#no actually i did have some solid reasons to hate the way she was written AND framed

[haljathefangirlcat]

Also a shoutout to whoever wrote this very salty episode summary on the RH wiki.

OP, I will literally never be able to thank you enough for exposing me to this.

Robin Hood Rewatch - 3x09: A Dangerous Deal

Sigh.

I mean, where do I even start? I remember this episode being bad, but I’m astounded at how truly terrible it is. Really the most misogynistic trashfire of an episode this show ever had the misfortune to produce.

Ranting ahead. Quite a bit of it.

Continua a leggere

[ploppythespaceship]

Uglies - Movie Thoughts

On a whim, I decided to start re-reading the Uglies series a couple months ago -- so imagine my surprise when I found out it was getting a movie! Said movie is now out, and it was interesting to watch with the book being so fresh in my head.

Overall, it's... eh. It's not a complete train wreck, the way most critics seem to want you to think, but it is fairly bland and uninspired. It's a very watered down version of the book. It also has the misfortune of feeling like yet another a Hunger Games wannabe, despite the original book pre-dating that series by several years.

Spoilers for everything under the cut.

What I Liked

Based on reviews, I seem to be in the minority here, but I thought the cast was pretty good. People seem to hate Joey King as Tally, but I thought she was fine. Brianne Tju is easily the best in the cast, stealing the whole damn movie as Shay. Laverne Cox also gives an excellent performance as Cable, though I do think she should not have been given that role for other reasons (which I'll get into later).

I've also seen complaints that the characters aren't ugly enough. They talk about how ugly they are and point out their specific ugly features, when they don't actually appear that ugly. And I think everyone complaining about that is completely missing the point. The "Uglies" aren't actually ugly -- they're just normal people, who've been conditioned to think their imperfect features are hideous.

I was honestly unsure how the Pretties would be visualized -- in fact, I wondered if the book would just be fundamentally unadaptable because of it -- but they did a fairly good job. I think leaning on CGI and unnatural affectations was the right way to go. All the Pretties have this uncanny quality to them that suits the story perfectly.

The overall production design was solid as well. I like how Uglyville is all gray concrete and muted tones, while New Pretty Town is shimmering golds. Then upon reaching the Smoke, all the colors of nature finally come through. I do think that could have pushed that last one a little bit more, but it still works well.

Apart from that, I don't really have much to shout out. It's competently written, well-performed, well put together. I know it doesn't sound like I have much praise, but it is a competent movie.

What I'm Mixed On

By far the biggest change from the book is Peris becoming a Special. And I'm torn on it. On the one hand, it does make him a bigger part of the story -- he's honestly not much more than an inciting incident in the book. It gives him and Tally a unique arc that's probably the strongest through-line in the story. On the other hand, the Specials as a concept are so under-cooked (more on that later) and the actor is so bland that it still doesn't quite land the way it's supposed to.

What I Didn't Like

The pacing of this movie is by far its worst issue. We are flying through this plot. There is no time for anything to breathe, for characters to develop meaningful connections, for the bigger moments to feel earned. Some things do make sense to condense -- Tally's journey to the Smoke would have been incredibly boring without her internal monologue, so condensing most of that into a montage makes sense. But I do feel we lost too much. That's where a lot of Tally's characterization comes out, where we can see her bravery and ingenuity -- none of that comes across in the movie.

A lot of important beats are rushed. Tally agreeing to help Dr. Cable is over in a flash. It feels like Tally's in the Smoke for all of fifteen minutes. Tally and David barely interact, so their relationship has no real stake. Everyone is kidnapped by Special Circumstances, and then rescued immediately after. I almost think a 5-6 episode mini-series would have worked better -- but that might have introduced the opposite problem, where everything takes too long.

The movie also has frequent montages that don't really work. It seems like they were trying to show the passage of time, but it just makes everything feel even shorter.

The beginning of the movie has an exposition problem, as well. It opens with a montage explaining the entire setting... before leading into several scenes that also explain the setting through dialogue. We get fed the same details about the surgery and the Rusties and the flowers at least three times at the start, and it gets grating.

As already mentioned, Tally is pretty severely underwritten. In the book, she has a distinct personality and a unique presence. In the movie, she's just the main character because she happens to be the main character. Her intelligence and resourcefulness are pretty much gone.

I also think changing her motivation for going to the Smoke did her a disservice. In the book, Tally goes to the Smoke so she can have her surgery, and because she's convinced herself that Shay needs her help. In the movie, Dr. Cable tells her that the Smokies have a weapon, and she will be saving lives by helping to find them. I think giving her a more selfless motivation robs her of her character arc. She always comes across as someone trying to help, who wants to best for other people, rather than someone who had to consciously learn that.

The Specials are barely even a presence. I'm not sure they were even directly called Specials. People who hadn't read the book would never realize that there was an entire separate status of person here. You never see their disturbingly beautiful faces or their terrifying strength. Considering how pivotal the Specials are to the overall story, especially in the later books, it's really odd not to see them properly established here.

Like I said, Laverne Cox gives an excellent performance as Dr. Cable... but I think they should have thought twice before casting a trans woman. It's not necessarily that there's a trans woman in the villainous role, but that there's a trans woman in the villainous role who specifically wants to force people to have surgeries to brainwash them. Like... did the optics of that really not occur to anyone? At all? I think Cox could have played David's mother, instead.

[espinosaurusrexex]

The Karens of the World

BuckyBarnes x Female!Reader modern au

summary: Aunt Karen is possibly the worst person you know. So when her annual Independence Day party arrives, you try to give her as little reason to pick on you as possible. Not being single for once should cover most of the topics she complains about. So you ask your friend Bucky to play pretend.

a/n: So I tried this website @nana1000night (make sure to check out their own chats) posted about and my ideas just started overflowing. I wrote this so quick, there may be some tenses errors, but the concept was so fun, I hope you like it.

word count: 4.1k

warnings: fake dating trope, grumpy!Bucky AND protective!Bucky, bullying, a Karen (this should say it all, really), self-doubt, body dysmorphia, mentions of violence, and sooooo much fluff!

･ﾟ✫* 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 ｡✭･ﾟ

↑ This movie altered my brain chemistry and also he looks so good OKAY BYE!

“Don’t do that. Don’t do that now, I really need your help,” you plead with a solid stare. But Bucky just broodily stares back at you with an unfazed expression. “Just answer the question, please.”

For a moment it seems as though he‘s squinting his eyes even more at you, trying to assess whether you are kidding or not. But you aren’t. You are in desperate need of help.

“Fine,” he finally breaks.

“Yes!” You exclaim before collecting yourself. “I mean: cool, cool... So, I’ll send you the details later and we can go from there.” You are a little nervous, but that’s what stressful situations do to you. And well, today definitely categorized as one. 

“You’re a great friend, you know that, Buck? The best there is!” A desperate attempt to save the situation, but Bucky isn’t having it.

“Yeah, kid. Text me, do... whatever.” He huffs before he stands up to leave. You just wrinkle your nose at the little nickname he frequently calls you. It is stupid, but you don’t want him to call you ‘kid’. You would prefer it if he called you 'doll' or 'sweetheart' like he does all the other women. Hell, you’d even settle for your actual name, but he never calls you that. 

You watch as he walks towards the door, but before he reaches it, he turns one more time just to send another annoyed look your way. Talk about being childish.

That was a week ago. And Bucky and you did, in fact, not ‘discuss the details later’. Bucky has merely stared at your messages, cursing himself for having agreed to the stupid plan you laid upon him. But he was committed to doing it anyway and the sooner it was over, the better.

You stare at your phone in silence, the simple text from Bucky making your stomach turn over and over. 

I’ll be there.

He has written. And now there is no going back. Which is what you had planned, right? But Somehow, you are still nervous about the whole situation. 

You stand in front of the mirror while tugging on the outfit you picked out for today. It is simple and light - perfect for a summer barbecue party. But you can’t help yourself when you look at your reflection. Your aunt Karen would have something mean to say about it anyway - she always does. And if it isn’t the lack of a partner (which is a problem you have temporarily solved for the day), it will be your body or your hair, or the way you speak, or the things you pursue in life. Karen is a textbook housewife, who has nothing to do all day but organize PTA meetings and condescend to everyone who doesn’t live up to her standards. And she has invited to her annual 4th of July party in her suburban family home in New Jersey. It wouldn’t bother you that much if meeting her wouldn’t always be connected to a huge amount of self-doubt and general mental chaos. It just bothers you that Karen makes you hate the parts about yourself you have never looked at critically before. 

Your phone pings again - Bucky is here. 

He just sits in the parking lot of your apartment building, his hands clenching the steering wheel tightly, and his eyes - as always - broodily staring ahead. He’s never done anything like this - He’s never pretended to be in an actual relationship. What if something goes wrong? What if they all see through this charade? Bucky wants to help you with your little ‘family problem’, as you have called it, but at the same time, he hates the situation he finds himself in because of it.

Bucky sits up straighter when he finally sees you running out of the door and towards his muddy truck. You look pretty, even if your hair is a little tousled from the small run you just did.

“Hey,” you greet with a smile after Bucky stares for a little too long. “Nice shirt.” 

Bucky looks down on himself. He is wearing a striped short sleeve button-up that fits him very well, and you have to admit, that your eyes linger on the strip of skin revealed by the two undone buttons a little too long before they sway back to the window when you get inside his car. You feel your skin go up in flames at the thought of it again. Hopefully, this will all go well. 

He isn't used to compliments, Bucky notes as he starts the car and backs out of the parking lot. This is just a courtesy; an easy greeting from a friend - no, actually his fake girlfriend for today - to loosen up the tension both of them feel. Bucky clears his throat while making a conscious effort to look away from the woman in his car, who makes him feel kind of... nervous all of a sudden.

The car ride is silent: no music, just the humming of the engine roaring in the background as you stare out the window and watch the trees pass by. Though when Bucky finally pulls into your aunt's neighborhood, you tense up and your hands become clammy - this feels like a really stupid idea all of a sudden. 

Bucky parks the car on the street in front of your aunt’s huge house and looks at you. He raises an eyebrow upon noticing how timid you suddenly look.

Crap. Had this been your plan all along? To get him to agree to pose as your fake boyfriend, to have to face your terrible aunt?

Bucky swallows thickly when he takes in your state. “Do we really have to go in?” He asks still hopeful that you would just allow him to turn around again, but that obviously doesn’t happen. 

“Unfortunately, we do.” You sigh after taking a deep breath to mentally prepare yourself. It shouldn’t be that hard, right? Just a little white lie to get you through the day. It will be over before you know it. “Thank you again for doing this Bucky, it really means a lot.” You smile one last time and then you get out of the car. 

Bucky just watches as you walk towards the suburban home, impatiently waiting for him on the sidewalk where the driveway begins. He isn’t ready for this, but he had promised you.

❁ ❁ ❁

Your heart begins pumping in your chest when Bucky straightens up and takes your hand in his, the other hiding in his pocket. This is actually kinda nice. A squeeze of a hand then the ring of the doorbell. Two times. 

“Oh, how wonderful you finally made it!” A slender woman with a blonde bob opens the door with a wide smile: Aunt Karen. “More than fashionably late, I see.” And then her eyes wander beside you where Bucky stands tall and steady with his hand still etched in yours. “Oh my, honey, is this the boyfriend you’ve been telling me about?”

Her eyes shine and for a moment it looks as though they were to pop out of her head from the way she’s gawking at Bucky. Okay, you get it, Bucky is good-looking. No need to think about breaking up your own marriage about it. Your roll your eyes before reminding yourself that you should restrain. The day has just started and you are ready to leave again. 

Bucky looks at you uncomfortably, but your hand in his grounds him a little bit. He can’t make you deal with it alone anymore. He agreed to help you and this is - unfortunately - his mess as well now. God, he should remind himself to not be this stupid more often.

“Yes,” he swallows, “we are... uh... seeing each other.” Great job, that definitely didn’t sound forced. Bucky looks between you and your aunt for a moment, trying not to cringe at his own words. 

You just send him an apologetic look before entering the house and let Karen pull you into a tight hug. 

“Well, you have certainly gained little since the last time I saw you, I can barely fit my arms around you, honey,” Karen jokes but it hits deeper than that. “Must be that relationship weight, don’t we know it, huh?” Unbelievable, not even one minute in and she is already going at it. 

You try to ignore the anxiety pooling up in your stomach as you watch Bucky squeeze aunt Karen’s hand a little too tightly. There’s nothing wrong with you, but these comments never cease to make you hate yourself a little bit.

Bucky smiles when he notices the discomfort on Karen's face after the handshake. She silently shakes her hand out and forces a bright smile, but he thinks the message came through. So, he decides against saying something just yet.

“Come on into the yard, the guests are all there!” The blonde woman rushes and leads you through the kitchen and out onto the porch from which you have a nice view of the party. There is a buffet set up, your uncle is at the grill, talking it up with his friends and the rest of the crowd is scattered across the lawn. Some people are playing corn hole and if the hostess weren’t such a pain in the ass, you could probably enjoy this party. 

Luckily, Karen disappeared into the crowd once she greeted you, now there’s only Bucky and you.

“Thank God you’re here! I couldn’t stand talking to Grandpa Stan a minute longer. He’s all about his World War Two stories again.” An annoyed redhead approaches you from the side and your mood instantly lightens. You turn and see Tasha greet you with open arms and a playful smile. “You look nice!” She says upon seeing your expression and her smile quickly falters.

