#it didn't treat the audience like it was stupid

[minetteskvareninova]

I don't know if I agree with this; Alicent's writing, especially in season 2, is a burning dumpster fire, and some of OP's point are definitely spot-on:

Listen, gurl, they didn't even properly explain what this relationship is about, so her leaving the door unlocked is the least of our worries. Like, if she just wants to get some dick, why is Criston The Honourable indulging her? It's implied that he's in love with her, but she isn't with him, and somehow this is not a problem for, like seriously, WHY DOES NOONE IN THIS SHOW EVER SAY "I LOVE YOU"?! I've never seen a show so devoid of romance that wouldn't be just subtext and mindreading, yet at the same time teeming with possibly romantic relationships. This ambiguity could work, if we otherwise got a good look at the interiority of the characters involved, AND YET. I am serious when I say we have a perfect understanding of what Aegon the Trashy is feeling at any given moment, but Alicent, whom the show presents as an equally, if not more important character, is an enigma wrapped in a mystery.

I mean, at this point I am glad we at least got some development of her relationship with Helaena, even if it wasn't a lot and it was just as messy as everything else. This one is a general problem with the show, in that it is nominally about familial drama blowing up into a country-wide civil war, yet some members of the family are consistently designated as "lesser" and treated as an afterthought in-universe and out. Like even Helaena's reaction to the death of her child is extremely confusing - it COULD be that her relationship to her children and motherhood is dysfunctional in a way that may or may not be related to her implied autism, but how the fuck are we as the audience supposed to know?!

I mean, her contempt for Aegon is at least consistent and understandable? It wasn't very strategically sound, but how in-character do you think this stupidity was is kind of a YMMV in my opinion. Also not to say anything, but she couldn't have known what Aegon would do as a result of her words! Jeez, give the man and his infinitely bigger stupidity some credit!

I don't know what this one is referring to, and honestly I don't think she's THAT guilty, so that's fine with me.

Again, the fact that her relationship with her children is a bit troubled was well-established in the previous season, so I actually don't mind that. And I mean she did try her best to stand by Helaena, so...

I am not sure if I agree; she was clearly plenty politically active during Viserys' lifetime, and was basically the regent in all but name (you could argue that Otto was her co-ruler, but splitting hairs). On the other hand, Aemond is (in the eyes of the council) the heir and a war hero, yes, but also an 18-year old, too young to be a good ruler in his own right, too stubborn to serve as a puppet king. So I could see a potential council member go either way, with misogyny potentially playing a part, but I am chafing a bit against the show seemingly assuming that just because Aegon's council doesn't support female succession, it's a priori against a well-established female political figure serving as a regent. For example, Ottoman or French succession laws were vehemently against female succession, yet both monarchies had plenty of powerful female regents, especially mothers of underage rulers. This is kind of a problem with show!Alicent, who had the chance to gain more influence during her husband's illness than her book counterpart, yet somehow is merely a person with some influence at court, just like book!Alicent. Is there really noone in the council who has, over the years, come to like and respect her (well, except for that maester, I forgot his name)?!

I mean that scene was extremely stupid for a lot of other reasons, but I could rant about for way too long, so I'll just leave it at that.

That one I sort of understand, in that she was kinda done with politics and the whole cause of her nominal faction in general; if she just fucked off to Oldtown with Helaena and Jahaera or whatever, with the intention to sit the whole war out, I'd get it. It's the "surrendering to Rhaenyra" part that I find baffling.

Okay, this is where I disagree with the OP the most; if Daemon was the future ruler, I'd get it, but he isn't, and I am pretty sure he'd have to contend with Rhaenyra if he tried to do anything. Would she come off of this confrontation as a victor? God knows, but in any case, I can see her giving mercy to Daeron, and maaaybe even Aegon - or at least I can see how Alicent might've thought that, even though she literally crowned him herself. But still, in Rhaenyra's point of view, Aegon committed the crime of usurpation, unless they are able to blame the whole thing on the Green Council "leading him astray" - which he could actually pull off, considering he had to be dragged into kingship kicking and screaming! But yeah, Otto is a toast in either case, and so is Aemond, who again in Rhaenyra's eyes murdered one of her sons. Like, Alicent must know that whatever happens, if Rhaenyra wins AT THE VERY LEAST Aemond is fucked. And it's not like Aemond, who owns the biggest fucking dragon in Westeros by far would take all of that lying down, either! Alicent opening the gates of the city to Rhaenyra gives some advantage to the Blacks, but doesn't end the war by a long shot. For Aemond, keeping his faction on the throne is a matter of life and death, and as long as a good chunk of Westeros is willing to stand by him, there is nothing Alicent could do to actually end the war.

...come the fuck on. You can't be serious. You just can't. "Doesn't have the decency to die" is such a stupid and needlessly mean-spirited sentiment. Go to hell OP.

Okay, I can actually suspend my disbelief in this case and say these people don't want war because of some vague sense of noblesse oblige and because even in a feudal system, civil war (as opposed to a war of conquest) is a supremely destructive enterprise that just needlessly devastates your future domains. You're supposed to feed the sheep, not torch it with a big fuck you dragon.* The problem of course is that, as I've pointed out a million times by now, THE WAR HAS ALREADY STARTED. There is no peaceful solution to this situation, period, and the show's attempts to pretend otherwise just reflect badly on the characters.

Those random things were meant to give us some insight into her interiority and I cannot overstate how much they didn't do that.

And your final conclusion on the character is... Wow. No words. Congratulations, you somehow manage to be even less charitable towards Alicent than the show and me, a Black partisan! Impressive. Gold star haterdom. Mahidevran sultan would be proud.

*A reference to the famous Maria Theresa quote "You need to feed the sheep if you want to shear it." Basically, this is how she justified the state-ordered limits on feudal rents and obligations, which were previously the sole prerogative of the landowners themselves. In other words, "don't keep the peasants that you live off of on the brink of starvation".

An analysis on how the show turned Alicent into an accidental villain (part 2)

The portrayal of Alicent in season 2 is bizarre to say the least. On one hand, it seems like the writers are trying to keep her as a "good" character. On the other hand, it seems like they are trying really hard to humiliate her.

First of all, this desire to “humble” Alicent seems very strange considering they’ve went out of their way to portray Alicent as possible by making her crown Aegon based on a misunderstanding, she wasn’t aware of the plan to crown him, she refused to have Rhaenyra killed. 

Second of all their attempt to make Alicent sympathetic or a victim also fail spectacularly.

Alicent's behavior this season is utterly self-centered, delusional and stupid. To the point that it's comical at times

In this season she :

sleeps with Cole while leaving the door unlocked

barely gives a shit when her grandson is brutally murdered. Seriously, Alicent's lack of care for her grandchildren is disturbing, does she even know their names?

recognizes that Aegon is eager to please, proceeds to do nothing about it despite her "intelligence" and later insults him while he's already down and causes him to put himself in danger

feels very shallow guilt for that

doesn't take time to help her children with their grief, even though it's not even like she feels any grief herself that would overwhelm her

never proposes any plan of action at the council, yet expects not only to be taken seriously but to made regent, even though making Aemond regent makes perfect sense since he's the heir and the Green's biggest advantage

has the enemy near her, unprotected, and lets her go because of sentimentality

after not being made regent, instead of trying trying to leverage her influence in other ways, she just abandons, and then soon after betrays her entire family and faction

SHE CONDEMNS HER FAMILY TO DEATH. Seriously, Aegon, Aemond, Daeron and Otto are all dead if Rhaenyra becomes queen.

She doesn't even have the decency to share their fate (since she's admitting her mistakes), she is ready to just go live her best life in peace (where and how exactly, we don't know)

In the show, she is largely responsible for the beginning of the Dance, since apparently Rhaenyra would not have done anything to her siblings if Aegon was never crowned and the King's word is the only claim considered valid, yet she acts all season like she has no responsibility for it and condemns violence (like what did you think would happen when you dragged Aegon to the throne????). Which also feels very shallow because as a youtuber pointed out in their video about s2 of HOTD, just because we believe war is bad, doesn't mean we will automatically buy that medieval characters would believe that. They needed to establish in s1 that Alicent and Rhaenyra care about the innocents, not just be like we'll they are woman of course they care ! That's lazy

Plus all the random things Alicent does while her family is tearing itself apart like getting eaten out before a council, taking baths, lighting candles, swimming fully clothed, which many find boring but I just find very funny in how absurd it is.

In conclusion of both parts of this analysis, Alicent is a crazy, petty, bitter, jealous, self-centered, dumb, incompetent, delusional, hypocritical, judgmental, treacherous abusive mother with no self-awareness who doesn't love any of her children except Helaena (and that's debatable considering she was willing to let Daemon get away with what he did to her, she's more of a prop to her than a daughter), doesn't care about her grandchildren, doesn't care about her father, brother and lover, who refuses to take responsibilities for her action and is ready to sacrifice tons of people for her "freedom".

