#love her shes amazing and she kicked some serious ASS in the comic

[cringefail-clown]

Aradia for the character bingo?

[alismodworld]

Alright well I might as well give my thoughts on the movie

SPOILERS TURN BACK WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!

Okay we clear? Cool. So, The Super Mario Bros movie. It was good but I honestly had no doubt it wasn't gonna be good after seeing the trailers and the promos. Of course as with everyone else my only point of fear was Chris Pratt's voice, but while I was watching the movie I realized its actually okay. It never annoyed me and it even fits Mario somehow (yeah I said it come at me). Now that I'm thinking about it, if Charles Martinet was casted it really wouldn't have worked. Whenever we see Mario in the game he's always happy and bouncy, rarely ever serious or emotional so having a voice like that probably wouldn't have made the more serious parts of the movie work at all and at best I would've laughed at how ridiculous it was and at worst I would've been sinking far back into my chair. No disrespect to the guy at all, he does a phenomenal job in the games, but I just don't think he'd work too well in the movie. He does get a nod to in the movie which is great!

The movie is gorgeously animated and I love how the characters translated perfectly on the big screen. The backgrounds were spectacular. And the way the incorporate the elements of the games into the movie to create this world is *chefs kiss*. Everything makes sense and it's not too on the nose, it's believable.

It's a very simple movie, nothing too crazy and if you have very basic knowledge of the Mario franchise you'll get what's going on like how I did. All the characters acted perfectly to how I expected them to and nobody really annoyed me. My only problem is with Cranky Kong's voice. Sorry, but Fred Armisen's voice just doesn't match up with Cranky's appearance.

Jack Black absolutely killed it with Bowser. He was the perfect amount of comedy and intimidation. AND THE PEACHES SONG THREW ME SO OFF GUARD I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO BUT JUST SIT AND STARE!!

Also, PEACH! Oh my god I loved Peach in this movie!! I was scared and honestly expecting her to be too much of a "strong female character" rather than a strong character who happens to be female and she's definitely the latter. She's kind, she's helpful, she's patient, she cares deeply about her subjects, kingdom and everyone in general and she can kick serious ass too. I'm gonna be honest, in my years of playing Mario on and off I never really cared for Peach, IM SORRY TO SAY, I WAS DUMB KID! But watching her in this movie, I absolutely love her!!! AND SHE GOT LORE ON TOP OF THAT?!??

Also usually I hate the whole male character and female character get shoehorned together and end up falling in love trope, but here? PERFECT!! I also never really cared for Mareach but, I'm a changed woman and I never wanted two characters to get together so bad. I absolutely loved their chemistry as it was so organic. Of course they don't which I'm fine with but, maybe potential in the sequel?

All the action sequences were done great in my opinion and actually exceeded my expectations in some cases as I was genuinely expecting nothing but slapstick but we got a healthy amount of slapstick and serious action.

The final battle and climax was amazingly done!! Ugh that hug Mario and Luigi shared was amazing!!!

Okay now for what I didn't like

I wish we had more Luigi scenes. I understand that he's the one who's kidnapped and is basically the whole reason the movie happens but we got only a few scenes with him either running away or being trapped or integrated. I would've loved maybe a scene with him trying to be brave and find a way out or rally others to help each other escape which could've added to his character. Like it's called The Super Mario BROS movie...

Also Toad is just...there. I get he's the comic relief but he really doesn't do much other than tag along. The most I remember him doing was showing Mario to the kingdom, that's it. Idk maybe do something more to flesh out his character, why is he so eager to help Mario and Peach? Why is he an adventurer? What are his goals? Stuff like that.

Also no chain chomps...worst movie, 0/10, D-tier/j

I heard people were talking about the pacing which yeah it's a little fast but it's not too quick in my opinion. I think if they let certain scenes play out longer it would've benefited the movie.

But over all it's a really good movie. Not ground breaking but really good, happy, healthy fun. And I'm quite impressed considering it came from Illumination.

Here's to hoping this movie will pave the way to a Zelda movie!!

[liz-allyn]

Who are some of your favorite tv/book/movie characters? And what is it about them that you love?

Hi nonnie!

Thank you so much for this ask! I love questions like this—

buffy summers, buffy the vampire slayer

I watched btvs a lot growing up, through my teen years, and she was a role model. I loved her courage, her wit, her kindness and the complexity of her character. We get a lot of Strong Female Characters™️ nowadays that are just 2-dimensional gender swaps. We can see that She knows kung fu, She kicks ass, She has clever comebacks, She has to be the strong, stern, serious one. But we rarely see our Strong Female Character worry about dating, or being able to afford her prom dress, or dealing with The Mean Girl, or feel like the dumb one in school, growing apart from her best friends, having an annoying little sister, or having to step up and be a mom, or struggling with a toxic relationship. Although BTVS wasn’t perfect and it definitely didn’t age well in some areas, I am proud of the parts of myself that I feel like I inherited from Buffy, and I’ll always feel close to this character.

peter parker/Spider-Man

I will always love Spider-Man. When I was 6 I watched Spider-Man the fox animated series. When I was 14 I fell in love with this goddamn fictional character and now 20 years later i started writing fan fiction about him oh my god. I had a Spider-Man bedding set and was the only girl I knew that was into comics. I am very close to this character, because he truly represents the best of what we can become and what we strive for. I love each of the film iterations of Spider-Man (although this is undeniably an Andrew-obsessed era for this blog) for different reasons. And all of the movies excel in a different aspect of storytelling, where in some places they fall short. However Into the Spiderverse was a perfect film, I will fight anyone that’s says differently.

Also I’ll always be super jealous that I didn’t get Spider-Gwen when I was growing up, but I’m so happy that it exists now.

leslie knope, parks & rec

who doesn’t want to be like Leslie? Someone smart, bright, kind and supportive.

sun-hwa kwon, lost

For being one of the only solid female characters on that show

juliet burke, lost

Same as above

steve, stranger things

character growth. take a character that is annoying and make him someone I would go to war for

nancy, stranger things

same as above. S4 Nancy is amazing

Thank you for asking!!!!

[marvelous-imagines]

Imagine Johnny that the reader is Johnny's girlfriend and is a typical Nerd who loves to read comic books and is addicted to games and her friends end up making fun of her

considering I'm a huge nerd YES AND DONE LOVE!

Johnny Lawrence x reader

Warnings: mild language. Slight angst. Fluff!

You couldn't help the wide excited smile that bloomed on your face, pure joy engulfing you warmly as you looked into the full length mirror, taking in your new shirt. The bold lettering that read captain America along with the majestic figure himself in his signature stance with the American flag blowing around behind him as he held his glorious shield. The shirt was art, beautiful and truly a masterpiece... And it's yours, thanks to your boyfriend.

"johnny I love it!" you exclaimed happily, turning back to look at the blond, his grin wide as he watched you while leaned against the wall of your bedroom.

"I thought you would, when I saw it through the store window I knew it was something you'd want" he shrugs cooly, "although you're lucky no one saw me in the nerdy store full of losers" he jokes while pushing off the wall and walking over to you, placing his hands on your waist.

"now johnny... Are you calling me a loser?" you ask him, eye's locking on his baby blues.

"not you, you're my beautiful little nerd" he leans down so his face is closer to yours. You smirk and quickly peck him on the lips before pulling away from him and looking back at the shirt.

"thanks for the shirt Johnny, I love it!" you say ecstatic. Johnny let's out a chuckle and swiftly wrapped his arms around your waist from behind.

"I think I deserve a kiss for my good deeds" he spoke while nuzzling his face into your neck. His breath tickling the skin there which causes you to giggle.

"if I gave you a kiss Lawrence you would definitely turn it into a 14 minute make out session and I have 3 minutes to arrive at Tiffany's house before I'm late" you placed your hands over his that was resting on your hips. He groans as he looks at you through the mirror.

"do you have to go to Tiffany's?" he questioned with a pout, and when he gave you the puppy eye's you almost wanted to bail out on your plans so you could stay with your boyfriend.

"yes, I promised I'd help her do birthday planning for her younger sister, then after we've planned shopping" you say reluctantly pulling away from Johnny's warm strong arms. He whines and nods in understanding.

"okay, I'll call you tonight babe" he said while walking to your bedroom door, "love ya y/n" he was his last words before he left. You smile fondly at where he once stood before grabbing your shoes and heading out the door as well.

You giggled loudly at your two friends Rebecca and Tiffany, while you all was seated on Tiffany's sofa while planning her younger sisters upcoming birthday party. You three had been laughing and joking around, talking more about boys then planning the actual party.

"last weekend me and Tommy went on our third date" Rebecca said with a smile. Tiffany let's a teasing grin spread across her face as she focuses her attention on the red head seated in between you both.

"oh, what happened on this date?" Tiffany wiggled her eyebrows in suggestive manner. You roll your eyes at your friend and smack her shoulder playfully.

"like I'd ever tell you anything tattle tale" Rebecca snorts, picking up the notebook full of ideas for the birthday and jotting something down before tossing it back on the table.

"oh c'mon, isn't Tommy apart of that badass karate thingy? He's a total badass!"

"my boyfriend knows karate too Tiffany" you decide to join the conversation with a little smile, just the thought of Johnny making your heart skip a beat.

Tiffany scoffs, shaking her head. "y/n sweetie we're talking about actual guys, not some comic book guys you have a crush" you lift a brow at her harsh tone. Of course your friends wasn't fond of comics as much as you was. They often teased you for liking comics, calling you childish and nerdy. But they was still your friends and you suffered through the constant teasing and insults.

"she's actually dating Johnny Lawrence, that cute blond boy you drool over at school" Rebecca spoke up as you just simply grabbed the notebook and jot down some ideas for Tiffany.

That seemed to make her choke on air nearly as she had wide eye's. "he's dating her?! The nerdy, quite little -

"what's so bad about being nerdy?" you cut her off angrily as you tossed the notebook aside and crossed your arms. Starting to feel offended by her this time.

"it's lame, all the comic books, the stupid dolls you collect - even that stupid shirt! It's childish y/n. You need to grow up" Tiffany spat out harshly, leaving you feeling a wave of hurt weigh down on you. What if she was right?

"it's not childish -

You tried to explain but she cuts you off with a laugh, "and all you do is play stupid video games, you spend more time in comic stores and arcades then hanging out with actual people" she laughed, Rebecca stifling a laugh beside you which has you feeling even worse. You thought they was your friends...they didn't understand just how amazing comics was, they was a escape, a slice of peace from chaos every once in a while. And video games was fun, a nice way to relax after a long day.

"you guys just don't get it... The two things are awesome" you grumbled quietly.

"awesome? You're a nerd y/n, I don't even see why Johnny would date you" her and Rebecca laughed loudly as you feel tears start to build up in your eye's. You stand up and storm out of the door, your tears you tried holding back escaping.

It was nearly 15 minutes later when you arrived home, laying on your bed and taking in what your friends said. Why would Johnny date you? You was a nerd, you loved superheroes and video games. Your friends was right... You was childish, you sat up and take your captain america shirt off and slip on a plain t-shirt and lay back down. Johnny was a total badass and deserved someone better then you, someone who he was most likely ashamed of being seen with.

As you laid in your bubble of self loathing a knock on your bedroom door disturbs you. "go away!" you said loudly while you swing a arm over your eye's while you laid on your back.

"geez you sound so happy to see me" the familier sound of your boyfriend said, "it's Johnny, i left my wallet in you're room I think, I can't find anywhere else..." he spoke from the other side of the door.

You sigh and stay in your position, "come in" the sound of the door opening then closing was the only thing heard, soon followed by Johnny's voice once more.

"why aren't you wearing the shirt I got you?" he asks while picking it up off the floor and sitting on the edge of your bed, "what's wrong?" you slowly move your arm off your eyes and look at him. He instantly saw the sadness swimming in your eye's.

"do you think I'm childish?" you ask him quietly, slowly sitting up in bed and looking at him. He gives you a confused look before shaking his head.

"no, why would I?" he says while playing with the shirt in his hands, his eyes roaming your face trying to understand what's wrong.

"because I'm a nerd... I'm a loser Johnny, I don't even know why you're dating someone like me" you said with growing irritation at yourself. Johnny placed the shirt on the bed at gives you a stern look.

