#my brain is so rotted i need to make a fan comic with these two

[mvtilators]

yup. im cooked

[neonscandal]

something I wanted to understand, the author said that satoru was quite a womanizer, but then he said that geto was much more popular among women than satoru I didn't understand

Technically, the author said that they didn't see Gojo being faithful to one or a certain woman not that he was a womanizer.

With what we know about Gojo (and Gege Akutami's trolling ways, for that matter), I think that's up for interpretation.

FAN INTERPRETATION

Fans really took that sentiment and kind of ran with it because, to us, Gojo is high spec in every way. Canonically good looking, tall, competent at like.. everything according to Akutami, strong and presumably loaded. Of course someone like that would be a womanizer, right?

Except Gojo is an oversized child who still kinda refers to Digimon in conversation and primarily hangs out with 16 year olds. People project a lot of their BS onto him because they can't imagine ticking all those boxes and not being an asshole. But he’s a corny dork who is seemingly impervious to the outright disdain of most of the people around him. IT’S COMICAL. Personally, I think this interpretation is incorrect, demonstrably.

The other side of the fandom is naturally like... well of course he couldn't stay faithful to one woman. He's been faithful to Geto for ten years! I think we know what camp I've pitched my tent in *gestures vaguely to the rest of my blog* Especially when you bear in mind that Gege Akutami specifically designed Gojo and Geto to be intrinsic complements of one another.

CANON

I'm not so SatoSugu addled (once the brain rot sets in, it's terminal) that I am unable to disclose the secret third way we can interpret this. Canonically, when we look at Gojo as a character... it almost makes sense to assume he's simply not interested in dating at all.

Empirically finds it hard to relate to others

Even when he does care for others, he's still emotionally shallow and aware of it

Gojo clan leader with all associated unpleasantries and responsibilities from a young age

Single benefactor to two children; assumes direct responsibility over two more by staving off their execution

First line of defense for all of jujutsu society

Has a grand design of toppling said jujutsu society

Has experienced devastating loss which informs the grand design of his life's mission and he's always plotting, even when it comes to the seemingly altruistic act of "adopting" the Fushiguro kids or pressing Yuta and Yuji to learn under his care. When you consider that context, it furthers the idea that he's pretty divorced from emotion. Like, he wants them to have a childhood but its still at the pleasure of his convenience and ultimate purpose.

LOOK at this gorgeous, gorgeous boy from pop layer art because I need it and, when I covet, you must also covet. Edit: I'd accidently copied the wrong link there! It's been fixed 💙

In universe, we've seen maybe two canonical couples: Yuta & Rika and Hakari & Kirara (to be animated). This supports the fact that Gege's not really concerned with injecting "romance" into the plot unnecessarily. Undeniably and supporting the SatoSugu agenda, however, is the fact that JJK 0 very much aligned Gojo & Geto with Yuta & Rika with the theme coming to a head in season 2 with Gojo's sealment. For clarity, I mean how love ultimately cursed Rika and Geto after death by Yuta's begging her not to leave and Gojo not properly disposing of Geto's body. Love turned Rika into a curse and allowed Kenjaku to swoop in on Geto.

GETO'S POPULARITY

Geto is, quite literally, popular with everyone in universe and that was before he became a cult leader... which also indicates a predilection for popularity, I guess? As a character, he is principled, thoughtful, gentle and strong. I think, collectively, we tend to toil over the fact that Gojo spent more time missing Geto than he actually knew him. But... that's the same for Shoko and Nanami. After Geto's defection, Nanami couldn't forsake him even if he morally couldn't approve of his actions. Over ten years later as the night parade of a hundred demons is set to take place, Yaga starts saying something along the lines of finally getting rid of the scourge that is Suguru Geto and Shoko makes it a point to leave. I think it's because, after everything, she still holds affection and pity for Geto and would rather not hear him being bad-mouthed for breaking under the pressure of things.

He was the best of them, after all.

[tyrantonutx]

Looking for RP Partner(s)!

Hey, hi, how's it goin'?

I'm Tyrant, 30+ s/they, and this is a Take Two attempt at finding like-minded folx, so if you happen to see a similar looking post floating around (unlikely but possible), I am in fact one and the same Tyrant, I'm just too damn impatient to wait on tumblr to fix my original blog.

ANYWAY.

I'm hoping to find some partner(s) interested in Discord RP, because I am in fact a tumblr Baby (despite the original blog being...several years old...) and the formatting on tumblr rp blogs makes me Nervous.

I've been roleplaying in various capacities on forums, discord, and chat (throwback to AOL Instant Messenger amirite?) for approximately two decades and some change. I tend to write in a casual cadence as one might suspect, and I like to adapt my replies to the thread (anywhere from several sentences to a few paragraphs is my norm). I generally prefer CANON x CANON ships, at least starting out, to get a feel for how we come at characterization and plot together before we dip into OC territory. I'm involved in a few fandoms that may in fact be wastelands but, hey, you miss every shot you don't take, so here I am!

What follows is a list of fandos, characters, and ships I'm ACTIVELY looking for, the things that make my brain buzz in all the good ways. I'm down for hearing out any plots you might have in your lovely beating hearts (or shriveled little black ones, no judgment here!) or working out plots together based on all the good things that come from two rambling fans throwing head canons and "OK BUT WHAT IF"s at each other til something sticks.

If any of these strike you as fun, or if you just think I'm gosh darn neat and wanna chat me up for the thrills, please like this post, message me here on tumblr, or send me a friend request on discord (@tyrantonut)! I'm shy af and terrible at reaching out first, thank you hereditary anxiety and Burnt Out Gifted Kid syndrome, so sometimes I need that lil nudge.

...right! The fandoms! (Please note that while I have listed characters for me vs. for you, I'm actually pretty flexible on these! I just think I write some sides better than others.)

FANDOMS

The Boys (AU preferred)

Butchie -- Billy Butcher x Hughie Campbell

Stephen King's It (Muschietti AU preferred)

Reddie -- Richie Tozier x Eddie Kaspbrak

Stranger Things (Aged up AU preferred)

Byler -- Mike Wheeler x Will Byers

Harringrove -- Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington

Steddie -- Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson

Hannibal (NBC)

Hannigram -- Hannibal Lecter x Will Graham

Marvel Universe (Comics & Movieverse)

Spideypool -- Wade Wilson x Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield)

Spiderprowl -- Aaron Davis x Peter B. Parker

Mysterio/Spiderman -- Quentin Beck x Peter Parker (Tom Holland, preferably aged up)

Starkmonger -- Tony Stark/Erik Killmonger

Hazbin Hotel / Helluva Boss Universe

Huskerdust -- Angel Dust x Husk (Overlord Husk AU has given me brain rot)

Chaggie -- Charlie Magne x Vaggie

RadioApple -- Alastor x Lucifer

Stolitz -- Blitzo x Stolas

Fizzarozzie -- Fizzarolli x Asmodeus

Glee

Puckurt -- Noah 'Puck' Puckerman x Kurt Hummel

[toki-macross]

Welcome to Brain Rot...

Enjoy your stay... So... Brain was wondering. How chaotic it would be if some of the Into the Spiderverse (which I really need to see, so forgive any inaccuracies just know things from outsiders perspective, and old comic fan) Interacted with the Batfam. As it is already established by PandaRed, that Bruce would adopt Spiderman. XD But my brain started this train with the idea of Spider Gwen, and Spoiler... Two blond crime fighters, causing so much havoc together. And it got me thinking other interactions. Spiderman 2099, being a techy and from the future, might get all of Tim's and Barbara's attention. Knowing what to hack in the future would be important XD Also Figure since, (Miguel? Forgive, and correct me Spiderfans) seems like an intellectual, maybe he and Jason would trade book recommendations. And maybe Punk Spider, and Disco(Night)Wing might get along? Dunno much about Punk Spider other then his costume. Though all Spiders do seem gymnastic-y enough, that might make Dick appreciate them... or want to compete against them. Or both. ... Probably both. Milo and Damian might get along, as well as Damian would love to secretly love on Spidercat. And to round it out, Two tired Dad's, in Adult Parker, and Bruce. Sipping on mugs with "Universe's Ok'est Dad" for Bruce, and "Alternate Universes Ok'est Dad" For Peter. Though.... MJ and Alfred teaming up to feed the horde, could be super cute. And Mayday might love Alfred. Totally see him trying to learn to do things upside down, because she wants to spend more time. And well, probably isn't the first time. They re-enforced all the chandeliers before because of a 'certain' Robin.... So, at least the Manor is somewhat equipped XD

[dg-outlaw]

X-Men '97: Episode 1 Thoughts: Do I Like Cyclops Now?