Which is fine, but then go all in, make her a soap opera villain and make us love to hate her. They could do that by stressing the comedic elements of a character like that, example: Joffrey is horrible but he is often very funny to watch, Lucille Bluth is another good example of a horrible but incredibly entertaining character.

[kasumingo]

AT was just so groundbreaking through and through

[joey-the-boy]

I'm mid-rewatch of The Hollow and I forgot how much I hated these motherfuckers in season one

[nobodyfamousposts]

Scarlet Lady Top 10 Favorite Characters: Number 10

For @zoe-oneesama

Okay, I realized as I was writing these that there is way way WAY too much to each of these and why to be able to put them all into one post, so I'm breaking them down into individual essays focusing on each one to keep them palatable.

So without further ado....

Number 10: EVERYONE

Yeah, I know it may be cheating but at this point it was the only choice I could make.

I came to regret making this list, specifically because I couldn’t seem to make up my mind as far as who all would be on it. I reread the entire series. I kept switching people in and out as I was reminded of characters or scenes I loved. And I came to a realization that there is no character in the whole of this series I didn’t enjoy to some extent that they didn't deserve some love in this list and I kind of wish I could have added all of them just to give them all some spotlight.

Yes, it is partly because everyone is vastly improved compared to Canon. But as I reread the series, it came to mind that if Canon didn’t exist and I didn’t have the comparison between the characters, I still very much would have loved this series and everyone in it.

Cause and Effect Exist

It's important to have a setting in which the characters and their actions make sense for the world they live in. When the setting is supposed to be modern day earth, we need the people to be able to show that they are capable of surviving in it on a day to day basis without being so massively incompetent that they would do something like accidentally ingesting poison. Or forgetting how to breathe.

I would think it would be obvious, but sometimes Canon makes me wonder. Which is never a good look for a show that is supposed to have some level of seriousness and involve superheroes.

Here’s the thing Canon can’t seem to get: when a majority of the things that go wrong in a plot are because of everyone having to be stupid to make the plot work, you have a problem with the writing. Changing the material in a story so that younger people can enjoy it does NOT mean dumbing down the characters and throwing in arbitrary lessons with no real reason to them. Even if the show itself is geared towards kids, you can’t treat the audience like they’re stupid.

In Scarlet Lady, the people aren’t stupid.

Silly, yes. Wrong, often. Overdramatic, definitely. But while they may make stupid choices sometimes, they aren’t so dumb that anyone should have concerns about their ability to function at a higher level than an overcaffinated 2 year old.

They’re fooled initially the way many of us would be with a biased story that hits the news first. Oblivious to the problems in a situation that they logically wouldn’t have much direct insight into. Prone to making mistakes and incorrect judgement the way that anyone would. That's normal. That's expected.

But they’re not so incapable as to forget things that happen right in front of them between one day and the next. Or even between one scene and the next.

Things carry over. We see cause and effect. We see consequences—bad and good. And those consequences extend not only for the episode or season but for the entire series.

Aurore KNOWs Alec cheated her before and maintains a tight control over him and prevents more of his antics.

Adrien and Alya maintain a cold attitude towards Lila for some time after her reveal as a liar. And it even remains a point against her as used by Chloe as herself and as Scar to discount what she says.

The boys of the class remember Adrien’s “love letter to Marigold” and try to win him her merch because they’re bros like that. 

Adrien himself remembers the instances of his dad being a massive prick and instead of being surprised and “sad boi uwuwu” each time it happens like it’s supposed to be a surprise that the massive prick would choose to be a prick, he very clearly moves through the stages of grief to the point of a sort of acceptance that involves planning around and even for him.

Gabriel’s horrible parenting and general lack of concern for Adrien or his wellbeing as he ends up a casualty of various akuma attacks was played off for laughs when such incidents occurred. Then they were brutally called out against him in the Finale as a way to counter his claims of doing everything for Adrien’s sake. And the big reveal of the Birthday Scarf…utilized in the last way anyone would have wanted.

And Chloe is perhaps the biggest example as her antics ARE NOT forgotten or ignored by anyone. The classmates still interact with Chloe and are relatively nice to her, but they don’t just forget that she’s treated them horribly. They don’t act surprised when she does anything horrible. Nor does anyone just laugh it off or excuse it as “just who she is”. We see follow up to her behavior—the class fully expecting her to cause trouble and actively try to plan around it. People calling her out on past behaviors. And even bigger consequences as time goes on. Such as Adrien breaking off the friendship. And a blink and you miss it fridge logic moment in Ikari Gozen when you realize that when they said she was banned from all future Gabriel-involved competitions, they meant it.

The fact that by the time the big reveal happened that Chloe was Scarlet Lady, no one was shocked.

Story-wise, this is showing the passage of time and the effect the events of the story are having. It’s showing that there is lasting impact and that what happens to the characters matters.

Meta-wise, this is Zoe rewarding us for paying attention.

Continuity exists in Scarlet Lady. Time exists. The people exist. When anyone does anything, you get the sense that they aren’t operating in a vacuum. The things they do matter. There are consequences. There is an impact. And if there is an impact in the story, there will be an impact on the audience.

Which leads to…

Character Depth/Character Growth

Usually in TV shows of this nature, if there ARE character arcs for the side characters, they only occur over the course of a single episode devoted to focusing on them before moving on elsewhere. 

Canon didn’t give us that much at all in favor of having every episode that should focus on other characters learning and growing instead forcing Marinette to be wrong in some way and learn an arbitrary lesson that often would have better served for someone else.

In Scarlet Lady, the arcs we get are impressive for all that they’re relatively unobtrusive. They aren’t big. They aren’t world-ending. And the thing is, most change in life isn’t. It can just FEEL that way.

Like the way it felt for Kim when he first found out Ondine liked him and then had his confession to her screwed up.

And the way it felt for Kagami when she lost that first match against Adrien.

Then there’s the way it felt for Chloe when she was dismissed by her mother, had her popularity go downhill, and ended up losing her Miraculous.

…or the way it felt for Adrien when he discovered his dad was Hawk Moth.

The reactions we witness are in a great part due to actions outside of the characters’ control, but are ultimately a result of the experiences they have had and the ways they have changed as a result.

The question becomes: are the characters that we meet at the beginning pretty much identical to how they are at the end? Is the world?

The answer in Scarlet Lady is no.

Whether because the characters themselves change or our perception of them does, we can see that they have all undergone some sort of events that create a difference between the start and end points.

Not all of them HAVE to undergo some big emotional arc. Not all of them NEED to. But the characters still mostly go through some sort of growth by the end that I feel make them stronger and healthier people.

You’ve got the big life-altering changes like Lila and Sabrina.

You’ve got the little changes like Nino and Ivan.

You’ve even got the most minuscule, beginning stages of change in Chloe.

You’ve got growth that creates such perfect setup with Mylene when she starts off scared and traumatized by how things went with Stoneheart then is the one who confronts him in the end. And the parallel between the finale and the beginning when she returns him to normal by kissing him just like they did in that first episode to change him back then, too! (Just….GOD, I CANNOT GET OVER THIS!)

You’ve got them reaching out and making friends and relating to people they hadn’t before.

And by the end of it all, we get characters who feel like people rather than props.

They don’t all have to change. They don’t necessarily need to go through an entire emotional arc and back again. They just need to be part of the world they’re in.

Nino doesn’t just pop into existence when Adrien or Alya need someone to interact with. Kagami isn’t just a non-horrible or non-evil love rival for Adrien or a stepping stool for him to “practice“ at being in a relationship before it’s time for him to try the “real thing” with his endgame pairing. Luka isn’t just a decent guy who is the only actual form of support for the female lead and yet only lacking that precious “male lead” title or all around just not “Adrien enough” to fill the role.

Adrien isn’t just a “sad boy” meant to be a main love interest, Villain’s Morality Pet, and the one everyone idolizes and chases after just cuz he’s the male lead and that’s how you show he’s desirable I guess. Marinette isn’t the atlas keeping the story alive because no one else is apparently capable of learning lessons and changing, or even just the bare basics of functioning as individuals. Chloe isn’t just there to be horrible for no reason and get away with it so she can continue to be horrible until the writers suddenly need her to be sympathetic.

And the rest of the classmates aren’t just some Greek chorus there to fill the background.

We see them interact. We see them making jokes or jabs. We see them even…*gasp* having different opinions!

And on something as major and life-controlling as feelings about the “Hero of the City” no less! Why, that’s the sort of thing that would break up friendships and determine who you can sit next to at the cafeteria! The horror! The scandal!

