#might even be something i actually WRITE which is also at least a decade out

[thegeekmonkey]

hear me out yall:

pool boy rio/milf agatha au

— rio uses natural solutions for pool maintenance because she’s studying environmental science and is a big ole tree hugger

— it’s the cleanest agatha’s pool has EVER been (and she uses complimenting this as an excuse to lure rio in cos lbr she appreciates tank top/rolled up sleeves button ups/backwards hat rio much more)

— obviously nicky is around and adorable and he’s obsessed with rio

— agatha finds out about rio in the first place FROM nicky. rio originally starts coming to clean while agatha is at work but is forced to reschedule to when agatha is home because she wants to watch rio work

shout out to @krewdemon on the evil hags AAA server for workshopping this w me

[yandere-daydreams]

hi. so this is kind of a random musing that doesn't have anything to do with what youve been talking abt on your blog recently so feel free to ignore it, but i love how you write yandere nanami and between going live and an ask one of my followers sent me i kinda had a revelation. i wanted to see if you had any thoughts.

i think that before meeting reader nanami would be a virgin.

even if were talking non yandere nanami, i don't think he's ever had sex. i can't see nanami being the kind of person who likes hookup culture - he doesn't want to be used by someone - but i don't think he'd be able to justify getting in a romantic relationship because his job is so dangerous. he wouldn't want to die one day and leave his partner widowed. so he stays celibate, he's come to terms with the fact that he'll die untouched.

(he just jerks himself to freaky ass porn to get his fix (maybe even a camgirl hehe))

at least, until he meets a woman who makes all of his morality fly out the window.

suddenly, his sex drive is higher then ever. he's cumming into his fist every night to the thought of this special girl doing abhorrent things on his dick. he loves her. he's never loved someone this much in his entire life so she has to be the one to deflower him. that's probably one of the most romantic things someone can do in his mind, so it has to be her. she's his soulmate

all of this to say, i think nanami would kidnap reader and force her to teach him how to have sex through some fucked up means. it just tickles something in me imagining how stupidly giddy he'd be, so unabashedly pathetic as he undresses a woman for the first time.

like, him holding her hand with his forehead pressed to hers, cumming inside of her, jumping through as many mental hurdles necessary to justify what he's doing (or maybe just not caring bc she'll come around eventually, right?)

i love your work. thank you for listening to my ramble. <3

tw - non/con, kidnapping, manipulation, delusional behavior.

no no no i agree entirely,,, no amount of propaganda can convince me that any of the jjk men every had their dicks touched before the age of twenty-five at least, with nanami probably being the worst offender among them. i mean, he doesn't really connect with people outside of the sorcerer world, not really, not in a meaningful enough way to lead to that kind of intimacy, and as for other sorcerers... no. just no. he'd rather die a virgin than resort to anything as desperate as that, which is quickly becoming a very tangible reality.

and then he meets you (or, alternative, stumbled onto your stream at some ungodly hour, his cock already in his hand and his pleasure-deprived brain frantic for something soft and pliable to latch onto), and he decides that it might not be so bad to consider alternatives after all.

i can see it going one of two ways: if he has any reason at all to believe that you're also a virgin, whether or not it's true, he'll immediately lose all patience. if that wasn't the case, he might be able to take his time, stalk you for a few months before consummating your blooming relationship, but now he's on a clock, now he has to get to you before someone else does. he still tries to make it romantic, lights candles and brings you flowers and all that, but he's rushed, panicked, babbling incoherently about 'being each other's firsts' as he haphazardly undresses you. it's a miracle he remembers to do any prep at all - he's just in such a rush to be inside of you, to be the first and only person to every know what it's like to fully, genuinely actually be with you. if there's any pain, he'll comfort you later, make up for two and a half decades of abstinence with his tongue and hands, but only after he's already ruined you for anyone else.

if you're not a virgin and he can't make himself believe you are, then he'd probably go a little less absolutely feral (at first, i mean). don't get me wrong, you're still getting kidnapped asap, but rather than a beacon of innocence and purity that he can taint, you're the corruption forcing him to fall from grace, and he's going to want you to act like it. he's got a list of virginities he needs to to take (his first handjob, his fist blowjob, the first hickey, etc.), and between every milestone, he's going to want you to teach him how to pleasure you, even if you're still insisting you'd rather not let him touch you at all. he wants your full participation - it doesn't matter how many times he makes you cum on his tongue while you're sobbing into your pillow and trying to block him out, he's not going to stop until he hears your sweet voice encouraging with the little 'right there, kento's and 'good boy's he's made you rehearse. by the time you actually take his virginity, he's going to have made you feel dirtier than you ever could've made him feel, but so long as he's the one you're feeling dirty with, nanami doesn't really mind. not when he's buried inside you, his chest pressed into yours and he's too lost in his own pleasure to think the tears staining your cheeks are anything but beautiful.

anyway loser virgin nanami you will live forever. perhaps loser virgin gojo will pay for his crimes next.

[winniewritesstories]

Being his sister | Soldier Boy (Ben)

gif via @zacksnydered

Some thoughts on what it'd be like as Ben's younger sister...

I imagine you being a half sister, his father remarrying after his mother died

probably a big age gap (maybe like 12 years)

at first I feel like he'd not be interested or really care

but when you're like 3 you start following him around everywhere and trying to be friends with him and he thinks it's just adorable

you're the only person allowed to call him Benny

he writes letters to you when he's at boarding school

your father is very emotionally absent so Ben steps up and looks out for you

everyone in like a fifty mile radius knows not to mess with you

imagine some kids being mean to you and 16 year old Ben threatening to beat up a group of like 4 year old girls

he teaches you to dance, first by letting you stand on his feet (when you're really little), then actually teaching you, showing you the steps and spinning you round till you get dizzy

taking you to dance halls & things, all the other girls being really jealous because he doesn't dance with anyone except his baby sister!!

you try to be just like your big brother, which annoys your mother & father because it's 'unladylike'

begging him not to go to war

making him pinky promise to come back to you

when you see him after he's had the Compound V (I imagine he'd be beefed up and look a little different) and he acts all tough and manly but when you're alone he's just your big brother again, just like you remember him

asking Ben if you can get Compound V too so you can be strong like him (he says no, obviously)

always talking about your big brother the superhero, cheering for him at parades and going to his movie premiers

I imagine if you did somehow get Compound V (by going behind his back), he'd be super pissed off at first, but then he'd eventually come around (because he can never stay mad at you)

I feel like you'd work more in aid and relief than fighting and stuff like Ben does (depending on what powers the V gives you), much to his relief

you & Ben doing a superhero sibling movie & being silly on set

you disliking Countess because you think she's just using him for fame & to advance her position in Payback

you're not in Nicaragua when he 'dies' & you don't even hear it from Vought but literally on the radio

you almost tearing Vought tower down trying to get answers or find him

stealing a jet or something to go to Nicaragua to find him (or at least his body)

giving him a headstone back in Philadelphia next to his mother (even though there's no body), and having it just be about Ben (not mentioning Soldier Boy), reading something like 'Beloved brother and son'

quitting Vought soon after because you feel betrayed and you're also suspicious of them

feeling totally lost with him

Butcher & Hughie finding you and asking questions about him & his death

not being in Russia when the Boys find him, but going to Legend's later on & reuniting him

he immediately becomes Big Brother Ben again & is super soft for the first time in literally decades, scooping you up in a massive hug

Butcher and Hughie being super confused by his sudden change in manner

going with him to find Payback & kill them for betraying him

screaming and fighting Butcher & the Boys when they gas Ben at the Tower

thinking he's dead (again) & not knowing he's in Vought's basement thing 

I might end up updating this when season 5 and/or Vought Rising comes out...

Note - there is very little information about SB's background in either the comics or the show, so I've taken a lot of creative liberty with this! I also used a gif from Jackles movie Devour as he's younger here :) and adorable

star divider from @cafekitsune (thank u lovely!)

[the-crooked-library]

okay so I gotta say, I don’t believe the whole “vampires cannot make good art” thing. I just don’t buy it. Like, call me biased, but as a writer, I don’t think you could talk the way they do and not be good at least at writing. There’s no way.

(you are a challenge every sunset, Saint Louis)

(I had powers now, and decades of rage to process - and so it was both random and unfortunate the man picked that night to dabble in fuckery) (I mean are you kidding me, that line is MUSIC)

(THE NAME! The name, unuttered in our home for twenty-three years - said over and over, until it was pounding in my head like a hammer!)

As such: what I personally think is actually happening is something far more mundane. Picture this - you've just been turned. Vampirism has enhanced everything about you, so your senses are like 10 times more distracting, you're stronger, faster, you're murdering nightly, you're most likely born out of some sort of trauma, and on top of that you've got years to compound whatever issues you already had - which, surprise surprise, are also somehow more intense now, whodathunk, mainly because your senses/murder/immortality are fucking with them BIG. Seriously, think about it: how much would vampire senses exacerbate symptoms of ADHD or autism? Would the species change, the nocturnal lifestyle, the mind gift contribute to dissociation, psychosis, schizophrenia? Would the killings and the loss of community be a factor in the way your depression might develop - or religious scrupulosity? OCD?

It's not that vampires cannot make good art. It's just that it becomes supremely difficult to do so, especially given that they cannot take human medication/finding a nocturnal therapist would be a bitch even if you're modern/Louiiss mon cher what eez a coping mechanisme y'know. I am convinced with 100000% certainty that, given enough time and dedication a vampire could absolutely make good art again* - though, in all fairness, very few of the ones we know possess the patience. Mind gifts/vampire speed + strength/inherited riches tend to destroy that sort of skill real fast; still, though, it's not a curse. It's symptoms disease.

