#i’m genuinely going to be thinking about rocket for so long

[miamigo333]

AANG ＆ OZAI PARALLELS: DEBUNKED

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Because apparently the true villain is the sole survivor of a genocide of his entire nation, and not the imperialist colonizer.

Where do I even begin?? Because I’m genuinely holding in laughter writing this, it’s absolutely insane how certain people can make such egregious parallels that aren’t even found in the first place. 

AH, so a little backstory on how this fucking shit stained idea even came to existence, well our dear z^tara fans pissed their pants over Zuko and Katara not tying the knot, so, as a way of retribution for their supposed “honour” They take any chance to jump on the Aang hate train and make him into some irredeemable abusive demon, aaand they got that perfect opportunity because the LoK decided to take a lick out of the great “Main Characters Must Be Bad Parents In The Sequels” Trope. Which personally, does absolutely nothing to the protagonists resolution aside from cheap family drama but I digress. 

Now, I’m not behind the idea of the writers trying to make Aang a “flawed” Parent, I think it really makes no sense by how they went about it, (I might touch on this in another post) 

((And it’s so very clear that they’re trying to give it a soft “retcon” And even taking extra steps saying that Kya and Bumi just “remember wrong” Which I’ll actually take, because season two of LOK was hell on earth anyway so you might as well give it some saving grace.)) 

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There’s three main parallels that they got from Ozai and Aang: (god help me)

Favouring a child

isolating the rest

leaving pressure On the golden child

I’m going to debunk all three of them while trying not to fall into complete lunacy over how ridiculous they are. 

Favouring a child + Leaving pressure: 

OK, so people are clearly blind with context clues and media comprehension, got it. No surprise whatsoever. I can’t be disappointed if I didn’t even have any expectations to begin with. 

Let’s compare the treatment on how Ozai treats Azula, and how Aang treats Tenzin. (Holy Shit)

Beginning with Ozai, well.. It doesn’t take much of a rocket scientist to understand that Ozai essentially could not give two fucks about Azula, as she in essence, serves the role of an attack dog, as long as it does its job, it’s worthy. 

Ozai favoured Azula because she was molded to match his ferocity and hunger for power, she was a prodigy bender, and was cunning and calculated, all traits that Ozai found endearing and someone worthy to be crowned the next “fire lord.” His “favouring” Of her didn’t come out of genuine love or care, she is his tool who serves a purpose. In short, she showed more competency and more ruthlessness and callousness in comparison to Zuko. Which earned her, her place as the “Golden Child.”  

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None of this is even remotely similar to how Aang treated Tenzin and his kids, aside from the fact he supposedly “favoured” Tenzin more, but that is such a baseline statement and has absolutely no relation with Ozai's reasons.

You have to understand that an entire FUCKING NATION IS DEAD. History, Culture, Tradition, is at the BRINK of being wiped out, Tenzin is quite literally the only Airbender that will be left after Aangs passing. Why do people devalue this concept so much? 

“B-BUT THE AIR ACOLYTES1!!” Still have limited knowledge, airbending is so heavily tied to its spiritual roots, you LOSE your ability to AIRBEND, if you aren't inclined to your spiritual side. Which is a core part of the air nomad culture. Tenzin is... Literally the only god forsaken part left of that, so yeah. It’s a pretty big fucking deal. Aang values his culture and teachings to such a high degree, he is literally the survivor of a genocide. His favouring of Tenzin was done out of necessity and love, not out of a need for power and a new attack dog to send orders around. 

Tenzin will literally be the future “Director” Or guide for the next avatar to learn airbending, people still forget this, and it’s hilarious. He needs to know all the moves, all the teachings because he will be the next avatar's personal guide. 

Aang constantly reassures him, and apologizes for the pressure that may be put upon him but he always reaffirms that he’ll be there to guide him and they’ll “learn together”

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So yeah not the same thing at all. Fuck you for being so inept at understanding the different reasons and perspectives of those situations, just for some petty ship discourse, genuinely disgusting.

Isolating the children:

OK this part, I have to say that the writers definitely messed up with aangs characterization, but I think the execution came out way differently than the intention, so I will try to look more into the intention of each decision.

Ozai isolated Zuko, mistreated him, belittled him, PHYSICALLY ABUSED HIM, but yeah totally on par with Aang actually. 

I don’t wanna touch on this part much mainly because his treatment was literally explained all throughout the show, and granted, while I understand most of these people haven’t touched the show aside from reading fanfic 300000 Where Aang is revealed to us as satan himself, but perhaps, even a small peak at Ozai's parenting would reveal the laughable contrast between the two.

Zuko was a slow learner, and much more of a softie, and a “mama's boy” To Ozai’s heavy dislike, he was thus treated as such, he was belittled, turned down, and literally burnt alive for showing “weakness” He is meant to serve as a direct contrast to Azula, ”The everything he isn't.” 

Kya and Bumi on the other hand, don’t show any actual signs of trauma aside from some petty jabs they threw at Tenzin, 

Bumis talk with Aang at the statue was *very very* Clearly, meant to highlight his own inferiority complex that he internalized growing up. His need for proving himself to be capable of doing just as much if not more than a “bender” Probably happened because his two parents were both prodigy benders and him being a first born son who was a non-bender must’ve hit pretty hard for him, and I’m so sure that katara and Aang reassured how special he is but that kind of thing doesn’t really go away.

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Kya: [while healing Bumi] I told you those rocks were slippery. You're lucky you didn't kill yourself.

Bumi: You done with the lecture, mom?

Kya: Oh, grow up. You haven't changed one bit since we were kids. You're still trying to prove you can do everything a bender can. Well, you can't. Deal with it.

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 That talk with Aangs statue was very much meant to unveil an internal struggle rather than a conflict he had with his father. Kya even doubles down on this, telling him “of course he’d be proud of you” Basically spoon feeding to us, the viewers, that this is much more of internal than an external conflict that he has to overcome along the show. 

“Why Didn’t he share his culture with them 1!!1!” 

He most definitely did, or tried to, but it’s clear they didn’t show much interest so he didn’t pester, this is shown many times throughout the show. 

“You know I could never keep all those gurus straight… There were like a million of them!

remember that long boring story about the guy who never ate?”

This is literally Kya’s remark to Tenzin just after he tried teaching the airbender students this story, basically telling us that Aang DID try to tell them about his stories and culture, but much to their disinterest, didn’t try any further. 

And Bumi, literally could not pay attention to the story to save his life, and instead decided to fool around in his literal 60’s!! I mean Imagine what he was like when he was a kid!! 

I could imagine their dynamic was very similar to Jinora with Meelo and Ikki, Tenzin being the only one with actual interest and care, whilst Bumi and Kya goofing off and not putting much focus onto it. WHICH IS FINE BTW!! 

It only goes to reiterate that Tenzin was the only one who was actually giving interest and attention to the air nomad culture, and it was of Kya and Bumi’s own personal choice to not partake in it. To each their own I see. 

“BUT WHAT ABOUT THE VACATIONS” 

This.. I agree, weird for the writers to decide this, but given how they low-key are retconning it in interviews, my best guess is that each of those trips were side-quests during their journey to teach an important lesson that might’ve just drowned out because Tenzin may not have remembered it as well. 

Also keep in mind that Tenzin was put into a lot of pressure, Aang probably saw this, and as a way to still keep it enjoyable, he took him to trips that would help ease the mind for a little kid whilst also learning something valuable. That seems pretty on brand for Aang actually

And given that Kya and Bumi are literally in their fucking 60’s it wouldn’t surprised me if they didn’t have the greatest memory. Hell, they didn’t even fault Aang as a parent until Tenzin started boasting about “trips” That Kya and Bumi gave petty jabs but weren’t actually showing genuine hurt, just annoyance.

Kya even comments how Aang was too busy “Trying to save the world, and doing his duty that he didn't have much time for them” 

Phrasing as if it wasn't anything "important" But it's clear that this was Kya's own personal irritation towards Tenzin rather than an actual evaluation on Aang's duties.

A continuation comic best explains it in a deeper way:

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Literally showing that “neglecting” His kids wasn't up to him, and was out of a sense of necessity, trying to cram as much knowledge onto Tenzin, the only one who was basically putting his lessons into practices. Kya and Bumi were left feeling neglected. But that wasn’t out of his decision; he still loved them dearly.

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This. Literally highlighting how much pressure was forced upon Aang, so yes, as any person would, he struggled with making time for everybody. Holy shit who knew?? 

GASP!! IS THAT… A REALISTIC BUT UNDERSTANDABLE FLAW!!?? HOW DARE YOU! ITS OZAI #2 

The fact that the smiley energetic person forgets to SMILE, is a big deal, man was put through hells amount of stress but he never cracked.

So tell me, how is a genocidal freak, who treats his golden child like a tool and abuses the other both physically and emotionally for showing “weakness’ 

Even remotely comparable to

 the sole survivor of a genocide, trying to withhold his teachings and culture onto literally his only child that showed actual effort in doing so, while also maintaining the balance of an entire fucking world and being literally the biggest “advisor” And “Mentor” For society, OH! And also building and managing a literal city, but along the way struggling to make time for his children. 

Guess what, they’re not. And if you think they are. You are an idiot, with bias and headcanons.

So the conclusion is, Aang is a flawed parent, but he isn't a "bad" Parent - confirmed by the literal writers.

Comparing him to Ozai a literal dictator, is absolutely sickening, just for your petty shipping discourse when this show's been over for a decade is insane. Indulge in what you enjoy, but stop projecting delusions like they're canon.

:D

[en-djinn]

For the next time you feel like yapping: I’m about halfway through the gotg game and I would LOVE to hear your opinions on it

this is a REALLY good prompt and i could be here all fucking day discussing every aspect of it and also that i the studio that made it and thief 4 is NOT as bad as everyone thinks it is and they have every right to be proud of it but thats a massive tangent and i havent even started yet. i love thief. garrett i miss you every day. anyway.

the gotg game actually has my fav interpretations of most of the guardians too which surprised me. im assuming ud wanna mostly hear my thoughts on the story stuff anyway even tho i am umm. an action game snob and i have a lot to say abt that stuff too cz its just a fantastic game and it was on my radar long before i actually got into gotg coz the reviews were like 'yo this is a great action game' and im like oooooohhh wiggles my fingers. anyway.

ok this um. turned out really fucking long coz i got wrapped up talking abt magus meta stuff again so. grins. 3k words long. the magus stuff is past the spoiler break bt its. kind of tied to what i was talking abt w the game version so. shrugs

game mantis is BY FAR my fav version of her its like the perfect fusion of her comic appearances in early gotg and the movie version. i like the comic ver bt she can b a little overly serious and i think the shift to make her more light hearted and fun was a good one. like how they changed peter to be a music guy and a tad sillier. i think it fits. and while i do actually like her mcu version its also like. too silly. mcu forgets that shes also like actually very wise and in tune w emotions and how other ppl think, and also a badass martial artist. right. game mantis gets to be all of those things at once. also shoutout to her voice actor for doing an awesome job.

draxxx.... im honestly still not sure if i prefer alien drax or mr douglas drax. if moondragon is around then i def want mr douglas. bt if shes not then its like... no harm done...? not much to say here other than that i do love tht everyone indulges him. thats like the big thing abt the game for me. the banter is sooo good, they playfully rib each other like friends do but u can tell they genuinely care abt each other just from the way theyre willing to go along w each others weird habits or unfamiliar culture stuff. so from that angle i rly like how they did drax, and his talk w peter in knowhere... ToT a problem w drax is also that i think too many things treat him as a joke to be laughed at for being weird and the game neatly sidesteps that by giving u both but making it clear that hes still a character w depth.

i have no big thoughts on rocket honestly aside from that i dont like the little goatee thing bt im also not a huge rocket fan so my opinion is worth little here lol. i liked him. fr me my big rocket things r like. his relationship w peter and groot and i loved both of those so i have zero complaints. the ongoing 'my ship' thing w peter was so well done compared to when its done in the comics LOL.

