#he's just so damn ineffective at being bad

[itsabouttimex2]

I have been going insane about the not beloved au.

The idea and sheer emotions of it just cling to me and haven’t left me for days and I blame you. Just the idea of [User] not only not being the beloved- but in a way being solely viewed that way- and in a sense being completely treated as such where it is very obvious- just- I love it.

The pure angst potential with the au is there and I -‘ screeching about it.

Y/N’s Not The Beloved?

(Monkiefam)

Exactly- Y/N is so heavily defined by being “not the beloved” that it kinda becomes their entire character.

Just like some people get jammed into slots they’re undeserving of by born traits or mere appearances, Y/N is out here getting pigeonholed into the “not our favorite” just because MK is the little monkey demon that their parents dreamed of having for so long.

And it doubly sucks ass, because Sun Wukong and Macaque are such good parents to MK that any criticism on your part will be questioned and “debunked” by well-meaning peers who probably just see you as “spoiled” or “jealous”.

Like, imagine this: your classmate, Y/N, is the adopted child of the fucking legendary hero, Monkey King. He’s married to; of all people, to the infamous Six-Eared Macaque. They have an adorable adopted son who is also a demon monkey.

And if what Y/N has to say about this whole family dynamic is “they spoil my brother too much/love him more than me/expect me to constantly look after him” and like…

From their perspective?

Bitch! You are privileged beyond compare and comprehension! You have two unimaginably powerful parents! They could crumble a civilization and raise a new from the smoldering ashes! They could impose themselves as gods and demand proper tribute! And instead they adopt a silly little mortal out of the goodness of their hearts, and you have the gall to “whine” about it not being enough?

Some of your classmates get beaten for bringing home bad grades? Some of them have dead parents? And a few were disowned for being queer! Others live in filth! Some have literally nothing! Why are you so damn “ungrateful”, Y/N?!

And then desperately trying to explain that yes, you are grateful for them and everything they’ve done, it’s not right for you to miss out on fundamental life experiences just because MK didn’t want you to go, or to nearly flunk a test because you couldn’t sleep on account of MK demanding your attention, or to lose friends that you were never allowed to hang out with because MK didn’t like them.

It’s especially bad in the situation that Y/N is particularly young, around say… under thirteen, or maybe semi-verbal, if they’re shy or anxious, and they haven’t learned how to properly communicate and express themselves in a conducive and effective manner, which leads to exchanges where what Y/N says is utterly ineffective at conveying what they mean, like:

“My parents love MK more than me.” (My parents unhealthily prioritize him even at a cost to myself.)

“Aww, sweetie! He’s just new to your house! You’ll get used to him!”

“I have to babysit MK so much that I don’t get to hang out with my friends.” (My budding social life is beginning to crumble under the weight of being a caretaker to my little brother.)

“You’re such a good older sibling! I bet your parents are really grateful to have a babysitter on hand!”

“MK wanted to go somewhere new yesterday, and he made our dads take me. I didn’t get to sleep.” (MK’s immediate happiness is becoming more important to both of our fathers than my physical health.)

“I bet you all had a lot of fun if you’re this tuckered out, huh? You’re lucky they took you!”

It gets to the point that Y/N, as they grow up, turns to the internet for validation and support in their life, probably to results that are equally split towards positive/negative.

“NTA- Clearly your fathers do not respect your health or feelings! Pack up and move out!”

“I can’t move out though? We live on a sacred mountain and I’ve never had a job because they make me babysit MK instead.”

“ESH cause y’all sound exhausting. I’d beat the fuck out of this “MK” TBH. What a brat.

“He’s nine though??? WTF dude?”

“Honestly all these NTAs and ESHs are so confusing clearly OP is a fucking ungrateful brat who’s gonna regret pushing their family away when they’re alone and have nobody. MASSIVE YTA kiddo.”

“I just want to stay home and sleep because I’m tired as hell from all the other family trips that I went on with my family? This is the first time I’m saying no?”

And slowly growing more and more ostracized and confused by everything in their nonconventional little family and how MK’s obsession with them is both fueled and enabled by Wukong and Macaque’s obsession with him, all slowly heading to a peak-

And when you snap, you are inevitably going to snap hard.

[luveline]

𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 | 𝐚𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐫

when internet trolls poke fun at your appearance while working on a case, hotch is there to make you feel better. fem!reader, 3k

tw cyberbullying, poor eating habits, criminal minds typical violence

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

You're not a media liaison or anything close, but with JJ off for maternity leave and Penelope in Quantico, there's a face needed for the press announcement on TV, and you offer to step in. 

You aren't particularly eager to do it, but Hotch doesn't have the time or wherewithal and such a high intensity case, not while Spencer is at half-mast, migraines rendering him ineffective and stubborn. You're trying to keep the ship sailing smoothly, doing your part of the profiling while juggling media and supporting the police sergeant that's heading the tip line.

You're not expecting to become a joke. After a red-eye, three sleepless nights trying to find a missing woman in Oklahoma —the domestic violence capital— and a full day without something to eat, you're aware you don't look your best, but you aren't sure what that has to do with your missing person. 

The FBI — fugly bitches International. #FindDanaLangley

Damn, are they not letting those agents sleep or what? She looks terrible ! 

she should be less worried about Dana Langley and more concerned with the dead woman in the mirror, ew 

hope theu find her just so they stop putting this creature on TV #FindDanaLangley

"Well," you murmur, wondering if it would be inappropriate to burst into tears, "these aren't especially helpful." 

Derek looks at you, his gaze measured, and you know he's not sure how to react to you or what's happening. He settles on his usual loving encouragement, because he's a very good friend. 

"Don't listen to all that," he says, throwing his arm around your shoulder, "those trolls wouldn't know beautiful if it hit them in the face. But we could always try it?" 

You sink into his hold, needing the reassurance even if you wish you didn't. "No hitting," you say, covering your mouth to hide a large and possibly fugly yawn. Your head is racing with regurgitated insults. "It doesn't matter, Derek. Promise. We have bigger stuff to deal with." 

The door opens and Hotch and Emily step inside, Rossi just behind them. You're thinking Hotch is going to agree with your sentiment, no time for comfort when a woman's life is at stake, so you move away from Morgan to sit in front of your laptop again. 

"Is something wrong?" Hotch asks. 

You meet his eyes just long enough to smile at him. "Nothing. What did Amandla have to say?" 

Emily retells the alibi of Dana's ex-girlfriend and is clearly suspicious but without proof, you're forced as a team to move on to the next lead. Spencer returns shortly afterward and you try to brainstorm your next step. 

It's Penelope that pulls through. "You asked me to cross reference the neighbours at Dana's previous address with people crossing state lines, right, after that one guy ended up being kinda icky? Well I did that, and nothing came up, which was–" 

"Garcia," Hotch interrupts. 

"Right. Long story short, one of the neighbours recently had an extreme falling out with Icky Guy after a years long friendship, his name is Justin Mantova, he has extreme PTSD with documented episodes of confused aggression, and he's been seen coming in and out of a storage unit in Paseo Storage Solutions for the past four days." 

"Address?" Hotch asks. 

"Already sent to your phones." 

"Thank you, Pen," you say. 

"Just go catch the bad guy, pretty girl," she says. 

Ah, so she's seen the tweets too. You frown rather than smile, reminded again of what's been said and wishing you could be anywhere else. 

You get your wish and forget all about personal grievances for a while, concerned with the safe location and extraction of Dana Langley. The operation is clean, and she's hurt but has a great chance at a full recovery. It's quick, it's professional. 

You're falling asleep in the SUV on the way back. Hotch at the wheel, Spencer in the backseat, you rub your eyes from the passenger side and try not to look suspiciously morose, but it's impossible. Hotch is too good at his job. 

"Are you sure everything's okay?" he asks. With Spencer's window open and the wind whipping, it's hard to hear him. 

"Hm?" 

"Is everything okay?" 

"I'm just tired." You don't look at him. It's rude of you, but if what they've said is true —you'd seen the photographs, and you looked tired, sure, but you still looked like you. "Just tired," you say again. You snap your mouth closed when your voice wobbles. 

Hotch is regularly too sweet on you. Most of the team say it's a crush. Emily calls it 'character development. Whatever it is, he's nice to you. He warmed up to you near immediately when you first joined the team, and he's been as welcoming months later as he was in your first week. 

Maybe he feels sorry for me, you think, submerging yourself inch by inch into self pity. 

The three of you regroup with the others at the police station to pen immediate recounts of what happened before you can forget, tying up loose ends. 

Finally you're able to go back to the hotel. Another half an hour and you're in the lobby.

"We'll go home in the morning. Nine AM flight, meet in the lobby at eight thirty," Hotch says. "Get some rest." 

You disband. They've squeezed you in all over the place, and you're lucky enough to be next to the elevator on the second floor. Hotch is the third floor, and everyone else the sixth, so you say goodbye to your colleagues and exit the elevator, stepping onto the second floor with a parting smile.

You can't know it, but Hotch notices the way your smile falls before the doors have well and truly closed. Your shoulders slump in defeat. 

You trudge into your room and don't bother turning on the lights. The door closes behind you and the mask you'd been holding up starts to crack. You put your laptop in the closet despite temptation to boot it up, knowing no good can come of looking at the tip hashtag again. 

You head into the bathroom to pee, and you're confronted with your appearance as you wash your hands. 

You stare at yourself. 

You look tired. 

