#i love these characters too much and will talk about them to whoever agrees to listen

[midnightjewel]

Super Bowl

Obviously, as a girlie from a football family we’re having a Super Bowl party (even though our team hasn’t been since the 90s smfh) my bf is a big eagles fan and as much as I love my girl Tay, I’ve gotta root for the eagles this year! (And keep in mind that as I’m writing this, the game hasn’t even started yet so I know nothing)

So who are they rooting for this year?

Characters Included: Bakugo, Kirishima, Denki, Sero, Shinsou

Bakugo

- 100% going for the chiefs just to piss Denki off

- He went as far as to buy a jersey just for this game and has been wearing Chiefs merchandise all week just to get a rise out of him

- Truthfully he’s not even a Chiefs fan (I think he’s a Tampa Bay fan) he just wants to make people mad and he’s living for every second of it

- Definitely has a yelling problem when some controversial calls are made that he doesn’t agree with. Not just for the Super Bowl but for any football game that he watches

- I can’t lie he has probably broken something in the dorms before when his team lost

- Probably gets mad (like very mad) when Taylor is shown for two seconds and is earning side eyes from everyone. He probably tweets about it too tbh

- Will probably be getting into a fist fight with Denki tonight after shit talking

If you’re his gf:

- Does not care who you’re going for but if it’s opposite of him you’re not safe from his teasing

- Probably makes you get him a plate of food tbh (weather you do or not is completely up to you)

- If you laugh at him while he’s raging he’ll become more frustrated but tbh it’s so hilarious you can’t stop

Kirishima

- Chiefs because of his hair (and Tay Tay)

- Definitely bought a jersey like Bakugo but he didn’t do it with the intentions of pissing Denki off he’s just doing it for fun

- Not a regular Chiefs fan either, probably a Miami Dolphins fan

- Honestly loves that Taylor Swift is being incorporated into football because he was a casual listener of hers before but has been recently getting more into her music

- Honestly argues with Bakugo when he yells at the TV for Taylor being shown and they’ve gotten into some pretty heated discussions about it while everyone just sits there awkwardly

- is obsessed with Super Bowl snacks and food, when he’s not sitting on the couch intensely watching, he’s in the kitchen getting a plate of snacks and food (his 5th plate of the night)

- Is hopeful that Kendrick will bring out Taylor for bad blood but knows that it’s not a realistic expectation (is hopeful though)

- Slight chance that he’s wearing a shirt that says “Go Taylor’s Boyfriend” tonight and he is absolutely unashamed about it too

If you’re his gf:

- Respects whoever you want to root for and doesn’t mind friendly competition if it’s opposite of what he chooses

- Probably an accidental mansplainer when it comes to girls and football as if you don’t know what’s going on (he means well I swear)

- Probably asks you if you could get him a drink or something to eat a few times while he’s watching the game but if you don’t want to that’s fine with him! In fact, next commercial break he’s getting you both something from the kitchen

- Never ever is violent about a football game especially not in front of you, if anything he’s the one breaking up fights which you find totally attractive

Denki

- A die hard Eagles fan (if you know football you’d probably think I’d pick the LA chargers but no a die hard eagles fan)

- Cried when they won in 2018 and cried even harder when they lost in 2023 and it didn’t help that bakugo was absolutely ridiculing him after the Chiefs beat them

- Has been posting things like “it took the avengers two tries to beat Thanos” or something like that referring to the loss of 2023 and tonight

- Definitely has been wearing the merch all week leading up to the Super Bowl. Hats, Scarves, Gloves, Jerseys, Hoodies, SHOES

- Absolutely has a huge Eagles banner in his dorm room

- Has broken a remote before I can’t lie

- The type of person to scream “What the fuck are we doing?!” When his team makes a mistake. And also the type of person to clap really loud and act like an eagle when they score a touchdown

- He will probably be pacing behind the couch tonight (so nervous he can’t even sit down)

If you’re his gf:

- Please (even if you’re not a fan) just root for the Eagles with him, it would mean the world to him

- You ofc know how passionate he is and you always try your best to comfort him if things aren’t going in his favor. Back rubs, reassuring words, bringing him a little snack, etc.

- Will probably pout a bit if you’re going for the opposing team but you’re his queen and he loves you unconditionally no matter how tense the game becomes

Sero

- Despite the rivalry between his team and the eagles (which has caused some arguments between him and Denki) he’s going for the eagles tonight

- Definitely a Dallas Cowboy’s fan (same) and can’t even defend them anymore

- Probably wants to switch teams but his whole family and himself are too deep into it now with the amount of money spent on merchandise

- He just accepts fate that they regularly suck and hopes that one season he’ll be able to enjoy watching them play

- like I said, due to rivalry he normally HATES the eagles but is making an exception for this game as he is probably a Chiefs hater

- Loves munching on snacks that are brought to the party and will probably tell Bakugo or Denki (or both) to “calm the fuck down” at some point tonight

- Excited for the halftime show and is probably vibing with Shinsou and Kirishima while Bakugo and Kaminari passive aggressively stare at each other in the kitchen while getting food

If you’re his gf:

- You two just snuggle up on the couch and get ready for the shit show between Denki and Bakugo tbh

- Vibes with you during the halftime show and makes sure you’re eating the delicious food that’s been made, he would hate for you to miss out if you’re so invested in the game

- Towards the end you two definitely have to attempt to break up the fist fight between Denki and Bakugo

Shinsou

- Honestly going for the eagles tonight (and not because Denki wouldn’t leave him alone to pick a side)

- Doesn’t mind the chiefs but I can see him going for the eagles as he sees them as the underdog in this situation tonight

- He’s probably a casual watcher of football but is also probably just a chill Ravens fan or something

- Probably has maybe one jersey or a small poster in his room of the ravens but is a casual fan

- Doesn’t care who wins or loses and he’s honestly just here for the vibes which is a good way to act

- Will casually share his disagreement with a controversial call or two but mostly just sits back and takes it all in

- Tbh is probably still in the common room only because of the halftime show with Kendrick Lamar. Not like us was a song that he may have been hardcore vibing with last year so he’s hopeful that he’ll sing it

- Probably finds is amusing when Denki and Bakugo are almost getting into a fist fight. Probably recording it tbh and just laughing and quietly saying “yo what the fuck” behind the camera while laughing as Bakugo is cackling at Denki being mad and Denki is insulting Bakugo to the point where he stops laughing and they end up slightly fist fighting before being broken up by Sero and Kirishima

If you’re his gf:

- You two are most definitely snuggled together under a blanket awaiting the big show between some of your friends

- Doesn’t care who you’re going for! Eagles? Cool. You guys are definitely matching. Chiefs? That’s fine with him too! There for the food? So is he. There to watch for Taylor? He’s grinning as you happily point out that they’re showing her

- Gently caressing your face as you fall asleep on his shoulder and gets ticked off when the guys wake you up with their loud and unnecessary bickering

[syncvion]

would you be interested in some silly doodles (eva heinemann could bump into me and i'd say thank you)

[welcometoteyvat]

wahoo finally “”””caught up”“““““ on fontaine leaks

[sudokuplayer]

I agree with you about the ridiculous book titles but I don't think the ones you mention are so great. Like what's so good about them👀

hiii 👋🏻 I apologize for this long answer. This is so serious for me lol I could talk about it for hours.

I think Giovanni's Room is a perfect title. As I said, it's short and evocative, and I think it's also mysterious but not that mysterious. You don't know what's up with the room in question but you can gather, for example, that this guy Giovanni is Italian, otherwise the name would be John or something, so for sure his Italian identity will be relevant. You have to assume there’s intention behind something as significant as a main character’s name. Also, and more importantly, there's no last name attached to Giovanni so it suggests intimacy—being on a first name basis. It lets you know that whoever tells the story is close to Giovanni; for sure close enough to have been inside his room. Name and last name creates a sense of distance and formality, or it suggests the person is 'important' or special; preternatural like Dorian Gray, famous like that woman Evelyn Hugo (probably, I haven't read it). But just ✨Giovanni✨ ... you can tell it's going to be a first person account of the events by someone who knows Giovanni very intimately. But obviously I’ve already read it and my interpretation is biased. Nothing about the title guarantees it'll be a first person account. This is just what I mean by evocative; it makes me theorize and read into it.

Now, just Giovanni, like Emma or Carrie or Rebecca, wouldn't work because—and this you find out once you read the novel but the title is already telling you—the room is the main character; it's the metaphor. But I wanted to mention those single name titles just to say I don't like them lol. I get them but I think they don't really work nowadays. A recent example I can think of is Eileen. Crickets, right? Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh. It's a good novel though.

And I also don't like "[Name] [Last Name]" titles very much:  - Anna Karenina  - Jane Eyre  - David Copperfield  - Oliver Twist 

As I said, full names give a sense of distance (imo!), BUT those I mentioned make sense because the novels span the lifetime of the character. Of course the title of a person's life should be their name, and at least it's not something like The Unbelievable Life of David Copperfield, which would be so silly. I think full name titles had their time too. Just Evelyn Hugo would be crickets but it doesn't mean its original title is any better lol 

Giovanni's Room is perfect because I think "[Name]’s [Noun]" is a good title formula: - Charlotte’s Web - Ender’s Game - Sophie’s Choice

Adding an adjective to any of these would truly fuck them up. Imagine if it was Giovanni's Mysterious Room… flop! It was already mysterious. Or Giovanni's Peculiar Room, also a flop and an awful sounding adjective. 

You have to be very particular about the adjective to make "[Name]’s [Adjective] [Noun]" work. Howl's Moving Castle is a perfect example of a good one because it could have been something like Howl's Magical Castle, right? But that sounds basic. The chosen adjective, Moving, couldn't be more perfect.

The other title I mentioned in my post is The Bell Jar. Just picture a bell jar; something so delicate that can trap or protect or display or contain. You can already tell the metaphor game is going to be strong. Also, its formula is my favorite ever: "The [Noun]": - The Trial - The Metamorphosis - The Waves - The Tunnel  - The Goldfinch

This formula is serious business for me. I think it's perfect. Short and so sure of itself. They demand to be taken seriously. I see them and I feel reassured that the author is confident and clear about their work. 

"The [Adjective] [Noun]" is good too but it really has to need that adjective:  - The Virgin Suicides  - The Savage Detectives

I love "[Adjective] [Noun]" — Short yet compelling. Just two words so you can have them tattooed on the back of you ankles or something: - White Teeth  - Wuthering Heights - Sharp Objects - Invisible Monsters (Chuck Palahnuik’s titles are always a hit with me. Short and straightforward; they come across as very cool and crude, Fight Club, Choke, Snuff, and then he delivers cool and crude. The 3 titles below are by authors with a similar vibe to Palahnuik, and look at those titles… chef's kiss) - Exquisite Corpse  - American Psycho - Mysterious Skin

I also love "[Noun] and [Noun]" — To contrast, to compare, to complement each other, whatever it is it's always a hit. The alliteration in both Jane Austen's titles is more poetic than whatever long wordy title you can think of: - Pride and Prejudice  - Sense and Sensibility - War and Peace  - Sons and Lovers - Crime and Punishment 

❌ Now, the ones I consider flops no matter what. The long “creative” ones that come across as eager and insecure and make me roll my eyes.

Anything that tries to sound like The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Also these wretched formulas:

"The [Adjective] [Noun] of [Fuckass Name + Last Name]": - The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August  - The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender (Two adjectives! Get out of here!)

"A [Noun] of a [Noun] and a [Noun]": - A Song of Ice and Fire - A Court of Thorns and Roses - A Book of Spirits and Thieves

"The [Person’s Job/Occupation] [Relative]" — The relative is usually a wife or a daughter: - The Surgeon's Daughter - The Time Traveler's Wife  - The Zookeeper's Wife - The Shopkeeper's Daughter

"All The + [Some Bullshit]": - All the Bright Places  - All the Light We Cannot See - All the Dangerous Things - All the Colors of the Dark

"Where the + [Some Bullshit]": - Where the Crawdads Sing - Where the Red Fern Grows - Where the Dead Sit Talking

"This Is How + [Some Bullshit]": - This Is How You Lose the Time War - This Is How It Always Is - This is How You Lose Her

"We Are All + [Some Bullshit]": - We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - We Are All the Same in the Dark - We Are All Birds of Uganda - We Are All Made of Molecules

I also don't vibe with titles that instruct you to do something: - Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone  - Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (good novel though!) - Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters - Go Tell It on the Mountain (adding one by the author of my beloved Giovanni's Room so you know I'm serious about this lol)

💌 To finish my rant on a more positive note, there are always exceptions, and I do like some poetic titles: - Tender Is the Night

One of my favorites and I haven't read it, I just like how it sounds. That would be "[Adjective] is the [Noun]". I don't know if there are more like this. I like that it's taken from a poem but it's not too wordy. 

And the following are all by John Steinbeck. His title game was insane! And they are all references, which shows it can be done with grace and measure: - East of Eden — biblical reference - The Grapes of Wrath — lyrics from hymn which references a bible passage - In Dubious Battle — from Paradise Lost - Of Mice and Men — this one could go in the [Noun] and [Noun] category but the preposition adds a little something imo, and it's also taken from a poem.

Anyway, I hope this wasn't a bore! 💌

[halliestinks]

Hello I love your work, could you write seperate headcanons for kenny & butters with a reader who can’t help but talk a lot and is insecure about it?

Butters & Kenny x Reader who talks a lot (HCS)

a/n: reader is gn, characters are in highschool. this was kinda rushed so sorry if it isn’t the best !

Butters Stotch

• butters absolutely adores it when you rant to him about whatever is on your mind, he simply loves the sound of your voice

• he will occasionally pipe in and add something to the conversation, whether it be his own opinion or rather agreeing with what you’re saying

“and that happened all in one day!!! can you believe that?!”

“wowie! well that’s just the darnedest thing i’ve ever heard!!!”

• you also always fill him in the latest gossip, he’s basically one of the girls at this point. (the other girls usually include him whenever there’s a big shit talking session 🤭)

“and she had the audacity to tell me to calm down 😒”

“well— she sounds like a real bitch to me!!”

“that’s exactly what I said!!!!”

• his jaw drops the moment you apologise for talking too much, immediately reassuring you that you aren’t annoying him at all

“sorry if i’m talking too much..”

“huh?? well don’t be sorry!! I don’t mind at all!!”

“are you sure..? one of the kids I sometimes hang out with told me I talk a lot and I just—“

“y/n!! whoever told you that is just a big ol’ meanie, don’t listen to them. I think you have the most beautiful voice and you need to use it all the time”

“butters.”

“y/n..?”

“I love you so much.”

“aw…!!! well i love you too!! 🤗”

• he says the sweetest things without even realizing it. It’s one of the main things you love about him because you know he’s being completely honest

Kenny Mccormick

• kenny goes completely silent whenever you start your rants, his eyes locked on your lips as he observes every little expression you make

• the way your eyes shine whenever you’re talking about your interests, and the way your nose scrunches up whenever you talk about something/someone you dislike

“and that’s when she told me— kenny?? are you even paying attention??”