"I'm with you because I love y/n. I love everything about you, I love you for you" johnny said while scooting closer to you and placing his hand on your cheek, forcing you to look at him, his eyes holding nothing but truth, "what even made you think like this?" he murmured. You let out a deep breath while leaning into his touch.

"Tiffany and Rebecca" you muttered while looking away from his gorgeous blue eyes. He sighs and scoops you up in his arms and placing you in his lap, you was surprised by the abrupt movement but soon melt into his loving arms that was wrapped around your waist.

"if they were guys and kick their ass's for making you even think for a moment that you're a loser" he said causing you to giggle a little. But he continues with a serious look, "you're not a loser, you're cool and I love that you like video games and comics... It shows that you have a fun a personality and not a boring one like Tiffany and Rebecca's" he placed a kiss on your nose, you giggle at him and lay your head on his shoulder.

"I love you Johnny, you're the absolute best" you muttered while closing your eyes and basking in his loving embrace.

"I love you too y/n, every little detail" he muttered back, running his hand up and down your back. You truly did love Johnny, no one in the world could make you as happy as him, even when you felt down....

A/n: it's short as usual and shity, even I know that bruh😭 but here it is, I wrote it while suffering through a party (I have really bad anxiety and hate crowds so I write while standing in a corner to prevent panic attacks)

[malinowachmurka]

Here’s why this version of Miraculous Ladybug is the best possible

I feel like the early CGI concept is so underestimated so I’m gonna write about how much potential it had

FIRST OF ALL: The plot!

The anime version and the current CGI version of LB are parallels. The anime version called “Ladybug PV” has this dark vibe, muted colors, more serious villains and of course Felix who was replaced with Adrien, because Thomas said that Felix was a horrible character, didn’t suit Marinette and that’s why they decided to dump him. Also Marinette in the anime version was a little different, because even she was clumsy and cute, she had the ability to confess her feelings to Felix, invite him to a date and also as Ladybug she was more serious, honestly she would kick your ass and split on you without hesitation

Our current Miraculous LB is a cute show with a lot of interesting threads and relationship, but it seems childish, because of the animation, shallowness of some characters etc.

And this is were the early CGI version concept comes in

It is the perfect combination of these two versions! Like, we still have Felix, who maybe isn’t the most friendly character in the series, but oh my, he’s got so much potential! If you’re a fan of Ladybug PV, you’ll understand it (if not, I beg you to love him, this cat deserves love)

Marinette is still depicted as shy and clumsy, but she’s sometimes able to stand for herself or confess her feelings. She has this amazing asian look - black hair, darker eyes, she really looks like she’s half european, half asian! 

The plot (basing on all of the concept arts) also seems more interesting. For me it looks like the action is placed before 2010, just look at the colors, outfits, I mean, it would be awesome to place this story in early twenties. We know Marinette is a fan of fashion, but in this early version, she was not only sewing own projects and admiring Adrien Agreste - she goes to fashion shows with her friends, she does shopping, she have a social life (at times when she’s not saving Paris, of course)! 

And my favourite thing: the powers! In this early concept of CGI show, they had given special abilities to our beloved heroes. 

Ladybug could not only use her main ability - Lucky Charm - she could also use yo-yo as an actual weapon. It could be transformed into many things such as stick, shield, saber or even create bombs!

At the same time Chat Noir was able to use his bad luck power to create things such as Black Hole, Black Storm - basically powers related to destruction. There’s also one thing I love about this version. Just like in anime - they couldn’t take off their miraculouses and their powers was also affecting them in daily life. Felix was cursed with bad luck, but he could also use his curse to cause unlucky situations to other people! 

I don’t know if Marinette was blessed with some lucky curse in her daily life, but I’d like to believe she was. And I’m definitely going to make some comics or maybe a fanfic about it

[inglorious-purpose]

Hawkeye rocks

So I completely shocked myself by enjoying the Hawkeye series. I’m not a Hawkeye fan at all. Like, if Thor is the Strongest Avenger, Clint is the Most Boring Avenger. I couldn’t believe that between him and Nat, the Russos decided to kill off Nat. WTF? Who would even miss Hawkeye? (I kid, I kid, please don’t send me death threats.)

But damn, I gotta say, out of the Disney+ series imho Hawkeye is the best so far. I mean, I enjoyed Wandavision, but the first few episodes were a bit slow for me (also I hate sitcoms, even though this approach was admittedly creative and refreshing for a Marvel production). TFATWAS was pretty good, with some issues (Bucky deserves better). Loki was heart-breakingly disappointing. What if?, aside from the Evil Dr Strange origin story (I legit almost cried), was some weird-ass bullshit. But Hawkeye -- now that was worth watching. For me, at least. I don’t know how hard-core Clint Barton fans liked it; if not, total respect. I approached it as someone completely outside the fandom, nor do I read the comics, and maybe it helped that I’m not invested in the character and my expectations for Marvel content is pretty fucking low by now but whatever.

SPOILER ALERT FOR HAWKEYE YOU’VE BEEN WARNED

I thought the story was solid, although I’m slightly annoyed by will-daddy-get-home-in-time-for-Christmas stuff but eh. Decent mystery, well-written characters, good plot twist I didn’t see coming with the mom. Good fights, fun car chase. Fucking PYM ARROWS!!! Humor that was actually funny. (Note to Loki writers: you don’t need to humiliate anyone or kick anyone in the balls for laughs.) Finale was satisfying, didn’t seem as long as it actually was, multiple things happening simultaneously (love that), good resolution for Clint, bittersweet for Kate, Maya, and Yelena. Good character arcs for all of them.

I got a much better feel for Clint’s personality and emotions and what makes him tick. Watching him interact more with his family was sweet. (Some serious tired-dad energy there.) I got the sense that the creative team really cared about him and successfully tried to show the various aspects of his character -- his grief for Natasha, his ambivalence with the whole superhero thing, his sense of duty, his somewhat grey-ish morality as Ronin. (Note to Loki writers: it helps if you actually care about the character you’re writing.) Good pacing, with plenty of slower, more intimate character-building scenes intermixed with action. Barton even got himself a nifty new outfit. (Note to Loki writers: it’s ok to give the main character a nifty new outfit. Really. We won’t be distracted, we promise.)

I thought the other characters were also pretty compelling. Fucking Yelena, I love her. Some serious chemistry between Yelena and Kate. Yelena and Kate eating mac-n-cheese. Yelena and Kate in an elevator. Yelena and Kate fighting through a building. I need more of those two, please.

Yelena/Clint fight, wow. Clint obviously trying not to hurt her. Yelena just solidly taking out her rage on him, like she could’ve just shot him in the beginning and been done with it, but you could tell she was releasing all the anger and pain from her sister’s death as she’s brutalizing Clint. And then when she finally takes out her gun, Clint does that whistle, and she just ... breaks. And they talk. And she holds out her hand to him. Amazing scene. Florence Pugh brings it.

Love the dynamic between Kate and Clint. Like, she’s a bit arrogant, but she admits when she messes up, realizes she has a lot to learn, and obviously respects Clint and looks up to him. And despite being a reluctant mentor, he sees her potential and calls her his partner at the end. They form a sincere and believable bond. (Note to Loki writers: you don’t need your new fave character to constantly one-up the main character or take over the plot to prove that they’re the very best-est thing ever.)

Maya -- wow, loved her. We see Maya learning to compensate for her disabilities as a child, overcoming adversity with her intelligence and determination. We see her have a strong loving bond with her father. We feel her grief when he's killed, even though he’s ostensibly a “bad” guy. We see how she’s vulnerable, with relatable emotions and reactions.  We sympathize with her, even when she turns dark. And when she realizes what her rage and need for revenge has done to her, she decides to break away and create a new life for herself. So glad she’s getting a spin-off series. (Note to Loki writers: this is how you write a strong female character, not the bullshit we got with Sylvie.)

Good theme throughout the series: how do we define heroism? What makes someone a hero? Yelena’s speech about how heroism is defined by what you do, not whether other people call you an Avenger -- that was great.  Later, Clint says that it’s doing the right thing, no matter what it takes. But what is the “right” thing? What if something that feels “right” to you isn’t perceived as “right” by society? If you do some “good” things and some “bad” things, how does it balance out? How do we deal with the consequences of our choices? The show doesn’t necessarily provide solid answers, but it poses these questions in interesting and thoughtful ways. (Loki writers take note: it doesn’t matter how hard you try to hero-code your fave new character. If they do bad things, it’s not heroic.)

A couple things I think could have been better:

--I wish they had explored the fallout from Clint’s time as Ronin a bit more. Clint says it was his way of dealing with The Snap, but ... like, why? Why did he choose that path instead of teaming back up with the other Avengers or something? It sounds like he kind of regrets what he did, but would he choose differently in retrospect? He was supposedly killing bad guys; does he think this justifies what he did? Is this part of why he’s uncomfortable being considered a hero? Should he be held accountable?

--Kingpin was inserted at the very end, no backstory, like what’s his deal? Seems to have super strength? Can get shot with arrows and slammed through a window with a car and he just stands up and brushes himself off like it’s nothing? What’s his motivation? Where did he come from? How did he get so strong and impenetrable? A little explanation for those of us who don’t read the comics or watch Daredevil, please.

--What's up with the dog? I kept expecting that the dog would do ... something? ... in the plot, but he was just kind of there. I mean, I’m sure he’s a Very Good Boy, but he didn’t seem to have a point and he didn’t even get a name! Doggie deserves better.

Anyway, now I like Hawkeye and I’m sorry that I said he has no personality. He’s cool. I swear to god, Marvel is so hit-and-miss these days. I was just about to give up on them, and then those fuckers pull off something like this and I’m just ... well, now I’ve got to see what happens to Kate and Maya, and will we see Yelena again, and ...

[serpenteve]

king of scars rant 💅🏽

cw: spoilers for king of scars

Honestly, I hated this book.

The Lore

I definitely hated how this book pretty much retconned the original trilogy and made it all but pointless. So Alina had to lose her powers because there are comic limits to Grisha power but Zoya can turn into a fucking dragon and become the avatar now?

The Shadow Fold had to be destroyed because it made Ravka weak but now it's open season on Ravka without the Fold holding their enemies back and every other week, there's some new assassination attempt from Shu Han or an open declaration of war from Fjerda or blackmailing debt-collectors from Kerch? How is Ravka still functioning, honestly?

Nikolai

I'm sorry, Nikolai, but this book actually made me low-key hate you. Like, the narrative wants so badly to prove me to me that he isn't like other imperialist monarchs! He....remembers people's names and fights alongside them!!!

Another character in this book (Isaak) spends the majority of his narrative idolizing Nikolai and trying to be like him and talking about how amazing he was to his family and then when he dies........Nikolai barely even gives a fuck? I got the sense this friendship was entirely one-sided.

Also, why is this marketed as a Nikolai duology and named after him when he's barely the main character and has to share the narration with 3 other characters---one of which is literally occupying the same locations as him? 🤨

Zoya

Oof, where to even begin with this one.

Listen, I would have been 100% on board with this book being entirely focused on Zoya. She's the real protagonist in my opinion so the fact that had to share the narrative with 3 other people (including one person who doesn't even influence the main plot and another who gets discarded by the end) was really bringing down the potential of her story.

Because there wasn't enough room for her character development, everything about her arc is completely rushed. Like, she can fire-bend and bee-bend in the span of 3 hours? WELL OKAY THEN. Oh, she can just turn into a fucking dragon now because she opened some random ass door in her mind? WELL OKAY THEN.

I hate hate hate it when female characters get accused of being Mary Sues but there's something to be said when we're jumping heads and everyone is just like "Wow, Zoya is so pretty, Zoya is so badass, Zoya is so cool" while not really having any real consequences for her flaw. Like, we all know Zoya can be bitchy and mean (and we love that about her 😌) but....she pretty much gets away it with and doesn't face any backlash for it. Add this to the fact that she becomes the Grisha avatar with very little training on her part and voila. The entire world of the Grishaverse bends its rules and reality around her in typical Sue fashion.

Nina

Girl, what was even the point of your story? I kept waiting and waiting and waiting, stupidly assuming that her story would somehow merge with the main one but it never came.

We learn that things are still shit for Grisha. The Shu are kidnapping them and making them into crazy supersoldiers and Fjerda are getting them addicted to some parem variant to create their own Grisha slave army from birth?

