#it was also just a very convenient situation for him because the excuse was *right there*

[cable-salamdr]

Oh yeah we all agree that Bleckt called the Lloyd v Nokt fight because he wanted Nokt to win and not because he actually cared for Lloyd’s health right

[fxllfaiiry]

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ୨୧  :  ꒰  𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊  ꒱  ♡ ˚₊‧

⌗ synopsis : some nsfw and sfw miguel headcanons.

⌗ cw : both fluff and smut. swearing, use of yn like once, some angst, thigh riding, titty fucking, size kink, mentions of crying and pain kink, breeding kink.

⌗ notes : REPOST!! someone flagged this post and I worked really hard on writing this fic so it's annoying and it makes me upset, please don't flag it again, just scroll away. please, please reblog!!!

✰ miguel o'hara makes you watch him work out because he knows how flustered you get when he's sweaty and shirtless. he'll also make you sit on his back while he's doing push-ups, exaggerating every move just to tease you.

✰ when he's not in his spiderman suit, he sometimes likes to wear the tightest shirts around you, he knows those shirts do his arms justice.

✰ the only person he's scared of is you. if you don't want him to do something, he won't do it. end of story.

✰ you occasionally like to tease him by randomly slapping his ass or saying things like:  

"how are your tits bigger than mine?"

"teach me your workout routine"

"damn, that ass looks good"

"you definitely have a big dick"

✰ you are the only person who can make miguel o'hara flustered.

✰ you love to kiss him every time he pouts, it's the cutest thing ever.

✰ when you guys are in public he shows little to no pda, but he smiles a lot more than usual.

✰ he may never admit it, but he loves cuddles :)) he loves to cage you in his arms and place kisses wherever he can reach. it's very soothing and helps him fall asleep.

✰ loves to watch you cook while hugging you from behind.

✰ playfully pretends to bite you every now and then, he looks all big and scary but he does have a soft side.

✰ remember the scene with lyla and miguel where she made him say please before calling for backup? yeah imagine that with you.

"yn, go call for backup now."

"excuse me? is this how you talk to your wife?" you huff glaring at him.

"I don't have time for this right now, just do it, okay?" he grumbles.

"not until you say it."   "no-"

"fine, no backup then." you start walking away from him ready to leave, until -

"okay, okay. baby, will you p-please call for backup?" he whispers.

"louderr"

"baby, will you please call for backup?"

"yeah I already did, but I enjoyed that"

✰ slowly learns to open up to you about his trauma, it takes some time but once he's ready you guys spend hours talking to each other.

✰ he can never stay mad at you for too long, most of the time he's the first to apologize.

✰ if you cry because of him he'll do anything to make it up to you. he'll make you your favorite meal to cheer you up and then later hold you tightly against him apologizing over and over again.  

✰ everyone teases him for being so soft around you, sometimes you join in as well.

"yeah, miggy, did I turn you into a giant soft teddy bear, hm?

"dear god, please shut up."

                  ୨୧　:　꒰ nsfw ahead  ꒱　　♡

✰ this man is the king of aftercare, cuddling with you and whispering how good you were. he'll even run you a bath afterward and shower you with affection.

✰ makes you get off on his thigh because he knows how much you love riding it, he loves how wet it gets with your arousal, making you clean it up afterwards.

✰ definitely is into fucking your tities, he has no control and starts to rut his hips like an animal. he admires how pretty your tits and face look afterwards covered in his cum.

✰ is addicted to eating you out, thrusting his tongue into your hole for hours and hours, he's addicted to your taste. miguel also conveniences you to ride his face and use him as you please, all he wants is to be suffocated between your thighs.

✰ he can usually smell when you're horny for him, if he's at work and this happens then it's an awkward situation, because he desperately wants to fucking rail you in the nearest empty room. oh, and he also has to hide his boner from everyone.

✰ uses his strength to hold you up against the wall and fuck you hard and fast.

✰ he knows how big he is and mocks you about how you won't be able to fit him in your tiny pussy.

"are you sure it'll fit, mami?"

"your pussy is so tiny, mama. I don't think you'll be able to take it"

✰ winds you up by rubbing his cock up and down your pussy without putting it in, he barely has any patience himself, seeing his cock glisten with your wetness makes him lose his mind.

✰ miguel will slap your cunt as a punishment until you're clenching around nothing and crying while begging him to fuck you.  

✰ leaves love bites everywhere as a reminder that you are his and his only.

✰ you'll wear his favorite shade of lipstick before sucking him off, leaving the lipstick's imprint on his dick.

✰ breeds you like an animal, fucking you raw for hours and filling you up in every position. nothing will leak out on his watch and if it does, then he'll shove it back in using his fingers. he will lick up everything from your overestimated cunt ignoring your soft whimpers of "papi, it hurts."

✰ ties you up with his webbing and uses you as his personal toy.

✰ loves to take you from behind, smacking your ass and leaving handprints, because he's mezmeriozed by the way it jiggles every time. while he's hitting it from behind he's so rough and messy, coating you with his seed all over your ass and back, filling you up to the brim, and making sure you don't walk the next day.

✰ talking back to him will only lead to him rubbing your clit and edging you till your clit is red and engorged to the point where the throbbing has become unbearable. he might take pity and finally fuck your weeping hole.

"finally learned your lesson, mama?"

✰ soft sex is also a yes!! he may be rough and all but he loves to dot on you, whispering praises into your ear while holding you oh so delicately against his body.

[captainx-camino]

I'm about to be the Internet's most hated person again but, uhhhh...I'm a chronic over analyzer, so, deal with it.

So, Jeremy - and here me out on this - wasn't the cold-blooded murder kid the movie wants you to believe he is.

*insert shocked and horrified reaction here*

Yeah, that one will do....

Anyway...

Okay, so first of all: Jeremy's parents are AWFUL.

His father is clearly an abusive drunk and his mother is clearly a traumatized beaten wife who makes excuses for her husband's abuse.

Jeremy wasn't lying about what his parents were - we can see that through their behavior when they're shown and by small clues in the background of the shot.

His father probably became abusive due to feeling he could no longer fulfill his role in the household and succumbed to drinking to patch his depression.

His mother probably took the brunt of this, causing her to fall into fawning and do the only thing she could do to keep the household together. A very common response to domestic violence is to dote on the child in an aggressively overbearing way - which we see her do.

Additionally, the only person we learn of the incident from is the 'Karen' of the town - who states the boy was bad news. But was he really? Or was he a troubled child dealing with severe abuse at home and escaping into himself?

Was he a 'bad kid'? Or was he just different?

(There are some other points but I have like 10 min to write this so you get what you get.)

Personally, one of the things that really drove home for me that Jeremy wasn't the monster he was made out to be is how he died:

You want to tell me that this "cold-blooded killer" went to his treehouse to hide from the cops after committing his awful crimes? That doesn't sound like some crazed murderer to me - that sounds like a scared child running away to the one place he felt secure.

Which he still does, by the way. As a fucking ghost who has now been trapped in his living nightmare with the two people who probably abused him for 20-some-odd years.

With the given evidence, I shall construct you a possible alternative series of events that makes far more sense than his simply killing his parents...

-Jeremy comes home from school, his dad is already in a mood.

-Mom is baking in the kitchen in an attempt to forget the throbbing in her right eye

-Someone, possibly Jeremy, makes an offhanded remark that unintentionally triggers his father.

-The situation escalates with Jeremy becoming the target of his father's aggression this time.

-the father, already several sheets to the wind, goes after Jeremy in a fit of rage.

-the altercation continues, eventually ending up with Jeremy and his father tussling in the garage.

-Jeremy grabs at his father's abandoned tools in an attempt to protect himself and lands a hit, killing his father.

-Jeremy's mother, a victim of abuse herself, is too traumatized to react appropriately to the situation.

-Because her coping mechanism is to fawn, she reacts negatively towards Jeremy.

-Her first reaction is to scream and panic, asking Jeremy what he has done and believing that he has ruined their family that she has worked so hard to keep intact.

-Her defensiveness causes her to lash out at Jeremy and attack him.

-Jeremy is once again forced to defend himself, knowing no other way of fending her off.

-this altercation also ends in a defensive strike towards his assailant with another convenient item within the room the attack took place.

-After the incident, Jeremy, a child, quickly realizes that he is going to be in trouble.

-Jeremy's first instinct upon hearing the approaching police sirens is not to flee custody, but to hide in his childhood treehouse.

-When authorities inevitably find him and coax him down, he slips, breaking his neck instantly.

-This untimely demise causes him to be stuck in the world of the living with no other contact besides the people who neglected and abused him, causing him to become desperate for escape.

-That desperation was answered by the single person who was able to see him in 20+ years and Astrid just got caught in that crossfire.

I'm gonna say it now because I know how y'all are: This post is not to justify what he did to either of his parents or Astrid. It is simply what I have gathered ACTUALLY happened leading up to Jeremy's death and his possible true motivation to return to the world of the living outside of "ooooOOOOOOoooo so he can KILL AGAIN~" which is frankly just boring.

You don't have to believe it. I am not saying this interpretation is canon.

It's just what I picked up on watching the film.

Do with that what you do.

[ashela-ley]

I think Cartman hates jewish people and -Kyle- too much to be vulnerable like you've depicted. No matter what level of physical attraction he might feel.

Hi there, thanks for your comment. Unfortunately I wrote a whole-ass novel in response so here's the TL;DR so you don't actually have to read all that: I agree that the comic is OOC but I don't think it's because of Cartman's hatred of Kyle or Jewish people.

Sorry for misusing your message to go on a somewhat loosely related rant but I've been meaning to write this for a while and it came as a convenient excuse lmao _

I agree with you regarding the vulnerability. I don't think Cartman would voice his feelings like that unless (he could claim that) it's a farce (e.g., Jenny Simons, "Cartman Finds Love") or the other person shows interest in him first so he feels safe from rejection (Heidi, initially - not opening that whole can of worms rn lol). For example, he treated his attraction to Patty Nelson as a big secret, apparently not even considering ever confessing to her, and that's most likely because he was expecting the reaction she did end up giving him since, beneath his self-deceit, he's excruciatingly aware of the fact that he's actually not exactly highly regarded by his peers.

It's a lot of work upholding the façade he's build for himself of being this cool, esteemed person and it cracks easily even without direct outside influence (for example when Clyde Frog or Cupid Me insult him) so he really, really doesn't deal with rejection very well. Him being this vulnerable to Kyle specifically and then getting rejected would be absolutely catastrophic for him, so I agree that he wouldn't put himself in that position. However, it's my opinion that the most OOC thing about the comic is the fact that he simply acknowledges that Kyle hates him. I don't actually think he'd just accept that but would instead convince himself that it isn't true ("Kyle has internalized homophobia" or better yet "Kyle doesn't think he's worthy of someone as cool and awesome as me") and then do some crazy shit to try and win him over.

So yeah, you're right: He Would Not Fucking Say That. I don't think his hatred of Kyle and/or Jewish people is the reason he wouldn't, though, as I believe Cartman's feelings towards Kyle and Judaism are a lot more complicated than that. It's not without reason that his relationships with both are such a big part of the show and that people smarter than me have written whole essays on the topic lmao

I feel the need to clarify that I am in no way trying to excuse any of Cartman's antisemitism! I'd just like to voice a few thoughts on its origin and evolution.

Cartman is clearly weirdly obsessed with both Kyle and his religion and obviously they are linked. While I suppose initially it might have been a bit of a chicken-egg situation ("He hates Kyle because he hates Jews" vs. "He hates Jews because he hates Kyle"), I believe originally his antisemitism may have simply been a byproduct of his fascination with the third reich, which itself I think was mostly a result of his enjoyment of envisioning himself as a dictator (i.e. the ultimate authority figure) and as such was actually pretty surface-level - as is evident from the fact that for a long time he didn't seem to fully grasp what exactly Judaism even IS (as shown when he apologizes to Kyle for calling him a Jew or when he uses the term as an insult towards Stan and Kenny). Still, I very much dislike it when people try to downplay his bigotry as naivety. That really doesn't hold any water after very early on in the show, if it ever even did in the first place, since he definitely acts from a place of malice and over time his fixation on the religion seems to have developed into something bigger. He's learnt more about it and it became much more synonymous with Kyle for him (the order of which is also debatable but I of course lean a certain way). At this point in the show I believe it's safe to say that he wouldn't be nearly as obsessed with Judaism if Kyle wasn't Jewish. While Cartman is obviously a bigoted asshole in many ways, he's not nearly as preoccupied with other minority groups as he is with Jews and he has even shown himself to be surprisingly tolerant of homosexuals and disabled people (who, of course, were also heavily persecuted under Nazism).