Tears well as you look at yourself. You're not those things those people said. You're pretty, and when you smile everyone knows it. There's nothing so beautiful as a smile. You can't summon one, but you know it's the truth. 

Or, it should be. 

A single tear falls down your cheek, quickly followed by a second, and a third from the other eye. You ignore them, tracing the line of your bottom lip, the texture of your skin on your cheeks, the slight sunken effect of your under eyes. 

A knock makes you flinch. "Fuck," you say, wiping your cheek with the back of a hand, twisting on the spot like looking into your room might reveal whoever it is at the door. Probably one of your team. "Hello?" you call. 

"It's me. It's Hotch. I know it's after hours, but I wanted to speak with you."

Whatever reassurance he has to give might actually make this all much worse. You don't want any pity from anybody, you just want today to be over. Still, you wiggle your toes into the plush hotel carpeting, debating only for a moment about the pros and cons of pretending to be asleep. 

"Hey," you say, opening the door. You wipe your eyes and hope he takes it for a tired gesture rather than a method of hiding the glassy sheen at your waterline. "Hi, Hotch, how are you feeling?" 

"Fine. Tired. Thank you for asking." 

"Do you want to come in?" you ask. 

"Please." 

Hotch follows you into your room. There's an armchair across from the bed next to a desk and an old TV sitting atop it. Your suitcase is still open on your bed, your pyjamas crumpled in the shell. You close it before Hotch can see. That's another thing to add to your list: being a slob. 

"It's very clean in here," he says. 

You startle. "What?" 

"It's clean, considering how long we've been here. Have you ever seen Spencer's room at the end of a case?" he asks. 

"No, is it bad?" 

"It's like a paper hurricane."

You look down at your knees, hyper aware of his gaze on your face, tired of feeling uneasy in your skin. 

"I wanted to say thank you for doing the press release yesterday. You did an amazing job. It's something to be proud of." 

Of course he's talking about the press release, the one thing you need to not think about. 

"Did Derek tell you?" you ask. 

"Tell me what?" he asks, voice sharpening.

You look up. Hotch is a picture of concern, professionalism slightly off centre. 

"Nothing." 

"Something's been bothering you. Something Derek should've told me, I'm guessing." 

You chew over your words. "Uh. Hotch, it's really nothing, it's a hiccup. The press release, I…" You really don't want to have to say it. The words get stuck at the back of your throat.

He leans forward. "What?" 

"I looked sick. On TV. I looked really unwell, and it– it actually–" Why are you stammering? What's wrong with you? You laugh and it's not your laugh but it's better than your nonsense stuttering. "Sorry. On the press release, I didn't look my best, and it was a hot topic. That's what I thought Derek told you about. But I don't need anyone feeling sorry for me, Hotch." 

"I don't feel sorry for you." 

You wince, "No, of course not." 

"Two seconds," he says, putting his hand forward in the air between you. "A hot topic? I don't understand." He looks genuinely apologetic. 

"The tip line got clogged up with comments about my appearance," you say. You phrase it as a professional error rather than the embarrassing event it represents in your personal life.

His lips curl downward. "Saying you looked tired." 

"Saying I looked unagreeable." 

"As a friend," he says, tone softening, "could you tell me what they said?" 

Heat blooms in your cheeks and behind your eyes, your throat aching as you scratch at a nonexistent itch in the crook of your elbow. "Um. Well, there was a lot of them, and they weren't all about me, but the ones I saw, they seemed to think I needed more sleep. That I–" 

Hitch rarely interrupts, but something in your voice must impel him. "What did they say?" he asks again. 

"That I looked like a creature. That they hoped Miss Langley would be found, so that they didn't have to see my face on TV again. Hotch," you say, your throat sounding as tight as it feels, "it was pretty bad, but it really doesn't matter." 

"I think it matters if it's upset you," he says. 

He has the warmest voice when he wants it to be, so dulcet, almost melodic. You'd think it was a practised phrase, but he speaks freely. 

"It didn't," you lie. 

Pointless in your line of work and automatic anyways. Hotch doesn't deny you the safety of your untruth, but he doesn't entertain it, either. 

"You're beautiful when you're tired," he says. 

You don't mean to, but you hold your breath. The silence that follows his remark is deafening. 

"You're beautiful," he says, again, as though you could've missed it the first time. "Regrettably, you're very tired, but you don't look any less pretty. Don't think what was sent in to the tip line has any merit." 

"Are you saying that as my friend or my boss?" you ask. It's meant to be a joke that lightens the mood. 

"Neither," Hotch says.

You gawp, and then falter. "Why…" 

Hotch is close enough to offer a hand, and you're feeling stupid enough to take it. He squeezes tenderly, looking you straight in the eye. "I'm sorry about what's being said. I had no idea. We can pull the video, and the tipline should stop now Dana's been found, but it doesn't erase what's already happened. I'm so sorry. It's not right, and it's not fair." 

"It's a hard job, right?" you ask.

His hand is so so big, and not as soft as you'd pictured. It doesn't make a difference, not when he's touching you like you might shatter. 

"That's not the job," he says.

"It's silly to care, though. About what other people think." 

"I hope you care about what I think. The merit of an opinion comes from the person, and the relationship you have with them. Anyone who knew you would know that you're beautiful." 

"Inside that counts," you say, not fully comforted, but trying to give him an out. 

"You're beautiful on the outside," he says, giving your hand a small shake. "You're an amazing woman, of course. But I, for one, enjoyed seeing your face on TV."

You try not to smile too hard, directing your gaze at your joined hands lest he get a read on you.

Hotch must know how you feel about him. He'd be an awful profiler if he didn't. You fawn when you're around him even now, months down the line from your very first meeting when you were sure your heart would ricochet from your chest, the intensity of your instant crush like nothing you'd felt, not even as a schoolgirl. He'd been tall, striking, classically handsome and completely unaware of the fact. Now he's sitting across from you and he doesn't seem so tall, nor so striking. His caring side shines like a gem. It's blinding, and it really does make you feel better. 

"I cried in the bathroom," you confess, rubbing your thumb against his in minute, near imperceptible circles. "I wish it didn't matter to me, how I looked. I know I was doing something important, and there wasn't time to freshen up. Maybe I should've just asked somebody else." 

"You did it perfectly. You were perfect. No one else could have delivered the profile to the public that professionally, and that astutely." 

Hotch stands up, and you don't know what to do. You decide to look up at him just as he takes your face into his hands. 

"No crying in bathrooms, okay? It would… it breaks my heart thinking about it. You come to me."  

Such a dramatic statement, yet Hoch lays it out like it's an unquestionable truth. No bravado, only a sincerity that makes your throat hurt. His frown slides back into place as his palms warm your cheeks. 

"You're so busy, I could never," you say, shaking your head. 

"Time and place, sure, but. I will always try to make time for you. I hope you know that by now." 

You nod dazedly. Hotch's hands drag with a pressure down to your neck, your shoulders, leaving tingling skin in their wake. He looks at you and time stretches, a few seconds pulled out of order. It's his closeness, and his affectionate, empathetic smile. 

You nod again. 

He relaxes. 

"Try and get some rest, okay? You need to take care of yourself. I know it's hard to ignore how you feel, I know today was hard, but you're one of the strongest people I've ever met. I have faith in you." He gives your shoulder a final squeeze. "Are you alright?" 

"Yeah," you say. It comes out much more quietly than intended.

"Rest, honey. Call me if you're upset again. I mean it." 

He smooths your cheek with the back of his forefinger and you wonder if this is some weird fantasy. Hotch makes for the door, and you know for sure it's real when he says, "And no more caffeine tonight." 

"No more caffeine," you agree. 

He doesn't realise he's twice as bad as a coffee. Your heart races all by itself, his phantom touch on your cheek. 

—

"Hi, beautiful," Derek says. 

"There's the girl of the hour," Rossi says. 

You roll your arm in a bow, eyes stinging from the bright lobby lights but otherwise quite happy. Hotch called you beautiful last night. Hotch called you honey. People on the Internet who have nothing better to do thought you looked gross, but Hotch thinks you're pretty. It's hard to focus on the negative with a positive that good. 

"Good morning, my favourite boys," you say sweetly. 

Spencer looks up from his book. "Hey." 

"You didn't say hello," you say, "you excluded yourself." 

Spencer frowns and goes back to his book. You offer him a mini cookie from your pocket and he perks up, better when you whisper, "You know you're my favourite, Reid." 

"We all know that's a lie," Emily says, rolling her small suitcase to your left and nearly trampling your foot. 

"Unfortunately so," Rossi agrees. 

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." 

"Hotch looks chipper this morning, doesn't he?" Derek asks, nodding. You follow his nod too quickly and give yourself away, earning a scattered round of laughter from your tired team. "Got you."

"Laugh it up," you say. You're on a high that can't be killed, even with their collective teasing. 

"Why are we laughing?" Hotch asks from behind you. 

You jump half out of your skin. 

"We were laughing at Y/N's swift observational skills, but we spoke too soon," Emily says.

Hotch takes a moment to smile at you. "Hey, you look a little more rested. Feeling better?" 

A flush rises to your cheeks. "Much," you say, sounding foreign to your own ears. 

Hotch gives a pleased nod and clasps your shoulder gently before manoeuvring around you. "Let me go see where JJ is." 

He walks around the lobby corner and into the hotel restaurant. You have your face in your hands before he's gone, harassed by quiet whistles and giggling. 

