#like literally ANY other option would've been better

[comma-tose]

Borderlands really has a common theme of dad's doing something insanely stupid that they believe is for the benefit of their children, only for it to really screw up their kids lives.

Sure it doesn't have it in EVERY game but it's common enough for it to be a pattern.

You got the obvious one of Jack imprisoning Angel because she can't control her powers, with him believing it's the right thing to do while it very obviously isn't (especially once he started y'know using her as a battery), leading to her betraying him and sacrificing herself to help stop him.

Then you got the Calypso twins being kept on an isolated planet by Typhon DeLeon, because he believed it was the only way to keep them safe despite them feeling like they were being imprisoned, leading them to go full cult leader and go try to take what they believed was "rightfully theirs", which ultimately lead to their deaths.

And then you have Felix betraying Fiona and Sasha, stealing the ten million dollars from them, believing that it would get Hyperion and Vallory to lose interest in the girls and go after him instead, which ultimately lead to them being chased across Pandora by bounty hunters and putting them in life threatening danger.

Also all three of them die (Felix's death being dependent on the players choice), with their deaths at the very least being indirectly caused by their daughter, as an act of revenge for their mistreatment. Angel helping the Crimson Raiders leading to Jack's death, Tyreen killing Typhon with her powers, and Fiona being able to shoot Felix and let him explode along with the money.

...So what I'm saying is maybe it's time for some of the fathers in borderlands to get some mandatory parenting classes.

[dbphantom]

Hate having adhd went to go work on my fallout modpack, got distracted while going to disable the steam overlay, ended up in the points shop, went to go edit my profile, decided to change my pfp, found a buried folder I forgot existed, found some old Veneer art I forgot existed, spent 45 minutes looking at all the old photos, STILL HAVE NOT TOGGLED ONE SIMPLE OPTION THAT SHOULD'VE TAKEN 30 SECONDS AT MOST

[someguyinc]

yknow a take on morgana pendragon's story i see often is that if merlin had told morgana about his magic in that moment where they were in his chambers alone that she wouldn't have turned to become evil,, i disagree,, i think that morgana as a character would have eventually turned to become evil and bitter even with merlin as a mentor if she'd learned his secret early in season 2.

let's not forget merlin himself is NOT the most stable of mentor options (not that gaius or kilgahrah or ANY of the druids were a great help either) but he didn't know what the fuck he was doing,, just trying his best consulting that outdated spell book and had cryptic messages from a conniving dragon who MIND YOU still wanted morgana dead and was manipulating merlin the whole time and gaius was a traitor to most magic people like,, he literally was pro-gaslight morgana

merlin also loved arthur, however you view that love (romantic, platonic, brotherly, whatever) merlin loved arthur more than he did magic. we see this multiple times with merlin choosing what kept arthur safe and happy over him doing what would be best for the old religion (fuck them too but that's another post),, major example being the episode with the disir where he straight up tells him there is no place for magic in camelot (which is crazy considering he IS magic made flesh but anyways)

morgana HATED. uther, she hated everything about him and for awhile she disgusted that hate as righteous fury, raining down terror and pain onto innocents (even other magic users) and justifying it as payback. she hated arthur as an extension of uther because that's what uther raised them both as (again another post for another time) and tried to kill him without even asking what his stance was on magic (i believe arthur would have immediately done some introspection and realized he was wrong but thats imo)

i think that eventually,, their two stances would have come to blows (merlin's love for arthur above his magic/morgana's hatred for uther above all else) and morgana would still go to immeasurable heights to murder uther once more, merlin would have stopped her (or tried) because he knew the pain it would cause arthur even if he hated uther too, and morgana would've hated merlin for getting in her way,, her anger triumphing her love for arthur (see: s1ep12: to kill the king)

i feel like often times i just see morgana painted as someone who just needed a little love and light,, when in reality she's been heavily abused and pit against arthur since she was like 10/11 (however old she came to Camelot) and is now a grown woman who is realizing she hates her abuser and everything he's done and wants to destroy him and everything he loves !!

likewise merlin was manipulated and gaslit and forced to become a compulsive liar and would've NOT !! been good for morgana and eventually everything would've gone to shit !!

they are worsties for better or much much worse

[sir-adamus]

so

stipulations for Salem's immortality is that she will walk the face of the world until she 'learns the importance of life and death', as punishment for attempting to 'disrupt the balance' that the Brothers created

the Blacksmith establishes that the Brothers flat out don't understand what balance really is, which is why they clash constantly in contrast to how the Blacksmith shows that RWBY - finding equilibrium in their cooperation and patience with each other - represent true balance

in fact the contrast in approach between the Brothers and the Tree is very clear; the Brothers are at constant war with each other and deal out vengeful, punitive 'justice' instead of actually solving anything (bickering and breaking and repairing the Jabberwalker to spite each other and neither attempting to fix the problems with it. not even acknowledging or questioning why Salem wanted Ozma back and instead dismissing her, then throwing a tantrum when she proceeded to not do as she was told, resulting in global genocide and later hanging the threat over Oz's head that they'd do it again if the new humanity isn't up to their exacting standards).

meanwhile the Tree, through the Blacksmith, gives Ruby the space and reassurance she needs to stop running herself into the ground and start resolving her issues. it addresses the heart of the problem, for closure and resolution, with no judgment or pressure

so, message is clear - RWBY are gonna be key to stopping Salem for good by demonstrating something the Brothers could never hope to impart to her.

and obviously the Brothers will invariably get summoned down to Remnant, if not by Salem's hand then by Cinder's (she's vengeful enough that she'd be driven to try and end all of humanity just to one-up her enemies, let's be real); because the stipulation on Oz's immortality requires them to come back so he can finally die - and that's where they'll be challenged on the cosmic levels of bullshit they've left the universe in

i guess if you think about it, it all roots back to the Brothers not even understanding what they were made for and getting too big for their boots over it - the Tree doesn't judge, the Tree helps solve the heart of the issue to help people move on (though how successful that is, is up to them), to be better than they were, and judgment and punishment have no place in that. likewise, the Brothers weren't meant to judge, but they took their powers of Creation and Destruction to mean they were the arbiters over such things, and not part of the ecosystem - and therefore got it in their stupid featureless heads that they get to judge the worthiness of the living, and dole out disproportionate punishments in the face of even a modicum of defiance

and because of their failure to understand what real balance is, it's basically become a cycle that has been repeated throughout the course of Remnant's history - impatience and conflict, petty vengeance and spite. like almost every villain is acting to punish some perceived wrong inflicted on them instead of addressing their own issues (Salem vs the Brothers and Oz, Hazel vs Oz, Adam vs the world, Ironwood vs anyone who questions him, Cinder vs Ruby, Neo vs Ruby, the Cat vs Alyx and the Brothers)

Adam refused to walk away despite being given multiple chances to do so and kept going until the only option was to kill him (and his death didn't solve the problems he created). Ironwood refused to listen to any plan that wasn't his own to the point of actively sabotaging the plans of others and threatening to bomb defenseless civilians so that he'd get his way, until he was left to be literally crushed by the weight of his own city (and again, massive problems left in his wake). neither of their deaths are treated as a triumph within the narrative either

Neo's quest for vengeance destroyed her from the inside and she actually succeeded, reckoning with the hollowness she had left sent her completely catatonic - and that probably would've been the end for her, worn as a meatsuit by the Cat until they either disposed of her for no longer being useful or killed with the Cat by the team (because the Cat, like Adam, was past the point of reason and was refusing to give up). it's only Jaune getting the idea of using the leaves that frees Neo and it does that by jolting her into the self-reflection the Tree provides (and the Tree doesn't judge - it only tries to help), after which she chooses to let go of Roman and go to the Tree (there is her once again doling out punitive revenge by setting Jabberwalkers on the Cat but that's before she makes the decision to Ascend, which was after seeing RWBYJ reunite - and two scenes later it's hammered in that RWBY represent the new, better way), Neo got a second chance to stop and choose to get help because the Tree itself ended up involved, and that was followed by the show making that statement on the ideals of balance, which i guess fits with that one post Eddy made following volume 9 about the idea of eucatastrophe, the turning point in a story where it's clear that despite reaching its darkest point, things turn out for the better and that there's going to be a happy ending - so it remains to be seen if the Brothers will be convinced to self-reflect or if they'll stick to their shitty guns and escalate the conflict

[guppybibi]

Not much of a Romancer..