“Oh, no. What did she do this time?” She watches intensely, her hands squeezing your shoulders, but now that your cousin is here, there is no need to dwell in the state of depression Karen has put you in. 

Bucky just stays silent as he watches you interact with the redhead. He’s trying to stay off to the side, as he doesn’t really know anyone very well. He’s not a social person, which was yet another reason why this whole thing had been a bad idea from the start, but now that he has seen why you needed a fake boyfriend, he is determined to honor his role for the day. He’d do anything to make Karen feel defeated and unsupported after what he has just witnessed. Because whether he likes it or not, you are his friend, and nobody messed with his friends like that. 

A sense of protection overtakes him every time he sees Karen pass by close to the both of you, And Bucky has to restrain himself a couple too many times from laying his arm around you. 

He watches people laughing and talking from afar, his face blank from expression, his hands in his pockets to keep himself from reaching out to you. 

“Tasha this is Bucky.” You suddenly say and pull him closer, your arm remains around him and he is kind of glad that you officially give him permission to touch in this fake relationship. He blushes a little startled at the gesture anyway. He’s not used to it, but it's kind of nice. 

“Bucky Barnes, right? Yeah, I’ve heard my mother talk about you.” Tasha says and Bucky just rolls his eyes. “And I see you’ve met her, too.” She laughs and Bucky knows she’s an ally. “I wish you good luck for today, our family is a menace.”

“Thanks.” Bucky looks over to Karen who is mingling with her guests and a wave of disgust overcomes him. “Hopefully she won’t ruin this holiday.”

“Oh, she will. You can count on it, actually. But with time you’ll learn to deal with it. We have Karen bingo cards at every event to cross off things she does or says. It’s fun if you make it fun. Don’t let her antics bother you too much. The suburbs are the only place she has something to say and she holds on to it for dear life... I pity her most of the time.” Tasha rambles on and on and Bucky takes a liking to her with every word. He smiles and so do you. 

“Anyway, I gotta get Grandpa a beer but feel free to mingle, and,” Tasha turns to you as she grabs your hand for a brief moment, her eyes staring into yours intently. “Come find me if she gets too much, okay?”

You just nod at your cousin. Tasha is amazing and she always manages to calm you down after yet another unpleasant encounter with your aunt. God knows why she was cursed with such a pain of a mother, but Tasha makes the best out of it. 

Bucky smiles and looks at Tasha walking away. He seems to have already relaxed with her somewhat, so he tries to take her advice and ignore Karen’s antics. Maybe this won’t be so bad. 

❁ ❁ ❁

It's about 30 minutes later when you are off to talk to some other family members who haven’t seen you in a while and Bucky has decided to check out the buffet. He eats in silence, his gaze swaying over the yard - people watching. He finds comfort in it every now and then. But unfortunately, his peace isn’t lasting long. 

“So Bucky, tell me. How did you and my niece meet?” Karen appears next to him and holds out a bottle of beer to him.

Bucky is a little startled but he swallows his hot dog and uses the time to come up with a story. What would you want him to say? Some romantic crap, probably, but Bucky would much rather tell her that you met at a burn-all-Karens petition downtown. Still, he can’t completely ignore his intrusive thoughts, so he simply takes the bottle and answers with a straight face as he watches Karen's expression falter.

“In prison.” Hopefully, this would shut her up.

"Oh? You are a prison guard?” She asks with intrigue, adamant that he is still the glorious man she makes him out to be, and Bucky just sends her a knowing smile. 

“Something like that.”

The blonde bob shakes in his peripheral. “Well, it was only a matter of time until she would end up there.” Karen shrugs but Bucky feels anger bubbling inside him. 

“What do you even mean by that?” It becomes harder to control himself now. 

Your eyes move over to Bucky as you let your relative’s speech about the perfect lawn mower pass by you in a breeze. He looks slightly irritated and uncomfortable, his shoulders are tense but he’s holding up well, and Karen doesn’t seem to suspect anything. Of course she doesn’t, though, she is shallow. 

“I just can't seem to believe that an attractive and interesting man such as yourself would settle for someone so... bland.” And just like that, snobbish middle-aged white women made it to the top of his blacklist. 

Karen sips on her cocktail with a winning smile, she must have known how insecure she could make you with the confidence that radiated off of her right now. 

The paper plate in Bucky’s hand crumbles at her words. His anger is clearly written on his features, turning solid by the second. “Are you fucking kidding me?!”

It just bursts out of him, he can’t stop it - it just feels right. How dare this bitch call you boring? You of all people and not him? The anger crawls up his neck with every second he has to spend close to your aunt and at one point he can’t take it anymore.

“Bingo!” Someone yells from the back of the yard, but Bucky just looks at Karen with his death stare.

“Your niece is the most wonderful person I’ve ever met. She’s smart and kind and courageous and so unbelievably goodhearted. You don’t know how lucky you are to have her in your life. And yet all you do is patronize her. The fact that you don’t see that is seriously pathetic. You are a grown woman, for god’s sake. I highly recommend that you fix your attitude or I won’t be responsible for what happens next,” he sneers into Karen's flabbergasted face. 

The whole party has gone quiet. People have stopped talking and are all turned to look at the disturbance with the potential to bring far more entertainment than anything else that they’re doing. 

You decide to intervene before something else happens. You rush towards Bucky after excusing yourself and drag him out of the yard with a solid ‘Can I talk to you, babe?’. Bucky just glares at Karen for good measure before he lets himself be led away by you. He’s tense, with his hands clenching in fists, he looks like he’s ready to strangle your aunt - as if there is a lot more at play than your feelings in his response to her. 

“I swear... that woman...” He grumbles with vicious eyes, he grinds his teeth in frustration and the muscles in his jaw pop a little. 

“I know, but... well, that’s just how she is.”

“How have you gone this long without knocking her over with a bat?” You need to refrain from laughing out loud at Bucky’s comment.

“I can’t change it. Punching her won’t help. But, hey,” you push a white paper into his hand and upon short inspection, he realizes it’s a bingo card. “We can make fun of it. New round just started.”

You hug him and push a quick kiss to his cheek before you step back and let him calm down a bit. Bucky has to smile at the card in his hand and he looks down to hide the small blush creeping over the heated spot on his cheek. His hand covers the place you kissed and he doesn’t know what to do with himself. When did he start feeling this way?

“Come on now. I want you to meet my Grandpa. I think you’ll get along well.”

❁ ❁ ❁

“Meet Stan, my grandfather.” You say once you reach the small circle of people that gathered around your grandfather. 

“Pleased to meet you, sir. My name’s Bucky Barnes.” You watch them shake hands and Stan’s eyes brighten at the additional listener.

“Pleasure to meet you, young man. Grab yourself a beer and sit down I was just about to tell the story of how a grenade ended up going off right next to me.” 

You exchange a short look with Tasha who has heard the story about as often as you have before, but when your eyes sway to Bucky, you notice the intrigue in his body language. He scrambles to sit down close to Stan with his hands folded over his knees.

“You’re telling me that you survived a grenade? A literal grenade?” Bucky’s eyebrows shoot up and it's like watching a child on Christmas Day. “You’re either tough as nails or incredibly lucky, sir.”

So, hooking Bucky up with your grandpa was a great success. He seemed to be the first person that was actually interested in Stan’s stories from the war. And while you had to not worry about Karen steering up more arguments with Bucky anymore, you watch him interact with the rest of your family with awe.

The day passes by and Bucky seems to catch a conversation with Stan every now and then. He’s interested in history and your grandfather seems like the perfect source for the answers he’s been seeking. But when the moon rises and the fireworks have died down, you decide it's time to go home. 

Bucky is talking to your grandfather again when you approach him from behind. In a weird shoot of confidence, you wrap your arms around him and place a gentle kiss on his shoulder. 

“Are you ready to go home?” You’re a little nervous but you don’t pull away, and Bucky is strangely content with the amount of physical contact he’s gotten today. Still, he tries to stuff the weird feelings in his chest away when he turns in your arms. 

“Yeah,” he looks at you with soft eyes, “I think I’m ready to go home.” But you can’t help but think that his statement holds a little more than the answer to your question. 

❁ ❁ ❁

You smile when Bucky opens the car door for you. You didn’t expect it, and it almost looks as if Bucky didn’t expect it either, but you’re not complaining. He starts the car in silence but this time, there is faint music coming from the radio. The street lights pass by the window as you look out until your apartment complex comes into view. 

Once the car is parked again, you turn around to Bucky. He makes no effort to move and it doesn’t bother you at all. It’s nice in the car. Cool from the AC and Bucky’s presence is a pleasant addition to the calm the car ride home has brought to you.

“Thank you for coming with me today. I know it wasn’t exactly what you expected and I am so sorry for my family. They are a lot... I just...” You fumble with your fingers before looking back up at him again. “I don’t think I would have survived this party without you. It really means a lot.” You finally finish and it feels like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. 

Bucky is quiet for a while, thinking about what you have just said. He feels weird thinking about how many of these family gatherings you had to endure without anyone stepping up for you before, and he has the strong urge to just cradle you in his arms and protect you from all the Karens of the world - let nothing ever touch you like that again. He had seen your heart break a little today and he didn’t like it at all. 

His eyes avert from the windshield when he turns to you and gazes into your eyes intently. There’s a lot going on in them, but it all radiates comfort to you. And then, almost like a button has been pushed, he grabs your chin and pulls you closer, his hand running down your cheek. There’s a moment of complete standstill. Everything is zeroing in on him and then, after a beat or two, he pulls you into him and kisses you. 

It's short and it's sweet but it holds more feelings than you have ever gotten from a kiss. When he pulls back, his eyes just run over your face. He doesn’t know what just happened and neither do you. It’s like a wild dream - a good one.

“What... what was that for?” Your whisper barely reaches his ears and Bucky struggles to construct a proper sentence with the way your eyes lock with his in awe.

“I... It’s... I just... couldn’t help myself,” he confesses while still shaking out of his trance. Uh oh. What if this was a mistake? 

He attempts to pull away reluctantly, but you stop him. “No, no it’s fine,” you grab his hand and place it back on your face, “do it again, please.”

Bucky’s breath staggers when you say that and for a moment, he freezes completely. Is this really happening? And how is he feeling like this when he didn’t even see you this way when this day started? 

The grip on his wrist is gentle, but he’s glued to you. Everything, every sense of his is pulled in your direction until you completely consume him. And he lets it happen. You haul him onto another kiss and this one is even better - more passionate, more... just more. He can’t get enough of you and he wonders how he has gone so long without it - this feeling of flying when you touch him.

Your hand grabs his shoulder and your fingers push into his tender muscles. It feels good, though and Bucky strives to have you even closer. The warmth is all-consuming but he doesn’t mind in the slightest, that the night outside his car is a hundred degrees or that just an hour ago this was all pretend. It certainly isn’t anymore.

“I really like you, Bucky. I hope my family didn’t chase you away. I know that they can be a handful sometimes, but you handled them so well and-“

“Doll,” Bucky stops you and your heart skips at the nickname. His eyes are shining in the dim light falling through the windshield, but you can still see every speck of grey in the deep blue. He’s trying to convey how he feels, but he believes it’s not enough. His nose nudges yours and then he whispers softly: “I really like you, too.”

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[zahri-melitor]

Recent Reads:

Barda (2024): I am always interested in judging what they do and don't put into the young adult stories. I thought this was a solid adaption of Barda's backstory and the Furies, to my mind. I'm not across all the versions, but it felt true to what I was hoping to see in the story, which included Barda's positioning both in terms of what it's like to grow up in Apokolips but also the harm she has done as leader of the Female Furies and complicity in torture.

I enjoyed it! It's worth seeking out.

Batman: One Bad Day - The Riddler: well this sure was a comic written by Tom King and drawn by Mitch Gerads. Even if I had not looked at the title page I could have told you that from the specific way their collaboration lays out a comic.

It's a very Tom King prestige comic, with all that that implies. This one isn't openly hung up on the military. (His prestige work tends to be his best work. Don't fight me on this)

This is not even near my favourite conception of Eddie, though it's also not at the bottom either. Definitely trying to lean into him as a threat. It doesn't, however, show him having fun with his puzzles, and I think at the heart of all the best Riddler depictions he needs to be both cocksure and personally entertained by what he's doing. Even (especially) when it's particularly dark.

(if you want favourite characterisations, Cliff Chiang's Catwoman: The Lonely City and the way Paul Dini writes him, particularly in 'Tec #845 are highlights)

Batman: One Bad Day - Two-Face: Mariko Tamaki did a good job here. I particularly think she has a solid grasp on Steph's character, because she had Steph argue with Bruce over Harvey and whether he's worth redemption and second chances.

"I hate it when villains aren't just villains. Maybe it's not fair to the Dents of the world, but I like to think it protects me from the creeps."

Steph's whole thesis here is that they shouldn't be making an extra effort for Harvey, just because he was Bruce's friend, because villains are villains and they can't and won't change, and even when they do, they'll ultimately backslide. It's a very conservative view of criminalisation, and it's one Steph's had since her creation by Dixon, and which makes a lot of sense given her background and her problems with her father.