Why on earth would being a Grisha at the Little Palace be a choice in this world? It's either you become a soldier in the Second Army or....you get a fate worse than death. Wouldn't the atrocities committed against Grisha radicalize most Grisha anyway? Like, sign me the fuck up, I want to kick some ass against people trying to literally experiment on me???

Nina's necromancer powers were pretty badass though, not gonna lie 🙌🏽

Isaak

Isaak was honestly the best part of this whole dumpster book and then he gets killed for no reason. And Nikolai doesn't even give a fuck?

Why introduce this new character if we're just going to use and discard him? I kept wondering why we were getting palace updates from a new character instead of just using Genya or Tamar's perspective.

Also, the whole thing with princess Ehri was a bit racist to me? Like we have a Chinese-coded character being a deceptive backstabber (or front-stabber in this case lol) and nearly dies while giving off some serious dragon lady vibes. I get the sense she did die in the original draft and some editor was probably like "Hmm, well maybe we shouldn't have another dead POC" so she survives. At least she didn't speak in broken English like Botkin 🤷🏽‍♀️

The (Anti) Climax

This was easily the most anti-climactic ending to a Grishaverse book I've read. It's a shame because it has all the elements that could have made it badass? Like we've got saints with god-like powers but Zoya easily defeats Elizaveta by suddenly unlocking fire-bending, bee-bending, and transforming into a fucking dragon. I just can't take it seriously.

Elizaveta herself was too easily distracted as a villain. What the hell even happens to the saints when they die in this place? Do all their miracles that affect the rest of the world just disappear? Who knows. The book ends with Fjerda declaring war and a failed assassination attempt by a Shu Han princess.

Yuri & the Darkling

And finally this brings me whatever mess is going on with Yuri and the Darkling. I get the sense Leigh was super pissed with Darkling stans and created this weird strawman with Yuri's character. Honestly, I thought he was kinda funny because I'm sure even without real-world fans simping for the Darkling, there would certainly be people in the Grishaverse who would gravitate towards the Darkling and see him as a savior of sorts, especially with the world's Grisha being arguably worse after his death and the destruction of the Fold.

What bothered me was the bizarre preachiness of the other characters. Like Yuri literally only exists so that Zoya and Nikolai can take turns being like "Actually, Yuri aka Darklina stan placeholder, the Darkling was the VILLAIN of the series and you were just too stupid to see it, etc"

...Like, girl, we know he's the villain 🤦🏽‍♀️ If we're going to create a character just to preach to Darkling stans, then why does the entire plot revolve around trying to bring him back into the story? It's like Leigh has a weird love-hate relationship with the Darkling. She hates him and she hates his fan club but she still needs him because otherwise there's no magical plot conflict.

Fridge Logic

If there is no limit to Grisha power and you can just take however much you want from the heart at the making of the world, why the hell did Alina get punished for the amplifier nonsense in the original trilogy?

If the saint's powers are limited to the edges of the Fold, how are they able to manipulate stuff outside of it?

Juris claims when you properly possess an amplifier, you become a living amplifier in return. So is how the Darkling and Baghra became living amplifiers? Or is that just still some unexplained merzost nonsense from Illya Morozova?

What the hell even considered merzost now with all this retcon?

If the Darkling can possess Yuri and magically transform his features to be his own, then why did he need his own body?

And if he can change people's features by possessing them, why did Nikolai get to keep his?

Why did the obisbaya ritual fail in the first place?

Prose

The only positive is that the prose is like a million times better than the original trilogy, but considering how terrible the original is, I suppose that's not really saying much.

[antiloreolympus]

6 Anti LO Asks

1. wasnt there a myth where ares dates demeter? (sometims erinyes instead) and they have a CHILD together? i know RS doesn't really research so it wont come up, but ... how awkward would that family reunion be? "hello, barely-legal version of the teenage girl i tried to mack on, i knocked up your mother"?

2. (Bit of a rant so be warned) I wish that RS had characterized everyone better, I mean I still can’t get over how Apollo was characterized (I got into LO before I fully delved into mythology and once I read on how Apollo really was I didn’t know how to feel about the story). It would’ve been so amazing if she portrayed them differently than they were in the myths in a way that made sense, like Aphrodite given a fully developed personality outside of being a bitch with a pretty face (she was a very loving mother in the myths and very much loved Ares, who adored her as well). And let’s be honest, persephone being a “cinnamon roll that can secretly kill you” trope is kind of getting boring, RS could have had some more fun with her character by portraying her much differently. Another trope that’s getting old is Demeter being an overprotective, controlling mess of a mother towards persephone which sucks once you really think about it (I mean the poor woman lost her daughter in an instant and didn’t know what was going on until she had to go to Helios to find out, she deserves a better portrayal than what RS gave her). Heck my favorite portrayal of Demeter that feels accurate to how she is mother-wise in the myths is from Mythic the Musical (“Mother’s Do What Mother’s Have to Do”). Also don’t get me started on how dirty she did Thetis (I love her design but my god was she done wrong personality and even role wise). I remember when I first started reading this and read through the majority of the comic and I genuinely loved it, not thinking about how weird it was until I read through this blog and it kind of just hit me. Hades is a creep in LO and he could’ve just not been written that way, she didn’t have to write Persephone as a literal 19 year old (even 119 is young for gods but at least that would’ve been a more comfortable number) the baby shower gift thing was gross once I thought about it again. If I had to put my main frustrations with this series I would put these as the main problems: Gods/Goddesses being done dirty in terms of personality and role in the story, Hades being a high key creep, I heard that Chiron is being portrayed as female which defeats one of the purposes of his character (he’s a genuinely kind man which is rare to find in Greek Mythology, he’s awesome), not utilizing other Greek mythological figures to help move the story along or even help persephone (for example, Ganymede who’s story starts off very much like hers or even other figures who were SA by gods), and Persephone not only being a self insert but a major Mary Sue which is a massive yikes when it comes to a serious storyline. Oh and her “erasing” the incest factor of Greek Mythology is hysterical because even with how she changes it up, Hades and Persephone are STILL technically related because Demeter is Hera’s sister, who is married to Zeus (Hades’ brother) still making Hades her uncle by marriage smh. Demeter considers Persephone her daughter so that doesn’t erase the incest completely. At least Percy Jackson made it clear that it was a thing, and they handled it very easily: they’re divine beings that don’t have blood and they’re not mortals, despite that Percy and the other demigods express obvious disgust at the topic. Done and done. At the end of the day I’m still not sure how I feel about LO and maybe I’ll continue reading it for the hell of it or just give it up since from what I’ve heard, the story has gone off the rails

3. i like how just off that timeline, we're supposed to feel like "aw look both hades and persephone had traumatic childhoods and important life changes at 19!" instead of being like yooooo this seven year beat the shit out of his dad and took him out? why would i care about hades' teen angst and then late 20s man pain whi lusts after a 9 year old when a goddamn second grader can kick ass? also yeah depending on this timeline theyre all pedos and zeus is actually a vicim 🤷🏼‍♀️

4. Okay, I could be misremembering things but, didn't Hera have a file on Persephone (which listed her under the TGOEM program) that she made for "possible suitors" purposes? And she included Hermes and Ares and Hades?

Again, I could be misremembering this but doesnt the TGOEM require the goddesses to, not be in relationships? Romantic or otherwise? And if thats the case, then why the f*ck was Hera making a "compatibility chart" of possible husbands for Persephone?

Was it because she noticed that Persephone and Hades had a thing for each other? Even though she was potentially still having an affair with Hades at the time And knowing he was having an off and on again relationship with Minthe?

Also isnt Persephone in college on the TGOEM scholarship? So wouldn't Hera want to like, talk to Athena + Hestia about that? And be like "Hey so I know Kore is in your program, but.... I want her to marry Hades" And I know Hera is technically Queen of the gods but wouldn't she still check with them?

Also, I had a seperate thought. So I know Hades says something like "I thought we agreed not to (see each other) back in the 80's" - now it feels like because Hera is/was having an off-and-on againa affair with her brother in law that her putting Hades and Persephone together and setting them up as a couple is an excuse for her to cover up her affair.

(Like if Zeus ever got wind of Hera's affair with Hades and he was upset she could just try to side sweep it by being like "oh, no thats not what was happening. I was really checking to see if Hades is a good match for Persephone and he is!" So she doesnt get in trouble for having an affair).

5. okay, legitimate question: if artemis having a ton of uber-devoted female followers is enough to make her a lesbian ... why is ares not gay? because like ... not only were soldiers/male athletes famously homosexual, a lot of them basically ritually gave themselves to ares. it's heavily implied that this means that they considered themselves spiritually his eromenos'. the whole practice's bad implics aside ... ares should be SUPER gay? oiled up gym-rats wrestling nude levels of gay.

6. Okay so normally I don't care and or don't want to know, but - in this case I am a bit curious - is Persephone just RS's self insert character / Mary sue? Because if she is then that means that all the other male characters simping over Persephone (Hades, Hermes, Ares, Apollo, etc) gets a lot more concerning.

[larauthorized]

Marissa Cooper Analysis

Coop, as Summer calls her. Or Cosmo Girl as Seth refers to her in his comic book. The girl next door whom Ryan first met in that driveway, delivering the most iconic flirtatious pick-up line in history. Yup, we’re going to dive deeper into the one and only Marissa Cooper, the heart of the show, who’s sadly misunderstood and overlooked even in The OC fandom. (Also, because she’s not here to defend herself, but we got you, girl!)

She’s introduced as the rich girl next door, who’s waiting to be picked up by her possibly first, long time boyfriend in the driveway. Later on, we find out that she’s not just the ordinary girl next door. She’s organized and loves planning events (the fashion show was the start of many),  while it may seem like she’s only doing it for her mother’s sake, but you can tell that she really enjoys it as it becomes another way of escapism  from her dysfunctional family (other than drinking that we’ll get into that later). She does this every season that when she’s kicked off the school even for heroic reasons, that’s when everything starts spiraling out of control that she loses herself. 

Now let’s talk about Luke, Marissa’s first, long-time boyfriend who happens to be a water polo guy that Seth might or might not hold hatred for. From the first season, we get to see a glimpse of how her family, well, Julie mostly, is the kind of rich family that forces her to be and stay with Luke just because they “look good on paper”. It reminds me of Blair and Nate from Gossip Girl, another one of Josh Schwartz’s big hit show. However, Marissa doesn’t seem too happy with the rich life that she’s used to, especially when she knows that her father is possibly in deep trouble as cops keep showing up at her door. Enter Ryan. He’s an outsider, someone who’s far different than her, someone that she longed for in years. She’s intrigued, that one is hard to deny. However, when they start talking and conversing in each other as they sneak into the Model Home house, she realizes that they’re not that different, if anything, they’re similar. In a way.. But, when Cotillion comes around, she doesn’t know what to do, as Julie once again, demands that she stays with Luke just because they’re “picture perfect” (doesn’t matter if the guy cheats and whores around behind her back like the asshole he is *sigh*). And if we’re not going to blame Blair Waldorf for letting Nate cheat on her and still choose to be with him, then we’re not going to shame Marissa, either. Yes, we went there. (take that, Bustle and TheTalko!). 

Marissa’s addiction. That one is possibly one of her worst traits, that the writers loved toying around with throughout the seasons. She tends to go overboard with this one as we see on the very first episode where she steals a whole bottle of alcohol and is left on the driveway, passed-out. This is where Ryan comes in, carrying her back to the pool house, indirectly claiming as her savior *this goes both ways for each other throughout the series, by the way*. Her alcoholism isn’t just the only thing that occurs whenever her life’s on downward spiral, it’s also shown in her bedroom sometimes. When she’s on a grey area with her life emotionally, she reflects it on her bedroom, that soon leads to be a makeover project by her best friend, Summer. Summer describes this as a reason why she’s so depressed, which psychologically speaking, can be accurate. Messy rooms are sometimes interpreted as one’s life not being as organized as they expect it to be, therefore they tend to think that “if my life is out of control, then what’s the point of keeping my room clean”? This is definitely what happens to Marissa. 

Her addiction doesn’t even get too much until Season 3. Even after what happens with Ryan’s brother, we rarely see her taking a drop after, Ryan says and I quote, “You’ve been amazing,” She replies with, “I know what it feels like to have someone believes in you when no one else does.” 