𖦹 pairing: Necromancer!Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley x ghost!fem!reader

𖦹 word count: 1543

𖦹 content: Dead Johnny (shockers), most likely inaccurate information, maybe ooc, mild cursing, i feel like this will be a rushed slowburn

𖦹 notes: the definitions are from google lmao, idk how necromancy works but..how do u do dialogue what.

Necromancy, the practice of magic involving communication with the dead by summoning their spirits, a certain act that Simon wasn't familiar with. Yet, at least. He’s been browsing through local libraries whenever he isn't deployed, researching on this topic. It never really piqued his interest to begin with, you know? Well, not until Johnny brought it up once. It stuck with him since.

“Aye whin ah die L.T., mak' sure tae git an ouija boord or learn necromancy sae we kin still talk.” He joked, already tipsy from the amount of alcohol in his system. Simon knew he was kidding, the man was bloody drunk after all. The idea didn't seem..horrible though. Would it really work? Could he still talk with Johnny or the other undead by simply using a haunted board or using witchcraft?

Now that Johnny really was gone, it wouldn't hurt to try it out, right? Simon chose to use the Ouija board first as it looked easier than to learn literal black magic. And did it work? It definitely did! Except he wasn't talking to Johnny’s spirit, instead he was talking to a fucking demon. That could also be the late Sergeant messing with him but he wasn't taking any chances of being possessed by an actual demon, he had enough demons he was fighting internally, he didn't need any more. So he turned to the last option in his book which was learning necromancy, which certainly wasn't easier.

First, he went and browsed the endless world wide web, finding tips and tricks of what you're supposed to do or not do. It was quite useful, being able to learn in the comfort of his own house was convenient. One of the few downsides of researching on the net is the fact that the internet was a cobweb of all sorts of false information, just waiting for the users to fall right into their sticky trap. Simon wasn't one of them though, he wasn't one to trust that easily, especially strangers. So he went to the public library, a place he hasn't been to in years.

It felt like he was out of place to say the least, every heavy step he took made the aged floorboards creak, earning the librarian’s stern glare every time while he nodded his head to silently apologize. So far, the most important thing he learned to keep in mind in necromancy is respect. After all, it was the undead he was disturbing. To never forget to say things like “please” and “thank you” deemed easy enough. Sure he was a cold-hearted man, a lot of people were skeptical if he even had one in him, but he wasn't a disrespectful man. So he kept these things in mind, they were easy enough to do anyway.

So, after months of researching he finally decided to start his very first ritual. He got some chalk, some white candles to repel any negative spirit, he would've chosen to use tea candles but that wasn't the better option. Get it? Because Brits like tea? Well there were a bunch of different methods he could've used, but he chose this so it better work. He was taking this chance, the chance to speak to Johnny again, to properly say goodbye.

At last, it was time. It was the dead of night, Simon decided to perform the ritual in an abandoned building. He managed to accurately set everything up, proving that the months of studying necromancy was worth it. Then, he started the long awaited ritual. It started out smoothly, with him reciting chants and doing whatever was required for him to do. He was anticipating to hear an annoying Scottish accent to come out soon, but instead he heard..a high pitched voice? From what he could tell, it was no doubt a woman. Shit, did he just summon the spirit of an unknown dead woman? Well he had to deal with this, he can only hope it wasn't a hostile spirit. It’s his responsibility now, he can't just shove your soul back into the afterlife.

“I was having a really good rest, ya know..” The spirit starts. “Until a certain someone here decided to ruin it.” She glares at the masked man in front of her, making Simon feel like he was being pierced by sharp needles. “Sorry, that wasn't my intention.” He states the truth, sighing when he realizes his first attempt at speaking to Johnny failed. He should clean up and get going before he pisses you off even more. So he does just that, cleaning up after himself and packing up. “Hey hey, stop right there big guy.” She calls out, disappearing from where she was and reappearing right in front of him.

“You bothered my peaceful slumber, now I’m bothering you!” She announces proudly as if she had just said the best idea for vengeance. Okay, maybe it was because Simon’s ears were already starting to ring from your voice. “Sure, go follow me or whatever.” He said with an indifferent tone, he’s been through the worst things. Things that also caused his ear to ring and rupture, so he could surely handle this. From what he could tell, you seemed like you just wanted to provoke him. That's fine, at least you meant no harm. Physically at least.

And so, you did indeed follow him. No matter the occasion, rainy or sunny, you’d be right there beside him like a pesky shadow. Unless he went to the bathroom, that's where you’d finally cross the line. You still waited for him out the door like a clingy dog though. That was when he was not deployed though, you weren't exactly aware of him being a lieutenant..Sure his room seemed very soldier-like and had remnants of proof all over but he could've been just a military enthusiast or something!

Now here he was, packing all of the essentials as he prepares for deployment while you watch him intently. “Seriously? 3-in-1 shampoo? It's not even scented!” She bitches, concerned about his hygiene routine. “It's efficient and convenient.” He answers dryly, continuing to shove all of the necessities in his bags. “Where are you going anyways? Vacation?” To which he scoffs at, do you really think he's bringing a pistol to a vacation? “Did the afterlife take all of your wits too? I’m getting deployed.”

“..Deployed?” She questions. “I’m in the army.” And with that, her eyes are as wide as saucers. “Excuse me, no wait–excuse you? And you never bothered mentioning it to me once!” Then he cuts you off. “You never bothered to tell me your name. I think we're in pretty similar situations.” Her mouth is instantly zipped, he did have a point. “Oh right..well it isn't too late to get to know each other, big guy.”

“Stop calling me ‘big guy’.” “Then tell me your name. Look, I’ll even start. My name is Y/N, nice to meet you.” She starts, holding out her hand as she expects a handshake from him. Because that's how proper formal introductions start! “Ghost.” He replies blankly, getting a raised eyebrow from you. “That's it?” She sulks. “Just an alias, that's enough.”

‘What a killjoy’ she thinks, why couldn't someone more interesting make her come to life! Like maybe a group of rebellious teens or anyone but like this ‘Ghost’ guy! “Well then ‘Ghost’, let's get to know each other!” She insists. “I won't be talking to you when I’m deployed, don't want the soldiers thinking I’m a madman.” She whines, how much did she sin during her lifetime to deserve such dull torture? Before she could even open her mouth to complain, he spoke up. “If you dislike haunting me then just leave.” “I can't.” She tells, and Simon has never seen you this quiet before.