I really do think that "Jewpacabra" did leave a lasting impact on his character. It's pretty obvious that he was being genuine at the end of of the episode and actually did intent on self-identifying as Jewish from then on (and iirc M&T confirmed as much in the commentary to that episode and explained that they just sort of… forgot about that lol) and then in "Shots" he does claim to be Jewish and while that may have been in an attempt to get a vaccination exemption, the aforementioned commentary makes me believe it may not exclusively be that.

Notably, he specifically calls himself an "Orthodox Jew", which Kyle obviously doesn't seem to be and that ties in nicely with him becoming a rabbi in PC and making the religion his entire personality - because it's not enough to become Jewish: He needs to beat Kyle at being Jewish.

Of course, Cartman never actually stops being antisemitic before the time skip but then "Cupid Ye" implies that that isn't even a fully conscious decision that he can completely control but instead at least partially caused by whatever he has going on mentally. He even actively attempts to counteract it when he decides that it has gone too far. That's my take on the episode, at least. Obviously the whole thing with Cupid Me is kind of messy. No matter what exactly is actually happening there, I do think the his actions here prove that his feelings regarding the matter are more complex than they may initially appear to be.

Though I know it's still a point of contention for many, to me personally it seems pretty clear that him being a rabbi and a family man in PC was authentic and that he wasn't simply messing with Kyle the entire time. However, I find it extremely interesting that Cartman converted BEFORE meeting Yentl so I actually don't see any way in which Kyle didn't have any part in that and as such I don't think he would have ever become a rabbi if Kyle didn't happen to be Jewish. So my personal headcanon is that while Cartman's conversion was indeed directly influenced by Kyle, he actually did end up finding fulfillment in the faith and it ironically helped him let go of his obsession with him (which I think fits the show's style of humor).

To summarize: As a shipper I may be biased but I think that Cartman is a disturbed little boy who grows up to be a disturbed little man who fails to fully understand his feelings towards Kyle and - as an extension of that - the Jewish faith and thus lashes out into extremes regarding it.

[retrieve-the-kraken]

Okay, so I’ve finished my taxes, and I’m basically out of the woods with some overwhelming work stuff, and everything turned out well with a medical situation with my mum, but I am still very tired, but I also cannot keep going without putting my preliminary thoughts on my very first viewing of season 3 down on a post…

It seems my worst characterization so far is assuming that these two idiots would learn to communicate. They haven’t, they’re stupid teenagers, they’re really bad at it, they get mad at each other for everything, and they don’t listen. And that needs to change soon if we want Wilmon endgame.

Boris, do you do couples therapy? PLEASE HELP THEM.

I think a big reason Wilhelm lashes out, besides getting caught up in his own head, is the fact that he’s also constantly afraid of saying the wrong thing and pissing Simon off. But the stakes for Simon are clearly higher. Wilhelm really needs to learn to communicate, but he’s dragging a whole life of terrible communication and zero support, so HOW is he supposed to learn, if he naturally feels afraid to open up?

It shows in the way he reacts to learning about Erik. Simon might be right, and Erik maybe just gave in to peer pressure, like everyone else in that school (which we see over and over again, like with the strike, and that guy who just repeats ‘yeah hilarious’ when Vincent tells him, and the graduation rituals and basically everything that everyone does at that fucking school), and maybe he wasn’t particularly homophobic. Or maybe he was, but if he had found out about Wilhelm maybe he would have changed his views (after all he was a stupid kid too)… But how would Wilhelm know? Erik is dead, there’s no way of asking him, confronting him about it. And people still call him perfect, and still compare him to his brother.

It must be so traumatizing to have held this person in your head as the one you trusted for everything, the one who would support you most, the one who probably knew you better than anyone else, who would love you and be there for you no matter what, and it turns out that he might not have accepted you at all. And just like that Wille is all alone and angry and afraid again.

(This is why it’s extra cruel that August posted that fucking video, especially how premeditated it was to share it over the whole world, but also then tell Wilhelm that his brother was possibly a homophobe. It doesn’t matter that he went through that horrible hazing, it doesn’t matter that he put a stop to it, and it doesn’t matter that he’s a stupid kid too, the fact that he did THAT to someone, anyone, is awful and he should have known better.)

So that scene in season 1 when Erik teases Wilhelm about his crush potentially changes completely. Maybe he didn’t suspect anything, maybe it was just a coincidence that he never used any pronouns…

And that makes it even more traumatizing that his parents still think of Erik as the figure of perfection, and Wilhelm, who is queer and scandalous and rebellious, is the real thorn on their side. Fucking Ludvig saying that Erik really was perfect, that he didn’t have “that darkness inside of him”, to his surviving son… But for all we know maybe Erik’s death was not accidental, maybe he did have “a darkness” inside of him.

On the other hand, that “darkness” doesn’t excuse Kristina at all. I am convinced that this depression/burnout that she’s going through is absolute bullshit. Sure, she might be depressed, she’s still grieving her “perfect” heir, and she’s going through a lot. But it’s like Wilhelm says, how convenient that she shuts down and breaks down now. She wasn’t like this when the video happened, because she could still cover it up. And she wasn’t like this when Wilhelm called her to scream that he was going to abdicate, because she could still drag him out of Hillerska. It was only when he told the whole world, and there was no covering it up anymore, that she suddenly became fragile with grief.

And even if it were true, even if she’s going through a severe depression or burnout, as a result of everything that’s happened, that doesn’t excuse her previous lies and manipulations. And it makes the fact that she still really wants Wille to become her successor, despite knowing what it could do to him, despite knowing that he’s already extremely anxious and that he does not know how to manage his own emotions, is evil.

(And even if she wants August to be the backup too, knowing how he is, knowing his own family history, and how it could affect him too, is evil too.) MORE on this later.

Kristina uses her breakdowns to emotionally manipulate Wille into trying to do his best to be the perfect crown prince, now indirectly through Farima and Ludvig. And Wille’s so concerned with her and her fragility that it affects his relationship with Simon. Because he’s anxious about the possible imminence of having to take over, of being the new monarch, when he can barely control his own feelings, when he just wants to enjoy his first relationship and just be in love.

Of course he made things worse for himself and Simon when he publicly revealed their relationship, but we can understand where that’s coming from. He didn’t want to hide anymore, he didn’t want to not be able to be himself anymore, not be able to be with the boy he loves. But they’re still forced to hide, because people start hating on Simon, because people won’t stop talking about them (as much as I HATED Wille shushing Simon, I also understood that he didn’t want anyone to hear their argument, because he didn’t want to give people more reason to talk about them, but also there’s probably a lot of ‘keeping up appearances’ embedded in his mind), because they are very different and almost incompatible for many reasons, and because being the crown prince means conforming to a lot of things (no tattoos, no cutting your hair shorter than, no nail polish, no expressing political opinions, etc etc), and so he has to remove the nail polish and he doesn’t want his foundation to be geared toward LGBTQIA+ people or mental health issues… He can’t express himself, he can’t be himself, because what he is or who he is for real is not compatible with his role or what is expected of him… he’s so repressed still.

(The whole nail polish scene, and the scene where Simon suggests that Wille’s foundation could be geared toward LGBTQIA+ youth, reminded me a little of Isak in SKAM saying that he wasn’t just going to start marching in the Pride parade or wearing makeup. Wille is not necessarily about identity expression, or at least he doesn’t think that he should be. He just wants to be himself, and be with the boy he loves, and that’s it).

As for Simon, he can do no wrong, and I absolutely agree with everything he says and does, but he has always been very idealistic, and he does come across as a little more naïve than I expected, especially with the whole social media comments and his song. It wasn’t the first time he experienced it, because things went south for him when he appeared on the video, so for him now to think that people are magically not going to be cruel.

But I understand how much he’s sacrificing for Wille, and Wille not appreciating it at all must sting. Just like he points out that he didn’t have contact with Micke for years, for Sara’s sake, and suddenly she’s living with him… that fucking hurt. Simon has always been very opinionated and outspoken, and he’s very authentically and proudly himself, but he’s also always molded himself to what other people need, like being a parented child and taking on too much in the house to relieve Linda, and taking care of Sara, and worrying about his father, and letting himself be manipulated by Marcus, and now basically giving up a lot of himself to be with Wille. And as a result Linda treats him like he’s a drug addict, and Sara goes to the father she didn’t want to have contact with, and Marcus talks shit about him to the press, and Wille doesn’t listen to him…

Sara saw the light (sort of), so maybe hopefully Wille will too. More on that later too.

Anyway, it would have been nice for someone from the royal court to sit Simon down and explain to him what being the boyfriend of a royal involves, so that Wille doesn’t have to figure out how to tell him all these difficult things himself. Wille is so used to some of these things, they seem so obvious to him, that he might not immediately think of how weird or outlandish it might seem to Simon. (THat scene with the cake, I mean… it was funny in a way, but I wonder how many terrifying thoughts crossed Simon’s mind, the obvious “wait what??? did I just eat poison???” but also “wait what??? someone’s trying to poison my boyfriend????” and “there are kids here, have they also accidentally been poisoned????”).

I really really hope that, since he’s being forced to go to Boris with August, that Wille will think about going with Simon, and trying to work things out. They need to be able to say all these things to each other, get on the same page.

More importantly, I need a callback to what Boris said to him in season 2, about the expectations of his family, about being able to make his own choices. Which Wille internalized beautifully with that speech to Simon outside his house.

Anyway, this is already very long. Moving on to more general thoughts:

- I did think that the fact that they sort of resolved the whole issue with the police report and the drugs felt a little anticlimactic. It was built up and built up and the whole season 2 finale was about that, and we had a cliffhanger and everything, and then… bye. I wonder if it will come back (more on that later).

- And for that matter, Alexander just became a background character. Did he even have any lines? I could barely spot him.

- August telling Wilhelm in front of everyone at the table that he’s sure Wille will fuck up on his own… rich.

- Also Stella and Rosh was sort of hinted at, it happened in a blink, and then Fredrika was… jealous? Confused? Homophobic? All of the above? But then… NOTHING. Stella was even missing in the last episode, because she was “sick”… (scheduling conflicts for Felicia? Actually sick?)

- I think it’s interesting that Sara preached and preached to Simon about giving people a second chance, including their dad, and then she… goes and does it? It wasn’t the first time she did, she was with August despite the awful thing he did. And then she goes and… gives August ANOTHER chance????

- Someone needs to tell Sara that she needs to stop getting wtih August, because every time they get together somehow, Wilmon go south… It seems these two couples cannot exist simultaneously…

- So I still have to rewatch, but… is August then in the middle of selling his father’s estate to pay Simon? Are any of his friends aware of this?

- I have a cultural question: what was the whole deal about travelling to the US? I mean, I thought they were asking if these kids have never travelled abroad, but they mentioned the US specifically, several times… Is that a thing in Sweden, traveling to the US? Not any other part of Europe? Not Asia? Just wondering. Made me curious.

- Still waiting for this season’s Elias song… just one episode left… If we don’t get one, or a callback to Revolution, I might claw my face off…

- Nils repeating that maybe Wille would have been better off with someone from the inner circle. Seriously, Nils, who do you mean? WHO? Who could you be referring to? Hmm?

- Something else about Nils… a part of me really wished that Wille would have asked Nils for confirmation on the Erik thing. Wille obviously doesn’t want to believe it at first, but then he does, and hearing it from August makes it even worse, so maybe hearing it from someone like Nils would be the final confirmation that he would need, that his brother was the worst. On the other hand, for him to ask Nils to confirm something like that, as a gay, and possibly hearing what happened to him as a result of it… that would have probably made it even worse.