* It is also possible, just as it is for humans, to develop all sorts of technical skills and still lack the “eye” for art (cough Marius cough) - but in that case, maybe try music?.. start writing? Get into ASMR? you’ve got an eternity to fuck around. Do whatever.

[queentala]

Fenrys bedroom headcanons

Fenrys Moonbeam x reader

Oh gods I finally wrote something!!!! 🥳 Ugh, it feels so good. You can see the variety of my emotions while writing those headcanons, going from poetic, through obsessed, to being absolutely done, and then to feeling cute. And also great shout out to @juulle987 that gave me some ideas, kept me motivated and entertained today. This post is dedicated to you, baby ❤️ Anyway, I hope you enjoy this 🥰

Words: slightly over 3k

Warnings: no spoilers wanted so just be aware of a lot of nsfw content

Even though the smart mouth, charming smile, effortless way of being, or simply the pretty face, might cause various spicy inklings and rumors about the White Wolf's abilities in bedroom, (which, pretty much always are at least partially accurate), there is a lot more than just youngish yearning and playfulness underneath his skin. After all, many might know that the beautiful warrior had his persistent spot in Queen Maeve's bed, only few, however, that he did not cherish this "privilege", as she called it.

There is just… so much darkness in Fenrys' soul, that it is impossible to save any aspect of his life from the pain it brings, especially when the said aspect is directly connected to the source of his trauma. 

So no, Fenrys is not the always horny and kinky sex god we make him out to be. 

Okay he is. 

But at least not at the beginning, or even the halfway of the long journey of trying to overcome the demons that haunt him. 

It's going to take a while for him to open up. To trust you. 

Now, most of sa victims are not fond of touch, which is understandable as it triggers the bad memories. But I do think Fenrys would very much need and crave physical contact with his mate/beloved. Especially the soft and comforting type, the one that resumes him that he is loved and sets his skin on fire at the same time. 

It's just that with Maeve he didn't get to experience the featherlike softness which every lover's fingers should have, nor the addicting feeling of trying to grasp as much of each other as possible. And when he finally does, it's like a painkiller for his soul. 

Believe me when I say that Fenrys cannot get enough of your hands in his hair, chests pressed against each other, legs tangled under the sheets… It's not the verbal yes that he gives you when you take off his shirt, but the way he's pressing his cheek into your palm as you caress his face that keeps you going. He's not good with words. How could he when there's a lump in his throat as emotion overtake his ability to make a sound? So instead he lets his body speak. 

At first the sex is soft and intense, full of small gasps, long kisses and sweet words whispered against each other's skin. It's more about just being close to each other than the actual pleasure; the beautiful feeling of getting lost in each other, feeling of security sugared with the bliss caused and boosted by every stroke against the most intimate parts belonging only to the two of you. 

Holding hands also appears to be an important deal for Fenrys; a physical visualization of the trust and safety he feels while in your presence. It definitely adds intimacy, which he very much craves, to the moment and overall is a really sweet gesture that just naturally feels right. 

He always finds a way to connect your palms, no matter the position he has you in, and not even once it failed to work as the motion always turns out sweet, sexy or goofy and either way it's just amazing. 

And even decades into your relationship, when his trauma is just a blurry memory appearing in his nightmares from time to time, holding hands is as important as it was at the beginning of your shared journey. 

Another form of intimacy that Fenrys adores, is morning, cuddly sex. Or in general just cuddly, sleepy sex as we know this guy likes to take a nap during the day. 

It's slow and sloppy, with eyes still closed and face buried in each other's chest or neck, warm covers enveloping and keeping you safe in the small bubble of just you two, free from all the worries of the day. 

It is such a wholesome moment that lets you be close even in the most vulnerable state, plus the atmosphere is so sweet and cozy… Oh and I just know that Fenrys gets all sensitive then, too lost in the feeling to even care and keep the veneer of having some control over his body. 

He. Is. Such. A. Moaner.

Fenrys is vocal, never even trying to muffle the sounds YOU'RE pulling out of him. It feels so divine, so why would he keep it to himself? 

At first it's low grunts and hisses, slipping out of his mouth mindlessly as you clutch him so tightly and good, slowly turning into moans, each louder than the previous one, more desperate, as he's nearing his release. The sweet noises falling right into your ear, broken from time to time by a curse when the pleasure gets overwhelming. 

Now keep in mind that all this happens when he's the one on top, so when he's trying to keep himself together. 

I don't think Fenrys would be into the dom/sub dynamics due to his trauma; neither being at someone's mercy nor having someone absolutely helpless underneath really appeals to him. However, the top/bottom thing absolutely does appear in your bedroom. 

Being under Maeve's command for a century, it's rather reasonable that Fenrys would like to be a top and have control over the situation. (I even had a discussion with someone about this on my blog if you'd like to read more into it.) So while neither of you have more or less power over the other during sex, most of the time it's Fenrys that initiate, choose and control things. 

However, I'm a firm believer that Fenrys is a switch.

So with the right person and after the right amount of time, he would give up the control without any worries. And that's when you meet his absolutely new side. 

Like I already hinted, Fenrys gets sensitive and it doesn't take much for him to fall apart. Whether you're riding him, or working your hand or mouth along his length, his moans always somehow get louder and more desperate. 

And oh boy, try to edge him a little bit, and you get two outcomes.

One: you just turned on his playful mode and now he's going to pay you back with twice as much.

Two: he's falling into total submission and gets all whiny, begging you to let him cum because your hand on him feels so good and he can't take it anymore, but you keep teasing him, telling him that only good puppies get to cum and I'm jqhwjhwj 🥴😩

But anyway, back to playful Fenrys.

Of course having so many bad memories with sex, he tries his best to make it as pleasurable and comfortable experience as possible, both for you and him. 

And you know Fenrys, always with mischief in his eye and snarky comments ready for any occasion… I'm afraid his attitude in the bedroom doesn't differ too much. 

He is definitely the type of person to crack the most random joke in the middle of the fun, or stop and collapse into giggles at the weird sound either of you made or when the new position doesn't work quite like it should. 

Do I even have to mention all the dirty jokes he'd come up with? And you know it's not only you that hears them but the whole court. I swear everybody is so effin fed up with them yet it seems like Fenrys, the unbothered king of annoying his decayed ex comrades, comes up with a new joke every time he cums. 

(which is a lot cause the boy's sensitive as fuck but about that later)

He calls you his muse at this point as you're the reason behind most of them.

And if you can imagine Fenrys being playful during sex, then imagine what happens before. Because half of the time it's the tickling sessions that get you into the bedroom, starting as harmless fun and ending up with clothes scattered on the floor and sheets that definitely need to be changed after you're done. 

However I would be surprised hadn't it worked the other way around as well, as if you don't see lighthearted sex with Fenrys turning into a tickling fight then you clearly don't know him. 

Since we're talking about getting started… Fenrys loves you and sex with you, and ya know, you're not just some lover but his beloved, a person truly dear to him. So most of the time he'd want to do everything properly. That's why I dare say he is the king of foreplay. 

Fenrys knows perfectly how to get you into the mood, whether it be more giggly or sexy. He knows all your sensitive places, knows where to kiss and where to bite, what turns you on. 

Of course he enjoys quickies as well, every moment with (in) you is priceless. But why would he narrow himself to doing the bare minimum before entering you when he could have you squirting and begging for his cock?

I already said it in my previous headcanons, and Fenrys said it himself; his tongue is his best feature. So who am I to argue with him? 

This man. Is so fucking amazing at oral, that there's no enough words in the world to describe it. 

He just loves eating you out; love your taste, love the way you're arching and love the sound of your moans. He can spend hours, (and I really do believe I'm not overreacting), slowly drawing his tongue up and down your entrance, eyes closed in pleasure at the way your arousal feels on his lips. 

He absolutely outdoes himself in those moments, making sure no inch of yours is left without his attention. Kissing the soft flesh of your thighs, palms exploring the well known shape of your hips and waist as he fucks you little cunt; switching between your hole and clit, treating one with his lips while his fingers take care of the other. 

Start pulling at his hair and it only keeps him going. 

Just the sight of you falling apart under his touch is enough to leave him hard and ready. (Although, am I the only one that thinks he could cum by just eating you out…? He defo could, couldn't he?)

And just as much as he loves giving, he loves receiving. I already said that Fenrys gets whiny and sensitive when you're on your knees. He'd definitely fist your hair and watch in awe with mouth slightly open how you take his length, too hipnotised by the sight to be aware of the way his body reacts or the sounds slipping from between his lips.

He can hold himself for a pretty long time, but I do believe he wouldn't have any problems with cumming within minutes, especially when you're the one working on him. 

Fenrys might not be the horniest person at the beginning. Like I already said, demons of the past do take a toll on him. But as the years pass by, and with your love that makes him stronger with each day, I think I can say this guy is very much able to find any excuse to have sex. 

Whether it be a few minutes break before one meeting and another, an especially colder day, or just a very beautiful night, Fenrys can and will try to get you to bed as often as possible. 

Oh and I bet he wakes up with a boner almost every morning. Don't ask me why because I don't know, it's just a feeling that he does. What I know, though, is that there's no way he'd handle it himself when you're laying by his side 😏. 

There are three ways to solve this and he's not going to complain either way. 

Feeling comfortable, Fenrys is the first one to experiment and try new things. As long as it doesn't harm either of you, and doesn't trigger any bad memories, he's down for whatever you propose. 

