#imagine how much more normal and likeable i could be..............

[sophisticatedheart]

Good morning I need to be put down (insanely anxious)

[heidi891]

Sebastian Sallow: Evil or Innocent?

I’ve seen people expressing two discrepant opinions: either Sebastian has been manipulative from the beginning and deserves to be sent to Azkaban or he’s just a victim of his difficult circumstances. I don’t agree with either of these.

Firstly, there’s some truth in the statement that his circumstances are difficult. His uncle was abusive to some extent, though I wouldn’t paint him as malicious. He most likely had PTSD, he had no experience nor support in raising children, there were no education nor therapy available. Yet he had to deal with a wayward teenager and the only way Solomon knew was “tough love”. Unsuprisingly, he ended up hurting his nephew.

Sebastian—like Harry Potter—ended up distrusting adults and looking for solutions to his problems on his own. His loneliness and lack of support (a few classmates don’t constitute appropriate support) led him to feel more desperate about Anne’s condition since he saw her as his only true family. This also led him to research the Dark Arts in hope to find a cure.

I don’t think he’s been manipulative. I think he’s never had the greatest social skills to begin with as he’s had to deal with emotional abuse and lack of proper support for most of his life. He was more likeable in the beginning, then his desperation kept growing, as was his infatuation with the Dark Arts.

I suspect the relic was influencing him negatively, amplifying his desperation and anger, making him more reckless and aggressive. For example, when we encountered goblins near Isadora’s house, he had some normal reaction, while later, after finding the relic, he became hateful. During the In the Shadow of the Relic quest Ominis comments that Sebastian is behaving strangely, not like himself. Of course, it might be just a sign of his further corruption, but the relic’s influence might also be a factor.

However, if that is the case, then Solomon was probably affected by the relic too, since he was the one who destroyed it. That might’ve made him more aggressive too and led to that unfortunate duel in the catacomb.

Sebastian’s situation is sad. But he has commited a murder. Solomon is dead and is not coming back.

I refused to learn the Unforgivable Curses and chose to oppose every stupid idea that Sebastian came up with. Unfortunately, the game didn’t give me much to choose, my character ended up saying “Not sure, but let’s do this” every single time. It made her complicit in his actions to some extent and made the final choice more difficult. However, if the murder was ever found out, my character could be found guilty too for hiding the crime. Sebastian isn’t her close family, he’s just a friend she’s known for a few months. Is he worth risking going to Azkaban for?

Some people claim Sebastian is remorseful afterwards and I’m not convinced (including his reaction when he’s not turned in). He’s clearly upset and overwhelmed by what’s happened. But is that true remorse? Does he understand his grave mistakes? Does he want to atone for his crime? There’s too little information in my opinion. Can he get better afterwards? Well, he’s still alone. He’s more alone than ever since Anne has cut contact with him. He’s got only Ominis and the main character. And how has it worked out so far? They were faintly protesting, but kept enabling Sebastian. Why should it change now? And Anne is still dying, so Sebastian may find another Dark artifact, claiming it’s the last time.

Last but not least, Sebastian keeps ignoring Anne’s wishes. He’s focusing on his pain and loss, he’s not there for her.

While, as I’ve said, I don’t view him as evil and manipulative, I also don’t see him as innocent and justified. He’s emotionally unstable but also very gifted which together with his lack of strong moral beliefs make him dangerous.

Azkaban is a terrible choice. Enabling him further is a terrible choice too.

I imagine my character has some influencial family in the Wizengamot and IF Sebastian is really remorseful, he’ll end up like Hagrid—expelled but free.

[literalite]

I remember you saying you liked young justice so I wanted to know who's your favourite character or the one you think is most like you? I've been attached by the hip to this show since I was 13 so I'm a little... not normal about it lol.

also opinions on s3?

YES oh my god it was like formative media for me genuinely and i still love yj dearly i was rewatching it like last month actually along with yaboyroshi's reactions to it 😅 we are both a little not normal about this show dw 🤝🏼 im putting the rest of this under a cut because i start Yapping

my fave characters were dick, artemis, jaime, bart, and zatanna! dick i was Obsessed with from the moment i laid eyes on him in hindsight for gender reasons, probably but artemis always meant a huge deal to me as a kid because she was like the only vietnamese character (and with a skintone like mine!) that i'd ever seen on a screen. i loved everything about jaime's character and personality and arc and i had a really soft spot for bart because characters who are very outwardly upbeat and fun but are going through a lot of shit and hiding it are my favourites ever usually 😅. i also liked rlly them as a duo. zatanna's sort of cool-girl sass was always really fun to see and i think especially in s4 where her sort of less-rigid morality had more room to shine, really made me appreciate her character more. OH also when they introduced cassandra wu-san/orphan in s3 i like literally cheered out loud 😭 shes one of my fave characters from dc comics in general, so i was already biased towards her and i really liked her depiction and the room they made for her arc

i'm actually not sure which character is the most like me... i think because i watched it so young a lot of the characters kind of made their way into my personality in one way or another. i think irl im most like dick but it could be wishful thinking 😅 i'm not as cool as he is for sure

season three.... i'm kind of on the fence about it? i will say though i think it was a little rough with the dialogue especially, and i definitely didn't bond as well with the outsiders as i did with the original team and then the s2 cast. violet was the most likeable of the group by far but i think i was really put off by the fact that they kept killing them 💀 like i get that you guys can do this now with the higher rating but there are better ways to show off your newfound creative freedom than repeatedly brutally killing them. it was offset with the majority of the other characters suffering from basically no visible injuries too- if they'd been hit with bruises or scrapes or broken bones or ANYTHING and reduced the harm dealt to vi then i would've been less urgh by it.

i also wish they'd introduced victor a bit earlier into the season instead of spending sooo much time with brion because cyborg's story felt a little tacked on at the end, and um i was annoyed by brion from the jump 😭😭 tried so hard to sympathise with him because to be fair he went through a Lot but he just kept being such an aggressive ass to like everyone. which i guess was the point.. didn't make it any more fun to watch though.

i do like that they kept with the huge mass of entangled threads of the plot that were to me the hallmarks of the earlier seasons, picking apart scenes to try and work out how things interconnect was always my favourite part. i think the cast of the show at this point for what they were trying to do and focus on may have exceeded the show's bounds though- it was still a compelling narrative but i imagine for a casual watcher who isnt as meticulously invested in who is who and can recognise adaptations of arcs from the comics it can get very confusing or frustrating. its hard because i Love the og cast too but i think with s3 they couldn't decide on letting them go or letting their new characters shine and it ended up muddying the waters a bit, with the outsiders suffering the most from it due to no nostalgia or prior narrative heft to keep them from looking secondary to the original members of the team.

with s4 they chose to throw their lot behind the old team, which i appreciated and it neatened the rough edges of the show more, but i do still miss the s2 cast quite badly so i actually kind of wish they'd kept expanding the cast but just narrowed focus onto the new characters for every season. the title of the show is young justice, so i personally would've liked to keep seeing a focus on the newer and rising heroes of each successive generation as opposed to returning again and again to the originals

sorry that this is such a wall of text 😅 but i think this is one of the shows that i could genuinely just like sit and talk about for ages and ages... even the characters i dont like at all have a fair amount of gravity and heft to them that i love. wally is still alive btw i will never stop believing 😤 get that man out of the speed force!

[fruityfroggy]

ASGKJKUYFG TYSM @anonymocha FOR GIVING ME A DIRECTION TO GO WITH MY RAMBLINGS<3

Anyways…oh Verdigris, I’ve come up with so many extra bits and pieces to her lore in the past month or so and I didn’t really get to talk about her in the first place, so I’m glad that someone’s interested (this is gonna be so long, I can feel it)

First things first, we’ll get the big thing out of the way: her arcane skill. Kind of a big part of her story is how she is a “plant whisperer”, which means that she’s able to hear the voices of plants and therefore communicate with them. This made her form a prominent sense of empathy for plants, as they are unheard by everyone except her.

(Now, a lot of the things I’ll mention about Verdigris will make a lot more sense)

So a fun little fact is that plants have a “way of speaking” that sounds more poetic than your normal speech, since they’re just describing things based off of what they know from nature. And because of her arcane skill, Verdigris does talk like them a little (which just comes off as being poetic/dramatic). Another thing that comes with this “way of speaking” are “Titles of the Plants”, which is the thing that you remind the plants of, that they therefore refer to you by (Vertin is “The Wandering Wind”, Sonetto is “The Shade in Daylight”, etc).