“sorry, your lips keep distracting me”

“well pay attention, i’m getting to the good part!”

“you mean the part where we make out? 😝”

“😐”

• other than that, he does really enjoy getting to hear about your day. he just gets sidetracked really easily, sometimes tuning you out while he stares off into the distance

• whenever he does this you always notice, trailing off until you stop talking completely. he picks up on your silence pretty much right after, wondering why you stopped

“what’s wrong?”

“am I talking too much?”

“huh?? where did that come from??”

“this kid got really mad at me today and asked if I knew how to shut up because I apparently never stop talking”

“the fuck??? who told you that? I’ll beat their ass 😠”

“I dunno. they aren’t wrong though, do talk a lot”

“so what? you’re not hurting anyone. fuck them, you can just talk to me. I don’t care that you talk a lot, I love listening to you”

“awww, thanks ken”

“yeah yeah, anyways what were you saying about yesterday?”

• even when it may seem like he isn’t paying attention, he remembers everything you say— down to the minute details. (his favourite part is still once the conversation is over and he gets to kiss you 😙)

[xgraavyx]

I feel like a lot of people ignore Mariana's role in Sherlock and Co. I understand that the bond between Sherlock and Watson is a heavy focus in the original acd books, but Sherlock and Co is it's own thing. Mrs Hudson may not have played a large role in the books, but in Sherlock and Co she is one of the main characters. Ignoring her prominent role in their dynamic just so you can focus on Watson and Sherlock's dynamic is strange. You can still talk about their dynamic without ignoring one of the main characters. In Sherlock and Co I have always seen them all three as being like a family. Regardless of how you percieve their relationship, you cannot ignore the fact that Marianna is important to both of them. People shit on those who ship John and Mariana bc it "gets in the way of sherlock and watson" but that is such a stupid reason to hate a character. People can ship Watson with whoever they want. It isn't hurting anyone to have people ship him with Mariana.

Watson has a very lovely dymamic with both Sherlock and Mariana. I've seen people genuinely angry to see the podcast focus on Mariana and Watson for even a second. Sherlock and Watson have also had many one on one interactions. They've had a lot of focus on their dynamic and how it is built throughout the podcast. People being mad that Mariana also gets those growth opportunities despite her also being a main character is WILD. A man and woman can be platonic friends without being a threat to the "main ship" This reminds me of what happened to Mary in bbc sherlock. While I agree that Mary is a poorly written character, people give her way too much hate. Hating a character is fine, but hating a character just because she "gets in the way" of your ship is dumb. I don't like Mary in bbc sherlock. I think her being a spy was weird. Her death was only there to kickstart sherlock and watson's discord and I think that is a stupid reason to kill off a main character. It had no proper impact to the story and she only existed to contrast with Sherlock. Those are valid reason to hate her, but I don't just ignore her existance. She was still a part of the bbc sherlock canon regardless of how buchered her implimentation was. Mariana is a fun character and a lovely addition to sherlock and co. She has been given the same if not less focus than Sherlock and people still rarely include her in fan content. Yes Sherlock and Watson have a very interesting dynamic but I'd love to see more love for Marianna. She is a part of their family. Regarldess of if you see the dynamics between characters as romantic or platonic Marianna is still an important person to both Sherlock and Watson and I would love to see more of her. She is like the "straight man" of their dynamic. She handles the business aspect of their organization. She canonically eats with them at 221b very often. So much so that she doesn't even have a dining table in her flat. I love seeing different interpretations of her design. She is such a fun character and her personality flows very nicely with the others. Tldr I want to see more love for Mariana, and people who hate her unjustly get on my nerves lol. You can ship two characters without ignoring or hating on the girl character.

[digitalagepulao]

My sincere Black Myth: Wukong review

Full disclosure! This is from a recent but earnest fan of JTTW as the original novel, as well as all the social, cultural and religious layers of it. I've seen my fair share of adaptations and derivative media, from shlocky to silly to grimdark to cutesy. I'm a bachelor in visual arts, with an interest in the field of game development since high school. I am also, white and brazillian, and have talked with other jttw fans, both Chinese and not, on this game. If any of these are for some reason motive to not read further, then fair enough. Hope you have fun and continue to enjoy the game, do not let me or my opinion stop you!

Now to the review proper <3

First things first, let the obvious not remain unsaid. This game, is supremely gorgeous. In every sense of the word, and I mean this fully, it's a work of art. The sound design, the character concepts and execution, the animations, the voice acting, the visual effects, the UI design, the cinematography, the 3D scanning of actual historical artofacts and heritage sites throughout China, and everything beyond and between, are phenomenal, full stop.

This was never a debate, I'm sure, but I don't think I can in good conscience not praise them for their work. It's no news that Asian talent, not just in China either, have been often hired to supplement projects on the West, and we can all agree it's about time they got to shine in their own AAA project. My issues with the international game industry notwithstanding, I hope this brings some much needed acknowledgment and appreciation for Chinese culture and arts, both traditional and modern!

Now, from this point on, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS, so proceed with caution!

(word count: +1.8k)

I also deeply enjoy their choices in arcs to revisit. Some like the Flaming Mountain arc are classic picks to adapt but still a very good match to the whole Six Senses throughline. I don't think you can do a JTTW 2 electric bogaloo without bringing up Niumowang and his family in some way (um, put a pin on that), but the other arcs like Yellowbrow or Black Wind Mountain aren't as explored imo, so it's nice to see them being given a bit of a spotlight.

(speaking of the Yellow Ridge arc, whoever made the executive decision of Lingji Bodhisattva being a Xaanxi singer is, genius!!)

I'm also kind of in love?? with Bajie's design and role in the story overall?? Gameplay wise he sticks around just enough to not feel lonely, but not too long to be a nuisance or overstay his welcome. He's no Atreus (GoW) or Ellie (TLoU) of course, but he doesn't need to be, and most importantly, he isn't trying to be, which I feel is admirable of the devs. Given the visible inspirations from the recent God of War games, it would have been easy to lean a bit too hard on it, but I'm glad they didn't overreach.

Him having a more complex love life is also a nice touch imo. It explores more his womanizer ways in an interesting way, and I appreciate it. I love when people complicate the pig! Also, the way he treats Xiaosheng (Destined One) like a nephew?? The scene on the Huaguoshan throne??? I'M GONNA CRY!!!

I think, I've run out of positive things to say.... time for the spicy takes.

I, kind of detest the premise by default. I'm not a big fan of "Superman is Dead" plots, cus it's usually either done for shock value, or taken so lightly that the weight is totally lost. I have such a love-hate situationship with the introduction cutscene because of this. On one hand, it's phenomenal cinema, and seeing Wukong stand up to the Heavenly armies in glorious 4K high fidelity graphics is delicious. On the other hand, the whole debate they are having has me going "?????", not because I don't get it but just, why?? Why did this have to be the premise?? (put another pin on that)

Also the set up and call to adventure is kind of blergh.

Now is as good a time as any to talk about the gameplay. It's, okay. If you enjoy trying to figure out the most stylish combos, or to mash buttons, then you'll definitely have fun. I was sorely disappointed that I pretty much have been going through the bosses rather easily. Chapter 1 it was mostly the struggle of learning the controls, but I never stuck to a boss for longer than seven tries (Whiteclad Noble, the snakeman that you are). Chapter 2 I only struggled on Tiger Vanguard, because I was sorely underleveled and had missed a pathway to explore before him. After that I second tried him. Chapter 3, I have and I'm not joking, gotten halfway through first or second trying every boss.

Mind you, this is not being some godtier gamer or whatever, I'm pretty average and only a recent player of soulslike games too (maybe playing Lies of P made too OP, but I sincerely doubt it lol). No, this is me saying that if you do explore the game and not rush through it, you won't struggle nearly as much as some people have and still are. Most of the final chapter bosses can be trivialized with the chapter's Obsession Realm gimmick artifact, which isn't in itself a bad thing, just feels like an odd choice personally.

Which leads me to, the level design. So far? Preeeeetty lame! It's very pretty and fancy, but so chockful of invisible walls that it feels stiffling and discourages exploration. I can never tell what is meant to be a path or just fancy scenery, and I never know when a jump will get walled or send me to my death by fall damage. When it's not being confusing, the level design is either a bunch of looping circles, or straight lines. And so far, besides a few interactables and loot, there is not much else to look at. That is, bad level design, plain and simple.

Also, the animations are glorious, but what is the point if I can't see the enemy?? That camera is my true nemesis, and I mean that. the fact that a boss can be beyond my field of vision at ANY POINT when I'm locked on and it strifes sideways, is dreadful. GameScience, FIX IT. It is also, very hard to tell what parts of a boss will damage me if I collide with them or not. The Kang-Jin Long fight was baffling on a design point of view, same for Captain Lotus-Vision. Some clearer hitboxes would be swell.

This is the point where I say my main issue with the game lies: it's very pretty, and adoringly crafted, but it lacks substance design wise. I feel like it needed to cook more, the level design polished more so I wouldn't get lost every five minutes, and clearer.... well, everything. Mechanic explanations, level progression, gimmicks, etc. It all needed to be less murky and convoluted to understand.

It also needed more meat in between bosses. I have yet to run into common enemies that give me actual trouble, so it ends up being just a jolly waltz from boss to boss. Boss rushes are fun and great, but not as the base game experience (for me at least). I had to stop one boss away from completing Chapter 1 cus I was just so exhausted. And I had been playing for like, an hour and a half?? That left a sour taste in my mouth, I'll be honest.

Okay, I'm gonna pick open those pins now.

#1 the Flaming Mountain Arc. I'm gonna be very real here chat, that was so cringe. What do you MEAN, Red Son wasn't Demon Bull King's biological son, and Princess Iron Fan was forced to drink from the Childbearing River??? And Red Son hates him????When I watched that cutscene, I had to pause and walk away for a moment, legitimately. This plotbeat is SO WILD to me, I got nothing to say. Just, why??Soooo bizarre. And that the Flaming Mountain Keeper has such a presence in Iron Fan's life is also, weird?? Not bad weird, just Weird, but that's like a nitpick more than an actual criticism. Ping Ping is fine though, I like that Bull has a daughter with Princess Fair Fox, that's cute and interesting. Wish she was in a better plot and adaptation but lol

And #2, the premise. Now we are getting to the meat of it all.

The underlying premise of the whole plot, including the true ending, is flawed by default. The premise runs on what is sometimes called as a "conspiracy theory plot", as in, "what if the gods were bad actually??". It's reddit movie theory content in very short terms, and while it had a place during the 00s grimdark years pre-Marvel, it's become quite a jaded and boring take nowadays. Now you may say that it comes from a genuine desire to show distrust and critique to insitutions and the powers than be, and I can see that.

There is a hiccup in that though.

In JTTW, Wukong is the Mind Monkey because of the religious text and subtext of the stories. Its interwoven in the whole thing, and makes it cohesive. It still offer critique and mockery to institutions, without entirely invalidating their foundations. Not only for genuine fear of prosecution, but because, shockingly, religion and belief is a major component of human society in general. But going back to my point, JTTW is *already* a critique of institutions and the power that be. Adding further layers into it feel like angst and edginess just for the sake of it, and that feels hollow to me.

To go further, this intent also clashes with their own plot. See, they bring up that Wukong's Mind, his Sixth Sense, died. Thus they need another Mind to guide his other senses and reform him, so that he may be reborn.

For one, that is such a convoluted way to do a reincarnation plot, it feels complicated just for novelty sake. Secondly, Wukong being the Mind Monkey, as I said, implies a tie to the underlying themes of the Journey as a person's path to enlightenment. If enlightenment itself is flawed because the gods are flawed/evil, then both themes are clashing. By making a "what if the gods were evil all along" plot while also going by the laws and order of said gods, then what are we even fighting against? What is the point of this whole rebellion between Erlang and Wukong??

my friend @ryin-silverfish said it best a while back, and I'm paraphrasing here (do pitch in or correct me if needed! <3), but the issue with these conspiracy narratives is the inherent anti-religion of them. They don't believe in anything, and thus they cannot properly retell the story of JTTW through a postmodern lense, because they refuse to engage with the religiosity that runs throughout the story.

It also leaves a sour taste in my mouth, because this game will likely be many people's first genuine experience with the JTTW mythos and story, and I tend to be concerned for how much this will "sour the pot" in the conversation. The novels are sadly innacessible enough as it is; the sheer size of them scare many people away, not even to mention the amount of underlying cultural context you'll miss out without proper footnotes and commentary. Most people will not engage with them directly, and certainly not most gamers.

While the narrative of someone embodying Wukong's spirit is not new in itself, I do find that it coexisting with such a poor premise and spin on it will be a sore first experience for new fans, and I can only hope that them meeting fans of the OG novels won't cause much friction in the fandom (we have enough as it is imo).

It also concerns me that, sadly, people and gamers in particular, get too swept up in the ooh-aah beauty of flashy sfx and highly detailed graphics, and fail to notice some of the underlying issues in game design. As I said, this game is a work of art, but it has flaws, and I don't think people are speaking of them enough. No, the issue is not "lack of diversity" or whatever the hell.

It runs deeper than that, and it's an issue I've come to see in recent movies as well. I'm aware it might just be different cultural expectations of the pacing and span of a story, and it may as well be! But I think if there was more care given to the bones of a media, it would bring much needed longevity and weight to these wonderful artworks.

All this said, I wanna see what acolades this game gets and see what the devs are cooking up with the DLCs (they said at one point the game was supposed to have 12 chapters and my god, that game would be TOO LONG. So glad it didn't get like that!), and further more see how this ripples in the eastern game dev scene. While this is a flawed game with a flawed story, it can be the first on a genuinely wonderful wave of new creations, not just by GameScience, and overall I'm hopeful for what might come next!