After all, sex is all about fun and pleasure, so why not find as many ways to do so as possible? 

Actually the only things that he is strongly against would be degrading and bondage, besides that he's willing to give everything else a try.

Those that read my previous headcanons will most likely recall the fabulous white, fluffy tail plug and wolf/dog ears to match. 

And as much as I consider my previous hcs a disaster, this is something I stand my ground on. What's more, I do believe Fenrys would be absolutely and thoroughly into roleplays and dressing ups. AND I DARE YOU TO TELL ME I'M WRONG. You can't. 

It's sexy and goofy at the same time, and given that these two adjectives are literally Fenrys' life motto…

He'd love to have you in doggy as you wear the plug, or even more, pressed against the kitchen counter as you decided to wear it (only it) while making him breakfast. Or when you ride him wearing a sexy cowgirl outfit, bouncing on his cock with tits falling out of the tight unbuttoned shirt, tied under your breast. Would he chase you with a lasso through the house before that? You already know the answer. 

And do I even have to mention Fenrys in the play boy or maid costume?

This man is such a teaser. It goes all the way from leaving small kisses and little touches all over your body for the whole day, to purposely slowing down the peace of his thrusts. 

He'd also strip for you. Painfully slowly taking off each piece of clothing as you watch him with lips watering (I'm talking about both types 👀). And had you shown any type of impatience, he would turn it against you and call you desperate for him, as if he's not taking so long for this exact purpose. 

But when Fenrys finally does crawl his naked frame over you, he makes sure to make all this waiting worth it. He worships you like no one else ever could, touching and kissing every inch of skin he can find, devouring the sight below him with eyes blown with desire, words of admiration slipping out of his mouth like sparks out of bonfire. 

Words might not hold such powerful meaning as actions, but it doesn't make them any less important for Fenrys. Not only does he use every chance he gets to compliment you, more than once not even realizing it, smothering you with praises and pet names whether it be in lovesick awe or overwhelmed with pleasure, but craves to hear those sweet words fall from your mouth directed to him.

He seeks your attention and admiration like a puppy, melting in your palms as you pamper him with love. 

My man is not big on sharing. Even though I'd love to believe that he agrees to bring another person to your bedroom from time to time, especially a man as I whole believe that he is bisexual, I think it would be rather a rarity. Well, he's not interested in other women when you're the only one he needs and wants, and also it would take a lot of time and reassurance for him to share you with another man. But once you talk it through… Dorian would be more than willing, that's for sure. 

Oh, I had some trouble deciding whether he is a boobs or ass guy, and Julle solved within seconds saying that he's both. And yeah, I do see that. 

Fenrys would love sleeping with his face in your breasts, or play with them as you're laying in bed with a book, not paying attention to him so he has to entertain himself. And he loves sucking at your titties, trying to get you to orgasm just by that. 

But at the same time he would waste no opportunity to slap your butt as he walks past or fucking you from behind. Nor would he complain as you sit on his face with full weight. 

Ah and how could I forget? What's a better way to worship your pussy than filling it with cum? Watching his cock slide out white from how full of him you are, seeing his seed leak out and drip down your thighs? 

You know he's trying to put as many puppies in you as he can. 

And as a cherry on top I can offer you naked domestic Fenrys. It is a good thing that he's comfortable, of course it is, however, once he does, he doesn't differ much from a toddler. Run after him with pants all you want, he's not going to put them on, parading through the whole house in all the glory. 

But honestly? Is it so bad? I mean, people pay big money for less effective views, so I wouldn't complain and feast my eyes all I can. 

In this long as toilet paper essay, we came to the conclusion that sex with Fenrys can be sexy, funny, intense, loving and hundreds of other kinds. But what is one thing that they all have in common? ✨ Aftercare ✨ (you can see I'm losing my shit here? Sorry, I'm just tired, maybe I'll rewrite this part tomorrow)

After the fun is over, no matter how long or hard it was, Fenrys will always make sure you're okay before doing anything else. It is his priority to help you come down after your high, asking if you need anything whether it be water, a helpful hand in getting cleaned, a bath or simply snuggles. 

And though he'd never expect from you anything you cannot give, it makes his heart flutter when you do the same thing for him. So maybe ask if he's okay, or play with his hair as he's falling asleep, whispering praises against his forehead, and it would definitely make him happier. 

Fenrys is an amazing lover, thoughtful and passionate, open minded and big on boundaries. He can offer you the whole world and crawl out of his skin to bring you pleasure, and still stop without a second thought when you say no. And he does expect the same thing from you.

Because at the end of the day, consent is the sexiest thing you can give him.

[celaenaeiln]

Thank you so much for debunking the whole "Dick was a super angry child" thing the fandom has been pressing hard for the last few years it's one of my pet peeve characterization for him. (The other him being a Playboy) Does he get angry of course he does he's only human but he's usually very level head and even if he was the "Angry Robin" when he first started he was 8 years old and just lost his parents! I feel like anyone especially a child would be hurt and angry then but he didn't want revenge he wanted justice. He was a sweet child who just wanted to make his parents proud.

og post in question

Yes!!

Actually another anon asked me about this too a while ago - that I'll be getting back to soon - and I began writing right away but then I just couldn't. I had to put it on hold because I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of evidence that Dick was a happy robin. Not A happy robin, THE happy robin. I was exhausted because I didn't know where to begin, there was just too much evidence. I needed to create a separate post first.

It makes me so mad when i see Angry Dick Grayson posts because it's not even an interpretation of events. There's nothing to debate, there's no doubt, there's no question, there's no confusion, there's nothing to contest - HE WASN'T AN ANGRY ROBIN.

Jason says it himself! And unlike people in the fandom who've never read a comic in their life but like running their mouth off, he would actually know because he studied Dick. He watched all of Dick's videos when he was Robin. 11 years worth of videos. And this is what he says about Dick's robin:

Suicide Squad: Get Joker Issue #1

Jason straight up says that Dick was the happy robin. And that's just Jason. There's still Tim, Damian, Bruce, Alfred, Clark, the Justice League, and the Titans who talk about it.

Frankly it boggles my mind when I hear people who write takes say that Dick was an angry robin because even if they've never read any of the robin comics, they should at least know what he was like from what the adult characters say right? Did they really never stop and wonder why Jason keeps talking about not being Dick when he argues with Bruce? Or why Tim was so obsessed with Dick aside from knowing him from the circus? Or why Bruce writes entire monologues about how Dick saved him? Or why Alfred goes on massive rants about how Dick was the best thing ever to happen to Bruce and him or why he started crying and mourning when Dick merely left as Robin? Did no one stop to consider when they started going around saying he wasn't happy?

Honestly Angry Robin Dick Grayson characterization is a black hole of logic and intelligence.

The reason it became so popular is because it's a logical fallacy and logical fallacies sound convincing. This particular argument is the hasty generalization logical fallacy. Hasty generalization is when a statement is made after one or two examples rather than relying on extensive research to back up a claim.

For example: I got sick after eating pizza from Aleano's. Therefore, I must be allergic to pizza.

Proponents of angry robin dick characterization choose one example from decades of writing to claim that he was angry after his parents died which-seriously? Besides you'll start to notice that people who write those takes will never provide evidence because it's near possible to find something that doesn't exist. Sure one or two out of context photos might be provided but that's the best they can do to support that type of characterization. As much as we wish we were magicians from Hogwarts, no amount of wishing is going to transfigure the hundreds of comics filled with happy robin to him being an angry monster.

Also it's ridiculous that type of character because they're saying that if he's upset that his parents died, then he's an angry character. But if the Joker's happy that random people died, then he's a psycho. What do they want?! And that's not even the whole truth of it either. Dick was massively sad more than he was angry. He was taken away from his circus family and is left alone like all the time now. His life changed in a second - he's depressed. But he was able to work through it and that's how Robin was created.

Dick was not Robin when he went after Tony Zucco. The reason Bruce made him Robin was specifically because he admitted he didn't want Tony Zucco dead.

The problem is people sometimes hyperfocus so much on one detail that they forget the big picture. They centered 11 years of Robin characterization around one moment.

Let's get the facts straight. Robin is a success story. The greatness of Dick wasn't just that he was the smart, the best of the ages, and the greatest athelete - no. His greatness is that he is able to move. ON. He can do what Bruce never could. He could move on and take his parents death and turn it into something positive. He was able to overcome grief and not dwell in the past.

That's why he was able to be happy. That's why Bruce couldn't. And that's why Bruce needed Dick because Dick made him happy.

Alfred says this about Dick as Robin -

Robin: Year One Issue #1

"The addition of Dick Grayson into the Master's crusade has made a difference in him." "I do believe I saw him smile. There have been occasions in the pantry when I could just discern the muffled sounds of laughter echoeing up from that dreadful cavern beneath the manor."

People don't seem to understand. Alfred never approved Bruce's tenure as Batman. He loathed it so much he punched Bruce for it. It was Dick's light and goodness that changed Bruce's mind because he saw how happy Dick made him and how happy of a child he himself was.

And Dick? He never changed his personality in or out of costume.

Robin: Year One Issue #2

"He doesn't seem to struggle to lead a normal adolescence." "He's had no need to develop the masquerade that Master Bruce felt necessary." "His personality remains the same with or without the mask and boots. "

He's not the troubled kid some people seem to think he is. He wasn't mean or selfish or cast aside or raging moodily in a corner. Actually in the Batman (1940) and Detective Comics, he was seen as a role model for how helpful and kind he was. He was actually the one who went out of his way to help troubled kids because of his kindness, goodness, and empathy.