Bruce and Steph then have a fight over "Harvey isn't Arthur". What makes the fight particularly interesting to me is that Steph's arguing that if Harvey was committed to changing we would see it, and she hasn't, while Bruce still believes that Harvey can change and is trying to, because he's seen Harvey work on it. While Steph has absolutely no trust or belief in her father. And they're talking past each other here while having a conversation.

It's some great character work. Because Bruce at his core is fundamentally committed to rehabilitation and hoping that everyone can be saved. While Steph, for extremely good canonical reasons, thinks that criminals remain criminals, and that if they want to stop being criminals they have to show the work for people to trust them; because she was betrayed while growing up.

(The actual plot of this story was good too. But people like to say that Steph doesn't have any good characterisation post Flashpoint, and I'm here to point wildly at things like this and Tynion's 'Tec run and ask what their issues are, because this is another extremely solid congruent-with-pre-War Games-Steph story)

Batman: One Bad Day - The Penguin: I could definitely tell this was a John Ridley story. I think part of my discomfort with this was that it wanted to be canonical and non-canonical at the same time. It's very clearly set in approximately the 2022 present for Bat comics (Renee Montoya is Commissioner, Oswald has recently been kicked out of Gotham)...but it's also very much an alternate history, where instead of pretending to be dead, he's been replaced by "The Umbrella Man" who has stolen Ozzie's life. It's rather like a rerun of the Emperor Penguin plot except for the fact that The Umbrella Man is a random black man (yes, thanks Ridley) who points out a bunch of class disparity issues to Penguin.

It's just a very odd plot choice to run for an specific oneshot at this point in the storyline, because completely separately we are in the process of doing "Oswald vs his children who have killed all their siblings to inherit the Iceberg" in main continuity. Get a second Penguin plot please.

Mostly this is a parable about accepting who you are and not being a bully, or the Penguin will rip out your throat. Or something. It worked, it was just...really obvious nobody knows what to do with a Penguin plot. Just do mafia and black market stuff!

Batman: One Bad Day - Mr Freeze: I don't recognise Gerry Duggan? He's apparently done about 2000 Marvel comics and a whole 8 DC ones. Oh! But he wrote Arkham Manor! Oh my gosh so many things suddenly make sense, including the fact that the motif of this comic was Victor making snow angels.

I loved Arkham Manor and particularly the way Victor was characterised in it, even though that characterisation wasn't exactly standard Mr Freeze (it was comedy Mr Freeze). What we got this time was hmmmm a very self-absorbed Victor, where the plot specifically removed some of the pathos of Victor's devotion to Nora by showcasing a number of ways he was overly obsessed to the point of harming Nora before she passed away. It wasn't quite the direction of depth into Freeze we've seen other stories go recently, but it definitely committed to him being potentially quite harmless if you frame things around Nora in the right way to get him to focus how you want him to.

I have to say though, I don't think Duggan has a particularly good grasp on Bruce or even Dick. There were a bunch of moments where Bruce calls a completely random street thug an "irredeemable villain" and that "he belongs in the deepest hole we can throw him in". I'm sorry, did I pick up a Bruce Wayne comic or a Jason Todd one? Because uhhhh that's not standard Bruce personality. Alfred was even snarking at Bruce about how "Forgive me gentlemen, I must be suffering from a senior moment. I thought Master Bruce just said he though a criminal could change."

YES! YES HE DOES THINK THAT! THAT'S BATMAN'S WHOLE THING! HE BELIEVES HE CAN SAVE EVERYONE! HE BELIEVES THAT THEY CAN CHANGE! We literally just had the Two-Face story two titles before this be all about how Bruce is overcommitted to believing that Harvey can recover and trying to help him!

Okay poor Bruce characterisation aside, this was a fairly fun Year 4 setting for the story, and it was the requisite Christmas episode, which I did also appreciate as thematic for release date and chosen villain. Tiny Dick is highly amusing in how he thinks he might be about to get to drive the Batmobile for the first time...and then the autopilot engages. He really wants to drive and comments on how he doesn't have his learners yet (and 7ish years down the track he can end up amused and irritated that TIM got his learners at 14)

I assume Duggan got given a slot on the strength of his Marvel work, and that's fine, except...the off characterisation makes it pretty clear he doesn't have a particularly good or current grasp on at least one of the two main characters of the title. Which is just slightly important for a special high profile series on Batman and His Villains. And I'm saying that as someone who liked Arkham Manor, but enjoyed it for being a quirky offbeat, tonally dissonant story in the middle of the unending angst that was Batman Eternal.

Everyone else in this set has big set piece previous stories involving the characters to point to as why they got picked. Duggan seems to have scraped through on "Big in Marvel, has written one of the few focused on Victor Fries stories in the last decade".

[lakesbian]

okay, as i have been encouraged by the public (like 2 people) to go forward with this research, i present the very scientific Tier List of Blonde Wildbow Characters Ranked From Most to Least Likely to Have A Piss Kink. virtually no one wanted this post. i did not want this post. it is 2.1k words long. i wanted to inform you of that before you clicked read more in case you were just expecting a tier list image and did not actually want to read 2.1k words about piss kinks.

wherein:

the tier list exists because of this ask, which was written in jesting response to the subject of victoria dallon's canon piss kink (more on that below) and somewhat intentionally misrepresented by me as being contextless because i thought it was funny to crop it and reply with 'ok.' which led to a massive containment breach and several thousand people not realizing anon was trying to make a joke. sorry. my bad, anon.

here, "likelihood of having a piss kink" is defined as "likelihood of having a kink that involves primarily or significantly urine," and genre of piss kink shall be clarified for the characters where it's a possibility.

no pictures are included for the characters because not all of them have fanart and also there's a lot of them and the tier list is only so big and i'm lazy

characters i do not know well enough to vibe check are not included

rationally speaking it would make most sense to presume that unless a character has a canon or heavily implied piss kink it is heavily implausible for them to have one but this post would be boring and pointless if i went that route so i'm going to include some somewhat baseless vibe-checking/discussion of hypotheticals where it's not explicitly disproven or improbable. with my bestest attempts to remain reasonable levels of character accurate given the post circumstances.

our ranks here are:

canon: this character canonically has a piss kink

highly plausible: there is strong contextual evidence that could be used to argue for the presence of a piss kink

plausible: based on more vibes/less solid evidence than "highly plausible," but a piss kink is still possible

could go either way: there is a lack of evidence in either direction, there's no way to make a clear argument on the matter

not very plausible: there is decent contextual evidence or simply Character Vibes that could be used to argue against the presence of a piss kink

strong evidence against: it can be deemed nigh-certain that this character does not have a piss kink

The Chart:

the characters who were not included because i do not know them personally (opinions welcomed):

all three ashleys

bianca

The Analysis:

Canon:

victoria: stated by wildbow to have some kind of "preferred fluid" you shouldn't drink, knows what urine tastes like. canon watersports kink. i hate her. i hope she stands within 20 feet of fentanyl and overdoses and dies. i hope she goes down a slide too hard.

Highly Plausible:

citrine: we know that accord is certainly and without doubt enough of a control freak (<- said w/ deep affection) that he insists that his ambassadors refrain from Wanton and Unprofessional Bathroom Breaks, but also insists that they never indicate they have to pee (or engage in any other basic bodily function) ever because that's Icky and if they do he will want to Rube Goldberg Machine But The Machine Is A Saw Trap them about it. and we know that citrine gets off on him being a control freak. it can thus be reasonably extrapolated that she's constantly doing accidental omorashi w/ accord and is just as into that as she is all the other aspects of control. the piss is incidental--the main point is still whatever appeals to her about the control in general--but, like, The Piss Is There. extremely does not want to experience what would happen if she ever even remotely fucked up holding, but presumably enjoys the mortifying ordeal of attempting to politely excuse herself to the restroom and/or stoically holding so she doesn't have to excuse herself in the first place.

paige (pact): she textually, literally, canonically, For Fucking Real, is a lesbian who enters into the world of pactverse magic because she's tempted by a hypothetical dom/sub dynamic with a hot professor who is actually a sphinx. (if any of you who haven't read pact yet are reading this post. Please go read pact.) this extrapolation is less blatant than citrine, but it's by no means unreasonable to assume that there could be some bladder control going on here. she can go to the bathroom when she's a good girl and finishes answering all of isadora's questions. etc. hey do you think pactverse would have really hardcore RACK omorashi where you make a statement that you are NOT going to go until [x amount of time] and it's your karma on the line if you fuck it up. i bet people with executive dysfunction in pact do this type of shit a lot. they're like i am going to start my homework RIGHT NOW!!! and then they Have to. i digress.

Plausible:

peter: we have no information about his love life beyond him flirting with ainsley amidst a Serious Disaster involving Demons, so this is just vibes-based, but he's mean and manipulative and unpleasant in a specific way that could theoretically insinuate that he would enjoy accidentally-on-purpose preventing a girl from getting to the bathroom & watching her squirm. you'll have to trust me on this.

Could Go Either Way:

ellie: my consultant re the pelhams vibes-based ranked her higher than peter, but i don't see it. i could see her having one, but it'd be in a different and grosser direction than peter. i feel like blake's comparison of her to a weak, groveling dog in a pack may be relevant here.

rose (old): i don't strongly see it, but based on what we know about her sex life i wouldn't be surprised if she participated in any heat-of-the-moment watersports.

rose (young): somehow coming in with the exact right bizarre psychosexual complexes to score higher than both blake and pre-meiosis thorburn. i don't think it's likely, but i somehow don't see a reason to mark her down as entirely implausible. her theoretical psychosexual complex about blake is marked by a few facts: she says that he has a "hate-on" for her, she does that weird thing where she hugs him for comfort & lets him give her his jacket (what if the lamb you were leading to slaughter was the man you could've been, and for just a moment, you wanted to take kindness from The Man You Could've Been despite the fact that, because you are not him, you will betray him regardless), when he sacrifices himself to fuse with/bolster her the fusing is described in ostensibly sexual language (being Inside her, the two halves grinding, etc), and she does that whole noticeable twice-over to his almost-naked body. she would absolutely never admit to wanting to fuck her "clone," but were she to envision it, the scenario she would mentally craft would involve blake wanting to fuck her (he never would & she knows this) and, like, eating her out like he wants to kill her or doing some boot frotting with splinters. oh and she would give him the most awkward dry unpleasant handjob on the planet where she's very clearly treating him like a program to experiment with, press button A and find out if it gets result B. I digress. one could also imagine a theoretical rose thorburn piss kink which remains an entirely subconscious psychosexual fixation that she freudian-slips into conversation at least once a la "hate-on," wherein the ideal scenario for her earlier into the book would be wetting herself for reasons entirely against her control despite being so very brave and stalwart and stoic, and imaginary blake is like "wow you were so brave and stoic about that...it's ok everyone has gotten into an awkward spot once or twice in their lives. in fact, [personal recounting of relevant horrible memory]. here have my jacket i will tie it around your waist for you with a lingering amount of physical contact." and later into the book that would switch to just Making The Fuck Up that he'd be really mean and humiliating about it and then getting mad about her imaginary vision of him doing that even though he literally would not do that ever. (the hypothetical of him being mean about it would be a kink thing for her also obviously. Hate On, she says.) okay sorry for talking so much about rose thorburn's psychosexual fixation with blake thorburn i think it's really funny for her to be extremely abnormal about the clonefucking quandary.

fell: i don't actually know him well enough to postulate what genre it would be if he hypothetically had one but despite not Expecting that he has one i wouldn't find it wholly implausible if wildbow got up tomorrow and made an announcement declaring that he does. i think this could be utilized primarily for the humor purposes of, like. blake being like "hey i know we can't really pull over right now BUT could you pull over? i need to take a leak. should i say want to? is it technically lying if i say need but it's not an emergency yet?" and fell being like No. Do Not Say Another Word On This Subject And Also I Hate You. which is because he is desperately and fervently and furiously and with great and genuine anger and rage attempting to Not think about Blake Thorburn, A Conventionally Attractive And Very Annoying Man, having to pee. but blake interprets it as fell being an asshole for no reason and is like ohhh ok fuck you i guess should i just pee on your seat then. you want me to ruin your car seat? [accusatory, fully bluffing, would rather kill himself than piss in fell's car] you're a car guy who doesn't even care about your fancy white upholstery? and fell is like [desperately doing mental math on if blake thorburn, whomst is already covered in fleas and bloods and mysterious liquids, would be petty enough to intentionally piss himself to ruin fell's car] . I will make you walk. like you can see my vision right.

Not Very Plausible:

kathryn: i simply do not see it. she could have something weird going on but it's not a piss kink. the vibes are not being served.

sandra: also a simple matter of the vibes not being there. has probably been exposed to it at one time or another but sees it as undignified and so on

callan: not sensing it

lisa: bathroom shit is surely beyond mundane to her just like everyone elses private bodily workings thoughts feelings etc. i dont even think she has any kinks or interest in sex in general

crystal: this is the only interesting one in this section! she was described to me as "very laid back, but also kind of passive. she's a slob in her private life. sort of goes with the flow to the point that it led her joining a paramilitary force with no oversight." i think being in the dallon-pelham torment nexus sort of intrinsically adds +20 Not Likely points unless youre victoria but i can only assume from this description of her personality that if someone she was fucking was into it she would just roll with it.

neil: was described to me as "neil barely gets anything. he's kind of reckless? he trained victoria a lot. he cheated on his wife with her sister. he liked knocking toddler-aged victoria over as a form of 'training.'" probably not very likely at all but who knows. maybe "declines to fuck sarah and watches panty pissing porn instead" is on his list of secrets next to "cheated on his wife with her sister."