[neptune-scythe]

I think it's so interesting that they chose to bring gerard and tommy back in the same season,

like of all the people to put in the gay realization arc, they bring in Tommy the same season they bring back gerard like why aren't we talking about this actually

which granted i don't know if they had planned gerard coming back all the way in the begining of season 7 but since there were only the 10 episodes they did probably have some idea where they were going with the season so it's very likely hey knew how it was going to end as well

and like those two character specifically

the ones who were honestly the main obstacles in both Hen and Chim's begins episodes like there's something going on there

and like Tommy wasn't even a queer character before season 7, so it wasn't even like they just grabed the only gay they had to bring back, they made him gay for that plot, which means they could have literally grabbed any other previous character or came up with a new one for the queer awakening

but it's like such an interesting juicy choice to bring those two back, especially since it's buck's first experience with both of them, like the paralells between those characters

the way Buck has to deal with the bitch ass boss a work and the come home to bitch ass boyfriend

and especially the tommy of it all like he could easily come across as ok and just like kinda sus whatevs maybe but not too big a deal but to have him there along with gerard, where he's gonna be in a situation where all of gerards flaws that tommy shares are going to be brought to light, tommy isn't going to be able to hide

and you bet your ass buck is going to notice the way tommy is never going to take his side when he complains about Gerard (like we've already seen in 8x01), or agree with him bro only has a few more "sounds like Gerard"s left him before mr. audhd puts two and two together and goes "erm who's side are you on babe" and mr. jealous lying liar who lies is going to pull some wordsmith vague shit that is very none commital and doesn't give a straight answer and mr. doesn't know when to let shit go or drop anything ever will not stop pushing until the truth comes out and tommy's true nature is revealed

and also i think good for Buck to stand up for himself in his personal life

like bro has no issue fighting back at work (obviously), but other than the Taylor break up (and, i guess natalia too but we didn't actually see that) he doesn't really think too much about it, he just wants to be loved and cherished and he just kind of goes wherever he feels that or thinks he may feel eventually and he doesni't really look at the situation objectively to see if it's really what he needs and is good for him

and even with the taylor break up, it kinda just came out of nowhere like until that one episode they were doing fine, they seemed good with each other, every time we saw them they were putting effort into the relationship and didn't really seem to be headed towards a break up, and even right before they broke up when Buck was talking about it to Eddie or whoever, it wasn't really in a way that made it seem like they were going to break up, he was just talking about how angry he was and all that and he didn't want to be mean, so even then we didn't really get to see him really looking at their relationship and coming to that conculsion it was just the one corversation with Eddie about how he needed to talk to her, and then them breaking up

but i digress the point is it'll be very good for buck to be the on the break up with Tommy. and especially over him being a racist sexist jerk to his friends, which objectively is bad and anyone should be broken up with for that but it'll force buck to think about his priorities and what's important to him and what he really wants/needs out of a relationship and why he even started dating tommy in the first place which was because he was just projecting his feelings for Eddie onto Tommy

but Buck knows he's bi now and Eddie's gonna know he's queer it's all going to fall into place

and also i think the absence if Christopher is going to play into all that as well becuase it's going to make Buck realize how important he is to him like obviously the whole tsunami was very telling of how much Buck cares for Christopher, but that was very tense life and death situation and very emotionally charged and hightened and there was also the element of not wanting to let eddie down and all that and he was depressed and sad and lonely and all that

but i digress

christopher being gone is going to force him to realize what a huge part of his life Christopher and Eddie are and how important they are to him, and why

I think contrasting his relationship with Tommy and his relationship with Eddie will be very enlightening for him and make him actually step back and objectively look at his relationship with Eddie and what exactly that means and what it is and what it's always been

[i-smoke-chapstick]

Request: I'm already back for more. As l've already told you I love your interpretation of a reader with dwarfism and since you are okay with me requesting more, can I get multiple headcanons of Gotham!Rogues x Dwarf!reader with just either simply day to day headcanons or their first reaction to meeting/seeing them? Rogues including jervis(obv Imao), Jerome, Oswald, Victor fries, Zsasz, and ra's al ghul!

The plot can be the reader being similar to the Cheshire Cat or Nightcrawler when it comes to teleportation powers. They're friends with Barbara, Selina, and Tabitha. The rogues always see photos on them on the news, newspapers, and sometimes in person but if they even get caught staring, reader teleports themself and whoever they're with away, so they don't really get a chance to talk or know them.

Like last time, only write this if you're okay with it and I'll understand if you can't or just don't want too!

Thank you tons again! - anon

‘VOULEZ-VOUS,

-GOTHAM VILLIANS X READER-

⋆ Characters ↬ Jervis Tetch, Jerome Valeska, Oswald Cobblepot, Victor Fries, Victor Zsasz, Ra's Al Ghul

⋆ 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒 ; gotham villians with a cheshire cat!reader who has dwarfism!

⋆ tags/warnings. GOTHAM!villains x female reader. FLUFF! I love readers power SOSOSOSO much! Super creative <3 Also villians being whipped for reader just cuz they can. Protective Tabitha. REALLY protective Oswald. Jerome's a bit insensitive. Victor Zsasz is not immune to a pretty girls smile. Have never written for Victor Fries or Ra's, so fingers crossed their parts aren’t too bad! Ra’s and Fries parts got a little angsty

𝐽𝐸𝑅𝑉𝐼𝑆 𝑇𝐸𝑇𝐶𝐻

♫ “Across the room, your eyes are glowin' in the dark." Voulez-Vous by ABBA

Oh, the man is completely enthralled with you. How could he not be? You're the missing piece to his wonderland puzzle.

Similarly to Alice, he believes your powers go hand and hand with each other. He rules the mind, while you have complete control of your body. His first thought when he see's you in the newspaper is simple.

He must have you.

He will do anything it takes to track you down. He finds himself becoming more and more entranced with the prospect of you working with him, partners in crime, connected body and soul. Of course those feelings of admiration become obsession.

Before you know it, the man is going lengths to find you; just like how he was with Alice. Hiring Jim Gordon as a bounty hunter? Mayhaps...

When he finally finds you at the siren's club, he can't help but be in awe. You're so small, so fragile, so unique. He wants to kiss your flattened cheekbones that look like pure porcelain. Your his doll.

"My dear, Y/N!" He's calling when he finds you, his teeth spread into a wide grin. He finds your eyes quickly turning to meet his gaze, glowing underneath the club's light. His shadow towers over you.

"You look ravishing, I must admi-" He goes to speak, just before you disappear from thin air. His mouth is open for a few moments, eyebrows scrunched.

Where did his precious little Cheshire Cat go?

Oh yeah, he's pouting. He's never been a fan of the disappearing act. But he doesn't mind. He's determined. He's played this game with Alice for far too long, he will not take no for an answer.

You'll find notes, gifts, flowers, dresses tailored to your sizing. All perfectly crafted from Gotham's most professional hypnotized seamstresses or florists.

Barbara is smirking when she finds the gifts, cackling about how sweet small little Y/N has a loony admirer. Tabitha's less than pleased, throwing out any bouquet she finds before you see them. Selina agrees, the guy's a freak.

It's up to you if you want to give him a chance <3 He would be the most devoted lover and partner if you decided too...if not a bit overly infatuated.

𝐽𝐸𝑅𝛰𝑀𝐸 𝑉𝐴𝐿𝐸𝑆𝐾𝐴

♫ “Nothing promised, no regrets." Voulez-Vous by ABBA

Uh oh! Murderous clown on the loose, and he's also 100% fixated, just like a certain hatter.

Jerome brushes you off at first, don't get him wrong, he adores your work on the city. Nothing he loves more than seeing some horribles destroy Gotham! He's a fan, if you could call him that.

It takes him some time to warm up to the idea of being whipped. But once he is, you have him wrapped around your pretty little finger.

Similar to Jervis- he can't help himself. You're powerful. You're strange. You're a freak just like him and the rest of these bad boys in Gotham! You remind him of the circus, all different shapes and sizes of people around him. You belong with him. By his side. On his side. Maybe sitting in his lap... What?

Yeah, he's not sure where that came from either. But hey, he's not complaining! He likes to think he's a bachelor, a young beau waiting for his turn in the love game! Before he knows it, he's slicking his hair back, putting on his finest and most colorful suits, and making sure his face is stapled all the way. Then he's getting his cult to crash the Siren's club. Moment of silence for Tabitha who will have to clean it up after.

The place is a shit show, people in makeup dancing wildly and giggling manically. Tabitha, Barbra, Selina and you get tied up in the confusion. It's hard to fight back against a bunch of crazies when your expensive alcohol is being thrown at walls, and you four are simultaneously tied up together in one big rope. Barbra's throwing a bit of a hissy fit.

Everyone is quiet when Jerome enters, dressed to the nines, with a loud and boisterous,

"Hey gorgeous! I'm sure you've heard of me," He speaks, bending down to your level, invading your personal space. He goes to continue, until the four of you evaporate before him. Teleported away. He's left staring at the loose ropes, smile unchanged- but eyes widened in surprise.

Oh. Okay. So that's how it's gonna be. Alright.

Jerome loves a game of cat and mouse.

He craves attention. He loves the center stage, and he will not be ignored. No no no no.

He will not leave your club alone until you confront him. Yeah, sorry Babs and Tabs. Barbara will start urging you to just "sleep with the damn clown!" while Tabitha is trying desperately to not have you anywhere near that creep.

But the club isn't all he'll do, doll! No, he'll get his cult to do more and more mass murders and sprees across the city, each one broadcasted on live television. Each time, he looks into the camera, blood on his face, professing his undying love.

"This is for you, Y/N!" He's showcasing the violence around, "Call me!" He gestures, ending the broadcast abruptly.

Well, kind of hard to ignore a man when your club is in shambles, Barbara is going batshit insane, AND you have Jim Gordon trying to find you; just in order to stop these massacres around the city in your honor.

Once again, you should give the man a chance! He doesn't think he'd make a horrible boyfriend, y'know, if you're into gingers.

𝛰𝑆𝑊𝐴𝐿𝐷 𝐶𝛰𝐵𝐵𝐿𝐸𝑃𝛰𝑇

♫ “Take it now or leave it." Voulez-Vous by ABBA

Ozzie's a bit harder to gauge, because I don't think he'd become infatuated with someone unless he got to meet them first. So for arguments sake, we are just going to say you two have meet previously on many occasions! Specifically when he's had some bad blood with Barbara and Tabitha.

At first, he detests you. He thinks you're a nuisance, and a powerful tool for the Siren's. You can escape from ANYONES grasp, and take them with you. His nose is scrunching up every time he thinks of just how he can get rid of you.

Well, if he can't get rid of you, he's well versed in manipulation. Perhaps he can convince you to join his team.

You're going about your day at the club, tending bar on a step stool, the usual. Oswald comes in, Victor trailing behind him. Tabitha and Barbara are instantly on alert.

"Hello." Oswald fixes his suit jacket, rolling his cane in his fingertips. He wears a faux smile, and Tabitha huffs.

"What can we help you with, Ozzie?" Barbara is smiling, just as fake as his. It's a weird Gotham crime boss stand-off.

"I was wondering if you, my dear," He speaks, suddenly nodding down to you, "Would like to accompany me for lunch tomorrow."

Yeah, everyone's jaws drop, including Oswald's at the silence. Oswald didn't necessarily intend for it to sound like he was trying to ask you on a date. He's flushing red under everyone's gaze, suddenly fidgeting. If you look closely, Victor's giving a lazy amused smirk in the back.

"Like hell-" Tabitha's about to answer for you, before you squint at the man.

"Sure." You scan him up and down, hesitantly. Before anyone has a chance to speak, Oswald's turning on his heel.

"Wonderful! 2:00 sharp. Don't be late." He's smiling, knowing he's got a one-up on the Siren's.

...Well, leave it Oz to have things never work out quite his way. One lunch turns into two, and two turns into three. He's forcing himself to remember why he's doing this; you are just a tool. This is all a charade!

Hard to focus though, when you two seem to enjoy one another's company. Like when you show him what it feels like to teleport, (He's closing his eyes in fear, only for it to feel like nothing.) Or when you two have a strangely intimate discussion about what it was like growing up not very normal.

He's opening up about his schoolyard bullies, about his mother. About the feeling of being taunted, teased for his nose or height. You tell him, you know the feeling.

He stares at you, eyes focused solely on you. He's enamored.

He turns viciously protective over you. Any snide comment made towards you by a henchman of his, or a frequent at the Siren's club, they are brutally stabbed to death, a bit impulsively, with a bottle shard.

When he realizes he's falling in love with you, similar to Jervis, he likes doing grand gestures to get your attention. If there's anything you desire, you'll get it. Which is why when he finds out you're avoiding him, he becomes sour.

What? Why are you leaving him? He doesn't understand. The intimacies you two have shared, did they mean nothing to you? He's hurt, he's angry, he's aggressive. He's more irritable than usual; and judging from the fact he's irritable ALL the time, it's pretty bad. If you don't explain yourself, this sadness will probably turn into anger. He already believes you two have some weird pseudo-romantic relationship, so he's taking this like a break-up. He's a vengeful ex.

Whenever he stops by the Siren's club, and sees you teleport away at the sight of him, it stings. It all comes to a head when he's breaking down in his mansion. You will have to be the one to confront him, because he'll be too busy sulking. He loves you. He doesn't want to make you uncomfortable. If you don't want to talk to him, he won't force you, even if he's going crazy trying to figure out why.

When he sees you, he's standing up in a hurry, fumbling over his words, sniffling. His blue-green eyes are puffy, and you'll have to sigh and talk to him.

Please, tell him why your avoiding him. Explain if you're insecure, if you're scared of loving. He'll be thankful for the explanation. He'll be angry on your behalf for anyone who made you believe you were unloved, whether for your dwarfism or your powers. He's promising to kill for you, tear down the city to avenge you.

"Okay, Oz, I'm not dead yet."

"Yet?!"

Cuties <3

𝑉𝐼𝐶𝑇𝛰𝑅 𝐹𝑅𝐼𝐸𝑆

♫ “Now is all we get." Voulez-Vous by ABBA

Forgive him, he’s trying his hardest not to care, and failing miserably.

Similarly to Ozzie, I can’t see him becoming infatuated or obsessed like Jerome and Jervis so quickly, not since what happened with Nora. So, I’m imagining you’ve also met him once or twice; using your powers for the sirens, just like he and firefly have done some hitjobs for you four in the past.

He’s in love with the idea of having a family; of being accepted, of leaving this life behind. It’s made him bitter, cold; but the man will do anything for love. Anything.

And it’s hard not to notice the small woman running around on her toes in the club, parts of her body vanishing here and there. You’re gorgeous to him. Those small cheshire-like smiles you send him when he’s supposed to be working. They break his hard exterior. He doesn’t know if he loves or hates it. He loves it.

Even a small pit of jealousy fills him, whenever he sees you in the news. Or when he watches silently on the sidelines, while you talk with Barbara and Tabitha and Selina. You do it so effortlessly. How could anyone not be entranced by you?

He thinks that he’s a freak. Firefly’s a freak. Just like Jerome and Oz, he definitely finds solace in the idea you are just like him. You’re one of them; a freak. Pushed out by Gotham’s careless inhabitants, forced into this life. He remembers being driven out of town by Penguins army. He wonders if you’ve expirenced the same treatment at one point in your life. He wants to show you, he’s here for you. He loves you, every part of you. No matter how unconvential or mistreated. He just wants to take care of you.

Just like Oz, he’ll be ready to kill anyone for you. Freeze em’ to death in one single sweep. Just give him the go ahead.

Victor is terrified of hurting you, as well. Not only your tiny stature, but he’s sure he’d get ice burns from his fingertips. He imagines a life where it’s just the two of you, without the cold, back when he was just himself. He dreams of cooking for you. Owning an apartment. Even having a family. He swears, he’d be gentle. But he’s too uncertain. He isn’t good enough, and he certainly isn’t good for you.