Checkmate (2006) Issue #14

Checkmate is a member of Task Force X under Amanda Waller and an ally of Batman's. She knows him. She knows what Dick was to him and Dick even mourns about the time when Bruce used to be happy. It was his joy and personality that did that.

Of course my argument isn't to be taken one sidedly saying he was constantly happy 24/7, all the time, in every occasion - no. Emotions are a spectrum and no one feels one emotion all the time. Thats silly. But, your personality outlook is based on what you feel most of the time. Dick sometimes got angry, sometimes got sad, etc. But in a dichotomy between happy and angry there is no doubt, no question, that he was overwhelmingly on the happy side.

There's a reason why everyone calls him happy. It's because for an overwhelming majority of the time, he was the happy robin.

52 Issue #25

Way back in the Batman (1940) comic Dick says, "I became Robin, history's first sidekick. And there I was, the laughing boy daredevil--"

Batman and Robin (2009) Issue #9

You can call him crazy, excitable, feral, overexcellent, etc. But never forget that Bruce once went insane after locking himself in a simulator that emulated Robin Dick Grayson's joy.

The incontestable truth - Dick was a happy robin.

[not-poignant]

Stupid question, but I remembered seeing you mention having monthly minimum wordcounts on one of your previous posts and I wanted to ask if you're a professional writer? Because at first I was like "that sounds so stressful"* and then I realized that it makes a lot more sense if you're doing it for a living.

*Also acknowledging that people are different from each other and what is stressful for one person might be productive and useful for another.

I am a professional writer!

My original serials are my job, basically, and they're supported by generous folks at Patreon and Ream. That, in turn, allows me to do this in a more professional and focused way, vs. say just as a hobbyist who doesn't update for 9 months at a time. It also lets me share my works for free, in a fandom friendly manner, which lets me keep doing something I love in a way I love to do it, but in a way which is like...I guess more reliable than you'd necessarily be if you were only doing it for fun.

I can instead pledge high fidelity/loyalty to my main serials through thick and thin (hence my wild author's notes), which means folks following WIPs get to know they'll be finished, and I get to enjoy doing this for a living! It's hard, but it's a good hard. Except for taxes.

As for my monthly minimum, that actually started as a way to break out of the very ableist 'you should write every day' (as a professional writer) which is literally impossible for me and my chronic illnesses. I sometimes have big chunks of time where I can't write, sometimes weeks! And where it would be unhealthy for me to make myself.

(More about my writing process beneath the Read More!)

Alongside that, I have quite severe dyscalculia (think dyslexia but with numbers and directions and left and right lol) so I can't keep a 'running wordcount' because the numbers confuse me too much. Luckily, because my writing life is defined by chapters completed (and not novels), I count the wordcount of every finished chapter only. Unfinished chapters don't count! My growing wordcount per month grows only when that draft is finished (my drafts are clean, so chapters only tend to grow or shrink by about 100-150 words per edit, so give or take it all evens out).

It's not how any other author I know does it, but it works so well for me that I've been doing it for nearly a decade now.

I started the monthly minimum (which currently is 25k words per month) because I tend towards being a workaholic, and so my therapist and I established a minimum not as an unreachable goal that's hard to meet, but as an easy goal that's generally effortless for me to reach in good months, and average months, and even many bad ones. After I hit 25k words per month, if I crash, feel burnt out, feel awful, or life gets Life-y in a bad way, I have permission to stop writing. I can just stop. Everything else is gravy. (Though secretly I always want to hit 30-35k but shhh).

When I hit 50k words, I also have to stop immediately and take a mandatory 3-5 day break from writing even if I want to keep writing. Because I don't know it yet, but I'm probably exhausted on at least some level, lol.

I didn't hit 50k at all last year and there is at least one therapist who would be really proud of me about that even though I feel kind of guilty about it, lol.

Here's an example of my tracking:

You can see the chapters I've written, which dates I've written them. They're colour coded, so I can see at a glance if I'm writing enough of a story or not. And then on the far right is an addition of every month's wordcount.

April was so low because I took an intentional writing holiday (which I'll be doing again ideally in March this year). December was so low because December sucks.

And then I erase it all at the end of the year and start again. The blank whiteboard is actually very motivating to write that first chapter because I always feel like I haven't done anything until then.

This whiteboard is two feet away from where I write quite literally, and is never moved etc. so I have a yearly tracker basically that's extremely visible (super helpful to my ADHD brain, because if I put this in a spreadsheet I'll stop updating it after 3 weeks and then forget it exists). The colour coding gives me dopamine, so does adding chapters.

Also acknowledging that people are different from each other and what is stressful for one person might be productive and useful for another.

This is true! This is actually the least stressful way of doing things for me.

That being said, anon, it's still super stressful. Being a serial writer is one of the most stressful things you do, because you have constant and never-ending deadlines for years. Novelists can kind of escape this, in a way, because they can't release novels as often as I release chapters. But I have to be mentally switched on at least 8 times a month, re: putting work out there, making sure it's at least semi-polished, making sure I let everyone know, and tracking responses because obviously, unlike a novel, if you lose interest you can't just "skip ahead" you simply lose your readers. A lot of novelists couldn't live or work this way, a) because they couldn't write a hooky serial and b) because many realise that having to update all the time is really exhausting actually. There's a kind of social labour to updating a serial, and getting it Right every single time. One of my greatest fears that I have nightmares about

Serial writing is the most stressful kind of writing I've ever done (and I've done a few different kinds), I just happen to like the adrenaline rush of this kind of writing, and I happen to work well under a controlled level of stress! I know that, because I've been doing this for over 10 years, refining it, figuring out how to make it healthier (it was really unhealthy at first), getting better at it, figuring out my weak points (some of them are still weak points) etc. I actually think I'm pretty good at it now!

I'm also getting better at not thinking my entire career is over if I take 2 weeks off.

I went from being entirely dependent on a Disability Pension, and like, sometimes having to skip meals and doctor's appointments and even medication due to money issues (the Disability Pension is ironically not enough if you have mental health issues because our subsidised healthcare doesn't cover mental health adequately and Australia has no food stamps system), to being able to live a bit more freely and support my chronic health stuff a bit more because of writing this way!

For the first time ever through these stories I was able to afford a psychiatrist, and a few other things I really desperately have needed since I was a teenager. So being able to write like this, even when it's really hard and I'm really tired, feels still like a miracle to me. I've never been well or healthy enough to work a full-time job with typical 9-5 hours, and always kind of was stuck imagining a life where I'm just...never knowing how to afford certain things, to being in a position where I'm fairly confident I can get my meds every month, or pay for my dog's pet food, etc. It's really nice.

But yeah honestly serial writing is the most stressful form of serial writing there is as soon as you lock it in as a professional job where you must meet nearly 10 deadlines every month and you happen to have pretty intense ADHD so deadlines make you scream a little.

Sometimes what is extremely stressful and sometimes even distressing for someone is also extremely productive and rewarding for them too. We probably wouldn't have a lot of emergency surgeons if that were the bar for how we decide what we do!

[eleventhhourfactor]

First day of 2025 has been good so far. So good, in fact, that I've decided to actually make a self-reflection/look to the future post, as much as I'm trying not to be vain.

Anyway...2024. There was a lot happening there.

If we're looking at Tumblr alone, it's pretty clear that this was the year that solidified Mario and Luigi as a hyperfixation for me. Helped along by the mutuals I made along the way, I turned out a lot of stories for AO3--moreso than I'd ever done for any other fandom prior to this. It's...mindblowing, honestly. Just the year before, I'd written and deleted my works after becoming convinced that it wouldn't amount to anything and ought as well not be out there. It was a pattern I longed to break, and I think I've finally cracked it, and I've never been happier to put myself out there and be cringe and free.

The rest of 2024 was a hell of a lot of change for me--mostly good. I moved across the country, started writing for another company, found another special interest in the form of Mario RPGs. I also realized that a load of my extended family have garbage takes, and that I alone can't fix that for them. My cat needed teeth taken out, my car got hit by a delivery truck in the parking lot, and I got holed up at my in-laws' house with the flu on Christmas Day. I'm still trying to make real-life friends, which seems to be an outstanding issue for little ol' me. Outside of college, I've never been great at making and keeping friends.

But I do have my network, without which I wouldn't have been able to publish a story, plan a big move, or even doodle on occasion. And you, dear mutuals and others, are a part of that, I've come to realize. It's stupid and corny, but there's something really neat about going to the internet and nerding out about things through headcanon posts, fabulous art, and wonderfully-written tales. What's even crazier is what fanwork can drive me to do in my original little things.

So, for 2025, along with some outstanding fics I need to wrap up and work on, I also want to put some work and effort into fleshing out a long-running project of mine: the world of Astrara, the worldhoppers moving throughout, and the threads of the universe tying it all together. There's characters I've been bouncing around in my skull for nearly a decade now, and it's about time I clear the sad lack of confidence from my space and actually draw them to the life they deserve. Might I make a comic? Who knows. For the next year, I just want to draw my little dudes until I run out of pencils, and then scan it in and color digitally. I want to make more art, and I want to write out the story of Lenora, Aylín, and their absolutely batshit journey to find their way home. Or at least, get the bullet points down and go from there.

It's crazy, but I thought turning out over a dozen fanfics was insane as well, and look where I'm at. Anything can happen. The spark has caught aflame. I want to keep creating. For the first time ever, I want to keep going with whatever the heck I've got going instead of letting it sit while I grind to live.

So, follow me as I get this going. See how far I go or fall short. Maybe ask me some more about what exactly I'm working on. I'd love to brainstorm and share and get others interested, too.