Strong Evidence Against:

carol, paige (worm) (this is canary in case you forgot like i did), cuff, theo, sarah: the club of generic respectable milquetoast cishets who would not do any of that shit and would probably judge someone at least a little for any amount of kink (or in some cases even vanilla sex <3), with paige coming on on the less-judgemental end of the scale and carol coming in at the high end of the judgement scale.

ciara: not generic milquetoast or respectable but the idea of her being into it is just like. silly to me. faerie queens aren't into piss that would be ridiculous. unless they're pactverse faerie queens, then it's a "got bored of it 31 centuries ago" situation, but ciara is not a pactverse faerie.

elle: already struggles with keeping up with hygiene and like...general Existence. surely would not associate any bodily function w/ anything but a task to complete or a mess to clean (<- other task). also presumably might need help going to the bathroom/being reminded that she needs to go sometimes so that certainly would not b anywhere near sexual to her

scion: uh. well. I don't think he knows what any of that shit is to be real with you. Does he even fucking count as blonde?

blake: is textually extremely triggered and distressed and disgusted by being dirty/unclean & losing control over his physical body, to the point where not being able to regularly shave is actively seriously detrimental to his mental health. his tragic character arc of having his identity degraded to the point where "is that still blake" becomes debatable a la ship-of-theseus question is viscerally represented by the fact that bogeyman-blake is just constantly filthy, to the point of turning snow into gray, stained slush when he walks thru it. struggling to deal with basic bodily functions & cleanliness while homeless absolutely severely traumatized him. he would react to someone else wetting themselves with, like, appropriately blake-like levels of kindness & concern, but he would still 100% find the actual piss disgusting. he would try to avoid showing it, but he would find it disgusting. we see him reacting with immense horror to conquest threatening to make him soil himself. if he were ever actually forced into a circumstance where he was genuinely worried about the possibility of pissing himself--let alone if he actually did so--he would have a Category 5 DEFCON 1 Mental Health Moment. all of which is a great reason he should have pissed himself at least once during pact! (<- i just elaborated on this point at such great length i had to force myself to backspace it all and move onto the next bulletpoint)

PMT: exact same trauma as blake. because you know. They were Blake before they got got. unlike blake, still capable of wanting to fuck people, but, like, We Know They're Not Doing Anything With Piss. leatherdyke piss kinkster pmt is a beautiful beautiful vision but its not true.

there you go. thats it. thats the tierlist.

[fizzyrodeo]

Updated Helluva Boss Tierlist (S1-S2)

Since quite a lot has happened with the characters since my first tierlist, I've decided to remake it! The old one is the third shown, for reference. The tiers are slightly different, and I'll also be explaining some of my choices below the cut!

(^^ includes my personal fanon ranking)

(^^ excludes my personal fanon ranking)

(^^ original tierlist)

'Superior in my Fanon'

> i feel like i don't need to say that in my version of hb the dynamics between I.M.P. would be very different. still found family, just a better depiction of it.

> best way to fix Mayberry is to NOT have her end up with the woman she tried to kill both in real life AND after death imo. or at the least, flesh her personality out some more before doing so.

> in my version of hb Paimon isn't different in terms of personality. he's just around more in the current timeline and has more definitive interactions with Stolas.

> i don't remember the name of the guy from the blitzø hate party episode, but while he serves as a good show of stolas' flaws and weaknesses, i'd have preferred if he stood as more of a positive comparison to blitzø, highlighting the latter's flaws. this would include a little more screen time and a show of what exactly led to im and stolas dancing and kissing.

'Win(ners)'

> I do NOT support Crimson's actions. However, he is one of the few solid villains we have left in Helluva Boss (and also I have a thing for villains).

> a lot of people take issue with Sallie Mae for reasons to her gender and how it's portrayed in merch + 'not portrayed sufficiently' in the show but I can't think of a single thing that's wrong with her and how she's written.

'Love'

> y'all are hating on Envy for NOTHING 😭😭😭 i mean hating the design is valid but why are we surprised that it isn't accurate to the sources viv based it on?? this isn't new? and at least Envy isn't an eyesore like some others... but i'm maybe people want more of that?? idk, i feel like they're overhated. i love their design, that's about the only reason they're ranked so high.

'Like'

> yes, i do like Stolas!! he's done a lot of things i don't like but it's part of his development. plus, realizing that he actually gets a lot of lasting consequences in canon (regardless of whether he ignores them or not) made me ease up on him. plus he's a crybaby twink. how could i not like a crybaby twink.

> a lot of the characters in this category are either here for their design or their defining moment. Chaz is a bit of a special case, and so is the hellhound adoption center lady. we're sleeping on Barbie Wire's rehab nurse, she did her job GOOD.

'Idrc'

> not much to say here. every character listed in this tier has failed to captivate my interest and for that, i simply don't think of them. a big point i thought of was "who are they without their defining drama?" and for most of them the answer was "little to nothing".

> there's a few random side characters in this tier. they are only present becuse they're side characters that i figured people would remember, and i wanted to state my opinion on them.

'I don't like them'

> all these characters are here because i either dislike the limited appearance they had, dislike their personality, or have extenuating beef.

> there's so much i dislike about Asmodeus- pretty much the same things i dislike about Beelzebub, but i decided to spare him from the very bottom of the list because he is one of the more actively kinder characters in the show.

[heartsmadeofbooks]

Fic writer 20 questions

I was tagged by the lovely @bitbybitwrites ♥

Not tagging anyone because I'm pretty sure she tagged everyone I follow lol. So if anyone sees this and feels like doing it, consider yourself tagged.

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

19 on AO3. Still need to move a couple from Fanfiction.net

2. whats your ao3 word count?

Right now, it's 1.756.021 (holy shit)

3. what fandoms do you write for?

Only Glee.

4. top 5 fics by kudos

Solid Gold.

Clear Skies.

Flowers in the Window.

Underneath it All.

Sing to me Instead.

5. do you respond to comments? why or why not?

I try to answer them every week. It's nice to interact with the readers and a really great way to show your appreciation that they take time to read and comment after every chapter.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Flowers in the Window, probably?

7. whats the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

All my fics have happy endings, so this one is hard to answer... probably Syrup and Honey or Clear Skies?

8. do you get hate on fics?

Not often, but it's happened.

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

Yes, I write smut. At least a few scenes in every fic. I try to give it a purpose in each story, because I'm not exactly a fan of PWP, though I've made an exception once or twice lol. I like loving sex scenes the most, ones where it's obvious the characters are making a real connection.

10. do you write crossovers? whats the craziest one youve ever written?

I don't write crossovers. Never liked them, of any sort. Not even on actual TV shows (when I used to watch the DC shows and they blended Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow, it was actually one of the reasons I stopped watching).

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

Too many times lol.

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, several times with my permission. It was really nice :)

13. have you ever cowritten a fic before?

No. I only ever worked with fanart artists for collabs before, but never with other writers.

14. fave all time ship?

I think it's pretty clear that it's Klaine :)

(But god, I love Stede and Ed, Lucius and Black Pete, and Carlos and TK)

15. wip you want to finish but doubt you will?

I never start a story I don't intend to finish.

16. what are your writing strengths?

Probably angst, I guess. I just love writing it, because it's what elicits the most feelings while I'm working on it (and readers react most strongly to it, too!)

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

I still struggle with some grammar or spelling. Thank goodness I have @christinejaneanderson ♥

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

I don't mind but it has to be perfectly written - I always cringe when I hear Spanish spoken in TV shows and it's completely inaccurate (Glee did that a few times, and a few others). How hard it is to check?

19. first fandom you wrote for?

Maybe Lord of the Rings? But Glee is the only fandom I wrote seriously for.

20. fave fic youve written?

This changes all the time, honestly. My current favorite is Cause and Effect. But there are many I have a lot of love for.

[oathbreakerapologist]

so what would prompt ghost to Go Back to Orin..? and would Orin even accept him?

You know, it's really more of a question of what keeps him from going back to Orin during the standard BG3 canon campaign events, and the answer to that is that he doesn't particularly remember his past relationship with her, so he doesn't have any reason to want to get back with her. But if that were to change—if he did regain even fleeting memories of his life with her before the betrayal—he'd go back in a heartbeat.

I've written elsewhere about endings for Ghost if he were a companion, and in that post I talked about how I think there'd be an option to give him the noblestalk, and that this would trigger him to attempt to return to Orin early in act 3. I think that something like this, a magical or otherwise supernatural restoration of some of his lost memories, is the most likely scenario. But I think there's another possible way as well.

Gortash manipulated Orin into betraying Niro. If Ghost were to discover evidence of Gortash's manipulation campaign, it's possible that that might trigger memories to which he'd otherwise lost access, or at least it would allow him to begin to piece together certain layers of his history with Orin. In this scenario too, as soon as he understood what his relationship with Orin was like (and, in his mind, that Gortash took her from him), he'd want to restore his relationship with her.

He sees Orin as not just a lover or a companion, but also the only one in the world like him—his other self. In his mind, they were created by Bhaal for one another, the same in all the ways they needed to be, and different in all the ways they needed to be. Losing her was like losing part of him; the moment he becomes aware of what he's lost, its absence aches like a yawning void.

I think that whether or not she would take him back would strongly hinge on exactly how he approached her. She had been thoroughly manipulated into what she did to him, and in the time since, she'd had plenty of time to justify the betrayal to herself. If he led with an attempt to convince her that she had actually been manipulated, he'd have no chance in hell of getting her to listen to him for more than a solid 30 seconds. She's simply unable to deal with the possibility that the beliefs that led her to nearly murder the one person she ever truly cared about were wrong, which would force her to accept that she'd betrayed him for nothing. She couldn't handle being so badly wrong, so she'd never believe that she was. It wouldn't matter if he had signed papers from Gortash explaining his manipulation campaign in detail; if that was Ghost's strategy, he'd end up a head on a pike out in front of the Temple of Bhaal.

In a world in which he did successfully return to Orin, he'd have to take a different tack. (As an aside, I think I consider this world to be his actual canon. The BG3-adhering storyline in which he ends up with Astarion is great too, and I enjoy it quite a bit because, well, that's my BG3 run with him, but separate from the constraints of the game's storytelling, I do think he'd end up back with Orin.)

The winning strategy—not that he'd think of it as a strategic move, really—would be for him to go in with very little knowledge of what happened. Perhaps all he remembered was that he was powerfully, irrevocably devoted to Orin, and that something terrible had happened between them. Without a distinct recollection of the betrayal, unwilling to believe that Orin would attack him for no reason, Ghost assumed whatever had happened was his fault. He seeks her out hoping for forgiveness for some grave sin he can't remember committing.

His return would have been an overwhelming experience for Orin. She hated him still, for all the reasons Gortash had encouraged her to hate him, and she hated him more for making her need to do what she did. And she was frightened of him—he'd always been terrifyingly strong and powerful, and with the tadpole, he was weaker than he used to be, but absolutely still a threat. But there was a part of her that was relieved, too. Her brother, her love, her other self had come home again, even after all she'd done.

In his lack of memory, Orin saw an opportunity. He thought he'd done something to deserve her attack and the subsequent tadpoling; she was more than happy to let him believe that, because it meant that she could continue to believe that. It also gave her a distinct advantage over him: he was seeking her favor, her approval, her forgiveness. Their interactions would be entirely on her terms.

In the end, it was perhaps easier to reunite than either of them would have expected it to be. He felt directionless, without a sense of purpose greater than the gnawing need for violence. What greater purpose could there be than earning his place at her side? And when it came to how exactly he could earn her forgiveness, Orin certainly had plenty of ideas.

Their relationship was never like it was before. Before, he saw her as his equal, though the rest of the world barely looked beyond him. When he came crawling back to her, his body wracked by the struggle to survive the tadpole gnawing away at his brain matter, his mind dulled, his will sapped, it could never be like that again, for by that point, he was convinced she'd always been far superior to him, and he was ready to fall in line.

[aaronymous9]

The WOF Love Interest slander has made me think about it. What would be my ideal love interests for each Wings of Fire protagonist?

Clay - Keep him without a solid one, he can have minor flings but honestly I like how the books kept him single and made it pretty clear Peril’s crush was one-sided. I don’t personally headcanon him as aromantic or anything I just think him not having a love interest is more useful and interesting to the character dynamics and the story than having one would be.

Tsunami - As I have previously stated, pathetic malewife ( gender-neutral as usual for the bisexual queen ) or equally as tough dragon who has a soft spot for Tsunami and she has one for them. I like how Riptide is the first person Tsunami meets but not in the way the books portray it, it shouldn’t just be “first male of the same tribe as her now they are dating” I feel “this was the first person I felt I could relate to on all the things I never knew why I did and you taught me so much but never used me for being a princess or forced me to be a certain way thank you”

Glory - Okay girlboss and her hitman bodyguard is cute, kinda reminds me of Yor and Loid Forger in a way but also the age gap has to go Tui how’d you fuck up the timeline that bad 😭😭 I don’t actually like how Deathbringer is written either I kinda would want more of a serious to outsiders but playful slowburn when alone with eachother. I feel like Glory wouldn’t actually get with anyone until she’s an adult because she would be so focused on her career BUT GOD GET A MAN OR A WOMAN OR WHATEVER IDC WHO IS YOUR AGE PLEASE DONT MESS UP THE TIMELINE AND IMPLY STRANGE AGE GAPS IT RUINS SHIPS

Starflight - Tbh… I love him and Fatespeaker nerdy quiet boyfriend and his bundle of energy nerdy girlfriend, just crank it up to 11 I want more I don’t care if she’s annoying it’s fun I just wish they did more with it it was so cute :(

Sunny - The aromantic queen.

