#in fact i'd go so far as to say they are the exact opposite of organized

[meta-squash]

A bunch of Owen-centric fics for @brighhton

(A bunch of these are ancient, so there will be quite a few links to livejournal, ffn, and other places.)

Most of paperclipbitch's fics are Owen-centric. A lot of them are Owen/Ianto (again idk if you're into that) but I'll post some here because she's been one of my favorite Torchwood fic writers since the early days. I recommend all her fics, even the ones that aren't Owen-related.

If You Pass Go, Do Not Collect £200 by paperclipbitch - Ianto is sent to rescue Owen from 19th Century London, but he’s less than impressed by what Owen has been doing to survive.

Hamartia by paperclipbitch - “Gwen,” Owen says eagerly, pushing himself to his feet, “Gwen, let us out.”

and you told me i should concentrate by paperclipbitch - There's a story Owen doesn't tell.

Clinging To The Wreckage Until I Got The Message by paperclipbitch - “You need something other than this in your life, Owen,” Ianto murmurs.

Like There's A Part Of Me That I Want To Get Back Again by paperclipbitch - After Jack's disappearance and a decision to retcon himself, Ianto still believes he’s been in a coma the last couple of years and has been re-recruited to Torchwood One following his awakening.

The Cartography Of Feeling by Sholio - "We're sodding gladiators," Owen said. "Fuck this entire day and Jack Harkness too."

Got That Friday Feeling Again by NancyBrown - HELP HELP HELP HELP I AM TRAPPED IN A TIME BUBBLE

Second Look by remindmeofthe - Sometimes, you get a chance to see the past through a different pair of eyes: your own.

Confluence by Cmdr_Spadge - Once Lisa is dead, it's Owen who decides what to do with Ianto.

Heave And Turn The World Around by ChasingFrames - Post-Countrycide, Ianto doesn't really know how bad off he is; Owen realizes he gives a damn, and Tosh and Jack are islands in the stormy sea.

Separated by AuthorInDistress - When the Toclafane attack during the 'Year That Never Was', Owen and Ianto survive that hell together. (Owen/Ianto)

Snowdon by rivier - Owen, Ianto, and the shape left by the absence of Jack.

Tea And Sympathy by osprey_archer - Soon after Jack's disappearance, Owen takes sick. Ianto goes to check on him. (Owen/Ianto)

Interstitial by sholio - They jostled around each other for a while, bouncing off each other's sharp and broken edges—and then they started to fit, like puzzle pieces that couldn't click together until they found just the right angle.

Simile by Echo - After being trapped, beaten, terrified, and deprived of sleep, Ianto is desperate to get away from the activity surrounding the village. Unfortunately, with a concussion and any number of unknown injuries, that's not really a good idea.

Frames Of Reference by Echo - There's a difference between 'mostly alive' and 'mostly dead'. Sometime it's just hard to remember which one is which, especially when you get right down to the details.

House Call To Purgatory by tardisjournal - Owen just wants to do his job and get out. Things don't go as planned when the patient is Ianto. A post-Cyberwoman fic.

Shoot Something And Call Me In The Morning by tardisjournal - After the "bloody camping trip from hell", all bets as to the state of Ianto's mental health are off. Owen offers his own unique brand of therapy. A post-Countrycide fic.

Conversations And Comfortable Silences by mydeira - A quiet moment outside after Gwen's wedding.

we rebel against our better judgement (and fall despite our best intentions) by anonymous - Like all great stories, it starts with an ‘I love you’. (Owen/Ianto)

Like The Wind by clarrisani - Sometimes all you can do is run.

There's Nothing Here Worth Saving by heddychaa - The nicest thing she ever did for him.

Forgiveness Without Apologies by halfeatenmoon - With Jack gone, Ianto and Owen reluctantly learn to support each other, at least for now.

Remaking Tomorrow by mydeira - Change the outcome of one event, change the world.

Instant by ru-salki99 - Jack's gone and Ianto is struggling to get over him, so owen decides to help him a little bit. (Owen/Ianto)

Breaking & Entering by ru-salki99 - Owen stays over... and still forgets his dvds.(Owen/Ianto)

Shadows Hold Their Breath by solsticezero - "And the only word that he could think was again. First Parker. Now Ianto. Dying because he was dead." Owen flounders. Jack sets some things straight.

With Apples by megwriting - Comfort me with apples, stay me with flagons. (Post-End Of Days)

Losing Ianto by Otrame - “Owen! It’s happening again.”

The Cold Light Of Morning by aeshna-uk - He was tired, he was filthy, he didn't want to even think about what was clinging to his shoes, and the day wasn't over yet.

Never Bespoken by amand_r - He'd had other suits, actually (eventually), but after Katie'd died he'd thrown them all away

And I'll Be Gone by lookninjas - Owen leaves a message of his own.

The Use Of Memory by pocketmouse - Owen knew it was going to be a bad day about five minutes after he stepped into the Hub.

ShellShock by amberssister - Owen freezes when Ianto gets hurt.

[noxiatoxia]

i love komaeda tidbits!!! his valley girl dialect adds so much ahhh... do you recall any particularly funny/notable instances of him speaking like that, or times where other characters comment on it?

I wouldn't go as far as to say it is a valley girl-type accent. 1, because that is just the closest approximate to English (obviously the exact same thing doesn't exist in Japanese) and 2, Komaeda does not use sa and ne nearly enough for it to be those levels...well, in my opinion. I'm sure other people could weigh in on what they think.

Either way he's still stumbling over his words a lot, and I do think that's very charming.

I guess you could make the argument that he does have a valley girl accent by proxy of the fact most other characters don't over-use filler particles as much...like I said in the post, people do it all the time in real life, but in media, characters rarely ever stutter or use filler words (unless it's, like, a super tense situation). So the casual usage, even if it is small, stands out. I guess in that way, you can argue Komaeda has a "noticeable" accent in that regard...but that's very much a topic up for debate.

I'm getting side-tricked, lol.

Anyways, while not related to ne or sa, there is another thing I love that's overlooked, and that's how he uses ってば (tte ba)!

Again, this is a very cute detail. It does not happen often, but I can recall 2 instances where he uses it.

Firstly, let me explain. tte ba in the case I'm talking about is a sentence ender used to express frustration, annoyance, urgency, etc. It can kind of sound like whining, but it's the verbal equivalent of stomping your foot.

What's fun is that this word is predominantly used by women. Men use it too of course, but overwhelmingly it just seems to be a word that girls use.

But Komaeda uses it too!

First instance is in the prologue, where he says it to Hanamura.

ちょっと！花村クンってば！

The English translation is perfectly fine. But to go more in depth, as you recall, earlier in the prologue Komaeda told Hanamura to stop pestering Sonia with sexual advances. Here, Hanamura does it again. So, naturally, Komaeda responds...

Come on, Hanamura-kun! I told you to quit it already!

The tte ba added at the end makes Komaeda sound like he's scolding Hanamura and is very exasperated.

Also, while the sentence literally is just "Hey, Hanamura-kun!" with an irritated edge, using prior context and knowing what tte ba means (kind of serving to be like "I already told you this!" sort of thing) we can make the sentence sound better in English.

Next is in chapter 2.

おーい、日向クンってばー！

This one is extra funny, because おーい (usually just おい, oi) is neutral-leaning-male, while as we've said, tte ba is neutral-leaning-female. That's what I love about Komaeda's dialogue: he mixes together "traditionally" male speech patterns and female speech patterns. While, again, not uncommon in real life, anime is so much different. Scripts and word choice are used to tell you about a character's personality. As such, you usually get characters who speak hyper-masculine or hyper-feminine or deliberately ambiguous. I'd say a character who speaks a clean mix of feminine and masculine is very rare. Although, to be more precise, Komaeda speaks masculine and neutral-leaning-feminine...if that makes sense (I will explain later).

Anyways, again, the English translation is good. Komaeda does sound pretty whiny in this scene.

Heeeey! C'mon, Hinata-kuuun!

Now, for the opposite. Something that gets overlooked is an interesting scene in 2.5.

The subtitles has Komaeda as saying "I've heard enough!" but I disagree with this. Komaeda says 黙れよ！in the dub. This is a very masculine turn of phrase because of the imperative nature of it - something Komaeda, to my knowledge, never uses. Very masculine characters do use it often - like Hinata or Oowada or Kuzuryuu - but not Komaeda.

2.5 is complex enough, but this adds a whole new layer to it...Komaeda has never spoke so roughly before. I think it shows just how emotional he truly was in this scene.

I'd translate this line as:

Just shut the fuck up!

And finally...while not canon per se, it is voiced by Megumi Ogata and is very in-character for Komaeda, so I count it. This cute little voice line she recorded for the Danganronpa x Crash Fever on Halloween. It let's me segue into something.

トリック・オア・トリート！お菓子をくれなきゃイタズラしちゃうぞ...なんてね。

Earlier I said Komaeda speaks masculine + neutral-leaning-feminine, and this probably sounds like gibberish to a lot of people because...what does that even mean?

(Keep in mind I'm speaking for the perspective of anime, where these grammar rules carry exaggerated connotations compared to real life! I am also speaking from the perspective of Tokyo dialect aka standard Japanese.)

Komaeda typically uses these particles: sa, ne, yo.

All of these particles are gender-neutral, but ne can be more feminine depending on the context. For example, Saonji uses ne constantly, and so does Mioda. But characters like Hinata and Souda still use ne because again it's context dependent.

There are feminine particles, such as wa, which Komaeda does not use. It is used by characters like Sonia and Celestia and even Kirigiri, which is surprising considering her stoic image (it's very cute).

Then, there's masculine particles, like zo, ze and na. Characters who use zo are Kuzuryuu, Souda, Hinata, and Owari to name a few. Despite Owari being female, she talks very masculine, which adds to her rough image. Ze is also used by all of those characters, as is na.

Komaeda's choice of pronoun is also mild-mannered. Boku is a polite masculine pronoun. It makes sense for him to use it when speaking casually which he is always seen doing. If he used Watashi - also gender neutral (to a point) - while speaking casually, it would make him seem feminine or like a girl.

However, the vast majority of male characters when speaking casually will use Ore, which is a hyper-masculine pronoun. I have lost count of the amount of characters who use this. Only characters I can remember who use Boku (besides Komaeda and Naegi) are Yamada, Hanamura, and Ishimaru.

And for those three, I think it makes sense - they all have this level of acting polite/wanting to be polite or seen as proper.

Which is why the fact Komaeda/Naegi uses it stands out a little bit with the rest of the cast. Makes them appear more mild. opting to use gender-neutral particles only and a mild-mannered male pronoun for your male character tells you a lot about them, especially when almost every other guy in the same series is talking super masculine.

Okay, back to that video. What's cute about it is how Komaeda switches from talking masculine to feminine on purpose.

Trick or Treat! If you don't gimmie some candy...I'mma pull a trick on ya! ...Joking!

I'm unsure how to word this in a way that sounds "masculine" or "feminine" as that doesn't really exist in English I don't think...but the first half of his sentence, Komaeda uses zo at the end to sound threatening/rough, then the last part, nante-ne, sounds feminine when pitched up at the end there. It definitely makes him sound playful.

I also want to point out...though I use masculine/feminine (as what I've talked about are usually employed by men, hence masculine, or women, hence feminine) it is not a matter of being absolute...for example, dresses are seen as being feminine, but that does not mean a man can't wear a dress and still be a man.

Wow, this post got long...I sure do talk. I hope this answers something at least haha. Thank you for the ask!

[acourtofthought]

One of the more ridiculous things ewriel have said is that in that BC they love the yearning between ewriel. Yearning WHERE? They just want to bang because they are attracted to each other. Ewriels really don’t understand romance and we all suffer for it.

For a group that says we don't care about what the characters wants, they seem hell bent on forcing emotions onto both Az and Elain that just do not exist in actual canon.