Why am I mentioning this? Well but of course it’s for yuri reasons! Because this is the perfect way for Verdigris to subtly and sapphic-ly pine for a certain arcanist by the title: Ray of Sun (and who this refers to is not disclosed). She mentions this “Ray of Sun” quite frequently in her diary, which I’d imagine could be one of those pages of text you can find between stages, as well as in her intimacy voiceline (which I haven’t written, but we can imagine, okay).

Anywho…when it comes to interacting with other arcanists, Verdigris is very much the most likeable out of my three ocs here (she’s just a cinnamon roll, not toxic or hard to communicate with). So she gets along with basically everyone in the suitcase. Chaotic or calm, she’s patient enough to talk to them. Tho she’s the closest with Lilya I’d say, since they’re bonding over a shared language/heritage and shut up, it’s adorable. Especially since Verdigris didn’t have anyone to speak Russian to for a long time (she lived in Spain, that’s why) and Russian was her mother’s language (she never got to meet her, so it holds special significance to her (things are getting angsty haha)). This problem was the whole reason she created her own critters actually. But hey, now she has someone and the vibes are good again.

As for their dynamic, it’s obvious that they have a “balancing each other out” situation, and I like to call it “Lilya and her designated driver” as a joke. But truthfully, Verdigris is surprisingly down with most of her shenanigans and no one understands why. Lilya kinda just wants to show Verdigris all the “fun stuff” she usually does, and she just goes along with it while some of the other arcanists watch them in horror (they’re just having a good time tho). When Verdigris is busy, Lilya would go visit her workshop to see what she’s doing like: "What you making, Verdie?:]" (she finds it interesting).

Considering what she does, I feel like Verdigris would probably be crossing paths with Medpoc kinda often as well (hehe). Verdigris just isn’t super affected by Medpoc’s hostility, and still treats them very well after getting yelled at. Once they warm up to her tho, she kinda becomes their emotional support (aka the person they rant to while she hands them a cookie or smth), and they’d pass out together while working across from each other, since neither of them remember to sleep (or do anything else).

I also think that she could help Shamane repair and/or upgrade his mechanical arm (since that’s kinda her specialty), and in turn gain a new father figure. Shamane would definitely like her Dendrogues and greet them when he sees them hopping around as well.

Some honourable mentions are the other calm healers (Dikke and Tooth Fairy). Dikke would grow fond of Verdigris for how fair and thoughtful is, but she'd tell her to not be so tolerant of everything. As for her and Tooth Fairy’s situation, they actually have pretty similar vibes, so they’d probably do some somewhat questionable things together that aren’t so questionable if they’re doing it, like baking together (there’s definitely no tooth fairies in the muffins they’re making, don’t question the taste of plums) and going out into the forest to look for teeth.

Oh right! Verdigris also has a small interaction with Pristine after implanting the new heart she made for her, since Pristine’s original heart (crystal) is the thing that makes her body possessable to Arcana (there’s some context from this post that is needed to understand what I’m talking about). This is a big plot point in Pristine’s story, so guess who’s growing attached to Verdigris. Yeah, she kinda just follows her around whenever she sees her from there on out, maybe even tugs on her sleeve saying “Where art thou headed to? Let me go with thee!” (Welcome to motherhood, Verdigris!)

[misguidedasgardian]

hello! hope your day was well and the watching of the season finale was fun.

here is my rant for this episode lol. i always look forward to your commentary!!

> to start: not jace acting as if ulf and hugh were just regular everyday bastards like no bud, they are targaryen bastards (or at least i think ulf is, hugh confirmed he is). like had their moms been married and had them, they'd have a high claim than both him and his mom. and the projecting is crazy, like baela said, get it together and stand by your mom bro, you have uno jobs.

> daemon is literally a crazy man, like crazier than me on a normal everyday average day.

> also, if we went based on how the succession should've gone, plenty of people have a high claim to the throne like rhaenyra did (baela/rhaena through rhaenys). like many people have the means to challenge her, they just dont have the energy (thanks jaehaerys for not liking women??)

> aemond i swear is a woman beater. like if he is willing to lay a hand upon his sister...imagine if he had a wife and the way he talks down to his mom and helaena is oooo, i'd have him smacked silly. like im so glad alicent interceded for helaena because ... he just lost his damn mind.

> alicent is lowkey wishing she had to put up with aegon at this point (everyone is wishing the same lol)

> gwayne clocking cole was gold and criston cole's smartest line by far was something along the lines of: "perhaps all men are corrupt and perhaps honor blows away like mist in the morning." it kind of goes hand in hand with the quote from game of thrones that's something like "there's a beast in every man and he stirs when a sword is put in his face."

> didn't know we were wrestling in mud today and Tyland is as confused as me every episode.

> the acting kills me every time like no offense because i know i couldn't do better, but like the first episode of game of thrones had better acting like its good in this show but not the best like i swear sometimes they talk like robots or like theyre explaining the plot to us (which alicent did for no reason towards the end like just be evil to be evil. women can be evil too they don't always have to be kind and submissive.)

> these characters have become so unlikeable that i have to dig deep to find ones i like.

> ulf has no table manners and not everyone mentioning they aren't of noble birth but like technically, they are like they're as much royal as jace the only difference is his mom kept him and his grandfather allowed it so he should count his blessings.

> alys is carrying and she makes daemon more likeable and i rather watch them and their friendship than daemon and rhaenyra's weird codependency daddy issue relationship (they are making me hate targcest. matter of fact, all the targayens are making me hate everything about them.)

> helaena gets my cheers because she told aemond who was boss and stuck it to him and proved she has a voice and just chooses when to use it. like im betting she wishes aegon was better because at least he was moldable unlike aemond like you could manipulate aegon to do what you wanted. aemond is a lose cannon that needs to be put out.

> corlys without rhaenys is making me ill because he doesnt care that he abandoned his kids, alyn and addam to start a whole new family and left them to fend for themselves as kids like finish what you started. im sick of seeing bastards left and right and watching their families move on without them like finish what yous started if you can!!

> rhaena's safari quest is like watching an ad for something like if i see her quest again, i might cry.

> season 2= story with no plot

sorry for the essay friend, i feel bad every time you respond to it because its so long, but hey, its the last episode so the rants can become shorter now and less time consuming!!

p.s> otto being locked in a tower when everyone is trying to reach him is so funny.

It's fine, I feel like we all got so much to say, we are so confused, angry, sad, Idk what I'm feeling anymore

>You know what? I'm with Jace on this. Rhaenyra said it herself "they think we are closer to gods than to men, but they say that because of our dragons, without them we are like everyone else", then let's go to Jace, who realises he is a bastards on a very early age, think about the fact that the only way to comfort him, is Rhaenyra assuring him that "you are a Targaryen, that's all that matters", and the only "legitimization" he had was his blood, the fact that he (a bastard) could ride Dragons THAT ONE WAS HATCHED TO HIM ON HIS CRIB, then a war breaks out because of the usurpation, which one of its many "justifications", is that Rhenyra "has no true heirs", and his bastarcy had been called out MANY TIMES BY MANY IMPORTANT PEOPLE, and then.... AND THEN HE SEES THIS "COLLECTION" of bastards like him who can also ride dragons? So yeah, I'd be bitter too, and super insecure, because bastards get KILLED in this world, but I also see your point, but the fact that two of them had the white hair that he does not? dang

>Daemon... yesh, whatever makes you sleep at night dude, like, if you needed an Ayahuasca trip to come to the realisation that you need to support your wife... go for it my dude jejeje,whatever ticklled your fancy JAJAJA

>Yeah but that fizzles because of Viserys was made king... so... no point on resurfacing Rhaenys' claim

>I said it before... they DESTROYED their character, I thought his family was going to be what makes him a great villain, an antagonist even, I DO IT FOR MY FAMILY FOR MY MOTHER WHO DEFENDED ME AND MY SISTER WHO IS AN INNOCENT, why couldn't they keep that in? like in S1E9? it makes it much more attractive, and powerful AND LIKEABLE. I LIKED HIM IN SEASON ONE! i found him such an interesting character! where that was left, idk.

>Alicent is just... incoherent, madder then tripping Daemon

>I found that scene useless and boring, and??? like... why? why there? it was like, they filmed it, they made Criston say some "good" lines (?) and then they didn't know where to put the scene so they just threw it somewhere not to waste it? Why he is recriminating him about fucking his sister (IN FRONT OF EVERYONE? DUMB C*NT) NOW? now after like four chapters since we know him? (and he found out) no sense

>Like I said, they cut out two chapters, so m guess is that it was part of something THAT MADE MORE FUCKING SENSE? hahaha I found it weirdly likeable (more at the end)

>I have nothing to say about the actors actually, they are fine to watch I guess, they are victims on this

>They have nobody sacred, they destroyed Alicent, BUTCHERED Aemond, (because despite what TG has to say... TEAM GREENS ARE THE VILLAINS DUDE (in the books), and they manage in season one to actually have fans that are TG!!! and people who enjoyed their characters!!! I could get behind cult Alicent, because she had nothing else so she turned to the gods, so, I guess that's fine BUT ITS NOT FINE BECAUSE IT WAS FOR NOTHING???

