#like. the two second snippet you get to see of him in season one makes him more gold and pink than season two

[skeletallii]

honestly i’m still so incredibly pissed off that they made Sunfyre larger than Syrax in hotd.

like, you’re telling me Syrax, who’s thirty-three years old or possibly older (around the same age as Rhaenyra, her cradle-mate) and was large enough to ride when Rhaenyra was seven, is somehow smaller than Sunfyre, who’s twenty-five at the most and grew up in the dragon pit while Syrax has been on Dragonstone with Rhaenyra since she was sixteen??

i don’t want to hear about sexual dimorphism since it’s directly stated in the book that they couldn’t even tell if dragons had genders or not, and they only classified the dragons who had laid eggs as female.

[cjlouwho]

Seeing the Maddie gif just reminded of all the wasted potential and storylines they could have had with Tommy and the bucktommy relationship. Because let's face it, for all of the mains it's the same storyline over and over again - we're not learning anything new about them. But then here we have a character who we sort of already know, who they've teased us with a bit of his history and it was like finally! A chance for something new! We could have learned more about his family, maybe see how Buck reacts meeting his father and then having to deal with his homophobic reaction to him, the man he loves and their relationship. He clearly sounded like he didn't have a lot of close friends/family/support outside of Buck - we could have explored that, have Buck be there for his man and show him how, you have me and the 118. We never got to see the whole "dating a fellow first responder and the challenges that come with that" - we've seen Buck in the hospital so many times, it would have been interesting to see Tommy in that hospital bed and Buck having to deal with the one being by the bedside for once, worrying about someone he loves, maybe making him fully appreciate everything his family had gone through in the past when HE was the one injured (like all the effort Maddie went into to look after him). We could have had Tommy and Eddie bonding over war stories - was Tommy discharged due to DADT? If so, we could have had conversations with Karen, who also was affected by that. Hell, if they were gonna do the stupid "he was engaged to Abby for two years" story, have Chim and Hen be like, dude, you were working with us all that time, how did we not KNOW (that story still makes no sense - he never mentioned her name to them? Because if he did, surely it would have clicked when they met her in S1 "oh, you're Tommy's Abby". But Tim acknowledged he retconned their relationship from an ex-boyfriend to ex-fiances so he clearly doesn't care.)

But most of all, despite being together for SIX MONTHS, we never saw Tommy and Maddie interact. Maddie was clearly excited for Buck ("tell me about the hot pilot"), she's married to Tommy's old friend, there was the perfect opportunity to see them start to bond over family dinner or something. We've never seen Maddie really click with any of Buck's LI's before, so it would have been nice to see Buck's whole world start to come together. And it could have led to family orientated stories for Buck for once - we always assume he wants kids because he says he loves kids and we see that with Chris, Jee etc. There could have been discussions for the first time about Buck's future - does he see himself getting married, having kids (and ugh, so annoyed that the first time Buck mentions the possibility of getting married is 30 seconds before his heart is crushed).

And that's not even going into the small things I wanted to see on-screen. I knew we were never gonna get anything too intimate - 911 is a bit prudish, they don't really do sex scenes, especially not since the first season, and hell, all their other main couples barely kiss as it is. But things like holding hands as they're walking down the street, talking about their day while making dinner together, waking up in bed together - small little domestic things that show how their relationship is developing. SHOW it developing. (Because while the snippets they showed of their relationship showed that they were growing more comfortable as a couple, a lot of that development happened off screen.)

This was the first time in a long time, maybe ever, that we saw Buck truly happy (that man was GLOWING, even covered in boils). For the first time, we could have seen his story GROW, instead of doing the same lather, rinse, repeat that has happened in all his relationships (Buck falls for someone, goes too hard too fast, they abandon him, he doesn't bother fighting for the relationship). We could have finally had a sprinkling of new storylines (Tommy wasn't a main, we obviously weren't going to get a hell of a lot, but if Karen can have her own stories/backstories, so could he). All that down the drain for what, Buck 1.0 again? Him jumping back on that hamster wheel of "find new love interest, it goes nowhere, he's single again". It's boring, and this show is on its 8th season - not only has this been played out for too long, who knows how much longer the show is gonna last. If it only goes until say season 10, that would have been two and a half seasons worth of seeing Buck be able to grow, get the love he always wanted (hell, maybe even get engaged, finish the series with a wedding implying he gets his happily ever after). Buck is only one member of an ensemble cast - they can't focus on him every episode, so two years is plenty of time to draw out only a handful of fresh stories. After 8 season, keeping him perpetually single for this long only works if he's always been played as like Joey off Friends - someone who is happy playing the dating game, not looking to go anywhere. Except Buck has been shown to be looking for love all this time - he doesn't want that single life (he doesnt want to "explore" Tim - screwing random men and women isnt going to help him find that love he's always wanted, especially when he already had it). But instead, they take it away from him AGAIN, and now they're back to square one. Sigh.

There’s so much i agree with here! They’ve tried to cram soooo many storylines into each episode that there’s no room to breathe. Everything feels stunted and half-assed. Tim said they didn’t want to ignore everything that happened at the end of 7, wanted to pick it back up, but they spent these first few episodes either destroying the storylines they built on, or ending them so abruptly it doesn’t feel satisfying. Nothing feels connected anymore. In early seasons you’d have them all working together on certain major storylines, but I’d doesn’t really feel like that happens now outside of calls. And the calls are so quick (besides the damn plane) that you don’t really connect with that either.

It would have been nice to see tommy and buck develop more, nice to see him involved with the group instead of just Eddie, nice to see them keep their word and try to make this love interest different from the rest. They did none of that.

[diegosumbrella]

My observations from s4 of Umbrella Academy

I dont even wanna talk about the main plot of whatever the fuck that car crash of a season four was, but heres some plot discrepancies I noticed while watching Umbrella Academy.

!! Season four spoilers under the 'see more' !!

- Luther's unnecessary body change

It's stated so clearly in s1 that Luther never gained his body from the marigold or developed it along with his powers. When he was up on that mission on the moon, he had an accident and Pogo had to donate his blood which resulted in Luther having that monkey body we all know and love.

So as Luther drank that said marigold, why would he suddenly gain back the blood donated from pogo and the body that comes along with that..? It's as if the writers themselves forgot why he had that body. Why write in unnecessary body dysphoria for my poor baby?

- Diego's sudden appearance of ab's

Listen. I am the last fucking person to complain about a Diego Hargreeves shirtless scene, where you see his pecs quite literally bounce BUT why did he change so drastically from 'dad bod' to suddenly 'ripped'?

I read an article interview with Steve Blackman and saw a few snippets from a podcast that explained that David (Diego's actor) didn't want to gain weight for the role, which is totally understandable. But if you have an actor who doesn't want to gain weight for this role, why not just keep Diego as fit?

Due to the short six episodes, it's extremely easy to miss how Diego slowly becomes more fit as time progressed. For most, and also myself at first, that fighting scene just looked confusing as fuck. Like two episodes before, Lila was calling you 'tubby' (or whatever the fuck she said), so why do you have abs now?? Where did the dilf diego dad bod disappear to :(

- Allison's beloved Ray just leaving her

I'm not sure if i'm taking this the wrong way completely but... In the scene after Allison had given Klaus the marigold against his wishes, but also to save his life. As Klaus is calling out every member of the family, he mentions how he 'took care of Allison when Ray walked out'.

Like i'm sorry but the fuck do you mean Ray just walked out?? Why did he leave Allison if she had no powers. She'd clearly built a better life for herself and began to change her mindset for the better, compared to s3 she's drastically better.

It's never explained (probably again for the lack of episodes) and it's never even mentioned again. Like does Allison share custody of Claire with Ray? Does Claire even see her father? I have so many questions and once again, a severe lack of answers.

- Klaus breaking his five year sobriety

As much as us as an audience are aware of Klaus' addictive tendencies and his utter thirst for form of drug in the former seasons, but why establish that he's not only been sober for three entire years but he's also now a huge germaphobe just for him to ruin it in five seconds.

The main problem I had with this is the fact none of the siblings, including and most importantly Allison, had zero reaction to this. They weren't upset, angry, disappointed or fuck it even happy. They practically ignored the fact their brothers three year detox went out the window.

Five's ability to time jump

Before I get you all jumping up my arse, i'm fully aware I could discuss how they completely just fucked his character development and his entire personality as a whole for a shitty romance that made absolutely no sense but I'm gonna make a separate post on that because oh boy do I have some shite to say.

ANYWAY.

I can't even go into much detail with this one but why is it that every time five attempts to do his time jumps, he ends up in that subway but when he does it with Lila in that end episode.. he can suddenly just jump..?? normally?? Like why. Why can he now only just time jump as he used too. WHY WAS THE SUBWAY NEEDED FOR OTHER THAN FOR THAT AWFUL FIVE X LILA PLOT????

It's as if the writers couldn't come up with a way to get the brellies into that building with Ben so instead of using critical thinking and writing them breaking in, they just said 'fuck it make him time jump with Lila'. Like no I have questions??

[rebeltigera]

Haiii!! I got question:

Do you have any head-canons for mk? Mac? Wuk?

And what is your personal opinion on season 5?

I am responding second time because the first one didn't send :'D

Pls end me.

I don't remember the headcanons I've mustered out the first time damnit -

*sigh*

Those are general ones , I use the design of the character most of the time to show headcanons

For MK

-He's wasted after one beer.

-his tail subconsciously curl against legs of his friends or person he trust

-he chirp subconsciously

-he don't like bitter things like dark chocolate

For Wukong

- he got thick , strong curly fur . When fluffed up texture it reminds of the dust brush

- his body temperature is much higher due to the furnace punishment

-gets headaches due to the circlet (phantom pain)

-he speak and read fluently ancient Chinese , however he got problems with modern language

-he usually sleeps with lil monkeys around

-he can't get drunk.

-monkeys take care of his fur

For Mac

- his ears are too delicate for piercings. They would hurt.

- thin , straight/wavy fur like smoke . He can't stand cold

- he can always hear past and present but future is randomly whispering to him

- he got lower body temperature (due to the shadow nature)

- when drunk he looks like a beast but he's a snuggly wuggly teddy bear

-he takes care of his fur regularly himself

For Mei (because it's lacking in other categories and I don't remember more :'D)

- When she fights she tunes into imaginary music in the background. Like Gwen from spiderverse 2

About S5

*sigh* Vent warning. not directed at anyone in particular

I am unable to put up presentable opinion on this season

Also warning to everyone that will read it

If you are here to defend/ you are touchy on subject of S5 please avert your eyes.

The season was mid at best. , script was rushed, the core of it was S3 with meek antagonist, the most evil character there was a bug demon with many eyes, and SACRIFICE was basically word for this season.

Other things I remember from it is a burnt dumpling and Nezha's mech. Oh and Wukong being useless, Mac carrying season on his back , MK being even more stupid than usual. A random guy with a pagoda and a Twink snake. Nothing else .

Let's put my opinion about the animation now :D

Flying Bark got sacrificed just like MK in this season lol

The animation was a pure nightmare, it's like Seven deadly sins Incident

And if you guys think it will get much better from that in one year (let's say for example they will produce another season next year) you live high on copium and delulu.

Our juicy yummy frame by frame animation was taken away and they gave us RAGDOLL animation.

What does it mean? -AND HERE TUMBLR DECIDED TO CRASH ON ME AND IM WRITING IT 3rd TIME :D- you know how hieroglyphs are animated? Ye, that's basically it with extra steps! HOW FUN. NOW WE HAVE PUPPETS 2D. A FREAKING GACHA FROM YT IF YOU MUST. THOSE IN SOME CASES ARE EVEN BETTER ANIMATED THAN OUR SHOW ITSELF BTW. This has it's perks! I guess. It's cheaper and easier to make episodes! :D the cons are we will no longer see good battles in the show. yay "But we saw Wukong vs MK! And snippet of Wukong vs Mac fight!" please, spare me. If you are telling me those were good fights , that is half assed animation they have no idea how works and two dots clashing with eachother you should go rewatch other seasons. the fucking disgrace and audacity.

But no matter. That i can live off, that i can gulp down.

YOU KNOW WHAT I CAN'T? THE SHEER AMOUNT OF MISTAKES ON BASIC LVL IN ART. I am sitting here looking at those colors, those lines this fucking scenography and ask- what a fucking newbie did this .

YOU CAN'T EVEN GET COLOR RIGHT

AND BEFORE ANY OF U F NERDS WILL COME TO ME AND SAY "UUU ACTUALLY ITS LIGHTING FAULT-" NO ITS FUCKING NOT.

THEY CAN'T EVEN USE SAME COLORS AS IN THE PRIOR SHOT , THEY CANT EVEN SAMPLE IT PROPERLY . BETWEEN THOSE SHOTS NOTHING CHANGE THEREFORE THE LIGHTING IS THE FUCKING SAME

IF YOU DON'T DRAW , AND HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT , JUST -

we have a shiny wukong here

What is this scene , please someone can explain to me the scenography of this

Why this perspective is wrong, the shading, the lack of lighting

Here characters don't even stand properly

WHAT IS WITH THIS AWKWARD SCENOGRAPHY ?

WHY THEY ALL LOOK OUT OF PLACE. AND IM NOT EVEN TALKING ABOUT THIS SHADING BECAUSE ITS SHIT.

HAVE THEY MISSED LIKE ALL BASIC LESSONS IN ART SCHOOLS? OR SOMETHING? LIKE THIS IS A JOKE. NO WONDER PEOPLE THOUGHT TRAILER WAS FAN MADE.

Now this- this is just hillarious.