 Aside from negative coping, she’s not only known for that, if you’re actually looking closely into her character and not just judging it based on the cover. She’s an avid reader, though it’s barely shown, but we see her having her nose buried in a book every once in a while. Now that I think about it, that and many other positive qualities that she has, should have been focused and explored way more. She’s organized and carries planner whenever she needs to, she’s clearly more than the girl who needed saving if only the writers see that. Cause then maybe, people won’t refer to her as a “tragic” character that the writers want us to believe *she is not*. 

She’s definitely an introvert - compared to her best friend, Summer, who’s more the life of the party. Sure, she goes to parties and surrounds herself with her so-called “friends”, but you can literally see her drinking alone in the corner while Summer is probably having a lot more fun than she is. It’s clear that she only uses party scene as a way to steal alcohol that she will probably drink later at night as a way of coping. She also seems to be uncomfortable around new people and charges her energy while she’s on her own. This is why when she’s kicked off the school and has to go to a new environment, she doesn’t fit in right away, which leads to her insecurity increasing even higher (something that she also struggles with on a daily basis). The insecurity itself is possibly rooted from maternal issues she has, we see that on the very first episode, Julie is critizing her on how she looks, how she takes the comment on a personal level. After overdosing herself in Tijuana, she’s put on Suicide Watch, and we learn that she also suffers from “possible” ED in the past, masking it something that’s not serious because she was very stressed at the time, but is it though? Now, we never really know further cause that storyline is never explored further, we also don’t know if the writers are taking it seriously or just putting heavy weight on her shoulder for fun. Either way, it really sucks for her character, especially when she had other deep trauma issues that are barely addressed throughout the series.

Her savior complex. Now now now, this one is kind of controversial, excluding the last season where the main focus is “Ryan failed to save her”, helping and saving people are actually her forte, just like Ryan - which is why they probably connect in the first place. People love to call she’s selfish and needs saving all the time, but they’re people, who don’t bother to look deeper and judge all they please, it’s sickening. First, despite how problematic it might seem, she tries to help Oliver (no matter how many times Ryan thinks she doesn’t). She sees herself in Oliver and is scared that he might go down the rabbit hole if she leaves him alone, that’s actually sweet and showcases her nurturing side. The only downside is that every guy she does this to, seems to take it the wrong way and thinks of it as more than a friendly gesture. Cause you know, it was the 2000s, boy/girl friendships aren’t as common as it is now. She even lets Ryan go to help Theresa even though she needs him as well, knowing that he literally has an affair with another girl while they are still kind of together. How she’s trying to make  Ryan’s brother feel welcome in the neighborhood, keeping him company, not realizing that Trey might turn out to be the one that truly hurt and destroy her. What makes my blood boil even more is when they call her stupid for trusting Trey, for what, really? For wanting to get to know Ryan’s family because she loves him that much, that she’s willing to go far and beyond? *shudders* Even then, she’s still not thinking of herself when that happens, that her only response when Trey confronts her is “Me?! How about Ryan?” So yeah, I’ll fight anyone who calls her selfish. My ass.  The other thing with Johnny is that, she doesn’t try to save him, she actually sees him as a friend that she can vent to about her traumatic events that happen to her in the previous season. Because, for some reason they make Ryan look and seem like a douche this season and not wanting to talk to her though he always is there for her before *probably for angst, right?*. It’s actually stupid how they twist Johnny around and make him in love with her, leaving her yet alone again, but guess that’s what they’re trying to accomplish with her character as she’s left with her addiction only during this entire thing. 

Saving guys who don’t even deserve a shred of her kindness aren’t the only thing she’s good at - remember Hailey, Kirsten’s sister, who ends up a stripper that one time and how Marissa and Ryan find her and as he’s about to give up after getting kicked out of a club, she’s still optimistic and comes up with a plan to save her? Yeah, that one true partner in crime right there. She also schemes every now and then, not that that’s ever explored deeply in the show, but it’s there. 

Now Volchok, the guy that we all want to punch (Let’s go, Ryan!). She just loses a friend (one she can talk to about traumatic events), deals with s3xual assault and having to shoot someone to save her boyfriend, that’s got to be too much on a teenager girl like her. So no, she doesn’t just do that because she “loves to date bad boys”. There she is, standing and looking around the Model Home house, reconciling of the old times between her and Ryan. She realizes that she wants to be with Ryan and is ready for it too, but she can’t seem to go over to him when the time comes, giving him the mixtape that she makes him. The situation’s reversed, she used to be the rich girl with a mansion, now there she is, barely having her own bedroom, living in a trailer park. To add to that, she’s dealing with traumatic events still, so of course she’s insecure. She thinks she’s not good enough for Ryan and giving in to Volchok is a sign of that. But she wants Ryan to be happy, hence why she chases after Sadie, practically driving the girl into his arms. Poor, poor girl deserves so much better.

Let’s take a breather and talk about her family now. Despite how dysfunctional it might seem on the outside, and how many furniture thrown in the pool, doesn’t erase the fact that she’s a family girl. Jimmy, her father, has a way of coming and going any ways he likes. She even points it out and says, “You know, I wish you’d be like a real dad,” Ouch, that hurt. But it’s true, when it comes to family, she’s looking for a tradition, something stable that she can always cling onto especially when she’s in time of need. This is why when she comes up bringing bagels to the Cohen’s house, she feels warmed and welcomed by the family. It’s the one thing she lacks of in her family. Julie, despite the crazy ways in providing for her, is actually doing a better job at being there for her than Jimmy ever does. Sure, Julie is seen more of a villain in the first season (hell, the woman sleeps with her boyfriend that she lost her virginity to, so if I were her, I’d understand if she wants to, say, take revenge and invite her mom’s sister that Julie strongly hates as part of her master plan), but by the end of Season 3, they really grow stronger as a mother-daughter relationship that we really wish to see more of if given a chance.  Despite not showing much for her and only coming for the drama, she truly cares for her sister, Kaitlin. When she’s done moping around after traumatic events, she drives away to where her sister’s boarding school is, all because she wants to help her sister with something. There she is, finally having drama-free, fun episode where we get to see her strolling around in a sexy school girl outfit, but clearly the writers never catch her a break and hate to see her happy for once. 

Marissa is always seen as beautiful on the outside, but I don’t think she ever feels it at times. Luke’s cheating, probably makes her feel insecure and her mother sleeping with him helps as well. Ryan is the only person who actually sees her. She’s his heather.

People love pointing out her flaws when it comes to her relationship with darling Ryan, but the truth is, she has always been putting him before anyone else. She saves him multiple times throughout the series, even when he’s hardly there for her in Season 3. When she follows him to Chino, she visits his house and finds out more about him as a child - discovering that he used to be in a play dressed as Snoopy (again, she’s finding more and more about him because she cares and loves him deeply). Then, he goes out there saving his brother, not knowing that who he’s dealing with, she comes just in time with a car, saving him. This happens again when he’s broken up with Lindsay, she finds him in the rain, and comforts him, no talking needed. She shot her rapist to save him by the finale. Even in Season 3, when he’s chasing trouble with Volchok going back to his old ways as she’s miles away from Newport, he seeks for her help again, she is quick to respond and be there for him right away. Something he fails to do during this season, don’t ever tell me that she never thinks of him when that’s not true. She encourages him to talk about his architecture dream when they’re both on a college trip (this is such goals!). 

With her neglectful and narcistic parents, emotionally, and Ryan’s who’s more physically, that’s why they click and their relationship works. He doesn’t trust anyone and she doesn’t encourage her bad behavior on him, but they’re both there for each other. Always. She’s his constant, just like he’s hers, she accepts him the way he is because she’s imperfect as well. She sees him as the one thing that she can rely on and that’s really sweet. They both come from dysfunctional family with their own issues in hopes to build one of their own that actually works, at least that’s what we’re all rooting for, right? 

Well, at least, in another world, we see Marissa Cooper and Ryan Atwood sailing away on a boat, travelling, and exploring the world as they should be before settling back down to their roots - Model Home House, Newport. It’s what she deserves. 

[aromancy]

I Freaking Love Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Have I ever mentioned this before? I feel like I’ve only ever reblogged a few posts about it.

Well, for the record, I freaking love Xenoblade Chronicles 2. A long time ago, back in like 2014 (God, has it already been SEVEN YEARS since 2014?), I saw this one anime, Clannad, that I henceforth dubbed my second favorite anime of all time. I didn’t know what my favorite anime was (I knew it wasn’t Clannad; that show is heartbreaking, but it’s also REALLY confusing), so I just left the spot open until I found it.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is it.

Now, granted, it might be a little weird to say that a video game is my favorite anime. But screw it, those cutscenes were animated in Japan by Japanese creators, weren’t they? Besides, while the game itself is a ton of fun, anyone who loves XBC2 can testify that it’s the story that truly sells it.

Not to say the gameplay isn’t fun. It’s a little hostile to new players, and the glut of tutorials do a poor job of explaining the intricacies of combat, but once you get it it becomes a glorious, beautiful dance that flows like... like something really glorious and beautiful! A ballet dancer? A ballet dancer with an oversized cannon.

(Azami kicks ass btw. Don’t @ me.)

I’m aromantic and can’t feel true love, but I imagine the feeling of stacking eight elemental orbs on a boss monster before shattering them all with a last-minute Overkill is something akin to it.

But again, the combat, amazing as it is, isn’t what you’re there for. What you’re there for is the story. And what a story it is: what starts out as a pretty typical RPG setup (heroes have somewhere they need to go, a complex series of obstacles stands in their way) slowly morphs into a contemplation on mental health and futility. Rex’s number two and main love interest Pyra is pretty clearly suffering from some self-esteem issues that make her question if she’s even worth being loved, and Rex is eventually forced to come to terms with the fact that his lifelong dream is ultimately just that; a dream, with no chance of ever coming true.

Naturally, it’s an anime, so the ending isn’t quite such a downer and perhaps a slight Deus Ex Machina, but we get some pretty hardcore moments along the way, like the scene where all your allies turn on you and you have to fight them one-on-one and it’s actually one of the hardest fights in the game and you really start to feel Rex’s desperation as he’s forced to do one of the hardest things he’s ever had to-

Sorry, I’m sorry, I’m good. Let’s talk characters.

Technically speaking, there’s ten main characters; five Drivers (who awaken Blades) and their Blades (a sort of slave race with serious ethical ramifications we’ll get into a bit later). Our lead is Rex, a salvager (he gathers scraps from ancient tech that sank below the sea and sells them) with the most outrageous Yorkshire accent I’ve ever heard. Kid sounds like the love child of Ed Sheeran, Dame Judy Dench, and a flat cap. His main companion is Pyra, an Aegis (one of the two strongest Blades in the world) who I really wish would put on a sweater so people will stop saying I only like this game because of the outfits they put all the female characters in.

(My favorite outfit in the game: catgirl Pyra)

Joining Rex and Pyra are Nia (an actual catgirl with a Welsh accent that puts Rex’s Yorkshire one to shame) and Dromarch (her lion Blade); Morag (a badass soldier lady) and Bridghid (her equally badass fire-whip using Blade); Zeke (comic relief with a surprisingly deep backstory) and Pandoria (the most underappreciated character in the game), and... ugh... Tora and Poppi.

(Pictured: Team Tora at 99% likeability)

(Pictured: Team Tora at 100% likeability.)

Seriously, I don’t know how a piece of garbage character like Tora literally built the most interesting, engaging, and likeable character in the whole game. Poppi is fantastic, a philosophical question of can robots feel, and are they truly alive, that really gives the question its due with an ambiguous nature that lifts our spirits with a resounding yes. And Tora is a comic relief pervert.

Ah, I can’t give him too much crap. He gets better. They all do; Nia’s backstory reveal is really late in the game for how early she’s introduced, but it’s well worth the wait; Zeke and Pandoria actually have one of the most fascinating backstories in the whole game; and Morag’s there too!

She’s kinda shafted. Too bad, because what little we get of her fucking rules.

But what good are main characters without some high quality villains? There’s two major factions that stand in our way, but as talking about one would be HUGE spoilers, let’s instead look at the less spoiler-y one: Torna!

When we’re first introduced to Torna, they seem like the most obvious freaking villains in gaming history. Look at Malos in this pic and tell me he’s not the most blatantly evil dude you’ve ever seen. Even Jin’s standing behind him like “C’mon dude, you don’t have to be so obvious about it.”