Moonwatcher - Everytime I heard her worrying about “oh gosh oh me should I choose the nice funny guy who is nothing but kind to me or the nasty racist man who keeps telling me who hates me because I’m a nightwing” makes me want to rip my hair out. If you can’t tell love triangles are often poorly written and both choices are not equal. Solution: Give Qibli more apparent flaws and maybe don’t make Winter dragon racist it makes the bad boy character a lot less of a bad boy and more of “why are you giving this man the time of day Moon he hates you” energy. That was a rant and a half but basically balance it out more and in the end I don’t want her to decide. She can have some romance drama on the side but I feel like she could never choose, or she could go poly or open relationship but who knows. If I could throw Qibli and Winter in the love interest trash bin I would give Moon a quiet gf with an interesting backstory or something like that, someone who doesn’t have a bombardment of thoughts and is calm and peaceful and Moon can just chill with her. Or honestly if Arc 2 wanted to focus on plot more, discard love interest for Moon until Arc 3.

Winter and Qibli - Stated before. Honestly would prefer if Winter didn’t have a love interest at all and worked through his own issues with his friends where as I’m a little more open to Moon and Qibli personally I’m not the biggest fan. I think Qibli is another character like Clay that I can’t see any story reasons to actually give a love interest until after Arc 2.

Peril - Realize she doesn’t need Clay to love her to be worth anything and slowly come to realize to learn to love herself, maybe she gets to be with someone as an adult but after lots of healing and being able to separate her worth as a person from a partner’s love. <3

Turtle - I like how he has a crush on Kinkajou and how Anemone kind of ruins it but I don’t want it to go anywhere and I want he and Kinkajou to have more discussions about it and for them eventually decide not to get together. Or something like that I can’t really see Turtle with anyone but I liked that storyline.

Blue and Cricket: I actually really enjoy this ship and I want them to be happy, make it less sudden though Tui I stg they went way too fast but I do enjoy pathetic little boy x nerdy girl it is a very cute dynamic and made arc 3 tolerable in the first half for me.

Sundew: No complaints. Willow is amazing, I just wish she had more of a role in the story.

Snowfall: I think she and Lynx are cute but they do also work as friends, I don’t think she needs a love interest. Single girlboss.

Luna: I like Luna and Swordtail a lot actually Arc 3 had pretty good romance for Wings of Fire standards, I just wish it was fleshed out more before Luna’s POV book. Her thoughts and memories of Swordtail also made her book tolerable I’m ngl the plot was lacking but Luna and her awesome thoughts and mind and memories was super cool!!

I could also include the humans, the winglet characters and Darkstalker but I don’t want too!! Fuck the humans I hate them!!! Also I acknowledge I didn’t include any MLM ships in here at all but that’s kind of just because most male characters have pretty solid ships already which are primarily straight, which is sad that there isn’t a lot of LGBT rep in Wings of Fire besides Sundew x Willow and side characters Pineapple x Jambou(? He is so irrelevant I forgot his name help 😭 ) and arguably Sky/Peril. Maybe after Winter works through his angst he can get an emo boyfriend that would be my heart and soul.

[w3ath3r-0f-sw34t3rz]

as many ttpd thoughts as i can coherently write down

first of all grateful for the folklore x midnights x 1989/rep sound we have going on here. i hate comparing artists but seriously the best way i can explain it is phoebe bridgers this album sounds like phoebe bridgers. not like it's a bad thing it's phoebe fucking bridgers!!!

i feel like it's so easy to call music "intimate," whether because of lyrics that feel personal or just a certain raw sound, or whatever else, but this album truly is the most intimate thing i think taylor's ever given us. i don't know what sets it apart, cuz at this point she's written plenty of deeply personal lyrics, but the way i best know how to describe it is that it truly feels like she trusts us.

anyway i'm willing to admit that this album isn't a spectacle or a revolution or game changer, and i know it won't satisfy everyone (ngl i'm scared to see what everyone else is saying bc they'll never understand Like I Do) but damn it sometimes that much is more than enough. without further adieu

fortnight a solid vibe. i'd literally love any song with the lyric "i love you it's ruining my life"

ttpd love that lucy and jack cameo that's about it. but really who else is gonna hold you

mbobhft AUGGGHHH THAT HOOK. you'd think you'd be able to tell which tracks are entirely self-written but you'd never guess some of the best tracks would you? jokes on me. love the metaphor (as i tend to do), big fan of infantilizing men (no like actually)

down bad this song was not clicking at first but it won me over with the alien abduction theme

so long london aw fuck yeah i knew i was right to claim this one. that hook is delectable. every verse is like a juicy kiss on the mouth i love this song yOU SWORE THAT YOU LOVED ME BUT WHERE WERE THE CLU

but daddy i love him this was the point where i thought to myself "wow this album is a lot more romantic than i would've thought" which, in hindsight, idk if that can be the consensus but still--this is such a feel good happy lovely time

fresh out the slammer evermore would love this one. yee haw

florida i mean there was really no way for this song to be bad and damn. twas not. this is a screamer fs. how on earth they managed to make a song about fucking florida feel like this mysterious shady world that we the people are not apart of is astounding to me

guilty as sin yas girl let your freak flag fly!!! successor to false god fr

who's afraid of little old me oh. o,h my god. taylor. taylor r u good honey. this song is fucking batshit wild oh my god YES GIRL TELL EM i will never be the same i could end the california drought with these tear ducks holy shit im gonna go set something on fire

i can fix him i love this bc this is literally my best friend and now they're gonna know how they look. that "woah maybe i can't" both absolutely slaps and is hilarious. also love how horny that bridge was yas girl let your freak flag fly!!

loml oh god. lmao my ass rlly thought this album wasn't gonna be too depressing. they had me in the first half ngl. i'm not crying you're crying nahhh we're both crying and you know it. the lyrics here really popped off, like more than the rest of the album and that's saying something. bonus i remember seeing someone theorize that it was actually gonna be "loss of my life" instead of love, and while i was listening i had that in the back of my mind, but then i was like "ok no it's actually love" but then THEY WERE RIGHT and i felt so accomplished for no good reason. so if ur that person who called it, good job brother

i can do it with a broken heart this one shocks me so good oml why is this making me wanna throw it back. with all do respect if you didn't want us to enjoy your suffering why did you make your suffering such a bop. /j that "i'm miserable and nobody knows!! :D" gives me chills but like in a good way. "try and come for my job" literally get it queen i love you

smallest man who ever lived it's quite funny to me that literally nobody was claiming this track and then it permanently altered my brain chemistry. back at it with the hooks damn. wow this one really. this one is really sticking with me guys

the alchemy yay the vibes are back!!!! sweet simple romance you gotta love it

clara bow you had me at that intro. shove that guitar down my throat if u will. this is the better version of the lucky one (im not sorry.) damn "you look like Taylor Swift in this light" gets me every time i'm sorry that will never not hit

the black dog OLD HABITS DIE SCREAAAAAMMMIIINNNNNGGGGGGGGGG GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG i did not expect to like this one as much as i do but i can't stop thinking about it

imgonnagetyouback i had really mixed feelings but i literally can't dislike this song it's straight up good (also this song is so gorgeous-coded its wild)

the albatross idk i just love this one it is so sweet to me. in the way molasses is sweet but still

chloe or sam or sophia or marcus this melody has wriggled its way into the few folds of my brain and i don't see it leaving soon. i love me some good whimsy. fr as i'm listening to it again rn i'm realizing how good this production is. anyways bi rights

how did it end? you know................... i was really trying to not tie her real life into any of these songs, since i really don't know that much lore + i'm not a big fan of obsessing over celebrities personal lives--relationships most of all (especially when it comes to taylor)--in general, but damn i immediately did just that with this song and.. wow. but aside from all of that oh my god welcome back to Songs On This Album That Absolutely Haunt Me

so high school this one's kinda crazy bc damn it's such a taylor swift song but the sound is so new to her and it kind of makes me cry. but anyhow "touch me while your bros play grand theft auto" is the funniest fucking line i have ever heard in my life

i hate it here oh wow hahhahahhahahahha taylor what the fuck :3 imagine relating to this song on an cosmic level lmfaooooo

thank you aimee removing from irl context, putting this song next to mean genuinely makes me want to cry. like the maturity and growth both happy and sad is so evident it's like watching my child graduate

i look in people's windows another stellar string hook thank you and goodbye. ok but fr the visual here is inherently funny

the prophecy claiming this one for the neurodivergents

cassandra yeah yeah drama i know but damnnnn greek mythology BANGER

peter *taking notes* never... trust.. a man.. named..... peter.........

the bolter she's a runner she's a track star (can you tell i've run out of things to say it's just a good fucking album)

robin ohohoho i am an absolute SLUT for a good ode to childhood

the manuscript now that's a story

and at last--my current rankings:

who's afraid of little old me?

so long, london

how did it end?

chloe or sam or sophia or marcus

the smallest man who ever lived

florida!!!

clara bow

the alchemy

loml

i can do it with a broken heart

the albatross

my boy only breaks his favorite toys

i look in people's windows

cassandra

fortnight

i hate it here

the black dog

but daddy i love him

thanK you aIMee

the bolter

guilty as sin?

robin

i can fix him (no really i can)

the prophecy

peter

the manuscript

so high school

fresh out the slammer

the tortured poets department

imgonnagetyouback

down bad

now i know being critical is not one of my specialties but seriously it's a solid album ok. midnights is literally my baby and it has a skip for me so

now naturally my enthusiasm for each song will potentially decrease and most certainly increase over time cuz that's how i process albums buttttttt yuh 👍

almost any other artist building an entire persona about being an emo poet would make me roll my eyes but damn it she's so right

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Who are some characters that you think should've survived the killing games and why?

//Well, here’s how I’d put it.

//For Danganronpa 1, I think Taka should have survived instead of Hiro. Despite my complaints, everyone who survived in DR1 can stay except for Hiro for all I care. Despite my individual problems with Hina, Toko and Byakuya, all of them redeemed after they became stronger characters overtime. But Taka has probably the worst emotional arc out of every character that has one, since he becomes depressed over Mondo’s death, transformes into whatever the fuck Kiyondo/Ishida was supposed to be, and the FUCKING DIED. He deserved better

//Game 2′s surviving group are MOSTLY fine, and I wouldn’t change it much. If I had to pick one character to live to the end, it’s an odd choice, but I would say Ibuki. I know that sounds like a bad idea, given that Ibuki’s personality would really break away the tension in the game’s final moments (something that Hajime, Akane, Sonia, Kazuichi and Fuyuhiko as a group play really well to, which is why I think they’re a pretty solid final group) but bare in mind that every game already has one “comedic” character make it to the end (Hiro, Akane and Himiko) and also keep in mind that Ibuki is CRIMINALLY undervalued in that game. She doesn’t do a SINGLE plot-relevant thing throughout the entire time she’s alive for, and then she dies one of the shittiest deaths that the series has put out. She’s also one of the few Danganronpa comic-relief characters who are ACTUALLY funny, and consistently at that. And I don’t really see the ending of DR2 being much different with her there, even despite all this.

//Game 3, as in V3, I would say Ryoma, which I know most people in the fanbase agree with, since a vast majority of V3 rewrite fics have Ryoma survive (ITMLFY and TPS for example) He has so much potential for a good arc, but once again suffers from the age old problem of NOT getting one because it gets cut off by his death. While I do believe the order of events of Case 2 in V3 did make sense in the grand scheme of things, that doesn’t stop me from feeling a tad let down by them. Ryoma could have been something man.

//In case it wasn’t already obvious, I hate pretty much every member of the DR3 cast save Seiko, and I think she should have gotten out in the end instead of going out the way she did. I needn’t elaborate.

//As for the Another games, for Another 1, I would love to have seen Kanata survive for basically the same reason as Ibuki and Taka. She’s easily one of the best members of that game’s cast, and dies a crappy death that kinda shouldn’t have happened. I mean, looking at that game’s third case, Kinji had already killed Kakeru, and didn’t need to murder Kanata afterwards. There was no risk of her being a witness since she was unconscious, and not only that, but her death was brutal as well. She also deserved better.

//And for Another 2, while I would say it’s my second least favourite group of survivor’s, I don’t like any of the SDRA2 characters enough to claim that one or the other should have survived. If we’re going on which character I think didn’t deserve the end that they got and had the potential to be really strong later on, then my verdict goes to Hibiki. As sad as it is to say, Hibiki is TERRIBLY written. She doesn’t contribute a single thing for the vast majority of the game, playing second fiddle to fucking Kanade throughout the entire thing, and then dies in an execution that she shouldn’t have even been part of. The idea of having twin sisters in a DR game is interesting, but it’s horrifically wasted on the Otonokoji’s, when only one of them, the vastly more terrible of the two, is the one who gets all the attention from the fans.

-Mod

[numberoneanika]

DRDT Secret Theories (Part 1 because Tumblr hates me)

My predictions about who has who’s secret. Please note a lot of this will be stretching, or what I feel will happen, without any real evidence. 