They made TB boring and indecisive, butchering them too?? BORING, IDK, if I was Rhaenyra, Alicent would have been DEAD to me the second I realized what happened... specially after she tortured me, diminished me, bullied me, and put my BABIES in risk for all those years... BUT SHE IS WORTH A LIFE-RISKING TRIP FOR? the septa scene was just straight out of a PARODY (calling it fanfiction is an insult to us) and jsut not speak about this last encounter (GO NYRA, MOCK HER, SCOFF AT HER), but what the writters did to them both, is a crime punished by the gods

>Ulf, I don't even want to talk about that clown, I hate him, but Nyra c'mon, what did you expect?

>I have little thoughts about Alys... I really thought they were going to take her character in a complete different direction, Idk how to feel about her, I like that she could be like a "grey" character, like a Loki of some sorts, like "the end justifies the means", yes I'm going to mentally torture you for weeks, only to make you come to the realisation that you must protect and fight for your wife, like, thanks I guess? jejejeje I'm intrigued of what are they going to do with Aemond and Alys... those trips are going to be... DIABOLICAL hahahaha

>Yes I agree, if they had placed ONE scene with Helaena visiting Aegon... she would have been my top three favorite characters in the season, definitely, what Phia has done with her character (WITH SO LITTLE) makes her worthy of a FUCKING OSCAR, and GRRM said it himself, she is one of the characters who he liked more portrayed then in his own writting so, yeah, PUT HIM ON HIS PLACEEEEE, she was like "fuck around and find outttt" hahah

>Yeah, I thought Corlys was going to pull trough this as a decent man, but what he had done and will do? motherfucker, that's all I have to say, you did not deserve Rhaenys, nor those kids, and his house will collapse in front of hiseyes. (I hope they give Addam the place of his brother in the story taking the lead on House Velaryon) Corlys (like Otto) deserve everything that's coming their way, I wrote it on HOTW, he and Otto sank their teeth into a Targaryen of their choice, and they ripped them apart.

>Yeah, Daemon in Harrenhal all over again, It doesn't help that I don't like her at all, look, I'm not the prettiest doll in the store, but I don't like to "watch her", and thinking about what will happen in the Essos crossing, adding to the fact that she will claim a dragon, infuriates me and hasn't even happened yet, she is behaving like a spoiled brat and just... she bores me, Daemon I get it... (FOR SOCIAL REASONS I'M KIDDING), Baela is hanging by a thread, they must give her something to do besides having scenes with Jace. I enjoyed her scene in moondancer, but like the Rhaenys' scene... was for shock value, and not that important to the plot...

>This was all over the place, I just keep writing and writing this and something else always comes up

You know what? i was so fucking angry, about to go to bed angry, and this actually helped me to "put my idead in order", I really hope you can read this noonie! really, I was all over the place, and this somehow soothed me.

HAHAHA Otto! where is he? can't imagine where... he said he was going to the Tyrells? so I don't know who he could have crossed on his way there since they send Tyland to Essos (in the leaks they say it was gonna be him dealing with the triarchy). I enjoyed that part, they gave the triarchy faces, and that gives them a depth that... I weirdly liked.

MUAHAHA

[tigerlyla-of-metinna]

for the ask game: the witcher - Emhyr, your OC Sarah, Ciri please

and for Baldur's Gate 3: Halsin and Raphael please 😁💜

That is a barrage of arrows hitting the bullseye of my heart! Ok Ok lets tackle them all!

Warning: It's going to be long, so I'll answer under the cut.

How I feel about this character

Emhyr

My love for him burns like a thousand suns. Fascination at first sight. Of course I knew Emhyr from the game first before I knew him fully in the books, which enriched him more. He is an antagonist I love to love, and I know he's done many heinous things (war, unpopular decisions), I can't help but admire the reason behind each horrible decision. And I love the humanity that shines through his armor. You could imagine that shard of ice shifting a lot when he acts human instead of the iron fisted sovereign.

Sarah

My friend from birth. I can't really explain it in normal terms. It's like a childs' imaginary friend growing up with you. She frequents my dreams as a child. Always the woman with wavy black locks, green eyes, attractive smile. Someone that I wanted to be but can't. I have created many OCs: pieces of my secret soul, personalities I couldn't express in real life: Lyla the feisty, fiery, foxy red head. Violet the loud and flashy rockstar (similar to HEART), Sarah Delgado the tragic green-haired spanish fencer. But Sarah is my OC ideal: wise, pragmatic, noble and a smile that could melt any frozen heart (which I can picture her effect on the Ice Emperor Emhyr <3)

Ciri

-Brat, Brat, Brat. And she wears that title proudly. Were it not for Geralt and Yennefers' affection for her, I would've disliked Ciri at the start. But you can see her caring and protective heart when it comes to children and those she love. She's idealistic, as Avallach pointed out correctly, but I love putting her through tough decisions which led her to make the most adult decision and walk the path of the empress. Still, the brat title never goes away and it make the boring empress life much more interesting.

Halsin

This guy.... After being on a steady Emhyr diet, it was Halsin who got me to try a different fare. He was just my type! Big protector type with soulful eyes and a winning smile. Personality wise, the complete opposite of Emhyr. When playing BG3, I couldn't bring myself NOT to jump on him because he is that likeable. Whereas Sarah had to content with crumbs from Emhyr because of his imperial priorities, Halsin would give Tav the whole loaf and would sit beside Tav just to watch Tav eat and ask if all is to their liking. It is hard not to fall for Halsin!

Raphael

There is always that one NPC that is unreachable/un-romanceable not because they are unlikeable, but because fate (writers) says so. He is a goal you can never reach, and you make it so in fanon. Raphael is suave, sexy, debonair, and sinfully seductive that it is difficult (not impossible) to not sign your soul away. You have to roll a critical 20 just to break his grip on your heart and soul!

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Emhyr: except for Sarah, all his ships are platonic. But I do enjoy reading others shipping him with anyone. Depends on the writing.

Sarah: Emhyr. Only Emhyr. Everyone stays behind that friendzone barrier.

Ciri: Morvran Voorhis is the main love interest. Always! He is so calm and superior with everyone else, but when it comes to Emhyr's lil princess, he turns into this bumbling goof trying to impress her with his Nilfgaardian charms (lol). Honestly they grow on me as they do each other. Other than Morvran, I pair Ciri with anyone so long as they are written well, and isn't forced on me (you know who I mean).

Halsin and Raphael: besides Tav, anyone in the fellowship (maybe except Jaheira and Minsc). Also not with the Emperor.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Emhyr

Yennefer: shared aims that doesn't extent into the bedchambers. Also I think Emhyr is allergic to mages due to his past as The Urcheon.

Mererid: Loyal chamberlain. Purely servant to his master.

Geralt: Co-parent of their Child Surprise. Can't stand each other, but for the sake of Ciri, they have no choice but to work together.

Sarah

Mererid: he is her stuffy stick-in-the-mud uncle, and loves him that way.

Morvran: she treats him like a brother and ally. Nothing beyond that.

Ciri

Hjalmar..... HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Halsin

Minsc: The Rashemaar cant stand him and would love to one-up him on something!

Raphael

Mizora: they could compare souls they acquire and even make a bet on which of them could collect Tav's soul... or get to make out with Tav.

My unpopular opinion about this character

Emhyr: He is better for the Continent unlike the current rulers.

Sarah: Gurl, just tell Emhyr the truth and damn the consequences1 But then the fic wouldn't be this long if she just spilled the beans, eh?

Ciri: Girl is about as darling as mouthful of wasabi. She is an acquired taste, but once you do acquire it, you will defend her with your life!

Halsin: I wish it didn't take that long to connect with him on a romantic level because I had to spurn Astarion, Gale, Wyll, Karlach and Laezel (sorry Shadowheart) to live a monogamous relationship with him. Yeah I know he is into poly, but I am not.

Raphael: I want to see more of his horned form. I find his demon self sexier than his human skin.

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

Emhyr

I wished he didn't fall for Vilgefortz bullshit. Then he wouldn't have to freeze himself and become an emperor with an ice block for a heart, thinking of doing the unthinkable to save the world. Thank goodness Emhyr didn't go through with it.