groot i just liked a lot its also my fav version of groot i think cz its so obvious how kind and sweet he is. bt so much of groot is like. dependent on rocket to help translate. that SAIDDD i love the convo sm later on when rocket+groot+mantis were all talking together and peter had no idea wht they were laughing at. wish there was a lil more of that bt theres soooooo much dialogue in the game already tht asking for more is so unfair. bt more mantis+groot would be cute. my fav groot is the one whos sooooo sweet bt also says slurs and has rocket being like YOU CANT BE SAYING THAT BUDDY. anyway ik a big part of him is also in the voice acting cz its like the Tone of how he says stuff since u cant understand him and i think the voice actor did soooo good at that. and then the little bits of physical acting too like when hes messing w the controls. i cant say too much coz u havent finished it yet ToT

gamora is where i have some issues bt its mostly coz im married to her old look+personality and dont like the newer depictions as much. in the game she comes off as rly young esp w the dyed hair and it doesnt rly fit my own view of her? as a more mature woman. one tht knows how to have fun and has a confidence tht comes with experience and doesnt rly get embarrassed abt herself or anything. so this gamora is just. different. i dont think its bad bt it doesnt mesh w my own view i guess. despite not being a huge gamora fan i have a lot of thoughts abt her esp w the way it crosses over w the magus stuff. shes a very inch resting char... i wanted to do my own outfit design fr her too bt never got around to it... coz thats my other gripe w game gamora. her outfit is so boring... ik its based on a comic look cz i read that run but i didnt like it there either. i feel like they can never decide on a good look for her at all. they either want her sexed up or not at all to the point that the outfits lose all sense of personality or flair and are just. overly practical and boring. which doesnt fit the her thats confident and likes playing w ppl. so yea. shrug on that one. as an isolated thing i like her but compared to everything else shes ever been, not so much. basically.

i actually wrote the rest of this totally forgetting to talk abt peter. i dont know what to say. abt myself for that. peter quill. i like him. u may have noticed i draw him in his game outfit like a Lot and its bcoz i ADOREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE it. SOOOO CUTE. i also like his game guns the best! the white+grey+pink just looks soooo good. hes soooo sillycute in the game i luv himmmmmmmm. bt honestly game peter is a lot like other interpretations of him! not a whole lot to say. peter kind of has a pretty locked in characterisation by now right. this is still one of my absolute fav versions tho in design and personality. i think hes had better hair bt the outfit. chef kiss. and im always a sucker for a more immature peter, like the cartoon version too tho that can take it a little too far sometimes bt it meshes well w the baby adam so idm too much bt thats a whole tangent again. peter is good coz hes stupid immature loser idiot but he Cares so genuinely and so much and always tries to do the right thing and it rly rly rly rly shows in this. even when he knows he cant rly affect much or do a whole lot. its abt the Trying. i cant say more coz of spoilers but my god does it show. they did him well. ALSO THE GAME VERSION OF HIS MUM IS BAR NONE THE BEST EVER THEY WILL NEVER TOP THAT VERSION OF HER SHES SO CUTE

man adam is obvi what i wanna talk abt but u havent finished the game... since im putting this under a readmore im just gonna go ahead and say SPOILERS AHEAD!!! OK!! DONT SPOIL URSELF!!! GAMES REALLY GOOD!!!

HERES ARTEMY BURAKH AS A BREAK

ADAM WARLOCK GUY OF ALL TIME I LOVE YOU. ONE OF MY FAV INTERPRETATIONS OF MAGUS. WE'RE IN THE FUCKING MONEY.

this version of adam is interesting cz hes not usually depicted as like. old and tired already. since he comes out of his cocoon all shiny new. which i love. btw. i cannot lie to u i Love the versions where hes a baby or just forgets everything and has to relearn, its rly endearing. i wish more stuff Did something with it other than the cartoon. bt anyway. tangent.

i love his cocoon in the game i wish u got to see the inside better lol. its like a little house... and so goopy... its just funny cz the game version seems truer to the comics than any other interpretation of him. bt it also feels so different? i like it a lot either way bt its Interesting to me. and im not sure how to word why. in fact i am not sure what else to add hdsfjknsd. other than that i actually dont like his outfit just coz its the same problem as the mcu one as well where its too overly complex and a muddy mess of colours. the game outfit is WAY better than whatever tf the mcu did but its still like. the same concept. too much detail and not enough broad strokes? idk how to word it. like if u take out the tiny details its just sort of. nothingburger. also no lightning symbol stuff anywhere :(

bt ya i love the way he talks and i love what little stuff he got with peter and god i wish there was MORE its so unfair that whenever adam gets to be in gotg stuff hes always just there at the end and never gets to BE with the guardians outside of gotg v2/2008 comic. and the cartoon. bt even then. and it sucks that we wont get a sequel coz that studio is in hell rn! smiles painfully. i wanted to see him bicker abt nothing w peter more... or how theyd actually become friends...

bt the most i have to say here is obvi abt magus and magus+warlock as a duo. which isssss that ok so i have a Thing where i dont generally rly like magus as an actual alt personality? i like it when hes future adam. coz thats The Point. that adam can be the warlock or the magus and all that changes is a. an internal philosophy. or a worldview. they ARE the same person. theyre not separate people. bt if its done well and theyre still intertwined enough i think i can like it the other way too? coz the point is that they could be each other, right. so warlock has the capacity for everything the magus does. the magus has the capacity for everything the warlock does. there isnt a major dividing line between them. i like how the game does it literally because of the ONE bit adam has where he admits that he misses magus. doesnt feel complete or right without it being there. after peter says 'well ur mostly fine without magus now right and u were with it for ages' and adam basically says 'well i feel empty inside and like im missing something huge and i miss it being there but yeah i guess im "mostly fine"'. i WISH we saw warlock+magus interacting properly, like wht is the actual nature of their relationship. they rly dont go into that stuff at all. so i cant rly say much aside from like 'what ifs' and stuff, u know. i wish we saw more... sigh. but i adore magus' design in it and how they tie it to adams original motifs of. well. metamorphosis. adam is a moth caterpillar. so i love that they make magus look like one too! fluffy fuzzy little caterpillar. and just like a caterpillar, its always hungry. and u cannot blame a caterpillar for being hungry, its trying to grow. bah. tangent. bt who cares. i wanted that. an adam that didnt Hate magus, knows it had to be controlled and kept in line bt not one that hated it. if adam missed it, then they mustve had Some kind of relationship. almost all of magus' problems come from wanting recognition and to exist on its own and i think the game had a setup that couldve allowed for that eventually... i want an adam that understands tht magus is a necessary evil and they can work together. "where else could i go, who else could i love but you?" - line that infects anyone who does the dark knight quests in ffxiv but a lot of ppl ignore the fact that this is specifically talking abt another aspect of urself. its abt self love. i want that for warlock and magus. warlock hates himself soooo much and he hates all of his selves and everything he used to be, bt that makes him so unhappy. he needs to learn to accept himself. and magus is a literal representation of all those things. sitting there WANTING to be loved. sigh. thats a big tangent and i have actual comic stuff in case anyone wants proof and u know what why am i stopping myself. here they are

(from captain marvel v4 i think? v4 or 5 but im pretty sure it was 4)

i have nothing but bad things to say abt the fact that he was in these comics at all but this panel is good. speaks for itself. resentment at being hated for being how he was created to be. and u know what it is fucking unfair and i relate. sorry ill be saying that a lot. magus is right. everyone kill themselves and make me feel better. anywayyy

(from gotg v5)

this one could be up for debate on whether reborn magus is the 'same' as the old one but has warlock ever had that concession? not rly so i dont wanna say its different here either. this is a nature vs nurture thing that i also have some shit to say abt bt if im allowing myself ONE huge tangent here i wont go off on another one in the middle of it. actually fuck that i do what i want. and its relevant. coz there is one difference. and thats the actual original magus from the warlock comics by starlin, so actual future self adam. and then the one that spawned when warlock had the infinity gauntlet and he expelled all good and evil from himself, which is when magus became a separate entity entirely. bt also the thing in gotg v2 where he uses a discarded alt timeline that wasnt meant to happen and THAT was the one where he turns into magus so technically the reborn magus is made from the real first one that got deleted?? man idfk. i think there is a degree of separation from the two just coz its like. i dont think we know if the expelled magus experienced w. ok. im gonna call them magus1 (future adam) and magus2 (expelled evil) ok. we dont know if magus2 has the memories of magus1 or any of the actual lived experience because warlock of the main timeline DID NOT turn into magus. magus1 isnt from 616 or whatever. hes an alt version. magus2 should technically be the 616 version. i think. so magus2 could have been that mad simply out of principle of it, which is based and true and totally fair. anyway tangent over sorta. reborn child magus is magus3 and idfk which magus hes technically reincarnating from, probably magus1 since its the timeline that was destroyed tht adam brought back. REGARDLESS. WE'RE GETTING DEEP INTO THE WEEDS HERE.

SIGH i have so much to say abt gotgv5 and. magus3. lol. reborn magus. bt i wont do it here ive dragged this on way too far and we're not even close to being on topic so ill return to tangent 1.

(also from gotg v5)

loved this one cz its so clear abt it. at the core of adam is this desire to not be alone. every aspect of himself deals w it differently (amassing worshippers. usually. which is ironic because it doesnt rly fix the core issue. ppl can worship u but ull still be alone. very familiar w this sort of feeling myself.) bt warlock himself always isolates and hates himself and is miserable. he NEEDS the guardians.

(from gotg v2)

obviously yes it would be the biggest ego boost ever bt to me it still reeks of 'i dont want to be alone. i want my friends with me here too'. since phylla is the avatar of death, his entire purpose shouldve been to kill her. the ideal deathless world cant exist w her there.

(from uhhh fuck infinity wars iirc. yea.)

ok this ones just funny. but also the fact tht he made a copy of thanos to hang out with/serve him is even funnier and also AGAIN. the way it never lets itself be alone. always either coercing or forcing or creating versions of ppl he knows to be with him.

so yeah. thats my evidence for what is. idk if im reading too hard or if it was intentional ig. bt thats how i see it. so thats why i want magus+warlock to be on ok terms w each other in at least ONE thing. and the game seems perfect for it to eventually happen bt unforch its super unlikely it will get a sequel.

anyway. i also love that it talks in rhymes cz one of my fav things abt magus is how whimsy silly it is. topsy turvy fun. it fits so well. and esp since warlock uses a ton of alliteration and its a contrast between them. bt anyway. man.

ummm. as for the other chars? no strong feelings. lol. im REALLY glad they didnt make peter nikkis actual dad tho. lol @ most of this not even being abt the game. i have worms in my head and theyre shaped like this

also that is what i look like irl

[fan-of-many24]

New Face

Wayne x fem!Reader

Letterkenny

Word Count: 1.76k

Contains: Drinking / mentions of drinking, American reader, female reader

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Moving from Wisconsin to Letterkenny was a big change for you. Your aunt and uncle moved there for work and you decided that getting out of the US would be a welcome change. Even though some of the politics wouldn’t be much different, at least you wouldn’t have to deal with the hack job conspiracy theories from the parents at work.

Of course the school at Letterkenny was desperate for new teachers, with some of the old ones waiting to retire until their position could be filled. As an art teacher, there wouldn’t be much to change in your lessons. There were still a few weeks until the school year started and you had just finished decorating your classroom. It was the end of a long, hot, summer day and you decided to treat yourself to a drink at the local bar, MoDean’s. 

You walked into the small building immediately smelling the stale air of the bars you were used to in Wisconsin. At least some things are the same. You pulled out a worn down wooden stool, plopping down, relief easing your aching feet. “What can I get ‘cha hot stuff?” the woman behind the bar asked with a twang in her voice and a tilt in her head. You smiled, already somewhat used to the town’s quirky residents.

“I’m new to town,” you asked, “What do people usually get?” 

“Lemme get ‘cha a puppers,” she stated turning to grab a beer and slamming it down in front of you.

You nodded and took a sip, feeling the cool liquid slide down your throat. “Good shit.” you commented.

Unbeknownst to you, you had grabbed the attention of two hockey players sitting at a table across the room.

“Yo Jonesy, a fuckin’ rocket just sat down,” a fluffy-haired Reilly elbowed his buddy.

“Oh yeah bro,” Jonesy replied, “total babe. You think one of us could get a takedown? Or both of us?”

“Sure as shit bro,” Reilly confirmed, “let’s wheel some snipes.”

You were making light conversation with the bartender you just learned was Gail. She was telling you who were good people and who were the skids and degens to stay away from, and even though you didn’t exactly know what a skid was, you took her advice. She seemed genuine and you had to take pointers from someone. You were talking about moving here and your job when you were interrupted by the bar stools on either side of you getting pulled out with a guy sitting on either side. You looked at the two guys in muscle tees, sighing internally. You didn’t particularly come to the bar to get hit on, just to wind down.

“Sup,” the blond one started. “Sup,” the other continued.

“Hello, boys,” you greeted blandly, sipping your drink.

