#more brank rant

[blushnik]

I love love your works and posts. Always looking forward to more content from you. Anyways my question is that in Punisher season 2 really trashed billy. What do you think about it. Personally I Hate Krista and Madani. Do you think billy and frank would have eventually started a relationship if billy hadn't been outed for betrayal.

*SOBBING HAPPY NOISES* Lemme just- uh, lemme calm down, this was so much praise I didn't expect to see when opening the inbox 😭🙏💙💙💙💙💙💙

Okay, now to your question *breathing exercises initiated*

First, I just wanna say that I kinda pushed the entire season 2 out of my mind, especially THAT part (y'all know what I'm talking about, I ain't gonna say it out loud) cause it just really hurts but xD I think I can handle it for this one occasion.

Season 2 really went ahead and said: Let's just punish Billy Russo for 13 episodes straight, yeah? Cause the show's name is PUNISHER. And he's PUNISHER's nemesis, right? So we PUNISH him, that makes sense, right? *clown mask here* And people will totally cheer when we finally get rid of him cause he's BAD and deserved to be PUNISHED, RIGHT? *clown levels intensify*

Lemme just point out that Billy Russo DID get his punishment when Frank introduced him, quite intimately, to a mirror. He suffered consequences of it during his coma in his dreams and after with memory loss and all conditions that came with it. And that'd be okay to have at the start but NOT FOR THIRTEEN FKING EPISODES.

You can't beat up a character that much, for that long, and then expect us to be cheering when he meets the shittiest end you could possibly think of. Not to even mention the monumental waste of potential in that story.

Remembering what he did and being told what he did are two VERY different things. If he doesn't remember shit then ofc it doesn't make sense to him how could he ever betray Frank like that. For all he knows, everyone just turned against HIM and made up this lie, his best friends and people he cared about going after him for – in Billy's eyes – no reason. Forget Maria and kids and Rawlins, just the fact my best friend, the only person I ever truly felt connected to and trusted and cared about ground my face against a broken mirror would be A LOT to process.

I seriously expected Billy to remember what he's done somewhere in the middle but somehow the writers thought new characters nobody cares about and an overly complex plot is a better way to go? That letting Billy be just a confused screaming crying mess for the entirety of season 2 while ten meaningless subplots get resolved so he can die right after will somehow work?

Look, I get he was supposed to lose everything he had in season 1, that being not only his wealth and company and good looks (he's still hot shut up and those feeble scars, bitch, what was that, Shadow and Bone did a better job at doing accurate scars) but also his self-control, his control over his emotions, composure, his ability to keep his cool, smooth-talking, etc.

But you can't let him be the victim and then expect the audience to not empathize with him or feel sorry for him and to NOT be okay when he dies right after it seems he finally found some peace, happiness, and love (I hate Krista too but shit, he was so happy with those stupid flowers, Ben sure knew what he was doing when he gave those blue flowers to Alina right before everything turned to shit).

Granted, he did shitty things in season 1 and season 2 too but the difference is this;

In season 1, those were his conscious choices. He never was a victim even in his own story. He knew he stepped on other people in order to get himself higher, he decided when it comes down to it, better someone else than him. He decided that after building himself up, no price was too great to pay just to make sure he was never hitting the bottom again and he had no problem with doing it because he's incapable of compassion and 'even though he loves Frank more than anything or anyone, Billy loves himself just a bit more' – Ben Barnes' words, not mine.

But in season 2, he doesn't know about any of that. He does feel like a victim because from his POV, everyone is simply attacking and somebody close to him hurt him for things he can't believe he did because at that point, he believed he would NEVER be capable of doing such things. And when he does something shitty – it's because he feels attacked, he feels like he needs to protect himself and that he's pushed towards it.

Pretty fking hard to see him as a villain, at least for me -.-

It's almost like the writers were too scared to explore that emotional turmoil and impact it would have on him and how it'd change his character if he remembered. Which is SUCH a shame it hurts. Ben Barnes has put so much nuance and depth into Billy's character, he had dimensions and so many layers so just imagine what it would be to have all of that go through some serious angst and explore his relationship with Frank further.

But no.

Instead, we get this imitation of angst where Billy Russo becomes a punching bag and we're supposed to go OOOH HE STILL EVIL BITCH when he darest to punch back.

And don't get me started on the worst character kill-off I've ever seen. Just no. I am not even sharing my opinions on this cause it's too much to think about.

So there you have it, season 2 is trash in my opinion, they really did Billy so dirty while throwing in subplots and characters that were absolutely unnecessary to have. It could totally be just about Frank and Billy trying to come to some closure (violent or not) and maybe Dinah sprinkled in cause she got a lot of beef with Billy too.

Now just to quickly answer the other question, would they have started the relationship eventually if Billy wasn't outed for betrayal?

Marvel and the Mouse are cowards so ofc not in the canon, but in my humble hcs opinion, ofc YES. Frank's the only one Billy feels a connection with and vice versa. And while it's easier for Frank to care for other people than it is for Billy (since, unlike Billy, Frank is capable of compassion), nobody gets him and accepts him the way Billy does. I like to think of that quote from the Darkling for this:

"I've seen what you truly are and I've never turned away."