Sarah

Carrying the beacon (what is the beacon? It's a burden only she can bear). If not for it, she'd live a normal life as a noble. But without it, she'd never have met Emhyr.

Ciri

Wish she could renounce her powers, or never ended with The Rats. Honestly it was the darkest time of her life that I hated slogging through, so as much as I hate him- thanks Bonhart!

Halsin

Wish he went bear savage on those drows who captured him and had their way with him, instead of just taking it in and taking his time until it felt normal to him.

Raphael

Wish we could really get it on with him, and not just his incubus.

Thanks for the ask! Whew! Hope my answers entertains!

[mahoushoujotechsupport]

episode 1, start! ok trying this again because my original post was community flagged for reasons i don't understand

so, this little goober decided to ride inside aerial on her trip from mercury to asticassia instead of like wherever normal passengers ride??? lmao

she really is a little cinnamon roll huh? and i love the added light novel details that she just automatically thought miorine was beautiful the first time she saw her here lol

and that she did, miomio

wow is this that suit that one person had during that big ass match in episode 13?

leave suletta alone, you jerks

oh, miorine-san, if only you knew what that girl would become

gotta wonder how in the world miorine dealt with pretty much being bullied by all these rich fucks. like how many failed attempts to try to go to earth had she had at this point that felsi and petra use it to make fun of her

see, if guel had realized secelia wasn't sitting on the couch, then maybe he wouldnt have asked suletta to duel against him later on

yeah, yeah, i know he mostly redeemed himself and didnt even end up being a weapons manufacturer in the end like his daddy (assuming the new asticassia isnt basically the elite's military training grounds like it was at the beginning), but god guel was such a fucking asshole

in this moment, suletta's like "this is nothing like my fair use expired copyright mangas"

there's no such thing as an ethical capitalist, but sarius definitely didn't like the way delling was running things

prospera was at least a tragic figure, but we never really got to know what the hell made delling the way he is. like is he just some stupid war veteran with ptsd who lost his wife? either way, don't care. he was an asshole for everything he did to miorine and just irredeemable in my eyes lol

funny how suletta talking about her mom is what gets miorine to be a little bit kinder to her in this scene just because of her own mother. yeah prospera was manipulative with suletta and it was her idea for suletta to go to asticassia, so that makes it a little funny that talking about prospera here is really what in the end allows miorine to open up her heart to suletta. sorry, miorine, guess suletta was kind of right huh?

sorry, lauda's just another character that will never be likeable to me either. he's just an asshole on top of being a total moron

so glad guel got his comeuppance

yeah, i wasn't gonna skip the slapping (editing my word-use here because i think saying sp**k got my original post for this episode community labeled... which i know now is not why because it got labeled AGAIN!!! and i still don't get why) but dang look at miorine's reaction to that. i still haven't decided if this is the moment miorine takes romantic interest in suletta for standing up for miorine or at the end of the duel later on this episode when she actually makes good on her promise

get him, suletta lmao

*wild tanuki noises*

bob, you're so fucking stupid. glad he's just stuck listening to secelia and el0n now

really wish we could know more about these two lol like rouji's an anxious little mess around everyone else, but perfectly comfortable with secelia

i was really hoping for another scene of these two in the cockpit together, but miorine would've just died inside calibarn

aerial really is such a cool mobile suit

and there it is. the final scene to shock literally everyone ever on their first watch. it really makes me wish i had started watching live instead of just before the first cours was almost over, i can just imagine ~the discourse~

i started right around when the grassley fight episode had finally been subbed by gjm so around episode 10 real air time i believe? and like yeah, i had kept hearing it be referred to as gundam utena, but i wasn't prepared for this lmao

we didn't get a kiss and we didn't get the wedding on-screen, but i am so so happy these two ended up married in the end and that they're both so obviously in love with each other

[i-looove-dillydallying]

I’m a wolfstar-shipper, but I actually really like the Tonks x Lupin pairing as a concept; it had a lot of potential that, unfortunately, was not met (though I am a sucker for tragically bittersweet endings, as well as characters who deem themselves unlovable being loved unconditionally, so kudos for that). Part of the perceived poor execution comes from the fact that the Harry Potter series is told through limited narration: we know what Harry knows, and we may be more curious about certain relationships that exist within his periphery than he is. There could’ve been an entire contextual build-up to their seemingly abrupt feelings for each other that Harry - and by extension us as readers - simply did not experience. Personally, however, I feel like we could’ve been thrown a bone regarding their developing romance here and there, considering that it has already been established just how much Harry eavesdrops. Granted, we did get Molly mentioning how people rush (romantic) decisions in trying times: “Its all this uncertainty with You-Know-Who coming back, people think they might be dead tomorrow, so they're rushing all sorts of decisions they'd normally take time over. It was the same last time he was powerful, people eloping left, right, and center...”

And now for the potential in dynamic I mentioned: after losing the rest of the Marauders, Tonks’ whimsy might have been just the thing to reawaken Remus’ playful side and create a light in the darkness of war (remember Dumbledores quote about turning on the light?), and Remus could’ve helped cultivate her mature side. As with any good ship (imo), there was also plenty of room for angst: Tonks was an auror, Remus classified as a “Dark Creature”. You can imagine the rest.

I don’t mind their 13 year age-gap as much as I thought I would (and other people seem to do), but that might just be a matter of personal taste (and my complete and utter trust in Remus as a good, if occasionally self-destructive and cowardice person). They’re both consenting adults.

What I do mind is the way Tonks’ character changed for the worse as her feelings for Lupin became apparent. What used to be a fun, likeable character turned bratty and unable to read the room (perhaps it is not the time to publicly press for a relationship label - especially with a notoriously private future partner - when he is in mourning). It has however been ages since I last read the books and God knows the films don’t do Remadora justice, so I won’t go too much into that (unintentional?) negative character arc.

As a final note I’d like to say that Wolfstar could be canon-compliant (or pretty much any Marauders-era ship involving Remus) as Remadora happens later on, and bisexuality exists. Luckily, because Harry Potter and the fanon around it are works of fiction, you can interpret the characters and their interpersonal interactions however you like, which is why I politely ask to remain civil in discussions about this post, which I genuinely do hope will occur. No but seriously. I’d love if you voiced your opinion (regardless of whether you agree with me or not) - you’ve already read this far anyway! Thanks for that by the way.

Tldr: I like Remadora conceptually because of their potential, but it (mostly) fell flat.

[adarkroomandawallflower]

Helloooo i hope you're having a good day :D there's this prompt that's been stuck in my head for a while, but I couldn't bring myself to write it down, it's goes something like this:

Data observes that some people seem intimidated by his neutral face, so he attempts to develop a natural smile with Geordi's help

You can go from any direction here, I'd love to see your take on it<3

Hello! Thank you, and I hope you had a good day, too.

Thank you so much for the request! This idea is SO cute, and I can totally see this as a subplot to a TNG episode (one that I really wish we would have gotten to see).

Sorry for the slight delay in posting this...I ended up rewriting it a few times because I didn't like how it was turning out, but I'm finally happy with this version. Regardless, I really enjoyed writing this, and I hope the final version is to your liking!

"Yeah, that's it, Data! You're doing great," Geordi encouraged, "Okay, now imagine you run into me briefly in the hallways, after not seeing me for a few days. How would you smile then?"

Data paused for a moment as he considered the appropriate response to Geordi's theoretical scenario. The act of smiling itself wasn't difficult. In the simplest definition, smiling was just the combination of contracting and flexing specific muscles in the face. Of course, Data knew and understood this definition well. Additionally, he had vast knowledge (or more accurately, he had all the knowledge ever recorded on the subject) about smiling. Yet, most people found that his smile was "unsettling", and at times, "intimidating".

Data looked back at his colleague and best friend, tilting his head softly as he imagined the scenario Geordi outlined. How would he react, in that instance?

This was the source of his "problem". He felt that his inability to portray emotions was what caused his smile to appear unnatural to others. Fortunately, his current crewmates were much nicer than his classmates at the Academy, as well as some of his former colleagues aboard the Trieste. Aboard the Enterprise, he rarely heard any negative comments about himself. However, he recognized the expressions of discomfort on his coworkers' faces whenever he would flash them a smile. Numerous studies over the past several centuries have shown that smiling makes individuals appear more "likeable" and "approachable"; two aspects which Data wanted to portray to others. Thus, he figured this could be another opportunity to learn about human behavior, and emulate it more accurately.