"She's so embarrassed!" Rossi cheers, like a proud dad. "How hopeless, young love." 

"Someone please shut him up," you beg, rubbing your aching eyes. It's an excuse to hide your smile a moment longer. 

"Are you still tired?" Spencer asks. "You look tired."

"She does not," Derek says severely. 

You raise your head with a smile. Tired or not, Hotch thinks you're beautiful. He liked seeing you on TV. You lavish the memory.

"I'm genuinely exhausted," you say eventually, a smile stretching from cheek to cheek as you stand tall again.

"I want whatever kind of tired you're feeling," JJ says as she arrives, Hotch a step behind her. 

You meet his eyes. You think he might not acknowledge what's been said between you —it wasn't strictly professional to have held your face in his hands like that, after all— and the beginnings of disappointment creep in, until he stands at your side, his fingertips brushing yours. It cannot be accidental. 

"She wears it well, doesn't she?" he asks the group. He gives no time for an answer. "Everyone ready?" 

You practically vibrate your way to the SUV. Not a bad case, as they go. 

 ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

thank you for reading, so much! I hope you enjoyed! if you did and you have the time, please consider reblogging cos it makes me happy <3

[ddejavvu]

Hi daisy (i hope im right on your name) this has been on my mind for a while jake seresin and you going to take a shower and him joining you the water being to hot and you can tell hes not enjoying it "change the water to what you like " and it being fucking cold as hell and maybe he has a 3 in 1 and you forcing him to use your stuff"i dont want to smell like vanilla coconuts" "thats too damn bad you putting that shit on your hair is gonna make your hairline received by the time you're 45" and him allowing you too

You'd envisioned something sexier showering with Jake for the first time. Maybe something to do with being pressed against the tile wall. Well, you are pressed against the tile wall, but it's because Jake has dropped his shampoo (that's also his conditioner and his bodywash), and he has to bend over in the middle of the stall to retrieve it.

"Okay," You grimace as his feet shift backwards, and he smashes you even further against the wall, "This shower is not big enough for two people."

"We can make it work," Jake insists, but when he finally straightens up, moving back into the water's line of spray, he hisses in pain.

"Jesus," He gripes, clutching at his chest, "Do you think the water could be a bit hotter, darlin'? Don't think it quite fried my nipples this time."

"It's not that hot!" You insist, standing comfortably in the stream, "But if it really bothers you, Jake, just turn it to whatever temperature you want. I don't care."

You do care, it turns out. You'd been expecting him to squeak the 'cold' knob further to the right, but when he cranks the 'hot' off and swivels the 'cold' all the way on, you gasp.

"Ah- Jake!" You squeal, chills erupting over your flesh as the water runs ice cold, "Are you fucking insane? If I wanted to take the polar plunge I'd dive into the arctic ocean!"

"It's not that cold," He scoffs, squirting some of his 3-in-1 abomination into his hands, "Besides, 'thought you didn't care."

"I care," You gush, reaching for the knobs and adjusting them to be equal hot and cold. It's a bland, unfeeling temperature, but it's better than frosting over.

Your final straw is when Jake drags the same handful of soap from his armpit to his scalp. You watch in horror as he lathers in bubbles that he'd just smeared under his arms, reaching behind you for your own shampoo like it's a cross that can repel whatever evil spirits reside in Jake's bottle.

"Rinse that out now," You order, and he looks up at you bewildered.

"What?"

"Rinse that out," You insist, and when he's still frozen, you huff and do it for him. You spray him with the shower head at point blank range, successfully ridding his hair of the lackluster shampoo. He splutters and scoffs at the water in his eyes but he manages to wrestle the sprayer away from you, blinking his wet lashes open to glare at you.

"What was that about?"

"I'm washing your hair," You decide, smearing your hands together and spreading shampoo onto each palm, "That stuff doesn't work, you know that, right? Shampoo and conditioner work in opposite ways, so combining them makes them both ineffective. And would you use conditioner to wash your body?"

"No," He grumbles, and you press a kiss to his soaking wet cheek as a reward.

"Good," You hum, reaching for his scalp and lathering in your shampoo.

"Oh," He laments, "Now I'm gonna smell like lavender."

You let out a teasing giggle, scratching just right at his scalp so that his frown drops and his eyes flutter momentarily shut, "You'll be the prettiest flower in your field."

[signanothername]

What do u think of the trope where Blue/Swap joins the bad guy???

I have complicated feelings about it?

I love the trope in of itself, I think it would be a really interesting trope to explore

The problem tho? I never once saw it executed in a way that grabbed my attention or made me actually love the story it was used in

It immediately goes to the “asshole” Dream and Ink and “kind found family” Nightmare gang trope

Which again, if you don’t know, I hate the trope of Dream being somehow an asshole or somehow treating Swap as tho he’s less than him

Ink is a whole different story where the fandom simply villainize him just cause he’s soulless

And the kind found family Nightmare gang is a trope I love, but just like the trope of Blue joining the Nightmare gang, it’s poorly executed most of the time (and I mean, how can you call it a “Blue joins the bad guys” when the “bad guys” are shown to be good guys????)

Like, I opened so many different fics only to be hit with the same execution of this trope over and over, eventually just losing interest bxhxhdhdh

The idea of Swap not being able to “keep up” with Ink and Dream or is somehow neglecting himself to take care of Dream just doesn’t really intrigue me (or even make sense to me)

Like don’t get me me wrong, I’m an absolute sucker for the “Swap is literally the only anchor Dream has left in his life otherwise he’d fucking break down” but I dare say Swap is more than capable of handling it without it weighing him down to a significant degree

This is Swap for god’s sake, he’s literally Papyrus’ personality but in a Sans body, if anything, he’s the one who has his shit together the most and is able to go on with a genuine happy and determined smile on his face, no matter the shit that happens to him, it would make a lot more sense for Dream to be the one to try and catch up with Swap than the other way around

I get that the trope tries to show the limitations of Swap as a mortal compared to Dream and Ink who are both pretty much immortal, but what people tend to do is that they completely twist Swap to be absolutely pathetic just for this trope to work

Which *shakes the fandom* I promise you don’t have to completely change a character up to make a trope work

Like I saw stories that made Blue to be somehow a weak depressed anxious guy trying so hard and is failing and whatnot and I question myself whether that’s even Swap anymore hchcchcjvj

I think the problem I usually see when people try and write different tropes for different characters, is that they try to make the trope make sense, and so they twist the character around to fit around the trope

Which, imho, is ineffective, you should understand the character, and then think of how the character would deal with a certain situation and how that leads to the trope you’re trying to write, one step at a time without having to ignore/erase important personality traits of the character

Of course, that doesn’t mean the trope you’re trying to write can’t fundamentally change the perception, personality, or behavior of a character, but you have to show how it affects the character to such a fundamental degree, show how can the character be heavily influenced and affected in a way that makes sense for said character

For example, I’ve seen people write Swap neglecting to eat cause he’s trying to “keep up” or sometimes Dream and Ink don’t give him the chance to cause they pressure him to go on another mission or push him too hard

Here are some problems I see with this:

- why is the Nightmare gang even somehow attacking every single day? Have they got nothing better to do? Especially with the fact they’re a found family now?

- why is Dream and Ink going out for “missions” every day if the Nightmares aren’t attacking, like damn what are they even doing?? What are these “important missions”?? Since when was Ink so obsessed with “missions”?

- Swap would absolutely not let that shit stand, if anything, he’d be very vocal about it and tell Dream and Ink to sit down and eat his great delicious tacos (Swap’s voice always has power behind it, and his actions are a direct reflection of his beliefs not what others push him to do)

- Ink has a home in the doodlesphere, he wouldn’t even be around enough to push Blue, while Swap has an AU and a brother, there is pretty much no way he’d be with Dream and Ink 24/7, and if he was somehow, you think Swap Paps would let it slide? And even if we go with the idea of Swap not being part of an AU anymore, you think Swap himself would neglect himself just to please others even when it doesn’t align with his own beliefs?

And those are only few of the top of my head, I’m pretty sure if I sat down and thought about this for a few hours, I’d be able to write you a whole other set of problems

Not saying you can never write Swap neglecting to eat, you absolutely can, it’s just needs to make sense for Swap as a character, what would it take for Swap to start neglecting his health? It’s not others pressuring him or pushing him I can tell you that much

So yeah, good trope, not so good execution (for me at least)

I guess I’m way too focused on the logic of it to truly enjoy it for what it is, but then again I always love to complicate things way more than I need to

Not every trope or story has to make sense completely, but I guess seeing Swap be completely made into a pathetic mess with no actual grounds to support it beyond “he’s mortal and his friends aren’t“ just ruins it for me dhdhhdhd

[milkypompon]

pairing: Nathan Bateman x F!Reader

summary: Did you wake up in your boss' bed after a night together? Oops...

content: Fluff, morning after, talks of sex, sprinkles of smut

wc: 642

a/n: I am balls deep into Nathan Bateman... I'm rewatching Ex Machina and couldn't help but write for this pathetically genius man.

Main Masterlist

–

The bed underneath you was plush… too soft even.

You roll around in the sheets and still haven’t fallen off the single-sized mattress.

Oh, fuck. 

This was a king-sized mattress. 

And it wasn’t yours for that matter.

“You going to piss on my pillows next? C’mon, finish marking your territory.” A lilt of amusement hidden behind the gruff smirk catches you off-guard.

