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moonstruckme · 10 months ago

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“Wow,” Morgan sighs happily, “I don’t know which one of you is more whipped.”

i'm so obsessed with this line from one of your recent spencer reid works and i would loooove to see more of this dynamic if you're interested in doing it 💗 maybe more moments of them being soft/whipped for each other and the team noticing it? thank youuu!!

Thank you lovely!

cw: mention of kidnapping (more a backdrop than anything)

Spencer Reid x bau!reader ♡ 1k words

Spencer really wishes he’d remembered his gloves. The air is biting, fresh powder glistening on the deep green spruces whose boughs stoop under its weight. It’s picturesque, and yet the snowfall couldn’t have come at a worse time. It’s impeded their search party by hours, potentially dooming the kidnapping victim they’re all braving the weather for. Spencer keeps his hands stowed in his coat pockets.

“Hey.”

He turns as you and Emily come up behind him. You’re both dressed better than he is, actual winter wear as opposed to the tweed coat he’d worn into the police station that morning. Even so, your cheek and nose are look chilled as you smile at him. You carry a disposable coffee cup in each hand.

“Hi,” Spencer says, taking the one you extend to him. His numb fingers are grateful for the warmth of it. “I thought you guys were interviewing the uncle?”

Emily’s shaking her head before he’s finished speaking, mouth pulling in discontent. “That was a dead end. He and his sister have been estranged for years. He doesn’t know anything.”

A frown tugs at your features as Emily talks but you perk up quickly when you feel your boyfriend’s gaze. “We figured we’d be more helpful here,” you say brightly, “and also that you might want some liquid reinforcement.”

“Thanks.” He does a little toast with his disposable cup and regrets it immediately, but thankfully you smile. Spencer isn’t sure how he got so lucky; it seems like he can get away with any number of weird things and you’ll find them endearing every time. “There hasn’t been much progress here either. If they left any sort of tracks, the snow covered it up. I’m not…” he lowers his voice, angling his head away from the others in his group. “I’m not sure we’ll find her alive in this.”

“We’ve still got eight hours,” Emily points out.

She’s right, he tells himself. There are eight hours left in the forty-eight hour window. But that’s also just a statistic. And as someone whose brain is packed full of statistics, Spencer knows that they’re not always reflective of reality. The eight hours his team has left might be more for hope than anything else.

Emily drifts ahead of you in the group and you bump your shoulder lightly into his, forcibly derailing his train of thought. He looks over at you. Your lips are tipped up, just a little. Not faking anything, but understanding, a quiet promise that regardless of how today turns out, you’ll be in it together. He finds it easier than expected to return your smile.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Your hair curtains your face as you look down, unzipping your jacket to dig something out of the interior pocket. “You left your gloves at the station.”

“Yes.” You laugh at his eagerness as he takes them from you. “I can’t believe I forgot them, thanks so much for bringing them.”

“Of course, it was no problem.” Your eyes skim the trees. Spencer suspects that if your face weren’t already so pink it’d be coloring now. “I figured you might need them, so.”

“You were right.”

Your gaze flits to his as you grin, then falls to where he has his gloves held bunched with his coffee cup. “Oh, do you want me to take that so you can put them on?”

“That’d be great,” he says, relieved.

He holds the cup out to you. You reach for it, but when your fingers brush his in the transfer, you gasp, covering his hand with yours.

“Spence,” you say softly, remonstrance gentled. “Your hands are freezing!”

“They’re not as bad as they were before. What are you doing?”

You’ve taken one of his hands in yours and appear to be inspecting it closely. “Checking if your fingernails are blue.”

“They’re not,” he laughs, though he lets you finish your perusal until you’re satisfied. “I would know if I had frostbite. I’d be able to identify the symptoms early on.”

“They’re just so cold,” you fret. “I’ve never felt skin that cold before.”

The tops of his hands are still freezing, but his palms and the pads his fingers have warmed from the coffee cup. “I’m not sure they’re colder than your face,” he says, pressing his free hand to one of your cheeks.

Unsurprisingly, your skin is cool to the touch, but you smile warmly as you push your cheek into his palm.

“Okay, you two,” Emily says without turning around, “less fraternizing on the job.

You straighten immediately. “We were just—”

“Being cute and coupley?” Uncannily, Morgan appears on Spencer’s other side. He has no idea when his nosiest coworker had drifted back from the front of the group. “We know. But could you save it for the hotel later? Even all the sparks flying off you two can’t melt all this snow, and I want to get out of here sometime before dark.”

Spencer suspects his face is about as red as yours as he looks down to pull on his gloves. Morgan relishes in it, raising an eyebrow at you.

“And don’t think I didn’t notice that you brought pretty boy here a coffee and not me.” He tsks. “I didn’t expect such blatant favoritism from you, sweetheart. I’m disappointed.”

“I was carrying yours,” Emily says, her tone conveying an eyeroll so effectively she doesn’t need to follow through with the action. She pushes a disposable coffee cup into Morgan’s chest.