Data blinked at his friend, before letting his lips slowly curve upwards. He allowed his lips to stretch into a gentle "beam" of a smile, pushing the apples of his cheeks out and up towards his eyes slightly, but not far enough to crease his eyes and create what some humans affectionately called "eye crinkles". He felt this situation did not warrant bearing his teeth, so he kept his smile closed, but not quite tight-lipped.

Geordi couldn't help but return Data's smile, "You're a natural, Data!"

Data slowly let his smile fall, and his expression returned to its "normal" appearance, "On the contrary, Geordi. I was not a 'natural' before. I only appear so now because you are clearly an effective and proficient instructor."

Geordi chuckled, "Well thanks, Data, but I can't take all the credit. You're flexing and contracting those smiling muscles all on your own."

In an effort to "improve" his smile, Data had enlisted the help of Geordi earlier in the week. Prior to that, Data had done some personal research to determine which of his friends he felt had the smile that he felt would be most appropriate for himself, and the emotional messages he wished to convey with it.

Data had learned an extensive amount about his friends from this research. Commander Riker's smile, for example, exuded charm and confidence, as well as an air of sensuality that seemed to be physically attractive to several members of the crew. Captain Picard's smile was much softer, and somewhat awkward, but still appeared to be favorable among most of the crew. Dr. Crusher's smile could best be described as a "mother's" smile: warm and reassuring. Counselor Troi's smile was bright and "infectious" (Data was well aware that smiling in general was an "infectious" behavior, but he noticed that individuals returned the Counselor's smiles 22.6% more often than others' smiles). Worf...well, Worf's smile was...unique and infrequent, so he was unable to gather much data on it.

Then, there was Geordi's smile. According to Data's personal research, Geordi had the most comforting and reassuring smile of his friends. Anyone who received a dazzling LaForge grin was 97.3% of the time immediately relaxed, calm, and comfortable. His smile conveyed a sense of peace that Data had not found in other individuals' smiles. Although Data could appreciate and respect all the various smile-types of his friends, he felt that he most wished to replicate Geordi's smile, as it conveyed all the emotions and emotional responses in its recipients that he yearned to. Thus, it was Geordi who he came to request assistance from, in his quest to "improve" his smile.

Data looked at Geordi expectantly, "Based on my performance this evening, do you believe my smile has improved?"

Geordi sighed softly, "Well, Data, I wouldn't say it's 'improved' because I didn't think there was anything about your smile that needed to be 'improved' in the first place...but I do think your smile is much more natural and friendly now."

At that, Data smiled his signature, faint smile, "Thank you, Geordi. You have been most helpful and encouraging to me throughout our lessons. I appreciate your efforts in assisting me in my endeavors to be more human."

"Sure thing, Data," Geordi stood up, "I'd say you're ready to show off that new smile at Miles' and Keiko's wedding tonight. But be careful," he grinned, "Your smile might end up making you a real lady killer tonight."

Data looked at him in surprise and horror, "Geordi, I do not wish to take the life of any of the females, or any other living being, aboard the Enterprise."

Geordi laughed, "I know that, Data. I just meant that your smile is going to turn a few heads, and likely get you some attention...especially when paired with your dress uniform."

Data eyed him curiously, "Geordi, are you implying that some members of the crew will find me physically attractive, due to the combination of my formal wardrobe and new smile?"

"Exactly. Like Commander Riker says, 'Nothing's sexier than a well-dressed man with a dashing smile'."

"Hmm," Data raised his eyebrows, "I had not considered the possibility that my new grin would increase my level of 'sexiness'...how intriguing..."

Geordi laughed, and clapped his hand against Data's back, in between his shoulder blades, "I'm sure that possibility will become a reality later tonight, my dear Data."

Involuntarily, Data's lips curled upwards into a soft, warm smile.

[biirbi]

Dndads season 2 expectations :3

Frankly I do not really know how tumblr works; just posting this to keep track of it! I just finished season 1 of dungeons and daddies a bit ago and am starting the next one soon! Here are my current thoughts/expectations:

ummummmm honestly I have no clue what's going to happen in S2- I know the premise is the doodler has returned, but besides them trying to defeat it probably, no idea. I'm excited to hopefullyy see some of my favorite s1 characters again (I am pretty much exclusively talking about Erin and Scam)! If willy shows up again im going to leave. forever. he doesn't get to be an antag for two seasons.

AND ALSO IM GONNA BE. VERY UPSET IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO THE STAMPLERS. I know scary isn't a stampler technically but I'll still refer to them all as that. but I care them so hard im gonna be so mad. all in all I just want the stamplers to be ok. and scam and erin. Also speaking of erin I hope vince dies she deserves someone with more dimensions (me)

The kids as dads!:

Honestly, I love all the kids- I cannot see them being that bad of parents (but apparently I'll find out soon!)

Adulthood clearly fucks them up SOMEHOW bc idk how they could be so awful but Sparrow (My favorite kid as of now :3) would probably just be. kinda like henry but I still think different? Like Henry is probably more protective than I imagine sparrow would be; aloof (p.s. I had a different idea of what aloof meant but I can't think of a different word so. oh well just use your imagination LMFAO) though he still is very loving! And does his best to sprinkle in life lessons even if they're not. that great. Like I'd think the worst he could fuck up his kid is not really teach him any particularly valuable life skills

Terry Jr! I love him, I'm very glad he and Ron are doing well as of now. I think he's a great kid that would make a great step-dad, especially considering the fact he knows what it's like to 1: lose his dad and 2: have an emotionally distant step-father. You'd THINK he wouldn't want a kid to also go through that but who knows I guess.

I love Grant too, and I know I've said this for all of them but honestly I have no clue what tf they do to him to possibly get him to be that bad of a dad. He was definitely traumatized by murdering that thing so I get him maybe like being emotionally distant. and like overbearing at the same time. but I wouldn't really call that being a poor parent,,,

Nicky uhhh. He confuses me I don't really know what he's like anymore since he was Glenn's kid. then Jodie's. now kinda both so honestly I've no real idea of what he's gonna be like but I still can't see him being that bad.

AND THAT REMINDS ME if hermie is presumably a grandkid of one of the preexisting s1 characters I can not figure out WHO tf might be the one that fucked him up that bad. I don't really know anything about him but it's soo obvious that he is Not gonna have a Good Time. I don't even know if he's a normal guy (normal hehe) or from the forgotten realms or>?????

Characters I'll probably get attached to

Honestly, as far as I can tell abt hermie (which I'm not really supposed to know about yet but whatever) he does seem like a character I will get attached to. And hopefully not empathize with cause that won't help. He just looks like he's designed to hold SO much trauma.

*slaps roof of hermie*

This baby can hold so much trauma in it.

I don't really have any clue abt him but. I can tell it probably won't go well for him! Also he kinda? ?? looks like an antag but also doesn't? Idk maybe an antag because of a forced hand, or more along the lines of an anti-hero? I've no idea.

Scary! She seems likeable in an. unlikeable edgy way. She's played by Beth so it can't be that hard to like her (Which I recently met someone who DOESN'T like beth!? He just hates to see a funny woman...), plus I'm a sucker for edgy emo characters. She's not actually related to ron but yknow terry's her step-dad and that's close enough.

Honestly I don't particularly take to very chipper and upbeat characters (which I'm just assuming Normal is, I could be wrong), so no clue if I'll like him. I at least probably won't dislike him as long as he's not annoying abt it.

And I have no clue what Taylor's gonna be like so really I can't say anything. He's kinda sorta related to Glenn? kinda????? and I didn't like Glenn very much at first, he did grow on me a little but idk- we'll see

I totally forgot to put lincoln in here. idk ANYTHING about him so uhh we'll see!

ermm I think I had something else to say but I forgot- I'm going to start dedicating the next 10 days while I'm by myself to probably binging all of s2. Uhhhh wish me luck!

[lesbianwithchainsaws]

hii im the anon w/ scream rant here it is take my bullshit

The Scream franchise should have ended with Scream 4 (2011).

Character Quality

Craven knew how to write siblings or relatives of deceased characters without making it the entire personality. (I.E. Dewey in the rest of the films post-tatum death) whereas Olpin and Gilett’s characters related to prior characters (namely Sam Carpenter and her being Billy’s illegitimate daughter) had little to no personality outside of being related to those characters.

Dewey remained a likeable some-amount-of-good-dimensional character, while Sam (in movies 5 and 6) has multiple moments where she says you should “never f*ck with the daughter of a serial killer” before brutally murdering them. I will give the new directors credit, Mindy Meeks and Chad Meeks are well written characters who while having some qualities relating to Randy, they also have their own personalities.