- Really hate that Marcus was mentioned, that he came back to haunt Simon in a way, even if it was minimal. But props to Simon for not rising to the bait in that moment.

- Simon, my love, i understand that you’re upset and heartbroken, but… it would have been nice if you tried to get Wille to talk to you one last time, before breaking up with him on his birthday… especially seeing everything he’s going through. Not that your feelings are any less important than his, of course, but… are you trying to get him to jump out the window????

-Eternally saddened by the disappearance of the orange sweater. Eternally saddened by the fact that Wilhelm did not set foot in or around Simon’s house this season. Although who knows, still one episode left…

Things that I liked most:

- Seriously the chemistry between Edvin and Omar is OFF THE CHARTS. The intimacy coordinator this season was very good.

- Especially that sex scene. Not just because it makes me immensely happy when my favorite ship fucks, because holy shit that was hot, but also because there’s a whole theme around all the hate mail and messages and classism and homophobia and toxic masculinity that Simon is a target of, especially being Latino, whilst Wille, being white and privileged and high class and the heir to the throne, is probably seen as the “man” of the relationship (especially since in the video he’s also the one “in control” whilst Simon is the receiver), so it’s very VERY satisfying to see that they are both top and bottom at times, and they both equally enjoy it.

- Also the use of choir music during the sex scene, giving it a very holy feel, much like Elias’s Holy playing when they have sex again in season 2… seriously I NEED my Elias song this season or I WILL START A REVOLUTION.

- At first I was annoyed at the whole “school possibly closing” plotline, because I thought it was unneeded. Or that maybe it would play a bigger role in the whole video-drugs controversy. But the truth is that it was really good, how it highlighted these kids’ privilege and the absurdity of wanting to cover things up and uphold traditions, and it also worked wonderfully to highlight the divide between Simon and Wille. As Simon says to Wille, he only takes a stand when he has nothing to lose.

- Felice. Felice this whole season was magnificent. Her whole breakdown over the end of her friendship with Sara, showing how truly important it was to her. And Madison saying that sometimes breaking up with a friend is worse than getting dumped, and I AGREE SO MUCH. But then I also think she loses her sense of self, because despite being popular and beautiful, she still gets used and treated badly, by August (obviously), but also by Wille (the kiss), and worst of all by Sara (who in a way used her for her horse, but also for the clout). And in the meantime, she’s treated differently than the other students for being one of the few black girls, and she gets singled out for her hair… and yet, the school is using her to make themselves look good. And now she decides to give Sara a second chance, because she really missed her, because it really hurt to lose that friend, and Sara goes and… does that…

- One of my favorite things about Simon is how he is proof that just because you’re gay doesn’t mean that you have flawless fashion sense. And i can’t help but wonder how fashion and style icon/ELLE’s Best Dressed Man/OMR Beauty founder Omar feels about Simon’s fashion choices. Never change, Simon, never change.

- Vincent was every bit of the tremendous asshole that I hoped he’d be this season. Did not disappoint. I wanted to punch him in the face every time he opened his mouth. Marvellous.

- I’m happy that we got more Madison, but still not enough. Still, iconic. Forever one of my favorite characters.

- I don’t know what to say about Sara and Micke. Just maybe that, when he played that song in the car, even before they started singing, i just knew “oh fuck, it’s all going to shit soon…” I guess Sara felt lost enough that she was suddenly willing to give him a second chance. And the whole “is that going to happen to me?” bit really made me sad. That she understands that mental health and mental illness is unfortunately many times hereditary, and worries that she might become just like him… But despite not being entirely like him, with addiction problems and such, she was still unreliable like him, she did bad things to her family like he did… I was rooting for you, Micke, we were all rooting for you.

- I feel that August’s love for status and for the monarchy might be starting to fray at the edges. First with the fact that he was reminded of his own traumatizing initiation, and reminded of how the crown prince, his cousin and friend and idol, himself was part of that. Second with the fact that Simon points out that he might have an eating disorder, how he would probably not fare any better than the queen if he were in such a stressful position as crown prince or king, how difficult it is for him to handle stress and anxiety. And third with seeing how it affects Wille and Simon and realizing that something similar might still happen to him and Sara. And the fact that he reveals to Sara why he is the way he is, that he lets his guard down with her, might point to even more growth (even though I hate that Sara sort of gave him a “second chance” again). Also I feel the reality of how they, the Royal Court, would control his life is finally sinking in. Hopefully he will also soon realize that they also use him as a manipulation tool. So maybe he won’t let himself be manipulated by them much longer.

- I loved Wille’s ultimate outburst at his mother and father, i love that he told them everything they needed to hear, about their emotional abuse, their neglect. Unfortunately they still refused to acknowledge how terrible parents they have been, and walked off, instead of trying to resolve it. So Wille throwing around the gifts, as impulsive and tantrum-ish it might come across, makes perfect sense. He tries to talk and gets nothing in return. If he’s repressed it’s bad, but if he expresses himself then nothing happens either.

- And I love that Simon got to see what Wille is really dealing with. As privileged as he might be, he’s still lacking the most important things: unconditional support and love. No amount of money or status can make it better, and Wille is broken. The only thing is that, Simon saw how broken Wille was over the death of his brother, whom he loved very much, but I don’t think he quite grasps the gravity of Wille learning that maybe that beloved brother wouldn’t have been so cool with him, because he has never had to deal with a parent or sibling rejecting him for his sexuality. It’s something very different to be rejected by society at large than it is to be rejected by your own family, and not everyone has the emotional strength to deal with that. So for Wille’s parents to still like his potentially homophobic dead brother more than him, is heart-wrenching. But I don’t think Simon really gets that because he’s probably not surprised that Erik might have been like that, because in his eyes those privileged kids in that school (except obviously Wille, and Felice and Madison, who is asking about the non-binaries) are probably all massive homophobes.

- Despite this, I love that Simon sets boundaries nonetheless. I mean, it hurt like fucking hell for him to tell Wille, on his fucking birthday, that maybe they shouldn’t be together. But just because Wille is hurting doesn’t mean that Simon has not also been hurting too. And if they can’t comfort each other, and try to support each other when they both obviously most need it, then maybe they’re just not going to work. And it took a lot of guts for Simon to bring it up in that moment, in Wille’s bed, in the palace, where he’s basically trapped, with nowhere to go, no way to get away (I doubt he called Linda in the middle of the night to come pick him up more than two hours away in Stockholm).

My hopes for the final episode (I don’t think I have any predictions other than, open ending or not, Wilmon will be endgame and there will be a revolution, I just don’t know how):

- Wilmon talk. An actual, healthy, heartfelt talk. A reconciliation for the ages.

- That the fucking school will close and August won’t be able to graduate, and he’ll realize that maybe he shouldn’t have “lived for that school”, as Erik once put it.

- That Wille will realize that, if Erik was not the person he thought he was, then maybe he no longer has to live up to his legacy anymore. @foreverunraveling pointed out how, now that the big Erik revelation is confirmed, then maybe the queen’s trump card to manipulate Wille into being the ideal crown prince is gone. Wille doesn’t care about the monarchy really, but he did care about not disappointing his brother, the “perfect crown prince”, and now we know that he was far from perfect. Erik lived a double life, as Wille points out, there was “public Erik” or crown prince Erik, and there was “private Erik”, or the real Erik (or so Wille thought, now we know there was a “secret Erik” which was the real Erik) and Wille struggles so much with the idea of having to split himself in two, . Wille cannot live a double life, he withers away when he has to hide himself, and now he gets the opportunity to leave that stifling life behind, and blossom.

- That Simon will get a fucking break. I hate that his whole life was turned upside down from the moment the video was leaked, and it’s just never going to be the same, whether he stays with Wille or not, he’ll always be the boy from the crown prince sex tape, he’ll always be the crown prince’s ex, or the crown prince’s boyfriend. But I want some positive feedback for him, someone bigger than the woman and the little boy wanting a selfie. I want him to have his own fanclub or something. Maybe that’s too idealistic…? (I may be imagining something like that scene in Red White and Royal Blue, when they realize that there’s a whole crowd outside the palace all excited to the the Prince and his First son boyfriend… one can dream).

- I want whatever Felice said during the interview to be taken seriously, and for her to stop doubting herself.

- I want a genuine apology from August.

- Also one from Kristina.

- I get the feeling that the fact that August leaked the video might still come out publicly, what with the whole school issue. And in that case, I would like for it to be Simon might to do it, tossing the money from the settlement in his face. It looks like Simon still feels guilty about accepting it, especially when he chided Wille about his privilege and Wille (figuratively) threw the money back in his face. What if Simon does it literally?

- I really wanna know what’s going to happen between Felice and Sara now. The outlook is not good.

- Is it too much to ask to know what’s going on between Stella and Fredrika?

- Most importantly, is the whole thing with Erik going to come out eventually? And how will people react? With support for the monarchy, or with support for Wille?

I have so many more thoughts, but I’m slightly burnt out, and I really should take a break. Also this is way too long. Might have more thoughts once I’ve rewatched the first five episodes, calmly over the weekend…

Also this is very long and I’m sorry.

[bite-scars]

Recently fully contenting with the fact that I have a big brother kink,,

I blame being stuck as the oldest child but with horrible anxiety, autism, and emotional neglect making the idea of being any kind of role model without one for myself Terrifying, combined with being transmasc and having that pretty much dismissed or at the very least constantly undermined literally all throughout my teenage years 💀

I was also just an obsessively horny kid for no discernable reason dhzjhx maybe it was the only clear form of affection from guys I was at all familiar with being romantic/sexually coded and not really knowing how someone was meant to bond with them otherwise idk. Add that to me literally making an imaginary friend that was just a caring older brother at first and you can imagine the progression of that had a hand in this also🧍

I'm just. I think enough Tough Love type kinda loser older brother that's also just super overprotective and will back you/help you through anything while simultaneously insisting you should "man up" fantasies could fix me--

Older brother that on the one hand has a rebellious dgaf overall bad influence reputation to uphold but on the other hand had to deal with the same parents I did and can't help but be protective of his cute little brother seeing him going through the same or similarly shitty situations, doing his best to mitigate the damage when he realizes how much more sensitive I am to it than he was.

Being the only person in the house I'm comfortable going to for anything, always making me feel safe even when trying to get me to push a boundary for my own good (whether it's Actually for my own good or not-). Insisting any and all unhealthy coping mechanisms I've turned to (or he's introduced me to) are done in his presence only, he's just concerned about my safety and doesn't want me doing them alone (again whether true or not I'm too trusting or dependant to notice a difference). Basically singlehandedly supporting my transition, making sure I get any and all hand-me-downs he still has lying around (and there are plenty, his closet is like a museum of old shit at this point, like he's never gotten rid of a thing in his life even though he definitely has. There are still character-print boxers in there that are pretty much my size), going over our parents' heads to talk with my school about it (having to "correct" all that would be too much effort for them anyways, they'll just leave it be at that point) and interacting with our parents in general for me unless it's absolutely necessary for me to be there.

Finding any excuse to brag and show off his adorable little brother to his equally delinquent friends, letting me join in on smoke sessions since he knows I can't go 10 minutes without following him around like a little puppy, always wanting to be in his lap (he tries to act like it's annoying but he thinks it's cute, not to mention convenient), and hey, with how high-strung i am already he decides maybe the weed would do me good anyways. Keeping the less respectful of his friends on a short leash around me, not hesitating to kick anyone out that can't heed a warning (full-stop, better not forget anything on your way out because you ain't gonna get another chance to get it back-). Getting quietly jealous over any of the others I end up getting sort of attached to, but rather than starting actual shit with them he'll just find ways to remind me that he's the most important to me, even if his friend is cool he's always cooler, right?

Idk this general underlying setup is a theme in a lot of my fantasies tbh, there's a lot that can vary between them (sometimes either brother is grosser or more genuine, really just depends on my mood lol) but the dynamic is always some flavor of this and it probably says a lot 💀

[anarchy-and-piglins]

you want c!techno take asks so can i ask for your insight in the take that c!techno was the shitty one in c!bedrock bros because he... i'm not entirely sure what the argument is tbh just the way some people bend over backwards to make c!tommy leaving him alone in a crowd of enemies seem not like a shitty move

I feel like the insistence some people have that you should take a 'side' in the bedrockbros relationship is part of this weirdly prevalent trend now in some fandoms - and especially in dsmp - that every single relationship that goes bad has to have a 'victim' and an 'abuser'.