Just add to it some dramatic intense sound effect and we have another nightmare.

The voice acting was great tho

[zombee]

I feel like the luckiest Our Flag Means Death fan in the world after the season 2 finale. By a series of incredible circumstances - including a significant metatextual realization that came in at the 11th hour - it was close to perfect for me.

This essay has everything. Completely normal behavior over a television series. Steven Universe references. The David Jenkins School of Whatever is Best for the Bit. Humbling catharsis.

First: this piece does not exist with the central thesis of “it’s okay to not like something but that’s not the same thing as it being bad.” I feel like thousands of words have already been written on this since Thursday, so I’m going to try to not get too in depth on that.

Second, cards on the table, because it’s relevant and I don’t want to waste your time if this is going to sour your ability to hear me out: I’m an Izzy Canyon hater. For MANY reasons, but from way before the concept of the Canyon existed, (some) Izzy fans pinged me in the same way as Snape/Kylo Ren fans did, and before May 2022 was over I went from genuinely enjoying Izzy’s character and place in the narrative to hating him because his fans made it impossible for me to enjoy him anymore.

(SOME! of his fans. Please don’t keep making me say this, although I’m not going to talk about the Canyon directly anymore after this. I know there are a ton of normal Izzy Enjoyers and even Canyonites, I am literally friends with many of them, please take this all in the good faith it’s intended and if you’re not One Of The Bad Ones then you’re fine! I very carefully don’t go anti-Izzy on main, and when I stopped enjoying his character, I stopped writing him into fics. I’m not trying to be a dick, I just want to be honest. Anyway.)

The season 2 finale made me weep over Izzy Goddamn hands.

ALL season long, I was disgruntled. All season long. I really, truly, DEEPLY appreciated what they were doing with his character and arc, I thought it was wildly on brand for the themes of community/queerness in the show, I saw the vision, I liked it!!! But. I wanted a fucking apology, yall. I needed three seconds of “sorry I called you a slur, Ed :/” and that would have been enough. But I had to let it go. It was poisoning my enjoyment of the whole season, which I loved with very little exception (not none!) and I just had to let it go. I wasn’t getting an apology. That didn’t negate what they were doing with his character.

Yall. They withheld the apology on purpose.

THIS FUCKING SHOW!!!

Let’s go back a bit. I was at the episode 6 + 7 screening, and the breakup shook me. Probably a LOT more than if I had watched it alone in bed at 3am on my laptop - five days of no sleep after NYCC, lots of emotions, seeing it on a big screen with a hundred other intense fans, etc etc - but I did see other folks reacting in parallel ways to me when the episodes aired to the regular public, so maybe I would have felt the same way. Regardless, I was mad at Stede and to a lesser extent Ed. I NEEDED AN APOLOGY FOR THAT FISH LINE. I needed it! “Whativah” autocorrects to “WHATIVAH” in my phone. I was going through it.

(When I rewatched the episode when it aired it was not nearly as bad as I remember, lol)

So now the episode 8 screeners go out and the reviews drop and I think I catch one half-glimpse of a “What a heartbreaking ending!” kind of snippet, and some of my friends who are spoiler fiends unintentionally drop little hints about similar ideas (devastating/heartbreaking/split the fandom) type shit.

And I was a fucking WRECK! about it.

I do love this whole show with my whole chest. I do!!! But I’m not rotted because this is an excellent television show, I’m rotted because two old men kiss each other! On the MOUTH!!! in an excellent television show. You get it, right? I’ve written 700,000 words across almost 100 fics and 98% of them are dedicated to those two men falling in love in different universes. 

So it just did not even occur to me the “heartbreak/devastation/fandom split” would be about anything but Gentlebeard.

Another piece of this that was fucking me up - David Jenkins and his “satisfactory” ending biz. My brain was reacting like this show was ENDING ending, even if I knew logically! that this is just season 2!!! And I wasn’t ready for that, because what if it wasn’t personally satisfying, and I’m a mess about it? Why was I so worried about not liking it? I’d liked the whole season! Even if they didn’t nail the landing I wasn’t going to stop writing fic or hanging out with my pirate community & friends. 

…is what I kept trying to tell myself, but the way anxiety disorders work is funny like that lol. What if I did stop writing fic and hanging out in pirate spaces? That would hurt much more than a show I like disappointing me. And for anyone who’s having that experience with ofmd s2, I’m so very, very sorry. It sucks and that’s where my epiphany came from on Wednesday before the finale.

Because it has happened to me before.

I flit from hyperfocus to hyperfocus, as ya do when you’re spicy, but the last thing to get its hooks in me PROPERLY like pirates was Steven Universe. And I did NOT like the way the regular season ended!!! (I actually really did like most of Future; that’s not what I mean. I mean season 5). I don’t like how they handled the Diamonds, tldr; I think the scope of their villainy got too out of hand, and I was left grieving the thing that had meant enough to me I ran a fan convention for four years based around it. 

Side note: imagine if I had channeled the hyperfocus of almost a million words of fanfiction into an American OFMD con instead. We could have made magic :( I did consult with Our Con Means Death though so I am at least a teeny tiny bit of that one!

I did not like the way Steven ended… but I do respect the story they were telling and think they told it well.

I’m still sad about it. Steven is still one of my most beloved, it will always be beautiful and great to me, but that experience did and does sully my memories. There is so, so, so, SO much more good than bad from being in that fandom, and I cherish it. And I hope, if you’re having this experience with OFMD right now, that you’ll find similar comfort.

But, like I said at the top, “it’s okay to not like something but that’s not the same thing as it being bad” has been belabored already by people better at writing about it than me. I just had the incredible privilege to remember my brush with lower case T trauma and having that experience in my last REALLY big deal fandom. That’s why I had been so extra anxious about being disappointed. Because it happened to me before. It helped so much to connect those two.

So the finale happens, and it’s actually about twelve hours of me going from “eh, rushed but fun, whole season was great” to “THIS MAYBE IS THE BEST SHOW OF ALL TIME, ACTUALLY!”

BECAUSE THIS SHOW MADE ME CRY OVER IZZY FUCKING HANDS!!!!

They literally told me this was the story they were telling this season. “Men can change” “The end  of piracy” “Ed leaving Blackbeard behind (ish).”

As for me? I didn’t get an apology for the fish. Instead, I got “Sorry I was a dick.” “You weren’t a dick. Life’s a dick.”

Just… fuckity BAM. THREE FUCKING SENTENCES resolving that fight. Saying so much in so little.

In real life, should these two men have an actual conversation about this shit? Sure!!! But that’s not how OFMD tells its stories!

It works in symbolism. It works in vibes. It works in an hour’s worth of content into each half-hour episode, and for how much lamenting I have done about the pacing, I would prefer that 100x to having to stretch it out too much.

I have said since March 24, 2022 that OFMD wields anachronism as a weapon. First and foremost, it’s fucking funny, but in addition to that, it’s stating clearly: “This is a fantasy world. This is not real history. This show is about romance (and so much more than that), and the rest is just VIBES!!!”

Sometimes vibes can be historical accuracy. Sometimes vibes can be true emotional poignancy. Sometimes vibes can be Ed finding his sunken leathers in the sea, changing underwater somehow, and coming out of the ocean like the Birth of Fucking Venus, because water and rebirth and mermaids and shit is all very prominent this season. And ALSO, and this is very important! BECAUSE IT LOOKS FUCKING COOL!

I don’t want to do much real Izzy meta here. It’s been said by others, and better than me. But it was telegraphed and it was symbolic – he was the paragon of Traditional Piracy in season 1, for goodness’ sake, and Traditional Piracy is Toxic Masculinity, and he was a part of Blackbeard and Ed had to leave Blackbeard behind (yknow, ish), and he got this ABSOLUTLEY FUCKING LOVELY! storyline about appreciating what a (queer) community can do, and god fucking shit fucking dammit… most of all, best of all (for me), was Buttons landing on Izzy’s grave at the end. Men can change. And Izzy DID!!! He did it for Ed. For love. For community. I am puzzled by “it’s fucked up to use Izzy to further Ed’s storyline” because… this was Ed’s season, in the way that season 1 was Stede’s. And Ed cannot be removed from piracy as a whole (neither can Stede!) so to have this old, set in his ways, coded-queerphobic character blossom to the point he can give this gift to Ed and to piracy… idk man. I just find it so fucking beautiful.

It is okay not to like what they did. It’s okay!!! It’s okay, and it’s okay to mourn, and while it’s not okay to do [insert vile behavior here], it’s okay to carefully examine what you think is “bad writing” vs “what you would have preferred to happen” and give good-faith, textually-based criticism on that.

But I want to remind you over and over and over again, this show works on vibes. It tells its stories leaving many, many, many gaps. There are many things I would have liked to see, and y’know what? I would have told the Izzy story differently. I would have personally done it differently. But it’s not my show! It’s not my show, and I am humbled and delighted to remember that, and to appreciate Our Flag Means Death for what it is and not what it isn’t.

Other words have been written better than I could about the 18 months between seasons 1 and 2 and what that does to us as rabid fans with expectations of how things will go. Millions and millions and millions of words have been written about OFMD, fictional and non, and that is going to color our expectations and experience. We had built it up SO MUCH in our minds and along the way I think some of us forgot (INCLUDING ME!!!) that it is first and foremost about Vibes.

The vibes of Izzy’s death are about rebirth and forgiveness and leaving traditional piracy behind. And he got to die in Ed’s arms, knowing (HAPPILY!) that he had been wrong, and giving Ed the gift of letting him know he is loved, and being a part of something. We had a funeral but we also had a wedding. The only constant is change. Men, piracy, Blackbeard; it all changes. And Izzy found peace in that.

Before my last point, I want to @ myself on things I felt versus realizing in the end it is (I will say it until I’m blue in the face) about vibes.

· I was convinced they left Buttons’ transformation ambiguous because they wanted to leave room for it not having been real. NO!!! It is real, until they decided it isn’t. Magic in the OFMD universe? Fucking why not!!! IT’S SYMBOLIC!!! IT’S IMPORTANT TO ED’S STORYLINE AND THE CENTRAL THESES OF THE SHOW!

· I was unhappy, and still am a little, about the Polycule Situation, but now that I realize Oluwande is Zheng’s Stede… I am less so. The Zheng : Auntie :: Ed : Izzy vibes, btw? Fuckin immaculate.

·        Obviously they touched on Stede/Ed’s “killing people trauma” but I’d reallyyyy like Stede to address it, and even though I think Ed’s is left on a very satisfying note, I’d like him to dip a bit more into it as well. But if they don’t, oh well! It’s not like they ignored it, they just didn’t have a Deep Dive like I Wanted Them To!

· They didn’t deal with Ed throwing Stede’s shit away. They just ignored it! Stede started to collect new trinkets, and I believe that was as much about giving the audience back the old feeling of the Revenge as it was anything important (not to say it wasn’t also important thematically!!!). Just like Ed going back to his leathers is both Extremely Important thematically and about putting Taika back in the leathers because that’s what Blackbeard should be wearing for the epic final scenes for the sake of visually keeping the show consistent. That’s Blackbeard’s uniform.

· Stede’s frilly little outfits my beloved. God I hope they give him back some of his frippery in season 3. I think they will re: cursed suit BUT his journey this season was about something else, so!

· Ed’s stupid little non-profit non-apology, oh my god. It was so funny. And there is a transition from eps 5 to 6 where Ed is back in his leathers and the crew is more comfortable around him. They didn’t have to have him do a Real Apology, it’s implied it was all settled. What was the timeline? A day? DOESN’T MATTER, BABY, VIBES!!!

· Lots more, I’m sure, but now that I’ve tried to let it all go, I’m remembering less of what I wanted and appreciating what I got!

And, last point here, I think it is also very very very important to remember that a lot of people are normal about this show. In fact, WAY more people are normal about this show than aren’t. And that is EXTREMELY! IMPORTANT!!! because otherwise it wouldn’t be profitable and we all know what would happen then. We are the core of it, to be sure. Without word of mouth that stems from our intensity, this show would not be NEARLY as successful as it is. I truly, truly believe that.

But.

Do normies need deeply emotional discussions dissecting the central relationships? No. What normies need is Ed and Stede running dramatically toward each other on the beach and kissing. And I am happy, so fucking happy, to realize that’s what I need too. I’ve got fanworks for the rest.

I love this fucking show and this fucking fandom and its fucking creators so much. Fuck.

[slugtranslation-hypmic]

Hihi slug, I love your work, and thanks for everything!! Since Matenro season is nearly upon us, I was wondering if we could get your opinion on the solo snippets🤞🤞

Matenro's new solo previews are SO GOOD, what do you think of them?

Thank you both for notifying me about them! Taking a look now...

(The album is probably already out now, but... better late than never...)

Jakurai's A Majestic Figure

Title note: 4-kanji compounds are like the SAT vocab words of Japanese; they're not super common in everyday speech and can evoke a literary or sophisticated feeling. This one is...interesting. To the best of my knowledge, it isn't a standard compound (I'm also not getting any hits when I Google it) and I wonder if that's significant. It's just two words strung together to make the appearance of fanciness, perhaps. I couldn't say for certain. At any rate, both 威風 and (especially) 颯爽 describe a majestic, often captivating appearance. This isn't to say that such qualities of dignity or majesty aren't real, but I definitely feel like both terms are defining a subject from an outside perspective. These aren't terms I would ever expect someone to describe themselves with, which makes the song title sound like it's an outside observer commenting on Jakurai instead of Jakurai talking about himself. We see this happen a lot in Hypmic, with people putting Jakurai on pedestals or Jakurai struggling to see himself as the same grand figure others perceive him as. As a result, I wrote the song title as "A Majestic Figure" to emphasize the appearance of majesty, whereas the character of the figure is unknown. Anyway, let's dive in and see what this is all about.