Minor spoilers for Episode 1

First off, is it just me and all the brain rot from the internet and things I've seen and read in my life, but did the voice actor read that line a little too bedroom-y? And yeah, I heard that line several times via Spotify ads, so it wasn't just a a one-time thing.

"Mr. Summers, save that energy for the after party in the Danger Room."

All jokes aside, I really did enjoy the first episode and outside of knowing I was watching something new, it felt like I was jumping right back into the series like no time had passed.

A few things I really liked:

As mentioned in a previous post, I wasn't a big fan of Cyclops growing up. To me, the clean cut, handsome, by-the-book boy scout was never appealing, but damn did they make him badass in this episode. From the way he used his optic blasts in the opening to move and dodge, to his Johnny Utah 'Point Break' style who needs a freakin' parachute scene toward the end (IYKYK), I have a new respect for Cyclops.

Storm getting some respect on her name and her abilities. While she got knocked out in the beginning I appreciated when the sentinel recognized her as an Omega-level mutant when she made her entrance during the final battle. That along with her lightning turning the desert sand into glass was just awesome. As a kid, Storm always seemed like a cool character, but in the show she'd often make a grand entrance and then get knocked out by a tree branch or something two seconds later. To quote Leslie Jones from everyone's favorite 'Ghostbusters' movie, "Okay, I don't know if it was a race thing or a lady thing, but I'm mad as hell."

I loved the teamwork at the end and how it also showed that each of them were badass. In the old series if more than one sentinel showed up they were screwed, but this time there were at least half a dozen or more and the X-Men just kicked ass--as they should.

In relation to #1 and #2, I hope we see more unique and comic-centric uses of the characters' powers rather than them being nerfed for plot reasons, though I'm still look at you Jean Grey. Every. Single. Time. She uses Cerebro. It's like watching someone go back to a toxic ex. "This time they won't hurt me. This time it'll be different." Girl... That or someone needs to run that software update Charles kept skipping. At least show Jean ordering pizza on Cerebro so that we know it works properly and mind freak outs are not the norm.

That said, I do hope this show evolves a bit as it did in the first episode. While my nostalgic brain loves the old-style animation, the returning voice actors, and other stuff, I would like to see the show grow beyond what it was. The dialogue is a little cheesy in some parts (again, like it was back in the day), and the character interactions are a bit clunky at times, but I would like to see the show slowly become something new-ish rather than just a strict adherence to what it was. Many great animated shows have come along since this series in the 90s and I would hate for the writers to feel bound by some time-capsule of nostalgia. I'm happy with a slow burn evolution, but I think for it to have success it will have to evolve beyond a purist fanfic of the original with just a few added cool factor scenes.

[findroleplay]

To read about my preferences, writing style and rules (I guess??), see here! Pretty please with sprinkles on top♡

I will not respond through likes/interaction on the post. Instructions on how to contact me are at the end.

|CanonxOc|Doubles|Fandom|

Fandoms I'm Seeking:

This is solely an AU search! Keep that in mind thank youuuu

Spiderverse (Priority)

Overwatch

Resident Evil

Hello! I am Chainsaw or Fami, whatever you wanna call me.

|20|She/Her|EST|

I write, MxF, M//, F//

I prefer to write on Discord, I also primarily dabble in Canon/OC (doubles ehehe). I also prefer that anyone I write with is 18+ for my own comfort. NSFW can come about, but ideally it's not the main topic.

I’m currently in college, my semester has started! So activity varies but, largely I'll be in ooc if needed. I don't shut up if given the room. I will say that my posting time may be boiled down to once a week/twice a week, it all depends on my assignments and workload. I strongly ask, no beg, of you not to nudge/bump/or poke me. It's a zero tolerant thing due to past experiences.

I do adore ooc and getting to know my partners. I do play a few games so I’m happy to add anyone to my friends list. I love making fan art of our characters + ships, chatting about head canons, playlets, etc ,etc. I don’t shut up! I love babbling about stupid stuff, I am insane!

Today, I'm asking for some AU related content, a bit tired of direct canon especially since I get burnt out easy on it lololol. So, here are some ideas for AUs regarding each fandom, please keep in mind that this is just want I want for myself! I can do anything (within reason) for your side <3

Fandom Info + Interests

Spiderverse

Okay guys, DONT LAUGH, but what I have in mind is something...with merfolk. There's a bunch of prompts I've seen regarding a mermaid AU and it's been rattling in my head. I have like things written down for like possible world ideas n stuff.

Characters I'm seeking: Miguel O'Hara, Peter B Parker

>If someone could write something poly for those two with me, you have my heart <3

Characters I can write: Gwen Stacy (selective), Miles Morales, Hobie Brown, Spot (Jonathan Ohnn) Pavitr Prabhakar, Lyla, Peter B Parker. A lot more, just ask!

I've lifted the Miguel ban, I'm willing to write him in this AU. Especially if it's with him being the merman cuz...I have ideas.

I have interest in wanting to write Hobie (really want to practice his muse), Lyla and Pav the most, mostly because all those little fics and comics I write are rotting my brain. But seriously, I'm happy to write anyone, I want to better my muses!!

Overwatch

So, I have this oc that in the ow verse, is like a omnic leaning towards the human side in physical characteristics. So I was thinking something with a dystopian world similar to Detroit: Become Human? Also would be for doing something with the Junkenstein canon...I HAVE IDEAS

Characters I'm seeking: Cole Cassidy <33333

Characters I can write: Literally anyone, I've written Overwatch a lot during the prime days. HOWEVER, I do have a banned muse list. It's pretty short. Not cuz I'm a hater but because I've written them soooo much, too much.

Resident Evil

Kinda feeling a RE muse coming up, don't have much ideas AU wise for this. Can probably do the regular canon with this but yk.

Characters I'm seeking: Carlos Olivera, Leon Kennedy

Characters I can write: Anyone, just ask <3

If this has interested you:

Shoot me a DM!

Just DM me, I hate cold calling people.

-

[findyourrp]

To read about my preferences, writing style and rules (I guess??), see here! Pretty please with sprinkles on top♡

🌸

I will not respond through likes/interaction on the post. Instructions on how to contact me are at the end.

|CanonxOc|Doubles|Fandom|

Fandoms I'm Seeking:

This is solely an AU search! Keep that in mind thank youuuu

Spiderverse (Priority)

Overwatch

Resident Evil

Hello! I am Chainsaw or Fami, whatever you wanna call me.

|20|She/Her|EST|

I write, MxF, M//, F//

I prefer to write on Discord, I also primarily dabble in Canon/OC (doubles ehehe). I also prefer that anyone I write with is 18+ for my own comfort. NSFW can come about, but ideally it's not the main topic.

I’m currently in college, my semester has started! So activity varies but, largely I'll be in ooc if needed. I don't shut up if given the room. I will say that my posting time may be boiled down to once a week/twice a week, it all depends on my assignments and workload. I strongly ask, no beg, of you not to nudge/bump/or poke me. It's a zero tolerant thing due to past experiences.

I do adore ooc and getting to know my partners. I do play a few games so I’m happy to add anyone to my friends list. I love making fan art of our characters + ships, chatting about head canons, playlets, etc ,etc. I don’t shut up! I love babbling about stupid stuff, I am insane!

Today, I'm asking for some AU related content, a bit tired of direct canon especially since I get burnt out easy on it lololol. So, here are some ideas for AUs regarding each fandom, please keep in mind that this is just want I want for myself! I can do anything (within reason) for your side <3

Fandom Info + Interests

Spiderverse

Okay guys, DONT LAUGH, but what I have in mind is something...with merfolk. There's a bunch of prompts I've seen regarding a mermaid AU and it's been rattling in my head. I have like things written down for like possible world ideas n stuff.

Characters I'm seeking: Miguel O'Hara, Peter B Parker

>If someone could write something poly for those two with me, you have my heart <3

Characters I can write: Gwen Stacy (selective), Miles Morales, Hobie Brown, Spot (Jonathan Ohnn) Pavitr Prabhakar, Lyla, Peter B Parker. A lot more, just ask!

I've lifted the Miguel ban, I'm willing to write him in this AU. Especially if it's with him being the merman cuz...I have ideas.

I have interest in wanting to write Hobie (really want to practice his muse), Lyla and Pav the most, mostly because all those little fics and comics I write are rotting my brain. But seriously, I'm happy to write anyone, I want to better my muses!!