You’ll have to be the first person to talk to him, warm up to him. He might not state it directly, other than a nonchalant nod here and there, but it makes him feel special. It’s the little interactions you two have that make him fall helmet over heels.

You two will spend hours, at the club, watching from the sidelines. Barbara and Tabitha out on business, Selina doing…Selina things. You’ll poke fun at the passerby’s to get a reaction out of him.

“Oh god, I just saw that guy kissing that girl- what’s he doing with that other chick?…Oh- they are making out. Oh, okay, he’s taking him to the back. I’ll give you $20 if Barbara kills this guy for doing it on her desk.” You’re snickering, gossiping. Every now and then you look over at him to see him already staring at you, the hint of a smile on his lips. It’s all you’ll get for now…until he responds.

“…Guess you’ll owe me $20 then.” He’s firing back, voice low. It’s the first time he’s spoken. The first time you’ve seen him do something other than brooding. It’s sweet.

These little things will become routine, and he’ll find solace in them. Eventually you’ll even play some tricks with your teleportation on the clubs costomers, scaring them, bumping into them. All the while you’re watching him in the corner, smiling, exhaling through his nose. He playfully scolds you sometimes, other times he chuckles. Either way, it’s a sight to see.

God, please don’t dissapear on this man. I don’t think he could take it. Gotham be damned, if you ever find yourself scared of him, he’d be broken. He’d think it was his fault, he’d think he lost his second chance at love. If you ran away from him, he might just up and leave Gotham.

But even if you did try to avoid him for awhile, I think he’d let you go without a fight. He’d just be more sulky than usual, more prone to picking petty fights with Firefly. You might find the room uncomfortably cold, even when he’s not occupying it. (He froze the AC to the club, he was upset. Sorry Barbara.)

I think he’s the only one on this list of characters that Barbara, Tabitha, and Selina might all actively approve of. Barbara wouldn’t mind having a henchman dating her bestie; soldifies his loyalty to them. Also, he’s good eye-candy. Tabitha doesn’t have any personal issue with the man, other than previously working with Penguin, of course. Selina will still make fun of him for being a walking freezer, but hey, what can you do. You have their blessing.

If you caught him before he decided to up and leave, explain to him why you run away, why you’ve been avoiding him. He won’t just understand, he’ll practically worship you. He’ll explain himself too, why he’s terrified of touching you. It’s not because of your dwarfism, or your powers. It’s just how he’s afraid of hurting or loosing you. Loving people is hard.

If he could cry, he would. But his tears will freeze when they touch his cheek. You’ll have to show him you aren’t fragile. He’ll believe you.

You guys can heal eachother.

𝑉𝐼𝐶𝑇𝛰𝑅 𝑍𝑆𝐴𝑆𝑍

♫ “The girl means business, so I'll offer her a drink." Voulez-Vous by ABBA

THIS Victor, on the other hand, is much more brash in his approaches to courting you.

He’s heard about you on the radio, from his boss, seen you in the newspapers, on the tv, watched you from the window in your apartment.

…What? Who said that?

He studies your every move. The man is calculated in his methods, what can he say? He’s not obsessed! (loud incorrect buzzer)

He just wants to size you up a little, see who the newest danger is in Gotham. He’ll convince himself he’s doing it for his boss, whether it be Falcone or Penguin. But it definitely goes deeper.

Unlike the other villians on this list that see your dwarfism as something to empathize with, Victor doesn’t really pay it any mind. He’s been around the block a few times- he’s been with women of all ages, heights, race, etc. The man really doesn’t have a type. What he’s attracted to is strength, independence, someone who will laugh at his dry humor with him. He’s stalked you at the club. He sees the way you banter with Tabitha and Selina, the way you make Barbara dissapear when she’s being too annoying with a flick of your wrist.

He’s incredibly attracted to a woman whose witty and good at what they do. Just like him.

Victor’s more subtle in his approach. He’ll make it casual.

So when you’re at the bar in the club, sitting around, watching the passerby’s, he’ll make his move.

“Now, what’s a girl like you doing here, alone?” He sneaks up behind you, giving you a start. You flush red at the man in front of you. Victor Zsasz. The words are spoken as he drums his fingers on the bar, cocking his head at your short frame. He towers over you, caging you in.

When you don’t speak, it doesn’t phase him. You’re about to teleport away in an instant, until he drawls your attention back to him with a lazy smile.

“So…” He whistles. “What’s your drink of choice? Wait- Let me guess.” The man doesn’t stop talking, listing off drinks that are most definitely not your drink of choice.

He watches you all the time. He knows exactly what your favorite drink is. But he wants you to stay.

It’s a bit awkward, a bit intimidating, and strangely charming. He speaks with an inflection that borders on sarcasm and curiosity. It’s intriguing, coming from Gotham’s most dangerous hitman.

“Can I ask-“ You squeak, now nursing a drink he ordered for you. It’s a Vodka Cran, and it could be worse. “…Is there a hit on me?”

He stares at you expressionless for uncomfortably long, before it forms into something quizzical.

“…Nah,” His voice is slow. He clicks his tongue. “Just an admirer.”

There’s an awkward scilence. He shrugs.

“Y’know. I’m a big fan of this place. Like the ambience.” He sips his own drink, you don’t know what it is. Just as his words sound out, you swear you can overhear a gunshot in the distance, probably from Barbara’s meeting with some other underground boss. Somehow, the sentiment makes you laugh.

He perks up at the sound.

You aren’t used to this. Someone being so casual about you, your powers, your small stature. He’s a bit flirty from time to time, but between the alcohol and his quips, you don’t seem to mind. He seems oddly genuine in his demeanor with every compliment or joke that slips.

You two keep the banter going for the rest of the night. Mostly chatting about how tiring your respective bosses can be. He does a poor drunken impression of Penguin, and you do one of Barbara. It’s a relaxing night in comparison to what you usually expirence living in Gotham.

You think you only see him every so often. Coming by the club whenever Penguin comes, or when a job is sent out, and his target is there. He’ll always send you a wink when he leaves, blood on his face.

But he sees you every day.

Yeah, the stalking only worsens. If you find your phone in different places throughout the day, or your window reopened, he’s the reason why.

He’s fine like this. In his head, the two of you are going steady. He’s pretty committed. You’re his girl, and that’s that.

Until you start avoiding him like the plague.

Zsasz WILL find a way to confront you. He doesn’t care if you teleport away each and everytime. He’ll find a way to get the message clear, through other means.

If you find a “talk to me.” with a smiley face, written with some poor saps blood, on your mirror, I apologize. He’s gotta get the message sent somehow.

Yeah, he won’t give up. He’ll go great lengths to get you two back together. He’s also listening to disco break-up ballads to cope. He’s getting the zsaszettes to stalk you when he can’t. If you still won’t budge, yeah, Tabitha might end up with a gun pointed at her head until you talk to him.

He’s not necessarily angry, but chasing after you is certainly taking a toll on him. Give the guy some credit.

Tabitha, still with a gun pointed at her, will be barking at you to not talk to him. He’s a creep, he’s an asshole, and you shouldn’t compromise your honor! (His eye will twitch at her words, trigger finger itching.)

Up to you what you decide to do! Explain the situation, talk to him, make things official, or…bye bye Tabitha. And that still won’t stop him. He doesn’t take rejection very seriously.

When you tell him exactly why you teleport yourself away, he’s the only one on this list who might think it’s stupid. He’ll understand, don’t get me wrong, but this is Gotham! Why would you be insecure? He garuntees you he’s met at least ten other people with far worse skeletons in their closet. You’ll have to teach him that’s not the issue.

Yeah, our little sociopath has a hard time with feelings. But I think you two would maybe be good for eachother! Teach him to listen more, whip him up into shape, and reap the benefits of having Gotham’s number one hitman as your personal bodyguard and lover. He’ll take you to stakeouts, make fun of Jim Gordon, crash your place. You two can watch Netflix under the blankets. He loves your size- cuddling into you like his own personal pillow.

Tabitha’s very dissapointed.

𝑅𝐴’𝑆 𝐴𝐿 𝐺𝐻𝑈𝐿

♫ “I'm really glad you came, you know the stars, you know the game.” Voulez-Vous by ABBA

May god have mercy on your soul, reader. Ra’s is a sight to behold when he’s in love.

He heard whispers of your name all around Gotham. He sees you on the news when he’s absentmindedly listening. A girl who can teleport herself and others, to any location? Even the power to control which body parts you maneuver. Extrodinary.

He’s immeadiatley infatuated with your power. He wants to covet you. Possess you. Have you close to him. He needs to see your power for himself.

He’s similarly calculated in his response to tracking you down. He will appear at the club, slinking into the shadows, whispering a quaint,

“Hello.”

It makes you jump, and as if on instinct, you teleport yourself away. He marvels at the way in which you do so right infront of his eyes. How rare it is, for him to be so easily confounded.

He must see you again.

You’ll feel his presence every now and then. Maybe even catch a glimpse of him watching you. You’ll turn back, eyes squinted, only to find he’s not there anymore. It confuses you just the same.

Though, you eventually get used to him watching. It turns into a little game between the two of you. If he can catch you, if you can catch him. It’s strangely endearing.

He’s also becoming increasingly more attentive to your daily habits. He memorizes your schedule. He sends members of the League of Shadows to observe you, to take notes on how you use your powers.

If any member insults you, or pokes fun at your dwarfism, Ra’s will spare them no mercy. Yeah…he’s making it a big deal. He’s ruthlessly insulting them for their ignorance, before killing them without a second thought. In a way, you belong to Ra’s already. He will not stand for disrespect among his order.

Ra’s is a gentleman. Just like Ozzie and Jervis, you’ll find gifts littered around your apartment. Little notes from him, written in the most exquisite cursive, expressing his admiration of you. Beautiful, rare, and expensive jewelry, tailored to the size of your wrists and neck.

You’ll see him exiting Barbara’s office sometimes, when he needs her for the demons head. He’ll send you a smile, half-way gentle, half-way playful. He’s unsure where the lines between love and facination blur; but he’s slowly realizing he loves you. He hasn’t felt such a way in decades. He’s been alive for very very long. No human woman has made him feel so helpless. He enjoys it thoroughly.

He’ll confess, the night before Gotham is meant to be blown to the ground. He’ll turn up, before the events are set in motion. You won’t have a clue in the world what he’s up to.

“My dear.” He’ll drawl, and you’ll go to teleport away, as you always do. It’s tradition for you two at this point.

Before you get a chance, he’ll click is tongue at you.

“Wait.” He speaks, voice sounding strangely desperate. It makes you freeze. “Come with me. Leave the city. Get somewhere else. I’d like to show you my home.”

Your choice, if you choose to leave with him. He’d make for a very attentive lover, and would protect you at any cost. But if you choose to do so, you’ll leave Tabitha and Barbara and Selina to their own fate <\3

Not that it matters if you decide to reject his offer. He’ll have you, one way or another.

[wintfleur]

Stella has been rejected by guys before so the only person she trust to comfort her about that situation is Trevor. He’s ready to beat this guy up but instead decides to hold her and reassure her that there are other guys out their for her!

ꔫ Boys suck anyway!

°. — pairings ( Estella Hughes oc! X Platonic! Trevor zegras )

°. — details ( g; fluff?, angst?, w; original male character is a major jerk, cursing, I think that’s all?. wc; 3.8k )

˖ ་ 💭 roro’s notes ( thank you so much for sending in a request! I decided to turn this into the first fic of of this AU! Stella is 15 in this while Trevor is 18! So happy to write one of my favorite friendships, so sorry that this took so long to get out! I hope you enjoy! please don’t be a silent reader!! )

°. — ( feel free to send any requests of things you would like to see in this series, or if you just want to share some thoughts! I would absolutely love that! Please comment if you would like to be added to the tag list! )

au masterlist — you can find asks under #💌stellahughes!

“These are delicious” Trevor practically moaned as he shoved another Annie's cinnamon donut bite into his mouth, licking his lips from the excess sugar. Trevor and the youngest Hughes were walking through the second floor of the mall, wanting to go shopping instead of staying home and playing video games with her brothers and their friends. It was normal for the two of them to go out and do things, most of the time it being shopping or going mini golfing. 

“Uh huh” Stella absentmindedly agreed with him, her head nodding along with her words, but her focus was on something else…on someone else. Trevor noticed her emotionless tone and quickly looked at her, watching as her eyes quickly went from in front of them to behind them. Trevor tries to follow her gaze to figure out what she was looking at, but no dice. Trever raised his eyebrow and spoke quickly “Are we being followed or somethin?” 

“What?” Stella spluttered out as she quickly turned her head to look up at a confused Trevor. Trevor stops at a table for two, setting the bag of donuts and his bag from hot topic on the table before sitting down. Stella joins him sitting down, her eyes going to the fountain where her attention was being lured too. Trevor opened his mouth to ask what is up with her, but instead chooses to just follow her gaze. 

His eyes widening in surprise when he sees what — no who, that had stolen Stella's attention. There sitting at the fountain, now alone; was a boy who seemed to be Stella's age, maybe a year older. Trevor looked back and forth between the two a few times in shock, the look in Stella's eyes was clear, it was obvious Stella had a crush on whoever that boy is. Trevor didn't know how to feel about that, when did Stella even start to like boys? Trevor thought with a confused frown. 

Trever pushed that protective urge to the side, and before he could stop himself, he was saying “You should go talk to him.” 

“Who?” Stella tried to play it off, acting as if Trevor totally didn't catch her staring at her crush. She quietly panicked, she had tried so hard to keep her crush a secret, only her best friends Lily and Carmen knew about it. Stella doesn't necessarily think Trevor would tell her brothers about her crush, but still, it's embarrassing. 

“I don't know bigfoot  — obviously the boy you have been staring at like some obsessed fangirl” Trevor snapped, his tone full of sarcasm. Stella feels her cheeks warm up in embarrassment, and she was quick to deny his words. “I was not!” 

“You were drooling and everything” Trevor smirks, he was obviously teasing her. Stella’s eyes widened and for a foolish moment she believed him, she brought her hand to her mouth and Trevor broke out into his loud laughter. Stella realized he was just joking and gently kicked his shin from under the table, bringing her hands up to cover her warm cheeks. “Trevor!” 

“But seriously, just go talk to him” Trevor speaks up after he was done with laughing, wiping at his eyes where tears almost fell out from how hard he was laughing. Stella rolls her eyes and drops her hands from her face to rest on the cold table, nervously playing with the corner of the plastic bag. “I can't” stella mumbles out with a defeated sigh, her eyes drifting to him one again before looking down at her hands. 

“Why not? Does he have a girlfriend? Look at you tiny Hughes, going after a taken man” Trevor smiles cheekily, shaking his head dramatically. Very much enjoying teasing her. Stella's eyes nearly bulge out of her head, and she shouts quietly so the couple at the table near them wouldn't hear “he doesn't have a girlfriend!” Trevor feels a faint smirk form on his lips at how defensive she sounded. 