“So what’s a guy like us,” blondie pointed to himself.

“Gotta do to get with a snipe like you?” the other pointed to you. 

You gulped down the drink in your mouth, making a face. “A fuckin’ what?” you chuckled.

“You know, a rocket,”

“A ten,”

“A zinger,”

“Someone that makes you go ‘yew!’” they listed.

“A hottie,” Gail explained in words you’d understand.

You took a breath, processing the… compliments?

“Sorry boys,” you sighed, “you’re not really my type.”

The boys gasped, “What?”

“How so?”

“Well for one, you look like you could be my students,” you chuckled, causing the boys to exchange some looks, “And two, you’re a bit fuckin’ much.”

Gail laughed at your words that left the boys speechless.

“So how ‘bout you go find some other… rocket… that might be more your speed,” you got up from your seat and patted the blond’s shoulder before moving to a different seat down the bar, one next to a girl with long brown hair pulled into two ponytails on either side.

You plopped down again, setting down your beer, leaning onto your hand, letting out another sigh.

“Nice job fending those two off,” the girl next to you commented, “dealing with them can be a lot. I know from experience.”

“Thanks,” you chuckled, “hope I wasn’t too harsh. Don’t wanna go causing any bad blood just starting out here.”

“Thought you looked new to town. I’m Katie,” she stuck out her hand.

“Y/N,” you shook it, “ I moved here with some family, I’m gonna start teaching here in a couple weeks.”

“Good on you, god knows we need some new faces,” she rolled her eyes, “but at least now you know a couple people.”

You smiled and the conversation took off from there. She asked where you were from, you asked what she did. It felt easy talking to her, even if she was a bit younger than you. Gail was nice enough, but it was good to talk to someone a bit more… normal. She talked about how she ran a farm with her brother and how he was actually gonna meet her there soon so you’d have a chance to meet him. The door opened and Katie mumbled, “Speak of the devil, there he comes.”

You didn’t know what you were expecting from her brother but it certainly wasn’t the man walking towards the two of you. He had a lean, sturdy frame. His face was strong and a bit stern and he walked with a confidence that had your stomach full of butterflies, so much so you almost didn’t notice the two men trailing in behind him. While you may not have noticed the heat settling on your cheeks, Katie sure did. A sly smile broke across her face.

“Wayne, this is my new friend, Y/N,” Katie turned around in her stool to face her brother, leading you to do the same, “She moved her with family and is gonna start teaching here in a few weeks.”

The flush remained on your face as you smiled and nodded at him a bit shyly.

“Thank god, we needed a new face,” the man repeated Katie’s earlier sentiment.

“She did a good job of putting Jonesy and Reilly in their place earlier,” Gail piped up behind you, “Sent them with their tails between their legs.”

You chuckled, remembering the situation from earlier. “I just told the truth, wouldn’t call it sending them with their tails between their legs.”

Wayne gave an impressed nod and sat next to his sister, his two friends sitting on the other side. The burlier of his friends, Dan, continued the conversation with you, asking whereabouts you’re from, what brought you here, etc. The men were a bit taken aback when they heard you were from the US but with Katie vouching for you a bit they weren’t all that shaken.

Wayne had gotten up to go to the bathroom and Katie used the chance to scootch down a seat to talk to Darry about something. You continued to make casual conversation with Dan about random things here and there. When Wayne came back, he just stood behind Katie, arms folded. “You’re in my seat.” he stated.

“Move your feet, lose your seat big brother,” she smiled, “you’re free to take mine.”

“Mmm…” Wayne groaned before letting out a breath through his nose and sitting down in what used to be Katie’s seat.

Before you were able to continue your conversation with Dan, Katie had dragged him into the conversation she was having with Darry, turning her back to the two of you, somewhat excluding you from the conversation. With Gail on the other side of the bar, it was just you and Wayne sitting in somewhat awkward silence. You blushed again but decided to start a conversation with the handsome man next to you. But to your surprise, you didn’t have to.

“What brings you to Letterkenny?” Wayne asked, still facing forward.

“Well, my aunt and uncle moved here for a butchering job, and America isn’t getting better anytime soon,” you chuckled, “So I came with them. Figured I could find a teaching job here and if not I could work with ‘em.”

Wayne nodded, “Not afraid to get your hands dirty, huh?”

You shook your head, “Nah, I grew up in the country and as much as I didn’t like some of the… ideology there, I did like getting stuff done myself. Something about it was… satisfying.”

“Well, uh, if you ever miss that, I’m sure Katie and I wouldn’t mind you, uh, comin’ over and choring some time,” Wayne sniffed a bit, “if you’re up for it that is.”

You smiled and cocked your head a bit, “I might have to.”

The conversation flowed just as it did with Katie. The two of you talked about family and how you missed yours back in the US. You talked about your dog, a pittie mix named Hero, and how he loved running around your aunt and uncle’s property. He talked about his sister and his buddies, told stories about the town, some that sounded almost unbelievable, but when you remembered some of your earlier interactions you believed them.

It had gotten dark out and when you checked your phone it was about time for you to leave.

“Well, I should head out or my aunt is gonna send a search party for me.”

“Need me to call you a cab?” he asked gruffly.

“Nah, I’ve been nursing this beer since before you got here,” you nodded towards the beer besides you, “If I had any more I’d say yes.”

You left more than enough cash on the counter for Gail, tipping out of habit.

“Want me to wall you to your car then?” he suggested.

“Sure,” you smiled.

You waved goodbye to Katie, Darry, and Dan before walking out of the bar. The cool summer evening sent a chill down your spine, and it didn’t help that Wayne was standing so close. It was a short walk and once you had gotten to the car door you turned around to face the man once more. “Thanks for the walk to my car. Very gentlemanly of you.”

“Yeah, well, never know when a degen’s around,” he stated, glancing around a bit, “So, uh, could I, uh, get your number.” He still wasn’t looking you in the eye. Your face flushed and a smile split across your face.

“Yeah, yeah of course,” you stuttered a bit, “gimme your phone, I’ll put it in.”

He pulled out his phone and handed it to you, contact creator open. You typed in your number and texted yourself, handing the phone back to him.

“Feel free to text me if you need any help choring. If it’s the weekend that is.” you smiled and got into your car. You waved at the man and pulled out of the spot, driving home.

He looked down at the conversation on his phone, the name at the top reading “Y/N ;))”. He knew he was going to take you up on your offer.

[gabessquishytum]

I only seem to write you here when I’m incoherently tired so sorry in advance.

Im thinking about the wonder that hob and dream look on the world with together. Mr “they invented chimneys” and mr “I’ve never been a human and was locked in a fishbowl for the largest boom of human technical innovation” find joy in /everything/. Running water?? That’s hot?? Every type of food from the whole world available in a ten minute walk??? The fucking internet???? You can call a helpline if you’re sad??? Super tall buildings??? Making tea together every morning and there’s so many kinds? They wake up on different brightly colored sheets each day because dye is no longer as expensive as gold. Dream takes the tube so much he becomes a local cryptid. They stand and hold hands in the national portrait gallery. They watch every rocket launch livestream, no matter what time. They look on Hobs young students with joy. There’s new kinds of bread to eat, new shows opening. New languages to learn (for hob at least) new technology to break with his presence (for dream). There’s cat cafes and science museums and tesco and so many books coming out every day. They love the world together

-🦐

Oh I'm so soft about them!!

I'm convinced that sometimes Hob just has to go lie down on the floor and have a little cry over the sheer availability of THINGS. Abundance is the ultimate joy for any hedonist, let alone one who's been around since 1389. Imagine the delight he takes in Poundland, in international food buffets, in public transportation!! I'm fully convinced that one of Hob’s greatest love affairs is with the London Underground. It's there, under your feet! All the time! You can travel to the other side of town (not necessarily quickly, but it's quicker than walking... sometimes).

Mr Depression Personified, freshly unfishbowled Dream of the Endless, is gonna seem like he just took a fat dose of Duloxetine every time he hangs out with Hob. The joy is bone deep, and so infectious. Watching Hobplay Just Dance at 3am because he just remembered that he owns a Wii genuinely heals some part of Dream that shattered long, long ago.

Imagine what it's like for Hob, as well. Spending time with someone who knows that he's actually a medieval peasant who's lived well past his sell-by date. He gets to be honest in his excitement for things like ibuprofen and chocolate flavoured vodka. He can go to museums with Dream, and Dream will understand why he gets that distant misty look in his eyes when he sees a certain familiar object.

Other people can stare or laugh at Hob’s joy, but Dream will never do that. Its never silly or funny to see Hob rave about some entirely ordinary object, it's just. Important. And quite beautiful. For Dream, it's possibly the most beautiful thing in the world.

[oldwritingm]

Congrats on the four hundred followers. When this open can I get one for Mercy by Shawn Mendes and Fem reader with Lloyd. Thank you

Loved the vibes for this one!! :D

Word count: 1.1k

Ninjago - Mercy (Lloyd) (400 follower event)

The sunset’s angry hues were giving in to the calmer shades of night on the horizon, the sun’s fervent flames being doused in the blue ocean that seemed to stretch on into infinity. You blinked slowly, giving your eyes a rest from the intense view.

Keeping your eyes closed for a second, you listened to the waves crashing on the rocks below. From up high on the cliffside it was a soft hiss, but you knew that down there it was a deafening roar of water.

“Hear that?” You smiled, opening your eyes to glance at the blonde boy sitting beside you.

“Yeah,” he said, his gaze dropping from the horizon to his feet extended out in front of him. He was clearly thinking about something deep. Not wanting to disturb him again, you just turned back to the sunset.

Your fingers brushed through the grass, appreciating the coolness that was settling in as the light faded.

You didn’t notice, but as you moved your hands they brushed gently against Lloyd’s balled fists, which contracted even tighter at your touch.

Lloyd’s lips were pressed into a firm line. Here you were, languid and lethargic as a cloud beside him, while he was tighter than petrified wood. He always got like this when he was this close to you; his entire body would tense up, and he’d send frequent shy glances in your direction. He could never decide if he was grateful for the way you never seemed to take notice.

There were a lot of things you didn’t notice. The way he’d stare at you when you talked, the longing glances he’d send when you were across the room, the way his voice changed ever so subtly when he was talking about you… you were aloof, indifferent to it all.

And worse were the things you did, again, without notice. You’d grab his hand, pull him close, hug him, tell him how handsome he was, how brave, how kind. You’d tell him how important he was to you. You’d tell him he was your favorite.

It wasn’t that you seemed insincere; no, you were more genuine than anyone Lloyd had ever met. But that was part of the problem. How could you be so real, yet not feel something more profound around him, like he did around you?

He forced his clenched jaw to relax. It’s not like you did this on purpose, he reminded himself. Maybe it’s just me getting too attached, he lamented.

And then you said it.

“This is the type of sunset you’ve gotta share with someone special.”

And then you did it.

You smiled. The way your lips curved told him that there could be nothing more real, more special than what was between you two. But what was that?

“I can’t do this anymore, Y/n!”

You blinked, your smile dropping. For a moment Lloyd was sad to see it go, but he shook his head in frustration and the feeling was gone.

“I know you don’t do it on purpose, but… can’t you see what you do to me?”

“What do I do to you?” You looked concerned.

“You—!” Lloyd gesticulated vaguely, not quite sure what he was doing himself. He threw his hands up with a sigh, giving up on his hands and trying words again.

“When I’m around you, my heart beats so fast. Your smile makes me feel like I’m rocketing up into the sky. Your voice is my favorite sound. Sometimes I just sit there wishing you’d tell me to do something, anything, so that I can feel like I’m doing something for you, too. Because you’re always the highlight of my day. The days I don’t see you are almost unbearable.”

He ran a hand through his hair, bringing his knees to his chest and keeping his gaze directed downwards.

“I just… I’m like your puppet. You’ve got this grasp on me. I’d do anything for you. I’d sacrifice my life for you; I’d do it twice!”

You were just watching him, eyes wide, lips parted in a shocked expression. You wanted to speak, but there were no words.

“And the worst of it is… you don’t even know that you do this to me.” His voice dropped to a miserable whisper as he said: “You don’t even feel the same.”

“Lloyd,” you said at last. It didn’t come out pitifully. Nor did it come out angrily. It was a command for his attention, and you got it straight away. You felt a strange pang of guilt as his pained eyes snapped over to you; was this really the effect you had on him?

You almost reached to hold his hands as you spoke, but you decided that this was a bad idea. Instead you just balled your fists and put them at your sides as you turned to face him.