(10 seconds in) Vibing with these instrumentals

(19 seconds in) Not vibing with these "ah"s... but we can't have everything in life

(43 seconds in) I'm a little too tired to fully keep up (I'll look up the lyrics when I'm done) but I REALLY like the urgency in the delivery, which is so at odds with the flowing, dignified background music. In JPN fiction as a whole, flusteredness/desperation is contrasted with calmness as a synonym for imperfection and perfection. Jakurai is, honestly, really kind of a desperate character...yet one that appears outwardly calm/perfect to most of the rest of the cast, so it's interesting that we get to see his desperate nature on full display right at the start of the song.

(1:26 in) Hand motif mentioned *Cinemasins ding* (of

(End) Thank you uta-net for having the lyrics up already; ily. Let's see now... Interesting. I'll have to read them again in more depth later, but it looks like a call to forgive past wounds and seek out a better, less painful way of existence--in a societal sense, a religious (as in like, ascending or becoming enlightened) sense, and a personal sense. All great things to see Jakurai expressing. Again, it's interesting to see Jakurai expressing this with such urgency, even if these are things we know he really, really cares about. That coupled with the background music seems to match a bit in the lyrics that says "And [to end war within society, paraphrased] I take grand, dignified action mixed with the discord and noise of Shinjuku, a samsara spiral of cacophonous echoes." Mixing the stately and the chaotic, the "imperfect" and the "perfect." Really interesting stuff!

Hifumi's The Beginning of the Last Song

Title note: "Last Song" is English and written in katakana, which is a sharp contrast to the style of Jakurai's title. Creates a much younger and casual feel appropriate for Hifumi. Not much else to say here, so let's jump in.

(10 seconds in) Modern indie pop song on the radio feel. I'm not a fan of autotune in general so I'm not in love with this, but I'm hopeful it'll pick up soon.

(22 seconds in) I listen to so much "soft hiphop" (for lack of a better term) during work that my brain instantly catapulted itself into work mode and stopped paying any attention to the words. Coffee mug? Check. Emails? Check. Anxiety? Check. Let me rewind and listen to this properly.

(32 seconds in but for real this time) So far, very Hifumi. Opening verse has some fun figurative language but essentially says Hifumi's suit is pure courage he dons like a suit of armor. In doing so, it masks him and makes him become like a whole other person. From there, he switches to addressing a listener: "I want to soothe your mental wounds. I want to change your frown into a smile. I won't let go of your hands, and no, I'm not doing this for a reward." It's something that Hifumi should be saying to himself (something Hifumi wants to hear, maybe?) and yet he says "To [Host!]me, this is happiness."

(59 seconds in) Hmm... I was going to say this song feels sad to me, because all these positive messages of "Keep going! You're safe now!" are framed as being directed at other people, and I was like..."Hifumi, who's going to say that to you? Who's going to help you feel that way?" but then the line "You made me realize I'm not alone" radically flips the framing so that it DOES become things Hifumi is saying to himself, too. How nice. :) I would not want to translate this, personally... Haha it's using the vagueness of Japanese grammar and lyrical conventions to great effect, but I don't feel comfortable touching that personally.

(1:02) Hell yeah, belt that shit, homie

(1:32) So it's a last song in the sense that it's a farewell or the final song of his old self. Now he's the new, healing Hifumi. We love to see it 10/10 bravo. The song is also a happy, heartfelt thank you to the unspoken listeners (presumably Matenrou) who helped him feel less alone. That's cute! I like it. I probably shouldn't go here, but I find it intriguing how the vagueness of listeners is utilized. The first time the listeners are addressed, the language is...if not borderline romantic, pathos-filled to the point where it's definitely evocative of his host job (hence why he's not seeking compensation for handholding, an often romantic gesture). Yet it's borderline enough that it wouldn't be inappropriate to imagine it being addressed to Matenrou instead of his patrons. Hahaha. Again, another reason I don't want to go near this one.

(Overall) I like it! A nice ballad for Hifumi.

Doppo's Andante

(5 seconds in) For a song called Andante, this has a faster tempo than at least one other song on this album lol. But it's much less frenetic than Doppo's other solos, so there's that, I guess.

(7 seconds in) This delivery is giving me anime ending made by a 2010s rock band vibes lol.

(14 seconds in) Damn there's a baller line here that I'm stumped on how to convey in Eng in a way that's both baller and sensical. Meaning wise, it's like "I want to take back the things I shouldn't have said and give them as a present to you" and in figurative language it's like "Once, I used to fire words into the air [speak things in anger or carelessly]. Now, I want to gather them up [esp. like a bouquet of flowers] after their flight and use them to decorate you [again, like flowers or like a piece of jewelry--it's a positive connotation]" Pop off, Doppo

(40 seconds in) Oh this is killer and also going to need some major explaining. Doppo's name is literally "he who walks alone" which is usually considered a positive thing--someone who "walks the path of life" alone would have gotten there by outstripping the rest of the pack. In Doppo's case, though, this is a negative thing. I think it's not as obvious to Eng-only fans, and I know I didn't really think about it for a long time myself, but Doppo considers himself a "loser" bc he didn't follow a conventional life path. It's considered atypical to switch employers, especially very early on in one's career, as he did when he stood up for Hifumi and got himself fired at his first job. Part of why he puts up with shitty treatment at EL Medical is because it's one of the few places that would hire someone who switched employers at such a young age. (Sidebar: My (probably flawed, as I don't live in Japan) impression is that this is becoming less and less of a thing as time goes on and the economy goes to shit, but I think it's the self-stigma more than anything else that's affecting Doppo. To me, it feel similar to the societal pressures in the US to attend and graduate from a four-year college. Plenty of people don't for all sorts of reasons, but because that's so ingrained as the default life story for Americans in a lot of communities, Doppo's dealing with the kind of disappointment and self-hatred someone who dropped out before getting a four year degree might feel.) Doppo beats himself up about that a lot, but here we get that lovely line of "In the waves of people (hitonami) passing all around me, I no longer see anyone who looks like me. It's a shame, because I always wanted to be just like everyone else (hitonami)." Outside of that beautiful wordplay on hitonami, we're also treated to the figurative language of hitonami being literally "in line with others." Doppo, a character who walks through life alone, wanted to walk through life at the same pace/reaching the same milestones at the same time as everyone else.

(1:04 in) "Life is a tightrope act; it's like walking a balance beam [lit. "average beam" aka a beam where everything is averaged/balanced]. In a country where not everything can be average (narasarenai) and where even if the things that [I] can accomplish (narasareru) don't matter [in the eyes of society], sometimes the sounds I want to make don't come out right (narasarenai). When that happens, I can call myself pitiful--or I can feel the breathing of the beautiful flowerbed that is this city, and when someone's humming under their breath disturbs that short break [lit. breath], I ask them 'So, what is this happiness thing anyway?'" I would rather die than TL this song but I'm LOVING the creativity and depth of the lyrics.

(1:27) WILD! FUCKING! CHEERING!!! "You fake smiles in a mirror to make other people happy and call it love. It's a form of hypnosis, and I've made a go of falling under its spell because I just want to be equals [on par with, balanced], and so if you and I can walk these crowded streets together, then I think I don't mind as much that I'm always walking alone." THE GROWTH! THE GROWTH!!!!

Damn, this album's lyrics go hard. What a feast.

[23fallencomets]

Comets Fic Snippets

ranging from the oldest drafts I have to the newer ones so sit tight because this is pretty long :)

Made in the A.M

It takes Jenson a few minutes to realize what he’s looking at. In the dim lighting of his home office, with the sunset as a golden backdrop, he finds that Williams is screwing over their rookie. The data basically shoves it in his face with a taunt, look and see how they’re destroying this boy from the inside out. It takes him another second to gather himself, to put the papers down and look at the data from the sim racing and the on-track racing.

It’s bad, is what he’s getting at, so fucking bad that he’s surprised no one has said anything. He picks the papers up again, raising them above his head so they can catch the light like if the truth would reveal itself, like if it can convince him Williams isn’t sabotaging their only rookie.

Blue (Navy and True)

pairing: Max/Logan (inspired by that one edit one is the loneliest number followed by two ifykyk)

He wakes up a few hours later, 6:47 am exactly. His head swims as he goes to the bathroom, momentarily forgetting where he is exactly. By the time he remembers, he’s way too hungry to really care.

Max is still asleep and it reminds Logan that Max is still only three years older than him. He looks calmer, peaceful. Logan moves away and finds Max’s meal plan sitting on the table near the phone. He calls in room service that falls within their diet before moving around and picking up the mess he had made in attempt to get Max in bed.

Twenty minutes later, breakfast is on the table and Jos Verstappen at the door.

Endzone

“A boy born in the Sunshine State of the United Staes who left his home at a young age to pursue a challenging career in racing, who has been doubted again and again has shown up today in the red and white of the American team of Haas to bring them their first podium of the season! Logan Sargeant who has had to fight tooth and nail to prove himself over and over again showed up today and became the first American to win a Grand Prix since Mario Andretti in 1978! Logan Sargeant passes the checkered flag and wins in Suzuka!”

Logan sits in his car for a moment, hands still shaking around the steering wheel. His eyes are blurred by tears, a heaviness he didn’t know he still carried around suddenly loosening as he forces himself out, going through the motions. He stumbles to stand on the nose of his car, the red and white livery that helped deliver him first across the checker flag.

You Are More Than Just a Dream

Pairing: Loscar

OG mentor!logan fic i had posted about

“Do you want to go back? I’ll drive you.” Logan said, his Italian just a bit stilted. Whatever tension Kimi had releases as he leans heavily onto Logan. Logan had picked up Italian quicker than anyone Kimi had known, even Ollie still struggles, and they were teammates for the entirety of their time at Prema.

Kimi’s debut race could have been worse, like Oscar’s who had to DNF after a gearbox issue. There was no shame in Kimi finishing in tenth, unlike Logan who got lapped and ended in twelfth. Logan understood the stress of wanting to finish better, after all Logan was consistently below P15 for the first half of the 2024 seasons.

“Can I sleep in your room?” Kimi asks quietly. Logan nods, hands on his shoulders as he leads him out of the party. Their hotel isn’t that far, and the air is nice on their flushed skin. The whole walk back is silent, Kimi still in his head while Logan just makes sure Kimi gets in safe.

One in A Million

pairing: ??? i think it was implied carlos/logan ngl

Logan sighs, simultaneously relieved and dreading the briefing. It had taken them a week to post a proper goodbye post across their social medias. Logan didn’t exactly care since there wasn’t much he could do about it besides film a one-minute goodbye video. The media team had basically begged him to look happy and all Logan could have managed was a tense smile.

He didn’t really understand why they were making such an effort in getting content out of him when it wouldn’t matter in the next ten races. The only things he was looking forward to were the Team Torque videos and the little ten minutes challenges that were cut down to three or four minutes.

Meet Me Halfway

dad!logan, pairing undecided (toss up between loscar and sargebon, any suggestions of any logan ship is welcomed :)) , healthy co-parenting with female oc

Steph wasn’t lost, he just happened to lose sight of Miss Wendy and was now sitting next to a tall man with a funny accent. He watches the screen intently, keeping an eye out for his dad’s car. He rocks himself slightly when he catches sight of the Williams.

“That’s my dad’s car.” Steph says seriously, nodding as Logan overtakes another blue car. Toto blinks, pen moved from where it was pressed against his mouth. He looks at the little boy, his blue-green eyes and messy blonde hair, a natural down-tilt smile. He kind of looks like a baby version of Nico, and there’s only one other person on the paddock who sometimes looked like Nico.

Fred appears at the moment, a cup of coffee in his hands and freezes when he catches sight of Steph Sargeant sitting cutely next to his boss. He looks around, sees a camera focus in on him and he quickly steps forward, quickly drinking the warm coffee before he swoops in.

Let Me Wrap my teeth around the world

supernatural, past loscar, sargebon, parents!loscar, siren!logan

The fledging flinched; one hand gripped into the sweatshirt of the vampire next to him. The dark toned vampire looks between them, braid beads clinking almost beautifully; the leader, by all means as the others flank his sides.

Logan feels sick to his stomach, feeling it roll like storm waves, dangerous and painful. The fledgling—Oscar, his brain chants, Oscar, Oscar, Oscar—whines, eyes squeezing shut and trying to hide behind his leader.

Logan takes a step forward, shakily, and so fucking angry. It’s a few more steps until he gets his hands on him, tan skin against the sickly paleness of Oscar’s skin. The coven hisses, teeth bared in a pathetic mimicry of intimidation.

“You died.” Logan says, almost so quietly he’s not sure he can hear himself, “I buried you; Lia and I buried you.” At the mention of their foster child turned daughter, he flinches hard enough his leader grasps his hands, gentle and loving.

Rage boils under Logan’s skin.

Close to you

sargebon, post 7/28, dating-but-not-knowing-they’re-dating, redbull reserve driver!logan

Alex makes it home before midnight, the apartment as empty as he had left it. He drops his things off by the door, figuring out that he’ll move it later when he spots the first thing out of place. It’s nothing big, but Alex has always been good at keeping track of his apartment and that blanket wasn’t there when he left.

He walks over, running his hands over it and his fingers bump over the embroidered LS on the corner. He holds it in his arms, the heavy blue material making his arms ache as he looks around the living room. His movie center thing was moved around and there were droppings of popcorn on the floor near the couch.