“Then I don't see the problem” his confusion is obvious in his tone. He doesn't have a girlfriend, he's sitting alone, her brothers aren’t here to stop her, it's the perfect chance for her to go talk to him. 

“I…i don't know what to say” Stella muttered, so quiet that Trevor almost didn’t hear her. Her voice showed how embarrassed she felt, she didn't have experience talking to boys that weren't her brothers or their friends. Especially popular boys from her school like he is. Trevor lets out a small hum of understanding now getting why she was acting so shy about this. Well, this is his time to shine, knowing that her brothers will not give her dating advice. 

“So, this is the plan” Trevor starts, his mind already coming up with a plan that would help Stella talk and maybe even ask the guy she obviously has a crush on, out. Stella listens intently to everything that was coming out of Trevor's mouth, she knew he had experience with dating. Trevor starts explaining the plan as if it was a hockey game plan, and poor nervous Stella tried her best to keep up with what he was saying, but she was getting lost with his hand movements and some terms he used. 

“Are you sure?” Stella asked him unsurely, her eyes glancing back to the fountain where he was still sitting, his attention on his phone. He was so different from the boys she was used to, he didn't play hockey, he was on the baseball team, and his personality was completely different from Stella's. Her best friends Lily and Carmen honestly didn't understand why Stella had a thing for him, they didn't really like him. Trevor gave stella a reassuring smile and nod “You'll be fine stell”

“But..But I'm hanging out with you, i don't wanna leave you alone” Stella frowned, not wanting to leave Trevor alone. She came to the mall to spend time with him, not someone else. And she was also stalling. Trever smiled at Stella's words; she really is the sweetest. Trevor waves stella off “Ah don't worry I’ll be fine.” 

“Go get him tiger” Trevor gave Stella a reassuring nod, before playfully doing a scratch movement with his hand and if Stella wasn’t so nervous, she would have laughed at his humor. Stella let out a heavy sigh and gave herself a reassuring nod before she got up and slowly walked towards the fountain. Her mind tried to look back on Trevor's plan but all that came up was blank and that's when Stella started to panic, she turned around to go back to Trevor and give up. She makes eye contact with Trevor who's giving her a smile and thumbs up, shooing her off with his hands. 

“I can do this” Stella muttered, she turned back around and this time her steps were not as slow, and they were much more confident. She stopped when she was a few steps in front of him, she swallowed the lump of nerves and formed a smile on her lips “Hi Max” Max looked up from his phone and to stella who was standing in front of him, squinting his eyes for a moment as he tried to remember who she is, his mind raked through the memories he had of some of the hottest girls in his school and he still couldn't remember who she is, only realizing when he remembered seeing her with Luke and jack in the halls. 

“Oh, Sarah, right? Jack and Luke's little sister” Max had a cocky smirk on his face as he looked at Stella up and down. Max’s words had Stella's smile falter, but she still tried to keep her smile up even though his words hurt a little. “It's stella actually, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to join me getting some ice cr-” 

“Wait, are you asking me on a date Hughes?” Max cut Stella off, a laugh leaving his lips. He was in shock that she had asked him, he stood up and took a step towards stella. Stella felt so small under his gaze and height, she felt intimidated, and he wasn’t even that much taller than her. Her eyes glanced at the table where Trevor was sitting, hoping that he would sense her panic, but Trevor noticed her head turning and quickly looked away, not wanting Stella to know that he definitely was watching them. Stella started fidgeting with her fingers and her nervousness showed as she stumbled over her words “I…i don't know, i guess.” 

“You don't know? You guess?” Max tilted his head as he looked down at her, his tone sounded as if he was mocking her, and he spoke slowly as if he was talking to a child. Stella frowned and looked at him in confusion, why was he being so mean. Max looked away from Stella for a moment and glanced at a pretty blonde girl that was walking out of pink. She had a big grin on her face as she talked with her friends, her makeup looked so pretty on her, she was wearing a short skirt that showed off her nice legs and a crop top. Completely different from Stella, who was a brunette, who had no makeup on, who was wearing a pair of mom jeans and wearing one of her mom's old hockey sweaters. Max smirked tauntingly down at stella “Sorry Hughes, you're nowhere close to my type.” 

Stella felt tears form in her eyes as she watched Max walk away from her and towards the group of girls, Stella's hands dropped to her side in defeat and a strong and unexpected feeling of heartache and self-doubt came over her. She turned and sat down on the edge of the fountain, her eyes looking down at her converse that had a ton of doodles on them from her and Luke, she sniffled and tried to stop her tears from falling. Trevor who was watching felt his stomach drop at how defeated Stella looked, he had noticed the smirk the boy had given Stella and immediate red flags went up. 

Trevor grabs the two bags off the table and quickly walks over to Stella, guilt in his chest knowing that he was the one to push her to talk to him and seeing by the way he walked off and the way she was on the verge of tears, it did not go well. And man did he want to storm after that cocky fuck and show him what happens if he makes stella cry, but he was more focused on making sure she was okay and how to make her feel better. 

“Come on” Stella lifted her head at the sound of Trevor's voice, and she's welcomed with Trevor holding out his hand for her. Stella sniffles and tries to blink away her tears, she didn't want to cry about some stupid boy, a stupid boy that her friends warned her about, she should have listened to them. Stella grabbed Trevor's hand and let him pull her up to her feet and lead her away from the fountain “Where are we going?” 

“I’m taking you to get some ice cream” Trevor smiled as he pulled Stella towards the food court, where the ice cream shop he noticed Stella's eyes brightened up at the sight of, earlier. Trevor didn't let go of Stella's hand as they walked towards the food court. A frown decorated her face “But we just had donuts.” 

“No, you had like one donut bite, and I ate the rest of them, who cares anyway” Trevor shrugs before glancing at Stella who still had a frown on her lips, he felt really guilty. Trevor nudged stella’s shoulder with his and gives her a cheeky smile once she looks at him “I'll even get you 3 scoops as long as you don't tell Ellen” 

“How are you not getting sick?” Stella questioned Trevor, a slight look of disgust on her face as she watched Trevor scarf down his third scoop of rocky road, she didn't understand how he could eat so much. The two were sitting at one of the tables in the food court, Trevor was happily eating his ice cream and jumping from topic to topic to try to distract Stella from what had happened. Trevor looked up from his dripping cone and across the table where Stella is sitting, she was absentmindedly stirring the ice cream that was in her bowl, she had barely touched her 2 scoops, only picking at the reese’s she had as a topping. 

“I have the stomach of a bear” Trevor said with a mouthful of ice cream and waffle cone, Stella grimaces and gives him a look of confusion at his words “What does that even mean?” 

“It means if you're not going to eat your ice cream i am” Trevor snaps at her jokingly, as he licks his lips free of ice cream. Stella almost smiled at the goofy look Trevor had given her, he really was trying to cheer her up and she really appreciated it. Trevor looked behind Stella and his eyes lit up with an idea on what to do next, hoping that it would cheer her up. Trevor takes one more big bite of his ice cream before he stands up and tosses the rest of his cone in the nearby trash bin. 

“Come on, I have a fantastic idea” Trevor grinned, really expressing the word fantastic. Stella doesn't complain as Trevor also throws away her ice cream, usually Stella would have been pissed if someone touched her ice cream…but she just wasn't in the mood. Stella lets Trevor help her out of the chair and drag her away from the table, following after him and sassily saying “Now that's a scary sentence” Trevor looked back at her and gave her an unimpressed look at her words. 

“Ta-da!” He excitedly exclaimed as he pointed towards the stand that had a line of different animals that you could ride, Stella had seen kids ride on them many times whenever she came to the mall. Emphasis on the word's kids, so she was confused on why Trevor would bring her here. Stella voiced her confusion “Trevor what are w ⸺” Trevor cut stella off with a smile and a pat to the shoulder “Wait here, I'll be right back.” 

Trevor walked up to the stand and greeted the girl working at the stand with a smile, the said girl looking up from her phone boredly at the sound of approaching footsteps. “We’d like two animals please” Trevor smiles as he tilted his head, motioning his head towards Stella who stood a few steps behind him. 

The girl with the name tag ‘Lani’ looked between the two, Stella giving her a shy smile when they locked eyes. Lani looked back at Trevor, “Aren't the two of you a little too old for this?” she asked boredly as she loudly popped the gum in her mouth, her freshly manicured finger pointing towards the sign that had the height limit. 

“Listen this dickhead just broke my little sister's heart, so no i don't really care if we’re too old” Trevor whispered quickly as he leaned towards the girl so Stella wouldn't hear. The girl's eyes softened, and she glanced behind him to see Stella awkwardly standing there, looking down at her shoes. Trevor could see the hesitation in Lani’s eyes and he's quick to pull out his wallet from his pocket and hold out a 20-dollar bill “I'll give you an extra 20.” 

“You guys can pick your animal” Lani spoke loudly so stella could hear as well, giving stella a smile before looking back at Trevor and speaking quietly so only he could hear “Keep the 20, but here” Trevor slips the bill back into his wallet and watches as she quickly writes something on a sticky note before holding it out for him, he sees a number on the bright green paper and he takes it into his hand and looks up at her, Lani giving him a wink before she moved to go help stella. 

He whispers a cheerful ‘Score’ as he slips the paper into his back pocket, he walks over to Stella and smiles when he sees her sitting on a panda, Lani unlocking it for her and turning it on. Stella was a little hesitant about doing this, but Lani was nice and complemented her choice of animal. Stella smirked at Trevor when she noticed him walking over to her, she points to the black and white striped animal “You have to ride that one.” 

Trevor rolls his eyes but nevertheless he moves to get on the zebra, it was true they definitely were too tall to ride them, well Trevor was. Stella could comfortably put her feet on the footsteps while Trevor felt his knees already start to ache, but the slight pain was all worth it when he saw the smile on Stella's face and heard the laugh that escaped her lips as she moved past him, she was smaller so her panda could move faster. Something that Trevor loudly complained about. 

Stella and Trevor's motives quickly became competitive as they raced around the course. While Stella grinned and led the race, Trevor trailed behind her and laughed as she almost tipped over a few times as she went around the corners. If he wasn't so determined to try to beat her he would have pat himself on the back for taking her mind off the disaster that happened not too long ago. He was relieved to see Stella smiling and laughing, especially because she made it clear she wasn't interested in his idea at first. 

After a few more laps the smiling duo got off the animals and Stella went to sit on a bench while Trevor paid. A frown couldn't help but make its way back on Stella's face as she sat there alone and thought about what happened. It was humiliating and embarrassing. Stella looked at Trevor and watched as he happily talked to Lani as he paid and her frown quickly disappeared, she was lucky to have someone like Trevor in her life. 

Yes, he could be annoying at times, but he cares for her and that means a lot, and even though it didn't work out, he did spend five minutes trying to help her come up with a plan to talk to a guy she liked, and then spent the next hour after, doing his best to cheer her up and make her feel better. Stella was so lost in thought she didn't notice Trevor walking back over to her and sitting next to her on the bench.  “Do you wanna talk about it?” Trevor asked her, breaking her out of thought. 

“He’s not worth the words” Stella smiled as she turned her head to face a now grinning Trevor, he was happy to hear her say that because she's right, he's not worth it and he's a fucking idiot for treating her like that, and he wants to make sure she would never let a guy treat her like that again. Trevor rests his arm on the bench and twists his body to face her “Boys suck anyway!” 

Stella smiled and let out a small laugh, nodding in agreement, that boy in particular sucked a lot. Trevor gently squeezed Stella's shoulder and gave her a smile, and Stella could see that his eyes didn't hold any humor, he was serious as he spoke “Whatever he said that made you cry, just know that it's nothing but lies. Okay?” Stella nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. 

“Thank you trev” Stella broke the silence between the two, Trevor looked away from the small group of laughing kids and their parents and looked to Stella, a confused look on his face. “For what?” If anything, I should be apologizing because I'm the one who convinced you to go talk to him, he thought to himself. 

“For getting me ice cream, for making me ride those stupid animals” Stella started, and before Trevor could defend the animals she continued to talk. “And helping me realize that he's just a stupid baseball boy” The look of disgust that comes across Trevor's face at her words is comical. 

“He plays baseball. Of course, he's a dick” Trevor scoffs and shakes his in disbelief while Stella rolls her eyes at his dramatics. Trevor continued his rant as he gave Stella a disappointed look “That's where you went wrong tiny Hughes, you gotta go for a hockey guy!” 

“I would never!” Stella exclaimed loudly with a look of disgust, quickly shaking her head no in disagreement, a hockey boy?!?!? Stella would never! “Hey what's that supposed to mean?” Trevor asked her, his face showing how offended he is, he rested his hand on his chest in shock. Stella just laughs loudly and gives him a pointed look; he really didn't want her to explain further.

“Mark my words Estella Hughes, you will end up marrying a hockey player” Trevor smirked proudly as he leaned back on the bench, spreading his arms wide to rest on the back of it. Trevor laughed when he saw Stella scrunch her nose up in disgust and shake her head, but she still had a smile on her face, her dimples out on display. They made eye contact and laughter quickly erupted from their mouths. 

“Besides I should be thanking you” Trevor smiled as he nudged her knee with his after they both calmed down from their laughter. Stella hummed and turned her head to face him “Why?” 

“Who knew girls find boys who are sweet to their little sister so attractive?” Trevor smirks jokingly as he pulls out the paper with Lani’s number out of his back pocket and holds it up. Stella smiles and glances between Trevor and back at Lani who seemed to be getting her things, maybe her shift was over? Lani was nice to her in the tiny time she knew her “She's really pretty, you should go talk to her.” 

Trevor smiles at Stella's kindness, she was a great wing woman. Trevor slipped the paper back into his back pocket before wrapping his arm around Stella's shoulder and pulling her closer, playfully putting her in a soft headlock that made her laugh, before resting his arm around her shoulder when Stella slapped his arm. Trevor smiled down at stella who was already looking up at him “Nahh, I'd rather hang with you.” 

Stella grins and rests her head on his shoulder, Trevor was a great friend and even better honorary brother. And even though some things she wished she could forget happened today; it was a great day, nonetheless. Trevor was right, boys do suck, with the exception of him of course. 

“Ditto” 

˖ ་ 💭 roro’s notes ( I love Stella and Trevor’s relationship so much, they are so fun to write! Max is a major jerk and one my friends who read this over for me mentioned bringing max back for some drama? I’m not so sure, let me know what you guys think! )

°. — taglist ( @privatemythss @juraj-slafkovsky @cixrosie @toasttt11 )

[nattikay]

Jake is a Good Dad and I will Die On That Hill

Howdy Avatar fandom. Over the past six months or so I’ve seen a lot of criticism directed toward Jake Sully as a father, ranging from him simply being a little too strict at best, to outright neglectful and even abusive at worst. This, my friends, is some grade-A nonsense, and today we’re gonna talk about why. Strap in, lads, this is gonna be a long one. Let’s roll.