“I bet I owe you some kind of explanation huh? Looks like you didn't research enough on this necromancing disturbing the dead shit.” He nodded, admitting his mistake. “Whoever awakes the undead is the only one who can put them to rest again, you have to perform another ritual for it. So if I don't stop following you, I could possibly lose you and permanently wander as a ghost forever. I don't want that, none of the undead does.” She explained, the words are hard to get out of her. While the masked man nodded in understanding, that's why she acted like she was glued to him like honey. He thought about it, it did seem pretty shitty. You can only do so much, going around as a ghost doesn't seem like the funnest thing in the world.

“I see. Just..stick by me or whatever.” There's something in him that doesn't wanna get rid of her just yet, maybe it's his conscience? Yeah, that was for sure it. It would feel like he was purposely putting someone back in their grave, the soil being used to bury them a little too familiar to other experiences. The woman blinks a few times, burning straight through his soul as she stares at him before nodding. Looks like he was in no rush to get rid of her, that's nice. She’ll stay by his side the whole time, whether he likes it or not.

[silence-burns]

A Snack of Mine

Fandom: Spider-Man universe 

smut 18+

The smashing noises coming from what Miguel called “the control room” sounded expensive. You may not have been an expert in all things technical, but you were pretty sure the room was in the process of a violent remodeling. 

“Right,” you said. “And you expect me to do what exactly?” 

“How am I supposed to know? It's not me who's usually had to restrain him in this kind of state. It's not my fault no one wants to get close to him. They kinda have a point, though.” Lyla flew around your head, ethereal as ever.

A crash louder than the previous ones came from behind The Door To Miguel's Lair. 

“You do realize he's just ripped a monitor off the wall?”

“You do realize I have no physical presence to do anything about it?” 

Point taken. It didn't make you feel any better and Lyla’s constant spinning didn't exactly help you get your bearings.

You waved your hand through her before the colorful but pixelated display of her panic blinded you completely. If it was an option, you would've gladly allowed anyone else to take your place. Sadly, none of the currently available Peters had a chance of getting to Miguel through his fury.

And hunger.

You sighed before moving towards The Door of Doom. 

"Miguel, I come in peace!" 

The kind of snarling that came from the other side was not something a human throat should've been able to handle. 

"Be a good, nonlethal boy for 10 minutes and you'll get a snack. Maybe even McDonald's!"

The silence that followed was heavy enough to imply precisely where you could shove all the burgers in the worlds, but it was better than blinding rage; you were already making progress! You shoved the door open, quickly closing it behind your back. You clicked the lock into place.

It wasn't sturdy enough to keep any of the Spidermen out, but it served as a symbol. You walked into his lair, and now you had to deal with the consequences.

Miguel was meticulous in his fury. The room used to serve him as both a personal space and one of his less official offices, where he spent time thinking and planning without anyone bothering him. He was the head of the squad meant for suppressing the threats to the entire multiverse, so he had to deal with a never ending stream of things to take care of. A little bit of private space was a healthy solution.

Unfortunately, due to the circumstances called Miles Morales Versus Bad Decision Making, the otherwise pleasant, calming space was now in pieces. Literally—half the furniture lay in ruin spread across the floor like rubble after an explosion.

"I think you missed a few." You kicked away a rather big part of what used to be a desk. "You gotta be more thorough, man."

As much as you wished to feel even half as confident as you sounded, it was a rather difficult task when the only part of Miguel you could see were his eyes, glowing bright red and piercing you through, unblinking. The only source of light was dim and came from behind the broken furniture. The outline of Miguel's body was hardly discernible from the darkness of the room, but you swore he was towering over you more than usual.

And completely still.

"I really hope you aren't too sentimental, because there's no way anything here is savable. You gotta invest in a proper punching bag, or maybe two just in case—..."

"You think this is a joke?"

His voice was low and on the verge of growling. The situation with Miles definitely got under his skin.

"Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer to face my problems with a healthy dose of humor rather than destruction of my belongings. You've got claw marks on your walls, Miguel, come on. Don't you think it’s a bit too dramatic?"

Before you could blink, he was on you. Your back hit the wall just inches from the mentioned claw marks—deep, sharp, and clearly torn through with a lot of force. Looking up into Miguel's glowing eyes and the barely hidden fangs, you knew how capable he was of using said force.

Miguel leaned closer to you, his hand holding you still by the shoulder. Pressed between him and the wall, you could feel your pulse rising, and it was only partially thanks to the heat emanating from Miguel's body.

"The structure of the whole multiverse could be destroyed because of one person."

His voice was so low you could barely understand the words growled from his clenched jaw. Miguel's eyes burned to the point where you could no longer turn your head away. It was hypnotizing and a part of you didn't want to fight it.

"He's a child, Miguel. He's fifteen and his whole world just came crashing down on him."

"It doesn't give him the right to destroy everyone else's."

"No, but he's scared. Scared children need supportive adults, not claws in their faces."

Miguel's eyes dipped down over your lips for a split second, but something shifted through his posture. Still tense, his voice got quieter and lost the aggression. You were so close together that he was almost whispering in your ear, and yet you couldn't hear anything around but him.

"And what would you prefer me to do?" he purred.

"Everyone is already looking for Miles, so let his friends talk to him first once he's found. He has nowhere in the multiverse to hide forever."

Miguel's hand moved from your shoulder to the side of your neck. The claws retracted and now his touch was almost gentle. You missed it, just as you missed the kind of heat that was rising up behind the flaming red of his eyes, different from what most people ever got to see. Something reserved for you.

You turned your face to the side, letting his fingers caress your cheek. Miguel froze, entranced by the way his thumb rested over your lip and how your smile seemed to widen when you noticed too.

"I prefer you like this," you said, making your voice come out as barely a whisper. In his state, Miguel would've heard you from another room. 

You didn't notice when it happened, but he was closer now, imprisoning you between himself and the wall. You both inhaled at the same time, chests pressing together a moment. His whole body was tense and wrapped tight around you. His thighs crushed yours and you wouldn't be able to move away even if you wanted to. 

"I know what you're doing and… this really isn't a good time."

"You say it with such a scary look on your face, and yet you do nothing to stop me."

Miguel's nostrils flared when you put your teeth over your bottom lip.

And pushed.

Miguel's hand wrapped around your jaw, holding your face up towards him. His fingers dug into your skin, the gentle caress long gone. There was only a firm hold and a predator that smelled blood.

His pupils narrowed in a split second and the breath he took was shaky, as if he wanted to smell every bit of blood rising from the tiny cut.

"You've been on that artificial shit for a long time now," you cooed. "But we both know it can never be quite the same as the real thing."

You could see him trying to say something, but nothing came out of his mouth. You stood on the tips of toes and brushed his lips with yours.

It was as if an electric shock struck his body. Miguel growled as he forced your mouth open, and then again when his warm tongue licked the blood smeared over you. He forced you back down with one push of his hips and you could feel him growing harder despite his spider suit. 

He sucked on your lip, hungry for more, just as his other hand found its way onto your hip and held it firmly against his own.

Miguel's open-mouthed kisses were growing sloppier as he followed your jawline and down the side of your neck. You couldn't help but push your fingers into his curls, marveling over how soft they felt and how perfect they were for grabbing his head and moving it just to the spot you wanted him at. 