Torna consists of six members intially, but Nia quickly defects when she’s charmed by Rex’s optimism, leaving only Malos, Jin, Patroka, Akhos, and Mikhail. Of the remaining members, Patroka and Akhos matter very little, and Mikhail does exactly one thing of note that I definitely wouldn’t call villainous, so let’s instead look at our headliners: Malos and Jin.

Jin is awesome. He’s a Blade who was bound to a really sweet girl named Lora. dude clearly had feelings for her, and when she got killed, he saw the evil inherent in humanity and decided to destroy them. He resents mankind for this and also basically having Blades like him by the balls; his people can only be awoken from their Core Crystals by another, a Driver, and once this is done, they’re bound to serve their Driver until the Driver dies and they revert back to their Core Crystal form, losing their memories and effectively “dying.” Jin considers this unfair and wants to show humanity that Blades are their own people, with their own wants and needs, and intends to do this by destroying human civilization and creating a society where Blades like him stay on top.

Malos is great too, but for totally different reasons. He was initally awoken by somebody with an intense hatred for humanity, and has adopted his Driver’s cynicism. He seeks nothing more or less than the total eradication of all sentient life. He believes, thanks to his Driver, that it is humanity’s nature to destroy itself; he’s just helping them along.

Malos’s Driver has a truly bone-chilling backstory, and he’s easily the most effective and believable baddie in the game. I’m gonna assume anyone who’s played knows who I’m talking about, and the rest of you will have to be content with playing it yourselves and going “oh, really? THAT guy? Huh, didn’t expect HIM to be the big bad!” when you realize who I’m referring to.

If you’re not convinced to play a game for its story and characters alone, I have one other thing to show you: the world this all takes place in.

Anyway, yeah. I freaking love Xenoblade Chronicles 2. The gameplay, the story, the characters, the art... OH RIGHT AND THE MUSIC

A few of my favorite tracks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aElM_uHL00E&list=PLIpqsKgkQEvMUFbngp-GbW1JwDGXnxcm9&index=8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60Ih-D49QJE&list=PLIpqsKgkQEvMUFbngp-GbW1JwDGXnxcm9&index=43

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx3AbguQZHU&list=PLIpqsKgkQEvMUFbngp-GbW1JwDGXnxcm9&index=47

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLR9BJit7pE&list=PLIpqsKgkQEvMUFbngp-GbW1JwDGXnxcm9&index=60

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4_aCdzCIKI&list=PLIpqsKgkQEvMUFbngp-GbW1JwDGXnxcm9&index=62

Go play this game if you haven’t already.

[hellokittymartian]

I need to get this out of my chest

I’m incredibly pissed at young justice’s treatment of m’gann’s character, i have always been, but i can’t even stay pissed bc this is the only appearance we have of young naive ‘’sweet’ megan outside comics so ugggggggggggh hear me out while i try to explain my toxic relationship with yj.

So is 2010, yj comes out, alright everyone liked that, but season 2 comes around and we miss martian’s fans found out that she’s been acting like a fuckin’ psycho frying people’s minds... okay i said back in the day, they are just givin her a little something, a lil drama, action whatever... but nobody liked that. Everyone started hating on her more than they already did (for whatever reason they hated her before. I have many things to say about that but that’s not the point of this rant, i can make another one for that) and started saying how she was awful and how she did not deserve to be forgiven and you know what more, we all know.

Fast forward to some years later, when i was finally old enough to read comics without having to change the screen everytime my mom walked in my room, i started reading teen titans and shit like that bc oui. So, i got to know m’gann better, and this whole ‘miss martian frying brains and trying to erase her beloved’s mind’ did not sit right with me anymore. Wtf was that about? what was that for?????? In teen titans (2003) she has codes and rules that she sticks to when it comes to using her powers on earth. She’s very concious that she’s an alien and only breaks her rules when it’s EXTREMELY necessary (like when they visited her in the australian dessert) soooooooo????? nevermind.

Then we got the amazing news that yj was coming back!!!!! yay i was super excited i thought ‘now is the time for m’gann to be explored and redeemed and understood. Fuck That, they said, because my girl got like 5 sec of screen time and i know she was a leader this season, that’s something, but most of the time i saw her being conner’s fiance than anything else. Not that i complain, and problably it isn’t true but that’s how i percieved it bc i expected more of her on season 3. I wanted her to be a BAMF like she is in the comics, AND THAT’S WHAT PISSES ME OF!

In the comics we have this beautiful sweet, naive alien girl who’s just so delicate and sensitive that even quit the teen titans after a fight! AND WOULD NEVER HURT ANYONE!!! in fact, in one of her first appereances in the teen titans comics she’s fighting against a thief (idk i don’t remember very well it’s been YEARS) and she’s like ‘promise you won’t do it again i don’t want to hurt you’ ‘if you promise you’ll never do it again i won’t hurt you’ and at the end she just gives the guy to the police! we only got to see that in s1 and still she was hated (ugh again, so many thing to say about that too) so it wasn’t really... joyful.

In yj it’s clear that m’gann has great power, that she’s increadibly powerful, even J’onn mentions it and then???? it’s forgotten for the rest of the series????????? noooo, the only time when we see how powerful miss martian is is when... u guessed it... she goes full psycho mod and starts attacking minds for no apparent reason beyond ‘they are the bad guys and we need the info idc’. WHY????? In TITANS (2016) we see how wonderful of a ‘leader’ M’gann can be and it’s AMAZING. Not only that but we see her being true to herself: she still has secrets, but she’s her sweet self and not some mind-intruder monster, plus she’s a lot more mature. 

In both Teen Titans (2003) and Titans (2016) we see her as we know her: kind, loving, caring, fun but serious when needed. It’s shown that she can cope with great responsabilities and we can see also how willing she is to sacrifice herself for others (i mean she doesn’t even think twice before projecting her astral self to save the rest of the titans even though it leaves her in a coma, a BAMF) and this is precisely why she’s my fav<3 why can’t a sweet girly girl also be a leader and one of the most powerful heroes of the world??

I see what yj tried to do: they wanted to give her sometnig more i guess... like what happened when she killed the Manhunter in teen titans and was kind of evil but fighting against it...but it ended up going in all the wrong directions. I feel like what happened with her in s2 was made just for the general plot and not really for her character development. People already didn’t like here as much as the rest of the characters in s1, so for the second they were like ‘ah whatever they dislike her already, what’s a little more going to do’. As each season passes i see her fading more and more to the background and it’s not fair:( bc yj is the most important and big Miss Martian appearence outside the comics, and still in the comics she’s not that studied. So now i fear i’ll never see the Miss Martian at her full potential outside the comics bc yj made everyone dislike her.

THIS is what i mean when i say that Miss Martian deserves better. I want to see her fighting villains with her 8 arms and laser vision, not being a ‘liar’ and fainting everytime there’s fire near or yes GIVE ME SOME FUCKING ANGST! so we can see the team caring for her!!! bc wtf??? you see your friend doing a villain move and you are just ‘oh never mind’ i mean Nightwing hears that M’gann, sweet naive loving im- going- to- bake- you- cookies -bc -i -love- u M’gann, fried Kaldur’s mind and he just goes :o WHAT? or Artemis being like ‘Now fix what u did and hurry up’ when they were in Manta’s ship I MEAN????????? do u really not care??? Ur friend is going through some shit right now, pulling a whole ‘I might turn evil’ stunt and u are like ...that’s something. Shouldn’t hey be asking like??? what happened to make her go like that???? they all just let it pass i mean C’MONNNNN

Okay so, what i mean is that i want to see the REAL Miss Martian, The Hello Kitty Martian, who asks what button’s for hugging when playing Playstation, but that can also kick your ass into another psychic world and then ask you if you are okay bc she didn’t mean to hurt you. THAT’S my Miss Martian. I guess I just stick around with yj bc 1. It’s fuckin great can’t lie (plot, animation, the rest of the characters, etc) 2. bc s i said before, it’s the only chance to see m’gann outside the comics.

Give me the M’gann I know and love, and give M’gann the chance to have fans who love her and get to know her.

[punchdrunkdoc]

Updated K-drama list (4)

This list is getting looooong,  because I’m well and truly addicted to these shows and can’t stop watching them. 

I think its because each show is so self-contained - one series, 16-20 episodes and its done. A clear beginning, middle and a satisfying end. That, together with all the tropes in play (SO MANY TROPES!!) makes each show feel like a novel come to life. And when I start a good novel, I have to finish it in one go. This usually results in me staying up till 2am because I NEED TO KNOW HOW IT ENDS. And it’s the same with these shows. I’m getting very little sleep, but I’m having a hell of a good time!

FAVOURITES

1. Crash Landing on You

He’s from North Korea. She’s from South Korea. They never should have met, but they’ll change each other’s lives.

This was my first K-drama, and its still my favourite. The full cast of characters is great, the lead romance is ANGSTALICIOUS and its genuinely, laugh out loud funny (when its not making you cry or swoon).

Male lead: Officially the best boyfriend ever. With added dimples.

Tear-jerk factor: 4/5

2. Healer

The lives, and pasts, of a hot shot reporter, a spunky young tabloid journalist and a mysterious thief-for-hire intersect.

This was so addictive - the plot was tight and engaging, and this is one of the few shows I’ve watched where there didn’t seem to be a lot of filler. I loved the central 3 characters, and the romance was amazing. I especially loved that the male lead started off such a brooding loner, but he became super-affectionate as soon as he admitted his feelings. So many good hugs and lots of face-cradling in this one.

Male lead: Effortlessly beats up 2 henchmen while comforting his girl over the phone. What more do you need?

Tear-jerk factor: 1/5

3. Itaewon Class

A young man’s life is forever altered when he runs afoul of a powerful family.

This felt like a big step up in quality from everything else in this list, in terms of the production, soundtrack (which was brilliant), the lack of annoying sound effects, and just the overall ‘real world’ feel of the show. All of the characters were fleshed out and 3-dimensional, and they all had their ‘moment’ to shine. The story itself was gripping and so well done - some of the twists and reveals had me gasping! And what can I say about the 2 leads? I love them, both separately, and together. He is so wise beyond his years, and his journey will break your heart and inspire you. She is borderline sociopathic, but I adore her.

Male lead: Tenacious, principled, kind, innocent, caring, driven, loyal…and he can cook!

Tear-jerk factor: 2/5

4. Descendants of the Sun

A special forces Captain meets a capable and beautiful trauma surgeon. They feel an instant bond, but their jobs and philosophy on life get in the way, threatening to tear them apart.

Halfway through this show, I seriously thought this might overtake CLOY as my No. 1 fav. I absolutely LOVE the male lead character, and the romance was beautiful…but it didn’t quite nail the angst and the last minute was a bit twee which dropped it down the rankings a bit.

Male lead: A cocky, charming, absolute BADASS with the most adorable, cheeky smile.

Tear-jerk factor: 2/5

5. Love in the Moonlight / Moonlight Drawn by Clouds

A young woman poses as a eunuch in the Royal Palace and falls in love with the Crown Prince

I wanted to try something different so I opted for this period piece and OH MY GOD am I glad I did. The start had a really light comedic tone (and a lot of modern anachronisms - high fives everywhere!) and I loved all the identity-concealing hi-jinks. But then the romance kicked into gear and the DELICIOUS angst started flowing, and I became obsessed with it. It's like loads of bits of my favourite regency historical romances were mashed up and transported to the Joseon Dynasty. I loved it so much!

Male lead: Manages to look amazingly handsome despite all the period headgear, kicks ass with a sword, and doesn't allow himself to be manipulated by the corrupt officials surrounding him, which was refreshing. Also acts like an adorable goofball when he's in love.

Tear-jerk factor: 2/5

6. My Holo Love

A lonely woman falls for a holographic AI and then meets his creator...

I love the concept of this show (I’m a big sci-fi nerd), and it was beautifully shot. The lead relationship is well developed and it doesnt fall into a typical love triangle. I’ve come to realise it utilises a lot of K-drama tropes (face-blindness! shared childhood trauma!), but it does it really well, imho.

Male lead: Tortured loner genius. My catnip.

Tear-jerk factor: 2/5

7. Goblin

A 900yr old immortal guardian finally meets the ‘bride’ who will end his existence

Once I got over the slight ick-factor of the age difference between the two characters at the beginning, I really fell for this show and it’s world. It had me in tears. And I especially loved the secondary character of the Grim Reaper.