And…oh hey. This puts the characters in different groups. It links them with characters other their Canonically designated pairings and groups. This lets them disagree on things and not need to vilify any of them. This creates implications that add depth to the story and to the people in it.

The characters can disagree without being enemies. They can be wrong without having to be evil. They can make mistakes without having to be stupid. And they can change and grow—both for better and worse.

And we see both and in different ways. SO many different ways.

Adrien goes from excited and impulsive to buckling under the forced responsibility and weight of a partner who hinders more than she helps.

Lila goes from selfishly bad and self-serving to selfish but friendly with better direction of her talents in a less self-serving way.

And Chloe just goes from selfish and bad to selfish and worse..

I mean, it says something that the combination of Lila’s growth and Chloe’s fall from grace resulted in Hawk Moth being unable to use Lila as a tool for his Heroes Day plot like he originally intended.

The key is that whether they necessarily grow or become better people, these characters are still IMPACTED by the events around them and AFFECTED as a natural result of the world they live in. 

You can’t help but feel for them in some way as a result. It’s part of why I love them.

The other part of why I love them is a bit more epic though…

Crowning Moments of Awesome

If there’s one thing I love, it’s seeing characters be awesome. I love it when characters get to be awesome. I would love to see more of it. Especially when the ones involved are characters you wouldn’t normally expect or get to see have a chance to shine.

And it’s when you see these characters be awesome that you really get the sense that yes, this character would work as a hero.

Seeing Max help against Robustus. Seeing Kim help against Odine. Alix stepping in during Pharaoh, calling out her brother’s fan fiction, and helping the heroes escape the security system at the Lourve. Alya stepping in during Copycat to clue Chat in to what’s going on and later keeping Anansi distracted to keep her away from Chat while he’s trapped. Rose kicking Nightmare!Chat in the face to defend Marinette even when she’s on the run from her own nightmares in Sandboy. Luka leading groups twice to stepping in and helping the heroes deal with akumas. Nathaniel standing up for Marinette and Sabrina when they’re accused in Rogercop and then helping the heroes in Reverser.

These little moments of support make such a big different and really make it make sense that the heroes would trust these people with magical jewelry to help them in battle.

And the little moments of characters being petty or strong or smart or turning the tables or just showing off what they’re capable of. Even without superpowers.

Adrien getting petty revenge for Nino and finding a tactic to counter Gabriel in the future.

The Police Force in Rogercop just saying “Nope” to obeying an obvious akuma. 

Zoe manipulating akumas twice to help the heroes. Her two Reasons You Suck Speeches to her mom and Bustier.

Every instance of payback that Tikki gets against Chloe.

Everyone in the Finale. Just…EVERYONE in the Finale. The characters who manage to avoid akumatization by either spotting the flaws in the illusion or refusing to give in to fear and even protecting others. Nora smacking any akuma that enters the home. Claudie pulling off Power Mom and ordering Max to stop attacking the city then helping to calm him down. Prince Ali and Juleka freeing Rose by kissing her! Chris, Ella, Etta, and Manon saving Mylene! Mylene saving Ivan with a kiss in a direct callback to how they first got together in Stoneheart! (Yes, I am still stuck on that!) Ondine saving Kim! Lila and Sabrina saving Alix! Luka facing Riposte alone and unarmed and then Kitty Section saving Kagami! ALL of the Heroes making a final comeback to help take down Hawk Moth for good! Just—AAAAAH!

How could Miraculous have peaked with this in Season 2 when this is Grand Finale material? Because there are few things more awesome than getting to see ALL the characters the heroes met and befriended and helped throughout the course of the story stepping up at the final battle to help take the Big Bad down!

Like…can we just take a moment to appreciate how everyone gets a chance to stand out in some way? Not all of them necessarily good, exactly (looking at you Andre). But still stand out and be memorable. Even characters who didn’t originally get much focus. Especially characters who were originally functioning as cardboard cutouts to fill a scene.

Anyone remember Aurore? How for the FIRST akuma in the pilot of the series and one who is quite frankly the most interesting and noteworthy, we don’t really get to see her again except in the background.

In Scarlet Lady, we got to actually look in to the contest and how she lost as well as the aftermath. She wasn’t some arrogant showoff who deserved to lose to the “sweet down to earth rival”, she was a girl who legitimately tried her best and had valid reason to be upset. Seeing her get revenge on Alec for cheating and humiliating her on live TV was well worth it.

Or how about the Photographer? Just there to take photos of Adrien in the park for a photo shoot or be the school photographer, but otherwise has no personality and is only remembered for his weird “spaghetti” line.

In Scarlet Lady, his role is two-fold. He acts as a sort of supporter for Adrien in his crush. Taking really good pictures of him being happy with the girl he likes. Taking more class photos at the behest of this girl for the sake of a friend who missed out on the class picture. And then there’s his OTHER role as a sort of antagonist to Chloe. He becomes one of the only ones in the early seasons willing and capable of dismissing her tantrums.

They’re both given more character. They get moments to stand out and BE awesome. So is everyone.

EVERYONE. From the classmates and big named characters we see regularly to the side characters who only appear once or twice. They all get some good scenes and focus that give them their own identities. All of them are memorable. None of them can really be ignored or forgotten. And part of what made making this list so difficult was that I found myself getting attached to pretty much everyone as I came across each of them that I couldn’t quite make up my mind.

Everyone in this fic has done something to make me happy and warrant my approval. Even the characters I normally wouldn’t like at all had their moments to shine and elicit an “okay, that was cool” from me.

Thus I grant this spot to everyone. To all the characters I don’t get the chance to mention. To all the ones I like albeit somewhat less than others. To all the ones I know are horrible but can’t help but like regardless. To all the ones I fought with myself for THREE MONTHS over which one would get this spot.

I love all of them.

[smolbeanmerlin]

*PRESSES LOUD RED BUZZER* WRONG

The Captain is NOT an example of the 'bury the gays' trope, and it is utterly stupid to think that he is. The article states that the Captain "plays into the stereotype that gay characters live sad, unfulfilling lives" which, if you've watched BBC Ghosts, isn't entirely true. The author also seems to criticise the show for not having the Captain come out of the closet to explore his sexuality. I'll forever love the writers for not deciding to go down that trope, because just like 'bury your gays' it is predictable and so overused in queer media. We know the Captain is gay, the character himself has known that for at least 80 years and the audience doesn't need a confession nor an explicit internal conflict for us to know this. Additionally I am so glad they didn't make the Captain's character arc about his sexuality, because it would be a lazy and overdone story that completely overlooks the Captain as a whole. The BBC version of Ghosts treats the Captain as a somewhat overbearing, orderly and reserved man (which we see change as the series develops), NOT as the gay character who didn't get a chance to tell the man he loved about his feelings for him (which of course is an important aspect of the Captain but it doesn't define who he is or what he does). There is no mistake that the writers made with the character of the Captain.

[statementlou]

ah! okay I figured it out! I couldn't articulate precisely what it was about the OOMS is for boys thing yesterday, cause actually the idea that they want more men to get into him DOESN'T bother me- men are dumb and avoid things girl-coded which shrinks his total audience if they avoid him. From a marketing perspective it makes sense for Louis to go where they are (Soccer AM or whatever), I don't think there's anything annoying about that- what bothers me is the idea that girl fans only want Perfect Now and covers of 18 and man fans will only like harder punkier songs. Um, FUCK YOU?! THAT'S the part that's fucking sexist and ignorant- and yet again shows the ways in which they repeatedly fall short of understanding the core fanbase and underestimate not just the willingness to follow Louis in this direction but also the extent to which the new fans have flocked to him for the very sounds and aesthetics they think we as a fanbase aren't, what, cool enough to get?

some screenshots are going around from this twitter thread sharing an article interviewing the director of BMG UK marketing about Louis' campaign, but there's a lot more of interest in there! Recommend the whole thing but I thought I would pull some parts I thought were fun or interesting

[sidemari]

• SFW Headcanons Collection •

How do you both spend quality time together.

Characters included: Aphelios, Ezreal, Hwei, Jayce, Jinx, Kayn, Sett, Viktor, Yasuo and Yone [separately] x Fem!Reader

Mari's notes: It's just a silly and cute post. The part of the text involving Sett and Yone was written with me particularly thinking about @nana2amuro <3

Aphelios

Walk under the stars: You both usually take night walks in a quiet place, looking at the stars and talking about dreams and future plans.

"The Moon is beautiful today" You spoke with joy, squeezing his hands affectionately. "It's in the same lunar phase as the night we met."

Aphelios nodded, smiling with his eyes before pulling your body against his, initiating a tender kiss.

Ezreal (Heartsteel)

Making a personalized playlist: Creating a playlist with songs that represent your relationship or special moments you have shared together was your idea not only to express your love but also to show that you appreciate how essential music is to him.