Despite the urgency of his need and all of his senses blurry, Miguel let you guide him, breathing in your scent. There were no words to explain how much he missed it every time you had to go back to your own universe and leave him thinking, wanting and alone.

Miguel loved the way your nails sank into his hair and tugged harder every time he scratched your skin with his fangs. He couldn't help himself when he heard the softest of moans leave your throat and felt the way you kept grinding yourself over his cock. Miguel bit your shoulder hard when your hand wandered to his still clothed shaft and lightly scratched over the thin, bulging fabric.

"You're really testing my patience," he breathed into your skin.

"I hope you earn a good grade."

Miguel's hand moved from your hip to the bracelet controlling the features of his suit, but you slapped it away before he could take it off. You pressed harder over his erection, stretching the suit more.

"Who said I'm gonna let you rush so much?"

"I really don't think we have the—..."

A loud knock on the closed door made you both jump. 

"They found traces of Miles' signature!"

Miguel pushed his head into the crook of your swollen, tender neck, cursing with passion in Spanish. You may not have known the language well, but some things were truly universal.

You kissed his temple and brushed his wide shoulders. "You've got this."

Miguel took a slow, deep breath of your scent, noting all the various changes in it. But he did not budge.

"Prepare the team," he finally shouted back. "I'll be there in five minutes."

He caught your eyes widening and smiled ominously. The flaming red was shining through his own eyes again. 

"I have something to take care of first."

[luveline]

oh my, can we possibly have a james x shy!reader, where he gives her flowers but it's her first time receiving flowers? <3

OMG YES tysm for ur request ♡ fem!reader

There's a ferocious knocking coming from the front door. You look down at your naked thighs and decide not to answer. By the time you're dressed they would've already lost interest, a cold caller no doubt.

You sieze up and wait for them to leave. After a few minutes you relax and click play on your movie again.

"Shortcake, I know you're in there!" calls a familiar voice.

"James," you say, startled.

There's no way he would've heard you. His insistent knocking begins again. You practically fly off of your bed in your hurry to stand, searching your slightly messy room for something to wear. There's nothing, of course, because all of your trousers (pyjamas included) are currently on a high speed spin in the tumble dryer.

For lack of any better options, you pull on a hoodie that's always been too big for you and hold it against your thighs to avoid any potential flashing, and then you rush to the door.

"James," you say, opening the door just enough too see him.

Any plans of shooing him away go out the window when you see what he's holding, a bouquet three times the size of your head. It's literally bursting from its cellophane wrapping, a dazzling array of lavender, yellow, rose-red and greens. Fragrant enough to smell it clearly though he stands a good two feet away from you.

"Hey," James says, beaming at your startled expression. "I'm sorry to drop by unexpectedly."

"That's okay."

He graciously ignores your breathlessness and nods his head. "Could I come in?"

"James," you say again, sheepish. "I'm not," — heat like nothing you've ever felt washes over you, so embarrassed that you could just die on the spot — "wearing any trousers."

"Oh." He frowns at your embarrassment. "I'll wait here if you want to find something?"

He doesn't seem perturbed by the gentle rain outside. His sleeves have grown dark with wet, and raindrops play in his curls.

You shake your head and open the door. "You have to come in, it's raining."

"I won't look," he assures you.

You usher him very gratefully and wizz off to the tumble dryer. The jogging bottoms you pull out aren't really dry but you couldn't care less, more than aware that James has likely just seen a lot of skin that he's never seen before. Well, never seen before from you. He's likely seen a lot more than that of other girls.

You fluster yourself thinking about it. You're so distracted by the thought and trying to get rid of it that you'd totally forgotten about the flowers.

You're not sure what to say. Forbid you assume they're for you, you stop in front of James and his bouquet with a hesitant smile.

"They're for you," he says knowingly.

You smile and make a little gasp as you do, self-deprecating and overjoyed at once. "They're stunning. Really, really pretty. Thank you."

He hears the hint of confusion.

"Right," he says.

James runs a hand through his hair. "Would you want to go on a date with me? I know we've been for food after lecture and coffee and things, but I guess I'm trying to ask you out, uh, romantically?"

He offers the flowers.

You take them on instinct. James seems very encouraged by this, his smile near blinding. He presses his lips together and waits for you to speak. All your words have dried up like cotton in your mouth.

"I know you're-" He holds your gaze. He has a very gentle expression in place. "Well, I know you. You don't have to answer now. Or even say yes. But I think you're lovely, and I wanted to get you flowers even if you wanted to stay friends."

You're so happy you could cry.

"Nobody's ever got me flowers before," you say lightly.

"No? That's weird."

You cringe self-conciously. "You think so?"

"Absolutely I think so. Did you attend a school for the blind, before uni?" he asks seriously.

You sigh and raise the flowers up toward your face to hide your smile. His golden laugh rings out, and he closes the gap between you both to bend at the waist and peek at your face in the flowers.

"Yeah?" he asks through a laugh.

You nod, hoping he understands your enthusiasm even if you can't quite show it.

[northstarscowboyhat]

In your Lucky Clover AU, would Starlo join the Royal Guard because; A, it would give some validity to his sheriff claim and; B, so that he could get word and try to deflect any investigations for the missing human that the Royal Guard launch.

This was such an interesting ask I really had to sit with it for a while. Huge ramble ahead!

So, this idea fascinated me solely because this is a little bit of what the situation is with Martlet in this AU. After Clover decided to live in the underground post Pacifist ending, she put in her two weeks and quit, since she does NOT want to risk being ordered to kill or hunt down Clover, or any other humans for that matter.

It's something she struggles with a lot; not only because she's jobless for a while and probably has to ask for financial assistance from Dalv/Ceroba/Starlo, but also because she KNOWS being in the Royal Guard would give the gang some insider intel on the missing human investigations. Maybe it would've been better to tough it out in a job she wasn't content with just to get that info, to protect Clover? While her friends reassure her that this was the best decision, for her and for Clover's safety, it's something Martlet struggles with for a while, especially considering how some Snowdin Monsters side eye for her suddenly leaving her post and job.

Now, for Starlo. If the situation called for it, would Starlo try and join the Royal Guard? Perhaps if there was no other option! He's the kind of person to go above and beyond for the people he cares about, sometimes to reckless degree. However, I think his relationship with the Royal Guard is far too sour for him to ever be considered for a job with them, based on this line from Ceroba.

Dude literally has made a habit out of locking Royal Guards in his town's jail. Undyne is NOT accepting him into her ranks LOL. (I honestly HC that although Undyne and Starlo have a lot in common and some similarities, they probably would hate each other if they met or were forced to engage in conversation with one another LOL).

As it stands in the AU, none of our main cast has any connections to the Royal Guard, as much as they would like having some kind of way of getting side info, in order to protect Clover. Martlet is in a weird spot with her old co workers, and Starlo's pre-Pacifist ending habits and way of running his town had pretty much killed any chance of that. The best they can do is just keep their eyes and ears peeled in order to ensure no Royal Guard ever discovers Clover secretly living in the Underground.

[lizaluvsthis]

Since Fatal Lavenders will be discontinued / wont have another chapter for this year- I'm dropping off notes-

OLD CONCEPT REF SHEET

CURRENT CONCEPT

These were all part lore dumps that I never gave more details for her character I just want people to know that she aint dead. Yet.