(Sometimes not in those specific terms, though I've certainly seen enough people call c!Techno abusive towards c!Tommy. But sometimes people just call it like, a good guy and a bad guy. Like they need to put the blame somewhere, and it's usually not with their own guy because their blorbo is perfect (part of a second, also very prevalent trend in fandom these days, where people seem incapable of viewing their favourite character as having any flaws, and thus they jump through hoops to excuse everything they do as perfect or flawless. Very common for a specific flavour of c!Tommy enjoyer indeed.))

The time between the failed Butcher Army execution and Doomsday was literally a low point for c!Techno, he himself talks about this afterward with the Syndicate and stuff. Emotionally and mentally this man was Going Through It (tm). So I don't doubt there are some aspects of the whole bedrockbros post-exile relationship he should have done differently. Though that hardly makes him a bad person, it just means he's imperfect and doing his best and also traumatized and trying to do what he felt was right. I'm very biased in siding with Techno because he's my fav but also because I just actually agree that he's right a lot of the time, kekw. And he genuinely did his best to offer Tommy shelter and make him feel safe while also not pushing any boundaries (and also Tommy straight up refusing to share a bunch of shit. Which is understandable from Tommy's side in context, but since Techno is not a mind reader, I really don't like how some inniters act as if Techno was supposed to act upon information he literally didn't have). While also meanwhile sticking to his morals and trying to ensure the continued safety of himself and his closest friend.

Like, at the end of the day, the bedrockbros relationship post-exile fell apart because it was a relationship of convenience and their goals and wants didn't end up compatible. And that's fine, honestly.

The part where Tommy's behaviour becomes somewhat shitty to me is at the Green Festival itself. Him deciding to switch sides and rejoin L'Manburg is not even the shitty part. It's the sort of thing that, especially in context of who c!Tommy is as a person and what makes him tick, makes sense, and it's the right thing to do for him, even if Techno feels hurt by it (which, see what I mean that characters can do things that hurt others or are maybe less than ideal, but that doesn't make them terrible people?)

The parts of Tommy's behaviour that I find shitty are:

1) Tommy stealing Techno's axe. Like, okay, I've posted about this before, but it will never stop bugging me that Techno gave Tommy the axe of peace specifically as a temporary thing and he wanted it back (the axe was important to Techno and he spent a lot of time on it) and then when Tommy decided to fuck Techno over by switching sides in the middle of a high tension situation (which, again, I don't blame Tommy for switching sides necessarily but doing it in the middle of an encounter with enemy forces threatening Techno was a little dickish of him), Techno asked for it back in a very calm, non-angry manner and Tommy's response was basically "lol, no". Like ??? That's just straight up theft, I don't care how much you like Tommy, that's shitty. That's a shitty thing to do! Even if it did end up giving us the peerpressureduo 'ranboo gifting techno an axe' arc that was peak

2) Tommy not really caring about what happens to Techno after switching sides. This is kinda tied into the thing I said above, about Tommy really picking the most terrible timing to betray Techno. But his general lack of care for Techno's wellbeing there - especially after Techno just promised to fight an angry mob for him - where Tommy does not at least try to dissuade them from killing Techno, or bothers to express any concern that Techno can make it out alive, also bugs me. Like, I know Tommy had a lot on his mind but him not seeming to care much if Techno is ganged up on and murdered, right after taking one of Techno's weapons AND after basically getting all his armour and shelter and potions and food from Techno, just feels like a major dick move.

I don't know what specifically the inniters are saying Techno did wrong at the Green Festival so if you know, feel free to enlighten me and I'll reply (though I'm assuming a lot of it is bollocks anyway. It's mainly some variant of 'Techno was mean to Tommy by not completely forsaking his own moral compass and agreeing with everything Tommy did ever, and also for having emotions :(')

[nanaminokanojo]

THAWING ICE QUEEN (part 12)

–one night of fooling around with the annoying campus king gojo satoru (he thinks so), turns into...well, something else more long term

CHARACTERS: gojo satoru x you | geto suguru | jjk characters

GENRE: college au | eventual smut | smau | smau + prose | everything in between | ons | fubus to lovers | aged-up characters | idk where this is going

⚠️ TW/CW: strong/mature language | 🔞 | mentions of alcohol, smoking, etc. | this will most likely have narrations | god-awful pet names | will add more if something arises

MASTERLIST | CHAPTER INDEX

<<prev part 12 next>>

NOTE: This has narration in prose.

~*~

-

-

-

Gojo Satoru was one persistent man, you gotta give him that. When he said your wish is his command, he delivered, so you don't really have any excuses to further refuse him. He took your opinion on the contract seriously, passed it by you without fail and exceeded expectations. You had the choice to stop whatever madness the two of you were cooking up, so you had that as a buffer to see how things go.

It's a very different situation for the both of you. Neither of you had been in bed with the same person twice. You thought that was convenient, spares you from that awkward phase of having to deal with the messy things that come along with commitment. But regardless of how much you and Satoru reiterate on the point of having no strings attached, it was still a form of commitment. You didn't know yet whether you liked the nature of that bond regardless if it was limited to the physical aspect.

But it was convenient. You could admit at least that. If it's just sex, then you wouldn't have to go through the motions of meeting people, getting to know them enough to say they're not psychos and establishing that mutual agreement of never seeing each other again. Satoru was familiar ground for once, and you more or less knew what to expect from him with the security of a written agreement adding to your supposed security.

Now it was a game of waiting to see who is gonna crack first, but that's a problem for future you. It's arrogant to think that there are no consequences to what you are about to involve yourself in because there will be, and you knew neither of you are stupid as to deny that. Accepting that fact is the first step. You'll deal with the mess later.

Or maybe you two were really stupid to be considering it at all. Either way, you didn't really care about the intricacies of it as much as you were annoyed over the fact that Satoru was taking away what you wanted to be a peaceful afternoon. Tolerance sure wasn't his strongest suit as expected of a rich brat who didn't know how it feels to be denied and done have the slightest understanding of the word no.

"You're gonna make me neighbors think I got into a tangle with loan sharks, Gojo," you said the moment you opened the door for him, unable to help it but ogle him. He was clad in gray sweats, a black shirt that fit him so damn well, his platinum hair mussed under a white, Balenciaga baseball cap.

He looked at you from under his cap, those gloriously blue eyes twinkling as he broke into a grin. "Well, you do owe me kisses, sweetheart."

Rolling your eyes, you cocked your head to the side, inviting him in, prompting his next comment: "I see how you're related to Sukuna when you move like that."

You chuckled. "I know how you think he was raised by brigands." You looked over your shoulder with a smirk. "You can opt out of our arrangement now."

Satoru caught up to you, blocking your way to the living room. He bent down to your height, booping you on the nose with his index finger. "Is that a roundabout way of saying you want out? You haven't even signed yet." He waved the file he was holding in front of you. "Ammended and reviewed as you've requested."

You took it, pushing past him and plopping down on the couch. You patted the space next to you as you opened the file, startled when he jumped right onto the spot, also making you bounce on the plush seat.

You momentarily glared at him but he just scooted closer, pointing at the sheaf of papers. "The things you wanted added are highlighted in yellow."

You quietly read the things he indicated, rifling through pages with your eyes. All the while, you could feel Satoru's blue orbs on you, his fingers toying with the tips of your hair. From your periphery, you could see him breaking into a soft smile, so different from his cocky, mischief-filled cheshire grins. Your planned glance turned into a sidelong stare as you whipped your head to actually look at him.

To your dismay, his expression was replaced by surprise, making that smile disappear as if it hadn't even been there in the first place.

"What?"

You shook your head, thinking you probably just imagined it. "Where do I sign?"

You made quick work of that after Satoru indicated where you were to sign, handing him the pen and also watching him do the same.

"And that's a done deal!" he declared, slapping the pen on the coffee table before twisting on his waist to look at you. "Congratulations, I'm exclusively yours."

"Thanks for saying my line for me." You shrugged, feeling the awkwardness of the situation now that your "giggle fits" about the whole contract, as Satoru had termed it, had died down. "So..."

"May I kiss you now?" he interrupted your thoughts, invading your space as he leaned forward, his eyes shifting slowly from your eyes and your lips.

You didn't fail to notice how he emphasized on asking for your permission this time instead of asking whether he was capable of it. "If you're always gonna choose your words like this..." You knocked his cap off his head with one hand while the other glided up from his shoulder to his nape. You pulled him closer, your lips just millimeters from his. "...instead of being such a tactless bastard all the time, I might actually enjoy this more."

He looked at you with hooded eyes. He wasn't one to be distracted from his goals. "So, may I, sweet cheeks?"

"Yes, you mmph –"

Satoru's plush lips were on yours in a split second, pressing gently yet the fact that he was holding back was evident in the way he gripped onto your waist as if he was trying to tether himself to you. He moved his lips against yours in languid motions as if he was testing the waters. You let him although you wondered at that knowing how hungry and all-consuming his kisses can be from experience.

You didn't dislike it, even the way he would pull away in the smallest fractions to nip at your lips before he would give them tiny kitten licks. It was enticing watching him take his time, making you reciprocate in the same small actions but mostly letting him have at it. Satoru's large hands moved from where he was keeping you steady on your arms up to the sides of your neck, his thumb brushing against your jawline.

Just then, he wrenched his eyes from intently paying attention to your lips to meet yours, blinking slowly and absently licking his lips. Satoru looked at you as if he couldn't believe you were in front of him, again breaking into that genuine smile.

"You're so pretty, sweet cheeks," he mumbled, looking absolutely out of it.

You were tempted to snort at his compliment but at the same time, you couldn't, unable to extricate yourself from the moment. This was a new side to him you're seeing for the first time. "That's one kiss today, Gojo."

At that, the spell seemed to have broken as he placed his forehead on your shoulder, chuckling. "You're keeping count?" He blindly fished for something in his pocket before taking your hand in his and pressing something onto your palm.

Before you could look and ask what it was, his lips were on yours again, less experimental this time. He licked at the seam of your mouth, pushing his tongue into it and seeking yours. You gasped when he finally found it, groaning when you responded in kind. Your ears were ringing, your head filled with nothing but the way he tasted in your mouth and the way he was possessively holding you against his taut form while his fingers drew circles on the small of your back.

And just as you were getting used to him and what he was doing to you, he pulled away, your lips parting with a wet sound. You swallowed hard, startled by the sudden loss of contact, and quite frankly, pissed off as well.

He wrapped your fingers on the thing he put in your hand, realizing it was some sort of card. As if he read your mind, he said, "Your key to my private place in the city. I'll text you the address."

With one last peck to your lips which were slightly parted from being flustered, he stood up, putting on his cap. And then he turned to look at you. "Sorry, sweetheart. I have class in half an hour with Yaga." He grinned. "Don't look so disappointed now. I'll make it up to you tomorrow."

You scoffed, also standing up as you regained composure. "Who says I am?" You shook your head, catching sight of the contract on the table. "Take those with you. I don't need Yuki or Iori finding those here."

Satoru laughed, taking your hand and twining his fingers with yours before raising it to his lips and winking at you. "See you tomorrow."

-

~*~

TAGS LIST: @arxliana @neeneee @charlie-xo @aelynaneedsalottathing @arizzu @cloudxp

© ORIGINAL WORK BY nanaminokanojo. CHARACTERS ARE INSPIRED BY GEGE AKUTAMI'S JUJUTSU KAISEN. [20230720]

PHOTO/IMAGE/GIF/FANART CREDITS TO THE RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

[salarta]

Comic Book Fandom and "Got Mine Fuck You"

There's a recurring situation I see way too often with X-Men comic book fandom. As I write this, I know what I'm saying doesn't apply to everyone, or to every fandom, or to every platform. It applies to what I've seen. And what I've seen is abysmal.