"This song was the first one from Heartsteel" You whispered against his neck as you cuddled. 

"It's the song that was playing that night, remember? At that concert where I saw you in the audience”

"How could I forget the day we met?"

Hwei

Connection with art: Creating something together, whether painting or drawing, is something that connects you not only with art but with each other. You can spend hours searching for the best materials or the most vivid paints for your next canvas without getting bored.

"Do you think these shades of blue match the background of the painting?" You asked Hwei, bringing numerous containers overflowing with paint in your arms. 

"Watch out!" Too late. You tripped and a bit of paint splattered on the canvas, besides staining your clothes.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... I didn't notice that the containers were ajar”

"Hey, it's okay. The painting turned out more artistic this way and... Well, you still look incredibly beautiful even covered in paint” 

Jayce

Movie or series marathon: Choosing a series or movies that both of you love and spending hours watching them with treats, cuddles and kisses is essential to ensure a cozy moment away from everyday worries.

"Ah man, this protagonist is so stupid" He exasperatedly said, turning off the television.

"Jayce, are you really going to get mad at a character? It's just a movie, love”

"I prefer to cuddle with you while we kiss rather than waste time watching this cheesy movie."

"How can I deny you this?" You pulled him in for a kiss. "But you have to promise me that you'll watch the next movie I choose until the end."

Jinx

Self-care moment: Doing skincare with different face masks, moisturizing each other's hair, painting nails with different nail polish shades and trying out new makeup styles on each other is simply one of the funniest things you two can do together.

"Do you like this nail polish color, darling?" Jinx asked you, gently squeezing your shoulders before sitting down next to you.

"It's beautiful, but it's so hard to get a good finish."

"Nah, I'm an expert at this! Extend your hands, princess, your journey of just painting your nails black ends today”

Kayn

Game night: Having fun with simple activities, like board games or even card games, always creates a competitive atmosphere between the two of you, ensuring lots of laughter throughout the matches as well hugs and kisses for the winner.

“Aha, I won! I want my kisses and cuddles immediately”

"You cheated, Kayn! You broke about three rules from the game manual!”

“Silly detail. And does that make me less deserving of my girlfriend's attention?" You rolled your eyes.

"Come here then" You patted your thigh, inviting him to lie on your lap.

Sett

Making a memory album: Collecting photos of you both, keeping souvenirs from trips or even tickets from events to later create a physical album about the most important moments of your journey as a couple was a sweet and effective decision to record your love.

"Sett, look how cute this photo is!" You whispered, showing it to him.

"Oh heavens... That day was funny" His ears twisted in shame. "But I'm still embarrassed"

“Ah, come on! You were sleeping in such an unusual position... Look, you were even hugging a stuffed animal” 

"Hey! Can you stop provoking me?”

"I'll stop, but this photo is definitely going in our album!"

Viktor

Spending the afternoon in a cozy café: On the rare occasions when you manage to get Viktor out of the lab, you take him to cafes. Sitting at a table in a pleasant environment to chat - even if for a few brief hours - enjoying the time together with a good cup of coffee, tea, or cappuccino is invigorating, especially for your workaholic boyfriend.

"Did you like their coffee, Vitya?" He nodded, placing the empty cup on the saucer.

"It's good, but I particularly prefer the coffee you make for me yourself."

His hand reached yours across the table, squeezing it gently before genuinely smiling at you. "Thank you for caring so much about me"

Yasuo

Meditating together: It’s not uncommon for you to join Yasuo in his meditations to relax and share a moment of calm and harmony.

"Yasuo, dear, I was wondering if you would like to go-” Seeing that your boyfriend was in deep meditation, eyes closed and face focused, you blamed yourself for interrupting him. "I'm sorry" you whispered, turning your back to leave.

"Come, meditate with me"

"Are you going to hold my hands while this happens?"

"What wouldn't I do for you, huh?" He sighed, still with his eyes closed, but with a slight smile forming on his lips.

Yone

Writing love letters: You write cute letters or notes to each other, expressing your most intimate feelings and then keep them to read later.

"What is this, love?" You asked, kissing him softly on the lips before showing the small envelope in your hands.

“Ah, that? A letter I wrote about you during a difficult day…”

"Can I read it?"

"Of course, but don't blame me if I sounded too cliché in the text." He ruffled your hair in a delicate manner.

[fanfictiongirlie]

Twilight: Some Soulmate - Chapter Two

Click here for masterlist

Parings: Paul Lahote x Reader

Description: Y/N a member of the Cullen family is imprinted on by one of the wolves, she is shocked, he is shocked. She is struggling with drinking animal blood over human, and he is disgusted by a vampire for a soulmate… But maybe it could work..?

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: None

Words: 1,794

I spent the next week, being moody, I didn't go to school. I was so angry at the world. I found my soulmate, if I didn't have my stupid gift I wouldn't of known. And it's been a week since, and my imprinter hasn't tried to find me. Vampires and Wolfs were enemies. Whoever he was probably hated me already. 

And yeah it hurt. I wanted to know who he was. This could be my chance at happiness. 

I decided to get out of my pajamas and leave the house, I headed straight to the hospital. I walked through the place smiling and not letting anyone stop me. I walked into Carlisle's office, he was sitting there smiling. 

I saw on the chair next to his desk. 

"Carlisle, you are my longest and most important friend, you're my brother and I love you" I smiled sweetly.

He rolled his eyes and chuckled at me.

"You want my help?" He asked I nodded. "That obvious?"

"I can't change the treaty Y/N" He signed. 

"I just want to meet him" I whispered. 

"I know, but I can't break the treaty, and unless Sam comes to the hospital and I have no way of speaking to him" Carlisle said I could hear how upset he was in his voice.

"He hasn't even tried to find me" I sniffled. 

"I am very sorry Y/N, if Sam does come in, I'll ask"

I nodded and thanked him and left the hospital. Maybe if I went back to the forest. 

Just as I was about to leave the hospital, I hear Carlisle say "The school called, show up"

I rolled my eyes and left the hospital, I walked to my motorbike and drove to the school. I could Probably make my last class, history. I shared history with Jasper, which I loved because we're both old enough to have lived through most of what they're teaching us. 

I walked into the school, it was still lunchtime, maybe ten minutes left until class.

"Hey Y/N!" I turned around to see Mike. I quietly groaned. 

"Hello Mike, I was just making my way to my siblings"

"Yes, well maybe I thought you had re-considered prom"

"Nope, still not going, maybe you should ask someone else" I smile, walking away quickly. 

I entered the cafeteria and quickly saw my siblings, I walked over and sat with them, smiling. 

"Mike Newton asked me out again" 

"Maybe it'd take your mind off-"

I stopped Emmett finishing his sentence, and shook my head. 

"I felt him imprinting on me, it felt so good. It felt like happiness, it felt like never thirsting over a human again, it felt complete. How can I ever love someone else?" I asked, standing up, just before the bell rang.

"Are you saying you're in love with him?" Alice asked. 

"No, I don't even know him, and it seems like he doesn't want to know me" I signed, and walked away. Jasper trailing after me. Luckily, Jasper jumped up a few grades in history. Being a know it all does that.

I smiled when I felt a calmness wash over me. 

"Thank you Jasper" 

~~~~~~~

I spent every evening after school in the forest, trying to maybe find him again. I walked along the treaty line, for hours but nothing. He didn't show up. I was starting to feel as if I should give up. 

I walked back home, rather than run. 

Esme was waiting for me with open arms, I smiled and hugged her. 

"We're heading out to play baseball, want to join?" She asked, I thought about it, I wasn't much of a sports person. I nodded though, I could watch. 

I traveled in Rosalie's car with her and made sure to bring a book with me. We reached the field as the rain started. I smelt Bella before I saw her.

I smiled at her, before sitting and leaning against the car and beginning my book. 

The game began shortly after, I watched every now and again, it was a treat to watch my family play. It made me feel human, strangely. I started to read again, getting lost in my book. I was reading Peter Pan again, I loved it so much. 

"Y/N!" Edward yelled I looked up, to see them gathered in a group, all wearing a worried expression. I jumped up and sped to them. 

"What is it?" I asked. 

"I saw them coming, three vampires" Alice replied. 

I didn't realise the problem until I remembered Bella.

"Do we have time to get her out of here?" I asked, Alice, shook her head and pointed to the trees. Suddenly three vampires emerged. They were kind of beautiful, but I had already decided I had a crush on the redhead. I wasn't normally into women, though there was this time in the 70s. Edward gave me a look. I grinned back. 

Carlisle was speaking to them about our permanent home. 

"How about we play more ball?" I ask when I notice how the blonde was staring intently at Edward. Edward was acting strange. He needed to chill.

"Yes, how about three more players?" Asked one of the vampires. 

"Some of us were just leaving, so you're more than welcome" Carlisle spoke. 

My family and vampires got ready to start the game again until the blonde turned around eyes on Bella.

"You brought a snack" He spoke. 

We all, including me, bared our teeth and jumped in front of Bella.

"She's with us!" Carlisle sneered. 

Quickly, Edward took Bella to the car and we followed. Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, and I drove back to our house. 

"What's happening?" I asked. 

"I'm not sure Y/N" Esme spoke. 

We reached the house and the others were there already. 

"James is a tracker" Edward started "He wants Bella and he thinks its a game" 

"What do we do?" Emmett asked. 