INCOMING LORE:

HEATHER'S LORE:

Lets just say her Human body became permanent right after PV created it just for her. In order for the body to deform and revert back to goop- the USB had to be broken.

The USB is supposedly attached INSIDE of her right hand- (I didn't included that because it mightve been a bit too gore-ish black-)

She had those clear milk skin, more of a brownish color hair, and also heterochromia eyes.

And ofcourse, Four's favorite color. Blue. The thought of matching colors with your partner would've been a thing by now for her.

In the end of the plot- she was different than that- she considered to be one of those good people who change for the better. (This was her second option)

SMG3 is just jealous when she's around with him but doesn't say a word, remains to be silent all the time.

The clear skin is supposed to be vitiligo and such as her eyes are like bright blue ones. She wears casual clothes than the overalls.

Heather uses She/Her pronouns. Her sexuality is undefined.

SHORTER THAN SMG4! She is genuinely a nice person (even at the end) but since I didn't like the plot of soft- I erased her full character and made a new one for TAG6 as a replacement.

Heather died happily and accepted her fate.

The flowers symbolize as the main characters:

Orange - Meggy

Red - Mario

Purple - SMG3

Blue - SMG4

Light blue - P E A C H

TAG6's LORE:

She had tanned skin and a curly brunette hair. Just by looking at her eyes you KNOW there's something up with it.

Unlike anyones white eyes, they have one more of a yellow-ish detail of color. The overalls are part of what the usb could copy just like Three and Four's main one.

For TAG6, their Human Body is temporary. By what Puzzles made for her has a limit due to the USB's capacity. With that said- the USB is right inside of her. To function it must be there.

Tag6 is shown to have a mean trait- tho she never loved SMG4 at all and to anyone else she doesn't like anyone that they encounter.

The lilac filled on their eyes have somekind of hypnotism when people stare at it. (It may work for some but it doesn't work all of the time)

I thought of making her whole appearance give out the lilac theme due to the mixture of RED and BLUE.

(Which is aka SMG3 and SMG4's eye color and since they helped each other out to finish the usb I think they shared some of their links)

Tho TAG6 does have a yellow appearance in its Combat mode.

Tag6 uses she/they/it pronouns. Its orientation is Aromantic.

THEY'RE SLIGHTLY TALLER THAN SMG4! (Suprisingly this doesn't bother him at all since any woman/men is what he'd prefer-)

And since SMG3 is different to act here when with TAG, he starts up an arguement calling her as weak/selfish than she already is. Causing them to piss off and smash his face with its hammer to the air.

Tag6 can be a bit more impatient, they may look like they're a nice person in general but literally they do it for attention and to get what they're willing to succeed.

But in reality behind their mask they turn out to be the cold hearted, uncaring, hateful, disgusted, and a negative being out of all existance.

At the end of the plot they didn't give a damn when it came to SMG4 she just wanted to finish the mission for its master. But since it failed, she never cared anymore less rather than punching insults at Four.

She gives out the color of Lavender which also is close to main purple (because Purple is SMG3's color signature as well-) TAG6 is basically a copy of that color as well.

I think those are all of it- thank you so much for reading everyone I hope I made some of yall inrerested about this lore because not any other people can create such an amazing idea like this one-

Also for those who are waiting for the new chapter it wont come out this year so you'll have to expect it for the early 2025th

[prismatic-starstuff]

yknow even if miquella did plan to bewitch everybody... is that even THAT bad? bewitchment just aligns you to his side its not even really mind control. like yeah it's not the best way to go about it but the other options are things like "taint every single soul in the world" "kill everyone forever" "burn the entire world to meaningless ash" "return the status quo that brought everything bad to pass to begin with" and "leave the world to its own devices with absolutely 0 outside influence". makes "make everyone nice to eachother and love me (everyone already likes him)"

so personally, i definitely do see the tampering with free will as being a bad thing because it reads a bit too much like mind control; but! i wholeheartedly agree with what you say about the other options! and this is something i've thought about a lot before so i'm gonna go off about it a little, so— long reply ahead, i'm sorry anon!

important disclaimer: this isn't 'miquella did nothing wrong,' 'age of compassion would be best for the world,' 'ranni and/or marika are evil' or any of that. this is 'miquella is not as bad as the people who say he's pure evil claim, and the age of compassion should have been an ending option.'

the long and the short of it is... miquella isn't any worse than many of the other options we're presented with, and that gets overlooked so much in conversations about him. because yeah, if we take it that his game plan is 'i command you all to love me and each other,' that isn't great because of the tampering with free will; but...

the standard elden lord ending is perpetuating the same order that caused multiple wars and mass exterminations in the lands between.

fia's ending is the same, just with the addition of better treatment for those who live in death.

dung eater's ending curses and dooms the entire land and literally everyone and everything in it.

frenzied flame is presented through the lens of destroying everything so something better can come after, but the destroying everything part still very much happens.

we aren't really given enough information to know what goldmask's ending would even realistically look like.

age of stars still has the involvement of higher beings (moons in elden ring are sentient) and ranni leaving to let people figure it out for themselves doesn't say a lot one way or the other.

like, for all that can be said about him, miquella is outright trying to do something good for the lands between as a whole. if his plan was to bewitch everyone, then the means aren't great, no... but at least the remaining higher power would unquestionably have the goal of making a gentler world at heart. and as you rightly said, people under miquella's charm aren't full on mind controlled or changed beyond recognition; it wouldn't be a world of mindless puppets.

we're given endings where there are still higher powers around (ranni) and endings where we do bad things in the name of a better end result (frenzied flame) and endings where we perpetuate the old order that did bad things (standard, fia, goldmask) or outright make a new worse order (dung eater) so... why didn't we get a miquella ending? there are literally no other endings where there isn't some kind of higher power/force still around, he was also doing bad things in the name of a better end result, and he would've at least tried to make a new and better order; so the hypothetical miquella ending would have... literally been no worse morally than the other endings.

and if it comes down to what miquella did to mohg... yes, manipulating and killing mohg for his own ends was bad. period. no arguments. but uh... our other options are ranni who killed godwyn for her own ends, marika who has a really long list of things she did, frenzied 'May Chaos Take The World' flame, and ✨️the loathsome dung eater✨️ (not counting fia and goldmask because, sadly, their endings do come under 'marika endings' since age of duskborn is very similar except for the treatment of those who live in death, and age of perfect order is still the golden order)

so— even if we got 100% confirmation that his end goal was to charm everyone, then would? miquella?? even actually be that much of an outlier???

TL;DR: miquella isn't perfect on a moral level but, to various degrees, Literally No Other Ending Option Is so where the heck is my age of compassion ending fromsoft

[animentality]

Maybe a hot take, but I think Durge is the real protagonist of BG3. Like... I'm sorry, everyone love their Tavs, but from a narrative point of view, it doesn't have fucking sense. It's just another guy (gender neutral) in a The Choosen One situation. I've read this story before, hundreds of times. But Durge's recepción (or disgrace)... now that has juice! That makes sense on a narrative level. You started it, you end it, one way or another.

Anyway, I'm never (with my +500 hours) going to play a Tav run. Ever. Origins only, mostly Durge. Durge and Durgetash are waaaaay better, sorry not sorry.

You are spitting nothing but facts, anon.

You wanna know what the HONEST to GOD fundamental problem is with the writing of Baldur's Gate 3?