Overwatch

So, I have this oc that in the ow verse, is like a omnic leaning towards the human side in physical characteristics. So I was thinking something with a dystopian world similar to Detroit: Become Human? Also would be for doing something with the Junkenstein canon...I HAVE IDEAS

Characters I'm seeking: Cole Cassidy <33333

Characters I can write: Literally anyone, I've written Overwatch a lot during the prime days. HOWEVER, I do have a banned muse list. It's pretty short. Not cuz I'm a hater but because I've written them soooo much, too much.

Resident Evil

Kinda feeling a RE muse coming up, don't have much ideas AU wise for this. Can probably do the regular canon with this but yk.

Characters I'm seeking: Carlos Olivera, Leon Kennedy

Characters I can write: Anyone, just ask <3

If this has interested you:

Shoot me a DM!

Just DM me, I hate cold calling people.

.

[splattacktastic]

RP Interest post┊┊┊✧ AU Edition

To read about my preferences, writing style and rules (I guess??), see here! Pretty please with sprinkles on top♡

I will not respond through likes/interaction on the post. Instructions on how to contact me are at the end.

|CanonxOc|Doubles|Fandom|

Fandoms I'm Seeking:

Spiderverse (Priority)

Overwatch

Resident Evil

Hello! I am Chainsaw or Fami, whatever you wanna call me.

|20|She/Her|EST|

I write, MxF, M//, F//

I prefer to write on Discord, I also primarily dabble in Canon/OC (doubles ehehe). I also prefer that anyone I write with is 18+ for my own comfort. NSFW can come about, but ideally it's not the main topic.

I’m currently in college, my semester has started! So activity varies but, largely I'll be in ooc if needed. I don't shut up if given the room. I will say that my posting time may be boiled down to once a week/twice a week, it all depends on my assignments and workload. I strongly ask, no beg, of you not to nudge/bump/or poke me. It's a zero tolerant thing due to past experiences.

I do adore ooc and getting to know my partners. I do play a few games so I’m happy to add anyone to my friends list. I love making fan art of our characters + ships, chatting about head canons, playlets, etc ,etc. I don’t shut up! I love babbling about stupid stuff, I am insane!

Today, I'm asking for some AU related content, a bit tired of direct canon especially since I get burnt out easy on it lololol. So, here are some ideas for AUs regarding each fandom, please keep in mind that this is just want I want for myself! I can do anything (within reason) for your side <3

Fandom Info + Interests

Spiderverse

Okay guys, DONT LAUGH, but what I have in mind is something...with merfolk. There's a bunch of prompts I've seen regarding a mermaid AU and it's been rattling in my head. I have like things written down for like possible world ideas n stuff.

Characters I'm seeking: Miguel O'Hara, Peter B Parker

>If someone could write something poly for those two with me, you have my heart <3

Characters I can write: Gwen Stacy (selective), Miles Morales, Hobie Brown, Spot (Jonathan Ohnn) Pavitr Prabhakar, Lyla, Peter B Parker. A lot more, just ask!

I've lifted the Miguel ban, I'm willing to write him in this AU. Especially if it's with him being the merman cuz...I have ideas.

I have interest in wanting to write Hobie (really want to practice his muse), Lyla and Pav the most, mostly because all those little fics and comics I write are rotting my brain. But seriously, I'm happy to write anyone, I want to better my muses!!

Overwatch

So, I have this oc that in the ow verse, is like a omnic leaning towards the human side in physical characteristics. So I was thinking something with a dystopian world similar to Detroit: Become Human? Also would be for doing something with the Junkenstein canon...I HAVE IDEAS

Characters I'm seeking: Cole Cassidy <33333

Characters I can write: Literally anyone, I've written Overwatch a lot during the prime days. HOWEVER, I do have a banned muse list. It's pretty short. Not cuz I'm a hater but because I've written them soooo much, too much.

Resident Evil

Kinda feeling a RE muse coming up, don't have much ideas AU wise for this. Can probably do the regular canon with this but yk.

Characters I'm seeking: Carlos Olivera, Leon Kennedy

Characters I can write: Anyone, just ask <3

If this has interested you:

Shoot me a DM!

Just DM me, I hate cold calling people.

[rhysstrongforksfagswag]

gonna copy my mutual here and ask for W A I N L O C K (for the ask meme)

W: Moxxi (Borderlands), Enid Sinclair (Wednesday), Rahne Sinclair (X-Men), Samwise Gamgee (Lord of the Rings), Mercy (Overwatch)

A: After carefully consulting with the council (/hj) the current verdict is Timoxxi and Wenclair. There are many many options however.

I: Given that I have actual trauma relating to some fandoms, I could go for the low-hanging(?) fruit and pick one of them, but I think I’ll instead go for a deep cut and pick the Dear Evan Hansen fandom. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really a massive fan of the musical to begin with, but fans of the musical really just took the Evan/Connor pairing and ran with it, to the point that when the movie adaptation came out loads of people who only knew about the musical tangentially were surprised that there wasn’t anything gay in it. They really reduced the entire show to one pairing and I’d almost admire that if it weren’t for the fact that it was comically missing the point of the entire show.

N: Probably TMGblr? From what I’ve experienced of it, it’s the right combination of chill about interactions and unhinged about the media.

L: Oh god everyone’s yelling at the same time about what they want. You can probably predict what Timothy and Rahne both want, and since they’re shouting the loudest I’ll share what they want. Unsurprisingly, Timothy wants content of him and his daughter, specifically the two of them at a baseball game together. Rahne wants someone to make something of him and his husbands.

O: I’m gonna do this with both my main playlist and my TMG playlist for shits and giggles. From the tmg playlist it’s gonna be Need More Bandages, which is straight up not a shippy song in the slightest (though it still is a banger), and even my ship-rotted brain cannot find anything. From the main playlist it’s Country Disappeared by Wilco, which is not a shippy song but it features the line “fold ourselves into each other’s guts”. Again, it’s not a shippy song which is disappointing for this question. I’m gonna cheat a bit and shuffle our “loving the bad boy” playlist and see if that yields anything. Ok, that’s Dominated Love Slave by Green Day so that’s obviously Timnisha no questions asked.

C: Ellie x FL4K. It’s an adorable pairing but I just don’t ship it in the way that other people I know do (probably because Timothy has memories that contradict that ship).

K: The only fandoms I engage any significant amount with are Borderlands and the Mountain Goats. The tumblr TMG hivemind is brilliant and wonderful and I love everything they make. Borderlands… well, my mutuals all have great opinions that’s for sure.

[why-this-kolaveri-machi]

whumptober day 3: manhandled/forced to knees/held at gunpoint

back to the batfam! this is more lighthearted to make up for how dark the last two stories were.

summary: dick runs into jason while on a mission in less-than-ideal circumstances. fortunately, dick has a plan.

warnings: plenty of swearing, non-explicit references to torture, and uh... that’s it? this is set in comics verse, but again a nebulous timeline because comics make my head hurt. also, i’ve never written comics!jason before, so do let me know if you think his voice sounds off.

manhandled/forced to knees/held at gunpoint

Everybody that knows Dick has always admired him for being the ‘man with the plan’ though if anybody really thought to ask--and he wishes they would ask, he wouldn’t mind imparting some hard-earned wisdom--he would say that’s very nice, but also bullshit. You can’t plan for everything; there are too many variables to anticipate, and you don’t want to lock yourself into something that makes you predictable. If Dick appears that way at all, it’s one part thinking-on-the-fly, one part training, one part experience, and three parts blind confidence. The key is being flexible, literally and figuratively.

Of course, it’s a bit harder when you’ve got your hands tied behind your back and someone’s trying to drown you in a tub of ice-cold water, but that’s just how the job goes. Dick’s had worse.

Just as he’s on the verge of passing out, he’s grabbed by his hair and pulled out. He struggles to keep his wobbly legs under him as the asshole who had just held his head underwater leers at him. “You know what that was for, Nightwing?” he asks. “Nothing. You have nothing to offer us other than dying in the slowest, most pathetic way possible.”

Dick huffs a laugh. “Well, if that’s all…”

He gets a punch to the ribs for that and loses all his breath for the second time in the last ten minutes. It wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t already have what he suspected were cracked ribs from the beating earlier that evening, and, coupled with the water torture, if his lungs weren’t already burning with every breath. He heaves and coughs, grateful for the first time for the icy water dripping from his hair, as it meant his captors couldn’t see the tears leaking down his face from the strain of merely trying to breathe normally.

“Well, if this isn’t a familiar sight.”

Dick’s grabbed by his hair again--and fuck if Dick doesn’t find that the most annoying thing about this whole fiasco--and dragged into a corridor. He makes a half-hearted attempt at escaping but receives a hard shove for his trouble, and his kneecaps crack loudly against the cement floor as he falls. He lifts his head, blinking away the spots in his vision, to see Red Hood walk languidly towards him.