“I already did last night.” You throw said pillows at Nathan, he sidessteps each one. “Where’d you put my phone?”

Nathan chuckles and leans against the door frame, a towel wrapped low on his waist – freshly bathed with water droplets clinging to his chest. 

You knew that you’d be caught staring anyway, so you didn’t bother being discreet about it.

“Are you gonna take pictures to use as references for solo sessions?” He pushes up his glasses, making a show of it with his fingers. 

You rub the sleep out of your eyes, ineffectively stopping last night’s memories from seeping in. Those deliciously thick digits that plugged his cum back into your cunt, threatening to spill out to his annoyance. 

“Just give it back, Bateman. You and I got shit to do.”

Nathan pouts.

He fucking pouts.

You almost feel bad for wanting to leave but reality gave you a cold-wash of “you just slept with your boss”. 

“Quit thinking so hard, you’re gonna fry your brain.” He fishes your phone from god knows where because he certainly didn’t have pockets sewn into the towel.

“Was that between your ass cheeks?”

He tosses your phone back. “A magician never reveals his secrets.”

The view is “not safe for work” to say the least. 

Your bare back is pressed against the bed, your stiffening nipples exposed to the cool air. The only thing covering you up right now was the thin sheet splayed across your pussy. (Damn rich people and their attraction to minimalism). 

But there was no point of decency now. He’d seen you on your knees and against the wall. 

There were a few places he’s yet to take you like his annoyingly neat desk that you wanted to mess up just for the sake of musing his workspace.

He said it’d be like straight out of a badly written porno. “Hot, billionaire boss fucks ditzy, sexy assistant on his desk during work hours.”

You rolled your eyes. “You sure the title shouldn’t be ‘assistant finds out her boss is actually the owner of PornHub’? How the hell did you come up with it so fast?”

His sweatpants were past his knees but he was rudely interrupted by a call with the board before he could pull your panties off. 

“Alright, sir. You’ve got a long day today.” You open up the Teams app, listing off his daily meetings. 

He plucks your phone and settles your head into the crook of his neck. “I knew you’d do this, pretending like it didn’t happen.”

“I can’t believe I slept with you.”

“I know, I was there.” 

You can’t help it when the corners of your lips curl at his stupid remark.

Nathan beams at drawing out a reaction. “Oh? Is that a smile I see?”

“No, you idiot.” You’re full-on grinning now, cheesing and all.

“Quit worrying about your pretty head, babe. You’re already working full-time at the facility, no one’s gonna know what you’re doing here. Besides, my dick is just a bonus.”

“Is your dick equivalent to a bar of gold? Because I’m gonna need that extra money once I get fired.”

“Now you’re just giving me ideas. Imagine that! A golden dildo molded from my cock.” He strokes his beard. “A true Midas’ touch.” 

You crane over to him, nudging your nose against his. “I’d never survive a day in your mind.”

“Well, you made it through a night with me, so I think it’s fair game.”

I'd love to hear your thoughts and my inbox is always open for requests or if you want to chat!

[syndrossi]

Ok, so I am sick AF and I should really be asleep but I still wanted to let you know: Jon's little petty thoughts this chapter? Hilarious. I was giggling. Jon is a sassy little shit and I love it.

Jon: Ser Arryk would never. *Side eye of judgement*

Also Jon: Oh, well. I guess Rhaegar and I could use this.

Jon: the King is very busy doing important things. Useful, no. But important. To somebody.

Jon: He better leave my dad alone, though.

The hatchlings giving Daemon a hard time? Hilarious. Daemon realizing he's doing the equivalent of walking around with a million dollars and realizing halfway through he's doing that in the middle of the bad side of town. That little "oh shit. I fucked up" moment made me cackle. Daemon, dude, even without the reward, that wasn't the best move.

Miss M looking out for herself. Good for her. That said, Rhaegar would think the worst if he finds out his dad went to the street of silk.

Also, is somebody snuggling shit in the Red Keep? Right under the King's nose? Damn. That's something. That's just embarrassing to Viserys. Damn. That's how ineffective you are.

Or are they dragging something in? Hmmm... I sense angst coming. Jon is counting danger and Daemon is too ready to do something silly.

This is so long already. Comment tomorrow. Bed now.

Right? He's such a judgmental little shit, I love him so much! I'm so tickled someone picked up the subtler shade being cast on Ser Steffon. At least that kind of incompetence/carelessness is useful to Jon, unlike CERTAIN OTHER PEOPLE.

I fear Viserys is in danger of reaching Reyne-status with Jon, where he's not sure if he's acting out of malice or incompetence. "I'm sure he does something at his job." Petition for Jon and Rhaegar to be allowed to popcorn gallery a small council meeting!

That is 100% Daemon's thought process too! 😂 Understanding just what Mysaria meant by calling him as reckless as ever. Possibly more reckless? Viserys was never going to do anything too awful to him over the stolen/borrowed dragon egg. Walking through the wrong part of Flea Bottom, where with an unlucky gust of wind, Daemon's without his head or his sons' hatchlings!

Mysaria might be one of my favorite characters to dig into for the story. I'm taking a fair bit of inspiration from her HOTD characterization (aka she's been passing information to Otto about Daemon for years), while throwing in some interpretations of my own, based on her goals. She has a weird sense of honor, too, where of course she'll spy on Daemon, but she wouldn't get him killed. (For one thing, it's prudent not to do so given her loftier ambitions, and for another, he is useful and not bad to look at.)

And yeah, Daemon has mostly been worrying about Viserys's reaction. I don't think he's even considered how Jon or Rhaegar might feel about rumors about him in the Street of Silks.

Smuggling out or smuggling in, common criminal or sneaky noble--Jon's not sure yet, but it's something to keep an eye on, especially if they plan to continue exploring the tunnels...

❤️ Get some rest and I hope you feel better! We're hitting that time of the year, aren't we?

[harmonictechnicality]

This has got to be a mistake. There is no way on this spherical floating rock of fucked-uppery that this is the right hotel room.

Rose petals. Champagne bottles in a glass bucket. A silver tray of chocolate covered strawberries. A goddamn hot tub in the center of the room??

Mistake. Total mistake. The highest of errors.

See, Eddie is just tagging along with Steve on his monthly trips to visit Henderson at his big-brained university. And since Eddie has earned himself an appalling (yet valid) reputation of being flaky as dandruff, Steve was in charge of all the travel arrangements. Gas, schedule, hotel room.

This isn’t a hotel room. This a fucking honeymoon suite.

“The concierge said this was the only room left.” Steve tells him, plopping his duffel bag onto the heart-shaped bed. Which… fuck, really? Those exist outside of soft-core pornos?

“Sure. Okay.” Eddie spots candles on the balcony. Their balcony. Holy… “But why is all of this romantic shit here? Cause I’m sure as hell not paying for any of it.”

Eddie is barely paying for anything to begin with. He bought the snacks at the first gas station stop and has conveniently forgotten to pitch in ever since.

Steve shrugs. “It just… comes with the room, apparently.”

Eddie really wishes Steve had not put emphasis on that specific word. Knowing his hyperactive imagination, he won’t be able to un-hear that phrase for the entire duration of their trip. Awesome.

See, none of this would’ve been a problem two months ago. Up until then, Eddie never thought about inflicting red-rope marks around Steve’s wrists or how salivating it must sound to have his own name leaving Steve’s mouth while it’s stuffed with silk. No. Before two months ago, Eddie had Very Normal thoughts about Steve Harrington.

But since that day - the day Steve insisted on helping Eddie reapply his new eyebrow piercing, Eddie’s normal thoughts have been fucking poisonedwith vulgarity. 

It was everything whipped into one moment. The close proximity, the chemical-high off the sanitation wipes, the wetness of Steve’s fingers on him, the slight pinch of the metal threading through Eddie’s skin. 

As soon as Steve inserted the thin barbell, Eddie audibly gasped, swore quietly, had to play it off like the insertion hurt or whatever - just so Steve wouldn’t freak the fuck out. It proved to be an ineffective attempt at coolness, obviously Steve knew what he was doing. Has been an absolute tease about it ever since too. Flirty comments with Eddie when no one is around or making subtle touches whenever Eddie is close enough to get away with that sort of thing.

And look, Eddie would happily encourage all of that. He’d get Steve out of that stupid little polo and kiss every muscle on his torso if he thought that’s what Steve really wanted. There’s just no damn way that they are into the same stuff, physically.

Steve is probably nuts about fluffy-pink sex. All wispy touches and muffled moans under the covers. And Eddie doesn’t do that shit. Eddie wants bruising kisses and sensual demands. He wants to dissect all the vanilla parts of Steve and replace them with black magic and velvet.

That. That is why this room, these things, that person, is making this all of this very dangerous for Eddie.

“You okay, man?” Steve asks.

“Yeah.” Liar.

“You’ve been staring at the desk lamp for like, five minutes.”

“Just speculating as to where the interior designer may have found a dark red lightbulb.” Which, yeah. Why is it red? Is red the horniest color? Eddie bets if Steve is lying beneath red lighting, it’ll look like his whole body is flushed, overheated from whatever Eddie is doing to him.

Fuck. This is bad. This is so very bad.

And yet, Steve is so unfazed. So casual. He’s eating the gummies off the snack bar like they’re not shaped like dicks. He’s turning on the stereo as if it’s not only looping through steamy saxophone solos. Why is none of this affecting him like it’s affecting Eddie? Is passion and desire so deeply woven into his Harrington DNA that this stuff is just a typical Tuesday for him? Ugh, Eddie is making his own head spin. 