Spoilers up until Chapter 2 Episode 4, as this was written between the gap from Ep 4-5.

Let’s start with the secrets/clues we know for sure.

-Teruko has Rose’s and someone else’s

-Arturo has J’s secret

-J has Charles’s secret

If we also assume everyone was being truthful in episode four, Ace, Veronika, Nico, Arei, Arturo, David, Eden, and Charles all cannot have Whit’s secret. This leaves Hu Jing, Rose, and Levi, which I will get to later.

Eden has a boy’s secret.

Everyone knew whose secret they had, inferred from the fact that no one raised their hands to say that they had their own secret, meaning they must have seen the name.

Ace, Arei, and J seem to have the most emotional reactions to their secrets. David’s is sort of emotional, - he’s quiet and looks down, crossing his arms. We see two other reactions (Eden and Veronika), both of which are much less emotional. J’s reaction is explained by the dead-brother thing.

Presumably, no one has their own secret… except one person who I think does, so let’s talk about that.

David Chiem

Okay, I don’t trust this guy at all. I didn’t trust him from the start, and I trust him even less now.

In the scene where he was telling everyone his “secret”, his star eyes were up, indicating his fake persona was also up. Not to mention, as Whit said, there’s no way to know your one secret for sure. So I’ll assume he’s lying about that.

The only way he would be comfortable lying about his secret is if, you guessed it, he has his own secret. I imagine he’s trying to protect his actual secret by causing a murder. By telling people to talk to the person whose secret they have, he’s making a surefire way to get someone murdered. As for why he didn’t raise his hand when MonoTV asked who had their own secret… I don’t know, maybe he was already playing 4D chess?

Summary: David has his own secret.

Arei Nageishi

Well, she’s certainly got… a backstory. Yeesh.

I would’ve said her momentary silence after David revealed his secret meant she had his secret, but, well, you know.

In Episode 1, when Levi agrees with Arei that the motive is a big problem, she is quiet for a second and looks down. Along with her first reaction to the secret, it makes me think she has Levi’s secret. I’m pretty sure Levi’s secret is something about his family. Also, if she didn’t have his, there wouldn’t really be a reason to be quiet after Levi spoke. Of course, she could also be just thinking, but I think her having Levi’s secret makes the most sense. Especially because I’m 60 percent sure he kills her in chapter 3, but that’s another matter.

Summary: Arei has Levi’s secret.

Eden Tobisa

Hooray for clock girl. 

We already know she has a boy’s secret because she’s not watching her words (still love you girl), and I’ve already said I believe David has his own secret. Whit and Levi are also cleared. This leaves Arturo, Ace, and Nico. 

Personally, I don’t think her having Arturo’s secret makes sense. Not sure why, to be honest.

I think out of Ace and Nico, her having Nico’s secret makes more sense. Again, just feeling. I think it would some sense for her to have another softie’s secret. Plus, I don’t think Nico’s secret was that bad, because he’s just… Nico. Her reaction to the secret she received wasn’t too… dramatic? She just went “oh”. So I don’t think the secret Eden received was too bad. So I think it’s Nico’s secret.

Not too strong on this one, but what can you do?

Summary: Eden has Nico’s secret.

Whit Young

It’s the guy, you guys. It’s Him.

Okay, this one is mostly based on my predictions on this chapter’s victim rather than any solid evidence. I think he has Ace’s secret. While Ace cannot have Whit’s secret, Ace did not request that whoever had his secret share it. As Charles says, Whit is great for not sharing people’s secrets in public (looking @ you Arturo), so I imagine he would respect Ace’s privacy and, taking David’s idea, talk to Ace about his secret alone. The situation escalates, and Ace ends up dead. I just think Whit is gonna die in this chapter, maybe give Charles a bit of character development (or maybe I just really really want Charles to be the support), and I can’t see him being a victim. Sorry man.

Summary: Whit has Ace’s secret.

Nico Hakobyan

It’s him… the autism

In episode 1, Nico states that he was “really nervous earlier, but now I’m a little disappointed.” This implies that the secret he received was not very big. I imagine Teruko and Arturo’s secret would be very impactful, so they’re out. I think Veronika’s secret might be pretty shocking, so she’s out. I think Eden might be a traitor, so it could be that… but it also could be just a normal secret, because Eden is just… Eden. 

Summary: Nico has Eden’s secret. Pair #1

Ace Markey

He is becoming so unlikable it’s unreal.

In episode 1, Ace seems very shocked at the secret he received. I doubt a character like Ace would receive Teruko’s secret (no offense my guy, you just don’t seem very important), so it has to be someone else. The only other person I can think of that could have a shocking secret would probably be Arturo. I’m 90 percent sure he has some screwed-up secret like scars underneath his mask or what made him Like That.

Summary: Ace has Arturo’s secret.

Part 2

[autisticandroids]

directors commentary for goldfish

[the goal here is to provide a director’s commentary, a la the one i did for i fold in half so easily, though obviously less comprehensive. this commentary is for goldfish.]

ohohohoho this one will be fun. the thing about this fic is i was like... stretching my creative writing muscles more than i usually do, because normally i write within, i guess, really narrow parameters? like i have extremely limiting constraints on things like how characters react to situations, and in fact, what situations arrive because a lot of my conflict is character driven, because i need stuff to work in tandem with my interpretations. like, to me, ficwriting is less about creative writing and more just an extension of interpretation, you know? obviously this isn't always true, i've written a number of fanfictions which ask important creative questions like "what if this gross thing happened" and "what if horny," but like. on the balance, when i write it's mostly about interpretation. it's like, deductive reasoning as opposed to the inductive reasoning someone who might write a longer, plottier fic might use. like, i'm trying to work out fanfiction from first principles.

this is honestly mostly because creative writing is hard for me. it's not really one of my talents and it's not something that comes easily. i'm an interpreter at heart. i love to pull themes and meanings out of other things and show my work and such. i love pulling on a single thread and watching things unravel. i hate weaving the original tapestry to unravel because that's, like, hard.

anyway goldfish was an opportunity for me to indulge in character creation. the thing about lisa is that she does have some characterization in the show, but it's not a lot, and much more importantly, there's good reason for her to be different in goldfish. in the show she's got a ten year old son. parents, especially primary parents, really structure their lives around their kids, especially when they're that young. but goldfish is set like a decade later when ben would literally be off in college. lisa would have spent ben's more independent teen years unfurling a little, and would now be unfurling a lot. also importantly, lisa has experienced potentially personality altering trauma/brain damage from having her brain wiped, and the lingering memories cas didn't manage to get. i would expect that to change her at least some.

it was also fun to really write some cas and jack. like i haven't done a ton of that because a lot of the really solid cas and jack angst opportunities involve one of them being dead or absent. but in this case they can be together and still miserable <3. also the biggest motivation behind this fic in general was actually like. how bad it sucks that chuck kills jack instead of moriah getting any meaningful resolution. also stream the river by @davidfosterwallaceandgromit but that's kind of tangential.

The house is empty enough to make a woman stir crazy. Ben’s off at college, and the last few years Lisa has been making most of her money from her Youtube channel like a twenty first century Jane Fonda, so she only has students in her home studio once a week. She’s been going to the flea market every Saturday just to talk to people, and she finds herself actually looking forward to getting emails.

important to me that lisa makes gen x references. she's a gen xer.

So when the doorbell rings at eleven AM on a Tuesday in May, she’s not just curious, she’s thrilled.

oh another reason why i needed to reinvent lisa a little is that i needed her to be the kind of person who would let two strange men into her house even if they had weird vibes. and then she needed to not completely lose it when the vibes went from weird to rancid, or, at least, to not lose it so bad that the situation becomes unrecoverable. i needed her to be impulsive and open-minded, basically. so i wrote her that way.

In the distorted fisheye of her peephole, she sees two men. Maybe a man and a boy, she can’t get a good look at the second one because he’s behind the left shoulder of the first, his face in the most distorted part of the fisheye. But his forehead is baby-smooth, and his posture, the way he relates to the other one, suggests a certain skirt-clinging shyness. Neither of them appear to be carrying anything (or, the first one doesn’t; she can’t see the second one’s hands), and they’re not neighbors, as far as she knows. She can’t see any reason why they’d be at her door, but even if they’re Mormons or something, they’ll pass the time. 

the thing about me is i'm not immune to jack hiding behind cas a little bit <3.

(They look a bit like Mormons, actually, or the first one does. He’s all dressed up like an accountant, with a big raincoat on. She’d call it a flasher coat if it was buttoned, but it isn’t, so it just makes him look like he’s following an office dress code. But it’s out of place in the seventy five degree spring sunshine, and besides, if this guy works a nine-to-five, what’s he doing here in the middle of his shift?)

i spent a lot of time thinking about like... how a normie would actually perceive cas and jack, in this fic. it's important to me to try and capture a truly outsider perspective - no insider knowledge leaking in and coloring things.

She opens the door and her mouth in the same motion, but finds she’s forgotten how to greet another person in a reasonable manner. Fortunately, she doesn’t have to - the man (and she can see now that his companion is a boy, maybe a few years younger than her Ben) speaks first.

“Lisa Braeden?” he asks, and his voice is odd. Gravelly. Something about it strikes her. Gives her goosebumps, actually. Maybe just because it’s weird, but… She shakes her head. If the voice reminds her of something, it’ll come to her eventually. 

so she never actually MET cas but she WOULD have heard him and dean conspiring to wipe her brain while she was unconscious. chilling!

Much more unsettling is the fact that he knows her name. One of her girlfriends knocked doors for Hillary a few years back and said they’ve got these new apps that tell you the name of Democratic Party donors in each household, so probably it’s something like that, some kind of canvassing thing. At this point she’s hoping he’s a Mormon, actually. Because the other option is, well, you can’t upload videos of yourself to the internet wearing skintight clothes and doing yoga poses without acquiring a few of the less savory variety of fan. She’s never really had an incident, (she’s always thanked her advancing age for that - forty isn’t exactly over the hill but it’s definitely older in Youtube terms), but she knows girls who have, and it’s kept her on the lookout. But if he’s some kind of stalker, why would he bring his - son? Yeah, the kid has to be his son; looking at the two of them she can see it in their faces: the nose and lips and forehead, all identical, as well as the jawline and something about the eyes.

so i used to knock doors for bernie and they do in fact have a little app that tells you people's names. also it was very fun to use the straight woman definition of "girlfriend." anyway it's important to me that she perceive cas as a potential threat because again, he's a stranger. i know we know cas is a sugarplum, but she has no reason to see him as anything other than a random dude. a random dude who came to her house and knows her name.

“That’s me.” Her voice is flat. She leaves the barred screen door closed and locked, for the moment. 

“May I come in?” The man looks… almost sad. Or maybe that’s just his face; his eyes are downturned at the corners in a way that makes her imagine he would look on the verge of tears even at a comedy show.

the thing about misha collins is he has tareme eyes in real life.

“How do you know my name?” She blurts, still not moving to open the barred screen.

“We- we have a mutual friend.” He looks down, now. Maybe he’s lying. His probability of being a stalker is rising by the minute, or so something hysterical in her is saying, but he doesn’t look threatening. Which is probably how a stalker would look, actually. But he looks… contrite. He’s not trying to charm her. Which is a good sign, probably. “We’ve never met, but… he asked me to do something terrible to you, once. And I did. You never found out, but I’ve… I’ve come to make amends.”

Well. Whatever that is, she’s pretty sure it’s not a stalker opener. She hears the click of the latch before she realizes she’s opening the screen. It swings open, and she and the man just sort of stand there, looking at each other. He steps back to avoid getting clipped by the door, and brushes against the kid behind him. The kid also steps back. She inclines her head, a wordless invitation to both of them, and watches him trail the man inside. He’s taller than his dad by a full inch and a half, but he’s such a bean pole that it only emphasizes how small he looks. Especially with the way he’s dressed: skinny jeans give his legs a rather baby deer look, and his windbreaker is a faux-letterman, navy blue with white stripes on the sleeves and collar, and like a letterman it’s cut to be baggy, so even though it clearly fits him like it’s meant to it makes him look swamped when paired with the jeans. Throw in his carefully combed mama’s boy hairdo and he’s got the seventeen going on seven thing down pat.

MORIAH OUTFIT MORIAH OUTFIT. anyway this is what we call tall jack agenda. alcal may be like an inch shorter than misha but To Me jack is the second tallest member of the household. i am not immune to doing stuff just 'cause it's cute. and again this is why lisa needed to be impulsive: why the fuck would you open the door for these dudes? or rather, i would, personally, i'm not a person who has a lot of fear of strangers and i'm extroverted and gregarious, but i'm also twenty five and have spent my life engaged with the kind of progressive politics where we deconstruct shit like stranger danger. lisa is a forty year old suburban mom who would have literally been in kindergarten during the satanic panic, and probably spent her whole childhood being told about pedophiles with candy vans, not to mention her whole adulthood being blasted with local news segments from stations with an "if it bleeds it leads" mindset genetically engineered to make well-off suburban white women like her feel hemmed in by danger. demographically, lisa is the kind of person who would probably call the cops in this situation, so figuring out why she doesn't is character building.