Back when the 2020 run of X-Factor happened, I saw a LOT of apologism for the way Polaris/Lorna Dane was treated on that book. Paired with trying to spin her being on the book as good for her.

"Oh hey yeah, the X of Swords issue didn't acknowledge Lorna surviving the Genoshan genocide because... uhh... it was all implied! They didn't just didn't say it explicitly."

Then when the Genoshan genocide took center stage in another comic's story arc a couple years later, with Kitty Pryde as the focus, Lorna acting like she has no history with it and just complaining about a lack of coffee gets painted as "Oh but there's only so much panel space! And they already told Lorna's story with Genosha anyway, this time they're focused on Kitty's story with it!"

Let's also not forget that during the X-Men vote, we had so, so many X-Factor fans arguing for her to lose the vote, and not get to be a mainstay on the flagship book, because "X-Factor is her book and she's getting good use there anyway." As if it would've been impossible for her to be on two books at once. Some of those fans were at least more honest about it, where they admitted the real reason they wanted her to lose is cause they thought the book would die without Lorna to exploit for other characters like Rachel.

And now, we have the current X-Factor. Where fans of Havok, Pyro, the name X-Factor, nostalgia for the 90s, etc have all insisted that forcing Lorna back into "Havok's girlfriend who acts stupid so he can be a big strong man about it" is fine actually. Perfectly cool. The sexism is satire so it's fine, everything's fine, shitty treatment of her is fine. Anything to promote Havok, or Pyro, or X-Factor, or whatever else.

Only for those same people to start crying the instant Havok and Pyro look stupid too. Because you see, they can excuse the sexism and making a woman look stupid and completely destroying her character and development to make her fit a sexist mold for their cis straight Aryan male self-insert.

But they draw the line at their woobie self-inserts looking just as dumb. Stupid and character assassination is for the womenfolk you see, not for men.

What I'm getting at is, I keep running into a brick wall called "Got Mine Fuck You" that's pervasive with too many comic book fans. And while I'm emphasizing this behavior on Lorna, it's not just her. They've also done shit like attack and badmouth another writer for daring to suggest their great golden god Writer Of The Moment could have plagiarized their work. Harassing her, changing her Wikipedia page. Because they care more about salvaging the reputation of their favorite things than about what's right.

It annoys the fuck out of me. Because in spite of all the fanfare about comics being progressive (when it's financially convenient), this is one of the big gaping dark sides.

I try not to be that guy. I can't say I don't fail, but I try to be better than these chucklefucks.

When season 1 of Gifted killed Dreamer off, I had no problem calling out how asinine and insulting their handling of her death was. I COULD have been That Asshole that tries to act like it was a genius decision, all because Polaris was being treated amazingly in season 1 and Dreamer's death could've been leveraged for Pain Points for Lorna. I didn't do that.

Secret Wars House of M also gave Quicksilver and to a lesser extent Magneto a raw deal in characterization. Even as AU characters, it hit very wrong for Pietro to be depicted as a mustache twirling traitor type when there were ways to keep him closer to his core without taking that route. Now I will admit, I had a moment of weakness with this because I loved what it was doing with Lorna. But in the end, I still recognized it was a problem.

Even with the X of Swords issue of X-Factor. There were many problems with Lorna's treatment there, but there were problems all around. Rockslide fans were very upset with it, for good reason. And Rockslide had actual people around who knew him and had closer relationships with him. Why did they get shafted, with Lorna used instead?

Fandom should really strive for better. For all characters. Not just their pet favorites. Fandom should not be eager to throw other characters, other fandoms, everything that means so much to them and resonates with them, under the bus just so their own faves can get a little benefit out of it.

Fans should not be eager to make excuses for shitty treatment just cause that shitty treatment makes their fave look good. Fans should not want to see another character's potential undermined and thrown away just cause keeping that character down allows a book they like to prosper. Fans should not be trying to make sexism out to be nothing but satire just cause they think a female character "deserves terrible characterization."

These fans try to say their fandom is great. But then they act in ways that tell the world it's not.

It would be nice if they had some fucking principles for once.

[raveneira]

Its kinda funny how ppl used the recent chapter to say it proves Sarada saved Boruto there and that we all made fun of her for nothing, when KK literally says in that timeline he saw she and Boruto BOTH were killed by Kawaki, so how does that prove her intervention saved him? KK literally says she tried to help him AND DIED

These are the same ppl who will tell you you lack reading comprehension, yet look at a panel where KK clearly says Sarada DIES when she tried to intervene and say 'See!? this proves she saved Boruto! we told you so!'

Like...how dumb can you be fr? this timeline proves what everyone was already saying, that she DID NOT SAVE HIM, infact, it was actually everyone that showed up AFTER she was about to be killed that saved him and changed his fate here, this vision literally proves that Sarada didn't do shit to change his fate, all she did was be killed right alongside Boruto if her dad and the others didn't arrive when they did.

But I shouldnt be surprised, till this day ppl still give Hinata praise for Minato's fail safe he placed a whole 15 years in advance, ppl still claim Hinata is the one who saved Naruto when it was infact Minato that did, because had Minato not have had that backup plan for this EXACT situation then Naruto would've let himself be consumed and died, taking who knows how many ppl with him.

Now their doing the same thing with Sarada, claiming her intervention is what saved Boruto's life, when it was actually everyone else arriving when they did that changed that fate, Sarada did absolutely nothing in that situation but make it go from bad to worse

But to be fair I'll be a little generous to Hinata tho, because she actually did at least TRY to do something to protect Naruto, she didn't just go there just to be in the way, she TRIED to fight Pain, she was just outmatched, she knew that and still tried to take him on and fight him back even if only for a few seconds

Sarada did nothing but bluff, for ppl who talk about 'love' makes one act irrational and thats why her running there to help Boruto is proof that her feelings for Boruto are more genuine than Sumire's who stayed behind but they conveniently forget the other part of that

Love doesnt just make you irrational, it gives you courage and strength, the desire to protect someone precious to you is when you become truly strong, remember that? because we saw it with Hinata, Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, know who we ain't see it with? Sarada, because she went there blew one fireball and then froze up TWICE when Boruto was about to die, which adds up with KK saying she was going to die there, not very hard to believe when she just stood there both times he tried to take their lives so yea, I can definitely see how that future came about.

So my point? love doesnt just make you irrational like these ppl try to simplify, its true it does make you irrational, but it also makes you brave, it makes you strong, it gives you the strength to act even in the most hopeless situation where you know there's no chance of success but you do it anyway, you TRY, succeed or fail you TRY and die trying if thats what it comes to, but the one thing you DONT do? is just stand there WAITING to die, thats the OPPOSITE of what love does.

Oh and I know the excuse 'well she was scared, this was intentional, its part of her development to realize shes weak and wanna get stronger' great argument, except that was already established in 69

We already established her recognizing her weakness, her frustration at it, her wanting to get stronger so that next time she WILL be there to protect Boruto, you'd think this would be set up for a big payoff in 78 where Boruto is in trouble again and this time Sarada's able to save him right? now we're gonna see her resolve right? this convo in 69 was setup for a big pay off here right? apparently fkin not cuz this is what we got

Ok lets be generous, it was the heat of the moment, she choked, but now shit just got real, Boruto's whole eye is sliced, she sees Kawaki is serious now, she saw Boruto get hurt because of her weakness when it came time to step up, she failed to protect Boruto AGAIN when he needed her

Now surely we'll get the payoff right? if she doesn't act now then she and Boruto will DIE, Boruto has already been badly hurt because of her weakness, surely NOW is where her resolve kicks in and she protects him for real right? nope

You really dont get goofier than this, Naruto and Sasuke had their coward moments too don't get me wrong, but the difference is THEY GOT OVER IT, they REFLECTED on their weakness and cowardice and resolved to be stronger in the future, but think about it, Sarada already reflected and resolved to be stronger and prepared in the future, so why when even the danm narrative itself set this moment up to be where Sarada shows her resolve to not be weak and protect Boruto like she wants to, why do we only see her freeze, waver, and crumble when she has the chance to act?

Because this isnt just a 78 isolated case, she does it in 79 and 80 as well

Hate to say it but its the truth, the girl lacks resolve, she talks big but when its time to back it up she folds like paper

She failed to be there for Boruto when Kawaki killed him because she didn't even know he was in danger, she was mad at herself and resolved to get stronger so that next time Boruto's in danger she'll be there to protect him

What does she do with every chance she has to do that?

She froze and cost Boruto his eye

She froze and almost let them both die

She stands there shakin Mitsuki yellin at him to listen to her instead of protecting Boruto

She falls to her knees crying after hearing Naruto was killed and completely ignores Mitsuki saying he's going to kill Boruto and going off to do just that

But surely after all of those fumbles she'll pick herself up and finally resolve to stop being weak and be there for her friend right? unfortunately not, instead we get this

Flat out confirmation that she wasnt so in shock that she didn't hear what Mitsuki said, she heard him clearly say he was going to kill Boruto and she just let him go off to do that, if Sasuke never showed up Sarada would still be sitting there crying while Boruto is being slaughtered by Mitsuki or whoever else found him.

While shes there whining and crying to her dad, Boruto is fending for himself against team 10, it doesn't matter that she managed to convince her dad to go save him, why wasn't SHE there trying to save him herself? WHY did it take Sasuke showing up for her to even move? WHY did it take Sumire telling her 'hey we're the only ones who can help Boruto right now' for Sarada to finally do something? which she didn't, she begged her DAD to do something while she stayed behind continuing to do nothing.

This is the exact same crap ppl give Sakura shit for with Naruto's promise, even tho he made the promise of his own volition, ppl dragged Sakura for putting the burden of bringing Sasuke back on Naruto instead of takin action herself.

Which leads me back to what I said about self reflection...so do you think after all of this Sarada reflected on her weakness and made moves to make sure she was never this weak and powerless again? to make sure this time she can protect Boruto with her own strength and not have to rely on her dad to resolve everything? feel even a tad bit of remorse for placing that type of burden on her dad? putting him in harms way just to protect her friend because SHES too weak to? surely she's gonna have her own version of this right?

Surely we were gonna see Sarada finally reflect and address her weakness and work to change it NOW right? after all of that? surely NOW right? nope

Know what she does? yap, and Im not even kidding, thats literally what she does.

And yaps

Freezes

Yaps some more

Hugs

Yaps about hug in her head

Still not doin nothin to stop Mitsuki

Zero reflection, zero remorse, zero accountability, and zero effort to do anything different than she was before

But yall wanna claim she saved him and everybody was wrong this whole time lol she not only didn't save him, she has consistently gone out of her way NOT to save him at any point afterwards besides sending her dad to fight her battle for her.

Sakura had an excuse, she had an obligation to not fight on the frontlines as a medical ninja, Sarada has no such obligation preventing her from taking action at any point I mentioned, she chooses to stand back, chooses to be helpless, and chooses not to protect him when shes more than able to.

And no, Im not sayin she should flat out fight Mitsuki, but why the hell is her only effort just yelling 'Mitsuki! listen to me!' over and over? why not get in front of Boruto? why not punch the ground between them to split em up? hell why not even grab Mitsuki and hold him back? you don't have to outright fight somebody to still protect, nobody is saying she should haul off and start brawling with Mitsuki, but don't just stand there yellin 'listen to me!' when you know danm well he ain't gon listen and is attacking your friend right in front of you

So yea trying to use that panel to say she saved Boruto there is laughable because it literally proves the opposite, in that timeline nobody else arrived to help them, so it was up to Sarada herself to protect Boruto and she failed, I dunno how anybody took this as a W for her, this is literally one of her biggest Ls and none of yall should be celebrating it.

[woodchipp]

"her actions have shown [how much she cares]" not being backed up by any of her actions throughout the game aside, this summary gets even funnier if you take a closer look at what kicks off the plot of One Day Left - Sunny, Kel and Hero confronting Aubrey at her house.

I have Things to say about that scene, both in terms of how it relates to Aubrey and to the game's writing in general.

Right off the bat, the game uses a milder version of "hell" right before inexplicably making Aubrey use the word itself. Something like

AUBREY: ...! AUBREY: Wh-What are you guys doing here?! AUBREY: GET THE HELL OUT OF MY ROOM!!

would've worked just as fine, in my opinion.