“Lloyd… I’m able to be so affectionate towards you because that’s really how I feel. Affectionate, I mean. I… I love you! With my whole heart! I get this thrill whenever I’m able to give you a compliment or hold your hand—that’s why I do it. I guess I just never considered that you might feel the same. I’m so sorry, that must’ve been torture for you.”

“For me? What about you? You didn’t think I felt the same,” Lloyd blinked, eyebrows coming together in puzzlement.

You looked away bashfully. “Yeah, it hurt whenever you looked away all embarrassed or laughed awkwardly at me. But… I guess I misinterpreted it?”

A smile gradually curved Lloyd’s lips, and laughter began to bubble from his mouth. It became more and more intense, and you felt compelled to laugh, too.

“Are we both idiots?” Lloyd managed, wiping a tear from his eye.

“Idiots in pain. And for no reason, apparently.”

Your mouths both closed at last, the laughter leaving grins on both your lips. You stared at each other with looks of relief, of admiration, and for the first time you finally saw the affection you had for each other reflected in the others’ eyes.

And suddenly your lips were connected, and your hand was on top of Lloyd’s. His free hand held the back of your head gently, fingers subtly shifting as he felt your hair.

When you pulled apart, your foreheads came to rest against each other. You were both looking down at your hands; your thumb brushing Lloyd’s knuckles, Lloyd’s fist finally having relaxed.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“You have no idea how good it is to hear that.”

You giggled. “I could say the exact same thing.”

Thank you so much for taking part in our event!! And thanks for reading, take care loves <33

(divider by saradika)

[eunchancorner]

The Truth Behind 'Loyalty' (TTT)

Sven is a little shit. Henry hates leading. Carol's a good friend. That's all you need to know :3c

-

“Sven, please, have a seat,” Henry greeted the Head of Finances coldly, motioning to the chair across from his desk. Behind his own seat, Carol stood guard, her eyes trained on the blonde and her expression one of thinly-veiled anger. Silently, Sven sat, keeping his face calm and neutral.

“Why have I been called up, exactly? I’m assuming to discuss the finances over the canceled rocket project,” he guessed, resting his head in one hand, crossing his legs idly.

“Actually, Sven, this is a lot more serious,” Henry explained, “We have reason to believe you were aware of the traitor’s plot to kill me. Do you have anything to say to that?”

Sven froze. It was clear this wasn’t what he was expecting, making Henry think that he genuinely did believe he was just in here to talk finances. It also made Henry suspicious of him.

“What… gives you that idea…?” the blonde asked cautiously, straightening into a more tense position in his seat.

“We received an anonymous tip that you were complicit in the plot of my overthrow. You also seemed to be keeping well in contact with the traitor while I was in the Wall. Now, given the traitor’s identity, that, alone, isn’t evidence enough. What’s interesting, though, is the identity of the person who tipped us off. However, for their own safety, they’re going to remain anonymous.”

“I…” the blonde trailed off. His eyes were wide, he looked nervous, caught up in his own lies. It was clear as day to Henry that he’d obviously been colluding with Reginald the whole time. He just wanted to hear him admit it. 

After he was silent for too long, Henry began to grow impatient.

“Sven,” Henry warned, “If you don’t give me a clear answer on whether or not you helped the traitor, then not only will you be demoted, but you will be stripped of your Toppat status completely and locked in the brig, understood?”

“So hurry up and answer, shark boy,” Carol snarled in addition.

“Fine,” he conceded, “I knew what Pa and Dad were doing. And yes, I helped them. Pa’s a better leader than you and you know it. You don’t deserve this position.”

“And you don’t deserve to be a Toppat if you’re going to keep talking like that,” Carol warned, stepping forward before Henry stopped her.

“Sven, I was going to be nice about punishing you before you decided to use your admission of guilt to insult me,” Henry told him as he stood, “But that was completely uncalled for. Come with me to communications, I want you to hear the announcement I’m about to make personally.”

Henry led the way to the door, watching as Sven stood and followed, tailed by Carol, who kept a close eye on the blonde and a hand on the pistol holstered at her hip. The trio walked to the communications room, earning the confused and concerned gazes of several Toppats. Unluckily enough for Sven, two of those just so happened to be Reginald and his Right Hand Man, both of whom looked like they knew what was going on.

As they reached the room, Carol motioned for Sven to sit in a chair in the corner, while Henry walked up to the microphone that went to the PA system. He cleared his throat, and with a click of the button, began his announcement.

“Attention all Toppats, we have once again found a traitor in our midst. However, since this one was on the rocket when I made the original warning announcement, I won’t fault him for not stepping forward sooner. This being said, I will not award him the same anonymity I did his ‘partner in crime.’ Sven Svensson is being demoted from Head of Finances and his VIP status in the clan, effective immediately, for plotting with the traitor to kill me and take over. He is also being given restroom cleanup duty for one week for being a little shit while admitting this. I will warn you all again, now that the rocket crew has returned home; If any of you are also colluding with the traitors, come visit me in communications immediately, so proper punishment can be given. Failure to do so will result in being stripped of your Toppat status and imprisonment in the brig. Remember we do not take threats like this lightly. Thank you, and as always, keep your eyes up and your ears open.”

Henry turned to the blonde, who looked about ready to attack him. As a matter of fact, he made an attempt to do so, standing and running at Henry only to be caught by the back of his shirt by Carol.

“You prick! You can’t do this! I’ve been nothing but a loyal Toppat from the day I joined!” he roared, tears pricking his eyes as he attempted to swing at the leader, who stood just a few feet away.

“‘Loyal’ Toppats don’t plot to kill people just because they hate the power they have. You’re not loyal to the Toppats, you’re only loyal to your father. And as admirable as that is, it’s the worst argument you could possibly make right now…” Henry began walking towards the blonde, who’s movements seemed to slow as he drew closer. Finally, he stopped, towering over him. 

“So I’d advise you go take care of your new duty, before I decide to be less merciful with your punishment. Understood?”

“Yes… sir…” the blonde nearly squeaked, before being released with a shove towards the door. Henry watched closely as he stepped out and the door slid closed behind him.

He sighed, letting his tough demeanor fall away as the guilt weighed on his shoulders, putting his head in his hands.

“I hate being so mean to people… Is this really what I have to do for people to take me seriously?” he asked, glancing at Carol, who let out a sigh of her own.

“Unfortunately,” she told him, “They respond best to aggression… Actually, most of them only respond to aggression… It’s how they know you’re actually serious.”

“I just…” he trailed off, before sitting in the same chair Sven had been in, crossing his arms. “I just wish it didn’t have to be like this… Oh, and, uh… I guess you know who the traitor is now…”

“I… kind of… already… knew…” she admitted awkwardly, earning a shocked stare from Henry, so she elaborated. “You told me when you were drunk, though you probably don’t remember…”

“... Fuck…” he mumbled, putting his head in his hands once again.

“It’s alright, I haven’t told anyone,” she assured him, “Everything you said is staying between me and you. Even if I… really think people should know, just so they know not to let him sway them. He has a way with people, y’know…”

“I know, but… I don’t want to ruin his life the same way I had to for Sven… I’ve… I’ve done enough damage to it already…”

He was referring to what he’d done to Right Hand Man. He knew personally how it felt to have someone he loved be so hurt, not knowing if they’d make it out or not, and yet he still did it again. But Carol would never know that, not in this lifetime. All she’s ever known was Henry felt guilty. That’s all she needed to know, anyway.

“I know… and I know I can’t sway you on this, so I’m not going to try… Just know I’ll be keeping an especially close eye on him. It’s my job to keep you safe, after all,” she told him.

“Yeah… and it’s… Just… thanks…” he managed, finding it hard to work up something to say. He was a little overwhelmed by the combination of everything that had happened, and everything he’d remembered.

He felt her gently pat his back, prompting him to look up at her, before sitting up.

“Right, yeah… sorry you have to keep seeing me like this… I’ve been pretty emotional lately, huh…?” he asked, taking a deep breath.

“If anything, I’m just glad you feel safe enough to be like this around me,” she assured him. “Remember, Henry, I’m not just your Right Hand, I’m your friend… and frankly with everything being so terrifying, I’m glad you can be like this around anyone. And I’m proud to be that person.”

He managed a small smile as she helped him up from the chair.

“And I want you to remember something Henry, since it seems like damn near no one’s told you this in a long time,” she said, patting his shoulder. “Despite your mistakes, I’m proud of you, and I think you’re a really good leader.”

God, you never realize how much you need to hear something until you hear it, he realized, feeling like he was about to cry. He had to keep himself from hugging her immediately, instead trying to ask.

“I- can- can I- I-” he stammered, earning a small chuckle from her as he struggled to string the question together. 

“I know. You want to hug me. And I’m going to let you just because you need it, okay? Don’t make it a habit,” she warned lightheartedly, opening her arms and letting him hug her tightly, patting his back as she hugged back.

“Thank you… so much…” he managed, pulling away after a few seconds and wiping away the tears that had escaped him.

“You’re welcome, chief. Now, c’mon, let’s get back to the office.”

[skeefee-sky]

'Sentience ain't all fun and games...'

@thunder-tober Day prompt: 10 - Speed Characters: Alan Tracy, Thunderbird Three Word count: 570

Hhhhhhhhh, I hate how much I struggled to write this one >w< but! Of course, not all stories are going to be easy to write – such is the life of a creative writer <w< I’ve also based this like, early season 1 so, Alan’s a lil bit inexperienced and brash; don’t mind him >w> Alan persuades his brothers to use Thunderbird Three for a ground-mission… which doesn’t go exactly as planned.

💙❤️ TB ~~~ TB ~~~ TB ~~~ TB ~~~ TB ~~~ TB ~~~ TB ~~~ TB ❤️💙

“I can’t believe you thought that was a good idea… How did they even let you think it was a good idea?!”

Alan opened his mouth to reply, but his words were lost on his tongue. He’d come back down to the hangar to check in with his ship, half expecting a few words of discouragement from him, but Thunderbird Three sounded genuinely upset with him. He did have a sprained wrist to answer for it…

The Thunderbird let out a quiet huff through his vents. “I know I haven’t been sentient very long, and yes, it’s cool and all but... Trying to get to the danger zone before Thunderbird One is, not an excuse to test out what I can do.”

“I just wanted to help…” the astronaut murmured, finally finding a chance to say something. He felt so small tucked against his Thunderbird’s thruster, but it was the only way they could hear each other, without the youngest Tracy having to climb back into the cockpit. The upside was, it was still warm from them being out on a rescue… A sigh drawled from the Thunderbird’s systems.

“I know… Sorry… I’ll admit, I want to test my new limits now too but, we can’t do that at every opportunity,” he explained, rocking the slightest on his refuelling pad to make sure the locks clicked into place. Their little test drive had used up half of his fuel reserves, and he didn’t want to risk being half-empty if they were called out again. “If a rescue calls for speed, or heavy lifting, we already have two Thunderbirds perfectly capable of that. I was built for space missions...”

Alan knew that. Scott had reminded him of it too. He’d just thought, now with his Thunderbird’s sentience, they could be a little bit more useful on missions… Of course, yes, there was the fact his craft was a spacecraft… He tilted his head back, blue eyes trailing up the side of his Thunderbird as he nursed his wrist to his middle.

“… Wasn’t it just a little bit cool to tow that cargo ship though?”

“No.” Thunderbird Three had been rather abrupt with his answer, and there was no way he was admitting out loud that actually, yes, it was a bit cool. The nosedive he’d taken into the water hadn’t been… “We were going too fast for it to be considered safe anyway.”

“Since when have you ever worried about that?” Alan snorted; the craft not being able to tell if he was humoured or annoyed. “You’re always breaking your own rules, Three!”

“When we’re in space…” the rocket grumbled. It wasn’t just their speed he’d been concerned about… His manoeuvrability had been rather shoddy too, and while yes he was fast, he was a lot bigger than Thunderbird One… His pilot could have come away with a lot worse than a sprained wrist had his nosedive not been as controlled as he’d made it… “You know, you worry me sometimes, captain…”

“Makes sense. I’m still ‘just a kid’ after all…”

“That’s not what I-…”

Thunderbird Three quietened when he no longer felt the small of his pilot against his frame, settling a little straighter on his refuelling pad. Had he been too harsh…? He was still trying to figure out everything that came with being sentient… Maybe he should ask for pointers from his pilot’s older brothers at some point…

[alotofpockets]

Coming out | Yelena Belova

Pairing: Yelena Belova x Reader

Summary: Yelena comes out as ace to her best friend. Based on Legends of Tomorrow's episode 7x10.