~~~~~~~~~~

I stayed behind, at home, to look after Charlie. I had met him a few times, him being the chief. I walked up to his door and knocked. 

He answered he looked broken. After what happened with him and Bella I understood. 

"Hello Chief Swan" I smiled, and then realised I had no idea what I'd say to get him to invite me in. 

"Sorry Y/N can I help you?" He asked. I noticed there were more heartbeats inside. 

"Bella told me she left something of mine in her room, could I get it please?" I asked I needed to check if James or the other two were here.

"Yeah that's fine," He said and let me inside. 

I walked into the living room to see two people. An old man in a wheelchair and a teenage boy. I smiled and went to walk upstairs. 

"Who's this Charlie?" The man asked, his eyes glaring at me. I suddenly felt uncomfortable, he hated me, I could feel his hatred beaming at me. 

"This is Y/N Cullen" Charlie answered "She's really nice, Bella spoke highly of her" 

She did? I smiled and walked upstairs to Bella's room. I couldn't smell the vampires. It only smelt like Edward and Alice. I grabbed a random book from Bella's bookshelf and locked the window. I walked downstairs to see Charlie and the man talking. 

The boy smiled at me. 

"Hey I'm Jacob" He held his hand out to shake. 

"Hey I'm Y/N, not big on touching" I giggled, I could feel the heat radiating off him, touching my hand would probably freeze him. 

"I've not seen you at school" I add. 

"I go to school on the reservation" He answered. Oh. Where I couldn't go. 

He might even know the wolf. But I couldn't exactly ask 'Hey do you know this random wolf I saw' Wait...

"Hey, do you know Sam Uley?" I asked.

"Why do you want Sam Uley?" The man in the wheelchair asked. 

Oh no. What do I say?

"I need to ask him something" I smiled as sweetly as I could. 

The man sneered. 

"Sam wants nothing to do with you" 

Ouch. Okay.

"Well bye, Charlie!" I smiled and rushed out of the house. I was never going to meet him. Unless I walked onto their territory. I' probably die straight away. Though I did read that the person that a wolf imprinted on couldn't be harmed. Though it said, person. I was far from a person. 

I ran home, thinking, and thinking about crossing the line. I needed too. No one was home. I could do it.

I ran to my room quickly, I checked how I looked. 

I didn't normally care, but potentially meeting your soulmate makes you wanna look nice. 

I looked in the mirror, I needed to cut my hair, it was almost at my waist. I changed into some clean clothes, nothing special, a black pair of jeans and a grey top which said 'I'd rather be sleeping' it made me smirk. I decided to put some makeup on. Something to make me look less pale, and add a bit of colour to my skin, also to hide the black around my eyes. I looked pretty. My amber eyes would probably freak him out, and I've heard vampires don't smell good to wolves. 

Nothing I can do about that. I raced out of my home, just in case my family returned. I ran until I reached the border. I felt so nervous. I took one little step and yes, I did it. 

I was in the Quileute territory. Last time I was on this side, we made the treaty. To a completely different set of wolves, saying that that man in the wheelchair did look familiar. Maybe he was one when he was younger, it was so many years ago.  

"What are you doing here leech!" A voice yelled at me, I jumped back so I was over the line. 

"I'm sorry, I was just looking for someone!" I stuttered. The man looked at me, he looked angry, like he could turn into a wolf any second angry. Not good. Was this Sam?

"Are you Sam Uley?" I asked he nodded. 

"Oh" Was all he said. Why? I was so confused. 

"Maybe you should come with me," He said in a stern voice. 

"Why?" I asked.

"Because Paul imprinted on you, and it's hurting him because he won't allow himself to feel for you" He admitted.

"Paul" I whispered, his name was Paul, I smiled slightly, even thinking about his name made me smile. 

"You can trust me," Sam said, I looked at him. I could trust him. I didn't quite understand how he felt about me, he didn't like me. But I knew he wouldn't hurt me. 

"Okay, I'll come with you" Time to meet my mate...

Previous Part - Next Part

[dceasesd]

why juni ba’s the boy wonder has my favorite jason characterization of any contemporary comic run: a needlessly in-depth analysis (pt.2)

alright here we are with part two! i promised i'd be quick with it, didn't i? you can find part one here. thank you guys so much for all the nice comments, i love yapping to a receptive audience :D

so, if you haven't read part one, i've been going over the common critques of ba's characterization of jason, the main three being:

the typical boiling down of jason's character to "the angry one"

his lack of strategy going into the fight with the demon is out-of-character

the neighbor's kid interaction

in the first part we went over #1, so now were gonna look at #2!

so, a problem people have with the story is how ba writes jason's reaction to the fight with rok (white tophat demon guy); damian and jason jump into the fight with seemingly no preparation at all, "underestimating" rok and paying the price for it.

i'll be honest, i do agree with this critque a bit. jason, if he is nothing else, is an obsessive planner and strategist; his back-up plans have back-up plans, and so on. we see this in plenty of his comic renditions, especially in lost days and under the red hood, where there are numerous examples of jason's competency. despite this, many comics fall into the habit of treating him as the "reckless, stupid robin", once again reducing his character to just his anger, usually to make the other robins more competent. looking at his actions in utrh & lost days, however, makes him jumping into a fight with no information uncharacteristic.

so, i sort of agree with this critque. HOWEVER. i will attempt to rationalize this part of ba's writing (because there are still parts of it i disagree with and it's more fun than just agreeing and moving on)

alright, to begin, lets look at these three different series; utrh (under the red hood), lost days, and the boy wonder. there is obviously many other examples out there, but i'm just gonna focus on these three for now because otherwise we'd be here all day.

in utrh & lost days, jason is driven by an obvious goal with an obvious end result; in utrh his goal is making bruce kill the joker & taking over gotham's underbelly, and in lost days it is getting skilled enough to complete the previously mentioned objective. i also chose to highlight the scene where jason puts a bomb underneath the batmobile in lost days, intending to kill bruce, because it's another very clear example of jason's strategic prowess. the whole bomb thing even happens before jason starts his murder training, making the feat even more impressive.

ba's jason, though, exists in a reality post-utrh; his plan failed and he must live with the consequences and implications of that truth. the recklessness that he presents in the fight in the boy wonder could be a representation of him grappling with this idea-- his supposed failure and banishment obviously must have had an effect on his psyche, and ba is attempting to portray that. ba plays a lot with the sadder side of jason's existence in the comic, so it's a plausibly theory, even if it is admittedly reaching a bit.

additionally, referring back to the earlier conversation about jason's anger in the first part of this discussion, i have the same sentiments about portrayal's of jason's recklessness. he can possess a strategic mind while still being reckless; it's his numerous paradoxical character traits that make him such an interesting character (at least to me). he's a mess of contradictions.

furthermore, while jason's actions are reckless and brash in this specific instance of the story, that does not mean that ba presents him as a reckless character. there's a difference between a reckless character and a character being reckless, and i feel like jason mostly falls into the latter. while maybe not super obvious, jason's tactical-ness is still present in ba's portrayal. this is represented through damian's responses and reactions to jason.

the fact that damian goes to jason for help in the first place is baffling. as a prideful kid desperate to prove himself, damian is not predisposed to asking for help, which is clearly presented in the first issue when he interacts with dick and babs.

damian's willingness to work with jason could be a result of him recognizing their similarities; he's more approachable than dick "golden boy" grayson. beyond that, he goes to jason because he needs a certain set of skills to help him catch the demon.

while jason is not able to fully present his usefulness at this task because the demon finds them first, he is clearly seen taking charge of the situation and dictating their plan to locate the demon, and damian actually defers to him. while brief, this instance represents that despite his recklessness in the battle against rok, ba still accurately presents jason's tactical skills, underscoring the intelligence he has that so many author's ignore or downplay.

i could go into how this plays into jason being a foil character to damian, but i'll save it for another day. sorry if this post is a little nonsensical, i did my best. i'll finish up my analysis in part 3! :)

part 1 / part 3

[bibliomementomori]

I grew up watching Futurama and always thought Fry was a great example of a main character, but never realised why until rewatching it recently with my buddy.