This game had three editors, by the way.

When pressed, the first thing Aubrey says about the incident at the lake is a straight-up lie in an attempt to diminish the severity of her wrongdoing. No, her watery eyes aren't going to convince me she's genuinely sorry.

1) Here it is again. Instead of owning up to her behavior at the very least, she continues trying to make the incident seem less severe than it actually was.

2) You "didn't mean to" push Basil into the lake even though he was obviously standing right at the edge of the pier? And you knew he was incapable of swimming? You're a fuckwad.

Accident or no accident, he was in active danger of dying. You chose to argue with Kel on the pier since that was more of a priority to you than trying to save your close friend.

And then she tries to reduce the severity of what she did for the third time! Sure, she does seem to apologize afterwards

but then immediately falls back on deflecting blame, which makes the apology come off as insincere.

Really, I would've preferred Aubrey being upfront about being a prick. Her incessant attempts to blame everyone and everything but herself for her choices don't make her complex because the game speedruns her redemption and we don't get to see her growth, which is also why said attempts become very grating after a certain point.

Aubrey isn't the only character I take issue with here, though.

1) Hero. My dude. Your own brother accused Aubrey of nearly killing another friend of yours. Aubrey confirmed said accusation. And you still dismiss it as a harmless squabble like the ones they had in their childhood days??

Either he's also stuck in his childhood mentally or he's just - and I'm not going to mince words here - a moron.

2) I love that Hero's reaction implies he still doesn't seem to take Kel seriously. You'd think he'd try to be more mindful of his little brother following that furious outburst, but nope. He still seems to view Kel as a rash little child he has to rein in.

One could argue this is meant to show that the charscters are flawed, and in a better story, I'd actually be inclined to agree. I like the idea of Hero struggling to move on from his role as the group's "dad", and I'd have liked if the story forced him to understand he can't keep playing their dad with a situation much more complicated than a "typical Kel and Aubrey fight". Likewise, Hero's perception of Kel as an impulsive, bratty kid persisting to the present day and causing friction with Kel himself would've made for an interesting conflict.

Of course, this isn't a better story, so after Kel and Aubrey's reactions, Hero's shallow peacemaking is promptly (and conveniently) forgotten when he notices the last bunch of missing photos.

Peak writing, everyone!

This game took six years and $200,000, by the way. No, I won't stop mentioning that.

My sister in Christ you are literally wearing her fucking headband. You were also given some of her other clothes, it seems.

If Aubrey's problem was about having nothing to remember Mari by, it's null and void to me because she clearly does have more than just the photos. Not only that, but this also comes off as the game trying to use Aubrey's grief as an excuse for her treatment of Basil, which is disgusting for reasons I shouldn't need to explain.

(oh, and Sunny's just Standing There. he doesn't contribute anything to the conversation at all. he could've been removed from this scene altogether and nothing of value would be lost. the main character of all time, truly)

[worriedvision]

can you make an angst (to fluff maybe?) where its kinda like 'right person wrong time,' with cyno and tighnari? basically, reader is inlove with cyno, and cyno loves them back dearly but the thing is hes so caught up with his mahamatra work that he doesnt have any time for reader.

i dont know how to continue it any further lmfao 😥 but its like tighnari is the saviour when really cyno had no intention on hurting reader :D

Gender neutral reader, angst with no fluff ending. I was gonna do a fluff ending, but when I was writing this I figured why not hurt everyone involved lmao.

--

"Cyno - oh, I mean General Mahamatra - would you like to play a game of cards with me?" You ask. Truthfully, you were trying to get good at the game so you had an excuse to spend more time with him.

"Of course." Cyno nods. "I have time for a round."

Of course, he had work to do. You knew that, and based on his gameplay for this round he clearly didn't have enough time to truly enjoy the game. To you, you thought he didn't feel comfortable around you. Perhaps he agreed to this game so he could avoid you right after the game, as more often than not, work conveniently reared its head. He always ran off for an emergency, you not getting the chance to have a conversation.

Your heart was very fond of Cyno, you knew this since Tighnari introduced you to him. You were...not that good at playing card games, but Cyno seemed to enjoy your company. Well, you weren't sure but Tighnari always reassured you that Cyno enjoyed your games. Tighnari also taught you strategies that would help you, which ultimately gave you the ammunition to have Cynos attention for longer.

However, every time Tighnari reassured you that Cyno enjoyed your company, it grew to be less convincing to you. Tighnari looked rather conflicted when you asked him if Cyno was just being nice. Since you admitted your feelings (coincidentally the same time that Cyno had told Tighnari he had feelings for you), Cyno seemed to always have his work as a priority over you.

Of course, he was in a high position where he had to prioritise work, but you doubted whether he enjoyed your company when this started to happen more frequently after you told Tighnari about your feelings. Maybe Tighnari had asked Cyno if he had the same feelings, and he must have felt uncomfortable at the discovery.

"... Tighnari?" You ask, him setting up his cards for another round. "Should I move on from Cyno?"

"And why would you do this?" Tighnari responds, not looking up at you.

"...I think I've made Cyno uncomfortable." You state. "He doesn't even talk when we're playing a round. I try to start a conversation, but he focuses on his cards - more so than usual."

"Hmm..." Tighnari hesitates, looking at you as he realises the situation forming. "Have you tried asking him about how he feels?"

"Well, I try. Every time I do, however, he always runs away without a single word. He doesn't acknowledge this either at our next meeting."

Tighnari hides his frustration at Cynos ability to send the entirely wrong signal. Cyno, usually, could say a sentence or two while rolling dice or waiting for his turn.

You take Tighnaris silence for an answer.

"I know, his actions make it obvious." You tut, looking at your cards. "Let's just get this session started."

--

Lately, Cyno had been feeling odd.

You hadn't been around when you usually were. He attempted to find you sometimes, hoping to play his game of cards with you to spend more time with you. Unfortunately, each time he couldn't find you.

One day, Tighnari was in the spot you usually were. He looks up, waving Cyno over to start a discussion regarding you.

"So, have you tried to talk to them about your feelings?" Tighnari raises, already knowing the answer because of your concerns.

"Not yet. Each time I gain the courage, work always gets in the way." Cyno explains.

"That sounds like an excuse." Tighnari sighs. "Look, they got the idea that they made you uncomfortable, and you were too shy to voice your concerns. I have tried my best to tell them you enjoy their company, however it seems these words of encouragement are not enough."

"...Could you tell me where they are?" Cyno asks.

"Unfortunately, I have not been able to contact them."

[demonic0angel]

Chapter 4 of Ghost Games is out!

(Please start subscribing, I'll stop posting chapters on tumblr after the first arc)

Sparrow lead them to the students. And sure enough, they spotted a trio of students, two boys and a girl, that were sneaking into the fine arts building.

They followed them into the building and then into a classroom, where one student immediately sank to his knees and began sobbing.

"Stop crying!" The girl snapped. "You're so fucking annoying!" She paced around the room, her hands anxiously twisting together.

The last boy looked exhausted and he rubbed his hands against his eyes. "We've been here every day for the past week, but we still haven't found any solutions! What are we going to do?"

"I don't know!" The girl screamed. "It's because of that bitch Brittany that we're in this situation! If she hadn't been bullying that stupid—"

The boy's eyes widened. "Shh!" He looked left and right, as if worried that something would pop out from the shadows to lunge at him. "You can't just say that."

"I can say what I want!" The girl snapped, but her hands clenched and she grit her teeth in silence after that. Clearly, she was aware of the consequences. The two of them ignored the last boy on the ground and as they kept silent in their own thoughts, Robin took the time to look around the space they were in. Sparrow and Nightingale were intently staring at the three students in a lone classroom.

The fine arts building was grandly built, but like the rest of the school, oddly built. It was placed away from the dorms and main building, making it inconvenient to enter and exit. There were hardly any windows and the walls looked gray and the floors were tiled with blue squares.

In essence, it looked like a prison.

Robin finished making his observations when the one coherent guy spoke again. "We have to find a way to say sorry. That's the only way we'll survive."

The boy on the floor sobbed again. He began to mutter, "It's our fault... it's our fault... it's our fault..."

The girl shuddered and said sternly, "How is it our fault!? It's her fault for falling for Brittany's schemes! It's not our fault that she died!"

"Shhh! Shhhh!!" The coherent boy shushed her again. "Can you keep your voice down?! What if we're heard??"

The girl shuddered again and her mask of pride and indifferent rage broke. She began tearing up and said, "I don't want to die..."

"Should've thought of that before you bullied her." The coherent boy also peeled back his mask and he angrily crossed his arms.

"You did too!" The girl said, but then she sank to her knees and cried.

After that, the pair continued crying and the other boy stood in sullen silence until they all calmed down and left without further conversation.

Robin watched them leave in separate directions before he said, "It feels awfully convenient for them to give us all of that information."

While Sparrow asked, "What information?", Nightingale sighed.

"Well, they did say it was a scenario. Perhaps it plays out like a movie or a game. We just have to trigger the right thing to collect information."

Robin felt like that was reasonable. "Who should we talk to, first?"

Sparrow looked confused about what they were talking about before, but he answered, "Definitely not the crying one. I vote for the girl."

Nightingale nodded. "Me too."

Robin agreed and they set off after the girl. It didn't take long to find her, especially because she was staggering in exhaustion. The three following her shared a glance and then both Sparrow and Robin signaled Nightingale to approach her.

Nightingale's expression was full of exasperation but she still did as they asked and made her steps audible.

It was very convenient to have teammates just like them.

"Excuse me," Nightingale called sweetly. "I'm a little lost, can you help me find my class?"

The girl froze and then she bolted into a run. Nightingale stared at her, baffled for only a moment before she moved even quicker and lunged forward to capture her. There was a bit of tussling and by the time Robin and Sparrow moved forward, Nightingale had the girl in a locked position with her arms behind her back.

The girl struggled and cried. "Let me go! Let me go! You'll regret this, you bitch!" She screamed more profanities until her cries stuttered into a hiccup the moment she saw Robin and Sparrow.

She blinked and stared at Robin with wide, frightened eyes. "W-Why are you wearing a mask?"

Robin blinked and tilted his head. "You're not going to say anything to him?" He pointed to Sparrow, who squawked.

"Wow, thanks a lot." Sparrow huffed, jokingly pretending to be angry.

Robin wasn't purposely trying to pick a fight, he was observing the girl's reaction. While she stared at Robin with bafflement and fear, her reaction to Sparrow, the strangest person amongst them, was normal. Her reaction to Robin was not because of his appearance or looks. It was because of the mask, which had been attached to his person.

Robin knew he could take it off, because he had done so in the bathroom last night. But it was odd that she didn't react to Sparrow.

Did that mean that the NPCs within the scenario learned to think of the players as "normal"?

Were NPCs truly real like what the man earlier today had implied? If so, how powerful were these "scenarios" that could place them in different worlds and influence these people?

Robin didn't say anything about his thoughts. He crouched down to look at the girl's face and said, "Hello. We'd like for you to answer some questions."

"Go away! Fuck you! Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you—"

"If you don't obey, I'll tie you up and leave you to face the ghost."

The girl hiccuped and then began to cry.

"Ancients," Sparrow muttered from behind him. "Could you be any less harsh?"

Robin knew that there was a need for a bad cop and a good cop in these scenarios. The girl was only a teenager, after all, so it wouldn't take much to coax answers out of her.

Thankfully, Nightingale didn't need his directing to let her hold on the girl loosen as she said, "It's okay. We only have a few questions. If you can answer sufficiently, then maybe we can even save you."

The girl hiccuped again and then said slowly, "For real?"

"Yep. Robin is very strong. So is Sparrow."

Robin smiled a little but it was quickly wiped away as the girl looked at Robin with pitiful eyes. "If you tell us what we need, we can help you too."

The girl sniffled and then nodded. Nightingale let her go and fussed over her for a bit, while Sparrow walked in circles around them. Robin wondered if he was nervous, but after a moment, he realized that Sparrow was just guarding them.

Extremely cute.