It's that it spreads itself so thin, desperately attempting to write an open sandbox sort of world in which ANY kind of character can fit in...that it ends up being this hollow nothing.

IMAGINE if the Dark Urge WAS the default protagonist. It WOULD'VE BEEN an amazing story, if it had been given the focus it deserved, instead of just blankly repeating the SAME dialogue you'd get as a Tav and as an origin.

The idea of a former villain turned amnesiac, and going on an adventure, learning about themselves from the perspective of an outsider and seeing firsthand the horror they've wrought? It's like a fucking Zuko arc, except finding out you were the Big Bad all along could've been written even better than that...

We could've had that blank, nothing slate that Tavs start out as...and then find out, that it has thematic significance, because WE CHOOSE who we become, after a childhood/adulthood of being unable to make our own choices, and being forced into the role of the villain before the game even starts.

It's a MUCH BETTER WAY to give people a blank slate to work with, for the fun of roleplaying, but ALSO asserting a particular theme. Which is, the gravity of your choices, big and small. To do good or to embrace evil.

YOU KNOW. How Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 did being a Bhaalspawn.

IT'S ALSO A REALLY GREAT WAY to DO an RPG because yes, you slightly infringe upon the freedom of the customizable characters a person can make, but in exchange, you actually tell a fucking story where choices are the main theme.

INSTEAD. Because they were so dedicated to Tavs and the variety of ways you could play as a Tav...they completely undersell and underutilize what could've been a really amazing character.

You can literally choose to DIE for your friends in the end...and then what?

Withers brings you back in five seconds, no one has any real reaction to you doing that, except saying good job buddy :)

And then you're basically a Tav.

And ALSO. I want to say this, because it's been bothering me.

The Dark Urge has Tav syndrome too.

They have TWO notes in the entire game that we have to read into to try and glean a greater depth to their character other than murder hobo.

And that's it. They're a blank slate too.

If the Dark Urge was the protagonist, we might've been able to look into who they were before, outside of just laughably evil flesh eating monster.

They might've had real fucking depth, instead of just tidbits.

I and my fellow Dark Urge/ Durgetash enjoyers have to do the fucking work for them and write in stuff that isn't actually there. The Dark Urge as a protagonist could've been really meaningful. We could've seen inklings that they had misgivings about being Bhaal's Chosen. We could've seen scars of resistance, where they tried to defy Bhaal, but were punished with death, disintegration by the loving hands of your own father and flesh. We could've had betrayal, redemption, loyalty to one's blood family vs one's found family.

But we don't get that, because it's taking too much time away from Tavs.

Sometimes I really wish the Dark Urge wasn't even an option. They gave me this thing, and I thought wow this is the only way to play the game...and then I look and see, ah. But the potential for greatness could drive me absolutely insane.

And it has.

Durgetash is the product of my frustration with the game's characterization of the Dark Urge.

And I know I'm pissing off the salty BG3 fans who love their Tavs and all, and think the Dark Urge is lame, and god FORBID a protagonist have a character, can't have that in an RPG, but I can't find it in myself to care.

I'm built different than the rest of y'all. I don't just feed on content, I analyze its nutrients. I calculate how good for me it actually is.

And BG3 has wonderful mechanics.

But the story has so many problems, from beginning to rotten end.

And it is what it is. I still enjoyed myself playing it.

But the story isn't good for anything except allowing you to create a far more compelling story on your own, in fanfic or in original work inspired by it.

And I guess if that's all they wanted, then fine.

But goddamnit, I'm gonna complain anyway! Divinity 2 did it fucking better.

[noturlondonboy]

No More Excuses//Katelena

Chapter 17: Abdominal Muscles = Kate’s Roman Empire

Pairing: Kate Bishop x Yelena Belova

Chapter Summary: Kate has a classic gay moment over Yelena’s abs, and they talk about the prospect of Yelena staying longer

A/N: I really like this chapter I think they’re adorable

Chapter Warnings: none

Kate is the first one awake for once, and the stillness of her apartment is welcome. Her eyes crack open to cold sunlight coming from under her curtains, making the room glow a soft gray. Lucky is tucked under her arm. There is no sizzling of a frying pan, no clicking of nails from Fanny, no blood on Yelena to worry about.

She lets out a content sigh and melts back into her bed, snuggling closer to Lucky, scratching his head eepily. They stay there for another hour or so, drifting in and out of sleep until Lucky decides he's ready for breakfast and Kate's bladder refuses to be ignored any longer.

She rolls out from under her covers with a groan and makes her way downstairs, humming at the snow falling in thick flakes outside the windows. There's a blonde lump on the couch, limbs sprawled out and soft snores floating from her mouth. She must be beyond exhausted.

Kate walks to Yelena in a sleepy haze and tucks a few strands of messy gold hair out of her face as she admires the brush of thick eyelashes over soft cheeks and pink lips parting slightly, the slope and rounded tip of her nose, the strong arch of dark eyebrows and smudged eye makeup.

Dear god. Yelena Belova was pretty.

Kate rubs her eyes with the palm of her hand and trudges to the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day, even though she has absolutely no idea what she's going to do with herself. That's her main problem now, she supposes. Prior to the insane holidays that she had, heading back to school after winter break would've been the next step, but that was no longer an option, and her mother was in jail. A literal criminal. Not only that, but the other people she may consider family were either living in a different state or completely off her radar. (Where the hell is Jack?)

Normally, this would send her spiraling. No support system? No therapy appointments? Meds running low? No busy work? No learning? No people?

Bad news.

But now, with Yelena here... How long did she plan on staying?

"Forever?" Kate whispers to herself, hot water dripping from her lips as the showerhead pummels her with a boiling stream. The scalding liquid blocks everything out and loosens up the tight muscles in her shoulders and neck, pooling in the dips of her collarbones and waist before hitting the floor. Maybe. Maybe forever.

That would be okay.

--------

The first thing Kate sees when she gets out of the bathroom is Yelena hanging from the lip of the floor of her loft bedroom, and she lets out a startled shout before realizing that her friend is in the middle of a workout routine.

"Good morning- Kate Bishop!" Yelena huffs out, smiling at her in between her pull ups. She's in form fitting blood red leggings and a black sports bra, her arms and abdomen on full display. The cut on her neck already looks significantly better. Sweat is shining on her skin, but Yelena just keeps at it, muscles working hard.

Kate tears her wide eyes away and can feel her stomach burning as hot as her face, but she goes back into the bathroom with the excuse of brushing her teeth.

Yelena watches her go quizzically, having still not received a response, but says nothing and continues with her exercise. She could have stopped a minute or so ago, having reached her usual amount of reps and sets, but the familiar burn in her body was a welcome distraction from the sight of Kate Bishop with wet hair hanging loose over her shoulders.

Kate doesn't come back out of the bathroom until she's sure that Yelena isn't suspended in the air in the middle of her apartment anymore, but she hasn't changed because she still needs to shower. And Kate is in the way.

"Good morning," Kate squeaks out, trying and failing miserably to keep her eyes from glancing at Yelena's abs. Jesus Fucking Christ. Did they sculpt her out of fucking marble in the Red Room?

Yelena smirks at her and drags the length of her forearm over her forehead, sweaty strands of blonde hair sticking to her skin. "Hello, Kate Bishop. Is it alright if I use the shower?"

"Oh- yeah! Yeah, of course. Always. You don't need to ask."