Alex feels hope bloom in his chest when he spots a familiar navy blue suitcase in the hall by his bedroom door. He opens the door, a familiar tuft of blonde hair visible from where Logan is buried under Alex’s blankets. He drops the one in his arm on his desk chair as he carefully grabs his things. He still has to shower so he does so quickly, a million questions running through his head as he tries to not to slip.

Logan Sargeant and the Inconveniences of Crushes

In hindsight, this isn’t the worse thing that has happened to Logan; being friends with Arthur Leclerc takes the cake. Either way, Logan has a life-long history of falling in love with people he will never have so just like all the others, he doesn’t do anything about it.

He really should’ve taken in account how persistent Alex Albon and George Russel are.

And done! If you got to the end, thank you very much. Most of these fics have at least 1k words written, but keeping up with all of them isn’t easy especially with writers block. If any pique your interest and want to know a bit more, please don’t hesitate to shoot an ask and i’ll be more than happy to share more 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

[tasty-littl-snack]

Hey lil question: I was scrolling the shyan tag and saw an ask on your blog that referred to ryan and shane having some kinda fight after/during their investigation of Waverly Hills on Ghost Files. I hadn’t heard this story before so I wondered what the OG source for that info is. Just for science and the ethics code of ghost hunting’s sake ofc 🫠 Not doubting just ravenously curious!

(The ask and the post it spins off from in question)

Oh yeah sure no problem. Some of these anecdotes are now lost to time because their patreon is now gone so no easy way to see the sources but, this one has three sources including one from Shane Madej himself.

Before the streamer and up to June this year they had a patreon and the bonus content on there for higher tiers was one of the crew doing audio commentary on the episode (think dvd commentaries where people share behind the scenes). Sometimes to incentivize people to see what is available on higher tiers they posted some of Shane's commentaries for all paying patrons. In 2022 they also had the sick and unrealistic shedule of posting Ghost files ep every week, so Ryan was busy and couldn't do it for the first ep. Therefore Shane did that even tho his only working on the show was being there brainstorming for how the boonker would look like (off-topic but here is a fun interview of them comparing this to furnishing a house together wtf) and editing the ghost files outro so the music is as haunting as it is. Since the commentary was created as a watchalong (I listened to it as a podcast bc I find Shane's voice great to listen to, but that's just me), at the end of it he goes into explaining why he didn't tell Ryan where the walkie was. (according to him he asked the crew beforehand and they didn't say he couldn't do it). So when we see Ryan being angry you can hear Shane say "He's genuinely mad here by the way, and I meant it when I said it's good to be a ghost hunter but internally I was like "Is Ryan mad at me? yknow". In that commentary we also hear Shane's impression of their car drive from Waverly and while Shane tries to talk, Ryan is answering him in short phrases. He was also mad at him the next morning apparently, but I guess they made up. So that's the primary source for that, and I swear I heard a snippet on this on tumblr, or maybe some people posting about it back in the day but I couldn't find it (if someone has it then feel free to share that snippet).

The second source that I have that this happened is Hinsdale House Debrief (Ghost Files season 2 finale), (around 23.30 with the 'solo investigation' part of the video) when someone asks Lizzie if she'd go on a solo and she admits that a location like Waverly would be out of the question, and so Ryan is like "Now imagine if your pal didn't tell you where the walkie is and you have to do the solo investigation for an hour" so like a year maybe two after this we can see that he still remembers this and while Lizzie and Shane say "You chose this life" Ryan is somewhat upset about it. Lizzie then says "He didn't talk to Shane after this for like a week" and since she is their coworker and has to deal with them I find that really fascinating.

Third source is this Really no Really podcast interview with Ryan and Shane, (Around 23,00 minutes in, segments: the relationship and the first episode) when they ask them about their relationship and then they go into recounting the whole thing again (here Shane once again makes the impression of Ryan being mad at him in the drive back). In general I reccomend watching this ep because they are really cute together and you get to see them interact with mr Jason Alexander who is a fan of them and it's really cool to see.

Also if you have the streamer, in Mystery Files bloopers Ryan also explains why he did the blob prank on Shane, and it was to get back at him for the walkie thing from Waverly so I think this is really their one serious fight that they will allude to for the rest of their friendship.

Thank you for asking, hope it clears things up a bit <3

(also I'm sorry for clogging the shyan tag I just sometimes remember to tag things and sometimes I don't so random asks end up in the search)

[stolasbuckzo]

Proof that Huskerdust have feelings for each other

• In 1x04 Throughout the entirety of the song Loser, Baby Husk becomes consensual , gentle, and chivalrous with Angel (who pretty much joined in after being accepted for who he is with a “Baby, that’s fine by me”

<> Husk protectively told Angel to “stay down” (very boyfriend-coded if you ask me 😏) and then seconds later became awestruck by the fact that he could defend himself (whilst showing his true colours)

<> However at the end of the episode the tension of sexual attraction between them is definitely there

• In 1x05 it’s a little bit harder to tell since the episode “Dad Beat Dad” was mainly focused on Lucifer’s father/daughter and Charlie’s relationship.

But we do see two snippets of Angel and Husk on the sidelines comically eating popcorn as Alastor defended the hotel later on (after Lucifer caused it) and another scene where Lucifer and Charlie are arguing.

<> Husk makes a pre-drink for Angel without being asked whilst he talks to Mimzy (which I thought was actually really cute ☺️)

• In 1x06 When at the club Consent first off Angel listened to Husk’s advice after Cherri suggested they get “fucked up” by doing drugs

<> After Niffty gets drunk Huskerdust literally become her parents 😂 (also Husk praised Angel for standing up to Valentino before placing his paw on back)

• In 1x07 Again, similar to “Dad Beat Dad” there’s a brief Huskerdust moment where two things happen; 1. Angel wraps his arm around Husk. 2. Husk frowns shortly at Vaggie before it changed to a smile and his eyes dilated (slightly) after Angel embraced him

• In 1x08 Before the war with the angels (Exorcists) Angel decided to spend his last night at the hotel with Husk who had flirtatiously acknowledged that he had really changed

Bonus:

You can also hear the instrumentals of Loser, Baby in the background!!! (Like… come on you cannot tell me THIS isn’t a romantic atmosphere. The Husk’s tone of “you really have changed” that’s held with so much sexual tension! Their song — literally — playing in the background?! Angel’s Anthony’s soft and hesitant “Hey…”)

<> During the amidst of the war Husk makes a social faux pas about “too many fucking angels coming” only be teased by Angel in response (which come on, let’s face it, they definitely were flirting 🤭)

<> The minute Angel got knocked down by one of the exorcist (after selflessly saving Frank one of the Egg Boiz) Husk looked feral at the person who had harmed the latter ~ like were talking “you just hit my boyfriend , how dare you.” level of protectiveness

References:

There are hundreds of meanings of the word “Likes” in this list down below (just to show evidence that it can mean “find attractive” etc as well)

Season 2: (2025)

[instructionsnotincluded]

I was rereading wild winds and I lovethat kiaras got a crush on Logan and I was wondering if Rafe or JJ finds out and their reaction to it.

The anonym from before was talking about peoples reaction to Logan and Rafe. I was wondering if we could get a snippet of something similar. No worries if it’s not possible tho❤️❤️

Rafe and JJ do find out! Hahahahhaha! I think JJ’s probably shocked, he strikes me as the last person to realize when someone is into someone else and the fact that he thinks she’s into John B is probably still in his mind.

Rafe’s probably pretty neutral to it, mostly because Logan’s not into girls, and it’s a harmless crush. But Kiara making comments about how she can’t believe Logan settled for him when they’re at Singh’s house are going to happen, hahahaha.

We can’t get a snippet, unfortunately, about reactions to Logan and Rafe, going public, mainly because there are a lot of really crazy and dramatic things going on, and it would be a major spoiler. Like, I’m not sure I can share anything from the end of season one or the first half of season two without giving it away. But I can give you a snippet of Sarah finding out!

18+ MDNI | Language, suggestive content, mentions of mental health issues, drugs

“What time is it?” Logan slid off him, Rafe groaning as he watched her move naked around his room, searching for the clock that fell behind the nightstand when he tossed her onto the bed earlier, “Shit, that’s what I thought. I gotta take my pill.”

“Pill?” Rafe shook his head. 

“Birth control.” Logan reached for her purse, rifling around before pulling out the plastic holder and setting it on his desk, “Do you have any water?”

Rafe shook his head, moving to throw his legs out of the bed, feet landing on the rug, “No, let me get you some from downstairs.”

“I can get it,” Logan reached for the shirt closest to her, one of his that reached her mid thigh, “no one’s home, right?”

“Shouldn’t be,” Rafe watched her walk around the bed towards the door, his eyes glued to her wearing his shirt, mouth going dry at seeing her piercings through the thin material, his dick hardening more than it had a few moments ago when they were making out, “You sure…?”

“Mhmm.” Logan reached for the handle, sending him a playful wink as she opened the door, “Save your energy while you can.”

Rafe’s laughter echoed as she closed the door, Logan padding quietly down the hall, the wood cool on her bare feet. She took the stairs easily, hand gliding along the railing and she briefly wondered what it might be like to grow up in a house this big. So many rooms, so many things to explore and get lost in, she could only imagine the games they must’ve come up with. Even she and JJ had come up with dozens in their small bungalow. She reached the kitchen easily and pulled out one of the normal water bottles, leaving the sparkling glass bottles alone, before she turned to make her way back up the stairs. She just reached the second floor landing, in the process of unscrewing the cap when she saw none other than Sarah Cameron make her way down the stairs from the third floor. 

It was too late to hide or hurry, and Logan felt her cheeks flame as Sarah walked off the last step, eyes just as wide as her own. “Um…” Sarah glanced around in concern, clearly trying to process what she was seeing, “Are you here with Rafe…?”

“Uh…” Logan swallowed the water hard, nodding, “Y—yeah, I’m just uh…well…” Logan motioned to what she was wearing and Sarah’s cheeks tinted slightly, “There’s really not a lie that would fit, so I won’t insult your intelligence.”

“Thanks…” Sarah glanced down the hall towards Rafe’s closed bedroom door, “I’m staying the night with Scarlett, I just didn’t remember to pack a charger…”

“Hate when that happens,” Logan cleared her throat, wincing at how awkward this was, “glad you remembered…”

“Um…” Sarah shifted, a slight frown appearing between her eyebrows, “Are you and Rafe like…a thing…?”

“Uh…” Logan wasn’t sure what they were, but she knew she didn’t really want to discuss it with Rafe’s younger sister. Especially after everything she knew about their family dynamic and relationship, “I—we’re…together sometimes…”

“Right…” Sarah took a step closer and Logan gently pulled on the hem of the shirt, hoping with everything she had that it covered everything important, “Just…be careful, ok? Rafe’s not ok a lot of the time and I don’t want you to get hurt or anything.”

Logan frowned, eyes searching Sarah’s face as she tried to figure out what was happening, “Hurt?”

“Yeah, I mean, Rafe’s kinda a lot, you know? He gets really angry, he breaks things. Just…be careful. That’s all I’m saying. He has a lot of issues, the drugs…”

Logan shook her head slightly, searching Sarah’s face about as hard as Sarah was searching hers, “Your brother has a lot of things he’s working on, Sarah, but he would never hurt me…”

Sarah lifted a shoulder and Logan felt her heart sink as she tried to understand what was happening, “He got kicked out of school for drugs, he’s had screaming matches with dad and Rose literally my whole life. Look—I’m not trying to diagnose him or whatever, but he needs a lot of help, Logan. He’s bi-polar or something, at least. Just be careful, that’s all I’m saying.”

Logan tried to process what Sarah was saying right now, her frown only deepening as she stared back at Sarah, someone she knew Rafe definitely had a strained relationship with. She thought back to the conversations with Rafe about his mom and life growing up, how Rose came into their lives and how Sarah and Wheezie just went with everything because they were so young, and her heart hurt for them all. Especially now, seeing the clear division that Ward and Rose created within their own family. 

“Sarah…” Logan bit her lip, “Rafe’s not a bad guy, you know that right?”

Sarah took a step down on the steps, looking wide eyed at Logan, “Do I?”

[itsallmouthwashing]

Dear Diary, Someone Smashed My Guitar Today (Band AU- Chapter 1 snippet)

CW: depictions of violence, blood, use of f-slur

Word Count: ~2.2k

Highschool!Jimmy, Highschool!Curly, Angst, (physical)hurt/comfort, slight instant pining?

Im officially working on the first chapter for the band AU fic, but in the meantime here's a scene I've been working on from it (that ended up being almost the full thing WHOOPS!) :) please enjoy, reblog are so appreciated :)

Curly hears rumors of getting jumped after school

Jimmy hears them too

Jimmy gets there first and takes care of it

When Curly gets there, JImmy is covered in blood 

_____P--L--E--A--S--E----E--N--J--O--Y_____

There's blood on his shirt. It’s pooled at his neck line and trailing up like a river to its source: his bruised nose. I can't tell from this distance if it’s broken or not, but he’s looking at me through the slits of eyes like he’s cursing me. Like this is my fault. 

Maybe it is.

“Do we have a problem?” I try my best to sound tough, to not slide into the part of me that lightens the mood and eases the tension by joking. No, I need to make a name for myself. So this doesn't happen again. If they get me now, I’ll be dealing with it for the next four years, and I’ll be damned if I become the target again.

 My hands tighten at my sides and my leg starts bouncing without my permission. 