Az is struggling, that cannot be denied and yes, he's spent a year staring at headache powder. But we KNOW he's spent much longer than that brooding and pouting over not having Mor and that means his feelings and self-loathing go way beyond Elain. When they try to act like this all stems from him not getting to be with "his one true love", it's a bit of a joke. Since book 2 we've heard how he has always struggled to know where he belongs, since book 2 we learned of how he wanted Mor from the moment she walked into the Illyrian camp over 500 years ago and how the fallout from her sleeping with Cassian was really bad, since book 2 and all the way through SF, we've been given mentions of him staring at Mor with yearning and longing (because "few and far between in SF does not equal zero which means he is STILL looking at Mor with longing at times), since book 3 we witnessed him pouting / being aloof after Mor was upset with him, only softening when she sat next to him at dinner or after he'd had time to recover from it, since book 3 Rhys tells Feyre Az has most likely been asking himself why he didn't get a mating bond with Mor for the past centuries and in SF Az refused to address his very known feelings for Mor with Rhys (avoidance is telling).

Az now wondering why he didn't get a mate like his brothers has a lot less to do with Elain herself and a lot more to do with Az's personal issues and the canon PROVES that considering he did not tell us or think a single thing he actually likes about Elain. A mating bond should be irrelevant if Elain was enough all on her own. He knows she's Lucien's mate so shouldn't he be focused on how to be with her without a bond rather than pouting how his brothers got a bond with her sisters and he got none? Gwyn got his admiration and encouragement, the belief that she could handle something dangerous, the acknowledgement of how far she's come since he first met her and Elain got his....pity? His dagger? His White knight rescue syndrome that he also gave to Feyre and Briar in the exact same scene? Oooooh, so super special! I'd rather take someone believing in me and thinking I'm impressive over them giving me a physical object and thinking I'm too helpless to save myself..

As far as Elain. Where is the canon proof that Elain wants a relationship with Az? That she has feelings for him the way she did for Graysen? Where is the canon proof that she yearned for Az? In fact, we're shown quite the opposite what with her going out and doing her own thing helping elderly fae with their garden. SF showed her in a better place than the novella and none of that was thanks to Az since he avoided her which she really didn't seem bothered by. If she was bothered then why did she not bring it up on Solstice? "I've missed seeing you". "I've been hurt you've stayed away for so long." Instead we got nothing of the sort with Az instead thinking "she was aware why he's been avoiding family dinners" and Elain seeming pretty cool with it all. That does not give me vibes of yearning. And where is the canon proof that Elain has any interest in Az after Solstice? At this point the E/riel ship is no longer a canon event. Can some hope they come back together in the next book? Definitely! Just like I'm guessing some hoped Aelin would end up with Chaol or Dorian after their parting of ways but at this point, Elain and Az are no longer romantic love interests based on the characters current feelings, feelings change and there is nothing to currently suggest Elain and Az would go down that path again.

I'm not sure why E/riels have decided that crush in a SJM book equals endgame considering zero of her pairings started out as a cutesy crush.

The best SJM situationship I can use to compare the E/riel setup to is Dorian and Celaena (and they even shared way more than E/riel). Dorian was the first guy Celaena wanted to kiss after Sam's death and Az was the first guy Elain was willing to kiss after Graysen. Celaena definitely had a crush on Dorian, lots of looks and glances and they were definitely forbidden. Dorian gave Celaena a puppy and Az gave Elain a necklace. But once Celaena became the kings champion, she close to walk away from their relationship even though Dorian was willing to find a way for them to be together, even though Dorian thought he loved her. Celaena realized that despite the things she was feeling for him, it wasn't right because of who she was and because of who he was. After her decision, she never looked back. Sarah chose not to go down the path of forbidden love and instead focused on Celaena's destiny which it seems like she's setting Elain up for, what with the mentions of her scent being a "promise of Spring" and Nesta thinking how "the Spring Court had been made for someone like Elain" and Elain saying she needs sunshine, with Elain sitting by the sunniest windows all the time.

Elain gave Az his necklace back, a very symbolic gesture of things ending between her couples, just like we saw with Celaena and Chaol (and no, Nesta refusing Cassian's gift is not the same thing because Nesta did not accept the gift and then return it) and Elain has never looked back in the 4- 5 months since. Not only was there never any canon of yearning or Az on her part (we have seen what Elain yearning for someone looks like), but there is no canon of her remotely being interested in anything with Az since Solstice. If she got over her fiancé in half a year, then moving on from her crush on Az is easy.

[yolowritter]

In Defense of Chloe Bourgeois Part 2: Why is Chloe?

Hello everyone! In case it wasn't obvious by the title, this is a part 2 to this post right there! I'd sincerely recommend reading it since you'll need the context. Anyhow, moving right onto where I left off!

[...]

Okay...deep breath. In and out. I'm...totally fine. Anyway, considering all of the above, it's pretty clear that Chloe has a lot of problems. Mental Health problems, to be exact. And natually, this circles back to her bigget fault in this entire show. Bullying the main character. Now, bullying sucks. It's bad, don't do it. This is coming from a person who got relentlessly bullied for years on end by the way, so I'm on Marinette's side here! She's right not to trust Chloe in Vanisher, because she's fourteen and has years worth of trauma related to this girl! In her experience Chloe is never helpful, and often the antithesis of that word. Sure, Ladybug should have looked past that as part of her job, but Chat Noir doesn't either! The only reason he ever gives her the benefit of the doubt is because it's Adrien under the mask! So as far as I'm concerned, Marinette didn't do anything wrong (yet) with how she handled Chloe. And any mistakes she does make are if not justifiable then at least understadable given their history. But on the Chloe side of things, she has every reason to hate Marinette. From all the classmates we have info on, Marinette is the only one with a happy, complete and loving family in the way that Chloe has always wished her's way. Obligatory reminder that Alya wasn't in their class until Origins. We never see Alix or Sabrina's moms, I'm half convinced Nino's parents don't exist because they've never been mentioned once the whole show, Max and Juleka only have their moms and possinly daddy issies, etc. Something ain't right with any of the familial situations here. So obviously, when Chloe sees someone who she's been taught by Audrey (again, her role model in formative years) is "beneath" her, as in, fundementally inferior to their own existence, and Marinette has a loving family that adores her unconditionally, is it any fucking wonder she acts out???

Again! And this is the last time I'll say it! So sing along, everyone! ~Bullying is bad! Don't do it kids!~ What Chloe does (even without that horrendous spider-pool-thing of a retcon) is obviously wrong!!! Okay??? It's bad!!! Because hurting other to feel better is a shitty thing to do! Nevermind that it doesn't work!!! I am not going to repeat myself again! But the root of Chloe's problems is her family. She's been raised by two (barely one, but let's pretend) people who make me wonder if parenting licences should be a thing, and are prime examples of the fact while every kid deserves a parent, the opposite is very much not true! Marinette effortlessly has what Chloe craves, parental love! And at the time they first meet, they should both be like 9 or 10! Obviously Chloe takes things too far, but considering she's emotionally stunted and the people around her have to do as she says, no wonder she's royally pissed the moment she encounters something that she can't throw daddy's money at and win! That's what Audrey taught her is correct, and what Andre constantly encourages!

Understanding all of this, we circle back to Style Queen. Fucking Style Queen, man. Chloe accidentally finds the Bee Miraculous. And honestly? The argument of "Marinette shouldn't have dropped it" is fucking ridiculous. Listen, the coffee cup in Sentibubbler I can understand, but don't grasp at straws like this. For Nooroo's sake! Moving right along, dear God does this go badly. Up to this point, we've got a vague idea that Chloe is willing to help Ladybug and Chat Noir (aside from just being a self-proclaimed superfan), given that she did so in Vanisher, Despair Bear, and possibly another episode that I'm forgetting about. Doesn't matter. So now, Chloe Bourgeois is in possession of a magical macguffin that gives her heroes their superpowers. Naturally, this is a pretty big thing. Unfortunately, Chloe doesn't even get the chance to be responsible here, because Audrey immediately goes on a rant about how useless she is and how she could never be "exceptional". Aka: hits all of Chloe's trauma buttons with a Greathammer. Wonderful job, local Karen! This immediately prompts Chloe to take what she knows is exceptional (superpowers) and flaunt it in her mother's face. She transforms in a room full of people, including Gabriel Agreste, but I don't care about him in this rant, and runs out to try and find a crime to stop!

Because of course, heroes do good things! But you know, helping an old lady cross the street or rescuing a kitten isn't exactly "exceptional material" so Chloe instantly goes for the heavy hitters. And has the incredibly stupid idea of the whole train wreck bs. Yes, I know it was a subway or something, I don't care. The point stands. Naturally, stupidity attracts dumbassery, and so the local watermelon and her furry companion show up to put a stop to Chloe's shenanigans. Kudos to Ladybug by the way, for recognizing the situation for the problematic mess that it was and trying to comfort Chloe. Excellent character delevopment from Marinette here. Unironically I love that she still does this even though she doesn't have to. Nowhere in the superhero manual does it say "talk to your bully because she's having a shitty moment with her abusive mother", but Marinette does it anyway because she's cool like that. And then...a miracle happens! Praise Nooroo, because Chloe "Queen B" Bourgeois apologizes for causing a mess! I can't believe it! And then...Nadja does what reporters do best, and screws everything up. As an aside, can you tell I don't like "reporter" characters? This goes for Alya too, I hate it when they insert themselves in clearly private situations for the sake of a "scoop". My sister in Nooroo, if it's a scoop you want then go interview Andre Glacier! I do like Alya, got a whole "In Offense to..." post about her in the works. And I promise not to bash her. It's the writing's fault.

Anyway, back to Nadja being an idiot. Because naturally, a child is in emotional distress! And even more naturally, she decides the best way to handle a clearly fragile situation in a city where people get turned into violent supervillains for feeding the goddamn pigeons (lookin' at you, Xavier!) is to...live stream it on television. For the entire country of France! And even more naturally, she also gets Chloe's abusive mother on the line so the child in question can be belittled on NATIONAL TELEVISION for what she already knows is wrong, and has been handled by the proper authority. Because I don't trust a single adult in this universe, Ladybug is a thousand times more reliable! Like seriously, she's just been Akumatized!

Does Nadja want it to happen again? Anyway, this utter debacle marks the beginning of Chloe's career as Queen Bee, the superhero Ladybug brings in when she needs to and then puts back in the box until next time! Mind you, I do not blame Marinette for this, considering that she acknowledges Chloe is capable and willing to help, even says so to her at one point. Then we go through Maledictator, Heart Hunter, Miraculer, etc. And it becomes pretty clear that Hawkmoth is actively targeting Chloe. Because, you know, she's the only Miraculous Holder whose identity was public. All the while, Chloe actually seems to mellow out a little bit in her civilian life. Sure, she does that hillarious thing where interviews Queen Bee which is honestly just funny and should have been given extra points for the effort of doing it herself instead of forcing Sabrina to do it for her. I mean that instead of encouraging Chloe's bad behavior by being unreasonably permissive, miss Bustier should encourage her good behavior little by little, like doing things on her own and the compliments thing she has the class do. To her credit, Chloe does seem to be trying, and slowly finding her footing with all these new dynamics. Even with Sabrina, she seems to be treating her better now. They play "Ladybug and Chat Noir" together, and all that stuff. I won't get into it here because I want to move onto the actual conclussion of this rant, but you get my point.

Despite all this, Chloe is still very...Chloe. But she does seem to be doing a little better. I'm fairly sure Marinette or at least Adrien acknowledges that at some point, but anyway. The reason why I think Chloe's behavior improves is because she finally feels like she belongs. In Team Miraculous, I mean. Sure, Ladybug is their leader who she listens to, but that's just the thing. Ladybug leads, she doesn't boss people around. And Chloe already looked up to her, and willingly chooses to follow. It's good for her, even if we're taking baby steps here. And then...Miracle Queen happens. I'll honestly be damned as to why Marinette got butchered here, because this is a fault of the writing. Like, I'm sorry, they build up this understanding that Chloe can't be Queen Bee anymore between her and Ladybug, and then just...take it away? H-how do you take away an established dynamic??? Not like this, that's how! People are saying Marinette should have sat Chloe down and explained things better, and yeah okay that would have helped, but you guys realize Gabriel was actively praying on her worst feelings, right? Gabriel who knows Chloe's family and also has emotional manipulation powers? All he had to do was feed into all these doubts one last time and get her to agree for like, five seconds. Akuma goes in, and she's on his side now!