Gore, Gore Quality, & Gore Necessity

Screams 1-3 all had a similar gore quality that was to be expected of the time period (1996-2000), but by scream 4 (2011) we are given new gore that is a bit higher quality but still used in moderation as required by each kill scene. But by Scream 5 the gore becomes overused and excessive in each kill scene and by Scream 6 its just overall every death scene is a bloodbath. But, in my opinion the goriest scene should ALWAYS be the final scene where the ghostface/ghosfaces are revealed and murdered. A few examples of overuse of gore in Scream 5/6 are Dewey Riley, Anika Kayoko, and Wes Hicks.

Dewey was stabbed 4-5 times for his death, which normally wouldnt be too bad, BUT his death used the newer gore so the whole thing was over the top and gross. Anika was stabbed in the stomach, then as she was crawling across the ladder to escape she was tipped off the ladder, falling 2-3 floors and smashing her face on a trashcan. Which I once again wouldnt have an issue with but they showed her face right after she hit the trashcan. Wes was also stabbed but he was stabbed through one side of his neck (like through and through one spot on his skin)

Honestly you're so right about the characters. It does a lot of the times feels like there's isn't as much to them as the original Scream characters. Maybe this is on a similar note, but I also don't feel like the new characters are as close as the original survivors felt. They definitely do have their moments, especially in Scream 6 but imo it doesn't feel the same.

For the gore, I imagine a big reason for the bloodbath is because that's what Radio Silence is known for. Like Ready or Not was bloody and its what people kinda associate with them. I also think that the level of gore that is expected in a slasher movie nowadays differs a lot from what was expected when the first Scream movies came out. Personally I don't have much of a problem with more gore, but agree that the most of it should be used for Ghostface(s). The killer should always have the most impressive and memorable kill imo.

Another point I kinda wanna bring up with my dislike of the new Scream movies is that - do they even have anything to say about horror anymore?

This one is more with 6 and the maybe upcoming 7 movie, but the point of Scream has always been to poke fun at movies, especially horror ones. The first one does this brilliantly imo. I think 2 does it well too. 3 falters a bit at times imo. 4 I think once again did better at poking fun at /commentating about horror and the world at the time. Especially considering how much time had passed between 3 and 4, I think it worked well and there was more new stuff to say.

For 5 I think the commentary about the movie landscape was alright. Again, enough time had passed between 4 and 5 that there's new stuff to say. But 6 didn't really provide much new that wasn't already said in the previous movies imo, and I can't see how more sequels could do so. I think that, again, maybe in like 10 years there could more said about the movie landscape. But not this quickly. Like I genuinely cant see 7 doing well and being good, if it even does get made considering how many changes its gone through so far. I heard that apparently Sidney is coming back, but like what else is there to do? With or without her? I just don't see the point of continuing the Scream franchise right now.

I didn't like 5 very much but I could at least understand if that was the last one for a while. Making more seems like a mistake imo

[justanothergreb]

Icebreaker Review (or how Jackz wonders if some authors actually do research anymore)

Content warning - maybe some potential spoilers, but also talk of sex, namely the ridiculous sex in this book. Also this is all just my opinion, you can differ but no need to get nasty because I didn’t like the book.

Oh my god a book review! Well a review of a book so bad it needed a post. I’m really starting to believe that Booktok, while doing great things for getting people into reading, is a bloody menace for making terrible books popular. Spoiler - Icebreaker by Hannah Grace is one of the worst books I’ve ever read. 

It’s long so it’s going behind a cut...

Romance is not normally a genre I venture in to (unless it’s the Jane Austen-kind or Kate Cann-type books) but this book seemed like it would appeal to me. Ice skating - yes please. Ice hockey - yes please. People raving about the x-rated content - yes please indeed. My god was I reminded why I avoid this genre.

Let’s start off with the characters. Anastasia is so irritating. She’s whiny, she’s judgemental and just not likeable at all. Nathan is a wet blanket with a big dick. I’m sure some would be very excited by how much of a prince charming character he comes across but he’s so bland. Aaron was an attempt at the only child trope (a trope I as an only child despise) but was just a thoroughly vile character. Henry was blatantly written by a British person as he came across so thoroughly British in his nature I forgot he was American. I also lost track of when we discover JJ is gay and how many times Robbie is spoken about like he is able-bodied when he’s in a wheelchair. Far too many side characters for me which just burred into one mess of a cast. 

Now the setting and some of the plot points. I’m all for suspension of disbelief but do we really think a college in Los Angeles would be seemingly specialising in winter sports? Also the way most US sports work you are drafted into a team AFTER you graduate so how was Nathan already signed to a team? What was the purpose Nathan’s dad? Was he there just to be a pointless dick? Why all the side characters? Can you just swap from being a pairs skater to a solo skater? All the skaters I know went solo to pairs but never the other way round. 

Now the writing. It bothered me from the out because I could pick up this was written by someone not American. Too many phrases and ways of saying things which were so obviously British it drove me nuts. Was I shocked that the author made a joke about it in her little “About Me” bit? Nope, more shocked that her editors hadn’t pointed out just how blatant it was in places. If you’re going to write a book, at least also do some proper research on how things work in other countries. I’ve never heard an American student call it “a lecture” but that’s what college classes were referred to in this. The not understanding the basics of how the drafting systems work in sport. It might seem trivial but for me, it really bothers me when writers don’t make the effort for things to at least reflect the setting of their book. 

On the subject of things not being reflective of real life...that Uber scene. Sorry how was any of that plausible? A car with seven people including a wheelchair user (who from my imagination/understanding of the car layout would surely be in the position Nate/Stas are in??) and no one notices what you’re up to? Are they asleep? Ignorant? 

In fact this was one of my biggest problems with the book - the sex scenes. They were ridiculous. It was like reading instructions for porn scenes. I often wonder if authors who decide to make their male characters well endowed actually have experienced this themselves because if they had, they’d know that a lot of the stuff they write is nonsense. Painful, not comfortable, nonsense. I’m all for a bit of some of things going on in this but it was borderline ridiculous how much these two were at it and in the positions they were supposedly in. Athletes or not, I just wasn’t buying it. I often find first person sex scenes a bit cringe and these had me cringing. A lot. 

But my biggest problem - how was this over 400 pages? Nothing happened. It dragged on and on and on and it felt like absolutely nothing happened. 

This took me nearly a month to read. Eurgh. 

[richardsphere]

Lets Watch IceQueendom because Crunchy Sank My cost for the month-blog S1E2.