“Took care of it.” He sniffles and covers his mouth with the back of his hand to cover the wince that follows, but I hear it when he sucks in through his teeth. Blood drips from his face to the ground and that's when I see the spatters on the concrete. Pools and streaks and drops of crimson and deep mahogany. 

There’s so much-

The hand that’s shaking at his side is cut and bruised and dripping. I can't tell if the blood that falls is from him, or another’s come to join itself again in the pores of the pavement.

My lower half won't stay still. I’m fucking buzzing with energy. I think the steps I take towards him are involuntary. 

“I was told-?” to meet here. I was told to be at this exact curb at this exact time or there would be worse waiting for me tomorrow. His face is familiar to me now. A crooked piercing at the left side of his lip, greasy brown hair pasted to his forehead, deep brown eyes narrow and warning through the darkness of his cave. Prey that cross its gaping maw, beware. 

“Not today, no.” He dabs at the corner of his nose with his finger, pulling it away to see it covered in bright red blood. 

“What… Did you do?” 

“Like I said. Took care of it.” He wipes his nose with the back of his hand now, gingerly, just below his still leaking nostrils. Either he got hit, bad, or this happened just seconds before I got here. “We’re even, by the way.”

“You smashed my guitar last month.”

I laugh. I have to because the look in his eyes and the blood on his shirt and the bruises under his skin are overwhelming. The reality of the situation slowly creeps up my spine. My mind can't ignore the blood anymore. 

All he has to say in response is nothing at all. He just nods his head and blots the blood again with his other hand. I scramble to my pockets, pulling out the wad of tissues mother gave me this morning after a sneezing fit. She said something about being careful about the pollen this time of the season, but I think blood leaking from one’s nose is more important than some boogers. He looks at it for a while before looking back at me. 

Then, “We’re even.” He sniffles again but doesn't wince. He’s not looking away, and somehow I can't. “Come find me if someone gives you trouble again. But you’ll owe me.”

“I can handle myself- uh…”

He’s walking away. I want to yell at him to wait, but I hear police sirens in the distance and he does too. He’s sprinting now, down the street and taking a left and I forget that we’re only two blocks from our neighborhood. I think I start running too, because suddenly there’s wind on my face and air in my lungs and my legs are on fire. My feet are pounding on the pavement and they’re desperate to take me home. To follow. To get his name. He’s crossing the street onto the next that leads into our complex. My chest is on fire.

My chest is on fire.

I think I’ve been hit by a bus. I didn't look both ways before crossing the street and now I’m paying the price. The asphalt is rough, bits of rock and debris dug into my skin and slicing me open. But the road is smooth, almost like tile.

I don't remember his name. I know his face but I never got his-

A knee hits my jaw and knocks me over fully, and just before I close my eyes I watch a foot speed towards me. My hands fly to my head, my knees to my chest, my cries to the air.

“Come find me if these guys give you trouble again.” 

I can't get up. There’s two more feet to my back and another to my head and my legs aren't enough to protect from the one attacking my face. 

I didn't hear anything today. No one came to warn me. No one talked about it around anyone that mattered. 

Why is no one doing anything?

Camera flashes and iPhone’s recording. Beeps and whoops and subtle encouragement moving through the people like a lion through tall grass. Circling me, prowling, hungry.

I try to open my eyes, find anyone in the growing crowd who will look at me and do something. Anything. 

And there’s someone in the audience who’s already staring at me.

The same look of disdain and hatred for the world he held when my guitar laid in pieces between us. When my parents took us over to his apartment and I found out he lives just up the street from me. When his parents made him hand over the wad of cash himself to replace it. When he got to the curb seconds before me and saved me from this fate once before.

It’s not his face in the crowd, but all at once I remember something. 

“James,” I say when a foot connects with my sternum and I’m able to hide it between the hurk that’s forced out of me. I remember hearing it during attendance. Mr Peter’s voice calling out and his annoyed correction in response.

“Jimmy!” I call out, more desperate now. My chest hurts. I think one of my ribs might be broken and I suddenly remember we don't have insurance here yet and I’m sick for a new reason. 

“JIMMY!” It’s four-to-one and I can't move. It's dozens of people against four and no one moves. My throat is closing and my lungs are expanding into shards of bone and glass.

Uproarious laughter and humored mutters coat me like darkness. Someone’s Chucks connect with my jaw and the pop echoes in my ears. 

“Patheic fucking britt can't even fight for himself!” They punctuate with dropping to their knees and ripping my hands from my face. My eyes stay open now. I can't look away when the person smirking at me has blood on their face. Is that mine?

“JIMMY!” I’m crying now. I promised myself that no matter what happened I wouldn't cry at school but I'm sobbing into my shoulder, looking away and struggling to cover my head again like there’s mortar fire in the sky. I hear it’s whistling through the air as it finds me through the clouds and rains down like holy retribution. 

Except, it doesn’t. I don't get obliterated into pink mist, my body and self left to be wondered about and longed for by my loved ones. No, it’s the one on his knees behind my head, ramming his fist into my skull and not caring if his knuckle bones shattered in the process. 

There’s commotion around me, voices yelling and screaming and struggling and bouncing off the narrow hallway walls. People running away, hands lifting from my arms and head and the legs that caged me scatter. 

I have to blink to focus on what's happening in front of me. The hallway is empty now, save for three people. One of them is on the ground beside me holding his face in his hands and groaning. His blood leaks onto the floor and pools between us. Someone’s standing in front of me and I can't make out much but their silhouette and that of the person they have by the throat against the lockers. 

But everything’s blurry again. Something red drips into my vision and I think there may be blood in my eyes. I hear something drop to the floor with a thud and then someone picking me up by my arms. 

“Up, up. Come on, we need to get out of here-”

What? What's happening? The voice is so familiar but in my dazed state I can't search for it. In the depths of my mind I'm shaking in the corner and sobbing into my hands. My throat burns, and I can't tell if I'm holding back tears or if the sobs are ripping me apart on their own.

“Come on, work with me. One foot then the other. We need to go-”

I don't know when we get outside but we do. The F hallway is close enough to the exit for us to slip out quickly, I suppose. The air is crisp and light and cold on my open wounds. It’s only because of the chill that I know I have wounds. The sun hurts. Everything hurts. My head is pounding and, oh fuck, what if I have a concussion? I'll need to go to hospital, but how much is that here? Are there special rules for immigrants?

Are there worse rules?

He doesn't peel my dead weight off of him until we’re a few streets away from school. He places me down so I can sit on the transformer that's between someones’ property, and it’s only when he knees in front of me with searching eyes that I see who it is.

“You… came…” It’s hard to speak. It’s hard to breathe. I can't breathe. 

“Well, yeah,” he says. “You called.” He hands me a pack of cigarettes, offering a lighter in his other, and I don't know when he had the time to light his own. 

“We’re 13?”

“Yeah, I was nine when I started smoking. So,” he gestures them to me again.

Fuck it. This day can't get any worse.

He smiles when I take one from the pack. There were too many smokers in Bath, but I guess copying the masters isn't enough because when I go to light the cig I catch my finger instead. Jimmy’s watching me through it all. Probably to see if I'm a poser or not. But he snatches the lighter from me, looks at me like I’ve got to be kidding him, and gestures me forward. I try to move my neck closer to where his hand waits but wince when all my nerves pinch at once. He rolls his eyes and takes the stick from my lips, lights it, and hands it back to me.

“First smoke?”

“Yeah, thanks for the fag, I guess,” I laugh, feeling like we’re twenty years old outside of a nightclub and I need nicotine to chase the fire in my veins. He rushes up to his feet, suddenly towering over me.

"What did you call me?”

“Wh-what?”

“I’m gonna give you one chance, since you just got your ass handed to you.”

“I-I said, thanks for the fag? The- the cigarette?”

“Wha-?” He looks to the cig and then to me, then to the cig again, then back to me. 

“Uh, it’s just what we call cigarettes in the UK? I didn't mean anything by it- honest.”

“Oh. Kay. Uh… I knew that. Not used to hearing it in that context.”

“Sorry.”

“Just don't say that here. Ever.”

“What?”

“Fag. Or faggot. Just don't say it.”

“Right…”

“It’s like the n-word, ya know? It's just something you don't say.”

“You do realize that while you’re saying fag, you’re not sasying what the n-word is?”

“Okay, genius, you go around saying-.”

I choke on the exhale. It holds uncomfortable space in my throat and burns my sinuses with a feeling like an interrupted orgasm. I cough and sputter through the fire in my lungs, hack and spit into the grass when the charred feeling doesn't loosen. He actually says it. No cushion.

“You just said-”

He gives me a silent look as he takes a drag. Something tells me that someone else's reaction may be more visceral than mine. 

“Okay, whatever. I get your point.” He nods and looks away, letting his jaw hang open and letting the smoke pool out on its own like a lazy river. I don't know what it is about the sight of him blowing out smoke that makes me tingle. “Thanks for the cig, brah.” 

It’s not my best American accent, I’ll admit, but it gets him to look at me and crack the slightest of smiles. The chuckle he does blows the remaining smoke away, but the feeling remains. He shuffles in his pockets again, putting away the cigarettes and lighter and pulling out a black rectangle. He flips it to me and I’m not sure what to do with the phone that's suddenly in my lap. 

“Uh… not for me, is it?"

“Ha, no,” he scoffs, “Put your number in my phone. If I hear anything about those guys I’ll let you know. But I also need to reach you when I cash in my favor.”

He’s looking away again, hiding behind a curtain of thick brown hair and pretending to be interested in something on the block over. 

“Favor?”

“We were even last time. Now, you owe me.”

Oh, right. 

“I thought heroes didn't need payment for their good deeds.”

“Well, that's your first mistake. I’m not a hero." But what do you call the person who saves you life twice in the span of a season? What do you call the person who comes when you call? “‘D be nice though,” he inhales, sucks on the menthol taste stuck to the roof of his mouth, and says through the exhale, “To be someone’s hero.”

“You’re my hero. If that counts.” Ive been letting the cigarette burn between my fingers until now. The ash falls when I move it to my lips, and I can only take a baby hit before my mouth is burning, like I just swallowed unflavored mouthwash. The kind that's pure ethanol and none of the sweet. He chuckles, putting out the cigarette on the transformer. 

“Yeah, I bet your parents are heroes to you, too.” He leaps off and dusts the bottom of his jeans. “But they don't get you cigarettes after a rescue, do they? No, think that's more villain shit. Giving a kid cigs.”

“So, you’d rather be my villain?”

“I’d rather not be your anything, lad.” He attempts my accent and it's so shite I can't help but laugh.

“How about just being my friend, then?”

He shoves his hands in his back pockets and looks to the ground. Has no one ever asked him that before? Or am I just that shitty to be around? Am I just some kid who needs to be sheltered and protected to him?

Finally he looks back at me, but it’s at the worst time because I feel like I’m crying. Maybe he’s ignoring it, or maybe he doesn't care, or maybe I’m not crying at all. But he smiles and grabs his phone from my lap.

“How about being someone that owes me a favor?”

I smile too. I don't think he means it, not really, cause he can't stop smiling. Even when I hand his phone back. Even when he walks me back to the complex. Even when I invite him in and he declines. Even when he turns his back to me to walk to his building. 

[dududuuuuudud]

More things I need to address

I feel like I'm annoying you but it needs to be said.

Did Duncan love Courtney?

"I love that woman." -Duncan.

It's quite a controversial topic because many say it's true while others disagree. The reason why they disagree if how Courtney left Duncan with a broken alligator and how Duncan left Courtney FOR Gwen. Personally, I think it's a mix of all three and more.

Let me elaborate, Duncan is a pyro; he loves to play with fire and be the cause of it. That doesn't always have to mean literal fire... Courtney's fire.

All throughout their relationship, Duncan has always pestered Courtney and tried to bring out her rage. That's what turned him on. The two never tried to get to know each other and instead had a physical attraction and an attraction for short lasting things. The fire within you and the make outs.

Did they get to know about each other? No. They were easily able to judge each other by look but didn't try to understand each other on a deeper level. They didn't understand why they are the people they are. In Island it showed a small snippet of Courtney seeing Duncan's soft side. Although it wasn't for her, that might've been the only time they understood each other. The problem here was that Courtney was a blabbermouth and blabbered to other people.

"Hey! Get back here! No one is stealing the money I stole!" -Courtney.

That quote was what Courtney said as she chased the money. The anger. The fire. Something Duncan loved. Not Courtney but fire.

I'm not completely biased. I also believed he had some sort of liking for Courtney too. I just don't think it would be love. Especially the fact that this was probably their second time they hung out while dating. Don't you think it's too soon?

Finally, if you think about it, if he really loved Courtney, why would he cheat on her with Gwen? You won't cheat on someone you love. Or how about in Island and Action when Duncan constantly flirted with Heather. He even kissed Heather. The only reason he might've felt hesitant is because it was obvious he liked Gwen a bit in Action. From the prison episode. Why don't you ever think of that? He had no faith when he was with Courtney. Is this true love to you? Is this what you want your beloved character to go through. She deserves it but no one wants to be cheated on. Most likely just karma.

Why didn't he say he loved Gwen in this scene?

"That's why I like you." -Duncan.

THEY JUST STARTED DATING. ISN'T IT WEIRD TO SAY IT STRAIGHT AWAY? Of course Duncan won't say it straight away but he seemed to prove it.

Throughout the season, Duncan always had eyes on Gwen. Vice versa. All Duncan thought about was Gwen as he mentioned when he was on the run with the cops. He stayed loyal to Gwen when Heather tried flirting with him. He was trying to get Courtney eliminated for Gwen. Also for himself but he tried to get Courtney off her back. He was fricking carving her face on the chair. He tried to be cool but when he thought Gwen had a chance of coming back, he was ecstatic. Did you see that disappointed face of his when Blaineley showed up? Once he was eliminated again, he was happy to reunite with Gwen. The two were so happy in Hawaii.