Warnings: alcohol consumption, and coming out.

A/n: This is a repost from an old account.

Masterlist | Marvel masterlist | Words: 720

After a long mission the team finds their way to a bar. At first the group sits down for a quick bite to eat all together talking about the mission together. It had been a while since they had all worked together on the same mission, so it was nice to close out the night like this. 

When the drinks were added to the equation, the team split into smaller groups. Bucky challenged Tony to a game of darts, Natasha, Wanda and Pietro found a quiet corner and continued their conversation. Kate and Peter were poking fun at Steve and Clint, the older of the four didn’t seem to go for any of their antics, though it was hilarious to look at still. The rest of the team was scattered all around the establishment. You and Yelena had taken a seat at the bar, as suggested by the Russian, this way she would be as close to the drinks as possible. She loved her alcohol, especially her vodka, which she was throwing back shots of as you speak. 

You were both looking around the room, appreciating the group of people around you. The people that had become your found family over the years. After some more looking around you decided to play a game. “Okay, enough looking at our friends, let’s play a game.” You opted. Yelena turned your way, ready for whatever you were going to throw her way. That’s one of the reasons the two of you were best friends. You worked together so well because the both of you were always up for whatever the other person had in mind. “Fuck, marry, kill out of Bucky, Cap and Tony?” 

Yelena narrowed her eyes at your question. “Ehm I’m not really into any of them.” You were quick to fall into your next question. “Okay, copy. How about Kate, Wanda and Valkyrie?” Again Yelena’s face filled with a questioning look. “Actually, not really into any of them either.” She sighed. “Also copy.” You said to reassure her that her feelings or lack thereof were okay. “What is your type then?” You ask, genuinely interested. You wonder why neither one of you had really talked about the topic before, but you left it at the work that you do and how quickly you had been thrown into a mission together, giving your friendship a rocket start, skipping the small talk. 

“I don’t really get those types of feelings for anyone. Maybe it’s one of those things that the Red Room took away from me, with the brainwashing, controlling, and what not.” Yelena looks down at her hands that she has folded in her lap. “Hey, no no no, what you’re describing is totally normal.” You quickly reassure her, placing your hand on her shoulder. “It just means that maybe you are ace, asexual. People who identify as ace have little to no interest in sex, but many of them still want to be in relationships.” You explain to the best of your abilities, knowing you’re not an expert on the matter. 

Yelena’s eyes light up at the words you speak. “Oh, I guess that makes me ace then.” She says with a content look on her face, like a whole world of possibilities just opened up to her. It was amazing to see your best friend realize that what they’re feeling isn’t something they’re alone in. If it has a name, other people must be experiencing similar feelings. 

You give her a moment to let it all sink in before asking, “Did you just come out to me?” Yelena laughs and looks at you with a big smile on her face, “I think so.” You lean in to give her a sideways hug. “Okay, copy.” You say with a wink. “Haha without jokes, I am very proud of you, and you know that I will love you no matter what, right?” She nods, “Right back at you.”

“Excuse me, can we get two more of these?” You ask the bartender. When he puts the drinks down in front of you, you thank him before raising your class towards Yelena. “A toast to you, and to figuring out who you are.” Yelena clinks her glass with yours and you each take a sip, enjoying the rest of the night with the team.

💗 If you enjoyed this fic, please consider leaving a tip 💗

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Lois Einhorn/Ray Finkle

(WARNING! This analysis contains LETHAL LEVELS OF TRANSPHOBIA! Literally what the FUCK!)

I have wanted to review Ace Ventura for a long, long time. I mean, this was part of Jim Carrey’s break into the big time alongside Dumb & Dumber and The Mask, two films I wouldn’t hesitate to call comedy classics. But then there’s Ace Ventura, a film many would say sits alongside those… and to a degree, it does. The titular character may be one of the funniest and most awesome film protagonists ever made, and for the most part it is a genuinely funny comedic mystery.

But then comes the twist.

The villain of the film is revealed to be Lois Einhorn, a cop that Ace had been working with. But that’s not actually the real twist. No, the real twist is that Einhorn is disgraced football player Ray Finkle… and thus, a man. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the problem here.

Finkle/Einhorn has long been considered one of the most transphobic characters in 90s media, and it is genuinely hard to disagree. But is there anything of value to them? Is this character really as bad as people say? Well, I’m going to tell you how I feel, though two things need to be kept in mind. First, I’m a cis guy. I am going to be upfront and say I agree this character is horribly problematic, but I definitely recommend seeking out what actual trans people have to say about Finkle as well (this video’s a good place to start). Second, I’m going to be using “They/Them” pronouns for Finkle. I’m doing this mainly because the movie is wildly unclear about how they view their own gender identity, and it’s actually unclear if they’re actually trans or just so insane they’ve gone to the biggest extremes to disguise themselves as a woman for their vengeance since, you know, the movie doesn’t particularly care about their gender identity beyond it being a vehicle for mockery.

Now, let’s go ahead and open this big ol’ can of worms...

Motivation/Goals: Finkle’s motivation is where they really shine, because it’s genuinely insane and amazing. They ended up being shunned by society and disgraced after a screw up that cost the Miami Dolphins the Super Bowl, and went completely insane from the derision. This led to them concocting an absurdly complicated plan that involved the kidnapping of the team’s mascot, rising through the ranks of the police department, and assuming the name of a dead hiker, all to kidnap and kill their former teammate Dan Marino for his role in their fumble. It’s so brilliantly batshit!

Oh, and they decide to unndergo a sex change as part of this scheme. It’s done as tastefully as you can imagine a 90s comedy would do.

Performance: Blade Runner’s Sean Young plays Finkle-as-Einhorn (and even portrays Finkle in a photograph back when they were a man). Whatever problems this character has, I don’t think it’s completely fair to blame them on Young; she does a relatively good job playing a comedic femme fatale villain when it comes right down to it. If the writing were better, this could easily be a career highlight for her. Alas, that’s not the world we live in.

Final Fate: They get arrested. I guess it’s better than them getting killed? They were in a room full of cops, it was the early 90s, and they are presenting as a woman while being assigned male at birth. It is genuinely a miracle that the worst thing that happened to them is that they were sexually harassed by Jim Carrey.

Evilness: This is the tricky one. On the one hand, Finkle has quite a list of genuine crimes under their belt: Murder, kidnapping, attempted murder, animal abuse… They might also be responsible for the death of the original Lois Einhorn, but it’s extremely ambiguous and I’m not going to hold it against them. On the other hand, Finkle’s downfall and subsequent shunning by their own hometown to the point their life was destroyed and they were driven insane is so over-the-top in how cruel it is that it’s kind of hard not to feel a little bit of sympathy for them. Like hell, I think I’d go batshit insane too ifI got treated like that for a mistake that was out of my hands! The narrative is trying to say they should score a 4 or even 5, but I think they’re more around a 3, a tragic villain who was driven to madness. It’s certainly a high three because it’s hard to excuse some of their worse actions, but I’m feeling a little more lenient towards them than the movie is.

Worst Scene: The big gender reveal at the end, of course.

Let’s ignore that dolphins have been observed having gay sex before. Let’s also ignore there is a non-zero chance that someone on the police force isn’t totally straight; there was a cop in the Village People for a reason, after all. Setting all that aside, this just isn’t fucking funny. It’s just a tasteless, bottom-of-the-barrel gag cranked up to eleven. I know the 90s weren’t the most enlightened years, but this is still excessive, especially since this is the gag the entire movie’s central mystery builds up to.

Final Thoughts & Score: There is so much to unpack here. Like, unbelievable amounts. This is a villain in a fucking detective comedy film, this really shouldn’t have to be so goddamn hard to talk about!

This character is just so stuffed full of offensive stereotypes that there is genuinely no charitable read for them. Looking at what the film is laying out for you, we have a man who has gone to insane lengths to disguise themselves as a woman for their revenge scheme, the sort of lengths that are usually reserved for people who are actually trans. So this isn’t even straightforward transphobia, it’s invoking the “trap” stereotype. For those of you blessed with ignorance, the “trap” is a nasty stereotype of trans woman that essentially believes they are a man disguised as a woman looking to rape unsuspecting men. It’s a pretty vile term that was and still is pretty popular among the coomer crowd, so yeah, not a good look when your character is what 4channers were calling Bridget Guilty Gear for years.

But hey, maybe the transphobia is just accidental! Even the director has said the intended joke with stuff like Ace barfing after discovering the truth is meant to be a dig at how fragile his masculinity really is if he falls to pieces over something like kissing a man! So instead of transphobia, the joke is… homophobia! Yay? This excuse doesn’t even hold water when the entire police force and the fucking dolphin barf at the big reveal too.

All of this is bad enough, but here’s the kicker: Aside from that massive, glaring flaw, Finkle is actually a genuinely good villain for a story like this. Their plan is insane and convoluted, perfectly fitting into a comedic narrative, but they’re also a genuinely threatening villain when they need to be. But this just makes it all the worse, because they took this good idea, wrapped it up in the sort of shit Joanne Rowling writes for her crappy detective novels, and then made it the punchline the whole movie builds up to.

If it weren’t for the exaggerated 90s bigotry the character is steeped in, I think they’d be a really solid bad guy who would likely deserve a score at least as high as Buffalo Bill got. But the existence of the novel that elaborates on Bill’s whole deal, the (admittedly minor) efforts of the movie to deny Bill is trans and is merely insane and delusional, and the fact he is played entirely seriously and is not the butt of jokes make him far more defensible than Finkle is.

I don’t think there’s ever been a twist villain that so thoroughly decimates the quality of the film they’re in. Bellwether didn’t ruin Zootopia, Hans didn’t ruin Frozen, and Roy Burns didn’t ruin Friday the 13th: A New Beginning. But Finkle? They fucking tank Ace Ventura, and it didn’t have to be this way. There are plenty of ways to have a character pretend to be a woman and have it be tasteful and funny; Bugs Bunny is a queer icon for a reason, and movies like Some Like It Hot and Mrs. Doubtfire, while obviously not perfect, manage to be a lot more tasteful in their jokes. But here, they just aim right for the bottom of the barrel.

With how times have changed, I think it’s genuinely easy to read them as a sympathetic character, provided you can look past the murder and homicidal revenge of course (something easy to do when you remember what caused them to snap). When the movie is doing all it can to demonize and humiliate them for not conforming to gender norms as opposed to ridiculing them for the sheer absurd lengths they’re going to for revenge or the fact they literally fucking killed someone, it’s hard not to take their side. The narrative is already against them for the stupidest reasons, so why dogpile them? You go, girl! You can have a little murder and kidnapping, as a treat.

I’ve gotta give them a 0.5/10. And that .5 is pretty much only because aside from the horrible twist, they’re honestly not a bad villain and there’s actually a lot of great foreshadowing that they’re behind the dolphin kidnapping. It really is just the gender reveal thing that not only completely ruins the character, but torpedoes the movie too. Ace Ventura is probably one of the best characters ever, and one of Carrey’s best performances alongside Truman and Robotnik, but he’s stuck debuting in a film where the big joke is “queers are fucking freaks lmao.” What a sick joke.

[medichamcham]

thinking of some fucked up interaction between rose and gio where a 3rd party threatens rose's life and giovanni saves him and rose makes a comment like "I must be more useful than youve let on" and giovanni says No. there are plenty more useful idiots around if anything happened to you. and rose is like ":/ ok so what am I to you then?" and gio is like . . . [takes way too fucking long to answer if at all because he cant admit he cares about him]

What would one call divine intervention, if the divine were not so?

Rose is at the edge of the bathtub, first-aid kit in hand, watching Giovanni patch himself up near the sink.

…Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, the breathing embodiment of evil, as wicked and calculating as they come.

He's cleaning up his wounds, hissing when he wipes his bleeding skin with alcohol. He requests more bandages.

…Giovanni, the thief who stole Rose from death’s cold hands.

Rose picks out a small box, containing a roll of bandages, handing it over to him.

“...Any way I can help?” He asks. “It's the least I can do.”

“No need,” Giovanni replies absently, eyes concentrating on wrapping the bandages over his knuckles. “In fact, I don't see the purpose of you sitting here and staring at me.”

Giovanni breaks character, and he cracks a cheeky smirk, glancing back towards Rose.

Rose laughs somewhat sheepishly, not realising his gawking. He reaches up to twirl his curl of hair around a finger.