So before we get into breaking down the events of the main storyline, let’s address the idea that Jake was always the super-strict “military dad” throughout the kids’ lives: put simply, bullcrap.

Out of the film’s over-three-hour runtime, we get to see very little of the Sullies’ lives before the RDA’s return—only about six minutes’ worth. If Jake was meant to be this strict militaristic dictator during this time period, especially in a way that would significantly impact the kids’ character development and their relationships with him, this would be the time to show it, or at least hint at it. But instead of any of that, we really get quite the opposite. Jake laughs and plays with the kids:

Jokes around and cuddles:

Teaches Neteyam to fish:

He even says in his narration:

“Happiness is simple…whoever thought that a jarhead like me could’ve cracked the code?”

Guys, this is quite literally the best time of his life. This man absolutely adores his family with every fiber of his being, they are his whole world. Like, look at him! He has stars in his eyes!!

We have zero reason to suspect that Jake was overly harsh or strict in a way that would impede his relationship with his kids during this time. The Sullies appear to be a normal, healthy, close-knit family. 

It’s only when the RDA returns and reignites war that things change. 

I’ve seen some people claim that Jake’s personality changed it the second movie. I disagree—it was not his personality that changed, but rather his priorities. 

A1 Jake was a disabled marine vet who was offered his brother’s contract after said brother was unexpectedly murdered by some thug on the street…and part of the reason he agreed to take that contract was that there really wasn’t much else left for him back on Earth, so why not go? A1 Jake had just about nothing left to lose, and therefore could afford to be more reckless.

A2 Jake, however, is another story altogether. A2 Jake can’t just run around poking and prodding and taking risks like A1 Jake did because now he has a wife and four children who rely on him and who he loves more than anything else in the world. It’s not just himself he has to look out for anymore, it’s them. He now has everything to lose. He says as much himself:

Not to mention that he’s older now. Did you really expect the 37-year-old father of four who’s been leading the clan for 15 years and is suddenly thrust back into a brutal war to behave exactly the same as the 22-year-old fish-out-of-water ex-marine sent to fill in for his scientist brother out of the sheer convenience of sharing a genome? A2 Jake’s behavior is not a sudden 180 from his personality in A1, it’s a natural progression and reaction for his character given the changed circumstances. 

“A father protects. It’s what gives him meaning.”

This is essentially Jake’s thesis for the movie. This is his #1 priority, his purpose, the lens through which all his actions must be viewed in order to understand them, and it’s important to establish it upfront because it sets up everything else.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the train raid sequence as its aftermath. Jake begrudgingly allows his now-teenage sons to participate in the war party—from a distance, as spotters. Neteyam seems content to fill this role, but Lo’ak, against orders, eagerly insists that they “have to get in there”, even goading his brother: 

Tailed by an exasperated Neteyam, Lo’ak grabs a weapon from Tarsem and lets out a half-hearted warcry:

...let’s be honest here, Lo’ak doesn’t really seem to be taking this raid anywhere near as seriously as he should be; he’s treating it more like a game—on which point, y’know what, let’s pause to talk about Lo’ak for a moment.

Because the primary purpose of this post is defending Jake, it may at times appear that I am being overly critical towards Lo’ak. This is not my intention—I love Lo’ak as much as I love the rest of the Sully family (which is a lot lol). I think the things he struggles with are reasonable and valid struggles to have considering his circumstances. However, that does not always mean that he is in the “right”. Jake and Lo’ak’s conflict through the movie is not as simple as “son right dad wrong” or vice-versa; rather, it stems from a generational/age gap in experience and priorities. 

In this case, for example, Lo’ak is treating the raid more like a cool action game than a real battle with real stakes. Which may not be much of a surprise—he’s 14! He’s young, he’s naive, he’s never experienced anything close to real war until the past year or so—he probably genuinely does not fully grasp the stakes of this situation just yet. And why should we expect him to, really? He’s never had to before.

Jake, on the other hand, knows the stakes all too well. This ain’t his first rodeo. He was a solider both on Earth (where he was injured severely enough to become paralyzed from the waist down) and then again on Pandora driving out the RDA in a battle that killed several of his friends and allies, including almost completely wiping out the entire Olangi clan. 

Jake understands the risks of war and doesn’t want his kids anywhere near it. We see this not only in the film where he only allows Neteyam and Lo’ak to participate in the raid “from a distance” and ultimately fleeing his own clan altogether once his kids are directly threatened, but also in the comics in which he consistently turns down Neteyam’s pleadings to participate in the war efforts. Unfortunately for him, his sons do happen to be coming of age at around this time and there’s only so much he can do to keep them out of it, so he tries to let them participate in relatively safe ways, like as spotters.

Lo’ak…doesn’t understand this. Not really. And that leads to him recklessly taking unnecessary risks—be it out of curiosity, to get in on the action, or even simply to prove himself. Which understandably scares the crap out of Jake.

When the raid is over, Jake desperately searches the rubble for his sons. He finds Lo’ak quickly and makes sure he’s alright:

…before taking off to search for Neteyam, who he also promptly checks over for injuries. 

which is something I’d like to point out here: although Jake sometimes gets gruff with his sons, he never leads with that. He always always always makes sure they’re ok first. That’s important. We’ll come back to it throughout the post.

Anyways, it’s only after making sure that Neteyam is ok that Jake’s initial bout of fear subsides and morphs into frustration and anger: what were you thinking?! And it’s a fair question. If the boys had followed orders, they wouldn’t have been at such risk in the first place. Once the party returns to High Camp, Jake addresses this point with them, reminding them that by disobeying direct orders they put themselves in very serious danger, and reiterating to Lo’ak in particular that his recklessness nearly got his brother killed and grounding him.

In other words, Jake’s response to his sons going against his orders was…a lecture and a grounding. That’s…a pretty reasonable parental reaction, actually. Sure, you could nitpick and say his tone was too harsh, but given the situation, I struggle to blame him…

…which leads into the next relevant scene: while Mo’at and Kiri tend to Neteyam’s scratches, Neytiri gently chides Jake for being too hard on the boys, concluding with the infamous line: “This is not a squad. It is a family.”

Now, what I find interesting about this scene is that neither party is really in the wrong here. Jake is doing his best to fill his role as a father by watching out for his kids’ physical safety—even if it means being a little strict. Likewise, Neytiri is filling her role as a mother by looking out for her kids’ emotional well-being. As she should!

That said, I think people who use this line as proof of Jake’s supposed parental failure are forgetting the context. While Neytiri’s line is true in general, when the boys sign up to participate in a war party, they kinda do become a “squad”. In that moment, in that context, they are a squad, they have to behave like one lest someone gets hurt if not killed. 

I also think they forget Jake’s reaction to Neytiri’s line:

Look closely. There are tears in his eyes. This dude was terrified of the possibility that he may have just lost one of his sons in the raid, and all his strictness stems from that. And Neytiri seems to recognize this as well, as she can’t seem to decide how to respond. She probably worries about the same thing, after all, even if she handles it differently. 

On that note, let’s look at the next time Lo’ak disobeys instructions: going to the old shack with Spider, Kiri, and Tuk, where they first encounter the recom unit. 

Something interesting about the aftermath of the recom rescue is that no one gets lectured this time actually. Remember what I said about how, no matter how upset he is, Jake always checks to make sure the kids are ok first and foremost? Sure enough, that’s what he does here:

Not only for his daughters, mind you, but also both his sons (we’ll address the daughter-favoritism claims later):

With the recoms now targeting the Sully family specifically, Jake, feeling out of other options, makes the difficult decision to flee and find refuge among the Metkayina clan. 

whoops, there’s that “protection” theme again

When their request for sanctuary is somewhat reluctantly accepted, Jake calls a family meeting and tells the kids this:

Remember how earlier we established how “a father protects” is essentially Jake’s thesis for this movie? Well, this is an offshoot of that: Jake believes that hiding amongst the Metkayina is currently the best was to keep his family safe; therefore, throughout the Sullies’ time with the clan, Jake’s primary goal is to lay low and get along with the clan so as not to tread on their hospitality and get kicked out (even if and when that means setting aside one’s own pride). This, then, is the lens through which Jake’s actions must be analyzed while his family is staying with the Metkayina.

The first time this becomes relevant is after Neteyam and Lo’ak’s little scrap defending Kiri from Aonung and his posse. Jake is clearly not thrilled about Kiri being bullied, but again, his top priority is keeping his family safe and right now this entails maintaining a good standing with the chief, which in turns means that his sons getting into brawls with Tonowari’s son is a very bad look. Which is why, after a moment of internal conflict, he asks Lo’ak to apologize to Aonung (he even tries to explain when Lo’ak protests:)

On that note, while remaining on good terms with the clan has to take precedence at this moment, Jake is clearly quietly proud of his boys for kicking butt, as we see from his exchange with Neteyam (though yes, it is unfortunate that Lo’ak didn’t get to see this bit).

…which brings us to one of the bigger moments that people point to when accusing Jake of being a bad father: the “you bring shame to this family” line. Now, I can understand why this line doesn’t sit right with viewers initially, especially since we have just seen firsthand the truth about what Lo’ak experienced over the past few hours. However, when you consider what’s going on from Jake’s perspective, the line is not quite as unreasonable as it first seems.

Let’s back up a bit to when Lo’ak first returns to the village after meeting Payakan. At first Jake is just relieved that his son is ok (remember: he always checks first)

In fact, once it’s clear that Lo’ak is ok, it seems Jake just wanted to let it go and head home…the real conflict didn’t begin until after Lo’ak lied to take the blame for Aonung.

Up until this moment, Jake only knew Aonung’s side of the story, that he’d taken Lo’ak outside the reef and he got stranded there (it’s unclear whether Aonung specifies that he abandoned him out there on purpose, the little punk, but I digress). But when Tonowari (rightfully) declares Aonung’s responsibility for the incident, Lo’ak speaks up to take the fall, claiming that the whole ordeal was all his idea, which Aonung had tried to talk him out of.

Lo’ak does not have a reputation for lying…but he does have a reputation for pulling reckless stunts that put himself and others in danger, so for better or for worse, Jake has literally zero reason not to believe this claim. 

In other words, for Jake, the situation has just gone from “my son got taken advantage of by the local bullies and put into a precarious situation but he’s home safe now” to “my son dragged a bunch of other kids to a dangerous location where he knows he’s not supposed to go despite the chef’s son trying to talk him out of it, endangering both his life and theirs, getting lost in the process, and thereby worrying and inconveniencing the entire clan on whose hospitality we rely by making them go out of their way to arrange a whole search party in the dead of night just to find him.”

…yeah, no wonder he was flippin’ ticked. No wonder he “didn’t want to hear it” when Lo’ak tries to explain that he was “only trying to make friends”. We as the audience know that’s true, of course, but as far as Jake knows in that moment, based on what Lo’ak himself claimed just moments ago, he was trying to “make friends” by…dragging them out to a dangerous location despite their protests thus jeopardizing both his and their lives as well as his family’s standing in the clan who can kick them out at any time. Yeah, I wouldn’t want to “hear it” either.

When you look at it from that perspective, “you brought shame to this family” doesn’t really seem quite as extreme, does it?

And yes, I feel for Lo’ak here, really, I do; he’s just been through a lot and yes based on the actual events that just occurred his father’s anger is the last thing the poor kid needs and I totally get why it would upset him…but at the same time, I can’t help feeling that he kinda brought this particular lecture on himself by voluntarily taking the blame for Aonung. Not really sure what he was expecting: that Jake would somehow read his mind and understand the way things actually went? That he would see through his lie and praise him for being so amiable towards Aonung by taking the fall perhaps similar to how Neteyam so often claims the blame for Lo’ak’s own reckless shenanigans despite how rude Aonung had been to him thus far? Or perhaps he just blurted out the blame claim as an olive branch of sorts to Aonung (genuinely trying to “make friends” in a way) without really thinking about the consequences of doing so. Who knows. But regardless of how Lo’ak did or didn’t think things would go, I think it’s a little unfair to blame Jake for his reaction. Based on his knowledge of the circumstances, which in turn were based on Lo’ak’s own account given only moments before (remember, Jake had zero reason to suspect he was lying), his reaction is actually pretty understandable.

Speaking of Lo’ak’s adventures with Payakan, the next time we see him clash with his father is when Tonowari lectures him for bonding with the outcast, and Lo’ak defends his new friend. Remember: Jake’s top priority is keeping his family safe which currently means not getting kicked out of the Metkayina. Lo’ak, regardless of whether or not he was in the right, was clearly upsetting Ronal and Tonowari in this exchange—Neytiri is actually the first to step in and warn her son:

…and when Lo’ak persists anyways, Jake has to step in in hopes of smoothing things over with the chief. 

It sucks that this upset Lo’ak, especially because we the audience know that Lo’ak is right about Payakan, but again, Jake is currently more concerned with not getting kicked out of the clan than with his son winning an argument about the validity of a tulkun’s outcast status.

.

...aaaand here comes the hardest part of this essay to write. Admittedly I wasn’t aware of this argument until recently, but now that I know it’s out there I feel obligated to address it here. Apparently some folks are out there claim that Jake did not display a sufficient amount of emotion at Neteyam’s death, and this somehow proves that he wasn’t as attached to his sons as he should have been. And all I have to say to that is: did we watch the same movie?? 

That man broke upon his son’s death. Did he wail and cry like Neytiri, no, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t heartbroken—wailing and crying simply aren’t how his character responds to trauma. He’s a solider, he’s probably trained to delay any external breakdown at least until a given battle is over.

But you can still see it in his face. You can hear it in his voice which breaks and shudders when he realizes that Neteyam is dying and tries to give him a few last words of comfort, wanting so desperately to ease his pain to the best of his abilities. 

...yeah. This man is broken in this moment.

…but his job isn’t over yet. The battle is still raging. He still has three more kids who still need him. As much as he may want to, he cannot take the time to fully grieve in this moment.

…which brings us to the big one, the main line people point to when arguing that Jake is a bad father:

Now, let’s be honest: was this an awful thing to say? Yes, absolutely. Should Jake apologize to Lo’ak for it after the fact, if he hasn’t already? Definitely, one-hundred-percent. I’m not disputing that in the least.

however…

In this moment, Jake has just spent the past however-long locked in a vicious battle, and hardly minutes before watched his firstborn son bleed out in his arms. And now he learns that his daughters—one of whom is a pre-pubescent child with no chance of defending herself—are still caught on the “demon ship” with the recoms, who have just very clearly proven that they have absolutely no qualms with killing these kids. Quaritch taunting in his ear certainly is not helping. 

The only thing Jake could properly focus on in that moment was getting Kiri and Tuk off that boat. Repeat: he wants to get his kids OFF the demon ship, not risk bringing any of them back ON. On top of that, Lo’ak, as established very early on in the film (see: train raid), has a reputation for struggling to follow orders…even when not emotionally devastated by the death of his brother. 