The two sit primly on her couch, mirror images of each other. The kid seems to watch his father, mimicking whatever he does, and what the father is doing is sitting knees together on her couch, hands folded in his lap, shoulders slightly hunched. She offers them water and both decline with the same polite no, thank you, but she bustles off to the kitchen anyway because her mouth is, as of seeing two strange men sitting on her nice burgundy leather couch, bone dry.

two of them. also lisa is channelling bilbo baggins here. there's guys in her house and it is ABSOLUTELY outside her parameters of normal and she's panicking a little, not really because they're a threat but because the whole situation is a little stressful.

While she’s in the kitchen, she notices the bottle of Merlot she’d left out when she’d decided to hit the mommy juice this morning. Can she even call it that anymore? She’s still technically a mother, but her kid doesn’t even live at home except in the summer these days. At this point it’s probably more honest to just call the habit “day drinking.” Or “functional alcoholism.” She snaps a reusable cork, the one with the little frog and lily pad sculpted on it, into the bottle, and stashes it under the counter.

the thing about lisa is that she's very lonely. and also she has brain damage that fucks her up in ways she is incapable of even noticing because of the brain damage.

Then she slides a hand into her purse and tries not to rattle her keyring as she retrieves it. There’s a lot of dangly bits on it: a set of cat shaped charms Ben had bought her when he was fifteen, a miniature flashlight which she still hadn’t removed despite the ubiquitous nature of the mobile phone light rendering it obsolete, and of course thirteen different keys of varying degrees of usefulness, but what she wants is the tiny canister of mace attached to the ring by a two inch chain. 

Just in case.

fun fact i got into a long discussion with my feminist methodology professor like two years ago where we talked about how frequently she used to ask her female students and her male students to talk about their experiences of walking alone outside at night and the male students would be like "idk i just do it" and the female students would be like listing off the ten steps of their security routine that they would go through just to walk the hundred yards to their car. and then she (my professor) read more statistics and was like wait a minute. actually men and women experience stranger attacks at approximately equal rates. maybe i shouldn't use this as an example of structural misogyny anymore. anyway that security-conscious culture is part of a bigger ball of things that contribute to patriarchy AND white supremacy AND carceralism and and and. and actually, tangent but also not really, it has impacted lisa's life in specific ways because like. so there's the myth that women are extra vulnerable to attacks by outsiders. so therefore they need men to protect them. and anything those men do in the name of that protection, either to other people, or to the women they protect, becomes justifiable. which is what happened to lisa when she was with dean. like dean feels the need to protect lisa from monsters and the supernatural and in the course of that protection violence against lisa (and as an extension, ben) (insert dean hitting ben compilation here) becomes eminently justifiable. which is why the mindwipe happened. like obviously the mindwipe is ridiculous because it wouldn't be effective, but also even if it was, this ideology is still backing it up. (obviously dean is also using lisa and people like her to justify killing monsters as well, but that doesn't really touch her, personally).

She slips the whole rat’s nest into her back pocket, and tries to remember why she came into the kitchen in the first place. She finds herself staring at the back door. The real estate agent said it was good fire safety, having a door in the kitchen. It means you can get out if something goes wrong with the stove. Means you can run. She could just run, let the strangers take over the house and leave. 

representation for girls with rat's nest keys <3. anyway again i think that lisa's sort of... frenetic flightiness is a result of the brain damage. like i think she experienced a blow to her executive functioning capacity when cas wiped her brain. but also she's like. a little tipsy right now. so.

When she returns to the living room, her guests appear to have quite literally not moved a muscle. She keeps trying to look at them out of the corner of her eye, to see if they still breathe when she can’t see them.

She takes a sip of her water.

“So, uh…” she starts. The man stares. His gaze isn’t hostile, but it is persistent, and she finds it makes her nervous. “What should I… call you?”

“My name is Castiel. This is my son, Jack.” So she’d been right. A small moment of self-congratulation distracts her from nervousness.

“Jack Kline.” The kid’s voice is expressionless. He extends a hand without getting up. It’s an awkward motion, clearly practiced and not quite understood. Fits with the rest of his behavior, the way he imitates his father. Maybe he’s got some kind of disorder. She shakes his hand.

my dad once referred to my obviously autistic chemistry teacher as having "some kind of social disorder" which is a way of normies (i say normies because my dad is Not neurotypical he just thinks of himself as normal) discussing and vaguely dehumanizing autistics that i was quite charmed by.

“You have a beautiful home.” The father seems to be staring at her cut glass chandelier. It had been quarter-price at Home Depot; the thing had a manufacturing error and one of the little chains had been shorter than the others. But it was fine. She’d just cracked out the set of needle nose pliers (padded and sold as “comfortable for smaller hands”) she’d bought herself after she’d dumped her last boyfriend six years ago and basically given up the whole “dating” thing, and used the built in wire cutters to trim the others down to match.

i'm very interested in lisa's independence and her drive for it. like obviously part of the reason she gave up dating was unremembered but still impactful trauma from 1) dean 2) matt's death and 3) having her brain wiped of All That. like i think that would kinda wreck a person's relationship with dating. and like, lisa's been a single mom for two decades at this point, she's gotte have a pretty impressive independent streak.

“Thank you.” The hard shapes of her keys dig into her behind as she sits, but the crackly, sticky sounds of the white leather armchair (it’s mainly for guests and doesn’t get a ton of traffic; her and Ben tend to sit on the couch, which is butter-soft from years of use) cover any jangling. He nods absently.

suburban moms will say the word "behind." also. cas and jack sitting where lisa and ben usually sit :3 :3 :3.

“Is it just you and your son here these days?” he asks, head tilted.

“Well, actually, it’s really just me these days, Ben’s off…” she realizes, too late, what she’s saying to a strange man in her living room. “Ben’s off at work so much,” she lies, and it isn’t smooth, but maybe it’s convincing to someone who isn’t her, “it barely feels like he lives here anymore. Today’s the only day of the week he’s home before eight pm. He- he comes early so we can have family dinner with my new boyfriend… Don.”

The father nods.

“And what does Ben do for a living?” He sounds like he’s reading off a script. Maybe the kid got it from his dad.

“He works construction,” she says, and it’s easy. She has the picture so clearly in her head, even though Ben’s in school for screenwriting. “He puts up siding on houses, mostly. What about Jack? Is he in high school?”

the construction job and naming the fake boyfriend don are both obviously about dean. like obviously she has all these memories of dean that are blocked from her conscious mind but they impact stuff like her imagination. so even though she can't Remember the image of dean putting siding on houses, she still remembers it.

That gets a blank look for a moment, but it passes quickly.

“Yes, Jack is- Jack’s in high school. He gets, uh, very good grades.” Yeah this guy is definitely just kind of stiff and awkward. She glances at the kid. He hasn’t said a word. She realizes he actually hasn’t spoken unless prompted this entire time.

oh soulless jack.... it's important to me that he's just kind of empty. a doll of his former self.

“Okay, Mr. Kline,” she turns back to the father. His eyes widen slightly when she says it, and he flinches back almost imperceptibly. But he shakes his head and recovers, smiling slightly. She guesses he doesn't like the formality, or just isn't used to it. Another tick against him actually having an office job. “Would you mind, um, telling me why it is that you’re here? And who our mutual friend is?” 

i really enjoyed like. writing lisa making assumptions (like calling cas mr. kline) which are reasonable with the information she has, but incorrect. also, real time footage of cas Processing being called that.

Mr. Kline opens his mouth, then closes it. He blinks.

“It may be easier if I simply…” He leans forward, looming over her, approaching quickly enough that she can’t do anything but lean back and squeeze her eyes shut. 

She doesn’t even feel his fingers touch her forehead.

-

Lisa must have fallen asleep over her computer. She’s uncomfortable, all twisted up and a little cold and definitely not in bed. Her teeth feel unbrushed, and she has the tell-tale headache that says she didn’t drink enough water last night. She groans and brings her hands to her eyes, instinctively shielding them from what she knows is going to be too-bright light. She rubs at her eyes, and blinks them open.

She shrieks.

There’s a man- she somehow fell asleep in the armchair and there’s a man standing over her and-

Mr. Kline. 

She remembers exactly what happened today, even if she’s not totally sure how she ended up asleep, and instinct kicks in. She whips the keyring out of her back pocket so fast that she hears a tearing sound. The keys must have caught on the seat of her sweatpants, but it doesn’t matter, she already had the little canister of mace in hand and is letting loose on Kline.

god i spent so long trying to pad out the time between the setup and payoff of the mace cannister (for example, that was my ulterior motive for the paragraph about the pliers), but i'm still not happy with it really.

And he’s just standing there. Pepper spray is dripping from his chin, and she’s still pumping at the nozzle, and he’s just sort of squinting at her in seeming confusion. He hasn’t even closed his eyes. 

man i had a lot of fun with this joke. personally it still gets a sensible chuckle whenever i think about it. polite angel immune to pepperspray what will he do.

“Ms. Braeden, what are you doing?”

At this point, there’s enough mace in the air that she coughs. And somehow, the coughs change and shift, and then she’s laughing, and she knows it’s hysterical, but she can’t stop, and even if she could she keeps coughing, too. And every time she looks up he’s still just sort of staring at her.

asthma experiencer voice what would it mean to laugh without coughing. i have never done this. they're the same thing to me.

“Well,” her voice is hoarse, “I was trying to pepper spray you, because you’re some kind of stalker or a rapist or something, but I guess that didn’t work, and now my living room is full of pepper spray and you’re still here.”

“I see. I’ve made you uncomfortable.” He gives her a polite nod, and then takes a couple steps backwards until the backs of his shins are against her sofa, as if everything is normal, as if he isn’t dripping mace onto her white carpet. It’s probably gonna leave orange stains. The kid’s still on the sofa, he looks like he hasn’t even moved. 

i think pepper spray is slightly orange in large enough quantities? don't quote me on that

She gives another half-crazed giggle. Her knees just sort of buckle of their own volition, and she ends up back in the armchair with a sticky crunch of stiff leather. 

Seeming to take a cue from this, he sits down as well, which draws a fresh bubble of laughter from somewhere down in her gut.

“You know, actually, it’s fine,” she says. It’s breathless, and she doesn’t know why she’s saying it. She waves a hand. “It’s all fine. I don’t mind.” She’s not sure what she’s giving him permission to do, but he seems reassured. There are a few beats of silence, broken up only by a slight rustling sound. She realizes the kid is tugging on the edge of his dad’s coat, or, no, he’s just holding it, crumpling and uncrumpling the fabric in his hand.

he is stimming. cas and jack touch agenda.

“How are you… feeling?” Kline says, and stares at her with knit brows.

“Me? I’m fine. There’s a strange man in my living room who is immune to pepper spray, but I’m fine.” She closes her eyes for a moment.

“But… are you dizzy? Are you confused? Do you feel that your mind is as it should be?” He sounds so earnest and concerned it’s really kind of hard to stay freaked out, but she does her best.

“What the hell kind of question- what did you do?” Her voice should be rising with panic, probably, but it’s just resigned.

“Do you know who Dean Winchester is?” and suddenly Kline’s stare is piercing.

“Dean? My ex? We broke up more than a decade ago. What does he have to do with anything? I haven’t seen or even thought about him since- since-”

She can’t breathe again, and this time it isn’t the mace in the air. Something’s wrong. She can’t- she can’t reconcile Dean- it’s all- something’s wrong. Because he was- he was a hunter . He killed demons. He saved the world. She used to keep a shotgun loaded with rock salt in the kitchen cabinet in case she needed to defend herself, but then- then when she had moved out of that house she had found it and she hadn’t known where it came from. She had taken it to the pawn shop because she didn’t want Ben to grow up around guns, she knew they were dangerous to have with a growing boy in the house, and she’d sold it, and the owner had asked what was the deal with those weird rounds, and she’d said I don’t know. Because she didn’t. She used to know. And then she didn’t. And she can’t- why hadn’t she put up warding sigils around this house when she’d moved in? Dean had shown her how. Told her she needed protection. From things that go bump in the night. But she just hadn’t put them up. It hadn’t occurred to her. No Devil’s Trap under the welcome mat. No holy water by the door. No inlaid silver on the handle. Why didn’t she-

Kline’s hand is on her shoulder. It’s stiff, and strange, but she’s thankful for it. It forces her into the present. He’s staring into her eyes.

“You remember.” There’s a gravity to his tone, like what he's saying should make sense to her.

“I-” she searches for the right verb, the right concept for what’s happened to her, but she doesn’t know. Maybe there isn’t a right word. Maybe it’s not something knowable.

She focuses on Kline’s face. It’s lined, with deep eye-bags. She can see the pores on his nose. The skin of his eyelids is slightly shiny, a sleep-deprived greasiness. There’s a small drop of liquid just below his cheekbone. Pepper spray.

She stills.

“You’re a demon.” She’s not scared, or rather, she is, but at this point there is nothing she can do. If this man is here to kill her, there is nothing she can do to stop him. Not really even anything she could do to make it harder. “Or a vampire. Or something.”

Kline pulls back. Grimaces a little. 

“Or something. I’m a fr- I knew him. Dean.”

oooooh yes babygirl update your relationship status in real time.

“Why am I- do you know why I- why the- why?” She hopes desperately that he knows what she’s asking, because if- if an or something showed up at her house the same day as- as this, then surely he has to at least know. It happened after he touched her and collapsed. That’s- that can’t be a coincidence.

Kline’s grimace deepens, and he looks away from her.