The blonde shrugs. "I just wanted to be sure. Sleeping on your couch is one thing; using your shower is another."

"Oh. Well. I mean... I don't care. Or- I don't mind, I mean. Yeah, you're, um... you're totally welcome to anything in my apartment at any time, really," Kate garbles out, mentally slapping herself in the face.

Yelena tilts her head. "Thank you, Kate Bishop. You don't need to do that."

"I know," she replies weakly. But I want to.

"I've been meaning to ask you, I suppose."

"Yeah? What?"

Yelena opens her mouth and then closes it after a moment, struggling to find the right words. How does she say this? "Could I- would it be alright...?" Shit. What is she doing? "I still have business here in New York. I don't know for how long, yet," she says, pulling words out of her ass and lying straight through her teeth. (If avoiding Valentina could be counted as business.) "Would it be too much trouble for you if I stuck around a little longer?"

Kate's face brightens up immediately, and she's already nodding eagerly before Yelena is even done speaking. "Yes, of course! Please, stay! That's- that's totally fine with me, it wouldn't be a problem at all!"

(These fucking dumbasses.)

Yelena grins shyly and shrugs. "Thank you, Kate Bishop. I am sorry that I did not ask sooner. I apologize for staying around as much as I have been."

"Oh no no no, I don't mind at all, I promise," Kate hurries. "You'll be doing me a favor, honestly. I could, um. I really could use the company. And so could Lucky, I think."

They all could.

"I'll make it worth your while, Kate Bishop," Yelena promises, putting a warm hand on Kate's shoulder and squeezing gently before making her way into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

How is Kate supposed to tell her that she already has?

Translations: none

Kate Bishop counter: 6

This chapter’s meme:

[loveislandthegame]

thoughts on today's volume...i don't even know where to begin, this sucked and i'm honestly just appalled 😭 FB somehow managed to make a reunion worse than boat party

FB is trying way too hard to make season 5 iconic, and it's just not happening. season 5 isn't bad in a camp way, it's just bad. a sensible company would've shelved that misogynistic, biphobic, & racist gaslighting-fest and apologised

and this is a major problem throughout the entire volume so i'll just condense it into one thought right here: whoever wrote this clearly doesn't understand their playerbase. absolutely nobody cares about these unemployed messy flops hooking up with eachother, sexting, cheating—shawn forcing max to sleep in the hotel foyer so he can have mechanic roleplay sex in their shared room ???—and whatever other nonsense they're doing. i was not gagged, i was gagging

i didn't take the diamond scene to upstage sophie or whatever because i don't care, but of course we're still forced to kiss somebody else that's not our partner for the sake of some corny drama. i wish MC could've walked out of this villa the moment liam decided to recommend a "kissing game," like she's not in a whole committed relationship

then we get a podcast challenge i guess . at first i was happy to see theo, only for him to immediately blow MC off because he's ... a little hurt ? even though he was fine in the last volume ? literally everyone except claudia, bea, and tyler was treating MC like garbage this entire reunion. (once again, MC doesn't have any friends . just enemies and people tryna smash)

several drawn out scenes of pure agony later, and my bby girl bella finally showed up !! she's the only saving grace of this pile of shit, and at this point i'm just glad they didn't ruin her too

(RIP to the finn girlies, at least bella & my s6 MC are happily together ❤️)

bea confessed to MC, i still picked claudia . this would've been the perfect moment for an "I love you" from your chosen LI but instead they ask to move in. Lmao

claudia my love, you deserved so much better than this reunion </3

for the first time ever i straight up skipped a group hug option, that's how you know i really was done with these mfs

i cannot find the words that could properly describe how horrible this reunion was. a complete dumpster fire of an ending to an otherwise okay-ish season. to top it all off we have confirmation that season 9 is dropping in three weeks. FB is not even giving season 8 some time to marinate, stew, simmer, or whatever. you get what i mean ? (tbh more like rot...😭)

i need a nap after this. venus out 🫡

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

“She played the "you can only see parts of the baby and not his face" game that all celebs play when they want a People payday for their baby. We didn't get a clear photo of Archie's face until the christening.” I’ve written in to other blogs but one of the reasons she failed her is that People has never paid for Royal baby photos so why would they start now? If I recall correctly, the Jolie Pitt twins were one of the highest paydays People might have paid for pictures. Alas with People’s new owners, the pockets aren’t that deep anymore. It’s been YEARS since they’ve paid any significant amount of money for baby photos. Unless they can sell more copies and circulation numbers have declined significantly, this never will be an option. Long story short, People will not be paying photos of non-Royal babies.

I didn't mean People Magazine literally. All the American supermarket tabloids bought celebrities' baby pictures in the late 90s through the mid-00s. People was just the more prolific one, having gotten Tom/Katie/Suri's pictures and Brad/Angelina/Shiloh's pictures.

And yes, the royals have sold their baby pictures before. Zara and Mike sold their pictures with Mia to Hello, which is the UK edition of People Magazine. So there is/was precedent for Meghan and Harry to have sold their baby pictures and People would've most likely considered buying them except the price Meghan was asking was probably too high. (The gossip suggests she was asking for William-and-Kate-level prices, which would've also been Tom/Katie and Brangelina prices.)

Then with the advent of social media, celebrities stopped selling their kids' pictures and started sharing them themselves. The whole act of selling baby photos to the magazines was to take power from the paparazzi - that's actually how it started. These were huge celebrities, pop culture zeitgest celebrities, that no one expected to get married (let alone to each other) and have children so the paparazzi/tabloid culture of the mid-00s were out in full rabid force for any crumb of information, any trace of a photograph about them and their new kids. So to make the paparazzi go away, and to make the paparazzi/tabloid photos worthless, these celebs made deals with magazines like People and Hello. It worked, until social media came along.

And it's because of social media that publications like People aren't buying any baby photos these days. The whole thing was moot to begin with. Meghan was barking up non-existent trees in the first place. She might've had better luck for a payday if she went back to Vanity Fair with Wild About Harry 2.0 or used her British Vogue edition for motherhood instead of ripping off an Australian publication with forces of change. (I think it was Australian. Don't remember and I'm too lazy to look it up at the moment.)

[ewingstan]

What do I do with this.

I'm not gonna claim that the text is endorsing this or anything. It did construct a situation where leaving someone on an empty world was the best choice with Monokeros, and we can analyze what that writing choice means, but I don't see this conversation being something we're meant to nod our heads along to. I can't see someone writing "we're gonna disappear people on this list" and "its fine if you're especially violent vigilantes we'll put you in our especially-violent-vigilante support network" and not mean for it to be read as awful. Otherwise it would use words that sound less bad on the face of it. Maybe I'll hear that WB has spent the last few years arguing on reddit that this was actually totally moral and cool but with the text in front of me, with the language used, I cannot see a reading where any of this is meant to be seen as okay.

But more to the point I don't see how we got here? Worm did an amazing job of making every choice Taylor made believable and understandable in the context of what choices she's already made and how she's been changed by her experiences. I do not understand what has prompted Victoria to suggest this and every other member of breakthrough (and every major hero team) to go along with it. I can see why its accepted on a systemic level, its not too different from the birdcage and most of the villains sent there were given sham trials at most anyway. But literally no one on the team is pushing back on this. Two members of breakthrough were just in prison—three, if you count Damsel. Its not clear that she's even given up on the top-tier villain persona even if she's not making moves to pursue it, why is she going along with this. Several of them have done things that at least approach getting put on a list like that. You're living in a world where Riley and Valkyrie and Legend are load-bearing pillars that people rely on, and suddenly disappearing powerful capes that are currently a problem is the only option we can think of? Is the whole "the city is the place of renewed chances" thing really being abandoned so thoroughly?