“Well, I’m sorry for being attentive to your needs,” he quips, tipping his head to the side, brow raised. “Should I return to the living room and take your act of kindness for granted?”

Giovanni can't help but snort, ears perking when he hears a word most unfamiliar.

Kindness.

“You have a knack for the hyperbolic,” he huffs, although his grin shows his jest. “It’d hardly do us any favours if those fools slashed your throat and left you for dead.”

Rose remembers the few hours before. Found by masked strangers whilst wandering home, brandishing knives and baseball bats, crudely embellished with nails.

At the wrong place, at the wrong time, to put it simply. An uglier side of Galar, which Rose feels no pride for.

With nowhere to go, his trusty Pokémon recovering from a sparring match, and physically outnumbered… What could he have possibly done on his own?

Rose’s heart sinks at the thought, pulling him back to the present, and his fingers reach up to trace across his throat.

If it weren't for him, his story would surely have ended right there and then, gruesomely so.

“Giovanni, you must be misunderstanding me,” Rose tells him in a less joking manner. “I saw you fighting those men alone; I saw you getting hurt when all I could do was stand by and watch, because I’m obviously not cut out for such work! And when one of them pulled a bloody pistol on me…”

He trails off, his heartbeat quickening when he recalls the sheer terror enveloping him at that very moment.

“You saved my life, you know,” Rose adds, quietly. “And there's no hyperbole to that statement. So, I insist.”

Giovanni slows his movements to a halt whilst hearing Rose speak, halfway in wrapping up his scarred hands.

The warmth, the gratitude, the honesty. It's not often he’d be on the receiving end of such genuine admiration… aside from his own organisation, of course.

It makes something stir within the decrepit void where his heart is supposed to be.

…Well, nearly.

Rose's words sink in. And Giovanni comments with a sarcastic huff.

“A most inspiring speech, Mr. President,” Giovanni muses, returning to covering up his wounds. “Ever considered politics?”

Rose rolls his eyes, grumbling to himself.

“Arsehole…”

He supposes that two can play at that game, and he crosses his arms with a smug twinkle in his eye.

“Alright, then why did you even bother going through all that trouble in the first place?” He argues. “To me, it sounds like I must be more useful than you’ve let on so far.”

Giovanni barks a laugh, his wide smile making him appear nearly deranged for a split moment. A sardonic part of him takes great joy out of Rose's innocence.

“Hah!” He grins. “What makes you think you're indispensable? Simply because I didn't let those idiots beat you to death?”

Rose's shoulders sag, flipping from prideful to bemused. He doesn't answer straight away, the brief silence pressing under the weight of apprehension.

“Maybe so,” Rose chuckles, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. “I mean… you're always up to something. You're not the type to do things unprompted.”

His teeth sink into his lip, tentatively, for another moment. While he talks, his leg unconsciously starts bouncing as a way to ease his nerves.

“If I’m so useless to you,” Rose says, slowly, thinking his words through. “What’s my purpose, then?”

Giovanni doesn't respond, not sparing a glance, his concentration on his wounds creating a sense of distance between the two.

Rose won't make him walk away, however.

“Am I wasting your time?”

The last thing Rose wants is to have no meaning to his presence. They're busy men, something the both of them understand. Time is a limited resource.

Giovanni falters for a moment, grimacing when his mind draws a blank. A rare occurrence.

Rose is a decent business partner, sure. But he's right in saying he didn't need to stick his head out for him, especially considering the risk he poses to exposing himself. It's something he didn't expect to do at that moment, either.

“No,” He sighs, frank in his tone. “You don't waste my time, Rose. That's not what I’m saying.”

He’s nothing like him. He's idealistic, naïve, aimless. Downright pisses him off, on occasion. 

Yet his charm has come to smooth out those edges. Rose is considerate to a fault and, unlike countless others, he understands his business practices. Tries his best to see him for who he is, rather than the monolith of Team Rocket.

And perhaps that makes Giovanni want to look out for him. He's a selfish bastard, sure, but he’s been taught to appreciate what he's given. 

It's common sense that, should you want to keep receiving the goods … you better keep the distributor happy.

…Or safe, at least.

But Giovanni doesn't feel like letting him know. Not yet. Partially because he's getting rather annoyed by Rose’s badgering now.

Simultaneously, he both enjoys and loathes his relentless persistence.

“So what are you saying, then?” Rose presses. “Am I not allowed some clarity?”

Giovanni groans and lowers his bandages, unable to focus.

“Okay, next time you're hanging off a cliff, should I just let you fall?”

“Ah? No, no!" Rose blurts. "Of course not! But—”

Giovanni raises his hand in a beckoning gesture, snarky in his disposition.

“Then quit overthinking it,” he orders him with a toothy smirk. He comes closer to Rose by a few steps, standing over and peers down, maintaining an air of authority by keeping his head lifted.

“If you're so concerned over being useful, then hand me the medical tape, Mr. President.”

Rose opens his mouth again to talk back, but ultimately relents. He begrudgingly does what he asks of him, sitting back and basking in his dissatisfaction.

[aliasrocket]

Re: your Rocket x fox/fox hybrid reader post

I've never written that specifically, so I can't speak for anyone who has, but as someone in the process of writing a fic where Rocket is paired up with an alien that has a mixture of animal characteristics, I personally gave the character those to make them a little more exciting and alien. I still love reading about people's gotg stories and characters/readers portrayed as human or human adjacent, no hate to them, but my personal thought process was, there's a whole galaxy to explore, why not give the character readers are inserting themselves into some inhuman ability or characteristic while keeping their personality as something you could still find in an everyday person.

I mean, as much as I love our collective angsty babygirl, Rocket, a talking cybernetically enhanced raccoon is pretty fantastical. And myself as a Rocket angst enjoyer and having read and loved your therapy fic, I agree that lots of people are probably drawn to the relatability of his mental issues. So, in my opinion, it seems fun to play with a reader character in a similar vein of fantastical yet relatable.

Thanks for sending this ask in and to everyone who responded to that small post asking about the whole fox reader ideal. I got new perspectives that genuinely helped me understand why people enjoy it.

Actually this is something I’ve kinda wanted to talk about fro a while but never really had the means to. And hey, this blog has expressed a wide range of opinions regarding Rocket, so why not?

DISCLAIMER : I will still remind everyone that this is me just sharing MY opinion because I love talking to you guys and sharing our different perspectives. This is not a means to change people’s minds but more so to give a (probably) new perspective to this topic.

I have thought about that for a long time, how complicated reader inserts actually are. They seem like a very simple concept at first but when you’re in fanfic and you have to write a reader insert with a fixed story with a canon character, there important things to consider.

I’m creating headings as I go because I realized my points get rather elaborate and I want you guys to be able to read this post easier.

One. It’s not actually the reader.

The reason they’re called the reader is because you, you reading this, are reading the fic. Nevermind that there are others reading it too. It was made for you, because you came here to imagine being with this character you adore.

And it as much as it may suck, especially for Rocket enjoyers, we aren’t any other species but human. We don’t have wings, we aren’t born with powers or enhanced strength.

But that’s exactly what I love about reader inserts. Even if you are vastly different from the world you’re inserting yourself to, you find a way to insert yourself without having to change what you are. You don’t have to change yourself to be loved by your favorite cast of characters. That, in my opinion, is what fanfic is for.

(But character x nb/trans/male/female/queer/genderqueer/readers or anything of the sort are NOT included in this topic because some of us are actually one of the above, where as none of us are alien/foxes/animals. Probably.)

So, I can’t imagine myself making fox reader fics or even making reader insert fics where the reader is from some other planet because that is no longer me. (I understand that even if the reader is human it technically still isn’t me but we’ll get to that in point two.)

I believe my mindset on this is also influenced by the fact that I want to be a published author later on in my life and I think that if you want to explore other galaxies and other powers and abilities that other lifeforms can have, you can more comfortably do it by making an original character altogether.

my personal alternative : original characters.

Yes, there is stigma around it, but a lot of people have pulled this off well and surprisingly enough, I’m not gonna lie, a lot of the OCs people ship with Rocket are fairly well written. Even the designs are so well put together and blend it perfectly with the gotg universe!

Speaking from experience, it is much easier expanding on those explorations on a character you make rather than an insert because you can make the character your own. Self inserts have to be more general to be able to relate other readers. Yes, you are your own audience. But most of us publish fanfic. To some degree, we do cater to other people as well.

Two. Even then, it is distant.

Even when the reader is human, no amount of generalizing is going to take away the fact that this person probably isn’t like you, even when they are meant to be you.

What I mean by this is that majority of the time, the way the reader acts or thinks or speaks in the fic is probably not the way you would specifically. Some readers in fics are shy, but you could be someone who openly flirts with people you’re interested in. Some readers are sarcastic and blunt but you might prefer to spare people the trouble. You get my point.

This related back to point one in the sense that, writing a reader insert is already in itself distant enough and I think making them a different species is just going to make the reader in the fic even more distant from the actual person reading your fic. The same goes for giving the reader specific abilities or talents and what not.

Conclusion.

In any case, as mentioned previously I still see the appeal in writing readers in a fantastical way because that is also what fiction is for—exploration of the things we cannot normally explore in real life.

And anyway just because I think this way doesn’t mean I don’t read reader inserts like the ones you mentioned because there are a lot of those going around both on ao3 and on tumblr. It’s just a personal preference that I stick to when I write.

[luimagines]

Team Rocket Blasts Off at the Speed of Light

Part 9!!

Masterlist

First Chapter/ Previous Chapter/ Next Chapter

Hyrule had a fun time just flying around in some impromptu game of high stakes tag. After he went so long flying through Hyrule, following the fairy magic to find Sky (and Twilight), he thought that he could go a long time without flying again. But that was before they stuck him in a bottle. Now it’s as if flying was the freedom he didn’t know he craved.

He knows now that this was the fairy that he sensed earlier. Her magic was too unique, too potent, but still unmistakably fairy-like. Granted, the other magic person was similar in that regard but there was something… off about them.

This fairy in particular though, was enough for him to realize that there was more than meets the eyes. And he’s not talking about her appearance in general. 

Hyrule ducked and flew around the hideout, diving in and out of rooms and flying circles around the fairy. She kept screaming profanities at him. He didn’t exactly have the cleanest mouth on the planet but this little lady took it to a whole other level. He would laugh if he didn’t think that she would only have more reason to catch him and perform violence against his character.

Eventually, she got tired of following him around. Which worked for him because he was running on pure adrenaline at that point. Hyrule stopped and waited for her to find a small place to rest on. He could hear her panting and letting out breathy curses aimed in his general direction.

He bit his lip in a vain attempt to keep a straight face. “Now that you’re less murderous-”

“I haven’t even begun to be murder-”

“What kind of fairy are you?” Hyrule landed gently next to her, making sure to not get too close. At least not within swinging range.

She glares at him, hitting her fist against the box. She snaps to him, venom on her lips and daggers in her eyes. “That is none of your concern!”

Hyrule puts his hands up in mock surrender with an easy grin on his face. “Come on. I’ve been around enough fairies to know that you’re the run of the mill kind. It’s not like there’s anyone else here that’s going to hear it.”

“Of course I’m not “run of the mill!”  She huffs and crosses her arms. “I am powerful and strong and the best of my kind-”

“You can’t even heal.” Hyrule blurts, cutting her off. “That’s why you were so adamant on keeping me, right? You… Don’t have a lot of magic in general. I understand it now.”

She makes a choked sound and turns away from him, keeping her head high. “Well… That changes nothing. I am still the greatest and there’s nothing you can do about it. That’s why I called the Lesser Fairy to help out when I noticed the rifts-”

“A Lesser Fairy?” Hyrule tilts his head. “What does that make you then?”

“Shut up!” She snaps at him again, startling the poor boy. He didn’t think there was anything wrong with that genuine question. “Yes! The Lesser Fairy. There’s only two of them. They’re nowhere near the majesty of a Great Fairy that your people have even though they’re powerful in their own right. So I had to step in because they wouldn’t be anywhere near any action if you let them be and I had to tell them-”

“You tell them what to do?” Hyrule interrupts her again.

“Yes! Pay attention!” She bounces in her spot, glaring at him. Hyrule feels like his mind is scrambling to piece the bits of information together. She’s talking too fast with too many new things for him to keep up. “I’m in charge here and there’s nothing either of the other two can do about it. They wouldn’t have ever noticed the dark changes if I didn’t step in. Even if I’m stuck in this form, there’s still a lot I can do. So don’t cross me!”

Hyrule feels like he’s reeling. “This form?... Were you once a Great Fairy?”