Robin wondered if this was what a big brother felt like when he saw his little brother work hard.

Nightingale looked at Robin expectantly and he felt an even stronger sense of protection and pride. Both Nightingale and Sparrow, despite having only known him for less than 2 days, trusted him so much that it made him swell with pride.

Robin turned to the girl and asked, "What did you do that caused those deaths?"

The girl's eyes widened. "I-I-I didn't do anything! It was Brittany who did it!"

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Isn't she dead?"

Her face fell. Nightingale soothed her, "Just be honest. Robin doesn't bite."

The girl shivered and said, "They-They bullied her and now... now she's getting revenge!"

"Who's she?" Robin asked impatiently.

The girl shuddered. "Her name is Marina Moreno. She... she was poor, so everybody just wanted to tease her a little... it really wasn't my fault! Who knew that she would die! It's her fault for making Brittany jealous! Oleander should've just fallen in love with her and leave us alone! Now we're all going to die because of them!"

Clearly, this situation didn't have a "little teasing" if it somehow resulted in a ghost that came back to haunt the school. Robin and Sparrow shared a dry look, unable to handle just how hypocritical this girl was, especially as she began rambling about other names.

"What happened? Tell it clearly." Robin said sternly.

The girl cried a few more tears before she said, "I don't know for sure. Marina just died one day and Brittany said she committed suicide! I don't know, I don't know..." she broke down at this point.

No matter what Robin asked her anymore, she wouldn't answer, only sobbing and crying like he was sticking knives into her.

Robin growled and rubbed his temples. "She's useless. That hardly gave us anything!"

"At least we know the ghost is Marina?" Nightingale offered, patting the girl's back.

Sparrow shook his head. "I don't think it's that simple."

Robin gave him a glance. "Is it intuition?"

Sparrow shrugged. "Sure, if you wanna call it that."

Robin stared at him and Sparrow stared back. Robin sighed and put his doubts away, taking away his gaze as well.

He wasn't cut out for this. He didn't teach him anything about ghosts.

Robin shoved those thoughts away as well. Who on earth was he talking about?

They let the girl go, but before she left, Robin asked her one more thing. "Who were the other two with you just a few moments ago?"

The girl hesitated and for once, gave a complete answer, "T-They're the last surviving members of the 2-B class.... The police said that everyone else died from accidents, but we know the truth. We're probably next so we had to meet up to discuss things."

Then she scurried away.

Robin sighed. "So what do we think?"

"I think we should wait and observe Marina at night. There was probably a reason why she attacked one of the players last night. She's probably on the hunt and I think we can catch her in the act tonight." Sparrow said.

Nightingale tilted her head and said worriedly, "Are we meeting up tonight?"

Robin smiled. "Can you do it?" After all, she was stationed in the girls' dormitory.

Nightingale looked away and then nodded. "I'll try my best."

"I believe in you. Don't get caught," Robin said, and they all shared a smile.

Tonight, they would find Marina and hopefully solve the mystery.

————

At night, Robin and Sparrow were able to successfully sneak away. The two of them snuck away together, able to dodge the hallway monitor before they raced to the place under the stairs. Nightingale was already there, crouched underneath. She straightened when she saw them and whisper-shouted, "I'm here!"

Robin approached her and said to the other two, "We should make some sort of signal that only we know."

Sparrow grinned, his eyes glowing faintly in the darkness. "We should make bird calls."

"You're stealing my thing," Robin complained in a pretending manner, "I'm supposed to be the only bird here."

"Too late," both Sparrow and Nightingale said in unison before grinning at each other. Robin rolled his eyes good-naturedly but didn't say anything.

Robin finally shut down the antics and said, "We have to make a plan. We have to find Marina and find a way to capture her."

"Do we need to, though? Wasn't the instructions to just solve the mystery?"

"I don't think we can find any more clues unless we hear it from Marina herself." Robin said. "I searched through the computers and you went through the archives in the library. We were stopped several times. Also, I observed the students at lunch yesterday and eavesdropped on the other players when they asked around. It seems as though only specific students trigger the information needed to know Marina."

Both Nightingale and Sparrow shared a glance and then stared at him.

A little affronted, Robin said, "What?"

"Nothing, you're just a little freaky." Sparrow said honestly.

Robin huffed and ignored it as he said, "So we need a plan. To be honest, I'm not sure how to capture a ghost. It's getting close to 12 and we need to make a plan."

Using the hint that told them that 12-3 AM was dangerous, they had assumed that it meant that Marina would try to attack them at that time, so both Robin and Sparrow had left at 11. Of course, they had to dodge the hallway monitor, but at least they had arrived safely to Nightingale.

With that, they took off in hopes of finding Marina. "She's targeting 2-B, so we can assume that she has a vendetta against them and they probably bullied her." Robin said. "Therefore, I think she'll target one of the surviving students and probably avoid us unless necessary."

Sparrow tilted his head. The three were sneaking back to the dorms, specifically the male dormitory.

The plan was to find Marina, stop her, and then capture her for information. Robin didn't think it would be too hard, but clearly, he was hoping for too much when he didn't even have memories.

The moment they arrived, other bus passengers seemed to have had the same idea and was sneaking out. Robin even saw the man they met yesterday morning.

But instead of a calm, quiet scene where Robin and his friends could go and search for Marina, the other male bus passengers were hurriedly dodging a black shadow.

The shadow gave a low, long groan and it darted forward, pencils and scissors and pens floating in the air around it. It sent the school supplies forward like arrows, piercing through the ground and floors and even people.

Several people died at once with a wretched scream.

Blood splattered across the floors and Robin hurriedly put his arms out to protect Nightingale and Sparrow.

And with the screams, the hallway monitor appeared with a wide, toothy smile.

"Students!" He snarled, smacking his club onto his hand. "Students out of bed! Students out of bed!"

"Run!" Robin hissed and the three of them swiftly turned around and fled. Robin searched himself futilely for a weapon, but found none. He had expected it because he had looked in his own pockets before, but he had never been so frustrated with his lack of weapons.

In the chaos, as people started to flee, the shadow had disappeared when the hallway monitor came.

Robin had kept an eye on the shadow but when he lost her, he said to Nightingale and Sparrow, "Marina disappeared!"

Sparrow shook his head and pointed, "No, they're going back to the dorms. I think they're still hunting for the 2-B boys."

Robin hesitated for only a second before deciding to trust him. He turned around and then ran towards the hallway monitor who was blocking the hallway.

Seeing students actually approach him instead of fleeing, the hallway monitor was confused for only a moment before a sick grin covered his face. He swung his bat but in that moment, Robin made a jump, used his foot to stomp onto the bat that was swinging in his direction, and then flipped over the hallway monitor's head. He turned, only to see Nightingale and Sparrow do the same, with Sparrow nimbly jumping over and Nightingale completing a flip.

The hallway monitor was shocked, but in that moment, he heard a loud curse from another bus passenger so he ignored the three going back to the dorms to chase the others.

Robin gave a deep sigh of relief.

"I wonder why nobody else thought of flipping over him." He said and Sparrow shrugged.

"Skill issue."

Robin smiled and Nightingale sighed as the two started to snicker.

The three of them caught their breath for only a moment and then moved on.

Robin lead the way at first, but unexpectedly, Sparrow took the lead after awhile. Robin stared at Sparrow's small back as he lead them confidently through the dark.

Did he have night vision? Sparrow was definitely not human, though his pointed ears and white hair probably should've revealed something.

In the midst of traveling through the halls, Sparrow suddenly paused and said, "I hear something." A foggy breath escaped his mouth.

Robin heard it too.

It was the sound of something dull and wet being hit over and over.

Or...

It was the sound of someone stabbing flesh.

Goosebumps rose over Robin's skin and he pulled Sparrow back. "Where?" He asked.

Sparrow took his hand and pointed him in the direction. It was one of the closed doors that that filled the hallway, evidently a dormitory for one of the NPC students.

Robin hesitated before Nightingale whispered, "Are we going to go in?"

Robin was afraid that he would lead them into danger, but he felt that with their capabilities, they would at least be able to run away successfully. If worse came to worst, they would run to the hallway monitor, make him chase off Marina, and then fight the monitor themselves.

So with that plan, he unhesitatingly kicked down the door.

Sure enough, Marina was stabbing a student to death. The student was the one who was crying yesterday, and he had a hole in his stomach and tears in his wide, empty eyes, clearly long dead. Guts laid scattered around him. Blood pooled underneath his body and splattered everywhere, as if someone dropped a paint can. Even the ceilings dripped blood, covered in intestines and gore.

The smell of blood immediately assaulted their noses, making them all step back.

Marina held a pen in her fingers and she paused the moment she heard the door open before she turned. Looking at her closely, her form was a shadowy humanoid being, and her eyes glowed a bright, furious red.

She screeched and then darted towards them.

Robin suddenly realized the flaw in his plan.

How does one capture a ghost?

"Run!!" Robin shouted and they all scrambled away.

He could hear Marina crash into a wall from her attempt to grab them and she howled furiously before flying towards them with increasing speed.

Robin didn't turn around and they fled the dormitories to the hallways of the school. He went to immediately find the hallway monitor, but unexpectedly, he was nowhere to be found. In fact, he couldn't find anyone else, not even another bus passenger.

Robin could only continue to run. By the time he was skirting edges of the wall in the hallways' twists and turns, and madly dodging flying school supplies, he realized that they were missing someone.

Only Sparrow was with him.

"Where's Nightingale?!" Robin shouted.

Sparrow boggled at him, shocked and then blurted out, "Fiddlesticks! We lost her!"

Sparrow trying to curse but also not being able to use said curse word was particularly adorable, but Robin couldn't find the time to stop and laugh at the cuteness because he was currently being chased by a shadowy ghost.

The two of them dodged another set of scissors. The scissors impaled themselves through the ground and Robin knew that Marina was getting more agitated as they kept dodging and running away.

He took Sparrow's hand and threw him up onto the lockers. Sparrow was startlingly light and Robin only had a moment to marvel how he easily did a flip in midair and landed exactly on top of the lockers before he had to turn his head, dodging a pencil that flew past his eyes and cracked a part of the lockers. Sparrow took off running and Robin escaped in the opposite direction, knowing that he could trust him to survive.

"Find Nightingale!"

"Got it!"

Robin had a general idea of where they should be going, so he ran off in that direction. He could somehow sense that the ghost had left him, because the chill that accompanied it was gone, allowing Robin to feel his fingers again.

But that only meant that Marina was after Sparrow now.

He grit his teeth and continued running, scanning the halls for any trace of Nightingale. She was tall and had bright red hair, so obviously, she should've been at least faintly visible in the darkly colored school, but the few windows that were built barely provided enough light for Robin to see and maneuver around. It had only been his memory from the tour that allowed him to escape from Marina.

Where was she?!

Panic had begun to set in, but in that moment, he spotted a black and white figure running towards him with a black mass quickly chasing after.

Had Sparrow already made a complete turn and found him? How fast was he?!

Robin immediately turned around and sprinted. He could hear the censored cursing from behind him and as he heard a whiz coming near him, he turned his head again and avoided the sharp edge of a box cutter.

Sparrow had caught up to him in that moment and the two of them began another chase, weaving through the hallways. They didn't see anyone else and even the hallway monitor hadn't heard or found them, despite the loud noises and crashes of the school supplies that smashed into the floors and walls around them.

Robin, anxious, pulled Sparrow's arm and hissed through panting breaths, "Do you know a way to capture her?"

Sparrow hesitated and the two of them pulled apart to dodge a large desk that crashed into the locker and dented it so badly that it directly pushed a hole into the wall. They rejoined in an instant and continued running, ignoring the murderous screams behind them.

It was probably only thanks to their speed, agility, and endurance that allowed them to survive this far.

Sparrow opened his mouth to speak and Robin took a glance at him, but suddenly, the air chilled to a frightening degree.

The two of them paused and then looked back. Marina had frozen in place before she darted away.

Robin skittered to a halt and said, "What the...? Why'd she stop chasing us?"

Sparrow shivered. "They’re gone. I don't know why but they stopped."

"Nightingale!" Robin said urgently. "We ran through the whole school but we haven't found her!"