“Don’t stop on my account,” Jason says. “The water torture looked like it was a lot of fun.”

“He’s all yours now,” the man behind him says, kicking Dick in the small of his back. Dick grunts, but doesn’t fall over. “Figured you’d know the best way to make him hurt,” his voice drops slyly, “given how you used to fight with him, before. Practically bosom buddies, I heard.”

Dick’s mouth twists in distaste and he scoffs before he can really help himself. He receives a smack to the head for that.

Jason shrugs. “I can make him scream, yeah,” he says. “But you know how it is: you torture a Bat long enough, you attract the rest of them. And then it just isn’t any fun anymore.”

“Yeah!” one of the other men pipes up. “There’s always another one of them. And they always find you.”

“They’ve got cameras and bugs comin’ out their asses!”

“Downright fuckin’ illegal--”

“So you’ve just gotta remember,” Jason interrupts loudly, “that they’re just human scum, like the rest of us. The sooner you put a bullet between their eyes and get on with your jobs, the better.” With that, he removes a gun from his holster and points it straight at Dick’s head.

Dick tenses, breaths wheezing between his gritted teeth. The cool, calm purpose in Jason’s movements is unnerving, even more so than any of his Pit-mad rages and previous attempts at fratricide. 

“He has a point,” one of the other men says slowly.

Jason smirks and clicks back the safety on his gun.

Dick’s about 60% sure he can avoid a fatal shot if he times his move exactly right, but surely Jason would be keeping that in mind? So maybe it’s a 30% chance--

“Wait,” says the man behind Dick, who seems to be the leader of the operation, “that’s too easy. I see your point, but Nightwing has ruined way too many operations of ours to go out just like that.” For fuck’s sake, there’s the hand in his hair again. He’s going to get a crew cut after this. “He still needs to suffer. I say we leave him here to slowly rot--he’s half dead right now, anyway.”

Jason narrows his eyes, his gun never wavering. “No, you don’t know these assholes like I do, you leave any of them alive you’ll--”

“I said we leave him here,” the leader growls, clearly smarting over Jason essentially taking over the operation and, you know, making points with his men. “We’ve taken everything off him, anyway. Let the other Bats find his frozen body--it’ll be a message.”

Jason rolls his eyes, but it’s an uncomfortably long moment before he finally clicks the safety back on and puts it back in his holster. “Whatever, man. Your funeral.”

They end up tying Dick’s handcuffed wrists to a hook on the wall, pulling his arms painfully behind him. His ankles are tied together as well, a heavy chain wrapped around them for good measure. Jason in particularly appears to take great pleasure in lashing the ties around Dick’s wrists as tightly as possible, the material biting bloody groves into Dick’s skin. For a brief moment, their palms touch. Dick looks away, unwilling to meet Jason’s eyes.

They leave him alone in the cold and damp, wheezing from the chill, the damage to his chest, the strain of his position, and what Dick’s pretty sure is a budding infection. When he hears the sounds of their boats leaving the harbour, he slumps his head back against the wall, presses the emergency beacon that Jason had pressed into his hand, and waits.

-

A week later, Dick’s resting in his room at the Wayne Tower penthouse, trying his best to sleep despite the tightness in his chest. He eyes the portable oxygen tank next to his bed; he isn’t the biggest fan of using it, but hey, apparently recovering from double pneumonia means doing a lot of things he isn’t terribly fond of, who would’ve thought?

Just then, his window creaks open and a hooded figure crawls in.

“You,” Jason says, straightening to his full, considerable height, “are an idiot.”

“Hi to you too, Jay.” Dick says cheerily.

“When you said you were going to sabotage their operation from the outside while I did it from the inside, I didn’t think it would mean get yourself captured and killed!” Jason throws his arms up, starting to pace. “And I’m standing there thinking, oh shit I might have to actually try and blow this motherfucker’s brains out because you have no sense of self-preservation!”

Dick coughs, then points out, “You didn’t have to. By the way, the fact that you had to be talked out of shooting me by Villain-of-the-week number 10? Kind of hurts.”

Jason deflates. “I knew they’d never let me kill you outright. They’re from Gotham, which means they’re more sadists than professional criminals.”

“Hurray for Gotham, I guess.”

Jason shakes his head. “Did you have any plan back there?”

“Of course,” Dick says, now serious. “You,”

Jason stares at him for a long, long moment before slumping into a chair by Dick’s bedside with a huge sigh. He loops the nasal cannula around Dick’s head and turns the oxygen tank on; the tightness in Dick’s chest slowly fades. “You know,” Jason says, “I think I might be ready for us to go back to being sworn enemies again. This shit is too stressful.”

Dick closes his eyes and smiles.

[aion-rsa]

How The Walking Dead: World Beyond Expands the Zombie Universe with Its Unique Teen Characters

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After its premiere was delayed by several months due to COVID-19, the two-season The Walking Dead spinoff series The Walking Dead: World Beyond finally makes its debut this week. The story expands the TWD universe in a unique way, taking place 10 years after the zombie outbreak and focusing on a predominantly teenage cast of characters. Unlike the battered groups of survivors from The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, these teens have been sheltered from walkers (or “empties,” as they’re called on this show) within the walls of a university in Omaha, Nebraska, a thriving colony that has afforded them a relatively normal, safe life post-outbreak.

But, as fans will learn from the very first episode, the Campus Colony (as it’s referred to) does have a seemingly precarious arrangement with the Civic Republic Military (CRM), whose ominous helicopters act as a narrative thread that ties the three shows together. It’s safe to say you’ll learn way more about this mysterious faction in World Beyond than ever before.

The show primarily centers on sisters Iris (Aliyah Royale) and Hope (Alexa Mansour), who leave the safety of the University in search of their father, brilliant scientist Dr. Leo Bennett (Joe Holt), who they’ve learned is somewhere in New York. Joining them on their mission are fellow student Elton (Nicolas Cantu), a resourceful scientist and historian (who also happens to know karate), and school janitor Silas (Hal Cumpston), a soft-spoken social outcast whose murky past has earned him a questionable reputation on campus. The teens are tailed by battle-tested adult guardians Felix (Nico Tortorella) and Huck (Annet Mahendru).

Last fall, I visited the show’s set in Richmond, Virginia, where filming was underway for episode 7 of the show (alas, there were no CRM helicopters in sight). The location was an old waterpark called Hadad’s Lake, which was appropriately creepy-looking. The abandoned facilities looked dreary and greyed-out under the looming rainclouds — the juxtaposition of a children’s park rotting in a post-apocalypse seemed to fit the show thematically as well.

Huddled around a table with other members of the press under a tent that sheltered our equipment from the occasional drizzle, we were joined by the cast members one by one to talk about their respective characters and what fans can expect from the show. Here’s what we learned:

Iris

“Iris is smart and caring and loving and doesn’t have a selfish bone in her body,” Royale says of her character. “She really wants to make sure that every single person that she encounters is taken care of and has what they need. At some point she realizes maybe it’s time to start doing things for herself and when she makes that switch, it is a roller coaster of events.”

Serving as the beating heart of the show, Iris is an overachiever on campus and a compassionate leader amongst her peers. She’s got a tight bond with Hope, and while Iris is generally viewed as the more straight-laced, level-headed of the two, the absence of her father compels her to make the drastic decision to venture out beyond the University walls for the first time.

“The mission for Iris is: where’s my dad at?” Royale explains. “I want my dad back. The other side of that is, Iris is following in his footsteps. She’s super involved in science, biomedical engineering, all of those things that her father’s brain is being used for…that’s exactly the path that she’s going towards. Saving the world.”

At the University, though the majority of students haven’t encountered empties, they’re trained by instructors like Felix to defend themselves against the dead, including with a weapon called an S-pole, a staff with a retractable blade at one end. Iris is a fast learner, although she quickly discovers that no amount of training can actually prepare her for the horrors that await in the real world.

“She’s got a lot of information stored up here,” Royale says as she points at her head. “But the minute that she encounters the first walker, it’s this just absolute fear. As much as you learn, as many books as you read, you could never feel [that fear] until you’re in that moment. You’ve got your four best friends next to you, and it’s you or the empty.”

Hope

“She doesn’t give a shit about anything,” Mansour says of the rebellious Hope. “She lives for today and I mean, realistically, she doesn’t think she’s going to live tomorrow. She’s pretty sure she could die at any moment and I don’t think she really cares. So she gets herself in trouble, doesn’t care what people say, and is always doing the opposite of what Felix tells her to do. It’s kind of ironic that her name is Hope because she really doesn’t have any of it.”