“Your memory has been tampered with.” He takes a breath. Glances at the kid. “I tampered with it, years ago. Because Dean asked me to.” He stops, sighs, looks her in the eye. “I came here to undo it. Because it was wrong.”

cas is doing a lot of things here. like, he is forcing himself to apologize for himself, and as a symbol of his new policy of applying critical thinking to the things dean has asked him to do, and as a way of going against dean symbolically to prove himself to jack because it's partly his fault that jack was in a situation to be in danger from dean in the first place. but he is also trying to set an example for jack.

“Oh,” she says, because there doesn’t seem anything else to say.

“And I want to tell you that I am sorry. I’m sorry for what I did. To you and- and to others. There’s nothing I can do to truly reverse the effects of my actions. But I can reverse the memory removal. I have reversed it. This is the one thing I can do.” Kline is staring at her, but his hand is wandering. She can see it reach behind him to squeeze his son’s shoulder. The kid doesn’t seem to be paying attention. He’s still holding the hem of Kline’s coat. Like Ben used to hang onto her when he was-

the thing about the mindwipe is it's literally like the only awful thing dean ever had cas do that's fixable.

Ben. 

Dean. Dean and Ben. Dean had been so good with Ben. Ben had known Dean.

“My son.” Her voice is cold, and she’s glad it came out that way, because there was maybe a 50/50 chance of it coming out shaky instead. Kline flinches. He catches the kid’s hand in his own.

cas voice my son too <3.

“Yes. I took his memories as well.” 

She finds herself standing. Taking a wobbly step.

“How dare you. You come into my house after- Give them back. Fix him.”

Kline grimaces.

“I am not… sure that ‘fixing’ is the right term. The damage has already been done, and cannot be undone. I removed your memories as an adult, and processing their return was still… difficult. Returning your child’s memories may have deleterious effects.”

Her blood runs cold. She knows he can see it on her face, and he winces.

“If you want me to return his memories, I will. You may also be able to simply… jog them, by discussing Dean. He’s your child.” His hand find’s the kid’s hair, making a fist in the long, sandy-brown locks. “It’s your choice.”

“I’ll… I’ll wait.” She needs to think. “What kind of ‘deleterious effects’?”

“I’m not sure,” says Kline. “None of my kind had ever removed the memories of a human on this scale before I took yours.” He’s looking away.

“None- what? I mean, why not?” It was the first question that popped into her mind, but she feels immediately ridiculous for letting it pop out of her mouth.

“There was no reason. None of us had ever… involved ourselves so heavily in human affairs. We were meant to serve G- a higher cause, not man.”

cas is really trying not to have the angel talk right now, not least because losing his faith in dean has really made the near extinction of angels, and the fact that cas has participated in the destruction of a lot of his siblings, a fresh new pain for him. like cas and jack are really truly all alone without the winchesters, and part of that is because cas bought into dean for so long.

“But you…” She catches herself before she says it, but Kline grimaces.

“Serve man?” The words hang in the air uncomfortably for a moment, and she can’t stop herself from wincing. Kline’s eyes are closed. “I did. I used to- to serve Dean. I thought it was righteous. I thought even when- even when I didn’t agree I thought he knew better. But Dean- Jack… lost something. And then he- Dean- there came a moment when I realized…” Kline trails off. He’s looking down at the kid, now. Finger-combing his hair with both hands. 

A single tear rolls down Kline’s cheek as the kid stares off into space.

crucial to me for cas and jack to do the lal and data i will feel it for both of us thing. as i've said. jack can't experience the hurt of what dean did (yet) so cas will process it for him.

Lisa feels a shiver pass over her body.

Ben wasn’t even able to talk about it after, when Dean shoved him. Lisa doesn’t think she’s ever been that angry before or since. She wasn’t generally a breakup kind of gal, most of her relationships had just sort of coolly fizzled away. But with Dean…

She sees it, in Kline’s face. In the way he touches Jack, half grounding, half possessive. Like Jack has survived some calamity. Like Kline can’t believe he’s really there. Like he might not be, if things had gone differently.

The first sentence that pops into her head when she finishes up with her dot-connecting is You know, I’m actually not surprised that Dean was gay the whole time, but she manages by the grace of God not to let it come out of her mouth. She doesn’t want Kline to think she’s homophobic or anything.

gay dean truthing NEVER sleeps. if anybody noticed it would've been lisa. anyway i like to break up a solemn moment with a bit of levity. i love that lisa is afraid of being homophobic <3.

Instead, she stays silent a moment.

“I see.”

He nods, and his face crumples.

She realizes that he must have taken it as a statement of judgment. She would have, in his place. 

the thing about cas is that he did fail where lisa succeeded. like, in the end, lisa was not willing to let dean harm her son. cas was.

“No, no.” She shakes her head to emphasize the point, aggressively enough to send her hair flying everywhere. “I mean, you- you and I- we are-” she leans forward. Takes his hand.

His eyes widen.

“I don’t understand,” he says, and the tone of conviction he uses makes the phrase slightly ridiculous.

We’re the same, she wants to say. We could have been. Instead, she glances at the kid. At Jack, with his quiet obedience and empty stare.

“Don’t fix Ben. Don’t- don’t bring his memories back. He doesn’t need to remember. And I don’t-” I don’t want him to know. To know that someone who loved him could do that to him. She isn’t sure whether she means laying a hand on him or taking his memories. I don't want it to break him.

this is a little dramatic but the thing about lisa is she is CURRENTLY LOOKING AT another kid dean traumatized. who is (seemingly) about ben's age. who dean was a stepdad two. cut the woman some slack.

“Alright,” Kline says, snapping back to himself, “but if you change your mind-”

“I’ll contact you,” she says, but she already knows she won’t. She makes up her mind to lose his number, if he even gives it to her. If he even has one to give.

She doesn’t ever want that for Ben.

that being jack's current state.

[faroreswinds]

Anon asks about Xenoblade 2

xc2 100% has harem fantasy elements, but i can ignore them for the most part. it also has what id call a significantly more engaging world to xc1, and the story in the torna dlc is amazing. tons of conent, challenges, and things to collect. easily worth the cost of the game imo. i enjoyed it a lot, and its got 10x more replayability than xc1. the story has some pretty genuinely heat wrenching moments. buy if you can is my advice

Xenoblade chronicles 2 ended up one of my favourite jrpgs but it's a hard sell for lots of entirely legitimate reasons. I do think the game has more heart than first impressions suggest but it's definitely guilty of the things people mock\criticise it for. I would openly recommend 3 though, you don't really need to have played the previous games for it. Remake of 1 is an overall solid game.

I will be pretty honest with you guys. I have no intention of playing Xenoblade 2. 

Even if the story is good and the gameplay is good, the treatment of the women is enough to for me to say “Fuck no.” It’s not just the worst designs on the planet, but I’ve seen some dialogue scenes and it is so cringe. There is only one good female design. ONE. And they still make her joke about not looking like a woman since she’s not half-naked (I did some research. I still don’t understand the plot of the game). 

No fucking thank you. I hate that shit. I know that sounds aggressive but I do. Even if the women are generally well written, the designs tell me that they aren’t ACTUALLY anything more than objects to stare at. A good character needs design and writing, not one or the other. I can already tell you there is only one female character I will like. Yes, I am petty. A bad design will ruin a character for me for good. 

I can barely take some of FE’s female designs, no way in hell will I tolerate XC2. 

Also like SPOILER but while doing some research I found out Rex apparently marries all three of the main girls and has babies with them. I cannot even begin to describe how appalling the “family photo” was. Legit uncomfortable. It looked like “Look at my sister-wives I impregnated!” and all the gigachad comments were fucking gross.

I would be less bothered if I could get a female character that got a male harem and got to stand over her husbands in a similar weird way as Rex did, but like 99% of the time these never happen. 

It’s not that I am against polyamorous relationships. But the general idea of the female characters from this game already leave a bad taste in my mouth, plus a real-world history of women being basically baby-makers makes me wary of one-male multiple-women relationships in media. Especially if it’s 3 women. I think I would have been less bothered if it had been 2. But 3?! Come on, that’s literally just a harem hentai. Look at their outfits! 

I really care little about the context of the situation. I don’t even want to know. That’s how much it bothered me and I am pretty hard to bother. 

I’m not generally passionate about much, but the objectification of women in this way without it being equal with the men does bring out that loathing in me. It might be surprising to read this rather aggressive answer, since I generally don’t have aggressive answers for asks. But man, XC2 just looks so gross. I won’t be able to play a game where I have to watch Pyra or whatever her name is on my screen 24/7. 

I might look into 1 and 3 though. They don’t sound so bad. I’m sure they have their fair share of treating women like shit too but design-wise at least they look like actual people. 

[ants-personal]

for zalty fandom azkz: 1, 7 and 9 you can pick fandomz :3

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?

imma be real honest here amanda and adam like first off they are on just two different ends of the spectrum on so many levels and like amanda doesn't deserve adam anyways also those bitches gay wlw and mlm violence style

also the small hoffman x adam you really think someone like adam would date a cop especially a corrupt one HAHA

7. Is there anything you use to like but cant stand now?

Hmm probably the way the stories are told in saw lol past the 3rd one its sucks we spend so much time still in flashbacks it takes away alot from characters that are going through the movie now like hoffman suffers greatly from it. Even now we get finally a new story in thw saw universe with spiral and they go right back to heres john and aNother thing he did in the past we decided :P. Id rather explore spiral more or similar to it a rise in new jigsaws but each one being that meme thats like wow everyone else is insane good thing im the sane one and they are all thinking it each having new rules or beliefs and how that conflicts with the other jigsaws maybe or just bring back zeke and william please liongate im begging let saw 11 be something still attached to johns name only by association and not anotherr flashback movie to bloat the timeline I wanna see some of these charaters actually like be developed into more then barely 2d characters they did so well with amanda in the first 3 now do it again with others

9. Most dislikes character(s)? why?

1. Hoffman i cannot stand cops who think they are still good by doing bad also he just so pretentious and booooorrrrinnngggggg oh my goood i hate that the last three movies in the og 7 revolves around him so much like UGHHHHHH i wish i got to see his face get ripped im half by that beartrap instead of jill

2. LOgan theres not many reasons either mostly hes boring and barely a character like hes a solider???? and???? nothing another boring fuckin guy who thinks hs the beST and did not deserve jigsaws mercy over others he so easily let die really id love see him die just as boring as he lived

3. Amanda but really only cause she killed my boy adam and also cheated his game and kerrys but its not as much as the other 2 more like annoyance she can do a little cheat im just not happy with it. My feels towards her are like shes one of the only well written characters in this franchise but also my pathetic boy :(( so i guess its more love her character dislike her actions

[mouseratz]

anywho. also read asm 300 out of boredom and the fact I didn't have my physical books on me soooo. well. god I hate MJ and Peter. y'all should divorce for real. not because you guys are bad to each other you're just so goddamn annoying.

Mjs like "I'm a girl! I love shopping and I have friends who are also hot girls! and peter don't you want to take sexy photos of me! and I feel SOOOO bad that I'm better at your job than you and it makes you feel bad I guess I should just be worse at it so it doesn't insult your masculinity ❤️❤️❤️ loveee u baby" Like. sorry. she's just written as What Some Guy Imagines a Normal Nice Girl Is Like here. (obviously this is not representative of the entirety of actual decades of writing for a character but this issue is a rough introduction.)

and peter. well. he's Nineties Just Some Guy but I expected that so it's a little less grating.

the art is interesting because the action scenes and compositions are really solid and easy to see why they're iconic. but the faces......I don't like them. at all. they're jacked up for everybody. basically only the hero suits and dynamic shots look good.

Brock's heavy catholic bent did not make it into the movie characterization and I think that's fair but also really fucking funny. part of his revenge fantasy includes "dressing up as a priest to kill spiderman". also his backstory "I was really sad I lost my job so I got jacked because I thought it would make me less depressed but it didn't. and the more I thought about it the more mad I got and then I was gonna kill myself for real like I was gonna do it. but then an alien said hey let's go kill that guy you hate I hate him too and I was like awesome! and now life is also awesome" . which is just so....yeah That's Comics!

Brock and venom united by Being a Hater (to be fair in venoms case. I do actually feel bad for him how is that his fault imagine being like heyyyy I'm an alien who needs a host to live. and you're cool and we get along pretty well....we can help each other and it would be great. and then the guy doesn't just tell you Fuck Off I Don't Want to Do That, but Tries To Murder You Bad and the entire discussion around him doesn't really seem to regard him as a person but as just a thing who's life isn't as valuable as his, even after knowing he's sentient....)

(and peter's fine with trying to kill him Again, not just as defense, and only backs off because he doesn't want to kill the human he's bonded with). that's kinda fucked up. you don't even consider his life a life just because he's a people eating alien. wow. eyeroll. idk it's just weird to be like. I Can't Take A Life! But This Guy Doesn't Count Cuz It's Not Human. I thought we left that behind in the silver age with the old Bizarro stories and the like. at least DC kinda did. I can and I WILL get stuck on "how do you determine which life is valuable and worth saving versus not" because I like star trek. c'mon. it'd be different if he didn't care because venom was a threat either way and needed to be stopped; but that isn't what he said. he said, no, I can't take his life because it would mean also taking Brock's life, and I can't do that. which is inch resting. tldr what I'm saying is yeah he's got reasons to be a hater. )