Why does Lisa Lavender sound like a robot? Lichtenberg-free Nora. Look how cute and innocent you still are. The implication that Weiss actually knows Pyrrha from the cornflakes instead of “knowing her as a champion, but vaguely aware she happens to be on cornflakes” is funny. Can you imagine S1 I am elite of the elite, Weiss eating childrens breakfast cereal? The implication that Jaune has healthier eating habbits then Weiss is also odd. Moving the Blakeversation to before the Weissplosion makes blake seem a bit more ass-ish, and Ruby now recognises the SDC by name on the news and is suddenly a lot more politically aware because the show wants Weiss to be more likeable (by removing the weiss-splosion.) This results in us missing the “ruby makes her first friend” scene. Emerald forest is moved up, no introduction speech from Oz, but he does provide a map of the forest this time around. There are lockers on the plane now. and it seems we’re going to lose the “ruby makes her first friend Jaune” scene entirely. timing accindally implies that this version of jaune has enough social awareness to notice Pyrrha was uncomfortable with Weiss’ attention and is just doing it to distract Weiss. (probably not intentional on the writers part but funny nonetheless) I dont know if the planes ability to turn its feet into legs is cannon or not, as a result of us getting to see both ends of the line-up on the launchpads at the same time, there are so much fewer students in this version. Which makes the inclusion of faceless NPC’s in the lineup particularly weird. Blue-and-lavender wizard is the spin-offs prerequisite “OC Please dont sue” character, I have decided that whenever I want to draw a distinction between Ice Queendom versions and Regular i will refer to them as IQ!x and ML!x (ML for MainLine) IQ! Yang has a directly oppositelanding strategy, shooting her blasters forward to slow herself down. In the process she loses some of the “devil-may-care” attitude presented by ML!Yang’s shooting them backwards to get more mileage out of that initial launch. (I also remember ML!Yang had sunglasses to emphasize the devil-may care). IQ! Yang is being portrayed as relatively more sensible as a result. IQ!Ruby shoots her sniper once by accident, to hearken to her early series and lands by using Crescent Rose as a sort of Pogostick type thing instead of ML!Ruby bleeding out energy through rotation around a treetrunk. This is probably to emphasize her relative early-series clumsiness. Jaune’s Landing Strategy is the only one shown so far not to change at all. IQ!Pyrrha’s interaction with Jaune is played for intimidation, rather then charm. I honestly dont know why, IQ!Grimm are a lot more, uncanny and less animalistic in apearance. This makes them scarier but less charming. Somehow IQ!Ruby cant hit the broad side of a barn. the first IQ!Whiterose fightscene is much more “weiss did everything for Ruby” then its ML! equivalent. IQ!nora’s “its broken” line refers to a pillar she knocks the ursa into. Instead of the ursa she rodeo’d to death. I assume this is because the rodeo would’ve cost too much to animate. As a result IQ!Ren’s “could you try to fight a little more normally” makes no sense. All she did was use her hammer, as a hammer. No IQ!Blake, she was not riding an ursa. She hit it from behind, dont keep lines of dialogue referencing events you didnt animate. IQ!Whiterose arrive running from the nevermore instead of using Nora-ing as a method of transportation. I presume this is to sell the credibility of Grimm as a threat more. Operation Run&Live is seemingly IQ!Blake’s idea instead of ML!Jaune. (removing the early indication of Jaune’s strategic mind behind the early cowardice in the process) Operation Hammer&Nail remains, but the irony of the Deathstalkers fate is removed. IQ!Weiss is nicer during Operation Scythe-a-Pult then i remember her being (but that might just be my memory) Did the launch-glyph turn red in ML! as well? I dont know, but then again i’ve always struggled to tell Weiss’ glyphs apart. They almost all are either “white sigil” “black Sigil” and “light blue sigil bordering on white” so i never know what the ever-loving frickfrack Weiss is using her powers for this time. Wait... thoughts coming to my mind now. 1-the Schnee Semblance is unique in that it is inheritable, 2-The schnee semblance can summon grimm 3-Cannon shows that Salem and Oz’s children inherited magic. I hope the logical conclusion of those facts doesnt end up being cannon cause that would be so dissapointing as a narative twist. But I only noticed it now mid-rant on how annoyingly weird the schnee glyps are. (last time i thought about the Schnee’s breaking all the established semblance rules was before The Lost Fairy Tale episode of Mainline) Getting back Off-tangent and on-episode though: Lavender Wizard has found their grimm’s hiding spot.  Teams are ceremonied IQ! Weiss is frustrated and has a scar on her neck she didnt have in ML! (probably relates to Wizards Grimm somehow) ---- All in all, this episode is semi-decent at combining the Shining Beacon and Initiation episodes, though it loses the Pyrha&Jaune Aura Exposition scene. And Pyrrha lost like, most of her pleasant demeanor as well. Which probably doesnt matter that much if this season focusses on Weiss and R_BY but is still a sad loss to witness.

[spectaculardistractions]

To Marie-Laure and Charles de Noailles Culver City, 2 December 1930 Very dear friends, First, I must thank you for sending the two letters, the one from Drieu and the other one, as well as the press cuttings, all of which arrived in good time. I see the critics are still prattling on and lecturing you about charity (donating that million for a retirement home), instead of promoting a film against charity. My friendship and admiration for you increase by the day. You are unique among those of your class for having produced a work like that. And I hope that when more reviews come out they will confirm what I’ve just said. Let’s hope! I’ve been here for a month now and I’ve achieved nothing. I arrive at Metro at about midday and have lunch, then I leave at around 3pm and don’t go back until the following day. If I had hopes of doing anything they are beginning to fade. All I can say is that there is an immense list of untouchable topics. And all the topics that interest me are on that list. They just go on making the same old films where the star is the only object and the only subject. Eisenstein, to give a fine example, is leaving tomorrow having achieved absolutely nothing. And not because he proposed any overtly revolutionary scripts. They rejected the idea of him making L’Or by Cendrars. There is more talking in films every day and Metro alone has over sixty writers charged with inventing, writing, adapting or translating scripts. And you’ve already seen what they produce. For example: Yves Mirande is the first French writer and Martínez Sierra will be the first Spaniard. All the directors are controlled directly, and at all times, by supervisors whose job it is to safeguard moral values, public taste, political ideas, good sense, and every kind of routine human convention. They are marvellously well set up to quash any new ideas, unless they are purely technical ones. I don’t mean the practical side of things, that is even more impressive than I imagined. However, I am learning to despise such levels of perfection and marvellous organization at the service of the worst kind of imbecility. For my part, in order to justify my salary, I’ve asked to be put in charge of dialogues in Spanish or the adaptation of foreign films. It involves very little responsibility and will allow me to get through the first six months of my contract without being noticed. I shall return to Paris in May. We had no idea how impressive Los Angeles would be. It is ten, maybe twenty times as big as Paris. It is a vast garden with palm trees, lawns and flowers, on which they’ve built avenues where the house numbers go up to seven or eight thousand. Each one is a bungalow. And the standard of living couldn’t be more perfect. Even with my outgoings, I’ve been able to buy myself the latest Ford and live in an apartment I could not have dreamt of. Particularly in terms of the comforts. Even with the garage, monthly payments on the car, etc., I’m still saving almost 100 dollars a month. I play miniature golf every day, which is much more entertaining than normal golf. I spend Sundays at Chaplin’s house. He’s very likeable, but not particularly clever. He never spends any time with the Americans and he’s always with us (us = two young Spaniards and me). When he’s out in public, he only likes to joke around, doing the bread roll dance, miming and performing other charming tricks. When he gets serious, he shows us a postcard from London and tells us all about his childhood with his mad mother begging on the streets. And then he suddenly goes back to performing the bread roll dance. He is only ever still for a moment, at the Turkish baths, perhaps meditating. However, he does have human qualities and a quite straightforwardly warm personality. I’m sending you a magazine with photographs from the police archives over here. It is quite remarkable, completely dedicated to gangsters and their crimes. I hope you find it interesting. I see all the famous stars every day, male and female, at the Metro canteen. They are extremely disappointing. Joan Crawford is truly ugly. Greta Garbo keeps herself to herself and dresses very plainly. Norma Shearer is insignificant. Lily Damita, on the other hand, is very pretty, but she sticks her tongue out whenever she notices people looking at her. Menjou and Lewis Stone are just as they appear in the films. Buster Keaton is not particularly interesting either. And many others. The Metro canteen is like a DEAR LITTLE MALAMPIA’S GROTTO. But the film magazines have fooled us all, one way or another. I honestly envy you when I think of Saint-Bernard. I often remember my visit there and it makes me sad to think I won’t be able to visit this winter. Nonetheless, I shall save your kind invitation for next winter. I can just imagine Charles in his coat and Marie-Laure taking the flowers outside at night. And playing with Laure and Nathalie from 5 to 7 in the evening. Send them both my love. Yours affectionately, Luis Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Culver City, California PS Why don’t you come to Los Angeles and Hollywood in the Spring? The climate is wonderful, and the city is truly beautiful. It would be a wonderful trip… and I would be able to spend a few days with you. So, it’s a very selfish suggestion on my part. If you were to come, I would delay my return to Europe. The photo: my car, Georgia and me (Georgia is Charlot’s friend, the lead in The Gold Rush, where she was a brunette).

Jo Evans & Breixo Viejo, Luis Buñuel: A Life in Letters

[eden-005]

Let me out

               Do things always work out in the end? They don’t, they never do, at least for me. I know how that sounds, it sounds like I’m trying to make a martyr out of myself, “oh no, my life sucks, I’m sad”, but I have proof to back up what I’m saying. I was raped, then I forgot I was, and then I remembered. Great stuff, isn’t it? It is such wonder to have the same image burned again and again into your mind. As everyone has been telling me for the past year “things are gonna get better”, except they didn’t, I still feel as shitty and guilty, dirty and lost, I feel like I’ve lost control over my life, not that I had that much to begin with. It’s been almost a year and a half, when the fuck is it gonna get better? I’m not even asking for good, just for something slightly better, it would be nice not to wake up in the middle of the night because my nightmares about that day getting more and more real. Still, there are times where it does get a teeny tiny bit better, bet it usually doesn’t last more than a couple hours, a day if I’m lucky. But some shit always happens to get me back to square one, always, things always get worse in the end.