“So…” Eddie sways side to side. “None of this is weird to you?”

“What do you mean?”

What does he mean? What fucking gives? “Uh - there’s a bowl of flavored rubbers sitting next to your hand, dude. How are you so chill about this?”

Steve clinks his nail over the condom bowl. “It’s just stuff. No biggie.”

“Just stuff? It’s like a romance novel threw up in this place.”

“Yeah, but..” Steve counters, sounds irritated. “It’s only romantic if you’re with someone and wanna… get it on.”

Eddie scoffs. “Get it on? What - suddenly, you can’t just say fuck?”

“You’re so annoying.” Steve rolls his eyes, tosses another dick gummy into his mouth. “These are all just things. It’s all about your mindset.”

“I disagree.” Eddie states. “I think anyone with an active libido would wanna fuck all over this sex-trap.”

“Booby-trap.”

“Nice one.” Eddie gives Steve a high-five. Unironically.

“Still…” Steve turns the volume dial down on the stereo. “I think you’re wrong.”

“I think you’re wrong.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Steve’s arms fold into his chest, taking a step towards Eddie. “Then prove your point. Convince me otherwise.”

Eddie should back down. He should wrap a leash around all of his sick thoughts and chain them up somewhere far away. He should not say what he’s about to say. He shouldn’t.

“How about we make a bet?” Big yikes. Wrong move.

“What kind of bet, Munson?”

“I bet you twenty bucks that I can change your mind. If we can use up all of these so-called ‘regular items,’ without you feeling a twinge of romance, then you win.”

Steve doesn’t respond, so Eddie keeps talking. Can’t shut up anymore.

“But if you so much as blush during any of it, then I win.”

Steve opens his mouth, shuts it. He raises an eyebrow and tries again. “When you say regular items, that excludes the condom bowl, right?” 

“What ever do you mean?” Eddie gives a sneaky grin, no restraining his dirty plan now. “You’re not interested in making balloon animals this evening?”

Steve huffs, plops down into a nearby chair. “So weird.”

“Do we have a deal or not, Harrington?” 

This is so dumb. Eddie can tell just how dumb it is by the puzzled expression on Steve’s face. But here he is, making bets like he’s still in fucking high school, trying to swindle beefy jocks out of their cushy-privileged allowance money.

However, it appears that Steve is just as dumb as Eddie is.

“Make it forty bucks.” Steve offers a hand out to him. 

Eddie accepts it, gives the firmest handshake. “You're on.”

So much for this being a normal evening.

*the rest is on ao3 :) here's the link*

[hareofhrair]

However important you think Biden winning the election is, you must surely realise that jerking off into a sock might just do more to make that happen than being annoying about it on tumblr.

Thanks for having the integrity to send this off anon, man. And I more or less agree frankly. My original post was primarily venting and mostly just intended for the people in my immediate circle as, at most, an explanation for why I was unfollowing them and breaking mutuals. I didn’t even tag it as anything but “us politics” for people who don’t want to see that shit. It wouldn’t have gone much further than that, but a sci fi author I follow and respect deeply reblogged it, and they’re pretty popular so here we are. The shit i have got in my inbox the last week you would not believe, dude.

The thing is being annoying about voting for Biden on tumblr is pretty damn ineffective for sure. Unfortunately, doomposting about how he’s no better than trump and it doesn’t make a difference who wins so we should all just give up- does work. Reblogging a million posts about how Biden is a genocidal monster and voting for him means you’re a murderous racist (and exactly zero posts about Trump’s political plans or anything hopeful or which recommends actual action beyond just *not voting*) is incredibly effective at suppressing votes here. The tumblr community is very susceptible to apathy, because we’re all depressed and broke and miserable.

Russia literally used that to their advantage in 2016- this is established, proven fact- in order to get Trump elected the first time by convincing leftist youth that the democratic candidates were just as bad so there was no point in voting (and in fact voting makes you a bad person because you’re endorsing those monsters!) So I’d prefer if people around me did not uncritically reblog that shit. It pisses me off to see it and it does no one any good.

Biden is dogshit man, I know. I’m not a democrat, I just vote that way because, generally speaking, they are the only available candidates who don’t want to make my life actively worse. That doesn’t mean I like it.

But as far as I can tell, the revolution isn’t happening any time soon. I’m doing as much as I can where I am, but generally speaking the American people are uniquely complacent and apathetic and systematically depowered. Most of us are fighting just to stay housed and fed and don’t have the energy to also throw ourselves on the gears of capitalism. Those of us that do have the capacity face the incredible impersonal violence of the police state and a justice system with both political and financial incentive to strip their personhood and sell them into forced labor. Either things have to get a *lot* worse to convince people they have nothing to lose (which as someone else pointed out is a risky gamble that doesn’t always work and results in a lot of suffering regardless) or things need to get *marginally* better, enough that the people who already want change have the stability and resources to fight for it. And when you want incredibly, frustratingly marginal improvements, look no further than the democratic party!

Look, when it comes down to it, you don’t need to agree with me. But at least admit that even if it makes no difference at all, voting doesn’t hurt anything. It’s free, it takes very little effort, and it maybe gives us a slightly better chance of avoiding our country becoming a christofacist dictatorship.

If voting, at worst, makes no difference why not do it?

If voting, at worst, does nothing- why are so many people so invested in convincing you that you shouldn’t do it?

[namwool]

Imma rant~ Apologies ignore and delete this if you want. I just want to get this off my chest.

I'm actually relieved you're not a fan of Yue Qingyuan either! It's quite rare to find someone who shares that sentiment. Shen Jiu is the only character I'd go to bat for as well, despite his limited presence in the story. I'm not particularly fond of Liu Qingge either, especially since many fanfics paint him as this overly righteous figure, which doesn't seem to align with his character's complexity. He's a PIDIW character of course he's head has a screw loose up in there.

If imma be honest Bingge was gonna be hated if he was in any man's peak including YQ and be loved in close proximity to females because of his system halo. The OG Luo Binghe greek tragedy truly wasn't the abuse that set him off it was his greediness he really wants to covet his cruel Shizun so bad he'd go to the Walmart version to pick it up. His longing for his cruel Shizun is so intense that he'd settle for a lesser version of him, which is quite telling. If his feelings toward Shen Jiu were purely hatred, he wouldn't have subjected him to such prolonged torture unlike palace master. It's evident that his emotions toward his Shizun are more complicated than simple animosity; there's something deeper there that he craves. It's almost a relief that the story didn't take a turn toward a "2HA" scenario, if OG Binghe decided a different kind of torture .

The number of fanfics that portray Shen Yuan as the sole reason for Luo Binghe's victory and love triumph over the protagonist is astounding. They often depict Shen Yuan's kindness as the catalyst for winning over Little Binghe's heart, when in reality, he wears a mask of a precious teacher. Thats it! He has his face. That what makes him special. If true kindess and loves from his wives didn't get him going what makes Shen Yuan different? I know most are MC bias but like... knowing MXTX works and identites and the fact this wasn't revealed made me go whaat ?

If that were true, the reveal would have happened already. Bingmei and Bingge are both undeniably deranged in both worlds, and he was a white lotus; I can't comprehend why so many reveal fics portray him as calm. He would have gone crazy and lose his shit, not calm, in all these circumstances, as depicted in these fics.

I dislike the other Peak Lords, but Yue Qingyuan frustrates me the most because of his ineffectiveness as a leader. His relationship is one I feel would have been better left unresolved with loose ends, much like with Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng because some relationships are better left to be departed and let go . As a reader, I wonder how many times he can just fail before giving up and throwing in the towel. What angered me the most was Shen Jiu being tortured inhumanely for who knows how long, until his severed legs were sent to him, which finally spurred Yue Qingyuan into action. That is truly sickening! I can't help but imagine himself in that situation needing help and, and as a reader would resent YQ for it. Does his tragic death make up for it when his childhood friend was suffering? As a reader, I care less about Yue Qingyuan's personal struggles. I know he has trauma, but in such dire circumstances, how can he not push himself for Shen Jiu? He has all the power but limits himself, unable to move forward and often fumbling.

If SJ can drop and go 100% and he can't then it's relationship is unequal. I once came across a damn Tiktok talking about shit like if " YQ was a different person one day or acted strange Shen jiu would do his damnest to find out who it is he wouldn't just stop he'd keep going because of his heart and would be the same for the rest of the Peak Lords".

What infuriates me the most is that he owes him a life debt—one that he was deeply involved in, and yet Shen Jiu saved him. Despite everything, all Shen Jiu needed was for someone to believe in his good heart and see him as a good person, even if it was just one person. It would have meant the world to know that his big brother truly understood his nature, especially considering his deep self-loathing. If just one person believed in him, it could have greatly improved his mental health. Yue Qingyuan was saved by Shen Jiu and could have taken significant actions, such as clarifying the rumors and not appearing so guilt-ridden, which led others to misinterpret his relationship with his shidi. At the very least, even if he couldn't explain "why," he could have shown through his actions how much Shen Jiu meant to him. Shen Jiu saved him twice—how could he not find it in his heart to believe in him?

That was makes me so pissed off. YQ didn't so I see him as a disgrace. Like YQ passiveness is like seeing the stupid trainwreck of Jiang Fengmian and Madam Yu.