A bit of insurance in the form of doodles. Lenora on the left, Aylín on the right. One's being careful, the other wants to fight.

Kinda funny how much I project onto my own little stories.

Thank you all for sticking with me. Sorry this turned from reflection to a bit of narcissist goal-setting, but I've never felt so set on a creative goal before. This project means a lot to me and my growth over time, and without stepping out and meeting you all, I'd never be able to do this. So, thank you for being there, and I hope I've been able to do half as much for you.

Under the cut special! Sending love to all the people who keep me going on here. Like, y'all are so great. You are all great people.

So, mutuals and creators I admire (as well as my frens), this one's for you:

@giddlygoat @peaches2217 @snakeeyesdraws @bberetd @itsavee4117 @silenzahra @silksongmaiden @fyreburning @akiiame-blog @megamagimugi @supergay-64 @artizonka @rainbogen @loud-kid2 @@diamondempp @dooxliss @lu1g199 @laatgag @moriouchou-radio @thegravityshark @gustygardns @vulpixfairy1985 @vbnhuet

[crowleysgirl56]

Wildest dreams wishes for Good Omens Season 3 which will probably not come true but I can still hope hey!

Number 17.

Sex! That’s right we’re going there. Because my latest random post got a lot of differing opinions (which was really just for shits and giggles. Nothing I say should be taken seriously 😜) I thought I’d address what my actual prediction and also wildest hope for season 3 is.

I think what we will get is an implied sex scene. For a number of reasons.

1. The tone of the show is not explicit. Even though you can definitely point to other Amazon Prime shows that will go there (exhibit A: American Gods), I don’t think we would get that for Good Omens.

2. It’s a comedy. So if anything we would get something that is almost silly. Probably to parallel the ridiculous and funny sex scene between Anathema and Newt in season 1 (think of them under the bed popping in and out of frame as papers fly everywhere). I don’t think the S3 scene would be specifically played for laughs, because this is the type of show that is very respectful of a same sex relationship. We’ve had way too many horrible experiences for decades of television programs playing up “men having sex = stupid/silly/funny/not serious/etc”. Neil would not let something like this happen (Exhibit B: American Gods, again). So I would suggest the situation leading up to the act would probably be ridiculous or something we can laugh at, but the act itself would not.

3. Neil reblogged a post a few months ago and annoyingly I can’t find it. But it had something to do with same sex coupling in media and how important it is, and he basically said something along the lines of “I don’t write these kinds of scenes but now I wish I did”. I think he was possible responding to someone saying “Neil wouldn’t do something like that”. That’s a pretty interesting thought and a very pointed comment to make at a time when he had either just started writing season 3, or right before it. Or at least that’s when I saw the post. This is Tumblr so for all I know it could have been posted 2 years ago (seriously, how does Tumblr work? I’ve only been here 6 months!).

So what do I think will ACTUALLY happen? I think we’ll get Crowley and Aziraphale passionately kiss, get to Aziraphale’s bedroom and then fall onto the bed out of shot. If we’re lucky we might get close up shots of hands intertwining, more kissing, some removal of clothing perhaps. Then the scene would shift outside to Whickber street. People will probably noticing a trembling in the ground. Maybe in Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death we see tea and coffee cups rattling on the table and Nina looking confused and concerned. Then a brilliant white light pours out of the upper floor window of the book shop. Cut back to Aziraphale and Crowley holding each other and panting, but it’s a tasteful shoulders up shot.

Subtle, implied, still pretty hot.

So in the mean time, if you want something explicit, to AO3 my fellow Smutgoblins!

[writing-for-life]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN DREAM'S HAIR USED TO BE WHITE!! oh my god. i just saw your post about killala and i have now perished. thanks for breaking my heart.

but also hi!! i'm relatively new to the fandom and it's a great place to be. i haven't finished reading all the comics yet but i'm curious to know:

what do you think are the main differences between TV!Dream and Comics!Dream? i've heard so many people claiming that he is incapable of changing, for instance, and though the show does convey his overall rigidity pretty well, i'm not getting the vibe that he's immutable.

also!! it's clear that he feels a lot. which is always funny to me when the corinthian is like yo, try this and maybe you'll feel something for a change but like. he does!!! or i get the impression that he does. he probably feels too much if anything?? all of it simmering just beneath the surface, barely contained. how would you personally analyze his relationship with his own emotions?

i hope all of this is coherent enough for you to answer lmao, i saw your post about enjoying being asked sandman questions two seconds after i woke up and barged into your inbox. hope you have a lovely day!

Thanks so much for the ask, and welcome if you’re new(ish) to the fandom! 🤗

I’m sorry I broke your heart—much more heartbreak to come I fear if you haven’t read the comics yet, so I’ll try to keep this as spoiler-free as possible.

I am one of those people who believes the differences between comics!Dream and show!Dream are actually not as big as they are made out to be where it matters, and you will definitely find people who disagree. At the end of the day, we all read it through our own lens and will never be fully objective about it.

The main difference I see is that they filed off the rough edges of the comics a bit to make a new audience sympathise more. It’s very hard to do that with a character who is basically in full arsehole mode for most of the first 40 issues or so, and even then only slowly begins to come out of it (although we can obviously see glimmers of what lies below the surface at the beginning of the comics, too, but it’s far more subtle than in the show). I’ve worked in musical theatre for a over decade of my life and understand a bit about bringing the written word to stage/screen, and some things simply don’t translate well from book to stage/screen, and you have to change it. So my personal opinion is we get a more sympathetic Morpheus and certain changes so the audience can do exactly that—sympathise off the bat. You will lose an audience pretty quickly if they don’t care about the protagonist and the universe he moves in, and you can’t be as nuanced about it as you can be in a written work. We’re talking about streaming services thinking about profits here, even if people don’t want to hear it.

Also: The more you sympathise with a character, the deeper the emotional investment and the more you feel, even if it hurts.

Having said this, I don’t think Morpheus is incapable of change, and I never got where that idea comes from. His biggest flaw is that he believes he cannot change (and even he has moments when he admits he might have). In the introduction to Endless Nights, Neil Gaiman says that he was once asked to describe The Sandman in twenty-five words or less, and famously, it was this (you might have heard it):

“The Lord of Dreams learns that one must change or die, and makes his decision.”

And I think some people might have wrongly taken that for an either/or thing. I don’t want to say too much at this point because I don’t know how much you know (if you’d like spoilers or already know how it ends, let me know, I’ll happily expand on it). Only so much:

He is capable of change, also in the comics. Very obviously so. But just like he denies he has his own story (which also isn’t true), he denies he can change. Or at least he thinks he perhaps cannot change enough (it’s actually hard to write about this without giving everything away, help! 🙈).

As for his feelings: He does feel, but again, it is something he pushes down and will deny himself. Until it bursts to the surface and breaks through, and when that happens, it’s usually with, well, let’s say varying results, and that’s putting it mildly. Personally, I’d say he has problems relating to his feelings, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel. Quite the opposite in my view. He holds the collective unconscious—all unprocessed feelings and whatever else floats around in that collective mess, and it’s exactly what he says to the Corinthian in that famous scene: he needs to keep a lid on it and keep that lid firmly closed so all of it doesn’t consume him. But that also means denying himself the feelings that are linked to his own personhood (if you want to call it that). There’s Dream of the Endless, and then there’s Morpheus. And while they’re one and the same and inseparable, Morpheus is also the “point of view”. The character, the person, if you will. And deep down, he craves that personhood so badly. Out of all the Endless, he is the only one who basically collects names because they mean having something beyond his function, which is also mirrored in what he tells Death in “The Sound of her Wings”: he wants something more. He is the only one whose realm is populated with sentient beings (yes, I know Despair has rats, but I think you get my drift). He is desperately lonely and struggles with it. He seeks connection yet denies it to himself. That’s not someone who doesn’t feel.

I don’t know if this answers your questions at all—I was doing the wild “spoiler-free” dance 🤣 But please let me know if you want me to go a bit deeper, I love talking about this stuff.

You can also have a look at my metas if you haven’t already. The headers pretty much explain what they’re about and what spoiler-level to expect, but none of them are truly spoiler-free I guess:

Again, thanks so much for encroaching on my inbox, and feel free to follow up if anything was left unanswered.

@dreamaturgy ask answered

[mannatea]

I have finished reading every single one of my old FE fics (except that old FE7 college AU, but we don't talk about that). 🎉

Here are the numbers and some thoughts!

Standalone one-shots/chaptered fics: 139 yes || 68 no

FE100 stories: 51 yes || 3 no

Collections stories: 65 yes || 4 no

GRAND TOTAL: 255 to be rewritten || 75 fics that will never see the light of dawn again

Let's talk about the fics that will rot on my hard drive and die with me, or at least with everyone who knows how to use the wayback machine well enough to get them back again. :P

I didn't really have any specific criterion for determining what 'fics deserve saving vs. being buried alive. It was mostly a vibe check, though. Like, was the idea tolerable? Was it well-written? Was there anything about it worth the effort it would take to save?

Let's look at the collections stories first.

Lutte contre l'incendie #4 was "kind of cringe with some pairing bias." This is truly saying something, because this is a Kent/Lyn collection and, as all of you know already, my biggest and oldest OTP. I promise I am not being unfair to this story. It was cringe, and the story felt more like a shit-tier ship manifesto than it did an actual story. Could I save it? No. The point of the story was the issue.

Lutte contre l'incendie #10 was attempting to tackle the theme of jealousy, which I think is fine as a concept—and interesting to write about with regards to Kent specifically. It was poorly done in this story and I could 100% fix it and write something better using the same theme, but there are better stories I could be writing with that theme in mind, so I'm not going to invest myself in trying to fix a 500 word little thing.