Hope and Iris have a tight bond despite their polar opposite temperaments and outlooks on life. “They’re complete opposites,” says Mansour. “Iris is the one that will be off studying until four in the morning while Hope would probably be partying until four in the morning. But they love each other. I think they really do balance each other out. Iris will bail Hope out whenever she is sneaking out and doing stuff that she should not be doing, and Hope would take a bullet for her sister.”

As for Hope’s lack of, well, hope, in human beings and their future prospects on the planet, Mansour made it clear that this speaks to a pressing real-world issue of mental health that affects teens everywhere. As someone who was bullied for her ethnicity (she’s half Hispanic, half Egyptian), she feels World Beyond and the platform it’s given her will allow her to help teenagers who are struggling like she has.

“I really hope they realize that they’re not alone,” Mansour says. “I think it’s important for kids who are watching this to take away that it’s okay to be open about what you’re feeling and it’s okay to feel what you’re feeling and it’s not the end of the world, it is going to get better.”

Felix

“Felix is the head of security detail at the university,” says Tortorella, who also reveals that his character identifies as queer. “He is kind of an adopted son to the girls’ dad. He had a troubled childhood dealing with his family coming to terms or not coming to terms with him being gay. He’s very much a hero. He protects the people around him in a way that’s contradictory to the stereotype of like what a gay character usually is on television. And that’s why I was really excited to play this role.”

Tortorella, who identifies as genderfluid, felt drawn to the show and the The Walking Dead franchise for its strong representation of marginalized communities. “The diversity was a huge thing coming into it, you know? We have people from all walks of life on this show. Genders, sexualities, race, religions. It was a no brainer for me.”

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Hope and Iris’s father took Felix in as family after the outbreak, and Felix’s made a promise to take care of the girls at all costs. Unlike the sisters, he and his partner Huck have seen action outside the Campus’ walls, which makes him a formidable fighter. When Iris and Hope escape the walls of the colony, Felix and Huck quickly give chase.

“Yeah, he’s in full dad mode all the time with these kids,” Tortorella explains. “I think that like after the first episode, the stakes are at maximum levels in terms of our safety and our fight for survival. And Felix is the one that has the most training in terms of any sort of military background that we know of.”

Huck

Huck is Felix’s right hand, dear friend, and confidant. She sports a sizable scar across her cheek, which all but confirms she’s been through some tough shit.

“Huck comes from a Marines background,” Mahendru says. “When you first meet Huck, you just know the scar. There’s a story [behind it]. She is an independent thinker. She’s really tough, but she’s really hopeful and really positive and warm and is adamant about bringing the world back to what it was. She wants as many people to live as possible.”

As for Huck’s relationship to the sisters, Mahendru says that she has a deep connection with Hope, who she sees herself in. “She was a bit of a rebel when she was young, [too]. They have a big/little sister relationship, and I train her how to fight. I want her to survive out there. I mean I’m going to send her out there and so I’m responsible for her. I really believe in her potential and I feel her pain. I’ve gone through the same similar things.”

Elton

“Elton is a very intellectually curious child,” Cantu says. “He has been sheltered from the world outside with a bunch of horrible, horrible things happening out there. So he’s kind of trying to understand the world for what it is and how nature is changing along with most of humanity. He’s on a journey to analyze and document and just see what this new world is about.”

A classmate of Iris and Hope’s who offers to join them on their quest to find their father, Elton admits that the outside world isn’t exactly foreign to him.

“Elton has been outside of the walls before because he does a lot of experiments outside,” Cantu explains as he motions to the mustard-colored, corduroy suit he’s wearing. “It’s bite proof, which Elton learned through controlled experiments. So he kind of has a little bit of a glimpse as to what the outside world is. But once he steps out there, it’s intense.”

Cantu says he sees a lot of himself in Elton. “I really do relate to Elton. I mean, he’s kind of got this view of the world where he’s very blunt with it. He knows a bunch of the threats out there. He realizes stepping outside of those walls is going to be a life changing thing. The world is brutal and he has just come to accept that. So if it’s coming down to survival, he’s ready, he’s prepared, he’s got everything on lock. And I feel like if I was in an apocalypse, I would prepare similarly to Elton.”

Silas

“He’s been shunned by the particular community they’re in. People refer to him as a monster or just completely shun him. It’s like a Boo Radley type of character,” Cumpston reveals about the quiet Silas. “No one knows his exact story, you know what I mean? When kids hear something then they exaggerate and that type of thing.”

Cumpston, a young Australian actor and filmmaker also feels he relates to Silas. “Yeah, everyone’s felt like an outcast. There’s definitely been situations where I’ve felt like an outcast. I’d be a funny kid at school. I joined a soccer team and there’s already these different funny personalities [on the team] and I’m just sort of like the quiet kid who’s also not good [at soccer]. I’m like, ‘Oh, fuck. I need to make up for it by being funny but there are no opportunities.’” 

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Unlike his three teenage counterparts, Silas isn’t a student at the school, and he’s got little excuse not to join the others on their quest, seeing as he hasn’t got much going for him at the Campus.

“He’s just a janitor who no one speaks to and everyone refers to as a monster,” Cumpston says. “When he walks past people on campus, you can hear that people don’t have very nice things to say about him. He catches wind that there’s an [opportunity] to prove to himself and these other people that he’s not a monster.”

The Walking Dead: World Beyond premieres on Oct. 4 at 10 pm ET on AMC.

The post How The Walking Dead: World Beyond Expands the Zombie Universe with Its Unique Teen Characters appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[beansthembo]

I need to do a bit of a vent about the new Star Wars movie. Spoilers below.

I’m having some trouble processing what happened. If you’re reading this, you probably are interested in my opinion on it, and you probably also know that I was a big fan of The Last Jedi. By no means was it a perfect movie, but it took the chance of distancing itself from the rest of the series by springing off of what was established in TFA and building something new. A lot of people weren’t too pleased by this, and there are plenty of legitimate criticisms, but being completely transparent, I can’t listen to most critics of it because most of the people I know in real life who didn’t like it are racist or misogynistic.

TLJ tried to introduce people to the idea that, in reference to the new canon, just because it’s new and different, doesn’t mean that it’s bad. Kylo’s/Ben’s line, “Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to,” finds meaning in this, though a bit extreme. TLJ was going to learn from the past films and move on, for better or worse. TROS is determined to wallow in its past. As a lifetime fan of Star Wars, I can’t bring myself to hate it outright, like many vocal critics of TLJ, but I find myself severely disappointed by the decisions made in it.

I’ve honestly spent too much time composing those last paragraphs, as if I’m a legit critic or reviewer. I’m just kind of going to present my nitpicks and criticisms as they come to me.

So, first a few nitpicks:

-The opening crawl seems... poorly composed to me. The first line is “The dead speak!” Correct me if I’m wrong, but they don’t usually use exclamations in the opening crawls. I know I just spent the last couple of paragraphs defending new ideas, but the opening crawl always seemed as though they were meant to present information formally from a neutral perspective. Not a major criticism, but it did bother me a bit.

-What happened to Kyle’s TIE Silencer? I mean, it could’ve been destroyed in the previous movie, but I don’t really remember that happening. Either way, it seemed to me that they made the decision to make his ship more similar to the Interceptor, as, like, a ‘safer’ choice, but I don’t see why they couldn’t have just had the same ship.

-The Falcon has a round dish again? You know, now that I’m thinking of it, the dish may have been blasted off in TLJ. I just was surprised by that.

I may add to that list later. the actual problems I had were:

-Rey is sort of obsessed with ‘earning’ Luke’s (and Anakin’s) old lightsaber. Which has been repaired, by the way. She doesn’t actually ‘own’ it, even though she’s been using it for the past two movies, she’s just been borrowing it from Leia. I was really looking forward to seeing her make her own (or already have her own) lightsaber, which she does, but she waits until the end of the movie to show it off. And it’s rad as hell! Wtf? why couldn’t she have been using that the whole time! It’s one of my favorite lightsaber designs now and they show it for a whole two seconds!

-They finally give Snoke a backstory, and it’s... that he was Palpatine’s puppet the whole time. I’m gonna say, not the worst backstory they could have done, but they really tried to make him just not matter at all. I mean, yeah, the way he was done off with in TLJ was pretty unceremonious, but I always felt that meant that the real big bad was meant to be Kyle all along. Instead, the Skywalker saga becomes the Palpatine saga. I’m not opposed to the concept of Palpatine surviving and attempting to resurrect the Sith, but that’s something I’d expect from a novel, not the main story of the final movie in the franchise. And, honestly, regardless of whether or not Snoke was secretly Plagueis, I always thought he was supposed to be some other ye olde sith master, not just some sort of failed clone(?)