LQG for all his bullshit is weirdly the one I felt would work simply because of his personality and character dynamic with Shen jiu lol.

I have no idea how long this ask has been in my inbox. Sorry for the late answer!

Anyways, I agree with almost everything you said, except the torture part.

While I do agree that ripping apart someone's body is inhuman, it does align with the "historical" context of the novel. I did prepare a post some time ago about historical abuse in Svsss, but I didn't post it because I didn't want to fuel the fandom or create anymore beef.

I too don't think LBG loves SY. Or anyone really except maybe Zhuzhi-Lang? But as far as I personally saw in the book, everyone who took an interest in him was because he was in SQQ's body. That's my personal interpretation, I might be wrong, I might be right. Even LQG's interest, to me at least, seems to mostly be because he believed SY!SQQ to be SJ!SQQ. (I love Liujiu, I might be extra biased here. Not sorry.)

YQY had plenty of chances to come clean, like... you can't tell me he didn't know how possessive SJ was over him. Sj literally killed his demonic shizun to save him, and chose to follow him to Cang Qiong. I don't believe anyone who says "YQY didn't know". Let's not forget SJ almost fought a bunch of other kids for calling him their Qi-ge.

There's also this other thing that bothered me: YQY assuming the same thing as everyone else.

Like, he had the power, the position, the respect of everyone. If he went to the RWP to investigate the truth, with how highly respected he is, no one would say a thing.

Their relationship is so one-sided it hurts. I physically can't stomach canon YQY. I'm sorry. I prefer the fanon one.

The thing that bothers me, is that I can't even fully blame him. It's Airplane the problem. He wrote the characters that way. Had SY never transmigrated, disrupting the novel, YQY would have never revealed why he failed to save SJ.

I hate Airplane more than I dislike YQY 😤

Also, 2ha kina creeps me out. I wish someone told me what the books were about before I bought the first three volumes together. I regret investing my money in those books 🥲

[tarisilmarwen]

Please, if you want, DUNK on the blue bastard.

Oh? I am being given permission to shittalk Thrawn? *rubs hands* Listen, I love the guy as the Affably Evil villain he is. He's imminently polite and respectful towards his adversaries, sharp as a tack brilliant which makes him a formidable foe, he appreciates good work from his underlings, he's hilarious bouncing off other characters. He's a fully three-dimensional, rounded, likable character.

Who also happens to be an authoritarian nightmare bastard.

He is at best apathetic to the Empire's atrocities, at worst, willingly complicit. He genuinely believes in the fascist tyrannical system as the best status for the galaxy, because they put up a "stronger", "ordered" front. He might bemoan some aspects of the Empire but only because he sees them as wasteful, ineffective, inefficient, and he absolutely thinks he could run things better if given the chance. He is the epitome of Machiavelli's Prince, deluded into believing himself some kind of benevolent tyrant, or willing to serve at the behest of one. He is Might Makes Right and The Ends Justify The Means and fits right in with the modus operandi of the Sith Code and the Empire's whole overarching philosophy.

The man is part of Palpatine's personal Triumvirate with Vader and Tarkin. You do not get that high up into the upper echelons unless you are a true believer.

Which is why fandom's constant excusing him because of his supposedly sympathetic and noble motivations is so damn irritating.

Oh Thrawn is doing everything For The Greater Good? He just wants to protect the interests of the Chiss? His first priority is to his own people?

None of that shit matters.

He still willingly inserted himself into the infrastructure of a fascist regime that was installed by genocide and regularly murders its own people and tried to help said regime run better and oppress the galaxy more effectively. He depersons and dehumanizes beings he doesn't consider useful, and sees the useful ones as "assests" ("allies" at best). He is perfectly willing to do horrible things if it suits him or gets him the results he needs. And he sees nothing wrong with his own actions. He is self-serving and self-righteous.

He. Is. A. Villain.

Doesn't matter how cute you think he is with Eli or Ar'alani or whoever or how sad you imagine him or how sympathetic and likable you find him, he is not a good person. He is a Bad Guy, and it's laughable that y'all wring hands over that fact. You're allowed to like the bad guy. You're allowed to find the bad guy hot and sympathetic and likeable and funny. But it annoying as hell when you insist he can't be a Bad Guy because "Oh he did it for a good reason!" which is, again, irrelevant.

And no, Zahn writing him with more sympathetic backstory and likable moments in New Canon doesn't mean he's no longer a villain. It does not mean his alignment has changed. It just means his time with the Empire becomes a corruption arc, as we see how a supposedly good person can become more and more fanatical in the pursuit of their goals.

And Zahn is on thin freaking ice anyway, if the hearsay about his asinine empty buildings headcanon is true.

I hope when August comes and the Ahsoka show has Thrawn being the magnificent bastard fascist asshole he is, fandom comes around to appreciate him properly, as the awesome villain he is.

[growling]

Odd and unusual, deeply unsettling creature dubbed by the locals as "tumblr user Growling" (pinned post)

hello everypony this is growling's blog of tumble on which i post my yaoi (anything can be yaoi if you're open-minded enough) [reminder to self update the damn pinned now!!!!]

-> it/its or he/him in general -> metaphysical/spiritual fictionkin + plural, which is why I switch between I/we pretty often when referring to myself (please do not use psychiatric or pathologizing terms for us such as DID, alter or introject. our system members do not have defined roles, either.) -> Collective/unclaimed names include: Seth, Andrzej, Jaspis, Karneol, Sylwester, Stefan, Kosma, Feliks, Sójka, Mikołaj, Józef and Wojciech. We collect names like cool rocks -> evil loveless aplatonic afamilial aro schizospec antisocial narcissists with dangerous levels of autism they warned you about. now start barking

Rain Code side || Akuma Kun side || Yomi's blog || Spotify (if you like character playlists and think I got immaculate music taste....)

Attention keeps me alive and I love receiving asks heyhey hey you should send me asks I need enrichment in my enclosure haha..... That being said I'm usually bad at articulating myself and prone to get overexcited/anxious when I try to respond, so I may take way longer to answer. They had to nerf me somehow. Genders vary between parts but as a general rule none of us are comfortable with feminine terms even as joke/slang, "girl" isn't gender neutral guys what the huh.... I do not have a DNI as they're just objectively ineffective and dumb, stop expecting others to curate your own experiences and use the block button as it was intended, also the hell do you mean by "basic dni criteria" are you just virtue signaling or is this some sort of code.

Current fandoms & things I'm into: Winx Club, Rain Code, Bungou Stray Dogs, Akuma Kun, Danganronpa, The Coffin of Andy and Leyley, Gushing Over Magical Girls, Akudama Drive, Gravity Falls, Tribe Nine, Mouthwashing, Henry Stickmin, Project: Eden's Garden, ZENO Remake, Breaking Bad and occassionally posting about Warriors, but I've distanced myself from the community because it's rancid over there, same with Wings of Fire. Non-fandom specific, we really like violent whump (not the fever type. the, uh... other one) or just terrible things happening to fictional characters. Wanting them crying, terrified and in pain is an expression of adoration from us <3 though we're too shy to post/reblog any of that sort of stuff for now since not many people are as into it. Oh yeah and also cat genetics, these are cool.

[dragon-cookies]

Fuck it okay I’m gonna watch the 2nd ep of Hazbin, I’m gonna be brave

This ep isn’t as grating as the first for me, but good LORD does this show have no idea who to focus on. The title suggests it’s going to be about Alastor and Vox’s rivalry, but it switches like halfway through to focus on Pentious coming to the hotel?? While also throwing the side plot with Angel Dust and Valentino at us too??? Please for the love of god pick a focus for each episode

The song still comes out of basically nowhere but is overall pretty fun and catchy

Vox is literally just Alastor’s body with a square head I’m sorry I had to say it

I fucking hate Valentino, like viscerally hate him. I feel gross every time he speaks. Someone needs to rip his throat out with their teeth by the end of this season or sooner

Pentious being the villain who consistently fails at being a villain is admittedly pretty amusing. I’m a bit of a sucker for men who are absolutely pathetic

Now that I’m thinking about it, how does Charlie actually plan on redeeming sinners?? It feels like the hotel’s supposed to be like a rehab center, with group therapy sessions and the like, but her methods are clearly pretty childish and ineffective. I’m assuming she’s maybe going to have an arc where she realizes it’s going to take more work to rehabilitate sinners, but given that she’s literally grown up in Hell you’d think she’d already know that

Wait a fucking second actually, what if instead of being Lucifer and Lilith’s daughter, Charlie was an angel who came to Hell to try and help redeem sinners? Her naivety and positive outlook would make way more sense if she hadn’t actually grown up amongst the carnage in Hell. I came up with that in like, 30 seconds and I already think that’s a way more interesting premise

I also know the whole “they seem like good friends” is a common meme used when describing f/f couples but god Charlie and Vaggie are not written like a couple at all. They barely interact, and nothing they say or do explicitly communicates they’re a couple and not just friends. Just a kiss or some kind of show of affection or just one of them calling the other “babe” would be enough and yet there’s just, nothing

Any m/m couples are portrayed as either horrifically abusive or aggressively one-sided too. Damn this show is just doing an equal disservice to both the girls and the gays

How do Overlords work?? Does a sinner have a random chance to become an extra powerful demon when they enter Hell? Or is it tied to how much sin they commit when they’re alive? What do Overlords even do? What’s their end goal?