That's Billy @ Frank. Together with the reasons, I listed in the previous ask where I pointed out how they complement each other ^^

PS: I just wanna say I actually love Dinah but it may be because of my hcs. She was really getting on my nerves at the beginning and then I just made up stuff in my head that made me really fond of her, like Dinah dating Karen Page and being the good bro for Frank and Billy.

Thank you for the reading if you made it this far, THANK YOU for the kind words and keep invading my inbox if you like 🥰💙💙

[thunderholtz]

Hammock

Warnings: none

Pairing: Branks (-shared- OC x Pranks)

Word count: 810

Summary: Pranks and Bray cuddle in a hammock while Pranks admires everything about Bray

A/N: Shapa and I came up with how we view the Gremlin Kids (Pranks, Missy, and Imag) and we decided Pranks needed a boyfriend so we came up with Bray. Bray is the most adorable thing ever I love him- Bray is a very soft pastel boy (he's also kinda a Logicality child- but Sha and I haven't completely said that's for sure yet- while Pranks, Missy, and Imag are prinxiety children) and he also has ADHD. His big hyperfixations are animals and animated things (big ones include Winnie the Pooh and Steven Universe) and he is just about the most adorable thing ever. Oh! And Pranks is like 17 or 18 and Bray is a year younger (so 16 or 17)

~~~~

Pranks smiled softly as he looked down to Bray, who was laying on his chest, asleep. Pranks very slowly rocked the hammock, one of his legs on the ground to do so.

They had only been together for about a month, but this sort of thing was normal for the pair. Bray was very touch oriented. He needed physical reassurances far more than he needed verbal reassurances. Sometimes, Pranks and Bray wouldn't speak, only cuddling and non-verbally communicating. Bray often came up to Pranks for cuddles, even far before they dated or even had feelings for each other.

There were many things Pranks absolutely loved about Bray. He loved how Bray often would rant about the things he loved, no matter the circumstance. When he gets excited, Pranks could listen to him for hours. And the small stims he gives are just about the best thing for Pranks. He loved when Bray would come up to him for no reason and cuddle. He loved when Bray would randomly run up to him, say "love you!", kiss his cheek, and run away again. Most of the times it was in the hallway between classes. He loved the way Bray video calls him every night and talks until he falls asleep.

Oh, and Pranks is so in love with the way Bray looks when he's sleeping. And anytime, really. His gorgeous melanin rich skin that seems like it glows in direct sunlight and looked like the perfect coffee that had just the right amount of creamer to stop tasting bitter and start tasting elegantly sweet. And his tight curly hair that was nearly an Afro when he brushed it all out. Pranks could mess with his hair all day long, no matter how messy or styled it was. Sometimes Bray would pull his hair back into what he called his Pom-Pom hair. Pranks loved the way Bray wasn't perfectly skinny. He loved the small chub Bray had with all of his heart. He loved that Bray was small and could easily fit in his arms. He loved the way Bray could light up the whole room with the smallest of smiles.

Pranks adored the way Bray was best friends with his sibling, Missy, though he hardly admitted it. He loved the way Bray sometimes played pranks on him with Missy. He loved the way Bray indulged Imag's craziest fantasies and dreams without a second thought. He loved the way he would talk with Roman (Pranks' pa) for hours about disney, neither stopping until Virgil told them something was ready to eat or Bray had to go home. He loved that Bray is so comfortable around Virgil that he would sit with him when he was nonverbal and not feel like he was forced to talk. He loved Bray's connection with his family.

He loved how Bray looked so peaceful when he was asleep and he looked so excited when he was awake. It absolutely broke Pranks' heart to see Bray sad and he swore any time anyone hurt Bray they would never live to see how their actions would play out.

Bray gave a small hum in his sleep, cuddling closer to Pranks with a smile. Pranks couldn't stop the grin that appeared on his face at that. He very gently played with Bray's curly deep brown hair, the lighter highlights only showing more in the direct sunlight. Bray leaned into his hand with a happy hum, smiling a bit more.

God, he was so gorgeous. Especially with Pranks' leather jacket on top of him like a blanket, covering his light yellow and pink sweater he was wearing. Bray was what most would call a pastel boy while Pranks was pretty bad boy style- cliche, I know, but they loved each other and that's what mattered.

And how could Pranks possibly forget all of the teasing he got from his siblings about not only liking his sibling's best friend, but also a pastel boy.

But no matter what anyone could possibly say about them, it was worth it.

Every time they had to help each other through something. Every time they went to the other for comfort. Every time they went to get candy at midnight because they couldn't sleep. Every time they would go to the park to watch the fishes and swans and geese and ducks as they swam in the lake. Every time they had a small disagreement. Every time they thought for sure the other would break up with them...

It always led to some of the happiest memories either of them had ever and will ever have.

Pranks couldn't help but reminisce over all of those lovely memories he had with Bray. There was no way he would ever forget any of these.

And Pranks couldn't feel more complete then right here in this hammock.