For his setting, situations, and characters he interacts with, he's such a perfect fit. He's a loser, he knows he's got nothing to prove, but that doesn't stop him from being a kind person to a fault. From a technical standpoint, the fact that he's an idiot also makes him a great vehicle for the audience to understand the future, but that much is obvious.

I also want to point out specifically how he treats Leela. He takes any opportunity he can to express his affections for her, but he respects her boundaries and her choices to date other people, as jealous as it makes him, he's emotionally intelligent enough to respect her as a person and a friend. For a show from the late 90s-early 2000s, a loser, loner man character not being a creep and trying to force his advances upon a woman who doesn't want it, for him to learn lessons and be proven correct in respecting her and being happy for her happiness and simply finding fulfilment in being a loyal friend, that is EXCEPTIONAL for the time. Other shows at the time would have villainised her for not responding to his affections "for all the time he waited and effort he put in", but her refrain from dating him is shown as realistic and understandable for her, as sexist as Leela's dating practices can be written as sometimes in my opinion.

In fact, there is a character that is shown to not respect Leela's boundaries and is shown to be a fucking creep for it, Zapp Brannigan. While his sexual harassment of Leela is shown mostly for comedy, she's not the butt of the joke. Zapp is essentially the antithesis to Fry, he frequently inflates his own achievements and ego, doesn't view Leela as a person, and fucking hates Mutants. I didn't even mention Fry's unconditional love for her, in spite of realising she's of a "lower race", he uses her to learn more of where she comes from, and becomes a friend of the Mutants. Fuck, I could write all day of Fry's selflessness and willingness to open his mind to new ideas, not only for Leela, but for all of his friends.

Lastly, the dumb sweet guy archetype that Fry has easily makes him a timeless main character. The fact that he has nothing to prove means he has everything to gain, and each achievement he gains feels like a deeply personal and well deserved one, as it often means a new lesson learnes for him, or for him to use his selflessness and stupidity to its fullest.

[thequeenofstormsandcrows]

Hopefully this reaches the target audience.

It feels like people baby Nari too much in Tales of Arcadia. Most of the fan fiction I've read portray her like a little girl and Douxie's younger sister. She's also a pacifist in most of these and I feel like that's just not accurate at all to her character. Like girl didn't hesitate to kill Skrael to protect everybody lol. Not to mention at the Battle of Kill ahead, she was an active part in everything the Order did. Like she wasn't being forced until after that battle specifically. Overall she did many bad things and I feel like people brush over this or treat her like a stupid person who was childish. She liked to have fun but she clearly wasn't stupid or weak. I feel like she had to suppress her powers for years to avoid being found which is why she appears weaker. But yah while there is a clear maturity difference between her and Merlin, there is also a clear maturity difference between him and Bellroc and Skrael. The order in general feel like younger villains than the others we've had maturity wise but this doesn't mean Nari's a child. I don't feel like she's the baby of the group or weakest one and I just feel like those descriptions of her character don't do justice to how she fled the Order and did everything in her power to stop them knowing her past.

[hippielittlemetalhead]

So I've seen a lot of 'Hop actively dislikes and distrusts Steve', 'Hop tolerates Steve because he's useful during UD shenanigans but doesn't like him', and the big swing to 'Hop has adopted Steve as his own and treats him the same/almost the same as he does El'

BUT, I present:

Hop pseudo adopts Steve because when he and Owens were trying to get the Harringtons to make any decisions about their teenager who saw some sketchy shit and may need government testing they legally gave Hop the rights to act in loco parentis and he takes that seriously because he doesn't want another Will Byers and he's pretty sure the Harrington kid has a concussion.

Hop who stays involved just enough in Steve's life season 1-3 that we the audience see Steve is getting attached. But Hop just sees an annoying kid who won't leave him alone when he's trying to deal with a rebellious psychic and her insane little friends and keeps asking stupid questions about highschool romance and teenage rivalry drama. Knows Joyce Byers doesn't like the kid but won't give a lot of reason why but he's mostly learned to trust that woman's judgement about people. Still gets him the job at Scoops when the kid's dad makes a stink about college and tells him if he survives a few months there he'll consider bringing him on the force, makes sense to keep him close and in a position to help should shit hit the fan again.

Hop who doesn't get it when Steve is one of the most relieved when he 'comes back to life' after Joyce and Murray bring him back from Russia. When Steve introduces him as "My Hop," (something he'd taken to calling him just before season 2 shenanigans) to his sarcastic, fidgety little friend like it means something. The girl, Robin, looks between the two of them and gets this sad look on her face for a second before smiling and shaking his hand and saying something about "Dingus has told me all about you".

Hop who complains to Murray one of the times The Party and assorted teens and adults are over at his renovated and expanded cabin (courtesy of Owens and shady government organizations recognizing these people are worth investing in, heavily if omens are to be believed) when the bald annoyance asks about what's up on there. Complains about having annoying teenagers who have nothing better to do but pester him legally put under his supervision cause their parents can't be assed to care and are spoiled little shits who are slightly more bearable versions of said parents cause he can stand toe to toe with one of those monsters they faced and the kids kind of listen to him. Complains about barely being able to breathe cause of regular visits and check-ins like Hop was still responsible for him. Says at least the extra hands are useful around the cabin what with the still healing up and El pacing herself after the showdown with Creel and still trying to find Max and the Byers not quite moved back to Hawkins yet.

Hop who doesn't realize that Steve hears every word cause he had gone looking for the older man when he disappeared for more than a few minutes, when he couldn't see him to make sure he was here and safe and alive. Steve who thought Hop actually had come to care for him in his own gruff way and had confessed to Robin that in a lot of ways the way Hop has taken care of him makes him the closest thing to the father figure he's always wanted but never thought he'd get to have. Steve who hears Murray hum and recollect a visit from Nancy and Jonathan where their romance officially started (he vaguely knows about the visit, didn't realize that's what happened, didn't realize she couldn't be bothered to even do the decent/considerate thing before moving on to something better) because it seemed it was a pattern he was seeing 'people liked Steve, but people didn't love Steve'.

Hop who hears a choked sound like someone taking a claw to the gut and turns to see Harrington. Steve Harrington his bandages just peeking out from the collar of his shirt and the opening of his sleeves. (He never did get the stories behind those, too busy being fussed over and being told about the kids and how they were doing as Harrington played babysitter) Steve Harrington a kid who went through hell and still managed to smile and laugh and stand tall and unyielding looking at him with a blank face his eyes misty and his shoulders starting to curl in on himself before he clears his throat, chokes out that he just wanted to make sure Hop was alright but looks like Murray had everything under control. He'd go now, get out of his hair, let him rest, let him breathe. Steve Harrington who walks away with purpose like a man on a mission and doesn't acknowledge the kids calling out asking if he's alright, make sure he has his walkie talkie on him.

Hop, who realizes maybe he left behind two kids who missed (needed) him. Who wonders who took care of Harrington's paperwork when he was concussed and sedated because he was bleeding out and feverish from infection and Hop was busy at the cabin reveling in the comfort and warmth of his daughter and the woman he loved and her two sons who were fast becoming like his own. Hop, who realizes too late that maybe if he'd given the kid half a chance he could have had 3 sons to sit with him and his daughter and the woman he loved as they basked in surviving another end-of-the-world. Hop who has spent years barely giving a damn about Steve Harrington and realizes that he's no better than the kid's own parents.

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4.1

Part 4.2

Part 5

[flavescentskies]

Ya know.

What IF Vox and Valentino don't "fight all the time"?

The evidence we have from the show does suggest Valentino is "hot-headed" but there's no implication of him being mad AT Vox; it's always one "w**re" or another. On the contrary, Vox is shown to be an effectively placatory presence for Valentino — "waiting for a flat-faced prince to calm him down".

Where tf do people get the idea that they fight, when it's actually Valentino being the "pissbaby" he is, throwing temper tantrums because he's too proud to just dial up Vox and ask him to hear him yap? Yes, I understand the pre-canon interpretations but people should really flush those down a drain now that the canon is out. And if they still can't get over it, they should use "AU" in the tag. Mischaracterization kills characters, and makes viewers question their own interpretation just because previous fans cannot get over their obstinate hyperfixations.

The part where Valentino was throwing the drink at Vox and then flung his phone against the wall were probably the most that he did — and these pale in comparison to what he did to Angel. Valentino knows he can't treat Vox any less than another Overlord. Alternatively, Vox doesn't hesitate to physically drag down Valentino and raise his voice at him...TWICE. What's your reasoning that Vox doesn't have the upper hand in their relationship?