She stops again. Her face slowly grows more red as the seconds pass and the silence grows. Hyrule isn’t sure if she’s embarrassed or pissed but he thinks he’s about to find out in a hot second.

He tries to ask one more question. “...How did you all meet then?”

“The Lesser One was called on by me anyway.” She jumps onto the change in topic without any hesitation. “They work with portals and other rifts between realms anyway. Pinky is their friend. I don’t know how they met and I don’t care. But she’s useful and the Lesser One listens better to her anyway, so I haven’t bothered kicking her out.”

Hyrule adjusts his position and swings his legs over the side of the box. He... doesn’t know what to think of that, but somewhere in between the lines, he can see that’s an aspect of respect in her words. Perhaps she just says it differently. It appears she had a lot of power at one point. He’s met other people like her. They don’t take well to being demoted for any reason- even less so giving the credit due to others.

He hums and takes a breath. His wings flutter slowly behind him as they rest, pumping softly in time with his heartbeat. He half expected her to try and kill him now. He must have tired her out too.

He leans over and smirks. “How powerful are you again?”

She grits her teeth. “Very.”

“Are looks correlated with power?”

“What kind of stupid ques- EHH?!?” She turns to him again, stunned if only for a moment.

Hyrule takes his shot and winks. “My name’s Link. But I’ve been going by Hyrule or The Traveler. Makes it easier that way. I don’t think I ever got your name.”

“And you never will!” She stands suddenly, huffing and puffing and red in the face.

Hyrule snorts. “We’ll see.”

[lotus-mirage]

[TriStamp liveblog]

Okay, episode 1!

Hmm alright so a lot of that was established in the first five minutes anyway.  Overall benefit for me, but a little funny.

“Noman’s Land” as a planet name is a little bit on the nose, lol

The expressions are really well done, wow.

Aaaand only one of the ‘corpses’ has primary colors, that’s also kind of funny

...creepy laughter was not the first thing I expected to hear from Vash, I will be honest.

why is the sequence of him being beaten up so long omg

are there non-lethal bullets in this world? isn’t Vash specified to be brought in alive? this seems poorly thought out.

...oh.  rocket launcher.  no kill like overkill I guess. alright.

Vash: actually I’m gonna take a moral stand here, this is dumb

JuLai officer: you wanna see dumb? I have a cluster bomb launcher and an itchy trigger finger

alright this is acknowledged as not being what they’re supposed to be doing! o7

this is an interesting slide between comedy to ethical debate back to comedy.

solidly back in comedy again, alright.

I can see why all of those compilation videos of just Vash making noises have enough material.  

Character moment is interesting and good set up! However, focusing on the bug-bird this much actively distracted me.  I want to know more about the bug-bird.  Please.

Ah. Maniacal laughter runs in the family, I see

Unhinged and over-the-top enough to loop back around to menacing.  Alright!!

...Piano now????? I thought that was definitely a later episode.  

Yeah there is absolutely not enough time for anything more than a teaser, okay.

...???? what kind of outfit is that.  Why is he wearing that.  Nevermind he’s goofy again.

Sit down while playing my guy that hurts to watch.  Dude.

Look I knew Knives’ name but genuinely I had to stop and laugh there again.  ohhhh my god that’s so goofy.

Okay that statue(?) above the piano is horrifying.  Wow.

...I thought it was gone in the next shot and was like ‘oh I hate that’.  Nope, still there, still horrifying.

Okay end notes!!

I can’t quite tell what genre this is trying to be.  It fluctuates so much and even things that I think are trying to be dramatic are so over-the-top that I am not entirely sure about it!

I should clarify that none of this is putting me off.  I prefer when media takes itself a little too seriously actually. Also goofiness is generally kind of charming.

The animation here is just really wonderful.  I don’t really have much to say about it other than that.  Just consistently made me stop and go ‘oh wow that was really well done.’

My guess is the story is going to be a bit episodic for a while, but frankly I have no idea.

I think that’s all I really have to say at the moment! I enjoyed this a lot, but may have to put off watching anything else until at least tomorrow due to a bit of a headache.

[god-mouths]

I NEED TO HEAR EVERYTHING YOU CAN TELL ME ABT THE LAFAUX FAMILY

Will do! this one got long

First off I want to start with the name. LaFaux —> La Faux, which literally translates to “the faker/the false” in French. This of course applies to Casper more than anyone else for a myriad of reasons, but still overall. The whole family.

I’ll go in chronological order— first, the patriarch of the family, micheal lafaux. (Died age 70) He built this business from the ground up! World’s worst eccentric businessman.

Here he is. Fun fact! Every aspect of his personality and character design corresponds to each of his four children— except for Casper. Anyways I have been figuring out his character and boy has it been a genuine fucking delight. He’s such an asshole. He does coke but like. It doesn’t *do* anything to him he just likes putting stuff up his nose. He is always honest (ironic and a direct contrast to his last name)— but he is not kind. He has endless, boundless energy, at least in the prime of his life. The minute he hits fifty it all goes downhill. He loses his energy and his spark.

But, in the 60s or the 70s or whichever, he was a force to be reckoned with. He’s good at macguyvering inventions using random crap, which was how he built and maintained his business. Also he’s sort of a bigot, but not like actively it’s just a side effect of being an important guy in the 60s

A personal rule I have for drawing this thing is that his pupils shouldn’t touch the outlines of his eyes. Adds to that crack-addled look of his that he’s so keen on maintaining. Fun fact about micheal, he cannot wait to die. Not in a bad way, he just genuinely thinks he has it in him to kick the devil’s ass and rule hell. He thinks he’d have fun down there.

Next, Delphina LaFaux (neé Alta-L’Estandares. That’s “high standards” in Spanish. I think I’m funny.) aged ~68 or so at death

She is an assassin who is trying to kill micheal for his money and instead ends up in the world’s most miserable marriage as the man just won’t die. She is absolutely trapped in a hell of her own making.

To put it nicely, she needs micheal like an alcoholic needs a drink. She ends up taking care of the children, because lord knows micheal isn’t doing that. “The prodigal wife, the woman with so much hatred in her body that she's turned it into a living. She faces a challenge in her husband, him being the one person she can't kill. She'd switch gears and try something new, but....something deep in her mind begs her to stay here. Maybe it's destiny, or fate, or....just a prison of her own design. She's doomed. She knows she is. She's procrastinating getting out of the way of the moving train. she's not even tied to the tracks -- she's just standing there.

What's it like to be the dead wife before she dies?”

^ blurb I wrote for an are pee

Now onto them kids those rascals.

This is the firstborn, Peter. (38) He grew up when his father was still in his prime, so he knows the most about how the man actually thinks and talks. When his father dies Peter gets the house. He has no idea how to take care of the huge mansion, and sort of lets it fall into disrepair. He’s a bit frazzled and hides himself from the public eye, because he grew up in the eye of the camera due to being the son of a multi billionaire. He really just wants to live his life alone in peace. Definetly the most chill out of the lafaux family. He got that eyepatch because when he was a kid he looked directly into a bottle rocket just as it went off.

Old ass comic he really is just a fun guy

Onto Vivian, the second oldest. (35) She emulates her father the most, and caught the end of her father’s prime growing up. She is the favorite, and if she were a boy, micheal would have stopped having children literally right then and there. However, micheal wanted a man to inherit all his money. And since the inheritance goes to the youngest we simply can’t have that. The story of LEM is the story of a spy op consisting of criminals. VIVIAN is the one who creates this spy op in the first place, to rival her brother Casper. I haven’t draw. Much of her at all . This is the best image I have of her

I think this is like…2020? Art?? 2019? Still. She’s cunning. A fun gal.

Onto Casper. We all know Casper hi Casper (he’s like 26)

When his father dies, he is 16, putting him in charge of the estate as his sister at the time was too young to do so (13.)

His sister does not make it past age 13. He murders her—supposedly— for the inheritance, and blames it on a faked home intrusion. The rest of the living lafaux siblings are completely silent on this. They’re aware it happened, but have no way of proving it. Peter becomes more of a recluse as a result, and Vivian launches her spy op offensive.

Anyways, Casper renames the company business from “LaFaux Corporate” to “Blue Fox (Faux)”, merging all of the companies his father had dominion over into one giant conglomerate.

The lafaux last name applies to him the most. All he does is lie. His whole personality is a farce to a hidden maliciousness underneath. He is trying to emulate his father, and in doing so has made a suit out of a dead man’s skin. Don’t be mistaken, however. Casper doesn’t live in his father’s shadow- Casper is more famous than his father ever was. What Casper is doing here is making himself a grave in the shape of his father’s corpse. He’s much calmer, though.

Lastly, Beatrice LaFaux. 13, died. Sucks to suck.

[0poole]

I’ve never hated a movie this much in a long time

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 made me so mad that I'm breaking this random rambling blog out of retirement

I'm seriously the "enjoy everything" guy. I'm not really interested in Marvel much at all anymore, but I do honestly expect to go to a Marvel movie and have a good, simple time. But like… for some reason this one feels like a special kind of bad. I guess that's because the solution to all my genuine problems was so close.

The ONE thing I genuinely, honestly believe is an issue is that this movie isn't about Rocket enough. Everything else is stylistic junk I should've expected to have an issue with, cuz of course modern Marvel art style is just, like, awful (because it's not fully animated). But I swear

Here's the pitch: Keep all of Rocket's flashbacks as is, and keep the overall current time throughline of the crew trying to save him, but SERIOUSLY cut them down. Like, a lot a lot.Pretty much any time any form of Rocket (near-dead or young) was genuinely good content. Obviously super grim and intense for a Marvel movie, but I feel like something like that was basically guaranteed to be his backstory anyway, so I was actually hoping to see it through. Also, Floor (spider bunny) was so utterly perfect that I honestly might buy a plush of her (him? them?) and thus end up fuelling the very thing I'm criticizing in this post but I can't help it, they were a seriously amazing design. And I even have a disagreement with some of the criticism, I'm hearing from multiple (2) places that people (two people) didn't like how the main villain was so utterly despicable that they didn't like it, while I actually like him. Maybe it's my character designer brain both liking purple and also his tacked-on skinface. His weird eccentricness was really fitting for someone who believed he was god. I think the only reason he felt so despicable was because he was abusing animals, while I think if he was just your average planet-conqueror he would either be a little fun or boring. I also really liked the line someone (I think Quill) said where his crew were basically responsible for certain whole civilizations across the universe, and that they would actually call them gods.

The problem was everything in between these scenes. They tried to make this a Guardians movie when it really should've been a Rocket Raccoon movie. And yeah, I get that they wanted to call it a Guardians movie, but they still made it so much of Rocket's movie that every random interpersonal conflict not involving Rocket just felt like filler junk. I guess the fact that I knew these conflicts would be resolved by the end of the movie made them feel like petty squabbling in the moment. It's even worse with Quill and Gamora, because I honestly thought Gamora was straight-up dead from the Infinity War junk, but I guess she's just back now, minus her memories? I used to think I understood what was going on with the whole Marvel Cinematic Multiverse but I guess now I have to admit I'm out of the loop. Was there some series that established what happened to her that I heard nothing about? I don't remember one but there also have been like dozens coming out and being announced a month so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Same goes with the Soviet space dog, although that was clearly meant to be a much less deep character so I could excuse it then. I do like the prospect of the Guardians as characters being more like a rotating cast instead of a set group. 

(Also the whole concept of the Yondu-tech with the whistling and the arrow and such is still one of the coolest character design traits ever. I still will keep that much true to my heart)

But yeah anyway, not only did I really not care about most of the "important" stuff happening with the current-time shenanigans, the fact that they had the usual Marvel jokiness about it half of the time really caused some serious tonal whiplash at some points. Like, in the flashback where Purple Guy (I don't remember his name if he had one) shoots all Rocket's buddies to death and as Lila utters her last dying wish to see the sky it still cuts back to the random group banter of the other characters just being goofballs amidst the chaos. Seriously? We just witnessed the most traumatizing event in a cartoon animal's life, where his friends were murdered right before his eyes by his captor, and we still go back to that? Can't we just have some kind of emotional parachute? Maybe like a cutaway to some little trinket Rocket kept around that reminded him of them? Or at least Groot watching over the holograms they had in that meatball they stole so we can share the emotions with one of the characters?