He was in love. He didn't want to admit it just as much as Gwen didn't want to admit that she had a major crush on him post-action.

Gwen was also in love.

Their relationship was so sweet and not pressured. I don't understand how people think it was forced because look at Duncney. They move so quickly. It was the sixth episode and Courtney was already sleeping on top of Duncan. That doesn't seemed forced at all. 🙄

Courtney tried to change him but with Gwen, Duncan changed on his own. You could see in All Stars how caring he was for Gwen.

"No pressure, no planning, no pookums." -Gwen.

In conclusion, Duncan loved Gwen. Vice versa.

All Stars

"I only came back for Gwen." -Duncan.

The potential reason to Duncan's downfall was what people thought of him. During the seasons, Duncan and Gwen would've gotten much backlash from theses dumb Duncney fans but Duncan didn't seem to be fazed. His problem was that the cast hasn't seem him in two years and Duncan changed so much. They started pointing out to him, telling him how he used to be a bad boy and now he's a hero and now Duncan's insecure.

For Gwen, the threats have deeply affected her as she really cared about her image as a villain. After all, she had morals. The potential reason why Gwen ignored Duncan is because she knew how Courtney would feel if Gwen and Duncan were to show PDA in front of her. Gwen might've been OOC but it was reasonable. It was understandable. I think Gwen knew Duncan didn't like Courtney but got sick of Courtney hating her so she broke up with him. Courtney did become friends with Gwen after they broke up.

I believe Gwen and Duncan still love each other but because of the events placed in All Stars, they separated.

In my hc's Gwen and Duncan meet up after Duncan's jail sentence and they talk about their problems.

The reason why he cared what Courtney would say because he wanted to prove how his relationship was better and how he was so much happier. You saw Courtney's tantrums during World Tour. She made a big fuss which was reasonable but embarrassing and deserving. The problem was that All Stars was a bad time for Gwen and Duncan.

Was Courtney just boy crazy? Was she using them?

"Scott is sweet on me for obvious reason so I'm keeping him around til the end since he'll probably let me win." -Courtney.

Ever since season one, Courtney has been gong for every guy. She has flirted, kissed, used, abused and everything to them.

In season one, it was Duncan. Season two, Justin. Season three, Alejandro. Season five, Scott. Every season she tried to date one of the guys. Mind you that in season two, she was dating Duncan and was happily about to kiss Justin. Duncan knew this and maybe that's why he was a bit interested in Courtney and Scott's relationship. Because Courtney had gone boy crazy and using them too.

Season one, she used Duncan to wrestle an alligator for her. Season two, Justin's and Duncan's votes. Season three, Alejandro to make Duncan jealous. (Little did she know she was getting manipulated) Season five, Scott to make it to the finale. Every season it's a different boy. Poor Duncan.

______________________________________________________________

Look, I was to write more but I'm kind of lazy now so I'll just leave that to that. Thank you if you've read this whole thing!!

[zippidi-dooda]

So I finally got around to finishing Loki and I'm gonna talk about it

This isn't anything too deep or a big analysis on the show, just my thoughts immediately after binging season two.

Spoilers I guess if you haven't finished it

First off, loved it

Wasn't sure what to expect when it was announced but I was digging. For snippets of it, checking auditions, updates and posts about it, the date it'd come out, generally keeping an eye out for it since it was announced.

And then I watched the first season and I was intrigued. The concept of Loki essentially getting a second chance, but being his former self and having to see how his life plays out, the results and consequences of his actions? Brilliant, because Loki is pretty complex as a character, doesn't really seem to want to face himself. Then he is faced with himself, literally and figuratively, and we know we're gonna see a change in him just like Ragnarok Loki, if not more. I didn't think I'd be a fan of Slyvie though since she was -before this came out- theorized to be his love interest and I know that romance doesn't usually go so well for Loki -myth Loki anyway- or those involved with him, but I was pleasantly surprised. I liked their banter, she challenged him when he so clearly needed it, and was basically a mirror of himself. And because she is him -a variation of him, another Loki- I like how she also symbolizes the idea him learning to love himself, coming to terms with his faults, accepting how he is and gaining the chance to become better. And it wasn't just her he grew close to, learned to love, he started to notice and pay attention to others in the TVA, like Mobius, other Lokis. He can see people as more than beneath him. He changed for the better all while maintaining all of the mischievous qualities he is known for.

And then comes season 2

(Which I did slack on watching till today but don't worry about it)

This is where we see the extent of how much the people around Loki have changed him, how much they mean to him. He wants to make a difference and is actively trying to make one, not just for him but the world. He and Sylvie are closer than ever, just about to reach the end of their quest, one madman away from getting what they want. But as he hears the guy who is in control of it all give them choices, he hesitates. He begins to think. And we all know he's a smart guy so it's like "what's wrong here?" He tries to reason with Sylvie about their options, he doesn't want the bitter end they aimed for. They share that long awaited kiss. And then he's stabbed in the back. By the one he truly cares for and essentially himself, alluding to how he is the key factor to holding himself back, and he is presented with that reputation of himself who can't be trusted. He'll have to choose to accept that will always be a roadblock for him or continue to fight against it. And at this point I kept thinking back to the myth Loki, thinking of how he acted and the whole world built in that mythology, yggdrasil, the nine worlds, the "stunts" he pulled -and throughout the rest of this season there was jokes pointing back to the myths so I was wondering how this would connect overall. But anyway, he kept on trying to fix things, going back and forth, trying over and over again, trying to gain the "good ending." He showcased his cunning, methodical thinking, persistence and patience. Care. When confronted with "why" is he doing this, he hesitates. I expected him to say he wanted to be the hero, to finally get the chance to be more than he was expected to be. But he doesn't. He admits it's cause he doesn't want to be alone. He finally met people he cared for and was scared to lose them. I was taken aback, but happy to see this type of development in him. It was sweet. He wants to be around them. Saying it out loud though made him doubt if what he was doing was right for everyone. It was what he wanted, but was it what they wanted? He learns it is a good choice and then tries for literal centuries to fix everything. He fixes things. It was a good choice. But not the solution. And he struggles to make the life changing choice. Cause how can one put an end to the one they love. Get rid of the most difficult part of themselves? He wants to find a way out that won't have him lose any of the people he loves. And he finds it. He is the answer, the varient, the one who caused this mess in the first place. If he sacrifices himself, he can give everyone the freedom of choice. As he's walking to his doom, timelines dying before him, I start thinking "they kinda look like roots. And they're different worlds too. Kinda like that tree in Norse myths" And they were, they freaking were!! Loki takes them all, marching up to his final resting place. He sits on the golden throne. And the timelines bloom to life in a burt of vivid green, branching out like they were mean to be. A wide shot appears. And the image left behind is a tree teeming with life. Yggdrasil. It is a happier take on how Loki lives trapped under the tree of life in a loop of pain. In the myths he has Sigyn by his side to try and prevent acid from burning him. But here, he is alone, only able to remember the friends he left behind, to hope they happily lived out the lives they desired, a burden just as difficult to bear. A beautiful, beautiful ending.

Much better than his ending in Infinity War anyhow.

Him essentially becoming a time God was a nice shocker too.

And as much as I loved it, I hope this is the last we see of Loki because things were nicely wrapped up in the end and I don't want to see anything horrible happen to the character.

Though I don't know much about Comic Loki so maybe there will be more, who knows.

Overall, I liked how this show was handled, loose ends were tied, seemingly insignificant characters became important, things from episodes ago were remembered and used, the characters themselves were delightfully written and cared about and portrayed, and the visuals were nice.

I liked how they incorporated so much brown into it, don't know if that was symbolic for anything but it isn't used as often in films as much as it was in this.

And in my gut I knew this was gonna end with Loki being stuck in Yggdrasil for some reason. But somehow I missed the biggest hint, the one that Sylvie threw at us, she literally said "it's rotting" referring to the TVA, timelines, etc. And what else rots but trees?

Anyways, on a less serious note, I love Loki. Tom Hiddleston is great. Loki had them Ouran High School Host Club legs. Loved how fluffy his hair looked and the dramatic flips he always does with it, his little laugh, sarcastic quips, impish grin, melodic voice, the wise little book nerd shining though in the end, and him acting all calm yet just about to snap like a father with patience wearing thin for his learning son when giving Victor instructions was magnificent to see. Wearing my only Loki merch as we speak. My love for him has been reignited.

Also, why is it so funny that Sylvie was offered something usually desirable like power, the chance to be God, and she's like "nah I'm okay" and chooses to work at McDonald's instead?

This show was crazy, gave Doctor Who vibes, love it

[cha-melodius]

Fic Pride Weekend

Rules: Post your favourite line or passage from as many of your published works as you’d like. Let yourself feel proud of your creations! Tag as many people as you post snippets, so your fellow fic friends can be proud, too.

@kiwiana-writes tagged me for "Fic Pride Friday" but let's face it, no one is actually doing this on a Friday anymore and Fic Pride should go the whole weekend.

So I decided to try to give some superlatives—my favorite action sequence, my favorite kiss, my favorite love confession, my favorite comedy moment, etc etc. But the problem was I came up with a LOT of superlatives! Oh well. A few up top, and the rest below the cut. Oh, and there are some spoilers below, so be warned!

Favorite Shouted Love Confession: Love is a Losing Game

“Then what, Illya?” Napoleon demands sharply, frustration heating his face. “What exactly was the problem?” “I love you, Napoleon!” Illya nearly shouts, the words ringing loudly in quiet of the club, and the silence that follows is only broken by Illya’s ragged breaths as Napoleon stares at him in shock. Illya closes his eyes, as if trying to steady himself, and when he opens them again the raw vulnerability in them is startling. “I love you,” he says again, with something like resignation in his voice, “and when they told me you quit I thought I would never see you again, and— and that was not something I could bear.”

Favorite Action Sequence (Duo): This Hell of a Season

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the headlamp rapidly approaching. He’s not sure if it will be fast enough. Henry watches as the dark shape of the man, little more than a shadow under the meagre moonlight, shifts slightly out from behind the hedges again. A few more shots, fired near where the shadow lurks, buys Henry some time, but Alex’s approach feels impossibly slow, as if he were travelling through treacle. One heartbeat passes. Two. Three. Four. The motorbike gets close enough to bathe Henry in a wash of yellow-tinted light; he’s now far too tempting a target, and the man shifts out from behind his cover again. Alex nearly puts the bike on its side as he skids into a stop, cutting the lamp at the last minute and plunging them into darkness. “Here!” he yells, and Henry flings himself in his direction, nearly blind after the brightness of the headlamp.

Favorite Action Sequence (Solo): A Good Man is Hard to Find

Pulling a rope off his belt, Mobius ties it securely around the empty window frame then measures out what he guesses is the right length before attaching the other end to his belt again. On the other side of the table, the guards have stopped firing, but he has no doubt they’ll be advancing on him now that they’ve realized that he’s not shooting back. He’ll need to stand up to be able to jump out far enough, which unfortunately means making an easy target of himself for at least a few seconds. He peeks around the table and sends a couple of bullets toward their feet, which succeeds in making them scatter and retreat backwards. Then, holding onto the window frame for support, Mobius takes a deep, steadying breath and rises to his feet. In the second before he jumps, the guards start shooting at him again and a bullet tears through the outside of his upper arm, but he barely feels it past the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He launches himself out as far as he can until he feels the rope snap tight at his belt, punching the breath out of his body. The line starts swinging him in an arc down toward the window, and he twists wildly as he tries desperately to orient himself in the air. Just before he smashes into the huge sheet of plate glass, he manages to fire twice into it and, in a rain of glass, crashes back into the building two floors down. The shouts of the guards are audible from above, as is the sound of running feet; no doubt they’re already heading back down the stairs. Mobius scrambles up and over toward the delivery entrance where he and Sylvie first came in, smearing the blood that’s dripping down his arm along the floor and doorway in a trail. Satisfied at the feint, he takes off toward the utility room and gets through the door, closing it carefully behind him.

Favorite Car Chase: The Hardest Cut (continues from here, hard to put the whole thing in!)

They turn again, away from the courthouse, and Mobius can unmistakably feel the horrible cocktail of adrenaline and dread that floods into his veins. Loki doesn’t answer his question, but his hands tighten on the steering wheel as he stares fixedly out the windshield, knuckles going painfully white. “You’re starting to worry me, you know,” Mobius says with a nervous chuckle, like it’s a joke. “Little heads up on what we’re doing would be great right about now.” Finally, Loki glances sideways at him—once, twice, then a third, lingering look—then he takes a deep, shuddery breath like he’s coming to a decision. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he swears emphatically, then jerks the wheel hard to the right, sending them fishtailing into a wild skid and down an alley that looks entirely too narrow. “I can’t do this. I can’t.”

Favorite Moment of Slapstick Comedy: The Makings of a Perfect Christmastime

Waverly, on the other hand, looks surprisingly unperturbed. “Oh, I know,” he says, incredibly. “Because what it looks like is that my war hero is playing home-wrecker to my star author’s marriage.” He looks pointedly at Illya, who’s mouth opens wordlessly as he flushes a deep scarlet, before his gaze slide back to Napoleon. “But that’s not actually what’s happening here, is it?” Napoleon’s mind is whirring as he tries desperately to figure out what the hell is going on, but before he can think of anything that might offer some kind of reasonable explanation, the door to the kitchen opens again. “I’m hoping that the fact that you didn’t come back to the room means you were getting laid and not in here cooking all night,” Gaby says as she comes in, so focused on the coffee that she doesn’t even see Waverly standing off to the side. For a moment, no one moves, until she turns with a mug of coffee in her hand, spots Waverly, and proceeds to drop it on the floor.