               At some point, as any other person would’ve, I got tired of it, I decided to take away my own life. I couldn’t even succeed at that, I failed miserably, but still spent two days at the damn hospital. Statistics say that most of the people that attempt suicide regret almost immediately, I did, do not. The only thing I regret is calling the suicide prevention helpline, if only I hadn’t, I’d be dead by now, I’d be free. They did ask me if I regretted my actions before letting me go, I told the doctors the truth, which is probably what made them want to put me in a psychiatric hospital, it didn’t work out, and it’s better that way, I doubt it could’ve helped me, I’m already a prisoner inside my own mind, I really didn’t, and don’t, need to be one in real life too. Now I’m being forced to live a life that isn’t my own one that I clearly don’t enjoy living in, but hey, at least, once in a blue moon, things get slightly better for a day, and then they get abysmally worse. Today is one of those days, but today’s also worse than usual, because things didn’t get slightly better for a couple of hours, or a full day, they got slightly better for a whole ass week, and as they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

               To be fair, it’s not like taking me back to square one is hard, the tiniest inconvenience is more than enough. A week ago, I got invited to a party, “finally, I get to worry about something my age” I dumbly thought. And worry I did, as normal people do, without overthinking things that much, for fuck’s sake, I even went shopping with my mother, the fact that I was able to survive that is undeniable proof that things were better. Sadly, the party got canceled, no big deal, right? Shit happens, right? That’s the rational reaction, but I’m not rational, I’m an overthinker, so I overthought. Maybe I was invited by mistake, and this was a way to make sure I didn’t go, or perhaps it was just a cruel joke, it could also be that the party was just cancel, but I doubt that, there’s not that many things I’m sure about, but if had to bet on the one thing I know for sure is that I’m a hardly likeable character. I feel like such a fool for believing that I could be social, for believing that, if only for a night, that I could have a normal life for someone my age, for imagining that people are actually able to appreciate my company.

               In the beginning I tried coping, I decided to still go out, for a walk or something, instead I hooked up with a total stranger. I got distracted while it lasted, but immediately after I got dragged back to reality, so I went home, where I spent an hour and a half researching easy, fast and painless ways to die, but I don’t have neither poison nor a gun. Then I started writing this, but I don’t really see the point anymore, who do I think I am? I’m just another sad and frustrated teenager, there’s millions more of those. I don’t like myself, well, which seventeen-year-old does? Sure, I have trauma, but who doesn’t? I don’t see why I would have a right to complain, even if that’s exactly what I’m doing.

               I really don’t see the point in trying anymore, I should have the right to choose when to die, I should be able to stop my own suffering, but no, people think being alive even if you’re in a constant state of suffering is better than being dead, but it’s always happy people that think that. What about hell and heaven? My thoughts on that are simple, they don’t exist, and even if they did, I’m going straight to hell anyway, I’m a bad person and I doubt I’d change if I stayed alive. The worse part of all this is that the only reason people around me don’t want me to die isn’t because life is great and all that shit, but because my dead would make them feel guilty or sad, so they want me to suffer for their own selfish reasons. Granted, I also want to die for selfish reasons, but at least I’m honest about them.

[limitlesses]

𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐔, 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐍'𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐍 -- 𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐎𝐑 𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘'𝐃 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐒, 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐒, 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐒 -- he didn't exist to be a person, that much was driven home since the moment he could walk on his own. Murmurs without any reservations fired off around his young ears about how good this would be for the clan; the faster he grew the better for them. There were a few stray audacious offers made for him potentially being sold despite no possibility presenting itself, the Gojo clan held on tightly to their precious little powerhouse much to the bidder's dismay.

Now, this was a whole other version of selling him off -- the idea of him being asked to put a child in someone was already disgusting in and of itself, but the various additional factors made it hard for him to even think of his parents as people anymore. Not like they returned the favor either.

This topic was made far easier because of Suguru's wonderful admission -- thank fuck for that, because Satoru couldn't imagine going any further in detail about the girl he was supposed to get with. Blegh. He scrunched his nose up at Suguru's implication that he somehow thought himself wholly alone in the entirety of fucking Japan, like his complex extended that vastly -- as if he was genuinely that full of himself. Suguru was being a playful bastard, huh?

❝ -- fuck you, I meant like ---- obviously that was more about -- ...at Jujutsu High, at least, not like... in all of Japan ---- ❞ Now he was really flustered, word-vomit fucking him over just a little by the way Suguru now had a fully disgruntled and blushing Satoru dragging both his hands down his bared face. Sunglasses out of the way, he could really get in there with making sure he didn't open his fucking eyes to see any sort of smug look on Suguru's face. He might die. This might be it. He just had to mention Suguru's piercings and now he had to think about Suguru's piercings. Friendly fire, there -- good going, Satoru. His mind wandered to the idea of Suguru getting a tongue piercing and proceeded to b-line to wondering what it'd feel like while kissi----oOOOKAY THAT'S ENOUGH !!

He smacked his face. Repeatedly. His forehead especially, as if to rattle those thoughts out. Then he palmed at his eyes with a groan. No eye contact for Suguru, Satoru was too busy fighting internal demons.

❝ Gauged ears aren't -- whateverthefuck, no, I'm ---- I think I'm done talking now, actually. ❞

He was so fucked, so fucked, so so so fucked ---- the instant his dumb ears heard that Suguru was ---- fucking of course, the stars aligned and his dumb brain immediately latched onto the thoughts of what was once dismissed as a one-sided never-to-be stupid fucking crush.

And the worst part was now he had a racing mind alongside his pounding and fluttery heartbeat. Now he couldn't help but to think about the fact that -- what, did Suguru date a guy before, did he have a lot of experience ? Did he date girls for a while first to try and be normal and then he had the run-in with a guy that turned his head ? What was he like, did he still have him in his life ? Were they bitter exes ? What did he look like, did he look normal ? Did Suguru like normies ? Fuck. No, maybe he liked them with tats and piercings too -- probably knew people, yeah, had his connections and friendgroup outside of Jujutsu High, honestly ---- he was likeable, adjusted to society around humans and around sorcerers alike. He probably texted them, at least ---- now he was going to be stupidly aware of whenever Suguru texted, fuck. Fuck.

He smacked his face again and then peeled one hand away in favor of mussing up his dumb abnormal hair that Suguru probably didn't even li-- Oh my God he was so fucked.

❝ ---- ANYWAY ! Still have the predicament of not knowing how to word me declining my parents' attempt at an arranged marriage. But ---- I'm so glad you got to watch me verbally sabotage myself in real time, thanks dude. Real friend material. ❞ He promptly shoved at Suguru's shoulder as payback. Somehow, this was all his fault.

𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐖𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐃 —- the fear of disappointing their families merely by being themselves.  Suguru had grown accustomed to that fear, letting it dominate so much of his youth before he accepted the jujutsu sorcerer’s hand that had been extended to him.  A promise, in its own way, of finding a family that loved him for who he was —- not who he could be.  People that were like-minded; that wanted to rid the world of curses, once and for all.

Leaving home for Jujutsu High had been a way for Suguru to find himself outside of the close-minded little world he had grown up in.  It was a means of escape —- the freedom to be himself without fear of disappointing those he cared about.

He had kept his parents at arm’s length ever since his arrival in Tokyo.  Slow to reply to letters, emails… any means of communication they sought out.  Suguru just wasn’t interested in going back to the way things used to be —-- though he hadn’t quite figured out a way to articulate that to them yet.

❝ You can be their son without surrendering your entire life to them, ❞ Suguru replied earnestly, amethyst gaze lingering on Satoru’s cerulean.  His eyes held a strength of their own —-- an intense conviction to live a life one could be proud of, even if it meant having to stand alone.  Suguru placed his hand on Satoru’s shoulder, squeezing it lightly.  ❝ You have so much innate power, Satoru —- power over them, too.  Use it to build the life you want.  Everything else will fall into place as it should. ❞

With that, Suguru gave his friend a genuine smile.  It was boyish in nature, but underneath it all was a quiet admiration of the other.  An offering —--- ‘I see you, and I understand.’  

At least until he was practically hit over the head by Satoru's delayed realization.  Embarrassment left his cheeks turning a rosy shade of pink as Satoru all but thrashed around in front of him.  It wasn’t that Suguru was self-conscious of his sexuality —- he just wasn’t all that fond of the attention such a quiet reveal was suddenly garnering.  

❝ Oh please, ❞  Suguru laughed, albeit weakly, ❝ —-you might be alone with that six eyes ability of yours, but you’re hardly the only person in Japan that leans the other way. ❞

Suguru knew that wasn’t what Satoru meant by being the only one, but the guy was a bit desperate to get all of the attention off of him at the moment. It was only when Satoru started word vomiting that Suguru found himself relaxing —- suddenly finding this whole conversation hilarious.

❝ Relaaax, Satoru— I know what you meant. ❞  At least, he thought he did… there was a certain kinship in finding others that also didn’t fit the mold that society required of them.  Right…?  ❝ Though my piercings giving me away is a new one.  I’ll take it that gauged ears aren’t widely accepted by the Gojo clan~? ❞ he smirked, intent to make eye contact with Satoru now that he wasn’t the only one red in the face.