And hot take? I like Miracle Queen! I like the direction they tried to take this in! Because it's clearly a "battling your inner demons" storyline, which fits perfectly with the fact that Chloe needs a good support system to function properly. She's still so deeply steeped into the crap that Andre and Audrey taught her that she needs help, and that's okay! For Nooroo's sake, needing help from your friends is completely okay! You should ask for it when you can't do something on your own! And Chloe does try to! She has a fucking Batman Signal knock-off on her rooftop! It's...certainly a method. Then again she doesn't have Ladybug's phone number, so... Anyway yeah. The thing is that I think it's okay for Chloe to need a support system, and then Gabriel takes advantage of her when said network isn't there. He's actively manipulating a child here. Yes, Chloe does give into his manipulation and by extension her own darker self, but I think that's the point. Or at least I perceive it as a "healing is hard, takes time, mistakes will be made alone the way" kinda thing. Which works regarldess of a "Redemption Arc" or no! if they wanted to redeem Chloe, then here's another huge conflict to work through! Here's something that ruined the trust she had with Ladybug and left them both vulnerable! Here's a really cool plot thread that can be explored between Chloe and Adrien, because he's the only who as far as Chloe knows, doesn't hate her (which would be logical to assume for Ladybug given what she did). You want to go "Corruption Arc"? Welp, here's a tale of caution! Here's a display of Hawkmoth as a competent villain who utterly decimated Ladybug's team! Here's a reason for Chloe to defensively slip back into old patterns and emphasize that she's bitter towards her friends because nobody helped her! Again, great character conflict! Beautiful idea, a fine message even!

Surpring absolutely nobody, Thomas Astruc does neither of these. Or rather, he tries to do both, and fails at both. Let's keep the Chloe point for a bit longer before we bring Zoe into this mess, okay? The problem I have with Miracle Queen is that it fundementally half-asses the above, in quite possibly the stupidest way possible. Like I said above, it was previously established (I'm fairly sure in Miraculer) that Chloe understood she couldn't be Queen Bee anymore. And yeah okay she seemed bummed, but still got Ladybug's reasoning. Because you know, Marinette talked to her about it! And then the show just...forgets this happened??? I get that Chloe wants to be a hero, which I think is probably her only halfway healthy coping mechanism for all the crap she's dealing with, but she's clearly shown to agree with Ladybug's decision, even begrudgingly. And suddenly, with almost no fanfare or buildup, Gabriel "Mothballs" Agreste swoops in for a glory kill and manipulates Chloe into getting Akumatized. Again, I know this is a "battle with her inner demons" thing, but it genuinely doesn't matter! Because Hawkmoth is grooming her right now! Aside from the horrible connotation of the word, it also refers to general manipulation of a person's mental state. But you know what peeves me greatly? This seems to happen instantly! I would have loved it if we took two or three episodes to show Chloe being upset over losing the one place (Team Miraculous) where she felt accepted, I would have liked to see her talk to Sabrina about how she feels like shit because she can't help Ladybug anymore. Even better, an outburst where despite logically understanding that she's right, Chloe blames Ladybug for taking the easy way out of the Queen Bee problem.

Let's face it, Ladybug did take the easy solution here. Now, I don't blame Marinette at all for this. She's fourteen, has the world's weight on her shoulders, a very poor history with Chloe, and took the Bee Miraculous away because she thought that this would keep her teammate safe. Marinette did the best she could, with good intentions! Personally I think Fu should have stepped in here at least indirectly, but he's a poor mentor to Ladybug anyway (yes I have a "In Offense to..." post for him in mind) so of course paranoid Fu wouldn't involve himself. The point is that neither Marinette or Chloe are actually at fault for Queen Bee getting benched. It's a shitty situation that only delays the inevitable bomb from dropping on the heroes' heads by just a bit longer. Now, during this lull in storytelling, Hawkmoth should have tried approaching Chloe again. You know, send another Akuma maybe as she's venting to Sabrina about how she hates the situation she's been placed in. As a reminder, Chloe is the first person to reject an Akuma in this entire show. So for her to again (if more reluctantly) refuse Gabriel's offer to team up would be in character. A second interaction here could have forshadowed Miracle Queen better. Maybe Chloe pauses after Hawkmoth is done pitching his plan, and then after a second or two, she throws him out of her head. Give us another episode where's struggling, and I think her "turn to the Dark Side" in Miracle Queen would have been received much less poorly than it actually did.

This isn't to say that Chloe shouldn't have accepted Hawkmoth's offer. In my opinion, it's a good thing that she did, because it builds character. Even if I "Redemption Arc" had always been the goal, they absolutely could have still done this, so long as it got even a little bit of buildup. And...we again to the fundemental problem I have with Astruc's writing. I know there's other people in the room as well, but it's he who is the "lead writer" and who also made the most buzz about this choice online after Miracle Queen first released. Thomas just...doesn't know how to build up major events. With the sole exception of Shadowmoth's Last Attack, which I have nothing but praise for as a finale, Thomas literally never bothers showing us anything. This is also a problem I have with Gabriel's eventual spiral of insanity, because while "show don't tell" is a good policy to have, even "tell" is a much better option than nothing at all! The reason why Miracle Queen feels so bloody jarring is because for the first and last time in this show's history...they mostly managed to build up a proper Character Arc. Except Thomas and Co. fumbled at the end, and didn't devote almost any time to the entire Season's payoff!

I unironically believe this is just a targeted attack meant to drive anyone with common sense completely and utterly mad, because they spent twenty-something episodes building up to Miracle Queen...and failed to explain why it even happened. I mean yeah, "Gabriel bad, he has a plan, it actually works for once" is what we get, but this is a logical fallacy in and of itself, because if it was the plan from the beginning, then why isn't there any buildup for the final part of this character development? Thomas' failure to properly show the aftermath of Chloe's benching, and make it clear that she is falling into her bad habits again, therefore reverting to a "villain" character because she lacks the support system which helped her be a better person, is the exact reason why anyone is even arguing that there "should" have been a Redemption Arc in the first place!

Note again: Time for part 3, I promise I'm nearly done! Not like this took two weeks to write or something!

< previous post | next post >

[haven-of-dusk]

After discourse about the topic spawned over there, I posted this analysis on how healthy I believe Ethan/Danny and Aiden/Lydia were as couples on the Teen Wolf subreddit. But looking back over it, I'm honestly happy enough with the analysis that I'm going to copy it wholesale to right here:

With Dethan, what Danny did for Ethan was pretty straightforward, but significantly important for Ethan: he just made him happy. With what we know about the Steiners' past, it's more than likely that the only friend Ethan had with any consistency was Aiden, and much as he loves his brother, Aiden is...himself. Ethan can spend time with Danny and not have to worry about wolf politics, or orders, or look over his shoulder waiting for someone to come looking for revenge or Deucalion to appear and punish him.

As for what Ethan provided for Danny, while we don't get a ton of information on Danny, what we do know is that A. He probably was a bit lonely at the start of S3 considering his 'best friend' left town, B. He never seemed to have a consistent partner up till Ethan, and based on the partners he did have we can guess it was either because those relationships were about sex/intimacy and nothing else, or because there just weren't many options and nobody was the right fit, and C. Danny expressed that finding out about his condition and its effects usually drove people away or made them far too overly cautious for Danny's liking. Using all that, I think it's safe to say that Ethan's consistency and willingness to basically fight to stay with Danny was a big part of why Danny got attached. Ethan wanted to be around Danny just because Danny was himself. Instead of driving him away or making him overly protective, Danny getting sick had basically no effect on Ethan's behavior outside of just reaffirming love.

In short, they worked for each other because they provided the stability they both needed for the other.

With Aidia, what Lydia did for Aiden was...basically calling him out for bad behavior. It'd be reductive to say she became the angel on his shoulder, because it's a bit more complicated than that, but what made the way Lydia helped Aiden grow so effective was that she never tried to force him to change his personality. He didn't need to stop being sassy, or 'cure' his anger, or anything of that sort. What was important was that when the chips were down, she could count on him to do the right thing, and he did prove that, and along the way she helped him finally feel good about himself (likely not a commonality with all the abuse in his past). It is a wonder what positive reinforcement can do.

As for what he did for Lydia, I think it's most important to remember that her boyfriend immediately prior had an extremely toxic relationship with her that ended with verbal and borderline physical abuse, not long after she was basically SA'd on the field by Peter (and then had her mind invaded). So in essence the fact that Aiden was devoted to her, let her take the reins so to speak, and allowed her to dictate her needs from the relationship was a big step up and the type of healthy boundary setting she desperately needed after Jackson doing...the exact opposite of all of that. Whether he was the right forever partner for her or not, Aiden was the exact sort of boyfriend she needed in that moment of her life.

So in essence their relationship worked because they both felt validated and cared for by the other, but Lydia was still able to set a line in the sand and Aiden realized he wanted to stay behind it and change for the better.

With all this I'd be remiss to not mention and address a couple of the major criticisms I've seen directed towards these couplings...

While it is true that they started the relationships because of the Alpha Pack's mission, the way the show depicts that element, the initial deceptive phase lasted about 24 hours at most before they both actually started falling for their 'targets'. Ethan was definitely just dating Danny for its own sake by at the latest Episode 7, and the dialogue a little later on even confirms that Ethan was attached to Danny despite the Alpha Pack no longer having any need of him. The switch in Aiden's mind is a little harder to pinpoint, but at the absolute latest it was by the 3A finale when he was ready to fight Kali to protect Lydia. So just on the whole I don't think it's fair to say their relationships were 'built on lies' when their feelings turned genuine so quickly.

The other one I've seen is speculation that Ethan and Aiden are child predators/adults dating children/are no better than Kate. But really the oldest the Steiners could be in my opinion is 19, and are probably younger than that given how easily they pass as teenagers. The most information we get about their age is that they 'never finished high school' which could mean anything from dropped out the previous year and are, in fact, still the same age as their peers, to dropped out several years ago and are now somehow 25 year olds able to masquerade as teenagers. And honestly, with how easily they slip into the high school life, I don't think the latter is plausible. I don't really have a 'gotcha' piece of evidence for this argument, but I just find it hard to believe that two adults could enter the school system and blend in easily and no one, anywhere in the show, mentions that they aren't actual teenagers.

To be honest, use of that last argument feels like attempts to manipulate some of the show's vague lines to discredit the pairings, since there just isn't much to scrutinize otherwise.

And to be clear, none of this is saying you have to like these pairings, but it is always important to recognize the difference between not liking a couple and declaring that couple unhealthy.

[senka-mesecine]

Another soldier does try to get you away from Barnes, really tries to turn your head. I'd love a short on how he reacts to the audacity. And of course, what happens to you after entertaining the idea or being piqued with curiosity for the other man. Barnes' intensity could weigh heavy... Xoxo

-

So, basically...what Barnes would do if he was jealous?

Because, hoo boy.

― First of all, it's really funny (and downright frightening) how you'd never be able to tell. In fact, nobody's able to tell. Even those who spend most time with him or around him. He sees what he's jealous of, he assesses it, places what he's assessed somewhere in the back of his mind and it stays there, hidden behind the eyes and a thousand mile stare. Churning, churning, churning in the machine of his mind. Outwardly, he almost comes off stoically detached or too disinterested to care about whatever it was, but the exact opposite is true. He noticed everything, downright to the most miniscule of details. Those eyes of his miss nothing. It's just that someone like Barnes might think his own private thoughts are his own private thoughts most days, and unless he personally decides it and when he decides it (which is usually never) he isn't gonna be here acting like some simple ass motherfucker leaking his heart out all over the place. Nope. He keeps his jealousies right where nobody can see them. That's the way these things should go, he might think. That's the way things ought to be.