Favorite Wrestling Scene: Double Dutch with a Hand Grenade

Two can play, and all that, and he is not having this conversation on his back. Not when Illya has been seemingly holding all the cards to this point. He cants his hips under Illya—slowly, deliberately—and is gratified when his partner’s eyes go wide. More importantly, the distraction makes his grip on Napoleon’s wrists loosen. Napoleon yanks his hands down, out of Illya’s hold, then slams the heel of his palm hard into his sternum. Illya grunts in pain and surprise, shoulders curling inward, which gives Napoleon enough of an opening to grab the front of his t-shirt and roll them both sideways until Illya’s back thunks hard against the mat. It’s Illya’s turn to glare up at him, still grimacing. Napoleon has effectively reversed their positions, pinning Illya’s wrists to the mat over his head, though he hasn’t managed to secure his lower body. Instead, Illya’s legs are wrapped around his waist, preventing him from maneuvering or getting any better leverage for a subsequent attack. Of course, that also means Illya’s legs are wrapped around his waist, which is something he’d been valiantly trying not to imagine ever since that encounter at the café. So much for that. Neither of them is completely in control of this situation, and it’s rapidly starting to seem like that’s true in more ways than one.

Favorite Emotional "Confession": Please Don't Let Me Be So Understood

“Yeah, I mean, it hurts,” he says with a nonchalant shrug he’s pretty sure doesn’t land. He wants to ask, ‘what makes me different? why are you friends with everyone but me?’, but that would give up the game for sure. Instead, he aims for something close. “Sometimes it feels like you’re more distant with me than with other people at the office.” “You’re right,” Henry replies with shocking matter-of-factness. “Casual friends are easy, Alex. There’s no risk when you don’t want anything more from someone than the ability to hold a five minute conversation over coffee in the break room. It’s different when it’s… someone you might truly care about. You’re different.” Alex doesn’t really know what to do with that. It’s quickly becoming difficult to tell where the lies end and the truth begins. “Oh,” he says, floundering a little. “I guess I can see that.”

Favorite Flirty Email: Class(room) Warfare

To: Alexander Claremont-Diaz <claremontdiaz@mcquiston.edu> From: Henry Fox-Mountchristen <foxmountchristen@mcquiston.edu> Subject: Re: your shirts Dr. Acerbic Cocky-Disaster I am quite certain you’ve never given anyone a break in your life. Regretfully, Henry Assistant Professor of What Did I Do To Deserve This

Favorite Seductive Spoon-licking (yes, I have more than one): All the Old Showstoppers

Locating a clean tasting spoon, he scoops a bit of the buttercream out of his mixer and holds it out to Alex across the top of his station. Their fingers brush when Alex reaches out to take it, and an image of Alex holding a very similar spoon up to his lips flashes through Henry’s mind. His mouth goes slightly dry at the memory, and that’s before Alex proceeds to stick the spoon deep into his mouth and draw it slowly out between his lips. Alex’s low hum, which skirts dangerously close to a moan, is somehow audible over the buzz of activity in the tent, and his eyelids flutter slightly as his pink tongue slips out to lick the back of the spoon in a manner that is far too seductive for their current setting. Who could have guessed that giving Alex a spoon would be such a massive mistake? Because Henry can see a camera currently filming them out of the corner of his eye, but he still can’t seem to force his own bloody mouth closed, nor can he hope to control the flush that is no doubt painting his cheeks a rather lurid pink, if he knows himself. The best he can hope for is that he just looks stunned rather than incredibly turned on by the display before him. “Ok, yeah, that’s good,” Alex says, snapping him out of the daze he finds himself in. He grins, and the mischief sparkling in his eyes is enough to make Henry believe he did that on purpose. “Guess you’re gonna make things hard for me, huh Wales?”

Favorite Movie Adaptation Moment: False Dichotomy

“Sometimes I wonder,” Alex says, staring up at the leaves fluttering in the breeze over the sidewalk. “If you hadn’t been Mountchristen, and I hadn’t been Under the Rainbow Books…” “Alex,” Henry breathes, a little unsteadily. Alex keeps going because he is, as previously established, an idiot. He can’t quite bring himself to look at Henry, though. “Maybe I’d have gotten up the courage to ask for your number.” “I’d have asked for yours,” Henry says firmly, surprising him. That does make Alex turn back toward him again. “That first day in the shop. Wouldn’t have been able to wait even twenty-four hours before asking you out to dinner.” “We’d never have been at war,” Alex continues. “The only thing we’d fight about is what to watch on Saturday night.” “Only because you have terrible taste in Star Wars movies,” Henry teases.

Favorite Angsty Kiss: So Close to Something Better Left Unknown

Alex hesitates a moment too long for it not to be an answer. Henry’s eyes are dark and wild with primal desire and something else, something more terrifying than even that, and Alex murmurs, “It doesn’t matter.” “Alex—” Alex turns in his arms and drags him into a kiss that catches like dry tinder, lighting such an inferno under his skin that Alex feels like he’s the one who’s been drugged. This is a fucking mistake, he thinks desperately, then his mind goes blissfully blank as Henry’s tongue slides into his mouth. It’s rough, demanding, as much as sparring match as a kiss, particularly when Henry sinks a hand into his hair and tugs hard, then bites down on Alex’s lower lip when he gasps as stars burst in his vision. Alex gives as good as he gets, though, finally getting his teeth on those sinful fucking lips and swallowing Henry’s answering moans.

Favorite Almost Kiss: White Knuckles

When he comes out of his last spin, Napoleon joins him for the final movements, an expansive trip across the ice that usually ends with Illya hunched over, almost on one knee, as if clutching an apparently dead Juliet. Now, though, there is an actual body in his grasp: Napoleon is underneath him, back bent into a graceful arc, being held off the ice only by Illya’s grip on his hip and his palm splayed between his shoulder blades. As the music comes to its grand conclusion he meets Napoleon’s eyes, and suddenly Napoleon doesn’t seem so unaffected anymore. He’s certainly breathless, all right, his eyes wide and his lips slightly parted, and it would be so easy for Illya to flex his arms and draw him upward until their lips meet. Illya considers it a true testament to his self control that he doesn’t do it. “Wow,” Napoleon breathes, after a long moment in which he has made no move to disentangle himself from Illya. Then one corner of his mouth quirks upward into a smirk. “Now that’s more like it.” It is also a testament to Illya’s self control that he doesn’t drop him on the ice.

Favorite Cliffhanger: Nova, Baby

A couple of officers with red crosses on their helmets hurry forward as Raf grabs Alex’s arm and tries to pull him to the side. Somewhere deep inside, Alex knows that he has to let go, that Henry’s only hope is the medical team. The panic choking him has fully taken over now, though, and he only clutches Henry more tightly to his chest. “N-no, Raf, please,” he pleads. “You have to let go of him, kid.” “No, no, I can’t, I can’t—“ “Alex! Look at me!” Raf commands sharply. The order catches Alex full in the chest and he responds instinctively, his gaze snapping up to meet dark, worried eyes. A face much like his own, but lined and careworn after years at the agency. A face that has seen more than its share of hopeless situations. A face that is telling Alex, now, to trust him. “You have to,” Raf says again, his voice gentle but firm. Alex lets go.

Favorite First Meeting: Cold Light

“That doesn’t sound good,” the man replies as he straightens up again. Whatever he was doing he seems to be done with, even though he hasn’t touched a thing. He stares up at the sky for a moment, as if lost in thought; in the silence that follows, Mobius watches ribbons of what’s shaping up to be a rather spectacular display of the aurora borealis begin winding their way across the night’s sky behind him. “So? What do you think?” “Hm?” “About the engine.” “Oh, I don’t actually know anything about engines.” Mobius stares at him for a beat in disbelief. “Then why’d you want to see it?” The man shrugs, a vaguely amused expression playing on his features. “Seemed like a thing one does when your vehicle breaks down.”

Favorite Outsider Perspective: That's What Other People Do

“You know me so well, Peril,” Solo says to him before taking a huge bite. He briefly looks, somewhat bizarrely, like a chipmunk. “I know you are somehow always hungry,” Kuryakin returns. “And you get as excited about greasy diner food as gourmet restaurant.” Solo swallows and grins broadly. “Sometimes there’s nothing better than greasy diner food. If I’m gonna have to go to Jersey for this mission, I might as well indulge. Gimme some of your milkshake, would you?” Kuryakin lets out a put-upon sigh, but his mouth is unmistakably tugging up at the corners as he slides the half empty glass over toward his partner. Robin chews slowly as she watches them continue to banter about the food as if she wasn’t there at all. Kuryakin stretches an arm out along the back of the booth behind Solo’s shoulders, and when Solo finally polishes off the burger he settles back against it, almost but not quite tucked against Kuryakin’s side, looking immensely satisfied.

Favorite Angsty Confrontation: Little by Little

“How many have there been?” Napoleon whispers. Suddenly his proximity is unbearable. Close enough that Illya could lean in and kiss him in an instant, and wouldn’t that just be the perfect cap on all of this misery? He can almost imagine the slide of his lips and the heat of his mouth for a moment before the fantasy threatens to choke him. Illya drops his arm and turns away, striding across the room as he scrubs his hands over his face. “I don’t know,” he says into his palms, and it’s nearly inaudible to even him so he knows Napoleon did not hear the answer. “How many, Peril? I mean are we talking a one or two, or a handful, or—” “I don’t know!” Illya bellows, wheeling back toward him. 

Tagging @orchidscript, @historicallysam, @leaves-of-laurelin, @tintagel-or-cockleshells, @three-drink-amy

@loki-is-my-kink-awakening, @nicijones, @justabigoldnerd, @magicandarchery, @14carrotghoul

@mirilyawrites, @eusuntgratie, @cactusdragon517, @violetbaudelaire-quagmire, @magicandarchery

@myheartalivewrites

So that's the number of snippets I posted, but PLEASE if you see this and want to do it, jump in!! Be proud of your fics!

[creativemessbyvd]

FIC IDEA VAULT #17 - RadioApple Hercules AU

@fanby-fckry is an enabler XD Their post about their idea for a Little Mermaid AU forced my hand to actually write down this idea! Originally I had the inspiration from this Tiktok!

So, this is an inspired by Disney's Hercules AU, we will follow cannon for season 1 loosely and then we take off from there, and yes, the tiktok scene will be there! I have lots of ideas already down, including a general idea of how each chapter will go. So far, aiming for 8 (?) chapters, which will have not only Alastor's POV but also Lucifer's and others as they become relevant. I want to incorporate the ideas I already have for my own Hellaverse (which I will also use for my Alastor centric fic) which include the Sins being ride or dies for Lucifer, Roo as the main villain, lots of bonding amongst the cast and some cameos by the Helluva Boss crew! I don't plan to make this be straight romance, I want them to be friends first before Alastor starts caring more for Luci, and I'm also trying to keep him as faithful as I can be to his Ace Identity (which is a spectrum! Please, no harrasment over this, but if anyone would like to help me out to make sure I don't screw Al or offend anyone, please let me know! I would really appreciate the help!)

I am swarmed by work, and this has been the worst week for me in a while, I can feel the depressing thoughts around, but talking about my aus, or any of my fandoms always helps! I hope to work on this and publish soon, but I do want to have some chapter written before posting to Ao3. So, without further ado, I leave you with the main summary and two snippets from chapter one! I'm sorry for the errors, I will fix them up for publishin the full story on Ao3! Enjoy!

At least out loud, I won't say I'm in love (Hercules Radioapple AU) by Vesta Dragon

Tasked with getting closer to the King of Hell after the last extermination, Alastor the Radio Demon tries his best to show the king the attention which is plain to see the fallen angel craves. But as they spend time getting to know each other in the most antagonistic and less romantic way possible for Alastor's peace of mind, he finds his mission shifting when shown what a capable ruler Lucifer can be, alongside his softer side that still shows the angel he never stopped being. Lucifer knows that getting along with Alastor will keep Charlie happy, and keep one less headache away from him as he takes the reigns of his kingdom back with the help of his closest friend, Satan, who is now on a mission to make sure both him and Charlie are in top shape for any upcoming battle Heaven will surely start. His heart will be his doom, as he feels himself growing closer to Alastor, but will their love be enough to stop the threat lurking far below Hell? Or will her millennia-old plans finally come to fruition, so the Root of All Evil can finally rule it all as the planets align?

Chapter One Teaser under the cut!

God was created to bring balance to the Universe, and he in turn created Angels, his first and most beloved was Lucifer Morningstar… The story of the Garden of Eden is one I'm sure you are all familiar with, but what you probably didn't know was that it skipped over a lot of details. Lucifer always thought that keeping Humans always happy and in the dark, meant they would never get to their full potential. He befriended Lilith, the first Woman, and they fell into a quick and deep love.

Charlie Morningstar was interrrupted by the loud entrance of Angel Dust, the spider demon carrying around a cooler from which he passed around beverages to the visitors sitting in front of the princess in the Hotel's second entertainment room.

"Boooooriiiiing! Charlie, I swear if you tell us the detailed history of all of creation, I'm taking everyone on a tour of my favorite clubs!"

Finished with his task, he took the main couch, sitting for once, not splayed out but definitely confidently enough that it drew some curious eyes, though they quickly turned away as he swept his gaze around. He took from the cooler two extra waters and passed one to Charlie, who accepted despite looking scandalized at his suggestion.