Okay Charlie's fluffy bed head is actually pretty cute

Oh okay we're gonna have a happy apology song seconds after Pentious literally set up cameras in the hotel?? Kinda feels like we didn't put in the leg work for an entire song once again but here we are

Why does Charlie have more chemistry with Pentious than literally anyone else so far

Overall, not as painful as the first ep, still horrendously bad pacing and overall just feels extremely rushed.

[chidoroki]

My Hero Academia S7EP11

aka: heartbreaking. showstopping. pain.

Amajiki really is a force to be reckoned with, being able to induce poison like that, but damn Shigaraki for dispelling it so quickly.

They had to be sock and tired animated so many fingers at this point.

That close frame of Bakugo crying while he’s analyzing the battle going on was nice.

I wish we got to see more of the big three working together like this instead of waiting up until now.

Bro I forgot how much I adore Nejire. Being so excited about everything yet having other people tell you to be quiet or tell you you’re annoying was and continues to be such a fear of mine to the point where I just keep my mouth shut around them, like sorry for being happy and existing I guess I’ll just not enjoy life around you then and cater to your greater wants and needs instead.

That being said, I love the serious expression on her face. If we were able to see her acting cold and closed off during her early UA days I’d enjoy her more, but I am thankful that Amajiki and Mirio were able to breaks down her walls and accept her bubbly personality so she can be happy with who she truly is. They’re all such a fantastic trio.

Amajiki’s vast hybrid plasma cannon was such a great last ditch effort and I’m sad it was basically ineffective against this bastard.

Damn Bakugo, you can’t get any closer to a head shot like that.

He looks so soft within this white space alongside All Might’s visage.

Not the audible heart beats too!

That shot of him dead on the ground hurts just as bad as it did the first time.

[minijenn]

Jen Tortures Herself With Every Dreamworks Animated Movie Ever: Spirit Untamed

Why the fuck does this movie exist? No really, why does it exist? Who asked for a Spirit reboot (not a sequel, because it isnt a sequel, its a reboot for some reason) in the year of our lord 2021? Who asked for this to be released in theaters? And why is it honest to god one of the worst movies I've had the displeasure of watching as part of this marathon???

Ugh, ok so we follow a girl named Lucky, who's visiting her estranged father for the summer alongside her uptight aunt Cora. While there, she meets a captured wild horse, which she quickly bonds with and names Spirit, while also befriending two other local Horse Girls (get ready to hear me say Horse GIrls a lot bc this is literally Horse Girls The Movie). When Spirit's herd is captured by bandits, its up to these Horse GIrls to go on a grand adventure and rescue them.

Yeah, basic plot with insanely basic characters because this movie is for Babies and Horse GIrls. I don't know what else to fucking say. Everything about this movie screams childish and pandering, from the way these characters are written (its set in the early 1900s, but these kids use words like "totally" and make friendship bracelets omg besties, jfc shoot me) from the shitty pop songs to even how it looks (more on that in a bit). There's like... basically nothing appealing about this film if you aren't a very small child or obsessed with horses and even then, the horses element of it is just oh, look at horse make big jump! oh look at horse bond with horse girl! And it gets so damn old so damn fast.

The characters here are all as basic as they can be. Lucky is your typical headstrong preteen, who is way too overconfident in her own abilities, to the point that she's kind of moronic imo? Her friends aren't much better and barely have personalities outside of being there to support Lucky and be her omg besties! Spirit is just... fuckin there, he has no real personality, unlike the original movie where he had a bunch, without even saying a word. Lucky's dad is the most Generic Dreamworks Dad with hangups I've ever seen, I guess Aunt Cora is probably the only semi fun character in the cast, and the bad guy, fuck he was so ineffective and boring I don't even remember his name. The only thing I do remember is his face is weirdly smooshed and he got defeated by a goddam Horse Girl, of all things, jesus christ man, that's taking a major L.

The animation here is just plain pathetic. I understand that this was basically made to launch a Netflix spinoff series, but fuck man, this released in theaters. Does Dreamworks have no fucking shame? Even some of their earliest CGI movies looked better than this bland, uninteresting looking style they have going on here. The music is every bit as boring and forgettable, with again, shitty pop songs. Yay. Just what we need more of.

So yeah, this one fucking sucked. The only good thing I can say about it is it was mercifully short. But like... it was so goddamn boring, man. Even Boss Baby, for as bad as it was, was at least interesting to watch bc you wanted to see how batshit bad it would get. This was just... hard to even focus on with how dull and predictable it was. So thanks, Dreamworks, for releasing this second rate trash heap in theaters, because otherwise I would have never ruined an evening of my life watching it. Seriously, thanks for that. T-T

Overall Rating: 2/10

Verdict: Banished to Horse GIrl Country

Previous Review (The Croods: A New Age)

Next Review (The Boss Baby: Family Business)

[phobiaoftickles]

THIS IS SO SHAMELESS 😍😭 HIIII

ok so you PWOBABLY know who it is (starts with an L.... ends with an iya) but I spy a certain something on your fandoms list 😀😀 this is just a prompt (general, not rlly any specifics 😭) BUTT 🍑 if it is possible could you write some original series lee!Ben with ler!Gwen I'm like I FEEL LIKE A HOBO BEGGAR FOR ASKING BUT TYSM FOR PUTTING UP W ME (I'm @trrickytickle )

Gwen the tickler

Second day having this acc and there’s alr a request? You best beilieve I’m going to do this.

Summary: Ben is being a nuisance scaring his cousin using multiple other morphs, little did he know Gwen will get her revenge!!

“Ben!! Get over here right NOW!!!!” Gwen ran after Ben after the last 5 morphs he did, popping out of no where infront of his cousin, acting like a villain, scaring the shit out of her, then morphing back to his regular self, laughing about it. And Gwen had enough.

“Uh, kids? Don’t be too reckless, don’t want you loosing an eye, and explain to your parents on how you managed to lose said eye.” Max just finished baking a batch of cookies, in which Gwen and Ben looked at the burnt cookies in disgust and continued their horse play.

Gwen went another way, in which her cousin didn’t know exsisted, and cut him off, tackling him and taking his braclet off so he won’t try to morph and get out of this very tickly situation.

“D’aw! Damn it, Gwen, can you please let your lil cousin up? For the sake of our friendship??” Ben mustered up the biggest puppy dog eyes, but it turned out to be ineffective, as Gwen didn’t give two shits.

“You’re gonna learn not to mess with me, Benjamin~” Gwen pinned his arms above his head. For someone to beable to morph into these strong monsters, he’s pretty weak. “I know something you’re terrified of the most…”

“And that is?”

“Gwen’s tickle attacks!” Gwen put Ben’s arms in one hand and teased him with the other, wriggling above his armpits.

“No!! GWEN PLEASE DON’T!! I promise I won’t scare you again, you have my woRD!! AHHAHHHHH STOP!! Don’t you dare Gwe-AHAHAHAHAH!! GWEN!!!” Ben screeched as the red head finally descended on his ticklish under arms.

“Sorry, friend, but you need to be taught a lesson on MANNERS!!” She scratched and scritched all on his armpits, going down to his sides, and wrecking them.

“Ahahahahah!! Please, stahahhap! Gwen! Please!” The transformer writhered from side to side, unable to get out of the red head’s grasp, so he decided to panick even more.

“Nope, don’t think I will.” She pushed his shirt up to his ribs, exposing his bare tummy. “Ooo~ this looks really ticklish, Benny, is it ticklish?” She tried it, tracing his stomach with her index finger, swriling around the navel, but not quite dipping in.

“*Snrk* no-NO!! It-It’s not… Gw-Gwen, st-stop, please!” Ben, out of his control, arched his back up towards Gwen’s finger.

“Wow~ look at this cute belly button, just iching for me to swirl my nail in the tiny hole, scratching the walls, and pinching the oustides of it.”

At this point, Ben was already red faced, crying, and panting. He was morbidly ticklish, and he hated it because of how vulnerable he is. Him and Gwen would always get into tickle fights, and he would always end up losing, so this? Not surprised Gwen could pin him down with a flick of her wrist.

“MAX!! UHUHUHUNCLE MAX!!! HEHEHEHELP ME OUT!!! PLEASE!!” To his horror, his uncle was passed out, watching tv, with milk in hand and cookie halfway in his mouth. He was not waking up to anything!

“Too bad Benny, he’s already passed out, good luck next time… or not~” She swriled her finger in, but instead of light tickles, they were rough ones.

“OHOHOW!! GWHEHEHEHN THOSE HUHUHUHUHRT!!!” Ben screeched out.

“Oops, sorry, got a lil carried away, now… where else should I target?” She examined his torso, looking for the next spot and poising her hands on his hips, tapping her fingers.

“No where!! Gwen, quit. It! Please!! Just stop.” The morpher tried to reason with her, doing puppy dog eyes, pleading, but once Gwen gets in a bad mood, there’s no getting out of it, unless SHE’S satisfied.

“Nope, this’ll teach you a lesson.” She scratched his hip indents with her thumbs, and scratched the sides of his hips with the rest of her fingers.

“DAHAHHAHAHAMN!! GWEN PLEASE, I HATE BEING TICKLED!! STOHOHOHOJOP!!!” He writhered side to side, but with his arms bound, and his cousin on his waist, he can’t really do much.

“Duh, that’s why I’m tickling you. This will teach you a lesson, there’s no point in liking being tickled, if you’re not gonna learn anything. Now suffer.” She moved down to his upper knees, squeezing her life out. Boy was she mad.