― But, thing is, even though he's seemingly cold, seeing you do or say something that causes him jealousy or someone else doing something in relation to you that brings about the same effect is so sickening literal death is more pleasant. To someone like Barnes? Yeah, death is more pleasant. Death's second nature, actually. He's personally sought out death countless times and looked it right in the eye and it's nothing compared to this. This just makes him see red and hear white noise, honest to god leaving me think that if someone can trigger a trauma response in themselves just off of seeing someone they love cause them jealousy, weather or not this person's aware of it and what they're doing to their loved one. Barnes would be such a man. You have to understand his first instinct is to kill. The idea someone could take you away? That you might just want them to? Hey, you don't even have to seriously consider it. Maybe it was playful; a joke blown out of proportion or a common courtesy Barnes just. didn't. like. Regardless, might as well point a rifle at him and he'd just about tell you to shoot.

― But, that other person? The root and causer of the jealousy? They don't even realize something real bad's gonna happen to them because Barnes has that way, as mentioned above, of being entirely poker faced right before he cuts you off, say, somewhere where you're all alone and just murders you in cold blood while looking straight at you. Doesn't at all mind doing it in front of witnesses either, which is a teller just how frightening his anger really is. How overpowering, when in the moment he's conducting this violence he's not thinking about the punishment that might come later; he's just thinking about the other person's death. If it gets far enough, yes, Barnes would definitely kill the person causing him jealousy. It's a casual Wednesday for him, really. As easy as walking out into the woods, intercepting someone somewhere, showing up in their space, taunting them enough or provoking them. Maybe it's blunt and as open as him more or less nonchalantly saying 'I'm here to kill you so you either do sum' 'bout that or die.' Problem? Gone. Barnes is an effective killer and that's that on that.

― Doesn't matter if it's a fellow soldier or a civilian, although I can see Barnes admittedly being more offended if it's a civilian and not another serviceman. It feels as banal as slaughtering a chicken on a farm to him. A soldier? Might just be more covert with that one, tactically speaking; see it more like eliminating an actual foe rather than hunting small game with a tank and as a results, he gets more immersed. Dignifies the hunt with more, well, dignity, if it can even be called that. Accidents happen in war and this person who's been throwing eyes at you could just befall a horrible accident that's actually of Barnes' making, reaching a fatal outcome. Of course, Barnes can come out of the incident entirely blameless and your beau-to-be's dead, so how's that? If he's feeling particularly sadistic, and he often does, might just take some sort of memento or trophy out of the lump of shit's carcass because he's won that right. Might just, in equal measure, present it to you when the time's right. It's a little like a hound dragging the corpse of a mangled rabbit in front of someone's feet. Barnes is making a statement here.

― The main cause why Barnes is going to these extremes is because, in general, he's extreme. But, also? Because he noticed you actually responding to whoever was hitting on you and that shit's like a burning shrapnel to the gut; if your approach to these whole flirting thing was cold or neutral, even politely so, he'd might get into a fight over it at worst. At best? He'd just intimidate the asshole away from you by his mere existence. You being piqued, though? You're entertained? Alright, entertain this --- you just had a man killed. You caused this. Did this to this sad sack of shit long before Barnes ever pulled out a knife to actually execute the target; he might just do it in front of you so the notion has the time to settle in. Barnes won't gloat. Won't really rub it in. But, the action speaks for itself. He's trying to relay that he's not a man to be trifled with. Could just give you a long, lingering glare after it's done so you'd understand. Ma'am, meet the consequences of your own actions. He doesn't quite look like himself when he's in a state like this. Even during most normal days Barnes is a frightening SOB, but now he just about looks downright primal.

― So, what happens to you, you might ask? Strangely anticlimactic conclusion is that Barnes might just go about his day and calm down. Diffuse himself. Yep. You live the same as you always did. He's killed, yeah, so what? He's going to have a smoke and a drink about it. You imagine this is his first rodeo? He's killed before. If provoked or if he felt it necessary, he would again. And if you think this is some landmark event that'll change everything between you and him and pose irreconcilable differences, you're wrong, because for Barnes, it changes nothing. It's a fact of life; two men fight and one dies because the tougher one did him in. 'Cept, he's the tougher one. Now, more than ever, you're his. Wanna know why? Because he's killed for you. How many people can say that? If this was some great, big battle to see who gets you, he's stepped out victorious and someone like him might think that he has a right to you more than ever before. Nothing of note happens to you as a result; you just get to stew in the firm fact of what the ultimately result of making him jealous is forever. His jealousy is a cold, deadly like that just erupts out of nowhere like that.

― There's something...weirdly unhinged and downright hardhearted about the fact that he just continues life as usually with you --- like this whole bloodshed spree was just another fact of reality to him; he eats with you, drinks with you, comes to bed with you, fucks you, his love and passion, however messed up and just about as dark as a lump of coal, remains unchanged too --- sole difference being he has one extra kill notch, as they say, tucked under his belt. That's Barnes and jealousy for you. He gets even.

[hyperpotamianarch]

what does the Tanach say about the concept of love?? Like romantic love, the love that permeates the soil and allows life to grow, love that is everywhere? I was learning the portion for this week and yitzchak is the king of commitment, and this seems to be the basis of love: an ability to commit no matter what. I was just wondering though if you know if there's anything else??

The Tanach doesn't technically say anything about the concept of love. By which I mean, it doesn't have a list of concepts that it explains. So everything you can learn is by looking at context, results, and at how love is being expressed. In addition, the Tanach isn't called the Book of Books (at least in Hebrew) for naught: it's made of twenty four to thirty six books (depends how you cout Trei 'Asar and Ezra&Nehemiah), and has varied authors. We can perhaps extrapolate what the word means when it's used in different contexts, but it may well be tainted by the view of the author.

You actually were right on the money to start talking about it now, though, because this is the first time in the whole Tanach love is mentioned! ...However, when looking at the future of their marriage, it's... A bit marred.

Next week's portion is the only one that focuses of Yitzchak. And you can see his character from that, I suppose. He's certainly committed to one wife, unlike his father or son, but he does not consult with her when he tells Avimelech she's his sister. As a matter of fact, the only direct interaction between Yitzchak and Rivkah is when she tells him she can't have Ya'akov marry anyone from Canaan. But, to be fair, that doesn't actually mean anything. The Torah only tells us what's relevant, and perhaps Yitzchak's daily life with Rivkah isn't that relevant. I still wouldn't take them as model marriage, though - they both pick favourites among their children and by the time they get to the Blessings Rivkah seems to not trust Yitzchak to listen to her if she tells him Ya'akov deserves them more. A lot of that us about how you choose to interpret the text, and I might be biased by a Shi'ur I've heard from one of my Rashei Yeshiva once.

I can keep ruining every good part in this by talking about the next time romantic (or more likely erotic) love appears, but I think we can skip Shechem and Dinah. That story is horrible without talking about what love is there, though it might lean into committment considering Shechem's love leads him to want to marry Dinah instead of having this be a one night stand. This stands as a stark opposition to Amnon, who hates Tamar immediately after raping her and is frankly a disgusting human being, but that's another story.

If we want to look at romantic love in the Tanach, going one by one on every mention of love and weighing whether or not it's romantic is going to be exhausting though. So let's just jump into the most obvious book on the topic: Shir HaShirim, the Song of Songs!

Honestly, considering my opening I should probably just direct you in that direction and leave it at that. I marred everything with the touch of my opinion so far, maybe I should let the Tanach speak for itself. Especially since I don't really know how to talk about love in the Song of Songs.

Now, don't get me wrong, this is one of my favourite books of the Tanach, despite how it's one of the only two to have semi-erotic descriptions in it. It's widely considered a parable for the love between G-d and the people of Israel, but as I've heard from Rav Aviah HaCohen - if the story in the parable has no worth, then the moral would be empty as well. (Paraphrased from memory and translated to English, please cut me some slack if it doesn't carry the exact right meaning.)

Maybe I'm having trouble talking about that because I never actually experienced romantic love (though I'd be hesitant to call myself aromantic). I could (in theory) talk about the dedication to each other the lovers of the Song of Songs show - "I am for my lover and my lover is for me". Maybe. But I'm not convinced I can say what the Tanach says about love from that. The book is certainly full of passion and dedication. Maybe I should just gently direct you to read and study it yourself, I don't really know.

So, a couple of points: first, thank you for asking me about the Tanach, I love it and actually am currently studying to teach it. However, I would like to ask people who might send farther asks on it to not ask about such nebulous concepts. The Tanach doesn't really have a clear line on it. It would be easier to talk about love in Judaism in general, and that is a complex topic unto itself: you have the commandment to love G-d with all your heart, soul and being; you have Rambam's definition of loving G-d - like a man who is lovesick and can think of nothing but his beloved; then you have the Hassidic terms of love like fire and love like water, the idea of always seeking closeness as one type of love, and simply enjoying the presence of one's loved one presence as another. But point is, it's hard to answer such a question straight from the Tanach, and as a person who did not experience romantic love I'm likely the wrong person to ask.

Please, do ask about the Tanach - but be aware that you're asking me, a person with his pwn biases and conceptions. Be aware you're asking about a collection of books that touches many, many things from multiple different angles. Be aware that I can't really touch all of them. And be aware that when all is said and done, I am just a 20-odd years old guy who studies the Tanach, not an outstanding expert. I still hope I helped, though I'm not all too sure about that.

Thank you for asking, Shabbat Shalom! If you've hoped for a nice Wort to say on the Shabbat table... well, I'm really sorry I wasn't more helpful.

[solar-eclippse]

Abijah for the ask game? 👁️w👁️

Gladly~! Thank you for the ask! [Ask game]

1) Sexuality headcanon Pansexual and... I want to say grayromantic?

2) OTP Abijah x me~ Ahem! Who said that? I swear, there's some sort of weird echo in here...

Self-shipping aside... I have been obsessed with Abijah x Mizu since first watching BES. I always go feral over shipping narrative foils together, and these are just. IMMACULATE. Red and blue, fire and water. "Extrovert adopting an introvert" except the introvert would rather he just shut up. Two ruthless killers, one who sees their actions as a necessary evil, the other who RELISHES in it. Two outsiders in their respective home countries because of their heritage. The opportunity for Abijah to act as a mentor figure. The twisted familial vibes. The complicated power dynamic. The sex would be absolutely wild, and you can't convince me that they wouldn't mesh surprisingly well if it wasn't for the fact that they met because Mizu tried to kill him.

3) BROTP Does this guy have any friends? Probably not, so I'm gonna go with him and Heiji. I sort of ship them, too, but either way, their dynamic is SO FUN. I love the idea of a relationship that's 10+ years past date, but they know each other like the back of their hands and need each other too much to get out. I want to study them under a microscope.

4) NOTP Mmm, pass. There's not a lot of ships for Abijah, and I like all the ones I've seen so far.

5) First headcanon that pops into my head Unsurprisingly, he's pretty obsessed with food, and while he's got staff to take care of that these days, I headcanon that he's pretty great at cooking! (He will eat anything that's available, though. The exact opposite of a picky eater.)

6) Favorite line from this character "So! If you might, my dear, dear friend, my trusted partner and clear equal, my right hand and both feet on land, fondest heart, spare a cup of concern towards our purpose... and do it your fucking self."

7) One way in which I relate to this character Shut-in and low-key really mad about it >:/ (My executive dysfunction doesn't allow me to go outside nearly as often as I'd like)

8) Thing that gives me second-hand embarassment about this character That line where he compares his conquest of Edo to a partner waiting for him on the bed. Sir. Just generally how much of a freak he is. (I mean, same, but.) Every time I write him, there's a constant chant of "Why are you like this?" going on in my head.

9) Cinnamon roll or problematic fave? Look. I adore him, but it doesn't matter how many pet names I call him or how much I think of his tragic backstory, he might just be the most morally reprehensible character I've ever gotten attached to, and even I can't fool myself into thinking he's anything but a problematic fave.