-Kyle rebuilds his fuUcking helmet. Why? What purpose does it serve? He doesn’t even wear it most of the time. The longest period he wears it is when the First Order officers comment on it. He’s just being dramatic. Which, I suppose, would be in character, but after the scene in which he shatters it in TLJ, it seems pointless.

-Another nitpick, but when they expand upon Rey and Kyle’s ability to connect through the force, it seems a little... disjointed. I do like that they took the time to expand upon that, even though I thought Rey closing the Falcon’s ramp on him at the end of TLJ was symbolic of her cutting him off, the way they presented it seemed, well, off. Like, it makes sense if you take it at face value, but if you start to think about it at all, it sort of... weird. I dunno how to describe it. Like, they interact with each other’s environments, but can’t see what they can interact with until they interact with it, and they can trade items, and... yeah.

-The big one... Rey’s a Palpatine. Her father was Sheev’s son. (When did that happen, huh? Who’d want to get with that wrinkly mess?) Why the everloving fuck couldn’t Rey just have been Rey? Why did she have to be related to someone existing in the franchise already? JJ’s going around saying that this was his plan the whole time, which is bull fucking shit, because otherwise they would have communicated this to Ryan, and I’m pretty sure TROS was originally going to have another director in the first place, and ALSO I’m pretty sure JJ did say at some point that Rey’s parents only mattered to her. While I’m on the topic of fan theories and origins, nobody in the movies was ever concerned about who Snoke really was. They knew who he was-the Bad Guy. Nobody ever cared who the Emperor really was in 1983, so why was Snoke’s death and non-explained origins such a big deal? I have more conflicted thoughts than I can even put down, so i’m gonna move on.

-Oh, before I forget, they just completely write off Rose. She’s present, but they minimize her screen time. I get that a lot of people didn’t like her, and there are some valid criticisms of her that aren’t completely rooted in racism and misogyny, but I never found any problem with her. I actually felt she was pretty relatable. She meets a hero, trips over her own words, and then learns why you should never meet your heroes. Disillusioned, she’s about to turn him in but they come up with another plan, and together they visit a world full of people she joined the Resistance to get away from. I’ve got that same feeling about those sorts of things-while I do enjoy a decent amount of privilege, I still, you know, fight against the system that gave it to me. And I can’t stand to see people abuse others just because they don’t have that privilege, so hearing her speech about wanting to punch a hole through that city did mean a lot at some level. Then, at the end, when she’s like, “this is how we win. Not by fighting what we hate, but saving what we love,” I can even relate to that. It’s when, like, you explain to a kid how you hate something, and they jump on the bandwagon, and get real angsty, and then you’re like, “no no no that’s not what I wanted you to learn!” It’s hard to describe it with my rapidly deteriorating attention, but I never thought she was a bad character.

-DJ wasn’t in it! I mean, he wasn’t the most important character, but I still wanted to see him again.

-They have this fake out where they pretend Chewie was dead for a whole 20 seconds. I totally called it, too-the ship he was supposedly in blew up (or rather, Rey blew it up with force lightning accidentally), but since he didn’t die on screen in front of us, I knew it had to be a fake out. And it seems like the only reason for that was so they can find out that Hugs was the traitor, who is only betraying the First Order to see Kyle lose, which I mean fair, but then he’s unceremoniously killed off by the new big officer guy who we’ve never seen before but was supposedly one of the Emperor’s top men. I don’t think his name was even mentioned in the movie-or if it was, it had zero staying power. Also, they have this part where Threepio had his memory erased for a while before being backed up by Artoo. The lead up to it was very dramatic- Threepio’s generally been a comic relief character up to this point, and now he’s got to give his life for the cause (He had a translation of some Sith runes in his memory, but his programming prevented him from saying the translation aloud, and his memory needed to be wiped in order to access it), but as soon as his memory is wiped they do not give two shits that one of their best friends basically died right in front of them. Then Artoo brings him back and still no one cares.

-Poe and Finn do have a nice dynamic in the movie, but then we find one of Poe’s exes and he starts flirting with her and its like no Poe your husband’s right tHERE POE DON’T DO IT (and don’t dismiss this as shipper nonsense because John Boyega and Oscar Isaac both wanted FinnPoe to be a thing and acted through the movies like it was already don’t you say this is the first you’re hearing of this)

-The way that Rey defeats Palpatine is by crossing lightsabers in front of him to deflect his lightning?

-Reylo is canon NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (Insert the gif of Vader yelling no at the end of ROTS)

-Also why does it always have to be a planet destroying superweapon? I know legends did that a lot but there doesn’t always have to be one for there to be stakes.

I think there was other stuff, but my brain is too scattered at this point to make any more cohesive thoughts. I mean, there was a lot of stuff I did like about it- Lando’s back! And i think Wedge is too, but he was on screen for about a second and a half, so I couldn’t tell. It was confirmed that Leia had force training, and even had a lightsaber! And I do like that they’re taking some inspiration from Legends, but I’m pretty sure Dark Empire was not one of the most popular series’ from it. I also did like Ben seeing a vision of Han; It’s not entirely clear if it was a force ghost thing (I am of the belief that Han was at leas a little force sensitive) or if it was just Ben sort of coming to terms with his actions, but the scene was pretty well done in my opinion. Also, Rey taking the name Skywalker at the end. That was nice, like she chose her family.

Now I just remembered a couple of things-Finn was basically confirmed to be force sensitive, but the way they did it felt very ham-fisted. Like, they weren’t like “he felt a disturbance wink wink nudge nudge,” they were like “HERE IS SOME SUBTEXT THAT ISN’T ACTUALLY SUBTEXT SEE HERE” like they never outright say it but it would have been less insulting if they did. Also, they introduced a force healing thing, which has been a more of a thing in the games, but we’ve never seen it on screen before. But like, Rey dies at the end and Ben brings her back and then [REDACTED] and then he dies, even though, like, a lot of things. I don’t know I’ve been typing for way too long I need off.

Anyway, it felt good to vent, thanks for reading if you did. I give TROS 6.5/10.

[kastlenetwork]

Forgive me if you're getting this Ask twice-- I couldn't tell if it went through the first time. Thank you for agreeing to help me! I am a grad student working on a literacy learning project in which I need to immerse myself in a form of literacy that I do not have experience in. I am a reader of fanfiction and a huge fan of Kastle, so I decided that I would write my own Kastle fanfic. Would you and the Kastle community share with me what you as readers typically look for in a Kastle fanfic?

The first one did send through, but it’s totally okily dokily! I would also like to preface this by saying I was just sat here and I’d answered with this with an actually not horrific response and then my laptop died out of absolutely nowhere, :) without warning :) [which happens all the time, because my computer is dying in general, but still I’m miserable about the loss lololol anyway] – so, this one isn’t as well thought out.

I’m just gonna say that the main thing that I look for in Kastle fanfiction is close to canon characterization. We’re all different people with different eyes and ears and brains, so when we watch the show, obviously different things might stand out or feel more prominent in who they are, than other things to other people. So, I’m not bothered by different headcannons or anything like that. I mean, it’s fanfiction, that’s the point – I’m reading it to read that writers’ take and have a good time……or a bad time, depending on if the writer is trying to squeeze out hearts lolol. But, there’s a general base line for who the characters are that has to be met for me to really get attached to what I’m reading. I’m this way for any fanfiction for any couple, to be honest. But, it’s super prominent when dealing with Karen and Frank, for whatever reason. If they stray too far away – their characterization, their vibe, their dialogue – I start to slowly check out of what I’m reading. I might just flat out stop. And if they’re in a Different Scenario where one doesn’t want to focus too heavily on the heavy, how that’s adjusted to fit the more lighthearted piece.

I mean, take Frank for example. If I open a fic and he spends the entire thing absolutely miserable with no small bright spots, at all, that’s just as off-putting to me as him being some weird happy sunshine man. Because, Jon’s Frank Castle (and that’s all I can go on on Frank, at all, honestly. I’ve never read a TP or DD comic lol whoops) finds things amusing. I mean, he’s literally lying in a bed having a deal worked out for him to go to prison in Gen. Pop. and he’s making jokes about it. Karen’s screaming out at him that refusing to cooperate with her and his lawyers, so that they can help him, will do nothing but result in him failing to get answers to about his family and have him rotting in a cell. And his immediate response could be more misery and more doom and gloom, but instead he’s turned on impressed and amused by Karen’s outburst. He admires the blunt and fearless goddess before him the honesty and the blowup and he teases her choice of wording. He’s light in a moment where she literally just said the results of his actions might be that he never learns the truth and he’s taking delight in her explosion despite it. 