"We didn't run through the whole school," Sparrow said, sounding like he was trying to be calm. "We were in a ghost wall. I'm surprised that the ghost didn't catch us sooner."

"Ghost wall?" Robin echoed, wondering how Sparrow seemed to instinctively understand and know what Marina was doing, when they suddenly spotted Nightingale running towards them.

Robin was too shocked when he first saw her so he didn’t react as she approached them, her composure momentarily lost into nervousness. Sparrow, trusting and completely naive from tricks, ran forward to hug her.

The moment Nightingale relaxed and hugged him back, Robin felt sure enough and approached her as well.

Robin clutched Nightingale's arm and as she shuddered, he slowly brought her forward for a hug, Sparrow sandwiched between them. "Are you alright?"

Even Sparrow looked worried, nervously fluttering around them with his anxious movements.

She continued to pant slightly from the exertion and then said, "I found something."

Robin blinked and pulled her back. "What did you find?"

She smiled wryly. "A body. Quick, let's get back to the place under the stairs."

|||||||||||||||||

Mystery makes me tired... I make too many big brain plots

[lollytea]

Adding to the Neverland idea where she transforms to her human size in his hand, but Hunter's strong and readjusts to still be holding her one handed. What if she appears full sized while she's in a sitting position and and she says "You know you're technically grabbing my butt now, right?" And that flusters Hunter enough to lose focus and drop her, only for her to land right on top of him and he's about to die of embarrassment.

ASGVSJNDK THESE ARE THE SILLY SHENANIGANS IM LOOKING FOR

She got nervous!! And she blurted out the first thought that sprung to mind which happened to be "You're touching my butt yknow"

He yelps, immediately scrabbles to get his hands off her butt, which just makes him let go of her entirely. But Willow, also operating on instinct, squeaks and throws her arms and legs around him before she falls and hurts herself, which results in him losing his balance and they both topple to the floor.

Hunter fucking plummeted to the cold hard floor and it hurt like a motherfucker but he is not thinking about that right now because there is now the weight of an utterly ethereal looking teenage girl pressing down against his chest. Hello?? Excuse me?? This man had never touched a pretty girl in his life. So touching Willow is like a guy who's never swam before getting tossed into the deep end. It is taking every bit of his will not to just. Faint.

Meanwhile Willow is still a little stunned. She's sometimes a bit playfully flirty with him but this is a very different experience. She's never laid on top of a boy's chest before. Especially not this boy. This is the first time she's ever been this close to him while in human form and its a lot. A lot more than she was expecting. There was Something about the difference in size between a human and fairy that created a comfortable detachment in the physical department.

That strange floppy strand of hair was more like a thick rope that she had to take in both her hands to yank on. Now it's so much more manageable, brushing across his forehead and it would be so easy to teasingly twirl it around her forefinger.

That sharply carved face of his, now staining a flowery red, the perfect size to press the palm of her hand against.

Before, if she had ever gotten up in his personal space, disobediently perching on the bridge of his nose, his eyes were too large and too close to appreciate in detail. Like being engulfed in a depthless sheet of rich colour. But now she can see those eyes in the way they're supposed to be seen. Blown wide, glinting in shock and awe, a strikingly burning hue in his irises.

He's prettier like this. Prettier when he's so....holdable....touchable...like he was crafted to be pressed against her chest, squeezed in her arms.

That's when he asks, uncharacateristically meek in tone, "Can you turn back to normal?"

"This is normal," Willow answers. "This is me too."

"Oh," He answers shakily and she wonders why he seems so scared.

Maybe...

"What's wrong, pirate?" She asks, getting a little daring now. She abandons her half-hearted attempt to climb off him and instead melts back against his chest. "Too heavy?"

"No," Some of his bite returns, though his face hasn't stopped flowering. If anything, Spring was in bloom.

"Then what's the problem?" She tries not to think too deeply about just how strong the body she's laying on is. She'll get distracted. "You love to complain about how annoying it is that I'm so small. Makes me hard to catch. Makes me a menace."

The temptation works in her favour in this case, as taking that silly strand of hair between her fingers is exactly what she should do in this situation. It drives him crazy. She can tell from how he wriggles. "Is this not more convenient for you?"

He has made no attempt to push her off. Strange, considering he's so ✨️big and strong.✨️

The pirate finally mutters in an unreadable tone. "No matter what you do, you'll never be convenient, fairy."

[zahri-melitor]

Christmas with the Super-Heroes #2

This is an issue of all-new stories, meaning I finally get away from TT Christmas Carol. And fascinatingly, this set are actually all quite reflective and less relentlessly cheerful and madcap than your average Christmas story. I highly recommend, even though there are no Real Santas in this set.

Superman: Ex-Machina – honestly this story was gentle as it sat with the pain inside it, and the silences, and what people don’t want to discuss. It’s more powerful in the way both Superman and the main character don’t want to spell out their situations more than necessary.

Batman: And in the Depths – another story about grief, revolving around the Cave and those who enter it. I really really like this, as the text helps, but it also works as a story of pictures. Also love a robin (bird) in front of Jason’s memorial case moment.

Wonder Woman: Gifts – Christmas at the Kapatelis', with Diana and one of Julia's good friends, Pastor Sharon Jackson. It's a very ecumenical comic, discussing the foundations of belief and service in the face of abandonment and despair, but it also has this amazingly adorable panel with Diana in an apron working out how cookie cutters work.

Enemy Ace: Silent Night – a proper no-text comic! This one is set during Christmas 1916 at an Allied hospital somewhere in Europe. They're out of supplies and a German war ace lands his plane and delivers a parcel of food for Christmas dinner. He's both thanked and threatened by various staff and patients of the hospital. It's very The 1914 Christmas Truce. (Excuse me I need to go play What's a Few Men by Hunters & Collectors a few times)

The Flash and Green Lantern: An Old-Fashioned Christmas – this is a flashback Barry and Hal comic, heads up, despite the date of the special. And yes, it's a comic where Ollie gives Hal Das Kapital (spelt Das Capital apparently in the DCU).

After Monitor Duty Barry and Hal go to visit a town that seems very depressed at the thought of Christmas as it's 'not like it used to be' and nobody believes in Santa. They run into C.B. Fenster "one of the richest men on Earth" who just wants a good Christmas and for someone to prove for him Santa exists. Hal and Barry decide to do this... by getting Fenster to dress up as Santa and setting up a sleigh to go and deliver presents to various households!

Yes. Amazing picture isn't it.

The first few deliveries don't go too well for Fenster, but then he comes across a woman struggling to put the kids bikes together on Christmas Eve. Her husband ordered them and then conveniently died 6 months ago, causing every parent's favourite holiday game "build the big present out of sight of the kids". Fenster helps and feels pretty good about it. From then on he comes across a bunch of other people who really just need someone to lend a hand and some time.

And Fenster, Barry and Hal reach the moral that often, people just want someone who cares and who cares to listen.

Deadman: Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot – Boston apparently likes to jump into the biggest rich bastard's body he can find right before Christmas and use their money to buy Christmas presents for people and do some good deeds. Honestly, that tracks.

Then he steals someone else's Christmas party by riding them the whole time (as he's feeling lonely).

Then Boston runs into pre-Crisis Kara Zor-El, looking VERY cute.

Boston discusses his feelings of loneliness with Kara, and she delivers a few home truths about being a hero:

"We do it because it needs to be done. Because if we don't, no one else will. And we do it even if no one knows what we've done. Even if no one knows we exist. Even if no one remembers we ever existed." "Yeah. I guess we do. Look, don't mind me. I'm just a putz sometimes, you know?" "No, You're only human. You are still human, Boston. Don't be ashamed of it; Rejoice in it. Because it means your spirit -- as flawed or selfish as our spirits can sometimes be -- is still alive."

And then she's like "Surprise! I'm Kara!" to make it clear for the audience. Boston of course does not recognise her, because COIE.

(You shoulda gone and talked to Psycho Pirate instead, Kara, and gotten recognised then)

[retrosofa]

I finished the second season of Dead Like Me as well as the follow-up film. The second season was fine, not as good as the first but still alright. I feel like behind the scenes drama and lack of direction were to blame. Aside from George, the character development for the Reapers felt misguided.

Mason and Daisy were the worst offenders. The series premiere has Mason celebrating his sobriety, which doesn't actually change things? He spends the entire episode being the same selfish idiot he always is. At the end of it he goes back to drinking. He then remains a fuck-up the entire season, the only difference being that everyone is pretty sick of it. Things kind of turn around at the tail-end but overall, his character arc was not very thought out.

I don't know what the hell they were thinking with Daisy. She spends half of the season pursuing Catholicism after she's smitten by a dead women's crucifix. Daisy, who has been dead for over 60 years, apparently never stumbled upon a cross before. Sure. After her little religious stunt, she gets upset when one of her marks is murdered by an abusive lover. Daisy can't deal with the situation, leaves the soul behind for Roxy to take care, briefly mentions she used to have a sister (I suppose implying her sister was killed by an abusive man?), and then starts dating an abusive TV producer in the next episode?? What??! EXCUSE ME?

And then there's Roxy and Rube, both of whom barely get any screen time this season. Roxy becomes a cop, which ends up just becoming a convenient plot device a couple of times. She doesn't have any story arcs or anything of her own, which is a damn shame. Roxy gets more screen time this season but she still gets shafted for Mason and Daisy. I can't tell if it's because of racism or Jasmine Guy having scheduling conflicts. Whatever the reason, she deserved much more.

Rube is reduced to a secondary role. He has his own arc this season, which is extremely heartwarming. While I like the story line they wrote up for Rube, it does feel a bit out of left-field. It also felt like him and George barely had any meaningful scenes together.

A few interesting things happen this season which bring up more questions than answers. We see two different instances of a reaper killing someone. Roxy shoots one of Mason's reaps, which surprises even herself. Since the victim was scheduled to die, it was fine. However, later on Mason kills Daisy's boyfriend, Ray in "self-defense." His death wasn't scheduled and his soul turns into a graveling, which haunts Daisy. The Ray-graveling subplot raises a lot of questions that don't get any solid answers. You would think Ray turned into a graveling because his death wasn't scheduled but he causes an unscheduled death at one point and Daisy is able to pop the man's soul out without any issues. So maybe he turned into a graveling because he was a bad person? I don't know. Ray is ultimately "destroyed" when George reaps him. This is never explored upon or explained as it happens right before the last episode.

As always, George was a lot of fun to watch. She's not as sloppy as the last season. She's gotten more comfortable with her undead life but is still a bit rebellious. This time around she's smarter about her decisions. In the first season she was constantly searching for loopholes and ways of escaping her fate. This season, she's owning it. We also get to see her dabble in romance and have a few nice scenes with Delores.

The last episode takes place on Halloween and doesn't offer a real conclusion but works fine. Most of the loose ends are tied up. I feel like even if this show didn't get canceled, it wouldn't have had a definitive conclusion. Although I wish it would've gotten another season or two, I think the ending is fine. I didn't feel cheated or anything. Overall, the TV series was pretty solid.

As for the movie...

Not sure if I mentioned this before or not but when DLM got canceled back in the early 2000's, I pretty much lost all interest in it. Nobody else I knew watched it and I was getting more into anime around that time. Years later MGM released a follow-up movie, which I remember hearing about but never bothered to watch until now.

It's bad. Like really bad.

There are hundreds of reviews online that will back me up on this. There are many reasons why the movie is bad but the biggest one for me is that it doesn't feel like Dead Like Me. I suppose since it's a "movie", they wanted to do something a little different but it's just a whole other beast. It also dismisses a lot of key "rules" established in the TV series, which I suppose was an intentional choice? It's just weird.

I also don't understand why they even bothered... the show had been canceled for years, two of the key actors couldn't come back, and the film doesn't answer any of the burning questions from the TV show. It's almost completely a waste of time.

On the bright side, we see that Joy has gotten a better handle on things and has seemingly moved on. Reggie gets some proper closure. The movie ends with the implication that George will take over Rube's role, which is fitting I suppose.

Overall, I'd recommend the show but would advise avoiding the film unless you're absolutely curious.