even when regenerating there’s a balance between hero and legend: the Tenth Doctor does ultimately save Wilfred Mott, but only after pointing out passionately how big a sacrifice he’s making. And then he goes to get his reward by meeting all his friends, only to glare at them from a distance. His last words are ‘I don’t want to go’, which works well as clearly being a poignant moment for the actor as well, but in the context of Doctor Who as a whole it renders Ten anomalous: no one else went this unwillingly. And yet, in interviews Russell T. Davies said it was important to end the story with ‘the Doctor as people have loved him: funny, the bright spark, the hero, the enthusiast’.

It’s fascinating then, that this is the Doctor who has been taken to heart by so many viewers because there’s such an extreme contrast between his good-natured front, his stated beliefs, and his actions. He clearly loves Rose and Donna, but leaves them with a compromised version of happiness. They go on extraordinary journeys only to end up somewhere that leaves them less than who they want to be, with Russell T. Davies being more brutally honest than Steven Moffat, who nearly always goes the romance route. Davies once said to Mark Lawson that he liked writing happy endings ‘because in the real world they don’t exist’, but his endings tend towards the bittersweet: Mickey and Martha end up together but this feels like they’re leftovers from the Doctor and Rose’s relationship. The Tenth Doctor doesn’t, as Nine does, go with a smile, but holding back tears.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

It’s a testament to how well written the Tenth Doctor is that the character has this light and shade, and with David Tennant’s immense likeability he can appeal to a wider audience as a result. It’s not surprise he wins all these polls, but I can’t help but feel that if the Doctor arrived and invited me on board the TARDIS, I’d want it to be anyone but Ten.

The post Doctor Who: Perfect 10? How Fandom Forgets the Dark Side of David Tennant’s Doctor appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3iaqbDk

[lesbiankoby]

royal bastard oc just to be MAXIMUM self indulgent and i think regis having a bizarre cryptid half-brother is. so funny. he *has* magic, because it’s primarily a blood thing, but it’s… not particularly strong devoid of contact or recognition from the crystal. if he sought out the royal arms he could probably… for lack of a better word “activate” his semi-dormant powers but he doesn’t know to do this and isnt particularly keen on letting his father (and eventually his fathers… son… 😬) know he’s like. alive.

mors was aware of his bastard and under the impression he’d destroyed this specific loose end before his own passing— RBOC (royal bastard oc) is the son of an (adult) royal bodyguard that preceded cor “dear god that’s a baby” leonis— the kings shield had passed before the king, and clarus was obviously tied up with regis, so the position was rotated around. it wasn’t a particularly healthy affair or anything for unavoidable power dynamic reasons but it was… you know; about as good as it could have been until she got pregnant and skedaddled out of an impulsive unwillingness to not at least try to keep the baby. they got caught like, five years later? ish. mors was in… a bad position… politically… and was unwilling to leave a potential rival / figurehead around to challenge reggies legitimate claim when he grows up from a child to a headache. least of ALL a son. RBOC survived because his magical inclination lies towards trickery and illusions, and they managed to subconsciously glamour themself into a convincing enough corpse to wait out a kill squad that followed orders and spent the next decade or two getting drunk every year to forget it. stumbled back into civilization as a newly made orphan after spending almost three straight days in a stasis coma from magic overexertion and got raised with a bunch of other war orphans in lestallum.

this was, uh. traumatizing. to say the least. as an adult RBOC is infamously paranoid and neurotic, which combines poorly with a tendency for hypoglycemia and questionable health (his patchy magic still has his metabolism working overtime and he doesn’t consistently eat enough to counteract it, which… really has more to do with his ineptitude at cooking then anything else lol. keeps trying to substitute on snack foods when he’s not near someplace he can hit up a diner). he’s a hunter— is on good terms with dave, specifically, who feels somewhat responsible for the idiot and has been trying to get him to chill out and just take up a stationary position at HQ. RBOC hates staying still and… won’t do that, but the offer is standing! dave is also the closest to realizing something ain’t right about that guy but hell, he can mind his own business.

RBOC is like, ridiculously tall, but not particularly sturdy. incapable of growing a beard— they are NOT jealous of their— of— his majesty, noooooosir— but tries anyway. very scruffy. hasn’t talked much in years, which can be intimidating to people who don’t realize he’s just incredibly awkward. the resemblance to his brother is honestly fairly strong (they have similar eyes, and similar bone structures, and skin tones, and while RBOC has brown hair it’s a dark, dark shade of brown, not at all out of place in lucis) but RBOC is just so scruffy that nobody in their right mind would catch it. has a preference towards guns and traps and other oddball weapons because his armiger is one of the few magic things he can use consistently (it’s very…… fritzy.) and can therefore truck around an unreasonable amount of equipment. an unreasonable, theoretically infinite amount of equipment.

is… okay… at warping. does it when he has too. is better at illusions— not just light shows, but actively tricking other people’s brains into seeing something that isn’t there. shit at elemancy. if he had anyone to bring it up too, The Campfire Incident would be legendary. he does not. the in-jokes only exist in his head.

has absolutely no intention of ever getting caught out as a royal bastard, and is in fact almost aggressively non-political— well, he’s not a fan of the niff occupation because nobody is, but The Royal Family And In Fact Insomnia In General Has Absolutely Nothing To Do With Him. if he got mad about the murder of his mom and stepfather he’d never stop, not ever, so he just… doesn’t really get angry. at all. totally healthy. still has a fucking survival instinct, if nothing else, so. so. he keeps going.

was conceived Approximately while regis was on his big damn roadtrip— that is, 725-726 ME, and mors died at 729, so arranging for the bastard loose end to be taken care of was one of his final acts as king before regis ascended, quite possibly made on his own deathbed. this makes RBOC 30-32 or so when the plot of final fantasy 15 actually happens, and (horrors) still a literal child when noctis was born. people would probably readily assume RBOC is regis’ kid, not mors, but, well, the family tree already resembled spaghetti. but he was young when he had regis and young (relatively) when he died, life-force burnt out but for the handful of years he gained by drawing the wall back. fucking… lucis caelums.