“GAH!! STOP GWEN!! AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! I’VE LEHEHEHEHARNED MY LEHEHEHESSON THE MOMENT YOU PIHIHIHINNED ME DOWN!” Ben was kicking his legs, so Gwen moved down to sit right above his knees.

“‘Stop Gwen, just stop, please’ No, I’m not going to, until I’M satisifed! You even lost me a date bc you want to be stupid and morph into one of your globby things, scaring him OFF!!” With the last word, Gwen used her sharp nails to squeeze above his knees instead, and that really got him on his feet.

“AHHHHHHHH…. ST-STAHAHAHAHHA!!—— NO!! GOHOHOD FUHUHUHUC-“ Ben didn’t know what to do, he was getting light headed, had to piss, was about to pass out, and he didn’t know how to make her stop.

“Wow~ this keeps you on your heels, huh? Sucks.” Gwen continued her torment on his knees.

“GEHEHEHEHEHWN PLEASE JUST STOP!! PLEASE!! IHIHUHI GOT TO PISS, MYHYGYHY HEAD HURTS AND I’M GOHOHOHONNA PASS OUT!! STOP!”

“Oop- sucks.” She continued, practically pericing his skin with her sharp nails.

“GWEN!!! FUCKING STOP! I’M SERIOUS!!!” Ben, being angry, mustered up enough strength to push her off.

This shocked her, bc no matter how mad he got he could never push her off like that. “You ok, Ben? I think I went a little overboard, huh?”

“YOU THINK?! A LITTLE?! Gwen, when somebody tells you to stop, no matter why they want you to, if they tell you to STOP, you fucking do it. You don’t continue. God, I’m going to bed.” Ben walked off, wiping his teary eyes from his face.

Gwen sat there in disgust in herself, she really went overbaord today, she’ll apologize when sbe sees her cousin tomorrow.

[familyagrestefanblog]

I have.. such mixed feelings about the implications of this shot in the new trailer

I wanna be hopeful that this means the protection charms dilemma is finally getting brought up and this is the result of Marinette having sat down with either Chat Noir or Alya and the show finally has her talk about how not ideally at all this was handled up til now from her/the hero's side because after the protection charms lost 90% of their initial crucial purpose the hero's just kinda act like the emotional value was the main purpose all along and no conversation or a second try from Ladybug, Chat Noir/Mister Bug or Scarabella needs to be concidered.

I wished the show would just name the reason for nothing having happened after "Dearest Family" to be that Marinette was/is too afraid of trying something different again at all after ShadowMoth overpowered her charms because she didn't wanted to give him another opportunity to grow in power yet again, to outsmart her powers and make her look bad in the public eyes.

Those are perfectly understandable reasons I could work with just fine and with those I would not take much issue with nothing being done again, if only the show actually would properly voice that and say that something Ladybug did simply wasn't well-handled with no "buts" and excuses about it from whatever angle or that her first attempt at something she just learned simply ended up not being good enough and that's it. Off to the second try then. It is baffling to me how much the show refuses to actually have that be the case and make it stick once in a while and not always sweep everything under the rug since Marinette really would need this experience with something just semi-important like Protection charms.

No I dont want to drink Marinette's tears for breakfast, I'm honestly just asking for an acknowledgement from the heros' side that the charms situation isn't ideal at all for quite a long time now and that they were suddenly asking alot of the civilian with this plan change of only focusing on the charms' emotional value, since the resistance through the charms can only be tested when the person is already Monarque's prey. And who of them is supposed to know what the hell HE is doing with his Transmission powers?

I don't even need a damn result, I just wanna see them talk about these things and do as much as brainstorming, which for all I care they can do while eating damn cake at one of their sleep overs or on a rooftop in fluffy blankets (btw this goes for Adrien and Alya too, I have very little respect for how the show had ALL the hero's handle this after "Dearest Family".)

I really don't like how almost.. entitled and without much hero's accountability at all this was handled by the narrative. We simply got NOTHING after 4x21 and in the big picture that resulted in the hero's basically saying "Hey this protection charm that had the power to protect you from the akuma when Shadowmoth/Monarque preys on you and emotionally manipulates you when you are in an emotional low-point and therefore extra vulnerable to him doesn't work like that anymore. So it's your job and your job alone to just not be vulnerable prey anymore, since we are not going to make a second attempt or take a different approach in anything no matter how ineffective our default ways have proven themselves to be by now."

What is currently happening has a bitter aftertaste of victim-blaming for me because there is 0 acknowledgement or communication from the heros' side and therefore I'm unwilling to give it a free pass through the understandable reasons I listed earlier and will elaborate further on later on. The charms were presented to the people as a way to fully protect them and the moment that stopped being true the heros seemingly just changed their minds, continued giving out the almost useless charms while making it now seem like it was the people's job all along to make Ladybug's overpowered charms work without guidance or any knowledge of Monarque's powers or anything magical in general.

This is so frustrating because I'm barely asking for anything here. If the show had handled this with proper accountability a hero needs to take when a whole city relies on them through them simply talking about it and their reasons to each other (and somewhat the people) then I would have been fine with it. I'm not asking for groundbreaking results, I'm asking for the narrative to do its JOB by giving me the needed insight to these flawed characters mindsets through explicit dialogue and establishing scenes to enforce it. That's it. That's barely anything. Stop putting the understandable reasons into the subtext at most so fans can cherry-pick if they want the characters to be flawed or flawless, especially when it regards your main character.

How the hell are the the citizens supposed to know what Monarque is doing with those akumas and if he isn't powering them up depending on resistance level if already no-one knows how he is giving his victims their Miraculous powers? How are the people supposed to know that they even have a CHANCE of making this work when the heros' communicate nothing, change their mind on a whim and passively act like they did nothing wrong whatsoever and it's the civilians fault that the overpowered protection charms aren't keeping them save?

If it were that easy to just not be vulnerable prey anymore no protection charms would have ever been needed in the first place. Saying that it's ONLY the civilians' job to make the overpowered protection charms work now when the magical terrorist with emotion based powers intentionally preys on them while they are at their lowest is not something I have respect for AT ALL the way the show is pulling it til now.

The fact that up til now apparently NOTHING was allowed to be asked of the HEROS' again in such horrible circumstances when merely their FIRST attempt didn't turn out to be successful is audacious in my opinion. There is a fundamental difference between the civilians being ungrateful and needing to step up too & the magical, larger than life terror Monarque inflicts on the world and the civilians for a year now while using their mind and emotions against them simply REQUIRING magical protection and guidance that is actually reliable since non of this is anything close to normal.

I'm honestly not very willing to turn all of this onto the vulnerable civilian victims and demand that they alone pick up all the slack when they are at their lowest, alone with Monarque in their heads and on full blast of his manipulation and powers' influence, just because the heros want to entirely avoid acknowledging this and bringing up their shortcomings of bad times. I'm not watching a documentary, just do it please.

I want to believe that the upcoming episode will actually solve my grievances here or at least part of it. Because there is so much potential here. That Ladybug, Chat Noir, Alya and maybe even the other members of the Resistance actually do basic hero work, have a conversation and BRAINSTORM on how to improve the charms situation that isn't working as it should. Maybe the shield thingy is a completely new thing and the result of the entire miraculous team. Dude, I will do cartwheels if that's gonna happen!

Or maybe it's an Evolution of Ladybug's protection charms that either gets manually added to it in the episode or - what I personally think is the case cause it would make the most sense for Marinette’s character - that the team works together to unlock a hidden stronger protection mode in the charms.

Maybe Marinette/Ladybug can continue her development of voicing her insecurities and we find out that the shield thingy here was her actual intention back in "Mr pigeon 72" when she created these charms straight out of her mind, and she admits that when she later saw that the protection charms do not protect the people the way she planned she got insecure out of fear that she hasn't mastered her creation powers the way she thought she had and then left it at that all together because she feared making things worse or disappointing everyone. Do you have any idea how okay I would be with that, nod my head and move on?

Maybe we can have Adrien/Chat Noir voice that he thought about bringing it up but he didn't know how to without possibly making Ladybug feel worse about herself. Or that he feared that if he brought it up she would ask him for help and he neither feels fit or suited to create such important things yet in Ladybug's stead nor does he dare yet to think about what the power of destruction could do to the civilians if they added his powers to the charms (to maybe undo the evilizing of the butterfly all together once the akuma touches the charm force field? Just an idea :I) cause he fears he can't control it 100%

Or this regards both Adrien and Alya. They both are depicted having the same insecurities as Marinette of fearing to not live up to what a Ladybug miraculous holder should be able to do "flawlessly". Have them VOICE that this is the reason for why both of them didn't try to create something themselves. This would literally VALIDATE Marinette/Ladybug not doing anything since 4x21!

Come on, give me something! PLEASE!

--

Oh and...

*SIGH*

I'm begging this show to not have M. Damocles be the only/ first one to develop the protection shield as civilian.

Miraculous, don't.

Don't do it.

DON'T.

Don't turn this into a situation of Ladybug's protection charms having been overpowered by ShadowMoth, who is an adult in a leadership position, and have it be solved by M. Damocles as key-character who is an adult in a freaking leadership position! Don't make me be petty again about Su-Han's insulting treatment in Marinette's girlboss guardian narrative. Don't prove him right after the shit you pulled in season 4 and "Multiplication".