Pour l'amour #1 was "boring" and felt unfinished. It was 117 words long, so the whole thing is pointless and I don't think worth the effort to re-do in any capacity.

Love is a Flower #1 was "kind of meh" but was attempting to tackle something with Brendan, Sonia, and Nino. It's 100% salvageable, but the last time I took the time to rewrite a story about Nino and Sonia, despite it being popular when it was first written, it was largely ignored as a rewrite. No thank you; I have better things to do with my time than rewrite something that not only do I not find terribly exciting, but that nobody else does, either.

--

Moving on to the FE100 stories...

#52: conquer, was a Kent/Lyn fic that would have been fun and maybe cute about ANY OTHER CHARACTER SET, but felt ooc and weird for the characters involved. Low-key this was a 'fic I have spent the last decade or more deeply ashamed of, so I was relieved to see that, even though the writing itself was solid, I was right to have spent so much time embarrassed by it. I'm sure I'll keep this as a Kent/Lyn prompt, but just write it about something else (if I ever get around to it). Like, when the premise is OOC it's not really salvageable in the way rewrites usually are.*

#62: unreachable thoughts, was a first-person fic from the perspective of...the Mani Katti. Yep. I literally can't with this.

#99: advent of peace, was ALSO a Kent/Lyn fic (sort of?) where they fall when Bern attacks Sacae, but it's not a very good story and is in Kent's POV after Lyn has already died and he's had a limb amputated to try to save his life (and he's in a terrible mental state). You might think I'm being too hard on this one, but I wrote a lot of shitty tragedy back in the day, and only a few were actually good or interesting; this wasn't one of them, and no part of me thinks this is worth the time to save. (Maybe if you remember this piece, you'll disagree.)

--

*I've had a few rewrites that I've had to truly rewrite, like, from the ground up:

If It Takes a Lifetime (what if the characters survived their canon deaths and then died in a more tragic manner?)

A Rose Is a Rose Is a Rose (secret admirer leaves flowers and is found out at the end)

Luck of the Draw (Mark just got lucky/everyone died in his lifetime anyway + reverse chronology)

Making It Better (silly adventure to find out who is stealing from Caelin Castle's larder)

Waiting for the Rain (Lyn gives Kent one last chance to change his mind as they enter Sacae)

In all of these instances the plot/concept was fine. As a quick example, when I originally wrote "If It Takes a Lifetime", I lacked the skill necessary to showcase the vision I was trying to present. In rewriting it, I adopted the metaphorical tone of the manga, wrote emotional scenes naturally (rather than in a way where I was begging the reader to feel something), and fixed the ending to read as being more in character. But the core idea was still really good and particularly meaningful to me.

However when even the idea behind the story is bad, it can't really be rewritten or considered a rewrite; at that point, if I "redo it", I'm just writing an entirely new story.

--

For my generally large collection of fanfics, uhh...well. I'm not sure where to start with these.

68 stories flung into the dumpster feels like a lot, but I think some of you will just have to trust me that these stories should never see daylight again.

Let's talk about a chunk of them anyway.

Secrets: a fic about Soren's love for pie? No clue why I never posted this, but as you might expect, it was stupid and not that funny.

Indulgence: written for Indulgence Day 2010 and then never posted for some reason. It's a Kent/Lyn fic, it's 2,027 words long, and it's pretty stupid.

(Untitled): One-sided Innes/Eirika where I'm pretty sure he was going to tell her he loved her the day before or day of her wedding to someone else. What I have written of this is actually pretty good, but it's not enough to make me feel positive about finishing it.

Apples: A Serra/Lucius 50-sentences fic that I got 6 sentences into. Not bad but I've no faith in being able to finish this while making it as good as the other 50-sentences fics I did.

Always: a pegasus sisters + robot unicorn attack AU? I didn't actually reread this one, but I don't think the joke being made with it holds up well enough to make it worth my time.

To Have and To Hold: generally very cute modern AU Kent/Lyn fic where he's trying to figure out how to propose to her. This is from 2010, but I don't think it's worth the effort to fix and finish.

The Broken Road: I finished five chapters of this, none of which were posted. It wasn't the first novelization attempt I did, but it was the one I spent the most time on. I went balls-to-the-wall with this one, starting the story well before Lyn meets Mark and getting characters like Serra and Erk where they would need to be for the main story. I just don't have gas in the tank to take this monster of a project on again—and novelizations that don't do anything truly new or interesting bore me, anyway.

Shades of Grey: SHUT UP THIS IS FROM 2008!!! This is the Lyn-gets-poisoned-while-ruling-Caelin 'fic. The only reason this one won't be touched again is because I actually RP'd a FAR SUPERIOR version of this story out with someone and if I'm going to edit the shit out of something to post, it will be the thing we actually finished. :P

Lullaby: Modern AU that rotated first person POVs. Die die die.

Equine Intervention: Story told from the perspective of all of the army's animals. Cringgggeeee.

Deux Flèches: Florina plays cupid story that never went anywhere but was a very cute concept.

And Life Was Changed—Disassembled, Rearranged: Hector and Farina are fuckbuddies and she gets pregnant. Um. I cannot touch this story in our current social climate tbh.

Multiple parodies or stories-that-are-mimicking-jokes (but they suck for some reason) x10 or so. Also trollfics of which I did several. One of these was in VERY BAD TASTE. (iykyk)

Several fics that just aren't good but were trying to be Different and Unique and were only popular/well-reviewed because they seemed novel to readers. Like "Lift" a Serra + Rath fic, "Right vs Wrong" a Hector/Ninian ficlet, and "Erring on the Side of Caution", an Oswin/Fiora fic.

Unwavering Devotion: dogshit story that I'm pretty sure was supposed to be a longfic where Kent follows Lyn to Ostia when she marries Hector and some years later runs away with her or something? Terrible story.

Melodramatic garbage, including several Matthew/Leila fics, several Kent/Lyn fics, and several fics about Sain for some reason.

The World: a fic centering on Hector, Eliwood, and Lyn that's really bad and...maybe OOC? Hector's really mean in this, too, for some reason.

Looking for a Little Canon in D: the dreaded college AU fic. This was rewritten once already under "Improvisation" and it didn't get anywhere. I just hate that this ever existed. I'm sure it's trash but I can't bring myself to reread it.

Several boring/uninspired nothingsauce ideas, like a Zephiel + Guinivere fic called "Faux Fox", an Eliwood + Florina fic called "Blessed Quietness", and a Seth/Eirika called "Between the Lines."

All About Us: the infamous Lyn Marries Erik of Laus fic. Just like the Lyn-gets-poisoned fic, this one was RP'd almost to completion some years ago, so if I put effort into editing, it will be the RP, not my original attempt at the story.

Everyone Loves Soren: a humor/parody fic that I wrote that was going to be a Soren/Everyone But Ike fic, mostly to poke fun at the fans who seemed fine pairing Soren with literally anyone but Ike, despite the way the game treats the ship.

Shitty Valter Fic that I am embarrassed I ever wrote.

a 362-word-long 1950s AU drabble about Geoffrey, Elincia, Lucia, and Bastian as children. WTF? no

Friday. The summary reads as follows: Some people "got down" on Friday, but not Soren. He was too busy." And you might be thinking, that sounds kind of funny even if it is a dated joke—but no. It was boring.

And So It Goes: two part fic where Kent gets le sad being steward of Caelin and goes out to Sacae to find Lyn. Cool idea, but it's old so it needs a lot of work, and I'm going to steal the title for a different story I've outlined that I partially RP'd out some years ago that fits better (where Lyn leaves Caelin very suddenly and Kent becomes steward in the aftermath of that--and five years later she returns to Caelin).

There are others, of course, but that's most of them. I feel pretty confident that almost everything on this list isn't worth the time and effort it would take to save. But maybe you disagree!

--

i'll go over the good fics in another post lol. this is too long haha.

[y-rhywbeth2]

I am pondering the possibility of a wizard of thay oc, so do you have any interesting facts about them that probably didn’t make it into the wikia? (Especially anything pertaining to Bane worship 👉🏼👈🏼 sorry not sorry)

EDIT: Shit, I read in a rush and missed the 'Thay' part. I'll get back to you when I have time.

For generic wizard things for anybody who needs generic wizard shit, since I already typed it:

Random Torilian wizard things, that may or may not be interesting, mostly off the top of my head:

Like sorcerers, psionic classes, and bards, wizards have the ability to wield magic because of innate ability. On Toril the ability to wield arcane magic is called having 'The Gift.'

You generally get a heads-up you've got it, even if you don't realise it at the time, by Mystra manifesting in your dreams during the deities' usual ad-space airtime between your regular dreams.

You probably needed to seek out another wizard to teach you how to actually use it though, who will possibly be part of some official organisation or possibly a secret unofficial one, and the responsibilities owed by apprentice to master and vice versa will usually be agreed upon via formal legally binding contract. Universities are common in Lantan and Halruaa, but outside of Silverymoon (the most prestigious), and small ones in Waterdeep, Sembia, Chessenta, the Vilhon Reach, Impiltur and Tethyr, formal schools for magic aren't available. Evermeet has a university, but unless you're an elf, a harper or a half-elf with a well connected elven parent that's not an option. Also necromancy is forbidden in that case.

Wizards, as occultists and those with education and power available only to a select few are prone to be, are also very haughty, paranoid bastards who don't like to share their toys. The Church of Azuth and the Church of Mystra tend to have to prod/whack them with metaphorical sticks to make them function as a viable academic community.