Most importantly, we must pay attention to the reasons for their lashing out. It's a climatic moment: Angel has found a place to which neither Val or Vox's powers extend, and Alastor is back — and they're both associated with the princess of all of Hell, Charlie Morningstar ! Valentino and Vox aren't fighting, at least not with EACH OTHER. They are mad because their authority is soon to be questioned and they don't like it.

So what do they do? Valentino does the unhealthy equivalent of opening up to your s/o; he's telling Vox why he's mad while emphasizing it with his actions cuz he's still a bad guy, obviously. Vox maintains his calm for the "image" of the Vees, but is upset that Valentino didn't inform him sooner and then proceeds to do what he just prevented Val from doing — ruining their image.

Apart from this, Vox and Val have proven themselves to be straight up comfortable and decent around each other. Vox treats Valentino like a gentleman and is supportive of his suggestions — for example, when he agrees to Val's advice that they should "get someone inside" Alastor, in itself a wildly stupid idea. On the other hand, Valentino listens to Vox and seems to genuinely want to spent more time with him without appearing too desperate.

Edit: Additionally, Valentino says "Oh, you know me too well" to Vox right after he allows Val to shoot down their lowest paid earners, which, together with Vox's sly grin, directly shows just how intimately they understand each other. And if mutual understanding isn't crucial in a typical healthy relationship, consider me resigned.

What I noticed here is people assume they're being fake to manipulate each other. While that is a probability, it's worth considering that Vox flashed a fake-er smile to the news audience than he did at Val: his promises to them were also hollow, while to Val they were more concrete.

Hence, we see them sing along and dance harmoniously in the finale. This is what the show's trying to achieve.

[onlyawhim]

Treat you Better - Auston Matthews x Reader

Auston sees how Kasp treats you & thinks (and eventually proves ;)) that he can treat you better.

Totally made Kasperi a douche in this - sorry Kasp fans. Also, obvi set when they were both on the Leafs!

Two months, you've been keeping track - but of course would never tell Kasperi (you can imagine it now: "Why do I care how long we've been talking? It's not like we're dating, Y/N"). Two months of being a second choice. No chance of commitment anywhere in sight. But you stay, because Kas is charming and good-looking. You convince yourself maybe he'll change, maybe he just isn't ready for commitment right now. Of course he's not just messing with you - he wouldn't do that.

He invited you to his game. You thought maybe this was a sign that he truly cared for you. Would he invite you to watch him if he didn't actually like you? Or did he just want one more Kapanen fan in the building? You push that second thought out of your head as quick as it comes.

Well, obviously he would just invite people to invite people, because here you sit watching him chat up two blonde girls who are very giddy to be graced by Kasperi Kapanen's presence.

The game was nerve-racking, ending with a 5-4 Leaf's win. You were excited to wait outside of the Leaf's locker room. You felt like a true NHL girlfriend. Well, you did, until Kas passed you with a nod (what am I, some fan waiting for a high-five?!) and headed straight for the two pretty girls also standing outside the lockeroom, clearly waiting for any NHL player to pay attention to them - hell, maybe even a gear manager if they were wearing a Leaf's shirt.

So, here you sit, waiting for Kasperi to decide that the girl he invited to watch him play - the one who dutifully cheered for every good play of his and only secretly cheered for one of the other good-looking men in blue - was worth his attention after all. You had even denied a ride home from your friends because "I'll just ride home with Kas". How stupid you felt now...

Kasperi is always a good time when you hang out. He's funny and charming. But this is your first time being in public with him - or, rather, in public watching him act like you're not with him.

You're growing angrier and angrier as Kas makes these girls giggle. Luckily, a good-looking distraction with wet hair steps out of the lockeroom. He looks set on leaving the building ASAP, until he locks eyes with you.

"Hey," he says with a smile, approaching you. You scan his face and sense that he's wondering who you are - why you're waiting. Which player you belong to, you think sourly.

"Hi" you smile politely. There's a pause, so you introduce yourself. "I'm Y/N".

"Y/N," he repeats, "I'm Auston." He sticks his hand out for a shake.

"I know" you giggle, shaking his hand. A dagger of a thought (so Kasperi hasn't mentioned you... ouch) flashes in your mind, but you try to ignore it for now.

"What ya doin out here?" he asks, nodding to the emptying hallway.

"Oh.. Kasperi invited me" you say, moving your gaze over to him. A third girl has joined his audience.

Auston looks over and sees the same thing you do. He nods slowly and moves his attention back to you.

"Gotcha... he doesn't know how to treat a guest does he?" he laughs awkwardly.

"No, it looks like he's pretty good at it" you say, smiling pityingly, nodding towards his group of female fans.

After watching for a second, Auston yells, "Kasp!" he pauses as Kasperi snaps his head in your guys' direction. "You done?"

You're a bit embarrassed, but grateful that you didn't have to be the one to break him from his conversation. Kasperi's eyes switch between you and Auston. Without saying anything, he walks towards the two of you, like a kid in trouble.

"Now I am" he says to Auston, before putting an arm around your shoulders and heading towards the door.

You look back and send Auston a smile. He smiles back with a small wave.

"You played good", you say to Kas, hoping to pretend whatever just happened for the last 20 minutes didn't actually happen.

"Yeah, thanks. Thanks for coming", he says as you both walk towards his car.

The car ride is awkward. Or, maybe, you imagine it as awkward. Kas seems just fine.

He takes you back to his place, as he always does. You sit on his couch, as you always do. The two of you haven't gotten any more intimate than a few kisses - you were adamant that you wanted to wait. He was similarly adamant that he didn't want to. Either way, you both sit on the couch, watching some movie that he picked. He didn't try anything more than an arm around your shoulders for the whole night. Instead, actually, you felt like he was just waiting for you to leave. Does he have other plans for the night?

"Do you want me to come to your next game?" you ask.

"Yeah, sure, if you want to come." he says, not taking his eyes from the TV.

God, this night was painful. But, you told yourself, maybe it would get better.

--

This game-day will definitely end better. The last game fiasco is behind you. You even asked to wear his jersey - and he let you! That has to mean something.

Here you wait, again, outside of the lockeroom. They lost this time - 2-5. Despite the score, you are proud to be sporting "Kapanen" on your back.

Auston steps out of the lockeroom before Kasperi. He locks eyes with you, once again, and smiles.

"Hey, Y/N" he says, approaching you.

"Hi. You played good tonight", you say, returning his smile.

"Not good enough, though", he laughs lightly, pitifully.

Before you can respond, Kas walks out of the lockeroom. This time, he walks straight to you - not past you. Progress!

Auston moves aside so Kasp can join the conversation - and though you would never say it, you preferred the one-on-one with Auston.

"See ya got her to wear your jersey", Auston says to Kasperi with a smile.

"She asked," he says, putting an arm around you. "Dirtied it up just for us to lose". Your smile drops (did he not want me to wear it??). This doesn't go over Auston's head, though it definitely misses Kasperi.

"You can dirty up my jerseys anytime, Y/N", Auston says lightly, giving you a smile. Kasperi laughs and leads you out the door. Again, you shoot a smile to Auston as you leave. How is it that Auston's on your side more often than Kasperi is?

--

Third home game. You've decided this is his last chance. His games are the only times you go out in public together - otherwise, you're just hanging out at his house. He is always so fun to be around in private. But once he gets in public, it feels like his facade drops. So, third try. Third home game.

They win this time, 4-1. You had washed and returned Kasp's jersey after his comment last time. Standing outside the locker room, you wait. Kasperi comes out before Auston this time (am I waiting for Auston? Why was I disappointed when it was Kasp and not Auston?).

"The guys are going for drinks, I'm gonna go with 'em" he says casually.

You don't know what to say, so you just look at him for a second to see if he's serious. Where were you supposed to go? He should have said something earlier so you wouldn't have waited out here for him. Before you can put any of these thoughts into words, Auston steps out of the lockeroom. He catches Kasp's next words.

"I can call you an uber if you don't have a ride or something." Was this his attempt at kindness?

"Kasp.." you say, exasperatingly.

Auston interjects. "I can drive you home." he says looking between you and Kasperi.

"You don't have to do that, man", Kasperi speaks for you. This leaves you even more shocked.

Auston ignores him, eyes still on you.

"I'd really appreciate that", you say, looking back at him.

"See, Kasp, it's taken care of. Have fun, man", Auston says, slightly stepping between you and Kasperi.

"Alright", Kasperi says, clearly not interested enough to say anything more. "See you guys", he says before turning around and heading for the door.

"Thank you, Auston. I really appreciate it", you say, nervously, embarrassed that you even came here with Kasperi.

"I don't mind. I'm not putting you in an uber", he laughs.

You laugh with him at the absurdity.

You both head for the door. Walking next to him, you can really appreciate how large he is. You blush at the whole situation.

He points at a Porche sitting in the parking garage, shining in all of its' luxury, "That's me", he says, unlocking it.