He doesn’t look one bit sheepish as he takes it, though Spencer notices you trying to repress a grin that’s bordering upon smug.

“This has lipstick on the lid.”

Emily shrugs. “I finished mine in the car.”

“So you started on mine?”

“I sampled.”

“You’re lucky I exhibit such blatant favoritism,” you say quietly to Spencer under their bickering. “I finished mine in the car too.”

He raises his eyebrows, and you shake your empty cup as proof. Spencer takes your hand, wrapping it around his coffee cup. “We’ll share.”

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sci-twi · 4 months ago

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I think the most tragic part of Eurylochus’ part in Epic is that his one act of true selfishness (or two acts) are what condemns him not only in the eyes of Odysseus but also most of the audience. Warning: spoilers for all sagas of Epic: The Musical below the cut, up through Thunder Saga.

He’s introduced in the musical in Full Speed Ahead by mentioning wanting to find food to feed the rest of the men of the crew. In the same song, he grows defensive immediately after suspecting a lurking threat, suggesting that they take an offensive approach. He just wants to find what they can (to eat) on the island and keep going so they can all return to their families.

In Polyphemus, his only line in the entire song is him giving credit to Odysseus and Polites for finding the cave and takes note that there are enough sheep to feed everyone.

I have no doubt that he’s fighting along with everyone else in Survive.

But he shows his concern for the others in Remember Them. He is the one who snaps Odysseus out of the brief dissociation he experiences following the slaughter of a handful of his men. He also asks Odysseus what they should do with their “fallen friends.” Of course, we know that if people weren’t buried correctly, they were doomed to an eternity of unrest.

He’s worried about the souls of those men that they lost and is (most likely) not happy about having leave them behind and neglecting such an important ritual.

When Polyphemus awakens after being stabbed in the eye and it becomes apparent that there are more cyclopses in the cave, Eurylochus gets even more concerned and antsy, even pleading with Odysseus for them to just run before things get worse and they lose even more men.

In Storm, Eurylochus’ lines are all about expressing concern for their fleet (although a little pessimistic) and their well-being.

Luck Runs Out is personally one of my favorites and one of the most obvious signs that almost everything Eurylochus does is for the sake of their crew. The entire song is about him looking out for everyone else including Odysseus. “You could be caught off guard and lose your life. Or piss off this guard and infuse us with strife.”

It’s also important to note that the chorus has Eurylochus and the crew singing in unison. Eurylochus expresses his doubts but not because he wants power or to just get under Odysseus’ skin, but because he genuinely cares about everyone on board and just wants to make sure they’re making the right decisions.

And honestly, as a second-in-command, he should get some say or consultation and perhaps this song is him starting to realize that he is not being heard.

“I just don’t want to see another life end. You’re like the brother I could never do without.”

“And suddenly you doubt that I could figure this out?”

This right here is where it becomes apparent to me how dedicated Eurylochus is to Odysseus and the crew. And I can only imagine how he feels after pouring his heart out to only be met Odysseus’ indignant response. Eurylochus wasn’t trying to challenge Odysseus’ authority, but his response is defensive regardless.

Eurylochus switches from referring to him as brother back to referring to him as Captain, maybe sensing that sort of division, maybe sensing that he overstepped in some way. But still, he reiterates his concerns once more before Odysseus pulls him aside.

When Odysseus tells him that he needs to always be devout and comply with whatever he says and tells him to do or else they’ll all die, Eurylochus ultimately agrees. The beginning of that reluctance shows.

He doesn’t really have many noticeable lines in Keep Your Friends Close, but I do want to give you some food for thought that my partner and I @cat-gwyn-gunn discussed. Do you think that Eurylochus would have opened the bag of winds if Odysseus entrusted him with it to guard and made it absolutely clear what is inside and what will happen if he does?

How would you feel if you were your captain’s supposed second-in-command who had led the fight with you and stood by your side for 12 years suddenly came back from a god with a mysterious bag and guards it while staying awake for 9 entire days? Does that not show a severe lack of trust in your crew and would that not make you suspicious? Do you think maybe Eurylochus was sort of egged on by the crew who also thought it was treasure to check?

It’s hard to really put yourself into their shoes because we know how things end and we know that the storm is actually trapped in the bag, but they don’t.

Then, Poseidon comes in Ruthlessness. And Eurylochus sees all those men die. They went from 600 men to just 43 men. While of course he feels guilty for his decision to open the bag, he’s also hearing confirmation that Odysseus is the reason that Poseidon is after them. He probably remembers begging his Captain to just run and escape, and instead Odysseus proceeds to dox himself and all of that leads to that moment.

But still… that guilt does do something. Because after opening the wind bag, we don’t really hear any sort of defiance from Eurylochus for a long time.

In Puppeteer, we get an even further look at this growing divide between the two brothers (in-law). Eurylochus wants so desperately to let Odysseus know what he did, his tone is remorseful, he’s practically pleading for Odysseus to acknowledge him and reassure him. He is incredibly shaken after what happened with Poseidon.