'The trade of magic or lore will always take place very gingerly, in one of two ways: private deals between members (kept secret even from other members), and formal deals (known to other members and regulated by intricate, written guild rules that have been tested and refined and complained about and refined again for decades or longer). Because of suspicion and paranoia, private deals are rare without a master-apprentice relationship being involved, or some kind of agreement that involves hostages or collateral or third-party scrutinizers.'

Your apprenticeship will mostly involve chores, your teacher may be an asshole, and they are likely to hide things from you or keep your education incomplete. In light of this, followers of Azuth and Mystra redistribute lore and spells all over the place, hiding them in places where apprentices and people who are barred from learning may find them. They also have to play mediator when mages do exchange lore and spells and stuff, because mages don't trust each other to deal fairly.

Self-taught mages are called hedge-wizards.

Illusionists have their own secret language; ruathlek.

Mages usually have their own mage sigils, unique to themselves, which serve as signatures and turn up in some spells (explosive runes, for example).

There are mage fairs; if there's a big enough population of spellcasters in a region then the mages will gather and do their annual socialising, contract writing, squabbling and etc. Duelling, markets for magical items, and competitions are also held. (Sorcerers attending will be looked down upon).

Outside of cosmopolitan areas like Baldur's Gate and Waterdeep, or nations like Calimshan and Halruaa, being a mage is going to make people at least a bit wary of you in a negative way. Also depending on where you are (Cormyr, Amn) you might need a license to practice magic. Or else.)

Robes (as opposed to something like the regular tunic and trousers worn by everyone else) are not mandatory unless they're some kind of uniform, and wearing them may earn you an eyeroll - especially in the Dales. Familiars are not actually that common.

Pretty much all arcane spellcasters make offerings to Mystra, regardless of who else they worship and whether they personally care for her faith or not; She's the Weave; you use the Weave; pay your taxes, just in case. Likewise a mage is liable to pray to the other gods who are involved with knowledge and magic when certain aspects come up. Off the top of my head: Azuth (patron of wizards), Savras (divination), Selûne (more divination; particularly popular with female diviners) Leira (illusion), Velsharoon (necromancy), Myrkul (more necromancy), Oghma (knowledge). You want to use your arcane power and knowledge to control the world around you and rule? You're also going to worship Bane, most likely. Other deities may be involved if you're not human.

A wizard on Toril can expect the Church of Mystra to be on their back about wielding magic sensibly, using it sparingly, not hording it and trying to keep knowledge and use of the magic from being widely available to the average joe*, and not scaring the normies by being an idiot/evil bastard with it. * That doesn't mean teaching every irresponsible twelve year old fireball, or giving a horrified crowd a detailed explanation of black necromancy. Demonstrate how it can be useful and non-destructive to them. But, while Mystrans will probably make Mystra's judgements sound more severe then they actually are to try and make you behave, you can ignore them; Mystra will only cut you off from the Weave when you do really stupid shit that threatens mass destruction. Think Karsus-tier.

Wizard-related things regarding Bane:

It's already on my blog that wizards make up a chunk of Bane's clergy, originally forming the reformist faction after Fzoul reinterpreted the doctrine to mean 'support wannabe tyrants and spread Bane's power through them instead of doing it directly yourself,' decided the High Imperceptor and the orthodoxy were corrupt and fucked off to make the Zhentarim a Banite faction - enter Manshoon, Toril's resident evil wizard posterboys and all around problem for centuries. There are still wizards who want to be tyrants, playing up the evil advisor stereotype and such.

Banite wizards are usually more loyal to the power and aid Bane can offer than the deity himself (Manshoon is described as 'cleaving' to Mystra and offering Bane lip service; the arcane clergy largely ditched Bane for Cyric when the first god died, while the clerics usually stuck with Bane; etc).

We've had groups like the Zhent reformers and the Brotherhood of the Blackhand, who enjoyed stealing and hoarding political power and magical artefacts and such. You can probably get yourself initiated into an evil wizard community that sacrifices babies to Bane every tenday as an apprentice. The contract will be stupidly long and full of clauses in the standard lawful evil fashion, and the chores will suck though.

Obviously Bane appeals to your standard hubristic evil mage who wants power and to control the flow of knowledge and horde magic to keep themself in power. Bane's standard avatar is a wizard, so he's very into that aspect of it | Examples: Cleric 36/Fighter 35/Mage 30/Thief 10 (2e) vs Fighter 15/Blackguard 10/Cleric 10/Wizard 10/Rogue 20 (3e).

Bane has his own liches, but Baneliches were clerics so not really applicable.

[spirk-trek]

I would love to hear your thoughts on kirk's backstory and what happened on tarsus iv, I feel like I've read so many conflicting takes on here and none of them actually match up with the episode (conscience of the king)

Hi anon! The way you worded this makes me think you were just looking for information and not a fic request. Forgive me if I was wrong!! 😅

I think the reason there are so many conflicting ideas is because of how vague it is in canon itself (which is cool, leaves a lot of room for interpretation). Because of this, when I recently wrote a thing about Tarsus IV I also struggled with "research" for it. Here's what I came up with:

!!! Disclaimer! I am not declaring any of this the One True Canon™! This is just my interpretation/speculation based on existing lore !!!

To me, it makes most sense for Jim to be sent to Tarsus IV with his mother, and for her to be a civilian scientist/researcher of some kind. I find it very hard to believe the massacre could have taken place if Starfleet were present, which would include George Kirk, Jim's father. George is said to have been absent often due to his work (SNW), so it wouldn’t be strange for him to be separated from his family (this is also just normal in Star Trek in general, i.e. Sulu [AOS] and like… everyone with children in TNG).

A more recent Trek book called Drastic Measures seems to back this exact idea up (depends who you ask which novels are canon, and this book was written for Discovery so take it with a grain of salt).

Sam would, in the TOS timeline, be 10 years older than Jim (~23). That would make it unlikely he'd be tailing after his mother to remote colonies. It's much more likely he was concerned with his own career/family/life.

So, in summary of those points, I think it was just Jim and Winona. Jim is between 12 and 14 years old, and his mother was a civilian researcher (the novel I mentioned earlier made her a xenobiologist, probably for plot reasons).

Something I do see exaggerated sometimes is the method of killing in the massacre. An antimatter chamber appears to be what was used, similar to A Taste of Armageddon, so it would not have been mass carnage or a big dramatic fight in the end. Just... zap. 

SPOCK: "He was certainly among the most ruthless, to decide arbitrarily who would survive and who would not [...] and then to implement his decision without mercy. Children watching their parents die. Whole families, destroyed. Over four thousand people. They died quickly, without pain, but they died.”

However, these are also quotes from the episode, so I can see why people might think the massacre itself was more violent: 

- JIM: “Four thousand people were needlessly butchered.” - LEIGHTON: “I remember him. That voice. The bloody thing he did.”  - JIM: “Are you sure you didn't act this role out in front of a captive audience whom you blasted out of existence without mercy?” - KARIDIAN/KODOS: “Murder, flight, suicide, madness. I never wanted the blood on my hands ever to stain you.” 

There was a revolution of some kind, probably brought about by people easily radicalized out of hunger and desperation.

- KARIDIAN/KODOS: [reading] "The revolution is successful…” - SPOCK: “There were over eight thousand colonists and virtually no food. And that was when Governor Kodos seized full power and declared emergency martial law.”

If Kodos already had his ideas about eugenics, which it sounds like he did, he would have seized this as an opportunity. This would make him an even more solid comparison to Hitler, which they were definitely going for to at least some extent (this was written two decades after WWII which many involved in the making of star trek were deeply affected by if not veterans themselves).

Because of the above quotes, I also think there’s merit to the idea of there being multiple formal executions where Kodos gave his infamous “speech” each time rather than just once (this would be another reason Jim would remember it enough to write it down), rather than one massive execution of 4,000 people. However, this quote could be interpreted to mean the opposite:

SPOCK: “Kodos began to separate the colonists. Some would live, be rationed whatever food was left; The remainder would be immediately put to death.”

Arguably, the even more traumatic suffering would be the period of starvation and upheaval leading up to the massacre. To me, a 3-6 month period of slowly worsening starvation as the food supply shrank and shrank to nothing would make the most sense.

One aspect I don't quite get is that Kodos's body was supposed to have been "burned beyond recognition.” Since we know from Conscience of the King his death was staged, then this fake death can’t have been pulled off in the midst of Starfleet intervention upon arrival (they would have taken him into custody to stand trial rather than kill him on sight anyway). Burning yourself to death is a highly unusual form of suicide, so I’m not sure if that’s supposed to allude to him being fake killed in the carnage following the execution when the people didn't react the way he wanted or expected? My only theory is that there was unrest and rioting for the period of time between the massacre and Starfleet arriving with relief, and he used that to fake his death once he knew he would be put on trial.

Anyway, this is super long so I'll cut myself off there. Hope that answered your question, sorry for being crazy! If anyone has anything to add, please do!

[frogletscribe]

A:FoP Sky Breaker DLC Thoughts...

Alright so i finished the main story of the DLC and have let my thoughts cook for a minute. This is just some of my thoughts/opinions overall. I will have to do a separate post for my more intense thoughts because I managed to actually hit the character limit and I wasn't even halfway through everything (i didn't even know tumblr had one of those and I've been on here for over a decade)

Spoilers for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Sky Breaker DLC under the cut.