Yes, he’s angry. He’s violent. He’s depressed. But, sometimes he talks about his family and he’s smiling. He’s laughing. Does it more than likely melt back into his ever present grief? Absolutely. But, it doesn’t mean that show of levity isn’t there. And Karen’s character and characterization faces a similar path in the show, just in the flipped direction. The core of her is built around something traumatic and sorrowful, but her general demeanor is positive and determined. 

Frank is funny. Karen is funny. Frank is sad. Karen is sad. 

They’re feeling a lot of things at various times.

So, the main thing I look for in Kastle fic is the appropriate balance of that. If I feel like it’s too far off the mark, I more than likely won’t finish it. 

The second thing I look for ties directly into the main thing, which is simply the dialogue. How they talk to each other. Especially once it’s starts bleeding further into the actual romance aspect of the story and not just the build up. Frank’s not adverse to endearment – he’s obviously someone that cares EXTREMELY DEEPLY for those he loves. (To the detriment to the gangs of New York). And we’ve seen him call Leo “sweetie” and stuff, this sweet little girl that he gets a big soft spot for. But, we’ve also seen him talk about his wife on multiple occasions and give big romantic speeches about his wife, like when he and Karen were on a date sitting in the diner. He calls her “my old lady” and he says he would literally chop his arm off at the table if he could just have another moment with her and feel what he thinks Karen must feel for Matt (*coughs* k sure, Frank) and it’s all really depressing ‘cause he’s destroyed, but he and Karen are on their date wow what a date sitting there and he’s talking about love and it’s just such a good moment. 

He’s not gonna call Karen the things he called his wife, obviously, unless they’re general terms of endearment. But, I think it’s a good example of the way he talks. I look for as close to canon characterization on the way they speak. Like, if Frank starts calling Karen his “beloved” it’s suddenly not Frank anymore – it’s some guy who happens to be as hot, but there’s been a mind swap or something. If Karen’s calling Frank “sugar plum” I’m kind of scratching my head, because who’s that blonde lady that’s suddenly speaking, what’s going on?

And I think the final thing I look for is simply that Karen is given more agency in terms of the relationship they’ve got. Because, in TP1 and TP2, it’s very much Karen who’s standing there with her arms flung open going, “I want you to be in love with me, like I know you are! I see you pushing it away! I am in love with you! You are allowed to love and have a life! Have a life with me!!!!!” And then Frank basically trying to push her back to Matt for literally no reason. I think a part of this is just Frank himself in his constant sabotage mode, because that’s his entire life after his whole family was murdered. He’s on destruction path, even when he’s trying, in moments, to get out of it. But, I ALSO think part of it is just that they didn’t have Karen for the full season, either season, and, even before they knew Marvel Netflix was heading to the grave, the shows refused to appropriately connect and were instead taking the ’’’easier’’’ path. Because, it was made pretty clear that they’d put her in the whole show if they could, but only could get her for so much time, and they wrote for that time.

So, in fic, I look for Karen getting to have her feelings actually be on display, instead of just being there to bounce his feelings off of, because they didn’t have her for enough time in either season to go more deeper on her end, since she wasn’t actually their character. And for her to get to have more agency in what’s going down with all that wanting them to be in love stuff just feels crucial to me, at this point, seeing as Marvel refuses to just make my dreams come true and announce that they gave a shit about these shows and are bringing them into the fold with the same casts.

Other than those two things, which I consider to be fairly standard, and that one thing where it’s just my exhaustion with my girls always having to fix everything – I’m pretty open to anything in terms of actual story. (I’ll even read a pregnancy/baby fic if it’s well written – and I’m…adverse to fanfic about babies). I just want an appropriate balance of their individual traumas to the sass master’s that live inside them and appropriate dialogue to who they are as people.

(I’ve got a whole thing about what I look for in a fanfic in general, but it’s not specific to Karen and Frank – it’s just like….spaces and pacing, which doesn’t have much to do with this.)

\\\\

What do you all look for in Kastle fic?! Help @chaiteacookiesnglitter out and reblog this and put in your two cents about what you’re inherently looking for. :DDD

[evilwickedme]

@a-fourth-of-the-way-there honestly I'd love to but I don't know how to do so without frothing at the mouth. I get incoherent with rage about the goddamn killogy. I'll try my best, but I promise nothing.

So the Deadpool killogy is made of three parts: Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe, Deadpool Killustrated, and Deadpool Kills Deadpool. I have read the first two parts. I don't believe reading any of it is necessary, but certainly I got the point before I needed to rot my brain with any more quote-unquote "content" such as this.

I'm not gonna share screenshots from the killogy in this particular analysis because a. I don't have them and I'm certainly not rereading this crap and b. because there's so little to see. You'll often find that there are Deadpool "fans" who have never read a Deadpool comic - except for the killogy. I've been told by serious comic bros that it's the best Deadpool comic.

Frothing. At. The. Mouth.

Deadpool - Wade Wilson - is a character. He has a tendency for extreme violence and crass humor but he's also good with children, easy to hurt, a dedicated if bad friend, a good father, a terrible partner, a survivor, and a million other things besides. When he's well written, he's a complex look at mental illness, at the cycle of abuse, at the ways coping mechanisms can actively make your life worse. Even he's not well written, issues of morality - what is right and wrong? Is being right what you do, or what you are? Who is a hero? Is it a title, or a state of being? - are constantly brought up in his narrative.

The killogy treats him as a gimmick. Let's take the violent fourth wall breaking character with a ~~~~funky mental illness~~~~ and have him kill everyone! Just because!!!! It'll be fun, c'mon, won't you have fun seeing your favorite character be butchered for no reason other than to revel in violence for violence's sake???

Even when Wade is absolutely villainized for his mental illness, even when he's written as a horrific abuser or stalker, even when his narrative is flat and badly handled, he's still usually treated like a character, like a person. The Deadpool killogy treats him like a goddamn Facebook meme - meant for shock value and shock value only. People who pick up the Deadpool killogy won't have to do the one thing that you should do when you're reading: think. They won't have to, because the Deadpool killogy has no goddamn value, nothing to say, not about heroism, not about morality, not about mental illness, not about the cycle of abuse. It isn't even, in the long, proud tradition of Deadpool writers, particularly homophobic (although I bet I'm forgetting some horrific panel that I've blocked out or something). It's just violent, and gimmicky, and a waste of goddamn paper that so many Deadpool fanboys are convinced is the height of Wade's goddamn writing.

Fuck the killogy. If I could go back in time and prevent it from getting created, I fucking would.

Babe help it's two am and I'm ranting about how the Deadpool killogy did more damage to his character than any other comic he was ever in including the really ableist and sexist ones again

[roninreverie]

#RememberingRebels

In short: Rebels is what brought me back into the Star Wars fandom.

In long:

After ROTS was long gone and passed, I had soon drifted apart from my love for Star Wars. At one time I collected toys, knew all the names of the Jedi, prided myself in plastic lightsaber combat, and even dressed as Queen Amidala for Halloween—but gradually it faded and all was just a hazy nostalgic memory.

I dabbled in Clone Wars, but it was going to be many years before I would actually sit down to watch it.

Around this time, most of my highschool friends were “too cool” for Star Wars,  and most of my family didn’t watch it… so I didn’t really have many resources to learn about new content or geek out with people.

Fast forward, and suddenly I’m in college, out shopping with friends. I can remember the first time I learned about Rebels. I saw it as a poster hanging near the counter inside of Hastings. I believe my exact words were, “Ugh… They’re making an origin story for a StormTrooper? Pass…”

For the life of me, I don’t know why I thought Ezra was a StormTrooper, but Lord would I soon eat my words.

The season 1 finale of Rebels had already aired and I caught the tail end of it while waiting for another show to start. Ezra was asking Zeb if he knew they were a Rebel cell, then Ahsoka came down the ladder and I was like— “Oh…that’s Ahsoka from the Clone Wars series, huh?” It was enough to pique my interests enough to get Rebels on my radar.

I think it was a week or two later, but I got food poisoning and was sick at home for 2 days. By the second day, I wasn’t as tired and was more weak than nauseous, so I decided it was a good a time as any to binge watch something.

Somehow or another I ended up binging Rebels, and before I knew it, there was a switch laying dormant in my brain that flipped and started to remember everything I loved about Star Wars.

After falling in love with Kanera and wanting to learn how the lives of these characters would fair with the movies and timelines, I quickly became hooked. 

This would lead me to binge watch all of the movies again, then the Clone Wars series, and even the 2D Clone Wars episodes. 

I bought TONS OF MERCH, including an ultrasaber (which I would rather not discuss the price of). 

Before I knew it, I was creating fanfiction and fanarts, and fell into the “Dawn Syndulla” tag for quite a while. 