"Angel, you wouldn't dare!" "Oh, but I would! Who wants to go dancing?" At the raised (albeit nervous) hands that went up, he smirked at the princess who huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Well, what's wrong with giving them all the details?" Charlie shuddered to think were her charges would end up, so she admited that maybe her story would need to be told differently than to how she prefered to remember it. "For one, it would take us way too fucking long to go over everything. Let's go for the more fun version! You gotta know when to give the right details." He made sure to wink at a couple of people, the majority laughing as he riled the princess up.

"We are not sharing anything explicit!" That would be worse than the clubs, as she was about to continue her point, she was interrupted again.

"Is Charlie going to tell the Story? I wanna help!" Nifty had jumped from behind the couch Angel sat at, no one having heard her skittering around until she had made herself known. She proceeded to jump over the couch, landing on Angel and kicking him slightly before settling in beside him.

"Ouch, Nifty! Careful with my arms!"

"Hehe, sorry Angel!"

"Oh, this will be fun." Vaggie had come due to all the shouting, wanting to make sure everyone was being civil. She had known Charlie had plans to share the story, and she was glad she wasn't the only one who knew the princess had to be watched so avoid her rambling to their guests for 5 hours. She loved her, but she knew Charlie tended to go overboard, especially with this.

"Hi sweetie! Come sit here with me, we can share the loveseat." Charlie relaxed upon seeing Vaggie, and made sure to give her a kiss as soon as the fallen angel sat down beside her.

"Can you two stop with the lovey-dovey public displays, let me get my coffee in first." Yet another interrupting, this time from the resident bartender, who was carrying two takeout cups of coffee, one of which he gave to Angel, despite Nifty's attempts to snag it.

"Husk, I'm surprised that you aren't drinking a beer." Vaggie smirked, knowing that usually, the stoic bartender tended to leave the tours to the others and kept to the quiet of the bar. But it was obvious why he had come, as Angel patted his legs.

"Oooh Husky, my lap is open if you want a seat."

"I'll take the floor, otherwise we won't get to the end of the story."

"C'mon you two! Seriously?!" Vaggie was infurated now, she had hoped they had at least some decurum to save it for after the tour was done.

"I meant he would loose circulation on his legs, I ain't as light as Nifty over there." Husk laughed softly, winking at Angel as he took a seat between his legs on the floor.

"Can I sit on your lap, Angel?"

"Sure, Nift."

"Oooooookaaaay, is everyone settled? Can I continue?" Charlie was more aware now of the time constraints, but she was glad to have the company. It was always more enjoyable to have the story be told with input from everyone.

"Yes, but keep it light on the start, we want to get to the good part this century!"

After their fall from Heaven and Earth, Lilith and Lucifer began working on making their prison more comfortable. As others, like the Sins and the Ars Goetia, slowly filled Hell, as they newly appointed King and Queen, they held a party. And someone new arrived to them. She was lovely, yet she was no former angel. Her power left everyone speechless. Her name was Roo. She welcomed everyone, but especially the new King. She had seen it all, and she had to thank him for letting her be born. She was evil personified and she had a proposition. She could help them get revenge upon eveyone who had forsaken them. And while some saw this as a great opportunity, Lucifer refused.

"Fighting Heaven will bring us nothing! I prefer to make the best of this here, were I have my freedom, despite being in my own prison. Let them deal with it all, I thank you for the consideration, but it would be foolish for us to go to war when we know we will lose." Roo smiled, she tried again to entice him, but he wouldn't move. His powers, which he knew she craved, he would not give her. Roo bid them farewell, making sure they knew she could be found at the deepest part, where the river of souls ran, if they ever changed their minds.

She returned to her domain, deep into Hell, to the parts that no one had ever ventured to. She stood now in her home, a castle of darkness that towered over everything. She climbed until she came to her work room, on its center a stone basin filled with a clear swirling liquid. From it she could see the present, past and future. She had used this to her advantage to make sure her influence had sparked the first sin of man. The free will of the humans meant that she now was present up on Earth, but it also crippled her once vast power. Her future vision would never be as it once was, nor could she force the fallen who now ruled Hell to make her biding. She needed more if she was to wreck havoc as she was promised, gazing into the hazy future in which she ruled it all. She could be patient, someday she would have her revenge.

| Line break |

Alastor the Radio Demon could tell that he was utterly fucked, and he could count on one hand his whole life's (and afterlife's) regrets. Babysitting an overexcited and touchy princess and her entourage was something he deeply regretted, as he watched Vaggie run around trying to film the Hotel an annoying television commercial. He honestly thought his own was pretty favorable, but the Princess thought otherwise. As she went to her meeting, her girlfriend now scrambled to put something together with no experience. He could let her keep on trying, ultimately failing but he needed to keep the Princess as happy as possible, and this was something he would have to endure.

After all of that work only for the commercial to be cut off to the news that Heaven was going to come back earlier? He knew his boss was laughing at him. The next few months brought little change. After this, he saw Charlie welcome in another patron, Sir Pentious had tried to be a thorn at Alastor's side, but like the television demon he took orders from, neither could actually cause any harm; like a toy knife, both were only mildly threatening in appearance. His meeting with the Overlords helped him be closer to his end goal. The months flew by, and still, nothing was going the Princess' way, and she was forced to call her father.

And Lucifer Morningstar ended up coming. To HIS HOTEL. The former Angel went so far as to compare him to a bellhop and Alastor was so close to unleashing everything on the pompous asshole. Thankfully, he managed to take his anger out on the loan sharks Mimzy brought, but he still had to dismiss her, more forcefully than he would have if he hadn't already been so on edge. He was fuming by the end of the day, not only had he been humiliated by Lucifer, Husk knew of him being on a leash, and Heaven would soon come. He unleashed his anger once in his room, thankful for the small mercy that his room opened into his own private bayou and no one would be aware of his (frankly childish) tantrum, and suddenly he felt it in the sudden stillness of the air, and deep among the trees, the one who owned his sould appeared.

Roo was not that taller than Charlie, yet the front was just to spite him. he knew, seeing he still towered over her but she held all the power to bring him to his knees, like she did now.

"Alastor, sweetheart! Interesting day?" She sat on a tree stump that formed into a throne. Alastor hated every minute of it but he obediently knelt by her feet, levelling her with his worst glare.

"Roo, you said he wouldn't leave his isolated hole." She laughed and smiled almost as wide as him.

"I said he wouldn't come out without proper reason, Charlotte finally reaching out to him I guess gave him the strength to try for the first time in years." She was looking at her nails, utterly unbothered by this. Her ability to see aspects of the future irked him when she kept information like this from him.

"The fucking Devil will unravel everything I have worked for here." He seethed but Roo just laughed, a shrill sound that hurt his sensitive ears.

"Oh, Al, don't be so pessimistic, darling. I need you to trust me." She reached out to take his face in her hand, squishing as he growled, static becoming more prominent around him. "This is needed, taking out that pompous asshole up in Heaven will leave my darling Lilith in the perfect spot to worm her way in, you have to trust me."

"Charlie will draw a target on her back if she goes to Heaven, and it will lead the Hotel to be in danger." All his hard work, gone if Adam himself lead the charge to the Hotel.

"Well, that's why you are here, correct? Al, trust me, everything is going according to plan. Make sure to use our little golden ticket to make a deal with the Princess, I will need her to complete my plan." He avoided yelping in pain as she dug her fingers into his face, her other hand making sure to spread his smile wider, to the point it hurt more than usual. Her tone grew dark, and suddenly Alastor could feel the chain around his neck tighten as her voice echoed everywhere in the bayou. "And don't lose your temper with Lucifer again, I don't have the time to get another puppet if he decides to smite you."

With that, she threw him to the floor and as soon as his head had stopped spinning, he looked up to find her gone.

[specializationisforinsects]

On Names, Meaning, and Self-Determination

aka ✨✨I woke up wondering about the significance of the name Anthony at three am and I'm now certifiably insane ✨✨

Good Omens is undeniably a queer allegory, and also at the heart a story about self-determination and free will. I think I’ve discovered something related to these two things that I haven’t heard anyone talk about, and it’s making me loco.

Choosing one’s own name is a very queer (often trans but more broadly queer) action; a way to assert and affirm one’s identity, often in opposition to a power structure that existed in a previous iteration of one’s life - our hero does this several times. Let’s take a closer look:

(Disclaimer: I’m using he/him for Crowley here for clarity and because the show and book often do.)

Starmaker [???] -> Crawly

We get to see Angel!Crowley, popularly called the Starmaker, in the opening shots of season two. Whatever the Starmaker's name was, he's insistent at several times throughout history that that is no longer him:

"I knew the angel you were." / "The angel you knew is not me." "You were an angel once." / "That was a very long time ago."

I love that the narrative never tells us what Angel!Crowley's name is - and I hope it bears out in season three. That's not him, and quite clearly he doesn't want to be (mistaken for) that angel ever again.

When we see him again, (chronologically) Crawly is now fallen from grace, a serpent demon, introducing himself to Aziraphale on the wall of the Garden of Eden after all that business with the apple. This is pretty clearly a callback to Genesis 3:14:

And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

(Even though...chronologically...I think he had that name before tempting Eve.)

Crawly -> Crowley

In Golgotha, he cites Crawly as "too...squirming at your feet-ish" which again is not him (except for some *cough* situations into which I will not delve here) anyway

The shift from Crawly to Crowley is a subtle one, just a few letters. It speaks to me of a quiet rebellion against Hell, not changing so much that it attracts a lot of attention, but nevertheless rejecting the role Hell has cast him in.

[sorry my gifs suck so bad. It's quicker to grab a snippet than find someone else's better gifs.]

Aziraphale is surprised by this, but not unpleasantly so.

Crowley is making it clear he will only go along with Hell as far as he can. He doesn’t use their name for him, he’s not fully on their side. He still sees himself as a demon (unforgivable) but he’s taken some of his power and agency back. He won’t go blindly along with either Heaven or Hell, he’s asserting his independence.

(I don't know much about the meaning of this name, other than the fact that it's an Irish surname. Doubtless, there's some connection to Aleister Crowley. It's also apparently a maritime logistics company that will "Build and Operate the First Fully Electric U.S. Tugboat". Good for them!

It also reminds me of crows. I have a soft spot for bad boys who model their image after corvids as a defense mechanism.)

Anyway, part II. This brings us to the part that I woke up at three am thinking about.

Crowley, Anthony J.

"The famous Mr. Crowley!"

Here's what we’ve (fandom) spent a lot of time focusing on:

“What's the J for?” / “Just a J, really.”

Here's what I propose we focus on instead:

“Antony?” / “You don’t like it?” / “I didn’t say that! I’ll get used to it.”

Anthony. Why Anthony?

Anthony's not a name that appears in the Bible, but there are a few historical Anthonys we may know…

Marc Antony

(Most of this is pulled directly from wikipedia.)

Marc Antony was one of the Second Triumverate, a group of three men who ruled Rome after the assassination of Julius Caesar. Politically there were a lot of power struggles between them, and Antony married the sister of one of the other men (Octavian) in the triumvirate, as a kind of peacekeeping political move. However, Antony’s territory included Egypt and the young queen Cleopatra.

There were a lot of wars and sieges - I’m not gonna pretend I understand it, but basically Antony was hanging out in Egypt with Cleopatra and Octavian consolidated power in Rome, and started a smear campaign against Antony.

He argued that Antony was a man of low morals to have left his faithful wife abandoned in Rome with the children to be with the promiscuous queen of Egypt. Antony was accused of everything, but most of all, of "going native", an unforgivable crime to the proud Romans. Several times, Antony was summoned to Rome, but remained in Alexandria with Cleopatra.

Going native?? Where have we heard that before?

Octavian and other Roman Senators believed that turning the hostilities towards Cleopatra as the villain would gather the most support from Romans for war. […] Octavian's publication of [Antony’s will (alleged)] which named Antony and Cleopatra's children as heirs and directed his burial in Alexandria, was used as a political weapon in Rome to declare war against Cleopatra and Egypt as a whole. Octavian, now close to absolute power, invaded Egypt in August, 30 BC. With no other refuge to escape to, Antony stabbed himself with his sword in the mistaken belief that Cleopatra had already done so. When he found out that Cleopatra was still alive, his friends brought him to Cleopatra's monument in which she was hiding, and he died in her arms.

Oof. Choosing their own side under pain of death.

St. Anthony of Padua

Okay I’m not religious, and I'm tired of spending time on catholic websites but here are a few bullet points I found to make me scream

Saint Anthony is known in Portugal, Spain, and Brazil as a marriage saint, because legends exist of him reconciling couples.

Saint Anthony of Padua is known as the patron saint of lovers, often prayed to for meeting one's soulmate or finding lost love.

Pope Leon XII referred to him as “the saint of the world.”

Anthony

We don’t learn about the name “Anthony” until 1941, meaning that Crowley chose it for himself sometime after 1862 and before 1941. During a period of separation from Aziraphale after one of their bitterest arguments, he picks a human name for himself.

So, finally (jk this was first, but…)

I looked up the meaning of the name Anthony and (allegedly) it means “highly praiseworthy” or “priceless one”.

Take a minute.

The implications of this being a name he’s chosen for HIMSELF??

That maybe he hopes Aziraphale will call him??

That, to my knowledge in the show, Aziraphale hasn’t called him??

In conclusion

(I made myself crazy with this, please scream with me a little bit? I gotta go take a shower and wash the catholic websites off.)