[beatcroc]

alright kids we fuckin did it

and even managed to first try s-rank the final boss somehow. crazy. im pretty sure that's the only s rank i got in the entire game.

so why did i do it? how do i feel? most of the experience of playing 06 is stuff that really only matters being experienced in the moment, but i took a shot at trying to quantify why i went out of my way to play sonic 06 anno domini 2024, with some subsequent thoughts about each after having finished.

1. silver is there. i like him. it seems most people do these days; no doubt largely due to the comics, but that was absolutely not the case upon his debut. i wanted to see where the character started and if there was truly Anything salvageable from his initial appearance, or if there are any throughlines to his current characterization. verdict: yeah, like, way more than i thought there was going to be actually. it solidly exceeded my expectations here. obviously, i was will to be EXTREMELY lenient about him because hes my special little guy and he is SUCH a gift in idw; but even so he never really did anything like, wrong. like as a character i mean. he's a little annoying sure, but so are most of the characters in this game. i know this would have been infinitely worse back when it was his only appearance, but UNLIKE most of the characters in this game, he is at least also consistent. all in all he's still just kind of a hasty little fuckup here, which is much of why i like him in present.

2. the general notoriety of it. everyone knows sonic 06 is bad. you hear lots of insane stuff about all the various ways in which 06 is bad, but they all feel like such disconnected points by now. you need to get the whole picture you know. the full breadth of it. i think cultural significance for being dogshit is just as interesting as cultural significance for being brilliant. verdict: its so bad. its fascinating. there really were quite a few cool ideas in here but the execution of them all is consistently so, SO baffling. there's the utter lack of polish and functionality yeah, but even underneath that in its base design it there is just so much that's so inherently unintuitive. one really does have to wonder about it. i must, however, stress that poor execution on decent ideas [or in some cases decent execution on bad ideas like, say, omega's fucking bizzare characterization here, and really most of the plot in general especially wrt to elise] is far more forgivable to me than no ideas [most of the boost-era games If I Am Being Frank], or cool ideas with No execution [sonic forces. [i played through it about right in the middle of my 06 journey and it's amazing how that game is like the exact opposite kind of bad from 06. that one is the kind that really pisses me off, as it turns out! you would not believe how hatermoded i got during forces' short duration.]

3. it had a lot more going on than i'd realized. i'd kind of always just held 06 as "the sonic and silver game and sometimes i guess shadow is there also?" but the more i heard about it it was like "wait blaze is in this game? how does that work??" "omega is in this game? AMY is in this game???? PLAYABLE????? how does all that fit together???". in more recent years i've heard people refer to 06 as 'the last sonic game where they really tried', and now that i know my own disdain for boost era games and gameplay was NOT just me being a shitty teen, i figure it would be interesting to see what all that was about. now that the series has returned from its, shall we say, prodigal son arc, i'm in general a lot more willing to explore where things went awry. verdict: turns out it did not in fact fit together very well at all, but again, i respect a blundered attempt at something like this far more than the subsequent several years of "sonic and his one wacky gimmick partner" games that followed. i think anyone genuinely praising this game and its Quite Frankly Pretty Damn Bad characterization is insane, but i do understand the respect for its ideas; and i definitely understand the 'this game could be so good if it was good'-type obsessions. it's certainly a type i am prone to but fortunately it did not get to me with 06.

4. hubworlds. this isn't a full point in and of itself, but it's why i decided to just play the damn game as it is instead of playing project 06 and/or watching the cutscenes on youtube. it feeds largely into the second point of just wanting to experience it as a whole package; but also i just generally like the idea of hubworlds in sonic, and i like that they have missions in them here. verdict: there's not a verdict for this one as it wasn't a question or a curiosity i had. naturally, they're also not good, but i didn't go in expecting to enjoy the sonic 06 hubworlds. i just think they're nicer than only having a map screen or level select.

all in all i think it's kind of impossible for me to hate sonic 06. like at this point you know what it is. you know what it's known for, its reputation far preceeds it. i've dealt with my fair share of janky games, and it actually wasn't nearly as uniquely unplayably nonfunctional as i was expecting. it's bad but it's the amusing kind of bad, and though there's certainly no laughing with it, if you aren't laughing at it you're laughing a yourself for deliberately choosing to play this stupid fucking game 18 years later.

[lodgeofeilhart]

Hiyaaa, have you seen the Banished with Myanna? There is a scene in the first episodes where she gets badly whipped and an idea popped in my mind, what if in the 2nd season of the Witcher the Brotherhood decided that Yennefer's punishment for using the fire magic should be 10 hits? Buttt! Tissaia makes a deal with Stragebor not to get Yen involved so Tissaia would get punished for her? And later Yennefer finds Tissaia lying on her bed with her back bleeding, Yen is in shock and is quickly is there to patch and heal Tissaia and after she stays with her. However Tissaia feels really weak and wants to Yen to leave because of her state but Yennefer refuses and they argue and it slips from Tissaia's mouth that she loves Yen so much that she'll bleed for her? And finally Yennefer realizes that those hits where meant for her and she can't hold the sob and starts crying. Finally fluff and them holding each other together... Is there any chance you can write this one shot please🙏🏻

Hi!! :) I wasn't planning on doing requests, but I actually liked your idea. I've never seen the movie Banished, but I'm curious; I'd probably skip the whipping scene as I cannot bear to watch her hurt/suffer. That's why the ending of The Witcher season 3 never happened; I mean, whoever says it did, saw the wrong ending! 😂

I truly hope you love this little one-shot. Thank you for considering and asking me to write it. It's absolutely heart-warming, and I appreciate it immensely. ❤️

“Yennefer of Vengerberg must be reprimanded for using fire magic,” Stregobor yells without hesitation. All the other members of the brotherhood turn to him with questioning stares; however, Tissaia, her eyes burning with utmost rage as she glared at the man.

“So you mean to reprimand her, even though she saved us?” Tissaia huffs in disbelief. The stares and glares she's receiving from her fellow chapter members are the exact opposite of what she had hoped she'd receive. "She saved us―” she calls out desperately.

“She is to be treated as any who do not abide by the rules; fire magic is prohibited.” 

“What do you suppose we do, Stregobor,” Vilgevortz asks, and Tissaia’s eyes dart at him. Were they really considering this?

“I believe ten hits with a whip should be―”

“You must be joking!” Tissaia scoffs, “We are resorting to corporal punishment now? Yennefer of Vengerberg bought us some time against Nilfgaard, and you wish to whip her? Is this something you derive pleasure from? Seeing a woman bent over for you?” Her mocking words cause Stregobor's face to turn bright red with fury.

“All in favor, say aye.” Except for Tissaia, Vilgevortz, and Artorius, the other brotherhood members all said “Aye!” in unison. Tissaia was shocked while looking around the room,

“Whip me!” She exclaimed without a second thought,

“Excuse me?” Stregobor inquires, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head slightly to the side.

“You heard me; I said whip me. Not her.”

“It never ceases to amaze me how far you will go for your pet, Tissaia. I have no objections; you will follow me and suffer her punishment.”

****

Stregobor seemed to revel in the fact that Tissaia's back was covered in lacerations, yet she refused to show him any sign of distress. No amount of pain or suffering could cause her to cry, scream, or allow a single tear to drop. She refused to give this perverted, degenerate of a man satisfaction of seeing her breaking down. 

Each strike was delivered with exact precision, as if he had wanted to hit the same exact spot twice, intensifying the pain for the older woman. Her breaths were short and shallow; at least he was at seven hits with only three more to go. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, and she kept her eyes tightly shut, jaw clenched. 

Gripping the desk tightly, her knuckles turned white; all she could think about was Yennefer. How much she loved her and how she would do anything to keep her safe from any type of harm. She could feel the droplets of blood running down her back as Stegobor's whip hit her one last time. 

As he moved to stand beside Tissaia, the man placed the whip down on the desk in front of her. His eyes swept across her face, “I hope she’s worth it.”

****

"Tissaia?" Yennefer rapped on the Rectoress's door, her curiosity getting the better of her. Not having seen the older woman at dinner, she felt obligated to check in with the woman. "Are you there, Tissaia?"

'Where in the world are you?' Yennefer muttered angrily to herself, pounding her fist against the door. When still no answer came, the raven-haired sorceress flicked her wrist, and the door unlocked. 

When her hand met the door nob, she turned it slightly to the right, and the door screeched as she pushed it opened slightly, causing the sorceress to wince. She peered through the small opening, and Yennefer surveyed the older woman's quarters before stepping inside. "Tissaia?" she called out, her voice echoing through the room.

“Yennefer…” Tissaia's voice was faint as she spoke her name, and Yennefer instantly shifted her gaze to the bed. Tissaia was lying face down with her back completely exposed, bloody, and mangled from the wounds.

The raven-haired sorceress rushed to the woman’s side, her heart pounding against her chest. What in the gods had happened? “Tissaia?” she called, her voice shaking. Her hands trembled; however, they immediately hovered above the older woman's wounds in order to heal them. She'd never been an expert in healing spells, but it didn't matter; all that mattered was getting Tissaia's lacerations healed. The last thing the older woman needed was an infection.

The gashes healed after several minutes, and Tissaia turned to her side. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“Tissaia, what happened? Who did this to you?” The older woman struggled to keep her eyes open, and when Yennefer moved herself onto the bed beside her, Tissaia objected immediately. “I am not a child, Yennefer; I don’t need to be coddled,” The older woman snaps. Feeling humiliated to have been so exposed in such a degrading way to the raven-haired sorceress. “Thank you for healing me, but you can go―”

“Like hell, I’m leaving. Tell me who did this to you!” Yennefer declared firmly, 

“Why, why do you care, Yennefer? You’ll be leaving soon anyways, off to find your lover, the Witcher,” Tissaia spat out her words like venom as they left her mouth, and Yennefer couldn't help but flinch.

“Why are you upset at me?” The sorceress asks calmly, “I only wish to know who did this to you and why,” 

“I do not wish to tell you, Yennefer, now please, just go!”

“No!” Yennefer shouts, and this time, it’s Tissaia’s turn to flinch, “You say you’re not a child, so stop acting like one―”

“Stregobor! Stregobor is to blame for this! Because I would rather suffer a thousand harsh beatings until there's no more skin left on my back and bleed out than let anything happen to you.”

“What?” Yennefer’s eyes water as they dart between Tissaia’s 

Tissaia whispers in a low voice, full of emotion, as tears slide down her face. "I would do anything for you," 

“Move,” Yennefer says, and Tissaia doesn't have the energy to fight. When she did, Yennefer moved under the blankets, and Tissaia complied when motioned for her to come closer. She nestled her face comfortably, lying gently on Yennefer's chest.

“He whipped you?” 

“Yes,”

“And this was meant for me?”

“Yennefer,” Tissaia sighs,

“Was it?” 

“Yes,” Was all the woman said. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough of an answer, and Yennefer slightly shifts in order to look down at the older woman. When Tissaia exhales an exasperated breath, she moves into a sitting position beside Yennefer. “He called a meeting, saying you needed to be punished for using fire magic. When the vote came, all except for three voted in agreement, and you were to be whipped ten times.” Yennefer’s eyes widen. “I took your place―”

“Why?” 

“Because, as I said, I would rather suffer a thousand―”

“Tissaia, why?” The raven-haired sorceress demands. 

“Because I love you.” She whispered, “I always have, I know you don’t feel the same, and I’ve accepted that―”

The next thing Tissaia felt were Yennefer's lips against her own, and Tissaia was unable to stop; she returned the kiss with an intense passion, and when Yennefer's tongue slid across Tissaia's lower lip, demanding entrance, Tissaia immediately obliged. The raven-haired sorceress didn't waste any time teasing her; she slipped the tip of her tongue inside Tissaia's awaiting mouth. As if in reply, Tissaia allowed Yennefer deeper access to explore further inside what very soon turned into an even more passionate kiss, both women gasping for breath.