And really, the thing that really capped it all off with the worst possible ending was the fact that Rocket didn't fucking murder the Purple Guy. What kind of catharsis is that? He literally could've just held the gun to his head and shot him dead, but I guess for some reason the Guardians have this bullshit pathos to bad guys, even though they just DON'T. They murdered dozens of random soldiers to get to where they were, BUT FOR SOME REASON THE SOLE CAUSE OF IT ALL DESERVES TO LIVE (or die ambiguously in a ship explosion, still is bullshit). Purple Guy deserved all the pain and suffering he inflicted on not only Rocket but literally all of his creations, even his lackeys, and yet for some reason they couldn't just shoot him. And not even that, but they (Nebula) clearly didn't have an issue stabbing that Sovereign guy in the heart. Was somehow terrorizing their town more bad than destroying an entire planet of your own creation? And the worst part is that Rocket was kind of defeatist about it too, like he sounded like he wanted to shoot him, but thought his buddies would be mad at him, even though his buddies were the ones killing everyone to save him. Quill literally said verbatim to Groot "Okay you can kill them all now" and then jumped off a ship to drive one of the scientist guys into the ground to scoop out his fucking brains. And even Groot, the guy who seems like he should be the most pacifistic of them all, fucking launched his arm into one of the experiments' throats to gore him from the inside with his spiky branches. Are you fucking kidding me? Even I was like "This is the shit they would rather show kids instead of a naked boob?" 

Seriously. A boob on screen would send this up to like an R rating nowadays, but apparently that, or multiple situations where one of the experiments' heads gets torn off, or their body gets sliced in half, or idk maybe a guy shooting fucking innocent little animals keeps it at a safe family film rating. Shit's like a normalized Liveleak video. 

And one last thing before I get to the less important stuff, Quill had the audacity to be the fake out death at the end when Rocket was clearly the only emotional core of the movie. It would've been so much more impactful if Rocket was the one who nearly died there. We saw his trauma all over screen, he saved his (other) animal buddies, and if doing so nearly cost him his life that would've been so much more impactful. Plus, the fact that he's not the mainest of the main characters also means there's a small chance he might actually fully die there. AND let's not forget the fact that in like the first or second movies, the exact same thing happened to Quill before and literally all they had to do to save him was to put a helmet on him. How could no one on their whole spacefaring colony have some sort of helmet to just throw out to him? Like this is turbonerd-critic-who-cares-way-too-much-about-plot-holes territory but I'm genuinely annoyed at that scene. I think it pisses me off because it wasn't just some throwaway detail in the past movies, it was the biggest deal because I think it was like Gamora or Yondu or someone who passed over their only helmet to save him, so the fact that that's how you help someone dying in the vacuum of space being so present in this series and they just completely ignored it just shows serious lack of care on whoever chose that to be the case's part. 

I feel like I should leave it at that for the serious stuff, but I obviously have a lot of random stylistic annoyances that are obviously just par for the course and I really shouldn't be angry about but I still am so

The simplest one is the music, and I feel like this annoys me more because my dad specifically actually really likes music choices like this. I realized this about him when we watched Lightyear and he was explicitly disappointed that Starman wasn't directly in the movie even though it was in all the trailers. He said something like "Movies need to have good music in them" which in principle I agree with, but the fact that he basically meant it as "Movies need to insert more classic songs into their movies" kind of annoys me honestly. I can actually like it in the first Guardians movie since back then it was a unique vibe for superhero stuff to have, but now it's so beaten down that I am really just over it. Really here specifically I have no right to be annoyed since it is truly a part of the Guardians brand, but yeah it is annoying. I do want movies to have good music, but good ORIGINAL music. Like either songs made for the movie (Sunflower and What's Up Danger, again Spiderverse does it right) or actually, somehow, make a score that actually has any degree of staying power at all. Between the "Oh I remember that song haha!" moments was still the most generic "I'm a movie" drivel. It almost made the emotional climaxes for anything besides Rocket's backstory feel really overblown because of how hard they tried to make the music carry the very shallow emotional weight of all of it. And the funny thing is that I do actually know an example, and it's Unicorn Warriors Eternal. Only 3 episodes so far and it's already one of the best cartoons I've seen, and it manages to have a completely original score that doesn't sound like it's trying to be a standalone track you buy the single for, and still matches the tone of the scene its all used for too. There have been multiple points where I've been taken aback at the score being both catchy in its own right but being really good and fun for the goofy scenes its used in. Modern cartoons are still the pinnacle of stories honestly I swear

And I guess I'm basically just going to be saying that all again because this has officially been the worst of both CGI and Practical Effects at the same time. Neither are good. Both suck. Both were terrible in this movie. Every fantastical property ever should be fully animated (or at least have impressive artistry on display like Dark Crystal or something, even though I still don't really like Dark Crystal).

The most hilariously bad part was unfortunately a part of Rocket's backstory, in the weird evolution chambers the purple guy made, where he puts in a completely normal, real animal, presses a button, and the animal turns into a crazy CGI fest transformation sequence, then literally a guy in an animal mascot costume. I can't believe it. Did no one in the editing bay look at that and think "That's what we're going with? Really?" And here's the solution: Just do it with CGI. This is where practical effects completely suck ass. Shit looked like one of the classic TMNT movies. Even if the CGI wouldn't nearly be animated correctly to truly mimic real life, it would've at least not looked pathetic. Stupid is better than pathetic. And Rocket and all the cyborg experiments are CGI anyway, as is everything else in the movie, so like… was it to save money? Do they not have money anymore? What's the point of me buying a Floor plush if they're just gonna pull trash like this?

The iffy part was with the humanoid animals in the suburb on Counter-Earth, because I truly got the joke (weird animal people in a super generic American landscape), but it still was almost too ridiculous to even get the joke good enough. I was so close to enjoying it, but I still think it would've been better if they all were extra weird in the way only CGI could provide. Think about it, a weird blob monster with like 5 malformed legs, 3 arms, a melted face, but in a polo t-shirt and khakis mowing a well-pruned lawn would've been so much better. Not just someone who's clearly just a human with a lot of makeup and plastic on their face. Or, in this case I feel like they were adapting an exact moment from the comics, and I can only imagine that moment was so much better then because of the stylistic way you can represent these people. This is a big case where my catchphrase of "animate everything" Actually makes so much more sense 

And the last case is of course with everyone else. I'm still making it a mission statement of my own sci-fi universe-sprawling world to have plenty of body types that aren't just "human but with weird face parts." And I'm extra mad here because there was ONE background character that was exactly what I wanted, in between all the random humans with face paint. It was when the Ravagers first boarded the ship and Gamora came out, one of them was this weird mouthless serpent guy with Dr Strange powers who speaks in visualizing emoticons with magic. First of all, the fact that he uses normal ass emojis was actually funny and I liked it, but aside from that when he first came on screen I was seriously like "WHO IS HE????" because I'm so not used to any character being that cool looking. Again, this is what CGI can do right. It can show you weird monsters that actually look interesting and show diversity in this world which is supposed to take into account every single species that exists across every planet ever. Man, if only there were a show that took place exclusively in space that was expertly animated and character-designed to actually represent all the weirdness that can happen across the univer--Oh wait it exists it's Wander Over Yonder my favorite show of all time funny how that works anyway

The last bit was all the suits and stuff all the guard people were wearing, especially on that fleshy starbase thing. My mom put it perfectly, where it feels like the era of sci fi in things like Sharkboy and Lavagirl or Spy Kids 3D where they just look so stupid and goofy. Back then, it's charming because it was a product of the time. Now, it just looks dumb. The whole location was made to show like how flesh can be bent to their whim or whatever, right? Why not make it so their armor is much more obviously fleshy, and also directly attached to their skin instead of being an obvious suit they just put on? That would be much more fitting.

And I'll make this the last thing, I actually loved that fleshy place. I am a BIG proponent of meatbending, or whatever term you want to use, both in general but especially in a more normal, nonhorrific light. When they were sawing into the walls of that place and lifted up the removed core I was disgusted, but in an intrigued kind of way. And I was blown out of the water when they walked around inside, and not only were the nonorganic parts still cool looking and unique, but the sheer design potential of decorative flesh was extremely cool to see. I was especially interested in the fact that they shaped plants out of flesh, which was hilarious, but even things like one of the spy cameras being a giant eye, and a floating flesh blob thing leaking plasma-like goop. I LOVE that. I want more of it. Make that one yelling Spongebob meme in your head but with flesh tech or whatever, it's seriously cool and rarely done. 

Anyway that's it whatever time to get back to the stuff I actually like, like damn that new Pokemon series is kinda aiming to be pretty good ngl

[trulyinspiringmovies]

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3

“Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3″ is incredibly funny, dark, and heartwarming all at the same time.

Rocket is relaxing on Knowhere when suddenly he’s attacked by Adam Warlock. He’s mortally wounded and can’t be operated on unless the kill switch in his heart is deactivated. The Guardians Of The Galaxy must now go to Orgocorp and find the override code before it’s too late for Rocket. On their adventure, they learn about Rocket’s traumatic past.

With the current state of Marvel movies, “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3″ had to be a smash hit to win back people’s favor. And, if anyone is going to make a fan-favorite movie, then it’s definitely going to be James Gunn. So, what did I think of the movie? Is it the smash hit that’ll save the MCU? I liked it, but it’s probably not going to singlehandedly save the MCU. It’s a good step in the right direction, but it’s not good enough to win back the goodwill of the people. Let me start with the positives. This is probably one of the more emotional movies that Marvel has put out. There were multiple moments when I felt a lump in my throat and I was on the brink of tears. James Gunn knows how to write characters that truly feel like a family, with all the good and bad that come with it. In the third act, Mantis and Nebula were really tugging at my heartstrings. Dave Bautista continues to impress me with his acting chops because he finally showed me why Drax was a good father before joining the Guardians Of The Galaxy. Before this movie, I’ll admit that I had a bit of trouble seeing this version of Drax as a father. He was too dumb and goofy in my opinion. This movie showed me how his goofy nature was actually his strength as a father. There were a lot of genuinely funny moments. A lot of comedy movies get a slight chuckle out of me or the occasional sudden burst of air from my nose, but this movie was actually funny. To be honest, I wish the movie held back on some of their jokes because it was starting to undercut some of the more serious moments for me. I can see the filmmakers thinking it was necessary to have a little more comedy than usual to balance out the darker tone this movie had in store for us. Plus, I bet it’s really hard to cull comedy gold. Speaking of darker tones, I think this movie benefitted greatly from them. We’re so used to PG-13 fight scenes in Marvel movies that seeing an arm breaking is considered ‘dark’. Still, it was effective for the story that this movie was trying to tell. It set the stakes right away and completely sold me on the gravity of the situation. It allowed characters to be more emotional than usual and that sold the feeling of finality I was looking for. Other moments were really pushing the PG-13 rating. I’m surprised there wasn’t much talk about a potential R rating. If any MCU movie deserves it, it’s this one for the gore alone. The whole Rocket origin side plot broke my heart. They really let James Gunn have at it for this movie because the fight scenes were spectacular. There’s this one long-take shot that was just jaw-dropping. I genuinely think it’s the best shot in the entirety of the MCU. I was trying to wrap my mind around how they achieved it. Probably a lot of CGI, but still. Also, unlike other movies and shows from Phase 4, this movie’s CGI is perfect. There wasn’t any moment when I thought the CG could’ve looked better. Marvel is back to their typical, high level of quality. There’s a lot to praise about this movie, but there are some criticisms that can’t be overlooked. For starters, I thought Chukwudi Iwuji’s High Evolutionary was a fantastic villain, but he lacked character development. He was genuinely terrifying because of how evil he was, but he doesn’t get much more than that. James Gunn’s music choice is always a stand-out in his movies, but this movie’s soundtrack seemed ill-fitting at times. The music is great, but I don’t think some of them fit their scenes all too well. Adam Warlock felt like wasted potential. He was teased as this big thing in the last movie, only to be another bumbling idiot with little relevance to the plot. They definitely should’ve saved him for another movie where he would’ve been better utilized. Also, I don’t think Will Poulter was a good fit for the character. He’s probably a great actor, but he just doesn’t fit my idea of Adam Warlock. The movie also flips back between the present and Rocket’s past, but it felt like it was done randomly. I would’ve loved to see a clear reason why each flashback was inserted into each point in time. Finally, the ending felt a little unsatisfying. I get that the movie was going for a more emotionally mature ending, but I wanted a little more positive ending. It just felt like the Guardians Of The Galaxy needed a more positive and uplifting ending, especially with everything they’ve gone through. Still, this is definitely promising from Marvel Studios and if they keep this up, then I might start getting excited for future movies again.

★★★★

Watched on May 7th, 2023