All these things considered, is it really any wonder that Jake did not want Lo’ak coming along on this mission? He’s already lost one son, why in the ever-loving flip flap would he want to risk losing the other by intentionally bringing him back to the danger zone with no guarantee he’ll come out again, especially given his apparent propensity to ignore orders and throw himself into danger? 

Heck, the only reason he lets Spider come is that Spider knows where the girls are and, unlike Lo’ak, Spider doesn’t have that same reckless reputation. Spider, in that moment, appears to be able to compartmentalize the fresh trauma well enough to focus on the task at hand, and can be trusted to do as Jake asks. Lo’ak…can’t. So, Jake wants him to stay behind.

Did he express it horribly? Absolutely. But saying one stupid insensitive thing in a moment of numbness underlaid by grief, pain, and fear does not make him a horrible dad overall, and I think it’s a little unfair to say that it does.

On that note, I do not believe for one moment that Jake genuinely blames Lo’ak for Neteyam’s death. Now, Lo’ak may well view it that way and I’m sure it’ll come into play for his character arc in future movies, which can be a topic for another day, but as for Jake’s perspective, no. I don’t think he truly blames Lo’ak. Even if he couldn’t necessarily process it all right away, I think he knows that Lo’ak is going through as much heartbreak as the rest of the family…especially given that Jake himself has firsthand experience losing a brother. He just said something dumb in a moment of pain.

(On the topic of Lo’ak being unable to follow orders, less than five minutes after Jake, Neytiri, and Spider leave for the ship, Lo’ak…immediately disobeys the order to stay safe on the island and heads back out to the ship anyways. Obviously in the grand scheme of things it’s good that he was there to save Jake from drowning after the scuffle with Quaritch, but still, good gracious son. Way to spectacularly prove your dad’s point.) 

So now we come to the point where Lo’ak saves Jake’s life. After a mutual choke-out with Quaritch, Jake is left to drown until Lo’ak finds him and pulls him to the surface, at which point he gasps for air and chokes out Neteyam’s name. 

This can be interpreted in a few ways. It could be that Jake is so accustomed to Neteyam being the “responsible” one that he irrationally thought it was him coming to the rescue, momentarily forgetting he had died or somehow thinking maybe by some stroke of fate he pulled through after all—this seems to be Lo’ak’s assumption, given that he promptly corrects him.

Now, some may take Jake’s “oh, Lo’ak…” as a show of favoritism, or proof that Jake values his first son above his second. I don’t think this is the case though—I don’t think Jake’s apparent disappointment is about Lo’ak being there so much it’s about Neteyam not being there. In other words, it’s not a personal slight against or disappointment in Lo’ak, but rather a form of still-very-raw grief for Neteyam who, remember, only just died, like, an hour ago.

It could also be that Jake is still so distraught following Neteyam’s death that it’s consuming his thoughts…he was able to shove it down and compartmentalize long enough to fight the recoms and get Tuk and Kiri off the boat, but that compartmentalization broke down while he was literally drowning and it took him a minute to focus and put things back together (which he manages to do a moment later when Lo’ak tries to apologize for his brother’s death):

The most excruciating interpretation I’ve seen is Jake thinking he had drowned and is rejoining Neteyam in the afterlife. ouch. Though that is, of course, just speculation.

Regardless, at this point Jake has just about given up. He’s exhausted, he’s in agony, both physically and emotionally. He’s completely drained. He wants Lo’ak to live but is ready to give up on himself (“I can’t make it. You can.”). It’s only when Lo’ak insists: 

 ...that Jake realizes he still needs to press forward. Because his other kids still need him. His other son still needs him and he’s not willing to give up on him. So he takes a deep breath (literally), puts his trust in Lo’ak, and lets his son lead him through the flooded passageways out of the wreck. When they finally break the surface, we have this lovely moment:

This moment is a resolution to one of Lo’ak’s primary emotional conflicts throughout the movie: living in the shadow of his legendary war hero father and prodigious older brother, finally getting the recognition and affirmation he so craved from that father. Some might argue that in terms of “ideal” parenting that this kind of moment should have come sooner, or that Jake’s recognition of his son should never have been in doubt in the first place, and while there may be some truth to that, I struggle to really blame Jake for it for reasons I just spent the past 4000 words discussing. I think the fact that this moment happened at all shows that despite their clashes and struggles and miscommunications, Jake does and always has cared very deeply about Lo’ak; his lectures and frustrations come not out of malice or some personal distaste, but out of fear for his well-being.

We see Jake comforting Lo’ak again after the family returns to Neteyam’s body on the rocks.

 As I said before, I don’t think for even the briefest moment Jake genuinely blames Lo’ak for Neteyam’s death. I don’t think he would be comforting him like this if he did.

…which, I suppose, brings us to Neteyam’s funeral, and Jake and Neytiri visiting his spirit within Eywa. No parent should ever have to bury their child and good golly gracious this scene ripped my heart out but I digress. I don’t even really have a lot of commentary to add to these scenes…just…just this. It speaks for itself.

look me in the eye and tell me this man “doesn’t care about his sons”. I flipping DARE you.

.

Well, that concludes the debunking of scenes that supposedly make Jake a bad father. But before we go, let’s look just briefly at this scene of him being a good dad with Kiri. I didn’t mention this earlier because while I’ve seen a lot of complaints about Jake’s interactions with Neteyam and especially Lo’ak, few people have qualms with the way Jake treats Kiri and Tuk—in fact, many people claim that he shows favoritism to his daughters, going out of his way “baby” them and treat them more gently and lovingly than his sons. I disagree and hope the above has done a thorough job dispelling that notion: Kiri and Tuk don’t go around throwing themselves headlong into the same kind of danger that Neteyam and Lo’ak do. They aren’t begging to participate in battle, they aren’t disobeying orders that land them in mortal peril. 

In other words: Jake lectures his sons more than his daughters out of necessity, not nepotism. Remember: Jake’s #1 priority is protecting his family, keeping them all safe and alive. That means that when one of his kids pulls a stupid stunt that puts them in danger he feels the need to crack down on that in hopes of preventing it from happening again. Lo’ak is, quite frankly, prone to pulling those kind of stunts, so he gets lectured a lot. Kiri and Tuk do not typically pull such stunts, so they don’t get lectured. It’s as simple as that, really.

Buuuuuut now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s talk just briefly about Jake comforting Kiri.

Like with the scene of visiting Neteyam’s spirit, I don’t have much commentary to add to this scene—it’s a very sweet scene and it speaks for itself really. Jake is very gentle and doing his best to listen to Kiri, even if he is a little unsure about her claims. He doesn’t criticize or invalidate, he just tries to be there for her. What can I say, that’s a good dad right there ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  

One last little point before we wrap up for real: the fact that Lo’ak and Neteyam occasionally refer to Jake as “sir”. I was originally planning to address this earlier but it didn’t quite fit in with the flow of the discussion and I consider it such a minor point anyways, I figured I could save it for a side note—but seriously, it baffles me what a big deal people make of this. 

It would be one thing if “sir” was something that Jake strictly enforced, if it was the only thing he allowed the kids to address him as, if one of them called him “Dad” and he barked back, “no! it is sir!” But…literally none of that is the case. He never explicitly asks them to call him “sir”, and they call him “Dad” just as often if not more.

The kids referring to Jake as “sir” in tense moments is a simple show of respect, nothing more. I recall my own dad also wanting to be called “sir” when we were in trouble and it was never really an issue. And I suppose your milage may vary depending on where you live, but growing up in the southern US, “sir” and “ma’am” are just very common basic courtesy in many situations (not just familial). 

Sooooo….yeah, the idea that Neteyam and Lo’ak occasionally calling Jake sir is somehow proof of Jake being too strict or cold or whatever else is really making a mountain out of a molehill. It’s not that deep y’all.

…aaaand I suppose that’s it for this post. 

In conclusion: 

Look guys, Jake does not have to be your favorite character. You don’t even have to like him, or agree with everything that he says or does. He isn’t perfect (which, by the way, literally no one is). But if nothing else, I hope this behemoth of a post has at least helped you understand his character and why he acts and reacts the way that he does.

Jake Sully may not be a shining beacon of parental perfection from a psychological development perspective (and all things considered, expecting him to be such is, quite frankly, a little silly), but good golly gracious he is trying his absolute darnedest in incredibly difficult and precarious circumstances beyond his control i.e. the RDA coming back to quite literally take over. This man’s family means absolutely everything to him and I’m done sitting back and watching y’all slander him just because he didn’t react to x situation the way you think he should have.

thank you and good night

[w0rmm1lk]

Hiiii

Can I request a Bakugo (Cuz let’s be honest, he is FINE AS HELL) x gn! Reader who’s very socially awkward?

Like, if anyone they don’t know tries to talk to them they’ll just be like🧍‍♂️and give them that classic awkward smile

yes!!!! i relate to this reader sm and also I 100% agree bakugo is so fucking fine like??????? he's a fucking 2d character from a style where theporportions arent even based on humans, he has unmanaged anger issues and will fucking explode and not in the joking sense and yet????/ like whoever made hi design TEL ME YOUR WAYS. he's so fucking pretty. but also as much as I love him jeanist did him so fucking dirty with that hair. jeanist looked at *THAT* and really said "I can fix him"??? bitch don't fucking fix him I like the explosive pomeranian bitch. but like that one scene when he was making fun of todoroki during the provisional license extras classes like bro I was watching with my siblings and had to aggressively hold back a fucking screach noise. AND I STILL DO WHENEVER I WACTH IT. he's a fucking anime character who is so damn unhealthy but if you cant tell by the length of this, I fucking love him.

reader: GN

characters: bakugo katsuki

summary: reader is a very much not people person so how the fuck are they dating bakuhoe out of all bitches

warnings: swearing if you couldnt tell. anxiety, mentions of anxiety attacks. bakugo being a bitch.

💥- okay honestly, first day? didnt even know you were in the class.

💥- this mf too focused on beating everyone up to notice you.

💥- was forced to acknowledge you when you kiri and bakuhoe were in the same area during the usj attack.

💥- after yall beat the shit out of some ppl you were sweating a ton but not bc you just fought some bitches.

💥- your ass was panicked af, not only are you shoved in a small space with two extroverts, you're also being exxesivley complimented by Kirishima bc you punched someone and along with that the fucking usj is under attack.

💥- it was very obvious you were panicking tbh.

💥- like bakuhoe at this point doesnt give a shit about other peoples feelings at this point but even he could tell.

💥- you were just standing there with you r arms pinned to your sides staring into the distance as Kirishima was obsessing oever how you beat someone up.

💥- after the usj he started to notive you more often.

💥- he noticed hpw evenn when the whole class was close with each other, you were still extremely quiet.

💥- he noticed how awkward you were even when talking to your friends.

💥- he noticed how youd speak up if your friends were being rude to you but the moment someone like monoma said something you just shut down.

💥- he even noticed how panicked you were when you learned about the internships.

💥- during the sports festival you both fought one on one, that's when he truly noticed how awkward you were.

💥- like bro was beating the shit out of you while yelling shit like "say something damnit!"

💥- honestly even though he wouldve won anyways, the round ended faster due to your panic with him yelling n shit.

💥- bro was thinking about it more and was like "damn. but like why were they kinda cute."

💥- first thoughts?

💥- immediete denial.'

💥- bakugo thought his time would be something like loud and outgoging, someone whos super confident.

💥- then saw you who was about to have a fuckinh panic attack and was like:

💥- i want that one.

💥- honestly ur crush on him was not obvious at all, you were just your normal panicky self but this time with slightly more blush.

💥- honestly you guys didnt get together until someone had to word it to make it seem like they were challenging bakugo to confess.

💥- will fight someone for you.

💥- monoma insulted you? 3 days of house arrest for bakuhoe.

💥- someone judged you? explosions.

💥- cashier looked at you wrong? banned from the convenience store for the next 6 months.

💥- congrats on your new scary dog privledges.

💥- mf so fucking protective tbh

💥- its not that he doesnt think you cant fight for yourself, he knows you can beat anyone to a pulp. i mean like- you're in the hero course for gods sake man.

💥- more in the sense of, distant jealousy. you wont know he's jealous, but whoever is talking to you thats making him jealous will know.

not my best work but i wanted to type something lol.

[tarotchariotpickyourcard]

PAC: What are you right about?

What are you right about?

Giving you your “I knew it” moment. You’re welcome.

Please choose a number between 1 to 4. You can use your intuition, or pick one of these charms from left to right.

1 is the letter z, 2 is the plant, 3 is the Christmas stamp, 4 is the cup

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GROUP 1

Five of wands, King of wands, Queen of chalices

If you’ve been thinking someone is competitive with you, you’re right. This could be a male in your life, or someone who gives familial/sibling rivalry vibes. Could literally be someone's brother here (which can be common).. 

I’m seeing different settings, for some it’s school, for some, it’s in the online community you hang around. Not exclusively, but those are what I’m seeing especially.

Those 2 court cards are such different characters, this person might be so different to you and maybe you’ve never gelled. You might have the perspective that this person is a bit full of themselves. Someone in this situation may have a birthday during winter time. Someone here could be a water sign or fire sign particularly. I feel like from the 5 of wands, you may have always bumped heads and other people tend to notice that too. Even if you agree on something, anything - even that isn’t the most harmonious interaction.

I feel the need to let you know that actually, deep down this person can be very loving and warm. Maybe not to you lol, but they’re capable of it. Maybe you’re the more empathetic, social or kind character here and you wonder why they can’t be tactful or more humble.

I’m seeing traits of organization and creativity that there may be a bit of jealousy over. I would say in this competitive situation, take care not to take too much to heart because I think the other person is just competitive in nature anyway. So to them, I don’t think it’s super deep. They can just be a bit smug. I think there may be some jealousy or competitiveness over the way you are able to present yourself too. Whether that’s the way you talk to people or the way you look. They are probably not able to carry that off themselves.

That’s what I see, hope it made sense.

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GROUP 2 

The greenman in reverse, 2 of wands, 7 of swords

So a project or new start maybe didn’t give you a good feeling that it would hit off, and you’re right, the 2 of wands talks about a new career/business venture.7 of swords shows a need to adapt and change the scheme. There is just something that is unfeasible in the current plan, or about the current idea/product.

If there is a business partnership then one of the 2 doesn’t share the same intentions, whether that’s through miscommunication or taking advantage. If you are in a partnership like that, then please ensure you get full truthful communication out of the other person and ensure you have a clear business plan. If this is a new potential job or placement, this is an employer who may be looking to get more out of the agreement than the employee. This could even be practical issues making a situation unfeasible, such as being unable to travel to a workplace each day.

I see frustration about this situation and a real need to have a new start. Maybe currently there is a situation of unemployment or really needing another kind of income. This isn’t to say it isn’t possible, just that you’re right that the current idea, venture or opportunity isn’t going to really take off like someone would of course hope. This may not be yours, it may be a loved one and you’re thinking hmm, maybe not.