Yennefer's tongue caressed Tissaia's hungrily, eliciting soft moans of pleasure from the older woman. But suddenly, Tissaia pulled back and shook her head, “Stop, wait,” Yennefer immediately ceased her movements and stared at Tissaia with concern. "I cannot continue this― I won't let myself be hurt by your leaving again; I will not!"

“Tissaia, all I ever wanted was you; you’re everything to me.” The raven-haired sorceress said before wrapping her arms around Tissaia in a tight embrace. “I’m not going anywhere.” She finally whispered as they both laid back down. Yennefer held Tissaia in her arms for a long while, offering her the love and affection they had each so desperately yearned for.

[thdorkmagnet]

Trouble Prone (Turtle Tots: Before the Rise)

@flufftober 2024 Day 9- “Don't do that!” ... “But-”

Fandom: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Chapter Summary: When Raph says “Don't jump”, Leo jumps anyway. What's a big brother to do?

Duo: Magnetic Duo

A/N: This one took longer to put out than I wanted but it kinda fought me every step of the way and I don't know why haha. Hope you enjoy!!

If Raph had a nickel every time Leo did something directly after Raph told him not to, he'd have…

 .…..?........ 

…Well, he'd be a lot richer, that was for sure. 

Sometimes it was like Leo existed just to test his patience. When Raph told him not to jump on the bed, he jumped anyway. When Raph told him not to eat candy so close to bed, he ate it anyways. When Raph told him to go to sleep, he found Leo two hours later playing video games in the dark. 

It was like a game to Leo, do the exact opposite of whatever Raph says and the more worry lines you give your big brother, the higher your score! It was infuriating! 

Especially since it wasn't like Leo didn’t know what he was doing was wrong because he absolutely did. Raph told him so and yet he still chose to ignore him, Every. Single. Time.

And of course Raph loved Leo, completely, even with all the chaos. But that didn't make the bad behavior any easier to deal with. And between Leo, Donnie, and Mikey’s own unique breeds of chaos to contend with, Raph’s hands were fit to bursting at this point!

But today it seemed like he might actually get a break. Because today was the day the Extreme Skateboard Finals premiered live, a competition he and his brothers looked forward to seeing all year! And not even his three chaotic siblings were interested in ruining that. Which meant Raph could just relax and enjoy the show with his three favorite people in the world. Dad was napping in his room which even meant they had the projector room all to themselves! 

They were all rooting for Sydney Allen, of course, hoping she could take home the championship this year, cheering and screaming at every trick she flawlessly executed- which was all of them because she was the best skateboarder who ever lived in Raph’s humble opinion. 

“She's getting really far this year!” Raph said, excitedly, tail wagging hard behind him. He was laying on the floor with a plushie tucked under his chin as a pillow. 

“I know! I'm so proud of her!” Mikey squealed, slumped against Donnie who was curled up with him in their dad’s chair. 

The young genius nodded and gave his little brother a pet on the head. “Indeed Angelo. And if my calculations are correct, which they always are a-hem, then she should just need to land her signature quadruple heelfip to be in the running for gold.”

“I bet I could do the quadruple heelflip,” Leo brought up casually, lying on the floor next to Raph and munching on a bowl of popcorn he kept hogging despite agreeing to share. 

Raph snorted, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, okay Leo.” 

Leo's gaze snapped to him immediately, looking quite offended and annoyed at what was supposed to be simple sibling banter. Then again, Leo was pretty competitive so maybe it wasn't that surprising. 

“What?! I could! You don't know!’ 

Raph's eyebrows raised in doubt, even as he tried to placate his little brother with a gentle, “Uh huh, sure.”

This seemed to somehow make Leo even angrier, glaring and flicking popcorn at the snapper. “I'm serious! I could totally pull it off! In fact, I bet I'd do it so well they'd give me gold right there on the spot!”

 Raph huffed at the way too overinflated ego on his little brother. “Most pros can't even do the QHF, Leo,” he said in a pinched tone. 

Leo flapped his hand dismissively at the very true statement while shoving popcorn into his mouth with the other. “Pfft, it doesn't look that difficult,” he said around a mouthful of kernels. 

“It's incredibly difficult,” Donnie interjected flatly. 

That was accompanied by a groan and huge rolling of eyes from his twin. “Whatever. You guys are just jealous of my mad skills.”

“Just watch the show, Leo,” Raph dismissed the same time Donnie said, “What skills?” 

Leo frowned, upset. “Fine. Since none of you believe me, I'll just have to show you I can,” he declared, hopping to his feet to apparently do just that.

“What? No! Don't do that!” Raph shouted, darting after his little brother to try and stop him. 

“But-” Leo started to protest but was swept off his feet by Raph before he could finish. 

“No buts,” was all Raph said, carrying his little brother back to his spot, carefully laying him on the floor and then plopping down on top of him- not hard enough to crush him but enough to keep him still- effectively cutting him off from any further escape attempts. 

“Hey! Come on, no fair!” Leo squawked, trying to wiggle out from under the massive snapper, but Raph knew for a fact he wasn't strong enough to single-handedly lift him up and the other two knuckleheads were too busy snickering over Leo’s misfortune to help. “Raaaappph! Get off!!” 

“Nuh uh, you're way too comfy a pillow,” Raph said casually. 

Leo threw his head back, groaning dramatically. “Ugggghhhh, why are you always like this?! Can’t you just let me do the stupid stunt already?!” 

“Nope. Not until you're older, Leo.”

There was a short pause on Leo’s part before he relented far too quickly, “Fine.”

Okay that was way too easy, Raph decided. He needed to cover his bases better in case Leo was trying to trick him somehow. “Promise?” he pushed, giving him a skeptical look. 

This time Leo answered immediately. “Yes, I promise,” he snapped. “Now can you get off of me?!” 

Raph nodded, satisfied. “Mmmm, after the show.”

Leo grumbled something under his breath but didn't argue further, instead folding both arms under his chin and shifting around under Raph’s weight to begrudgingly try and get comfortable. He also shoved a handful of popcorn in his mouth, chewing aggressively into the silence. 

Raph stole a few of own before returning his attention to the screen, giving himself a mental pat on the back for resolving that situation like a boss.

He assumed that was the end of it as they finished watching the championship (all screaming in victory when Sydney Allen did end up taking home gold!) and then split off to do their own things. 

So it came as quite a shock when Raph found his three little brothers gathered by the skate ramp, Leo about to do the very stunt he'd promised not to. The slider was at least wearing a helmet and decked out in every pad they had on hand but it still sent Raph’s heart racing triple-time. And Donnie and Mikey seemed uninterested in stopping him, watching from below and the latter even recording the whole thing on his phone. 

Leo didn’t notice Raph approaching at first, too busy bragging to the camera, grinning big and bold and unafraid. “...and now, all of you will witness the greatest trick ever performed by a turtle before!”

“Leo!” Raph screamed and the slider startled back, turning to his big brother with wide, caught eyes. 

“Ahh, Raph! I mean…” Leo's posture smoothed out, plastering on a coy, trustworthy grin. “Hey, big bro, what's up?”

Raph stampeded all over that question in favor of the more pressing issue, which was, “What do you think you're doing?!” 

“Uhhh, skateboarding,” Leo replied, pretending to look puzzled. “Why? Is that suddenly not allowed?” It was a very convincing act, Raph had to admit, but he wasn't falling for it! He knew exactly what Leo was up to and he was not letting him get away with it no matter how sly he was. 

“Don't play innocent, Leo. Just admit it… you were about to try and do the quadruple heelflip, weren't you?”

Leo wasn't the slightest bit fazed by the accusation or the sharp glare from Raph, his pasted-on smile never faltering as he replied, “Moi? Why would I ever do such a thing after you told me not to?”  

“Uh huh,” Raph snapped in disbelief. He could see he wasn't getting anywhere like this and so redirected his attention to his other little brothers, who were quietly watching the whole thing,  Donnie still recording. “And what was Leo really doing?” he asked them instead.

“Not the quadruple heelflip!” Donnie nervously blurted the same time Mikey exclaimed, “The quadruple heelflip!” 

Raph's snaggletooth gleamed white as he grinned smug at his blue brother. Leo didn't even seem to notice as he was busy glaring daggers at his other siblings. “Really guys?!” he snapped. 

“What? I said you weren't doing the quadruple heelflip!” 

When Leo did finally return his focus on Raph, his smile was noticeably strained. “Any chance we could redo this whole convo?” It was his half-joking, half-pleading voice but it didn't even leave a dent in Raph’s barrier. 

He just crossed his arms and said firm, “Nope.” 

“Figured,” Leo grumbled, visibly deflating. 

“So,” Raph began calmly before his temper exploded. “I can't believe you right now! I tell you not to do the quadruple heelflip and so you try and do it anyways behind my back?! You even promised me you wouldn't!” He leaned forward, emphasizing each word. “You promised, Leo! You. Promised.” 

Leo's smile turned a bit sheepish, but he still raised a knowing finger in the air, pointing out, “Well actually you said I couldn't do it till I was older and technically I am older than when i promised that, soooo…”

Raph's eye twitched and he had to count to five to keep from completely losing it. Of course the kid would try and loophole around his promise, that was so infuriatingly Leo! “You know what I meant!” he hissed through gritted teeth, shaking with the effort it was taking to keep any semblance of calm intact. 

He briefly turned his scolding glare onto his other little brothers because he had a bone to pick with them, too. “And you weren't going to do anything to stop him?!”

“I was gonna film him,” Donnie replied without an ounce of guilt. 

Raph sighed deep, rubbing palms over his eyes to try and alleviate the pounding in his head. He was definitely getting a headache from all this. “Get off the skateboard now,” he demanded, stepping forward to pull him off if need be. 

“No!” Leo shouted, rolling back a bit to keep from getting snatched up by Raph again. “Just let me try! Please!”

“Leo,” Raph warned in a barely restrained growl. 

Leo flinched but kept inching back. “But I'm being careful! See! I'm wearing a helmet and knee pads and elbow pads. Even shell pads!” 

“Leo!” Raph snapped a little panic in his tone now and he picked up the pace a little. The slider was getting further and further away from him. 

“Why don't you ever let me do anything fun?!” Leo shouted, angry and sad and who knew what else, breaths coming out in thready gasps, eyes squeezed shut. “You just yell and boss me around all day! You're the worst big brother ever!”

“Leo!” Raph screamed. Diving forward. 

“I hate y- AAAAAAAAAA!” Leo yelped in fear and surprise as the back wheels clattered over the ledge he'd been gently crawling towards, causing the momentum of the board to abruptly shift. Leo’s eyes were huge and afraid as he saw the long drop below, arms pedaling the air to try and regain balance, but the board was already starting to tip over the edge. 

Raph reached Leo just in time, scooping him up into safe arms, the slider latching on with all his might, shaking head to toe. Raph heard something shatter below and peeking over the edge, the skateboard had snapped clean in two. The snapper’s heart trembled in his throat, realizing that had almost been Leo.

There was a distressed chirp from Raph's arms and he immediately focused on comforting Leo, churring from deep in his throat and letting it rumble through both their shells. It was shaky at first- because he was scared nearly out of his mind- but he somehow managed to steady it into something hopefully soothing. 

It must have been because Raph felt the tension slowly begin to unwind from his little brother’s body; though he still stayed curled tight around Raph as he shivered. 

He could feel Leo’s rabbit-quick pulse from where they were pressed shell to shell, hear the small hiccups in his breath, and so redoubled his efforts, letting the churr grow into an earthquake in their chests, rattling their teeth with its intensity. 

Out of his peripherals, he saw Donnie and Mikey a few feet away watching anxiously. He smiled at them both, silently reassuring them and they visibly relaxed.  

Once Leo seemed calm enough, Raph asked, soft and in his baby voice, “You okay now, bud?”

“I-I’m f-f-fine,” Leo replied through chattering teeth- clearly fibbing- though Raph was thankful it seemed to be from fear and not pain. 