 I dug out my old toys (except my astromech collection which is missing and I am still upset), and soon I was even reading Star Wars novels and waiting impatiently for every Thursday when the new Kanan comic came out. (That week when there was a huge comic shipment semi wreck and I couldn’t read the new issue of Kanan was miserable…)

Then The Force Awakens came out, and soon after was Rogue One and Season 2 of Rebels…etc. I was back into Star Wars and needed someone to share all these new feels with! 

That’s when I got my recently obtained, but easily connected best friends all caught up on everything Star Wars related and we quickly started bonding over the movies and tv shows, watching them together whenever they came out… even now, when we have moved far away from each other and cant always meet up on air day like we used to.

Now here I am, suffering a slow 3 week demise as I wait each Monday to watch my favorite characters’ endings—my whole reason for getting back into Star Wars!!! Ending! 

And with the way I think about it on a daily basis, I don’t think it is physically possible for me to ever drift away from it again… I have never been so involved in a fandom than I have with this one and I have gained many new Tumblr friends from Rebels alone than any other tag I follow.

Thank you Rebels… It’s been an unforgettable ride!

This has been a LONG explanation of how Rebels affected me, brought on by this comment from the latest Star Wars Show. 

Feel free to share your thoughts on Rebels and how you discovered it/ what it did for you as a fan of Star Wars and tag it #rememberingrebels. 

See you guys on Monday! May the Force be with us all…

[daisies-and-lilies-castle-blog]

WLATE/AER Chapter 58 English Script

SPOILERS! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!

Hey there, fellow WLAE/AER fanatics! We present to you today this fan-made English Script of Chapter 58 of Lezhin webtoon “At the End of the Road” by Haribo, which is available in Korean. The English version will release soon. This script is to help tide over those of us who cannot wait to find out what happens next, and to provide an alternate translation to be used in conjunction with the official to provide us crazy-obsessed fans with a deeper understanding of the story. It is brought to you by Kirin, myself, and other helpful friends.

As most, if not all, of you know, there are parts of translating that are objective, and other parts that are subjective. No two translations will be identical. We hope that our version of this chapter’s dialogue and text will enrich your experience in reading “What Lies at the End”.

Please be sure to purchase the chapter to follow along. This script will not be comprehensible if you don’t follow along with the original chapter. It’s a comic. You have to see the pictures to know what’s going on.

FRIENDLY REMINDER: Please do not ask my collaborators or me for pirated raws. We read this webtoon atwww.lezhin.com/ko/comic/end for the Korean version andwww.lezhin.com/en/attheend for the English version. Thank you for understanding.

Do not use our translations in a way that hurts the author, or breaks the law.

AT THE END OF THE ROAD CHAPTER 58

By Haribo

English Script

*drip*

*drip*

*drip*

MIN JAEJUN: I’ll take you under my wing as my son again.

I’ll make sure that you are never wanting of anything from now on.

In return, I expect you to rid yourself of everything and everyone in your life up until now.

NARRATIVE TEXT BOXES: These were the first words ever spoken to me from this stranger who imperiously appointed himself as my “father”.

The essential condition, quid pro quo

was that I was to assume the identity of his son, who had been terminally ill since birth, when he died.

I held back the smile that was threatening to surface.

TEXT: This person had discarded my mother and me without hesitation, and here he was, ready to mess with other people’s lives once more as if they were of no consequence to him anyway.

MIN JAEJUN: I won’t pressure you.

If you actually have a brain, you’ll obviously agree to my terms.

NARRATIVE TEXT BOXES: I realized that despite everything he had done, it didn’t really matter.

If I missed this opportunity, I’d never get another chance to escape from here–

MIN JAEJUN: You don’t have to decide right away.

I’ll come back in two weeks.

WOOJIN: No.

You don’t need to come back in two weeks.

NARRATIVE TEXT BOX:  –which would make it impossible for a nobody like me to be able to change myself for the better.

 WOOJIN: I’ll, I’ll go.

THOUGHT TEXT BOXES: I have no reason to stew over the details.

So long as I pretend to have thrown it all away,

after patiently awaiting the right time, I can go back.

NARRATIVE TEXT BOX: In this house, I had to make sure that I endured everything without complaint.

 *Whack!!*

MRS. MIN: Incorrect, again?

Once more.

You truly are just as idiotic and worthless as your mother.

If you can’t memorize all of this, then know that you will not be able to sleep tonight until you do.

WOOJIN: …

NARRATIVE TEXT BOXES: The punishments weren’t really meant to improve my academics,

but rather, served as an outlet for her hatred and contempt.

*Shake…*

 *Clatter-*

*Clatter*

*Set*

MIN JAEJUN: When you set down your fork, turn it face-down,

and when you set down your knife, face the cutting edge toward your plate—haven’t you been instructed on how to do this before?

WOOJIN: …I apologize.

MIN JAEJUN: It seems you are still eating like a worthless beggar without even basic manners.

NARRATIVE TEXT BOX:  Those eyes were only concerned with constantly gauging whether I was worth anything to him as his son.

MIN JAEJUN: Since you do not possess the social grace required to dine at this table, you will excuse yourself and retire upstairs now.

Siwoon has requested to see you.

WOOJIN: …Yes.

*Place…*

NARRATIVE TEXT BOX: The most difficult circumstance of all to endure–

*Creak…*

SIWOON: …Why do you always just stand there and not say anything?

Don’t you have something to say to me?

NARRATIVE BOX: –was being in that room, inundated with the rotting stench of death.

 SIWOON: Mother mentioned this. That you’re a bastard with no basic sense of propriety, and that if it weren’t for this unusual situation, you’d never be welcome in our home.

The only reason you’re allowed to be here is because I was born with this kind of body. That being the case, you should be thanking me…

*Glance*

SIWOON: So why are you looking at me with those eyes?

NARRATIVE TEXT BOX: It was rotten to the core.

THOUGHT TEXT BOXES:

It’s okay.

I can endure it.

I can wait.

I just have to pretend to have moved on from my past

and await the perfect opportunity.

 WOOJIN THOUGHTS: Soon…

We’ll be able to see each other soon.

TIME JUMP, STILL FLASHBACK

*Bzzt..*

*Bzzzt…*

*Glance*

WOOJIN: Yes. I received your call.

PERSON ON PHONE: I…

WOOJIN: I am pretty certain that, barring extenuating circumstances, I instructed you to never contact me by phone.

PERSON ON PHONE: I am calling you under those circumstances.

PERSON ON PHONE: You must come to ㅇㅇ Hospital immediately.

WOOJIN: …!!

NARRATIVE TEXT: On the way to the hospital, my head teemed with countless thoughts.

NARRATIVE TEXT BOXES: There was no way it could be that serious.

I had even planned to make sure you were okay at a distance,

and then give my hired lackey hell for contacting me over such an inconsequential matter.

WOOJIN: …Fuck.

What the hell is this…?

NARRATIVE TEXT BOX: I could not believe my own eyes.

*Bite*

WOOJIN: FUCK…!!!

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS…!!!!

NARRATIVE TEXT BOXES: If I just wait,

I just had to wait,

*abrupt movement

“If I just wait, then my chance would surely come,” was what I had thought.

WOOJIN: Yoon Taemin!!!!!!!

Why are you just lying there!?!!!!

…Open your eyes…!!!!!

Fuck!!!

I said, open your eyes!!!!!!

WOOJIN: …Please,

Please, just open your eyes, Taemin-ah.

…Please?

Don’t just throw me away and leave me here.

NARRATIVE BOXES: If I desperately begged like that,

then surely, just like before–.

DOCTOR: …Let’s stop.

At this point, there is too much irreversible damage…

DOCTOR:  Time of Death: December 9th, 10:21 PM.

NARRATIVE TEXT BOX:–you’d come to save me once again.

*Heavy footstep*

*Shove*

*Place…*

WOOJIN: Yoon Taemin…!

WOOJIN: Don’t you dare go wherever you please.

I’ll never, ever, let you go.

 END FLASHBACK

*Press*

 WOOJIN: What are you doing?

TAEMIN: Ah,

I was waiting for you to get out so I could see you before I go…!

 *Choke*

 TAEMIN: Hey…!

This…!

This…!!

Why are you shirtless when it’s so cold?!!!

Are you trying to show off your body!?!!!

TAEMIN: That, looks nice…!!

I mean, it’s nice, but mine was great too, you know?!

TAEMIN: Just hurry up and put somethi…

…

…What is it, you,

did something happen?

WOOJIN: …A bad memory came back to me.

 WOOJIN: Yoon Taemin,

stay the night.

TO BE CONTINUED.