Kenzie had just told Swansong how much it hurt for her to go to prison, how much it felt like breaking a promise to not leave her alone even though they kept in contact. They were just having a conversation about how much Chris meant to them, how much his deal is a result of horrific circumstances that its the group's original goal to try to work through constructively and come out a better person with. Chris would almost have to be on a list like this, right? Apparent shadow-leader of a cape dictatorship? Sveta would've been on a list like that as Garotte, if it wasn't apparent how much she hated what she was doing. Sveta had spent the last chapter yelling at Carol for her views on criminal rights. Why is there such a huge disconnect here that the text isn't seemingly doing anything with.

Its not even that I can't see a version of this beat working for the story. The track just hasn't been laid for it. The prison break story set up "hey there's a lot of really dangerous capes and knowing where they are can let people try to break them out" thing well, but that does not automatically translate to "everyone will be on board for Secret Prison Colonies" given all the strong character and thematic reasons for the opposite reaction. Why isn't this the result of a more gradual slide or a series of moral compromises? Why is this something that's being described in jump cuts?

[aliciavance4228]

I Hate Lore Olympus (Sorry Not Sorry)

Note: I know that "hate" is a big word and that "dislike" is more fitting. But I never thought that I would ever encounter a comic that is so bad from its very beginning, so I have all the right to use it.

I remember that back when I was around 13 I heard for the very first time about Lore Olympus. I was already into Greek Mythology back then, but I hesistated reading/watching Lore Olympus and I remember myself abandoning it exactly in the middle of episode 10.

So I'm going to talk here about every little aspect that I didn't like about it and made me willing to abandon it so far.

The Colors

Look, I know that associating each god with a specific color based either on their role or personality isn't a new idea; we already see that in Disney's Hercules. At first I was like: "That must be interesting. I mean, it’s an easy way to distinguish each one of them, right?" But then I realized that the main reason why the creator chose to do that in the first place was because she wasn't too good at drawing. There are panels in which the characters are looking normal, and others in which they don’t look like themselves. The only thing that indicates you that yes, this is [Insert Name], is purely their color.

Also, I do not like the choice of color for many characters as well. For instace, the only reason why I believe that Hades is blue and Persephone is pink is because of the "boys=blue; girls=pink" stereotype. Also, why are Zeus and Poseidon purple and green, respectively? For me, it would've made more sense if Zeus was either white or golden and if Poseidon was the blue one. For Hades I think that either black (mortuary color), purple (associated with the riches) or at least a shade of grey would've been a better choice. As for Persephone, I think that ivy, teal, liliac and indigo would've all been better options.

Oh, and... why is Minthe red? Judging by her pointy years the creator wanted to make her look like some sort of a she-devil instead of a nymph. Mint green would've been a better color choice for her.

The Art Style on its own

This is a very subjective opinion, but I don't like this way too colorful, cartoonish design. I quess I'm just way too used of Seinen and Josei, lol.

On a serious note though, back when I was 6 I literally had a fairy tale book full of graphic/explicit illustrations. Inside the "Bluebeard" chapter there was literally an image with all of Bluebeard's previous wives beheaded, tied and thrown into a pool of blood. Not a very long time ago we used to tell our kids stories about cannibalism and child abandonment (looking at you, Hansel and Gretel!), because children are capable enough to understand that life isn't just rainbows and love and that bad thing are happening too. Are you really going to tell me that a pre-teen cannot read a comic series unless it's extremely colored and looks like something made by Disney?!

Minthe

You could've made Minthe either Hades' ex or a girl who tried to seduce him while knowing that he is already in a relationship. In these cases I would understand why you would choose to villainize her and turn her into the Big Bad Guy. But the fact that she and Hades were already in a relationship and he was willing to have an affair with another woman without any hesitation justifies her anger completely, anyone would be angry if they would know that their partner is cheating on them. The choice of making Persephone the mistress instead of her and then acting as if Minthe was in fact the bitch all this time is horrible.

Persephone

I want to know:

Why does she look and act like a child? Just because she was initially an "innocent flower girl" or something like that before she was kidnapped in the original myths that doesn’t mean that she has to act straight up like an infant. This kinda reminds of some sort of a Betty Boop situation: she's basically a character with the head of a child put on the body of a grown sexy woman; which not only that makes men thirsty over her, but helps them to easily manipulate her as well.

And look, I know that Homer is partly to be blamed for this as well: he describes her as trim-ankled and buxom all the time, so in this case it's alright to criticize the poet for the amount of unnecessary fanservice. Don't take this part too seriously.

Why is she only 19 whereas Hades is 2000+? Look, I know that even in the original Greek Mythology there is a generational gap between Hades and Persephone, but you could've made her at least a few centuries older. Was it that hard?! In this comic Hades is both physically and mentally WAY older than her, which instantly makes this relationship creepier than in the original myths. What is next, making her a minor?!

Why is she this little cupcake uncapable of doing anything wrong? Give me a complex character as a protagonist, not a Mary Sue. I understand that you wanted a compassionate and emphatic Persephone, but you know that just because someone is nice that doesn’t mean that they're automatically naïve or stupid, nor that they cannot have layers, right?

Hades

Look, I know that for a significant amount of time Hades was considered the equivalent of Satan and by extension depicted as evil by the Christian Hollywood. But just because he wasn't the devil that doesn’t mean that he automatically was this innocent shy awkard cute saint that never does anything wrong and should be raised in glory. You could've at least give him a dark and dour personality: make him morbid, brooding, sarcastic, surly, insufferable... I don't know, just anything. Besides, I don't like how the narrative acts as if he has no fault at all, when it's quite obivious not only that he cheated on Minthe, but that both of them are toxic and abusive in this relationship, not only her.

Ah, and... he's a creep. He's more of a creep here than in the original Greek Myths, and he's literally kidnapping her there. It's very obivious that he likes Persephone only for her body and nothing else. Even Plato wrote: "This is the reason why Haides, who is wise, consorts with her [Persephone], because she is wise." once.

Remember that moment from episode 8 when she asks him to help her with her hair, and he not only that immediately assumes that she wants to have sex with him, but also tells her that they can do that in the kitchen but to be careful because he has loud neighbors or something like that? That was straight up disgusting in my honest opinion and not exactly something that the ultimate gentleman this narrative presents him as would say.

Demeter

I vaguely remember one moment when Demeter shows Persephone a greenhouse or something like that, which turns out to be a cage. I can't tell for the moment if it was a dream or something that actually happened, but depicting Demeter as an overbearing mother is an instant big no for me. If anyone dares to demonize her just because they ship Hades and Persephone then I invite them to sleep in my trash can, no discussion.

Aphrodite

I just want to know why is Persephone more beautiful than the Goddess of Beauty. You cannot make the Goddess of Beauty less attractive than your MC, just because all the focus is on her.

Overall, I am very glad that I didn't continue it, and that because, from what I heard, things are becoming creepier and creepier with each chapter, and the entire comic is an insult to Greek Mythology (I can tell).