“Good,” Raph said, breathing a sigh of relief. He took a seat on the floor, still keeping Leo close, legs wobbling too much for standing right now, anyways. “That was seriously too close! Though I don't think your skateboard survived the fall,” Raph joked, chuckling a little to try and relieve some tension even knowing Leo could probably tell how heavy his heart was pounding against his chest. 

Leo always told jokes when he was scared or upset, that was just how his little brother worked. 

But Leo didn't laugh, didn't smile, didn't play it off with his own joke. Instead he gripped tighter and his breathing shuddered as if fighting off tears. 

“Leo?” Raph whispered, worried, putting a light hand on his back. A glance over at Donnie and Mikey and their faces had gone pale. 

“You were right,” Leo mumbled, sad. “I nearly died and wrecked my board and freaked you out and that was without even doing the stupid stunt! If I had it'd probably be way worse!” 

Raph nodded reluctantly, concerned he was rubbing Leo’s mistake in his face and making him feel worse. “Yeah.” 

Leo shifted in Raph's arms, allowing the snapper to get a good look at his brother's miserable expression. “I'm sorry for all those things I said. I didn't mean it. You're… actually like, the best big brother ever.”

Raph smiled soft, feeling his heart swell with pride. He'd been so focused on saving Leo he hadn’t really paid attention to what had been said but it warmed him up inside to hear the apology all the same, a warmth that spread from the very core of his being. “Thanks,” he said, feeling a little humbled. And because he didn’t want Leo to think otherwise, he added, “You’re a pretty great little bro.”

Leo perked up a little at that but ultimately seemed more confused by the sudden praise. “Wh-What? How can you say that when all I do is get in trouble all the time?!”

“Well yeah, you are a bit of a pain in the shell sometimes,” Raph admitted and Leo’s face fell. But then the snapper started nuzzling his cheek, making the boy giggle in surprise. “But you’re my pain in the shell,” he added with gooey affection. 

“And the only reason I get onto you about stuff is because I’m trying to keep you safe, ya little knucklehead. So stop trying to give me a heart attack all the time,” he continued, tone light as he noogied his baby brother, making him laugh hysterically. “Taking care of you three bozos is hard enough as it is.”

“Okay, okay,” Leo gasped, his smile returning in full-force as he shoved Raph’s arm away. “I’ll tone down the chaos a little, I guess.” 

“A little?” Raph repeated, skeptically.

Leo shrugged. “Well I can’t stop completely or else you’ll lose your edge!” 

“Uh huh,” Raph murmured with a roll of his eyes. “Okay fine, then how about giving me an actual promise this time not to do the quadruple heelflip?”

That made Leo sit up a little straighter, the slider loudly clearing his throat and very seriously placing one hand over his heart while raising the other. “I promise you I won’t try and do the quadruple heelflip until I’m way, way older. Like at least ten!”

“Good,” Raph said with an approving nod, giving Leo one last squeeze before letting him go. “Otherwise I’ll have to make you my pillow again.”

“Ugggghhh, no! Not that!” Leo played along, dramatically falling backwards onto Raph’s tail. “Anything but that.” 

Raph snorted and Leo giggled again.  Everything was right with the world. 

Raph noticed Mikey and Donnie running off towards the lab, holding the broken pieces of Leo’s skateboard. The youngest shot him a thumbs up which he returned. 

“I’m sorry for always being so much trouble,” Leo suddenly said, drawing Raph’s attention back to him. He did look sorry too, biting his lip and staring up at him with a sad and tense expression. This wasn’t an act. Raph could tell. It was a genuine apology. 

So he scooped Leo up once more, letting him rest against his shoulder so he could give him a wet kiss on the head. “That’s okay,” Raph replied, unbearably fond. “You’re worth the trouble.” 

A/N: This was originally going to go a way more comedic route with Leo actually trying to do the stunt and then like, falling into all their snacks or something as a reference to the show but I'm much happier with this direction instead because it led to cuddly turts!! My favorite kind of fluff!!

So this chapter and day 8 were sorta meant to be a little duology because it was just Raph dealing with disaster twin's stuff back to back. But then Halloween happened and now they are split up, so I guess Raph got a break after all, haha. They'll still always go together in my mind though!!

See ya in the next one!!

[kushanna]

i just finished umineko recently and you have my deepest sympathies as someone who also was frustrated with ep8 for multiple reasons, and as someone who generally clashes against logic puzzles / riddles / mysteries esp the way umineko handles it. if you're getting frustrated with bernkastel's game in ep8, i'd advise thinking about "who would bern make the culprit in her game? what motive would she have to create a game with X culprit(s)?" in conjunction with the purple truths

hmmm my problem right now isn't even with the riddles and puzzles themselves but with the fact that the story has stopped for them, which has never happened before. the mysteries would happen and the story would progress whether i attempted to solve them or not, which for me was the perfect pace and i think was the exact reason why i always strived so hard to solve them. but now, right at the end, everything stops until i do it? unless there's a trick somewhere i haven't noticed yet that makes the answer quite a simple one, this seems like something that will take me a while to do. and meanwhile i will have to sit here🧍🏼‍♀️and contemplate. i'm still trying to comprehend why this final game board exists and what it could mean, but thanks! i'll think about what you said.

since you said you were frustrated for other reasons as well, i'll take this opportunity to vent and say i mostly didn't vibe with the whole halloween party thing, and i'm from the bottom of my heart hoping something will change my mind, open my eyes and make me have an epiphany, but so far it seems i'm not as filled with love as umineko wants me to be. was i supposed to vibe with it? the whole thing seemed quite ludicrous. just seeing kyrie, who a minute ago was going off about how she didn't give two fucks about her daughter while murdering everyone in front of her, being all sentimental about eva taking care of ange was kinda laughable. seeing things with love in this context doesn't seem to me to do much good, it actually seems to do the opposite. even without taking into consideration what's "truth" or not, was i supoosed to care for kinzo being a warm father who gives his children presents when i've read 200+ hours worth of a story where the only thing he ever did was abuse and traumatize them? this is a genuine question. basically, if you present me a story as a tragedy, these sort of illusory happy variants will not warm my heart, they will just seem to banalize the tragedy i have been following all along. not quite the same but a somewhat similar thing happened with seeing the ushiromiyas leaving the chapel on ep. 7 as a happy family with lion. it did nothing for me except leave me with a strange feeling and when bernkastel said the massacre would still happen in that case, it made much more sense to me. umineko has taught me that i hate love

i do like "could have been" cases, though, so lion as a possibility where natsuhi didn't reject the baby was very interesting to me and i did enjoy it, the possibility of lion itself was never the issue to me. same with eva & ange on the halloween party, where the vibe seemed more like imagining the positive relationship that could have developed between them and less completely erasing and banalizing the tragedy that followed, it did move me (though i still take issue with some of the things that were said there). i think i just don't like sentimentality. anyway. what was i saying

[bisamwilson]

Hi! Sambucky + #6, pretty please?

thanks for the ask <3 #6: things you said under the stars and in the grass (from this list)

There's a firefly within reaching distance, so it shouldn't be any surprise to Bucky that Sam automatically reaches up towards it.

He doesn't catch it like Bucky expects him to, like Bucky'd seen him do with Cass and AJ on warm summer nights down in Delacroix, but just lets his hands hover a few inches away until it blinks off outward into the night. Sam's arms fall back down to his stomach.

"You know how a lot of people get seasick when they're lying out on a boat?" Sam asks, a tinge of melancholy in his voice that doesn't match the lazy haze of the night. He doesn't look over to see if Bucky nods, but he does anyway. "Sometimes I think I've got the opposite of that. Watching the stars from solid ground feels wrong in a way I can't really explain."

They'd been in upstate New York for entirely too long, training some of the new kids at the compound to teach them how to work as a team, along with Sam training Joaquín on some of the more advanced techniques with the wings. Bucky's even starting to feel a little homesick for Delacroix, for the allure of Sarah's living room couch, so he can't imagine how much Sam must miss it.

"I heard Cass won his little league game last night," Bucky says, knowing both that talking about his nephews tends to take Sam's mind off of things and that the reminder that Bucky texts Sarah on occasion now might be enough to playful irritate the melancholy away for a while.

Sam huffs a laugh out of his nose and turns his head to look at Bucky, his eyebrow raised. "Man, what did I tell you about talking to my sister?"

Bucky makes an exaggerated show of putting his hands behind his head and getting comfortable, keeping his gaze fixed on the sky above him. "No flirting involved, I swear," he says in a cheeky voice that implies the exact opposite. He's fully aware Sam knows any amount of flirting with Sarah is playful by now, a fun way for both of them to tease Sam considering how obvious it is to everyone around that Bucky's got it bad for Sam himself.

They haven't really crossed any lines on that front yet, even though Bucky's almost positive it's mutual, but they both know they're driving towards it at a pretty steady pace.

Sam reaches over and pushes him gently, and Bucky makes an even bigger show of lurching to the side. "Ignoring the fact that you were absolutely flirting with my sister, yeah, Cass did win his little league game last night. They're going to some kind of tournament in NOLA next week, and he spent like an hour on FaceTime with me last night telling me about all of the stuff he's planning to pack and all of the places he wants to go visit while they're already in town."

Sam smiles to himself with that soft, sweet smile that always makes Bucky's heart flutter in his chest before his grin drops just enough to notice if you're looking.

Bucky's always looking.

"He asked me if I could go watch him and I told him I'd try, but it feels like just about every day there's something new to teach the kids or some new urgent mission to fly out to. Sarah said she'd tape the whole thing for me, but it's still not the same, you know?"

Perhaps bringing up the baseball game wasn't Bucky's best move, he thinks.

Sam sighs and rolls back over on his back for just a moment before pushing himself upright and standing up, lightly brushing off his shorts. "We should probably head inside. Gettin' kinda late, and we have kids to teach tomorrow."

There's a grumpy retort about having to teach these new overpowered children on the tip of Bucky's tongue, but he holds it back and just shakes his head. "You go ahead. I'll catch up soon."

Sam's eyebrows knit together, but he doesn't press. "Night, Buck. Sleep tight."

"Night, Sammy," he replies softly, when Sam's a little too far away to hear.

He fishes his phone out of his pocket and notes the late hour, but he figures Sharon's probably still up, so he dials her number anyways.

"You know business hours don't extend till eleven PM, right, Bucky?" she asks in lieu of a hello.

He thinks about teasing her about her time running a nightclub in the midst of a stolen art selling operation that definitely stayed open past normal business hours, but he decides against it. "Hey, Sharon? Any way that Sam could get this weekend off? Cass has a baseball game."

She hums. "You willing to tag in if the world catches fire?"

Bucky looks off in the direction that Sam had walked off in. "For Sam? Always."