Male lead: Surprising innocent and funny for a 900 year old

Tear-Jerk factor: 5/5

8. What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim

An personal assistant decides to quits her job in order to get a life. Her boss has other ideas.

I loved the female lead in this - I’m a sucker for uber-competent people, and the actress is STUNNING. Her boss is self-centred, entitled and vain...but over time, somehow that just becomes endearing! Possibly because he’s played by Park Seo Joon, who can do no wrong in my book! The central romance is super cute - I can rewatch their scenes again and again. 

Male lead: Like I said, somehow makes vanity and narcissism endearing. Also not afraid to get his shirt off and flash his 6-pack. Bonus.

Tear-Jerk factor: 0/5

9. Legend of the Blue Sea

A mermaid comes onto land to find the man she loves

The (literal) fish-out-of-water scenes in the first half of this show were hilarious - the actress is a comic genius! The romance was nicely done, and there wasn’t a lot of extraneous plot or too many characters. I couldn’t stop watching this one!

Male lead: Cocky, arrogant conman with a soft mushy centre

Tear-Jerk factor: 1/5

10. Fight for my Way

Two life-long friends decide to go after their dreams

I fast-forwarded large chunks of this (I wasn’t interested in the secondary couple at all), but it still made my favourite list because I love the leads - both as separate characters and as a couple. This is one of the best friends-to-lovers stories I’ve seen, mainly because you truly buy that these 2 have known each other their entire lives (their  bickering and teasing feels so natural). And then when they take the next step, they’re so affectionate and refreshingly open with their feelings.

Male lead: The third Park Seo Joon character on this list! I love his contradictions. He’s goofy and childish…but can really turn on the sexy charm; he’s a badass MMA fighter…who loves when his girlfriend sticks up for him and protects him.

Tear-jerk factor: 0.5/5

11. Suspicious Partner

A young, hardworking lawyer has her life turned upside down when she is put on trial for murder.

This has been officially bumped up to my favourites list - partly because I’m now a massive Ji Chang Wook fan, and partly because I’ve rewatched scenes with better subtitles and its made it 10x better. Its still overly long, but the serial killer plot had some nice twists and it was central to the story, so it didn’t feel extraneous like some of these types of plots do. I really enjoyed the central romance - the 2 characters sparked off each other well and I loved their evolution from sort-of enemies to lovers. This is another show where I can endlessly rewatch their scenes together.

Male lead: Its Ji Chang Wook! He’s so good at playing serious guys who are secretly big dorks.

Tear Jerk factor: 0.5/5

NOTABLE MENTIONS

These are shows which I completed and really enjoyed but they had flaws which kept them out of the favourites list.

1. The K2

An ex-mercenary takes a job as a bodyguard protecting the illegitimate daughter of a politician. A sort-of Snow White retelling.

This started off really well, with some amazing fight sequences (hello, shower room scene!). However, the back half became too bogged down in double crosses and manipulations, and it focussed too much on the politicians. The writers did well to give these characters some layers, but they were all essentially doing bad things for the wrong reasons, and I just didn’t care about them. The show was much better when it was following K2’s journey. The romance also started off well, but was a bit underdeveloped (mainly because they barely interacted).

2. I Am Not a Robot

A man who is allergic to human contact finds companionship with a robot…or does he?

I honestly thought I wouldn’t make it passed a couple of episodes of this - the concept was just too ridiculous. But I’m glad I persevered, because it developed some real depth and some proper good angst towards the end and I LOVED the central relationship.

3. Extraordinary You

A high school student discovers she's a supporting character in a comic book

The plot of this was so unique, and the way the comic story played out interspersed with the characters 'real lives' was really well done. Plus the central couple were so adorable. It dragged in the middle section (several versions of the same conversations were had, and the same exposition was spelled out multiple ways for no apparent reason) which kept it out of my favourite list, but it redeemed itself with some good angst at the end, and it had a really lovely ‘epilogue'.

4. My Love from the Star

Alien stranded on earth meets an actress soon before he’s due to be rescued.

I finally gave this another chance, and I’m glad I did. The female lead got a LOT less irritating, and I enjoyed the present-day romance and all the flashes back to the past. However, the ending was really abrupt and disappointing (which kept it out of my favourite list). There should have been 1 less filler episode in the middle, and a decent, fleshed out finale instead.

5. Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo

A young talented weightlifter experiences first love

Honestly, I wasn’t sold on this at first; the female lead was a bit much (lot of gurning and over-acting) and there was a weird disconnect between how she was described (big, overweight, manly, unfeminine) and how she actually looked (thin and beautiful!). But the back half of this show saved it; her relationship with Joon-Hyung was sooooo cute. He is adorable, and they were both so supportive of each other’s dreams. I finished this with a big smile on my face.

6. Because this is my First Life

A rational-to-a-fault software designer and an aspiring screenwriter come up with an unconventional way to solve their housing problem

When I started this, I thought it was going to be all light and fluffy (the main character's job in the beginning was to insert the product placement in Korean dramas - hello, Red Ginseng! - which I found hilarious and meta) but it had a surprisingly melancholic tone throughout and touched on issues of workplace harassment and gender roles. I didn't warm to the male lead until right at the end (which was probably partly intentional - he's very remote and closed off) but overall I found the story quite lovely. Plus it had a really great central female friendship and their conversations actually passed the Bechdel test!

7. Strong Girl Bong-Soon

A woman with inherited super-strength gets a job as a bodyguard for an eccentric young CEO

The lead couple in this are AD-OR-ABLE and I loved their relationship. But there was a weird tone issue in this show. The romance is super cute...but there’s a whole dark sub plot involving multiple women being held captive by a psychopath. I ended up fast forwarding most of that, and just concentrated on the romance.

THE OTHERS...

I finished these shows and liked parts of them, but they ultimately didn’t set my world on fire.

1. Her Private Life

A talented art curator tries to keep her professional persona separate from her fangirl obsession with a pop idol.

This was cute and I loved the central relationship - he was so supportive of her, and their interactions were refreshingly mature and their banter felt really natural. Ultimately, it was a bit forgettable (I’m not dying to rewatch any of it), and the last minute tacked-on childhood trauma subplot was really unnecessary.

2. Touch Your Heart

Star actress rocked by scandal works at a law firm to prepare for her comeback role

This starred the secondary couple from Goblin and I really like them, even though they are playing very different characters in this (more opposites attract, than doomed lovers). At first I found this too ‘cutesy’, but I’ve since realised the sound effects/graphics are a K-drama thing and not unique to this show, so I’m not as down on it as I was. I still had to fast forward a lot of the secondary romances which I wasn’t invested in.

3. Hyde, Jekyll and Me

A woman becomes involved in the lives of 2 men, who share one body

This stars Hyun Bin from CLOY and he is sooo watchable, especially as the slick-haired, glasses-wearing, uptight Seo-Jin. And the show started well...but quickly went off the rails into a convoluted, dragged-out revenge plot.

4. Melting Me Softly

Two people are accidentally cryogenically frozen for 20 years. They have to navigate the modern world and their new lives together.

Another good concept, but it ultimately descended into little more than a light work-place romance. Had a couple of good kissing scenes, but it was overall a bit forgettable.

And the DNF:

My Secret Romance

I started watching this because I was looking for something a little less PG - the characters have a one night stand in the first episode! But I couldn’t get passed the bad acting and cheap production.

Master’s Sun

I liked the premise but the 2 leads weren’t very attractive (at least in comparison to the insanely beautiful actors/actresses in the shows listed above). Call me superficial, but I couldn’t see myself spending 17 hours watching them and willing them to kiss.

[miss-choco-chips]

Young Just us college au

Rent a room, Dick said. It’ll be a nice experience. Don’t just buy a flat, that’s boring and lonely.

Tim had tried to tell his brother that maybe he prefered lonely to crazy, but Dick had insisted. And everyone knew just how difficult dealing with that could be, so he knew better than to resist.

At least, he had tried to comfort himself, he knew the people he’d be rooming with. They were all his friends, an odd assortment of assholes he’d picked up on school, summer camps, vacation trips, scientific events, even comic cons, and just… fell platonically in love with them.

Maybe, as Dick said, it would be fine.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

No, it wasn’t fine.

-Jay -he whispered into the phone, hoping he wouldn't be heard by the others on the other side of the door- Jay, they are crazy. I need extraction asap. We could fake my death and I can go to University somewhere else.

The older man laughed in the other end of the receiver, the sound of pages rustling indicating Tim had caught him during his daily grading paper sesion. That was the sound of crying students dying over carefully demolished arguments.

-They are all your friends, Timbo. If you fake your death, you’ll need to start over again and meet new people.

Tim hissed.

-Exactly, babybird. Also, this is day one of sharing a house, how bad can it possibly be?

-Jay, they left the kitchen lights on. It’s daytime! Why the hell do they need the lights on? Aren’t they aware of how big the bill is gonna be if they are like this?

-...Timmy, you… you are a billionaire. I think that should be the last of your concerns.

-That’s not the only thing. It’s so noisy, Jay. I choose the attic room hoping it’ll be nice and quiet. It’s not. I can hear everything. What do I do if some of them pair up? I’ll be stuck here listening to them having sex forever!

-...I don’t know where to begin.

-You can start by contacting B for me. He was right when he said it wasn’t a good idea for me to live with other people. But I can’t call him to help me out of this, because I think Dick blocked my number in his phone, and my emails don’t seem to be reaching him.

-He said it because you are the purest of his children, and he knew college was corruptive enough without adding dorm sharing to it; that was his version of helicopter parenting. But Timbo, it’s moving day. You’ve been there for less than five hours. And you already emailed B?

-The first thing Slobo did when he came in was to fart. In the middle of the living room. I can’t live with them, they are animals!

-They are your best friends, you’ve known them forever.

-But I never had to deal with them in a closed space for an unlimited amount of time!!! I’m trapped here.

-...

-...!

-...Are you hiding in a closet?

-...no. That would be stupid, in a three story house where I have my own/

-You are, ain’tcha?

-I am. Please help me?

Long sigh- I’ll meet you for coffee on the place near the Economics building so you have an excuse to be out for the evening while the others finish their moving. You’re done with your part, right?

-Yes! Thank you!

-You owe me.

-Next time Dick wants bonding time, I’ll sacrifice myself volunteering so you can run.

-And this is why you’re my favorite. Be there in ten.

-.-.-.-.-.-

-Tim? Tim! Here you are!

Blinking was a thing Tim suddenly remembered he needed to do, and he did it a few times as his eyes were dragged away from his book by a pair of hands on his cheeks.

-Kon? What are you doing in the library?

The other boy was panting slightly, flushed from what Tim guessed was a desperate run there.

-I was looking for you! You never came back after classes were done for the day, and you didn’t pick up your phone. We were very worried, dude. 

-I was just studying, chill.

-It’s almost midnight.

No, it couldn’t be.

-No, it isn’t.  I haven’t been here that long.

Serious and slightly worried, Conner thrusted his own phone in Tim’s face and… uh. Look at that. It was nearly midnight.

-Oh. Got distracted with research, sorry.

-It’s been barely two weeks, how much can you possibly need to study?

Unprompted, Kon started to help him pack his books and papers. He seemed utterly amazed by the almost illegible graphs and charts.

-No, this isn’t homework. I’m working on a thing for WE…

The rest of the way home was spent with Tim talking Conner’s ear off about shit he had absolutely no idea about, but didn’t complain, just holding Tim’s backpack with one hand while steering his sleep deprived friend back home with the other.

-.-.-.-.-.

-Bart? -Tim yawned, getting into the kitchen and raising a confused eyebrow at his friend- It’s… three am. What are you doing awake?

-Stress baking -the smaller boy replied, never stopping stirring the bowl- You?

-Papers and presentations.

-Classes or WE?

-Bit of both. What are you making?

-Cupcakes. Want some?

-They’ll go great with coffee, thanks.

They spent the next half hour waiting for the oven to do its magic talking about video games, classes and evil teachers.

-Your brother is the worst. TA. Ever. He always grades my papers and he’s a bitch about them.

-He relishes in the pain. It’s what keeps him young. I swear he never grew  past fifteen.

-It’s scary, and honestly so annoying. Like, I get pointing out mistakes, but he doesn’t need to be a passive aggressive ass about it.