"Fancy", you giggle as he opens the passenger door for you.

He laughs and shuts your door, tossing his gear in the backseat before getting in on his own side.

The car ride is filled with comfortable silence, the radio playing quietly, only interrupted by your directions.

"Really, thank you for taking me home, Auston", you say, glancing at him.

He looks at you for a second before returning his eyes to the road. "I really don't mind. It's nice to see you somewhere outside of a dark hallway, anyways", he says.

"Yeah, you won't see me there again", you say, still embarrassed by Kasperi. So much for a third chance.

"Or, y'know, next time you'll be wearing a 34", he says. You laugh.

"Wouldn't wanna dirty up one of your jerseys" you giggle, referring to Kasperi's odd comment.

"God, he's a douche, isn't he. I'm sorry", Auston says.

"Just glad I had my knight in shining armor there to save me," you joke.

"That's what I'm here for", he laughs.

He pulls up to your building. "Want me to walk you up?" he asks.

"It's okay," you answer, "I have mace" you joke.

At this, he scoffs jokingly and turns the car off before getting out. You do the same, walking to your building with Auston behind you. You climb the stairs and stop in front of your door.

"Thank you, Auston". You say, locking eyes with him.

"Of course, Y/N." he smiles.

"Can I get your number, just to make sure you make it home safe?" you say.

He pulls out his phone and adds your number, giving you his.

"Have a good night, Y/N".

"You too," you smile, unlocking the door. He heads back down to his car.

A much better ending to game night.

--

The next morning you wake to the doorbell ringing. In your shock at the unannounced guest, you climb out of bed and check out the peephole. Through it, you see a delivery driver setting down a large bag.

You wait for him to walk away before you open the door to check out this mysterious delivery. Setting it on the counter, you open it carefully.

In it is a container holding a huge breakfast - pancakes, bacon, and fruit. Under the container, a Maple Leafs jersey - number 34. Matthews written on the back. You smile big at this.

You grab your phone to send him a text.

"Auston!!" you say, sending a picture of the gift.

"For the next game ;)", he writes.

[solarwynd]

I don't know why Hybe thinks this plan is gonna work when it might actually end up doing the opposite. The more Jimin gets mistreated the more his fans get angry and the angrier they get the harder they work. Notice how much Jimin's solo fandom increased in 2023 and how much we have improved since FACE era. We're seeing the results of that improvement now with MUSE doing better than FACE. If all that bullshit hadn't happened, if Jimin had a smooth ride then we wouldn't have had the need to learn and improve so we could support him. Which is why jjks are useless, because they didn't have to learn how to get shit done on their own, they just let armys and the company do everything.

And speaking of armys, what is happening with pjms is exactly what happened with them. BTS mostly didn't get much from BigHit/Hybe so armys had to learn how to do things themselves. BTS was also getting hate from everyone which made armys angry and we know armys always work harder when they're mad about something. And armys were also shunned by the rest of k-pop fans, named as 'the worst k-pop fandom' and blamed for every bad thing that happened. The same thing is happening with pjms being ostracized from the rest of the fandom, named 'the worst solo fandom' and blamed for everything. And just like all of that made armys hyper focus on BTS and work even harder, pjms are also focused entirely on Jimin and do everything we can for him. So again, I don't know why Hybe thinks doing this to pjms is a good idea considering the fact that the same thing happening to armys only made BTS bigger.

Despite what ot7 nonsense armys like spreading the truth is that most fans are very biased. Every fan has their favorite member and if that member is continuously being treated poorly by the company and the fandom then this member's fans are at a risk of becoming solos, especially if they're being scrutinize and villainized by the rest of the fandom the way that Jimin fans are. I mean, armys are practically forcing Jimin-biased out of the fandom with the way the act because if Jimin fans are gonna be accused of being solos no matter what they might as well actually become solos. So doing all of this is only gonna increased Jimin's solo fandom which, as we've seen since last year, is actually what members need since they can't depend on the group's fans when it comes to their solo work. And we know that after some time focusing on the group after their comeback the members are eventually gonna go back to focusing on their individual carrers and the group is gonna be pushed to the back more and more as the years pass. So having a well established solo fandom that already knows how to support their artist is gonna be essential for the members in the future, and Jimin is the only member that currently has that. Jungkook doesn't have to worry about that because despite jjks being useless he has armys who the company has increasingly been pushing into become only his fans, but the other members are gonna have a rude awakening when they go solo for real and realize they have no proper fandom to back them up.

And another thing is that despite Hybe's attempts Jimin remains the most popular member in the US (and in Korea, Latam and the UK too) so is very stupid of Hybe to push away the audience they've been pretty clear they want the most. We already saw the consequences of that with all other members (including their chosen one) being unable to chart a single song in the US (NP doesn't count cause that's Megan) all while Jimin has charted multiple songs, hasn't left the US charts since we recharted LC in the beginning of the year, occupies the entire top 5 of biggest streaming days and weeks in the US, is the most streamed k-soloist in the US with quite the gap and Who is soon gonna be the most streamed k-pop song in the US (which LC isn't already only because we started focusing on Who instead).

So Hybe can keep pushing Jimin fans away from the group because all that does is take away BTS biggest supporters in the west and it will only benefit Jimin by giving him a solid fandom of his own for when he goes solo.

.🎯

[aerithisms]

i think my problem with this dw season arc accusing the audience of fanbrain for theorising about ruby is that it both feels deceitful and isn't actually that compelling from a character perspective. the season goes out of its way to build up supernatural mystery around ruby and even invokes susan more heavily than ever before in a way that is deliberately trying to get the audience to make those connections. and then it turns around and says you stupid idiot why would you ever try to connect these dots i have deliberately tried to get you to connect.

building up a mystery only for the character to be ordinary is an impossible girl arc redux only this time accusing the viewer of failing to see the humanity of the companion, whereas the impossible girl arc was turning that accusation on the doctor. 7b didn't really blame the audience for viewing clara as a puzzle and in fact several times spells out the fact that clara is perfectly ordinary before the big reveal to give the audience a chance to catch on. as 7b goes on, instead of laying the mystery on thicker, the audience just gets more and more affirmations that clara is a normal human being (rings of akhaten, journey to the centre of the tardis, hide). i found this approach compelling because it was rooted in character, focusing on the doctor's disconnection from humanity/the gendered dynamic of a man treating a woman as his manic pixie mystery to pull him out of grief. s14's meta approach of accusing the viewer feels both unfair, given it has deliberately led the viewer towards theorising, and personally less compelling to me because it wasn't tied into character in any way.

the thing about rey's parentage in tlj is that the reason rian johnson chose to go for that reveal was that it was the only answer that was interesting. none of the theories - rey is a skywalker, rey is a kenobi, and even the eventually canonical rey is a palpatine - were interesting or satisfying because they brought nothing compelling to the table for the story being told. the only satisfaction to be gained from those answers was a fanbrained "omg rey is important because she's related to that guy from the other movie." on top of that, rey desperately wants her parents to have been important, to give her life and her abandonment some kind of significance. so them being ordinary provided the most compelling trajectory for her character because it was the thing she least wanted to hear. it forced her to do the most introspection and growth, as well as tying into the film's themes about the capacity of ordinary people to be special. it wasn't just a choice made to "gotcha" the viewer, it was rooted in character.

i don't think ruby's mother being ordinary accomplishes the same thing. by invoking susan, s14 is engaging with the most egregious example of the doctor's streak of abandonment, which has potential to be very compelling in relation to ruby (and now also the doctor's) own abandonment issues. theories that ruby might be susan, or be somehow related to susan, or somehow related to the doctor, weren't just fanbrained "omg she's related to that guy i know from the classic series." they were theories genuinely rooted in character and the potential to explore both the doctor and ruby's issues with abandonment. and this is something the show willingly led fans towards by invoking susan so much in the first place. so for the show to turn around and act like they were shallow out of nowhere ideas when they were not shallow and were based on potential character conflicts the show itself deliberately invoked, feels misguided.

as well as that, ruby's mother being ordinary does not require that same growth from ruby as it did for rey because it is exactly what ruby wanted to hear. she never wanted her mother to be important, she just wanted to know who her mother was and have a connection with her. so finding out she was a normal woman who still loves her and wants to be a part of her life is everything she's ever wanted. it doesn't introduce interesting conflict for her the way rey's parents being ordinary did for her, because they were written as different characters with different hangups over their abandonment.

tl;dr i don't necessarily dislike ruby's mother being ordinary as an idea but compared to the things it was inspired by - 7b and star wars - it is not nearly as compelling in terms of how it relates to the characters or themes. and the meta angle, while conceptually interesting, doesn't quite work for me because it feels a little manipulative of the audience.