[toomuchracket]

ok the idea of dad george is sooo cute to me so here’s a blurb idea haha feel free to ignore! george’s daughter is a young teen and sneaks out to her high with her friends… he catches her when she comes home… he’s stern and he does ground her or something but he’s loving at the end

dad!george tmr debut i've prayed for times like these. anyway.

thinking she's maybe like 15? and she's doing that thing teenagers do where they just go out for an evening and wander around the town, settling down in the park or the woods for a bit before traipsing back home in time for the streetlights coming on. and the weed smoking is a totally impromptu thing, i think - your daughter's smart enough that she would have taken water and chewing gum and perfume with her to try and disguise the smell before coming home if it was a planned thing, because she KNOWS she's in for a bollocking from you and george if you catch her. so she comes home and tries to sneak away to shower before anyone catches her, but she's intercepted by george coming out of the living room just as she's heading upstairs; he sees her giggling to herself and then clocks the weed smell and figures out what's happened IMMEDIATELY. your daughter's tall for her age as it is and stands five stairs up, but her dad is still far taller and lowkey kinda terrifying - he folds his arms and raises his eyebrows, composed but clearly angry, and says "kitchen. now. we need to have a chat". so they go, standing on opposite sides of the room just staring at each other in dead silence, until george breaks it like "so where were you?", and your daughter sheepishly admits she was in the woods with her friends. and that's when george raises his voice - he's like "you're fifteen. we haven't discussed getting high like we have getting drunk. do you KNOW how dangerous it is to do drugs when you're unprepared and unaware of the side effects and not in a safe place? anything could have happened to you. i can't believe you would be so reckless". and she's standing there head down high wearing off like "i know. i'm sorry, dad", and george softens slightly and like lifts her head so he can look at her eyes. i think he hugs her like "i just wish you would have asked me about it before doing it. just trying to keep you safe, munchkin", and she's like "i know, i would have said if it'd actually been a planned thing". george kisses her head and goes "christ, i'd forgotten how badly the smell lingers in your hair", and they both laugh, and then he makes a joke like "quite impressed you managed to actually get high on your first go, though. do you know what you were smoking, and where it was from?". and she does, and tells him what strain and who rolled and whose sister sells it and gave it to them (george is mildly impressed that his daughter's weed guy is in fact a girl), and george is like "ok, well, at least you know all that. you're still grounded, though, for doing it without discussing it with me and your mum first". your daughter's eyes go wide like "mum's going to go MENTAL at me oh god", and george is like "she'll try to, but i'll remind her that she did the exact same thing when she was your age and she'll shut up lol" - your kid is like "WHAT omg i knew you smoked when you were young, dad, but mum?? i thought mum was a nerd", and george laughs like "yeah, you have cool parents, kid. but i'll tell her when she gets home, and also that i've grounded you for a week already so there's no need for her to shout at you". your daughter hugs him like "thanks, dad" and george is like "we do need to have a chat about safety and getting high, though. next time me and mum have a smoke, you can join in and we'll discuss it then"; your daughter giggles like "isn't the grounding punishment enough lol?", and george flicks her on the nose like "oi! less of that, or i'll invite matty - that actually WOULD be a punishment, he's a fucking nightmare when he's high", and your daughter winces like "yeah, i can imagine" lmfao. and then there's another hug, before george is like "have the munchies kicked in yet? i'll make you toast if you want. but wash your hair first please i think i'm getting passive high from the smell" lol <3

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: Odd Squad UK -- "Three is the Oddest Number" Episode Followup, Part 2

Man, this might turn out to be a three-part followup, the way things are going.

Well, anyway, let's continue below the break.

(A post-editing note: I was informed that Leonie is, in fact, a girl, and not a boy like I thought. I'm keeping the LGBTQ+ theory because we've already gotten gay triangle villain and they could extend that to child villains too, but keep in mind that Leonie is a girl and not a boy. That's my bad.)

Okay...again, I have to ask: are departments just not a thing anymore? Did- did we dissolve that concept or what?

Because sending out Oh-Oh, an agent known for unsolving cases, to do the exact opposite of her job description is utter fucking stupidity. And the only way I would excuse it is if there were a constant danger of low numbers in this precinct, which...after Orli's induction, there doesn't seem to be.

"She needs field experience" is not a viable excuse, either. She doesn't need field experience. She and the Investigation agents work symbiotically. That is the whole fucking point of her entire fucking department.

Niki, you were on one hell of a good track, but you're faltering. Step it up, honey.

Oh, forget about pollen. If you're allergic to birds, that's the real ruiner allergy-wise.

Pollen has a season. Birds are infinite.

Absolutely was not expecting this bewildered "huh?!" to come out of that child. Fucking golden.

Given the Season 2 references, you're gonna have a very hard time convincing me this isn't just Ohlm "reskinned", so to speak.

Like, you know the MLP: FiM palette swaps? That's what this is. It's an Odd Squad version.

I love how he accentuates the "free" in "free snacks" like he has no money on him and like we haven't seen agents get free food before.

The client probably can't offer anything, but there are other clients who specialize in human food 'round here...

Think about this for a second: they poison the food, he eats it, he lets his body hit the floor ground, and they take the gadget easy.

"But the adult is the-" The adult...is an idiot. Do you really think they'll stop the poisoning of a pseudo-government official?

Won't get fooled again, until they get fooled again.

(I'm sorry, I didn't want to make the same joke twice, but it's too perfect to pass up.)

ODD SQUAD-BRANDED WOODEN CASE FOR MY TABLET WHEN. W H E N . W H EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-

"It's not ideal, but it's not the worst thing that could happen! For example, I've heard Odd Squad once had a genocide and a mass murdering."

"Really?"

"Ahh, but that was many many years ago in a different country. None of you will remember it."

I honestly can't tell if "another chance to sink 'em" is UK grammar, or if it's just a really weird choice of words.

No, I don't care if they're geese. They are related to ducks. This is the finale. We've had many Season 2 references thus far. THIS IS ONE OF THEM AND DO NOT @ ME.

See, this is funny because Orli has literally wielded a Mary Sue gadget that removes oddness with a simple zap before.

And I'd say "just use that", but...then we wouldn't have this episode.

"Why did I think that would help?"

Look, everyone tends to think they're Fluttershy at some point or another, until they find out they aren't. Happens a lot, Ozzie.

Somehow I never noticed Oxandra was wearing a bow aaaaaaaaand fucking hell I just realized why she knew all the gadgets with all the shapes and I'm going to go kick myself in the ass until my coccyx breaks.

On one hand, phrasing the evil plan as a "plan of terribleness" is charming.

On the other hand, repeating the phrasing is inducing much cringe in me.

Thinking about this bit, and I've come to the conclusion that Ozzie meeting these three is definitely not as dramatic as it could have been. The Shadow's introduction brought more drama!

"But something tells me it's not the last we'll see of them."

*cackles in "WE GOT TWO MORE EPISODES YOU DUMB FUCK!!!!!"*

"Does Orli know they're ex-Odd Squad agents?"

Let's be honest: even if I hadn't spoiled myself for the finale, even just a little bit, I'd probably have this as one of my theories. The O names are a bit of a dead giveaway.

Just for reference, The Shadow at least did it better because she went under an alias. The Terrible Three just go by their Odd Squad-given names.

"I've never been able to find the right time to tell her."

WELL NO FUCKING SHIT DOG, YOU ONLY HAVE 12 EPISODES TOTAL AND SHE'S BEEN HERE FOR LESS THAN A FUCKING YEAR.

Putting aside the fact that Offee can apparently speak goose...this is so unbelievably half-assing it that it makes me question all of these villains' intelligence levels and perception skills.

In that they are probably a little on the low side, and they have next to none.

Okay, this effect looks cool on gadgets. It shouldn't do the same thing for regular-ass shapes, regardless of whether they are used as batteries for gadgets or not.

*deep inhale*

Note to self: make a Seren's Study on how the show gets an F in grammar while I educate the fandom on the correct phrasing.

This sounds menacing, until you realize it is one precinct in a sea of thousands and striking the Big Office department plus all the Big Offices themselves would be far more effective. (Unless these three have a vendetta against Ozzie only, but that doesn't seem to be the case so far.)

WAIT WHOA WHOA WHOA. "NEXT TIME"?????? ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS WE'RE GETTING A "NEXT TIME" CARD?!?!?!?!?!

Honestly dead-shocked this hasn't been done before. I liked it when they did the "last time on Odd Squad" opening in "Training Day"; now we're doing the inverse.

AH!!!!! AP AP AP YA SEE?????? SHE I S A SCIENTIST!!!! OXANDRA IS A SCIENTIST I CALLED IT AHAHAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaa wait hold on, is the book upside down or backwards and also why is it small and rectangular and not...dictionary-size?

I hate that, with this one line, I have a fairly good idea of where things will be heading.

The key word here, of course, is "fairly", because I definitely won't be right all the way through.

Cute. Cute how bro thinks he's part of the team when it's supposed to be a 2:1:1 ratio with Onom instead of him.

And your credits for this episode. I find it funny that, despite the reveal, nearly every member of the Terrible Three has the "Agent" title attached to their names (bar Oxandra, who was a Scientist, hence the lack of title...which makes no sense, but asides). Imagine if you just skipped to these credits without seeing the reveal, on some off chance for some odd reason.

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

Overall...ough God, where the fuck do I honestly begin with this episode? I mean, I guess the best way to start would be that, for a finale episode, it was pretty solid. Definitely could have been better, but I'm liking what I'm seeing so far. The only real major issue I have is the complete and utter lack of foreshadowing and how the events of this episode, plus the Terrible Three, are just ham-fisted into the season. Story arcs do define the franchise, but there's nothing wrong with leaving one out and just wrapping things up with a final episode. Trying to put one in 12 episodes doesn't work out so well, and this is a good example as to why.

As for the Terrible Three themselves, I'm...not getting much from them. One's LGBTQ+, probably, which is great, but I'm looking for personalities. Aside from Ollison's obvious leader status and Oxandra's potential idiocy (and even that is lacking), there's nothing that's really drawing me to them like, say, Ohlm, or Odd Todd, or The Shadow. All of them have very distinct personalities and motives. The Terrible Three...don't.

But maybe it's too early for me to say much of anything else. Maybe the other two parts of the finale will clear things up, so here's hoping. With that being said, I'll see y'all around for the first part of "Should Odd Acquaintance Be Forgot".

Seren out!

[ahogechef]

USE THIS GENERATOR TO RANDOMLY CREATE 10 HEADCANONS FOR YOUR MUSE & BOLD ALL THAT ACTUALLY APPLY.

Kaede will remind others in the midst of chaos how good they're being. {I have mixed feelings about this one... Like I don't think she would want to be the type that boasts about how good she's being. But it could be situational: like maybe getting into a bad argument with someone who's harshly judging her, even if they're not exactly a good person, themselves! And when she's angry, she can kind of take things too far... but for the most part, she likes doing good things or being a good person, without having to make a show of it.}

Kaede reads ao3. {III don't really see Kaede as a fanfic reader type of person ? Not that she dislikes them, just something she doesn't really care for, really.}

Kaede doesn't own a single pair of matching socks. {The exact opposite, actually: she's got lots of matching socks!! Anytime she loses one sock, she is Devastated... she likes when her socks match 😔}

Kaede sleeps in until noon. {Sometimes she does!!! Usually when she didn't get any SLEEP the previous night, smh!!! Or if she did, and she doesn't have to get up super early, she'll sometimes sleep in.}

Kaede doesn't know how to say "no". {Kaede is someone who doesn't know how to take 'no' for an answer, while also being someone who can't say 'no' KJDNFDJK LIKE if it's something she is severly against doing, then you are not going to force or persuade her no matter what: but for the most part, even if she doesn't really want to, she sometimes end up just going along with the thing, anyway, even if it's just because she surrendered because the other person was just that persistent.}

Kaede is a cry baby. {She kind of was, I'd say: when she was a small child. Tiny sopping wet puppy... but I wouldn't say she cries that often, to be considered a cry baby? She usually only does so if she's in a very emotional state, either out of anger, sadness, or happiness. Unless it's for a good reason, she doesn't like to cry, and especially in front of others...}

Kaede is a cat person. {YEAH! SHE LOVES KITTIES... but she, definitely not because she has a bias HEHE, is more of a dog person, really: primarily thanks to her big fluffy son, Daifuku! Her male samoyed~! He lives at the family home, of course: but god, would she love to be able to bring him to her school dorm!!}

Kaede cringes at their middle school yearbook photos. {Nuh-uh!!! She would look back at them fondly! 😤 Looking at them brings her warm memories of the classmates she spent time together with at her middle school...}

Kaede is a horrible liar. {Kaede is usually a pretty honest person, but sometimes might lie out of pressure or anxiousness and it's usually! Pretty obvious to tell when she is!!! KDFNKFDJ especially in non-serious/silly situations, but sometimes in more serious ones, too: usually if she's not feeling okay, but lies and says she's fine. Depending on the lie, she can be very stubborn in admitting it, until she finally gives up and admits it...}

Kaede's favorite color is pink. {Truest fact on this list, HEHE: SHE'S A PINK GOIL IN HEART AND SOUL!!! 🩷🩷🩷It's why she likes having some type of pink in her outfits~}

Tagged by: @azure-summoner THANGKY YOU, TEE HEE...

Tagging: YOU!!! If you have not done this yettttt!!!!