-I’ll let him know what you think.

-Please don’t. I’m afraid of him, and the power he holds in his hands. The power to make me fail Creative Writing.

-Why are you even taking that class? Actually, what even is your major?

A shrug, and before Bart could open his mouth to reply, the timer let them know the cupcakes where done.

-You can have one before bedtime, dude. The circles under your eyes look like make up at this point. 

-You are one to talk, mister Stress Baking at Three in the Morning.

-But unlike you, I don’t have to be up at the ass of dawn. C’mon, have one of these and back up you go.

-Bite me.

-I’d rather bite this peanut butter miracle, but if you insist…

-No! Bart, get away from me!

-Then go to bed!

-Go to hell!

-I AM in hell! I have Jason Fucking Todd as my TA!

-IF YOU DON’T GO BACK TO BED RIGHT NOW, I’LL KICK YOU BOTH ALL THE WAY THERE! -Cassie’s voice echoed in the walls, and they both blanched at the reminder that her room was, in fact, in ground floor.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A part of college Tim had never considered, let alone readied himself for, was the… party bit. 

-What do you mean, of course you’re coming -laughed Anita, clutches firm on Tim’s sleeve as she dragged him into hers and Cassie’s room.

-No, I have to study for…

-You don’t have any midterm or final this week. I know, because I checked. No papers due either. This is literally the perfect time for you to party. 

-I can’t, I…

-Suck at socializing? Yeah, cher, I’m aware. That’s why awesome me is taking you as my plus one for this party. No need to thank me, glad to be your social buffer whenever you need me.

Tim started to resist in earnest when they got into the room and he caught a glimpse of the clothing Anita had apparently chosen for him.

-There’s no way I’m fitting into those pants! Let me go!

-I’ve seen you squeezing your butt into the vent that one time when Kon threw the key to the coffee maker cabinet inside it. If you could get in there, these pants are a piece of cake.

-No!

-Don’t make me hurt you, Drake.

-Anita…!

-Ugh! -she stopped, dropping Tim on her bed and crossing her arms. She averted her eyes- My ex is gonna be at the party. I might have been exaggerating a bit when I said I was over him, but I already promised my friends I was gonna be there. I… could really use your help here. I know it’s not your scene, but Kon and Bart have midterms, Slobo would straight up punch my ex with his astounding lack of subtlety, Miguel is away dealing with family stuff, and the girls are awesome but not really what I need right now.

A pause.

-Okay, but I’m absolutely not putting on that crop top. And we better not end up wasted, I have a reputation to uphold.

Spoiler alert: he did put on the crop top. And they had to call Conner to walk them home after the third time Tim walked into a lamp post and Anita fell into the campus’ pond.

-.-.-.-.-

They were walking back home late on a Friday when they were approached by a group of stupid, drunk dudebros. Tim was already dreading the moments to come before they even spoke, just by the way they kept eyeing Cassie’s legs and Anita’s rack. Cissie herself was wearing loose pants and a sweater, so she was safe from their disgusting examination. Not that it kept her from crossing her arms and looking down at the assholes.

-Heyyyyy, ladies. Wanna go clubbing with us?

Tim shrugged- He’s talking to you, girls. I’m out. Have fun.

Cassie caught him by his hoodie before he could take a single step. He heard her warning clear as day and sighed, defeated.

-Yess, you can go -slurred Dudebro number two, waving him away- There’ three of us, and three of those pretty things. You can get lost. 

-See, Cass? Hear the gentlemen. You don’t need me here.

Anita kicked him in the shin.

-No. We just got our nails done. You either solve this peacefully, or take care of it if it turns dirty. Why do you even walk us home if not to protect us from creepers like these?

A loud ‘hey’ came from the dudebros, but Tim ignored them. Silently, he pointed at Cassie’s legs (he had seen her crushing a watermelon between them once), Cissie’s arms (a thing of beauty that made multiple lesbians all around campus cry) and Anita’s katana (that she wasn’t supposed to keep on her person around other students, but who was gonna enforce any rules on the girl with the giant knife?).

-Excuse me? You three should be protecting me. I’m a rich, sheltered boy.

Apparently done being ignored, the three idiots decided this was a good time to throw the first punch. Which Tim dodged, without breaking eye contact with Cassie. She raised her eyebrow, not moving an inch. Cissie was examining her nails. Anita’s eyes promised hell.

He sighed, turned around, caught the second coming punch, and used the hand under his palm to force the dudebro to his knees. A knee to the face and then he turned to the other two. 

Next time, Slobo was walking with them.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Flip side:  the attic room had its own bathroom. Significantly smaller than the ones on the other two floors, but hey, no sharing. 

The downside: apparently, the bathroom vents all connected with one another, and because of their aligning schedules, he often took showers at the same time Miguel did.

Flip side: Miguel had the singing voice of an angel, and the acoustic was fantastic. Showers were rarely boring now.

Downside again: Tim often forgot himself and sang along, but his voice… wasn’t as pretty.

Flip side again: at least, judging by Miguel’s smile, he found it adorable rather than pathetic.

Downside number three: Greta and Cissie’s room, by some unsolved mystery, also had connecting vents to the bathroom, and the archer girl was… less charitable about Tim’s inability to sing.

Flip side: Greta liked him better than most of their house mates, and she had more than enough dirt on Cissie to keep her from sharing the secret of Tim’s awful voice. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

-Hey, baby bird. Sorry I’m calling just now, it’s been a while.

-Hey Jay. Don’t worry, you’re busy grading papers.

-How do you know?

-Bart was crying in the tub this morning. Completely clothed and eating nachos with whipped cream, I might add.

-What is that boy even studying? I know he has Chem classes, Roy is his TA, and Kory saw him in the designer’s building. 

-That is an unsolved mystery for the ages. 

-Hey, speaking of your housemates, how’s it going?

Tim stopped on his way out of the kitchen, eyes growing fond as he examined the group on the living room. They were fighting over that night’s movie choice. He didn’t know why they tried, Greta was gonna win. Nobody could resist her and Miguel’s puppy eyes. 

-It’s… it’s been great, actually.

-Uh huh.

-But don’t tell Dick. He’ll be unbearably smug.

-Of course I won’t. You still have that time I crashed B’s favorite car on me.

-Oh, Oh fuck! -came Slobo’s voice- TIM, BRING THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER!

A loud crash. Tim winced, eyes leaving his friend in favor of the wall. If he didn’t see it, it wasn’t happening.

-TIM, BUD, WE NEED SOME HELP HERE!

-...what was that, Timbo?

-Nothing.

-TIM, TIM, THE TV IS ON FIRE!!! COME QUICKLY BEFORE IT REACHES THE XBOX OR SO HELP ME GOD I’M MURDERING EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM!

-...Tim?

-Don’t tell B.

-Gotcha. Going to save their lives?

-More like hiding in my room until they sort themselves out or die. Good luck on those papers.

-Good luck on surviving.

[bandficsbyh]

Hi! Could you please do a Gerard way x reader where the reader is in a band and basically mcr comes up to them and are like we think your really cool and the rest of the band like walks away but the reader is just there like : oh my fucking God you did not just walk away from mcr Sorry if that's to much or to weird thank you and have a nice day 💚)

Mr. Brightside

Gerard way x reader

A/N: this is such a good request oml!!! I had one similar to this in the works anyway, so this just gave me inspiration to make it better. It’s not exactly like the request, but I hope you like it! If you want a part two let me know 😊💕

Warnings: alcohol, swearing, smoking (?)

There’s nothing better than a packed out club all there to see one band. A good, sweaty, mosh pit forming gig. The energy is intoxicatingly amazing.

Actually...I lied. There is one thing. Being the band onstage at said kind of gig. That’s almost heaven on earth for me personally. Luckily for me, tonight was one of those nights.

The club was hot, and the crowd jumping and falling all over one another wasn’t helping keep the temperatures down. But no one minded, it added to the vibe of the show. Our band was decently popular too, having our debut album out, so some people even knew the words and were singing along. For a young band we were making waves really fast.

Tonight, one voice stuck out in the crowd to me. I leaned out into the crowd a bit in an attempt to identify the person a little better. I only got a few flashes before he was lost in the crowd; greasy black hair, pale skin, black hoodie, and hazel eyes. I smirked a bit to try and keep up the rockstar persona, but I couldn’t deny the pull in my chest that wanted to see him again. I almost felt like I should’ve recognized him.

After the show, I slung my guitar into it’s case quickly trying to get packed up. I smiled at my bandmates and let out a cheer, inspiring some from the others.

“To another kickass show!” I yelled, holding a beer up over my head triumphantly. The singer, Beth, raised her beer to add onto my toast.

“Fuck that, to a badass beginning to a badass tour!” Beth cheered, earning a chorus of ‘fuck yeah’s from the rest of the band. We all got our gear packed and headed out to load it into the van, that way we could party uninhibitedly on our way to the next gig. The girls were debating if this crowd was more energetic than the last as we loaded our stuff into the trailer.

“Seriously, I think last time they got into it more. But there were definitely more people this time.” Our drummer, Wendy, said. My fellow guitarist Layla seemed to disagree. I lit a cigarette before wading into the conversation.

“Mm, while we’re on the topic, did you see that cute brunette in the crowd earlier?” I asked, slinging my guitar bag over one arm, and putting the other around our bassist Sally’s shoulder. She let out a laugh, readjusting her bass bag.

“Which one? The one with the tattoos, the one with the spikes, the one with the jeans, the one with the-?” She rambled jokingly, pretending to be lovesick. “No, you ass. The greasy one in the hoodie.” I snickered. Beth caught wind of our conversation and decided to help in taunting me.

“You didn’t happen to see yourself in the mirror or anything did you?” She laughed, nudging my ribs teasingly. “You guys suck! I swear, man, there was a cute ass guy in the crowd that looked like that.” I groaned, throwing my head back dramatically. “By the way, that wasn’t on topic at all.” Wendy added, earning another bout of laughter. When we got to the front of the van, our manager was waiting impatiently.

“Finally! You just had to take your sweet ass time, huh.” Our manager Brian huffed, crossing his arms and trying to look serious. “Hey, man, we got here before departure time.” I shrugged with a smirk. Brian rolled his eyes and motioned to the van next to ours.

“If you haven’t noticed, the band you’re touring with has been waiting since the show ended.” Brian said. “Wait who are we touring with again?” Beth asked, scratching her arm and shifting awkwardly. Brian sighed and shook his head.

“My Chemical Romance.”

My head shot up from where I had previously been examining my nails. “What?” I asked, practically choking on my own spit. “Yeah, who are they?” Layla piped up. My eyes bugged out a little. Brian opened his mouth to answer but I beat him to it.

“Dude, they’re a super good, super popular punk rock band. They’re gonna blow up with this new album, I know it.” I rambled, absolutely stunned we had landed a tour with my favorite current band. Brian and the rest of my band stifled their snickers at my fangirl outburst, glancing behind me a few times. I blinked a few times.

“They’re fucking behind me aren’t they.” At this a chorus of laughs rang out from behind me. I scrunched my face in embarrassment, before turning to face the group behind me. The grinning group of boys standing behind me that I recognized from the inside of my CD case confirmed my fears.

“Thanks!” The shorter one, that I recognized as Frank, said happily. I smiled a little and nodded awkwardly.

“Well, I was going to introduce you all, but seems like (Y/N) beat me to it.” Brian snickered. I shot him a small glare, feeling my cheeks blazing with embarrassment, before looking down and kicking a rock.

The rest of the bands mingled, introducing themselves and getting to know one another while I finished off my cigarette and stared at my feet.

“Hey.” I looked up and met the same hazel eyes I had seen in the crowd. “Your show was awesome by the way.” I smiled. “Thanks, glad you liked it. I’m (Y/N).” He smiled back, flashing me his adorable tiny teeth. “I’m Gerard, but you probably knew that...” he chuckled. I blushed a little and nodded.

Of course I knew. He was my favorite. How I hadn’t recognized him in the crowd earlier baffled me.

We got to talking for a bit before we had to take off to the next gig. Gerard was much sweeter than I expected, complimenting me a lot and rambling on about his love of comics. We really hit it off.

Right before I walked off to get into the van, he handed me a piece of paper.