Whoever this is, there’s a level of idealism and a new plan needs to be made. I also feel like maybe there were a couple of people who encouraged this person and told them to go for it even though they had no experience in the subject themselves. 

Hope that made sense for ya, if it’s you wanting to take on something new I wish you luck with any revised plans

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GROUP 3

Four of wands, five of wands, Nature

There are a few meanings for this one.

If you’ve been thinking you have some kind of pest in your house but you’ve not been 100% this might be confirmation.

If you have been thinking a family member or roommate has been doing something not entirely moral or kind, you’re right. Something is definitely going on. I’m seeing specifically as well if you think someone is playing around with more than one person.

If someone you live with has been really strange or angry or different lately, you’re right that there is more going on for them in their inner lives. They may need help.

Something that was once harmonious is no longer. It seems to have turned argumentative and then even more negative. I’m sorry to see this. You’re right that this isn’t normal. Someone isn’t themselves.

If you have been feeling like something is off at work, it is because people are having more disagreements and issues with one another.

I’m seeing someone here who is creative. No matter how competitive it seems out there, please do continue with your art or creative projects - you have talent. I think deep down you know you have something.

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GROUP 4

Nine of wands, The horned God, Seven of swords

You’re right to be wary or on defense right now. Someone might have warned you or you might have overheard something. You might have just simply had an intuitive whisper.

If you have a suspicion what’s wrong with an item as well, you’re on the right track. (for anyone trying to fix furniture or tech).

If you have been on the defense or feel off about someone who is a leader, employer, boss, teacher, father figure etc you’re right. Even your perspective of a local politician - if you feel something isn’t going to help you as a resident, that’s valid.

There is someone who might be trying to appear like they’re on your side, or if you vote/help them or stand with them that they will help you or you will get some kind of benefit. They are only thinking about themselves.

For a few, this could be a love interest that might be acting like they are more mature, paternal or protective than they actually are and you have been right to hold off and wait to see who they are. 

You have definitely been skeptical of someone here and you are completely right. I really strongly get the idea they act like they can offer you so much, but you’re remembering you’re good. You’re independent and you have things that you have earned for yourself. Never let someone trick you into thinking you need them. I’m sorry, this person stinks lol.

For a small number, this person you’re skeptical of can honestly be leading a double life, they are going off to someone/something else behind the scenes. They are so vague as well, you can never be sure what they’ve been doing. I don’t like this person. I'm sorry.

You seem wise to it anyway so I’m not worried, you’ve got this.

Hope it made sense to you see yaaaa

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[rainbow-fandoms]

i feel like writing an essay on why jeffannie is a horrible ship

disclaimer before i rant: you are completely entitled to your opinion on whatever ships you prefer! this is just what i think :)

i'm going to begin with the most obvious problem with jeffannie: the age difference. at the start of the show, she's eighteen (a TEENAGER, guys) and he's in his thirties. they are at vastly different stages of life. he has way more life experience than her.

even if we ignore that, they just make no sense together. they already have that father/daughter dynamic, and the chemistry community reddit is constantly on about is nowhere to be found. all the kiss scenes felt forced (maybe not debate 109, but i'll talk about that later). also, jeff having two awesome women competing for his love, and then going after the teenager with a boyfriend...interesting.

i don't think jeff is necessarily predatory; he is very clearly not exclusively attracted to girls as young as annie, but that doesn't mean his attraction to her isn't at least slightly iffy.

i saw someone say annie and jeff, a recovering addict and someone who currently has an addiction, would not have a very healthy relationship in the long run, and i agree. as the original poster said, annie worked so hard to put her addiction behind her, and being with jeff wouldn't be good for her.

also, whoever made that tumblr post saying every jeffannie episode would work better with jeffbritta or abedison was 100% right, which is why i'm going to discuss the problems with each jeffannie episode.

jeffannie began in debate 109, when annie and jeff had to argue the point that man is inherently evil on the greendale debate team, and the debate ends in a scene where the leader of city college's team launches himself out of his wheelchair; jeff instinctively catches him, and the leader uses this to support the point that man is good. annie proceeds to grab jeff and kiss him, which makes him drop city college's leader, which wins them the debate, because 'he dropped him because he was horny!'

god.

obviously, you can see why that made me uncomfortable to watch, but i guess you could look past it in the comedy and chaos of it all. anyway, jeffbritta would have made that episode so much better. britta would definitely be on the debate team, and since she and jeff actually had a normal age gap, which would make everything far less creepy.

next, let's talk about the worst thing in the world:

pascal's triangle revisited.

actually, the episode was fine. i enjoyed it. but that kiss at the end makes me so angry. jeff, you have these two beautiful women who you have been pursuing this whole season, and you go and kiss the teenage girl. THE TEENAGE GIRL. jesus fucking christ. and she had a boyfriend too. you know what would have worked? abed convincing annie not to transfer instead. infinitely better chemistry, and an abedison kiss that actually impacted the plot would have changed my life.

the conspiracy episode was excellent, but jeffbritta would have made it perfect. i don't think it expanded on anything problematic jeffannie-wise though, so that's a win.

and then you have intro to political science. i haven't really seen anyone talk about this, and it's once again not a bad episode, but i really think the writers just didn't want britta to have a storyline that actually developed her character, because she would have devoured in annie's place during this episode. jeff's dynamic with her is already perfect, and it would make so much more sense for them to run against each other, as opposed to jeff and annie.

all those alternate timeline jeffannie scenes in remedial chaos theory already sucked, but i didn't care too much because i knew they weren't going to push it into anything too serious, but then you had annie tell jeff he reminded her of her father mid-makeout and it's just...wow. so the creators knew they had this very obvious father-daughter like relationship, were fully aware of it, and still forced the ship. cool.

now, don't kill me for this, but i'm one of those people who actually genuinely, really liked season 4. and one reason why i liked it was because the one major jeffannie scene they had was the imaginary alternate timeline one, which acknowledged that jeffannie would not be good together, and was hilarious. so thank you season 4, they can never make me hate you <3

introduction to teaching was also great because there was a plotline centered around jeff and annie that never tried to force any sort of awkward romantic chemistry (at least that's how i remember it), which seems impossible in community. honestly, this episode just proved that platonic jeffannie is superior to romantic jeffannie.

but that period of bliss where there was no romantic jeffannie didn't last long, because then you have g.i. jeff.

i love g.i. jeff. it's one of my favorite episodes, and was phenomenal for jeff's character. there was just one line, where animated coma dream jeff tells animated coma dream annie, 'look at the rack i gave you.' that was just kind of gross and didn't sit right, especially since a major plot point of this episode was jeff turning 40 and having a crisis. annie was *checks notes* 23-24 during this episode. the age gap is still very concerning here, and was made worse because of the fact that it really highlights how jeff is aging.

and then season 6 got so close to leaving jeffannie behind, forever, and then they had to ruin it with the series finale. i'm just saying, we couldn't have a platonic jeffannie goodbye like we got with jabed (speaking of which, the jabed goodbye arguably hurt more than the jeffannie one)?

anyway, i am desperately hoping we get jeffbritta/abedison (or trobed!) in the community movie, even though i know that's probably not going to happen, i do not like jeffannie at all, and thank you for reading my explosion of angry thoughts!

[rewatching-sam-and-dean]

Posting this here because I saw an obnoxious take on Threads just now, and I don’t have the character allowance needed to vent my annoyance over there. Plus, I hate that app.

Anyway, the offensive (to me) take I saw was one I see all too often, yet this person ventured forth their opinion like they were bravely standing up for the little guy. Please. The internet is crawling with AAs who spout the same crap 25/8.

The opinion:

“I have nothing against Jared…he’s a great Sam…but Jensen is just PERFECTION as Dean. Like. Besides being a fucking DREAMBOAT, he’s hysterical with his words and expressions.“

My Rebuttal:

I like Jensen as an actor, and I like Dean. I do. I also agree that Jensen is a good actor and Dean is a great character … when he isn’t pissing me off (or becoming a caricature in later seasons). I mean, he’s made me cry a good few times when watching the show, particularly when he’s just lost Sam. But, there are some parts of the ststement that just really bug me, especially because I’ve seen so many people make statements like this one.

First, Jared is good as Sam, But Jensen is PERFECTION as Dean. My issue with this is, how do you even quantify who is better at playing a chracter when the two characters are so different from each other that they are near opposites? Jensen is very good at playing Dean. He makes him feel real, and you can feel the connection he has with his brother and other family, which also adds to how empathetic and relatable he feels (at times). However, Jensen cannot forge the Sam and Dean connection alone. Jared makes up the other half of their duo. And sure, people can not like Sam or claim they don’t care for the brothers' dynamic, but 75% (or more) of who Dean is … is his love for and relationship with Sam. People can love to see Dean with Castiel or Charlie or whoever, and even say they like Dean better with them than Sam 🙄 but the only person he was playing off of when we first get to know Dean (and in my opinion the superior version of Dean) is Sam (Jared). If Jared wasn’t playing Sam very well, Jensen could emote all he wanted, but there would still be a disconnect there. I’m not saying Jensen wouldn’t still be charismatic or interesting on his own, but I will say that the Dean people love for how much he cares for his family and how real it feels did require Jared in particular. When Kripke talks about “lightening in a bottle” he wasn’t only talking about Jensen.

Anyway, let’s move on to the reasons for Jensen’s “perfection”:

1. Dreamboat - Okay, shallow, but let’s address this one first. Is this person claiming Jensen is perfect as Dean … because he’s hot? She knows Jensen isn’t actively choosing to be hot, right? Right? This isn’t a skill or talent, it’s being blessed with good genetics. While I do agree that Jensen is very attractive, i think Jared is too. I’d even say for a good few years there Jared put more effort into being physically fit, so does that make him more perfect at playing Sam … because he achieved pleasing physique? At least that wasn’t only genetics but work, too. This particular reason to love Jensen’s portrayal of Dean is shallow as hell, so I’m moving on.

2. Hysterical with his words and expressions - I am not going to argue against Jensen being “hysterical” because 1) what we all find funny is subjective, and 2) I also think he’s funny. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Jensen is good at humour and comic timing, and I’m certainly not going to try take that away from him. He’s a scene steeler. But, and I can’t believe I have to say this, he also plays a funny character. Dean is funny, or cheeky anyway. Sam is not (usually). So, why is Jensen being good at being funny when he’s playing a funny character more “perfect” than Jared who shows off his own comedic skills much less often because he’s playing a serious character? They are both doing what they are supposed to do for their respective characters. I also have to add that a good portion of the time, Dean’s humour is enhanced by Sam’s deadpan reaction. This is also good comic timing, but given who Sam is, it would be weird if Jared was constantly leaning into humor. As For Jensen’s “words” bring hysterical … does this person not realize that 90% of the time Jensen is saying the words written for him? Of course the inflection is his, and he’s been known to add lib, but the writers are more responsible for Dean’s words than Jensen. Conversely, Jared can’t use words to enhance his chrdcter that his character isn’t given. In fact, the fact that so many writers suck at writing Sam dialogue, forced Jared to crest a whole lexicon on physicality for Sam that makes him feel real and nuanced into the (abysmal) later seasons. Finally, with the “expressions," again I agree, Jensen uses his facial expressions very effectively at times (but I also think he over does it at other times). However, I also think Jared uses his expressions very effectively, broken puppydog eyes, anyone? Still, I also think Jared goes a little over the top at times in his expressions. Neither, despite what this person claimed, are perfect.

Anyway, my whole point with this (perhaps nit-picky) rant is NOT that I fault people for preferring Dean or liking Jensen’s acting style better, my annoyance comes in when they claim he’s perfect because he’s just no. No one is. And saying that Jensen plays Dean better than Jared plays Sam when they aren’t even comparable because of how different they are is just ignorant. It’s not a competition, yet some Dean fans so often need to make it one.

My honest opinion about JA and JP’s acting is that I think Jensen excels at drawing out empathy from the audience, making (many of) them feel sad when he’s sad, but I find Jared stronger when it comes to making different characters (or versions of his character) feel different. See Meg!Sam and Soulless!Sam in particular. So yeah, my issue is not with people liking a character or actor more, it’s with them thinking thst they are leagues apart when they are both, in fact C tier actors who have different strengths. And this additional and related notion that SPN would have been fine with just Jensen, or that just anyone could have played Sam and it wouldn’t have mattered is just … wrong.

Anyway, if you’re of the opinion that BOTH brothers and BOTH actors were crucial to the show, I’d love to chat about it with you, so feel free to hit up my asks or messsges. I love talking about the show and don’t get to do it enough.

If you think one actor was carrying the show on his shoulders (either one honestly, but we know who this is said of more often and by whom) … we just aren’t going to find common ground. So to those SPN fans …

Have a day.

[laf-outloud]

//I mostly liked Twyla Jean because she and Cordell actually had hot chemistry. I could never get into his other relationships, they were all boring in comparison. //

I agree so hard with this. Twyla wasn’t perfect, either, but she was not so full of herself and judgey like almost every other chracter was apart from Cordell, and I guess Emily wasn't a jerk, either.

I saw another anon the other day mention how Walker was kind of shallow on the writing/execution of story arcs, and I felt that, too. I feel like Cordel's romance with a Geri was like that, too. I get in theory that they were going for, the friends to lovers, quieter love kind of thing, but I just didn’t feel it. They had very little chemistry, and I’m sure Odette is a lovely person, but I found her super bland.

I feel like when Jared has chemistry it’s really good: Jensen, Gen (in SPN), the actress who played Twyla, Mitch and Keegan, weirdly Lorelei in Gilmore Girls. And, even Mark Shepherd and Misha, though the writers gave them more stuff with Jensen. The doctor in Sex and Violence, Sarah, the hippy chic.

But, when he doesn’t, he really doesn’t. Like Sam and Eilean … cute friend chemistry, but no romantic chemistry. Cordell and Geri … little chemistry, but mostly the relationship is just boring.

I hope whoever plays Jared's young apprentice has really good chemistry with him, without being condescending. And if he has any romances along the way, I hope they go for chemistry.

LOL at the Lorelei reference (agree).

I think the Padalecki's and Annables sharing social circles and spending family time together hurt whatever chemistry could have been between Jared and Odette. It didn't help that they stripped Geri of any personality throughout the series. Having her be a suspect in season 1 made her a lot more interesting. Once that story was cleared up, she basically became the cardboard cutout that everyone talked at (not with) about their problems. Again, issues with writing, not Odette (she was actually pretty good in Supergirl).

You've mentioned a lot of character's Jared has chemistry with, and I'll add the other men of Walker (Trey, Larry, Sergeant Cooper). It seems Jared tends to have more chemistry with men, lol! (But there are some great romantic relationships, like you've mentioned).

Totally agree with your last paragraph! So much of it is in the casting so I hope they nail that!