The opening? Gorgeous. Amazing. Fantastic. Obsessed with the little cut scene of our Sarentu on their Ikran. I am in love. I was really pleasantly surprised to see Kin right off the bat too! Thats my grandpa, i love him! And then walking with the Zakru and getting to hear other NPCs talking was really nice. I loved the banter about So'lek.

Getting into the main games camp was visually very pretty but confusing. I got lost immediately (distracted by the wandering Zakru) and accidently came in from the back? and then proceeded to not be able to find anything or anyone. I kept getting turned around and winding up back with Etuwa and Ka'nat. I did eventually find everyone else but it was a struggle.

Was Eetu only there at the very start??? He was hanging out with So'lek and having a very cute banter and then as everything progress he completely disappeared. Sosul too for that matter. It made me a little worried when he wasn't there after a while bc it felt like almost all the other key npcs got at least a small cameo in other quests but not Eetu? I got paranoid he died but also i think hes an important enough NPC that someone else would have said something if that was the case. I guess i just wanted more of him in general. (Im biased/delusional and ship him with my Sarentu, i will take literally anything)

Theres also a smaller moment, walking around where Teylan calls and starts talking about Nor, about how he would have loved the games, that really got me. For a second i actually thought Nor might come back later in the story, but given how things went it makes sense that he wouldnt. I do really hope that Nor shows up in the next DLC because I really need closure for him. He deserves to see and be a part of what his fellow Sarentu are building and to heal from all the hurt he has been through.

Can the Zeswa PLEASE catch a break? 😭 First the arches are collapsed, then Pasuk, now this?? I need this to be the last big bad thing that happens to them for a while.

More So'lek all the time please! I love him. I loved his role in the over all story and how he helps us throughout the final mission. He is the reason i am desperate for a romance in this game, but i can't have that so i'll just have to write it myself fhdjskghfs

I will be making a separate post about my thoughts on everything with Alma and Mokasa.

With the last of TAP (more or less) gone now, I'm really curious about the next DLC and the general future of Frontiers. Secrets of the Spires comes out in Fall, which is rapidly approaching, but i doubt we will hear anything until like September at the earliest. I think I remember hearing about a new clan in the new area for that one?? (Could be wrong though) Im really curious what the plot for that one is gonna be now that Mercer and Harding are gone.

Hopefully we will see Nor again. I'm kinda also hoping for a movie cameo? like Norm or Max showing up? We got an audio cameo of Ardmore, i think it'd be cool to see some friendly faces or at least audio for one of those guys. I don't think we will get a Jake cameo but i would lose my mind if we did lol.

Im also really hoping that theres more content coming in the future? More DLC or comics or something cause AFoP is the only thing keeping me sane when it comes to Avatar Brainrot rn.

[explosionshark]

2, 3, 9!

2. Did you reread anything? What?

I actually did reread a lot this year (for me)

The Priory of the Orange by Samantha Shannon - I reread this as a buddy read with my homie @nataliving who hadn't read it before. It was fun going back after reading A Day of Fallen Night last year. I think overall Priory on a second run meant the pacing issues stuck out to me more, but I was delighted to find that my favorite parts of the book still held up really well.

A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny - reread this advent calendar style for the second year in a row. This time got @holdsteady to join me. Super fun, highly recommend this for anyone who wants to read something Halloweeny and fun next October.

Stranger Things Happen and Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link - this was a big Kelly Link year for me. I re-read these two short story collections as well as reading her other two collections for the first time. I'm basically caught up except for The Book of Love. Anyway - there were a few stories in Stranger Things Happen that I really liked, but overall Magic for Beginners hit way better for me

The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman - reread this in anticipation of the prequel, The Daughters War, being released. Probably the first book I've ever genuinely been able to call a comfort read. Loved it even more on a re-read.

Whipping Girl by Julia Serano - re-read this when the new edition came out. As vital as ever, able to present things in a very approachable way, it's a foundational and highly recommended intro to transfeminism for a reason, I think everyone should read it at least once.

The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik - also reread this with @nataliving. It's my favorite Scholomance book, I wanted to be keeping pace with them while they got to all my favorite parts. Super fun to buddy-read this, I truly love this book.

3. What were your top five books of the year?

okay not counting re-reads

Penance by Eliza Clark - this is a fake true crime book. a book about toxic relationships between girls, a book about true crime fandom, a book about the true crime industry, a book about bias and journalistic ethics and perhaps most importantly a book about TUMBLR a decade ago. Also the most brutal and realistic portrayal of bullying between girls i've ever read. Could NOT put this down.

A Tide of Black Steel by Anthony Ryan - another book in the world of the Covenant of Steel series, which I read and loved last year. Just really good fantasy, I've become such a fan of Anthony Ryan. Love how he writes women and gay people and magic and sword fights! Been patiently working my way through his books, waiting for when I'd get a queer woman out of him and the answer is NOW! Thera, my hyper-competent bisexual viking babe. Love of my life.

The Daughters' War by Christopher Buehlman - as mentioned above I really loved The Blacktongue Thief. My main critique when I first read it was that I wish it had more Galva and then BAM Buehlman announces a prequel from Galva's POV. It's basically a war memoir, Buehlman really gets to show off his horror chops here, which is always a plus for me. Loved it, read it once on audio and then again in print, both versions are great but the narrator was really strong, added a lot.

The Jasmine Throne and The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri - okay counting these as one entry bc they're part of the same series and I read them pretty close together. EXTREMELY COOL FANTASY SETTING. Indian-inspired, cool mythology, cool magic, lots of intrigue and court politics and some of the best women-vs-misogyny i've ever read in a fantasy book. ALSO a lovers-to-enemies lesbian relationship that made me fully feral. Some of the best pacing I've ever read in 500 - 600 page books, absolutely propulsive, literally no part of these books dragged for me which is WILD.

White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link - as mentioned above, it's a big Kelly Link year for me! White Cat, Black Dog might be the strongest collection I read from her this year. There was only one story I didn't really care for. Link is so incredibly talented - her style is so whimsical, but there's always this brilliant, vulnerable emotional honesty to her work. Look, I won't lie, sometimes she's a little hard to follow and I can't say I understand everything I read from her but the way I don't get it STILL feels satisfying somehow. It's a good tension! If you're interested in trying a story from this collection, you can read one of my favorites, The Girl Who Didn't Know Fear for free via Tin House

9. Did you get into any new genres?

Not really! Okay, wait, no, that's a lie. I read some history this year, which I don't usually do. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, The Wager by David Grann, The Medici by Paul Strathern. Cool, interesting stuff! Good texture for my reading list!

[imreallyloveleee]

Where do you think it all went wrong with Riverdale?

honestly, part of me is like, the show's over and nothing but fandom matters. so who cares?

the other part of me loves to complain about Riverdale and will continue to do so until the day I die in the parking lot of Michael's Diner in Montgomeryville, PA at the age of 86. so, long-winded answer under the cut

I'm tempted to say it's the s4 b*rchie kiss. It was so wildly out of character for both Betty and Archie that it's laughable. You know how you can tell when something is just blatantly OOC with no justification? They...don't justify it. They find ways to dance around any interaction that might offer clarification. They mute the reactions of the characters who should be devastated by it. And then they jump ahead 7 years so it's easier to just handwave it away as something that happened a long time ago.

but the thing is, I did keep watching after that. I thought: okay, at least we should get an exes-to-lovers arc out of this, which is one of my favorite tropes. there is no way they would spend 4 seasons developing Bughead as this loving, supportive, communicative, sexy, and almost-unbelievably-compatible couple just to tear them apart and never do anything with that dynamic again. maybe it'll be even sweeter seeing them come back together after so much hurt and longing.

boy was i wrong!!!!!!!!!

so, the episode that actually made me stop watching for good, with the exception of some standalones like The Jughead Paradox and the finale, was the s5 musical. that was when i realized that this team of writers was 100% willing, maybe even eager, to completely drop storylines they themselves had been building over the course of a season - do a 180 with all of the characterization and relationships - and then act as though the buildup they wrote never even happened.

in this case, i'm specifically talking about the Bughead reunion storyline they dropped in s5. i'm not going to pretend like it was a GREAT buildup - and it was mostly on Jughead's side, Betty's character in s5 was basically an emotionless misery bot that had sex sometimes - but it was there. Jughead told Tabitha he had unresolved feelings around Betty. that's followed by an entire episode that lays out Betty & Jug's time jump relationship, and how Jughead still believes she's the one who saves him from himself. they work on a case together, they start opening up to one another. Jughead's so worried about her he can't eat.

and then...you know what happens.

(i'll also note here that there was random bts stuff that strongly indicated the musical ep storyline had a drastic last-minute rewrite: lili tweeted a blue dress, suggesting the song with that line was meant for her character; RAS said cole had to do last-minute recording sessions; supposedly crew members have confirmed this was the case, too. since none of it's 100% confirmed you can take it all with a grain of salt, but i believe it.)

it was so fucking insulting as a viewer to give my time and attention to a show made by people who would not only randomly drop the threads they set up, but torpedo them altogether, and then behave like the fans are the ones somehow at fault for expecting a story that actually follows through on its own emotional and plot beats. we're just shippers, so our opinions are dumb and biased! it's just a tv show, so who cares! get over it!

so, i stopped watching, because i knew they would continue to write without any thought or respect for their characters or their audience, and therefore inevitably write themselves into another corner. and, shocker, i was right. they did it again, whisking everyone away to the 1950s because actually resolving any of the scenarios they set up was ToO hArD. why bother when you could just make every single character Righteously Angry and Incurably Horny all the time, lecture the audience about social issues that have already been mainstream progressive for the last several decades, and call it a "love letter" to your fans?