“Just in case you wanna go for coffee or drinks after a gig sometime.” Gerard said, his cheeks dusted with a light pink tint. I giggled and nodded, clutching onto the paper for dear life as to not loose it.

When I got settled in the van, I decided to finally read the paper he gave me.

‘Just an FYI, your band’s my favorite too. Xoxo, G. (***) *** ****’

God I love Brian.

[ihassheepquake]

Stargirl 1.10 “Brainwave Jr.” is out now on DCU and I’m here to talk about it.

If you’ll remember from last week, we ended on the cliffhanger of Barbara walking in on Pat, Courtney, & the Staff, and now she’s going to have to learn the whole thing. From Promo it looks like a lot of drama is surrounding that, which is awesome. We can also see Courtney & Henry together in the thumbnail for today, which is probably going to be them having a bit of a spat with the rest of the JSA. I personally love drama episodes, and we know a lot more is happening than just drama, so I’m really excited to see what they have in store for us tonight.

The opening crawl is set to Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, which makes this the second time the song has shown up in the DCU shows (now here, and Hank & Dawn sang it back in Titans season 2). I wonder if someone in charge has a thing for the song or what. But following that up, we get to see Pat & Barbara meet! How cute!! We got the story back in episode 1 but now we get to actually see it. They both get a banana split but there’s only banana so they share it, that’s so fucking cute. The one het coupe I support. And then move into them telling Barbara and Courtney is out here like “oh that’s a broom” like seriously? Really Court? I love how Barbara is taking no shit during this conversation. Barbara “get outta here with that Starman is your dad bullshit” Whitmore, iconic. OH SHIT AND BARBARA FUCKING KICKS PAT OUT OMG! I am living for this omfg.

And now we cut to the King’s and it seems Henry Sr has lost 10ish years of his memory, wild. I’m interested to see what this will do to Henry Sr in the future, and if his forgetting all the current ISA shit will have anything to do with Henry Jr’s character. Also, is it just me, or does it sound like Icicle killed his wife. How many loved ones of allies has Jordan killed? About two scenes later, Henry Sr mentions Jordan by name in his dreams, which really feels like conformation that Jordan did it to me. Then Jordan fucking shows up at the hospital like a bitch! What the hell man, just go die already. And now we see that there’s well over 3,300 of those VHS tapes Henry Sr was making, how obnoxious was that to move? “Merri the girl of 1,000 gimmicks,” was Henry’s mom a superhero??? MERRI’S BROTHER WAS STARMAN!?!? EXCUSE ME?!?!?!?! Hold on, I need a minute. Well, I’d say this is Henry’s motivation to try and work with the JSA.

This little scene with Pat & Mike is really sad. Mike is such a good kid, I love him. 

The Staff comes to see Courtney in her room, how cute. And then fucking dips off to the Garage by itself, and is clearly holding a grudge against Jordan, that’s awesome. The Staff is such a fun character. And then it comes to the hospital to fight Jordan & Henry Sr by itself! ICONIC!! Oop, now it’s frozen. Fuck. Anyway, the more Jordan talks, the more he sounds like a crazy Colonizer. And is Henry Jr only cowering from Jordan, or is he also cowering from his dad? 

The drama with the Whitmore family continues, Barb wants to move them both out of Blue Valley. And here comes Henry to fill in Courtney on the drama, and showcasing a new ability in the process. And thus kick-starting Henry’s involvement in the JSA and the team’s first real mission, only 10 episodes in! 

OMFG shit must be serious, Barbara emailed Sam (who comic fans know is a real piece of shit). And then later, when Jordan and his parents show up, and Barbara records what they say in Norwegian? Amazing. It seems she’s at least going to give Pat & Court the benefit of the doubt after seemingly doing some research on Starman. And further on, Sam has actually emailed her back! Are we gonna meet Sam Kurtis??

I don’t wanna talk to much about this lunch scene because there’s a lot of opinions. Yo & Rick are totally valid in their thoughts and feelings, but also, like, there’s bigger shit to worry about kids.

But which tunnel entrance do we think the kids used? At the school? Do they just keep their uniforms in their lockers?? And it’s Grundy! Soloman Grundy!! OMFG!!! Rick, sweetie, maybe don’t go yelling at the fucking zombie in the secret tunnels under the town? Dragon King is here doing some real weird looking shit to Brainwave. And the Starsquad + Henry Jr is gonna fight all these creepy zombie slaves of DK’s, and once again proving how Court & Yolanda are the most prepared for a fight, they’re th eonly ones we know have some kind of martial arts training. RICK WHY ARE LETTING OUT SOLOMAN GRUNDY?!?! Fucking idiot boy. But man do I love watching Courtney & Yolanda kick ass. Especially followed by the older villains once again proving how big a deal experience is. Oh fuck DK’s face is disgusting. It’s real gross. I do appreciate Henry Jr fighting back against Henry Sr. He, at least, is not cool with the whole supervillain killer thing, which is good. I am once again talking about how cool the CG is for Court’s staff. And Henry Jr is straight up going to sacrifice himself for the Starsquad??? Maybe we don’t hate him. If they can handle his redemption properly, I may be able to support it in the future. As long as this isn’t all of the redemption arc. 

WAIT HENRY SR KILLED HIS WIFE?!?! EXCUSE ME?!?!?! And now he’s threatening to kill his own son, real supervillain material. I’m glad Henry Jr is making the right choice though. And to see all of the Starsquad fighting so hard to help him, and Henry really apologizing for what he did to Yolanda. I’m glad it wasn’t a last minute “i love you” because that would be so unearned.

HI DCU STOP KILLING FUCKING KIDS!! I SHOULDN’T HAVE TO SAY THAT!!! AND THAT’S HOW IT ENDS!?!?!? FUCK THAT!!! Okay, but I’m still super in the Joey Lives camp, and we know that Henry Jr is at least decently important in comics, so maybe we’ll get them both back? Idk. I’m a little undecided on whether I want Henry to have survived because this really doesn’t feel like the end of his arc, but more the start. So I want to see that really get addressed. But at the same time, I want death to have consequences (unless it’s one of my loves, obviously, I’m fine with being a hypocrite for that). 

I have so many thoughts, I’m really not sure where exactly to begin (beyond what I’ve already been saying), but that’s all things we can address later. That’s it for this weeks episode, for now, which means that I’ll see you next Sunday for Stargirl 1.11 “Shining Knight” it’s a fucking Shining Knight episode guys, that’s awesome! Honestly this show just ups the bar every episode, it’s probably the best DC show around currently period. It’s amazing.

[incorrectbatclan]

Hiiiiii I'm new!!!!! Could you please explain who's who? Who's in the Bat Family, and their backstories please?! ❤️❤️

For this I’ve only done Bruce’s actual like genuinely adopted family (and Alfred) because it was getting really long!! Let me know If you want to hear about the rest and I’ll either make another post or reblog this one and add onto it. I tried my best lol!!

Alfred Pennyworth - Bruce’s batler and kind-of-dad rolled into one, tired, old man who just wants his family to be safe. The best baker, cook and costume creator of the group, absolutely no one can touch him or I Will Cry. Used to be in Her Majesty’s Secret Service before moving to America, so he can kick some ass - I’ve heard different code names for him, the most popular being Agent A or Penny-One, both very good at keeping secret identities secret. 👨‍🦳 /10

Bruce Wayne - This one should be obvs, he’s Batsy. Son of Martha and Thomas Wayne, he was orphaned when they were shot in an alley on their way home one night. He’s also a multi-billionaire due to his company Wayne industries, which you never hear anything about bc all he does is run around dressed in his fursona costume and punch people. Emotionally constipated, but he does love his kids a lot, even if he doesn’t show it. He’s 80 years old this year (2019), what an old man. Get some therapy. Around 40-45? 🦇/10

Dick Grayson - The original Boy Wonder/Robin. An absolutely feral child, and a slightly calmer adult. Was probably responsible for Batcomputer, Batmobile, Batarang, and many others due to his Holy Puns Batman! Born and raised in a circus as a trapeze artist/acrobat until his parents fell and died at any age between 8-12; it changes regularly. After this, he was taken in by Bruce and destroyed every chandelier he had by swinging off of it. When he’d outgrown Robin, he became Nightwing, a name he got from the Kryptonian legend and moved to Bludhaven (Gotham’s little sister city). He’s known as the funny one in the family, but in any other group, he’s the serious one so take that as u will lol. He’s the Robin you’ll see in pretty much any show about DC that has sidekicks in. Has a temper, don’t let fanon fool u. Was also Batman when Bruce died for a little bit before he was found again. Also “””””died”””””” for a bit, worked as a secret agent, back now. Absolutely amazing appalling sense in fashion. Around 24-27? 🕺/10

Cassandra Cain- Daughter of two of the best assassins in the world, and was raised to be a human weapon until she ran after her first assassination at age 8 and lived on the streets until 17 where she became one of Oracle’s agents, and later Bruce took her in and adopted her too. Due to her father’s training, she’s unable to speak with words well, and instead can read peoples body language and movement, often uses sign language to speak instead if the writer’s not a coward. She’s highly skilled in many different ways and is also my fucking child, I love her a lot. She went by Batgirl for a bit, before going by the code name Black Bat. Sometimes Orphan is used but I’m not sure why or in what comics. The cool one. She’s around Jason’s age, maybe younger, probably older. 🥰/10

Jason Todd - The second Robin, now Red Hood. Died angry, came back wrathful. Jason was living in Crime Alley, one of the dingiest places in Gotham, which is where he saw the Batmobile one day, and just decided to rob the wheels. Right there and then. Not only that but when Bruce caught him doing it, he started smacking him with a tire iron. He’s the passionate one, to say the least. Anyway, Bruce saw this kid robbing him and he was like ‘I have to have him’. So he did. For about 3 years maybe, then he died. Bc, he ran off, and the Joker killed him in a warehouse oop-. Anyway, he came back maybe a few years later to find another Robin in his place, and the clown who killed him still kicking, so he went on a murderous rampage, taking the mantle of Red Hood until he calmed down a bit. Now he’s like that angry brother u only see on holidays because Alfred makes him. Under all that anger he’s a sweetheart though, and I’m pretty sure he loves Classical Lit. Sometimes runs around with a group called the Outlaws, members changing regularly, but you have to be a redhead. Bizarro is the exception bc u can’t say no to him. Around 21? 😠/10

Tim Drake- Tim was the son of Bruce’s next-door neighbours, Jake and Janet Drake, often depicted as assholes, bc they literally just leave their kid to go do whatever they want ig????? Anyway, Timmy was like super smart, and when he was young, managed to figure out who Batman and Robin were bc he stalked them and took pictures of them every night. Sneaky. Then Jason died, Bats was like all sad and shit and wasn’t coping well so Tim just knocked on his door and was like ‘Yeah okay make me Robin’, and after maybe the 10th attempt, Bruce did. Anyway, his parents died somehow (the ‘how’ varies) and Bruce was like, yeah okay I’ll have another one. Tim’s a master hacker and he’s all-around baby, mainly bc he doesn’t fucking sleep. Was Dick’s first Robin when he was Batman, before Damian came along and got Robin instead, so he named himself Red Robin because he’s creative and petty like that. Not that I wouldn’t be tbf. Went off to find Bruce when he “died” bc he didn’t believe he was dead, and he wasn’t so like? Anyway, he changed his name to Drake recently, which is stupid so just ignore that. Needs to stop drinking coffee. Around 17? 🐉/10

Damian Wayne-Such a precious little shit. Blood son of Bruce Wayne and the assassin, Talia Ah Ghul, daughter of one of Bruce’s frenemies. He was trained all the way through his childhood to be the perfect sidekick for Bruce, so some of the things he was taught fucked him up a wee bit, but he’s slowly learning that not everything has to be difficult and he is allowed to have fun sometimes. In his eyes for a while, he was Bruce’s only son, because he was the only blood related one. Soon got told to shut up and shown that that wasn’t true. Now secretly loves his family but would die before admitting it. A baby. Became Dick’s Robin after Tim and they ended up being really close and I love them a lot. Absolutely adores animals, and adopts every animal he sees. Just like his father does with kids. Around 13.  🐈/10

The others are Kate Kane, Duke Thomas, Stephanie Brown, Barbara Gordon, Jim Gordon and Selina Kyle. A villains list would be quite fun actually too!

Second Post! - Rest of the vigilantes