Only for Odysseus to completely wave him off and send him on a mission. Perhaps it’s because Odysseus needs some time to process what happened and strategize or maybe he thinks Eurylochus is going to talk about it and he’s not ready to hear any of it. Or maybe even he’s jumping to being defensive, thinking Eurylochus is defying him again.

Eurylochus, who promised Odysseus that he’d be devout and compliant, and whose one failure to do so attributed to the loss of hundreds of their men, agrees to do what Odysseus says with little fight. However, his fears and concerns are left unaddressed and unacknowledged and he has not received any sort of reassurance.

While he is recounting his (and the crew’s) encounter with Circe, it shows that he is cautious in his decision to not join their men inside with her. Which pays off, since he gets to run back and let Odysseus know what happened.

When Odysseus says that he has to save them and Eurylochus says that they don’t, it almost sounds dismissive, like those men deserved what happened and they’re no longer their problem. This is a cold take and there’s no defending his callousness with leaving the men behind- I won’t defend it.

However, I will point out that with the next line he points out that they’ve already lost so much and gained almost nothing and once more he suggests that they run if only to preserve what little crew they have left. And again shows concern for Odysseus (or at the very least concern for him as their Captain who can get them home) saying that he doesn’t need to play Circe’s game and asking him if he will leave if she proves too hard to kill.

Notice that he says Odysseus doesn’t have to play her game instead of outright telling him not to. He’s trying so hard to be compliant because he just saw what happens when he isn’t.

He might also be wanting to avoid being responsible for even more bloodshed and loss even if slightly.

Eurylochus doesn’t really have any more parts to play during the rest of the Circe saga and throughout the entirety of the Underworld saga. He’s essentially not only just doing what Odysseus tells him to do but he’s also holding onto all this awful guilt and shame for what he did.

Underworld is almost entirely Odysseus’ point-of-view. We really just see into his world for this saga. He tells his men that no matter what they find, keep going, yet he falls victim to the voices he hears and the guilt that arises and eventually peaks. We have no idea really what anyone else is thinking. For all we know, Eurylochus is drowning in his own visions. He has all this time to think and reflect.

In Monster, Odysseus comes to the conclusion that he will become the monster, he will do whatever it takes to get home to Penelope and Telemachus. I don’t think it’s a stretch to believe that Eurylochus also comes to the conclusion that he will do whatever it takes to make sure that the crew is taken care of and preserved. This is the beginning of when that line that truly divides them starts to be drawn.

Different Beast is when it starts to become clearer to the crew and Eurylochus that a change has occurred. They start the song by singing along with Odysseus, using “we” and “us”. Odysseus is driving them all to be monsters. His actions are being reflected on the crew as a whole as their Captain.

Odysseus tells the siren that his actions almost cost his life, no longer reflecting on the crew’s toll as a whole, and that he must see his wife. This is when the crew starts to sing that “he” is the monster. And they end by calling his name- confirming that they are now aware that the monster is Odysseus. Really the only times someone’s name is called is when they’re an opponent like Polyphemus or Poseidon. So foreshadowing!

Scylla is where things take a turn for the worse- it’s where that line is nearly fully drawn between Odysseus and Eurylochus. But it doesn’t start off that way. Scylla begins to sing that “deep down you hide a reason for shame.” Immediately after, Eurylochus admits to being the one to open the wind bag and he apologizes profusely and pleads to be forgiven.

Odysseus doesn’t respond but Scylla does in a way. She continues to goad Odysseus into believing that his actions are merited. It’s what he must do to survive to see his wife and son again. He has always known this deep down- he said it in Just A Man - deep down he would trade the world to see his son and wife.

The next time Odysseus speaks, he tells Eurylochus to light up six torches. Now, I imagine that this is a moment of great relief for Eurylochus. Even after the awful betrayal, Odysseus still trusts him. Going back briefly to Circe when she says “maybe showing one act of kindness leads to kinder souls down the road” maybe this (Odysseus showing trust in Eurylochus) was the act of kindness and Eurylochus picks men he trusts and likes to hold the torches as a way to pass on that kindness.

Then, all hell breaks loose.

He watches as all of these men are snatched up one by one by Scylla’s six heads. He comes to the realization that Odysseus knew that was going to happen, that he made him actively participate in the murder of six of their men. That he didn’t communicate anything about what he was about to put his crew through.

Eurylochus knows what he must do.

In Mutiny, He goes right out and demands Odysseus to tell him that he didn’t not know that would happen which is a far cry from “please don’t tell me you’re about to do what I think you’ll do.” It’s a direct challenge. He spits out the word “Captain” almost mockingly. He continues to prod at Odysseus, telling him to use his wits (when in Luck Runs Out, he said that people die on it). He brings up that every other time they faced someone Odysseus came up with a plan to save his men, but this one time he runs (when before it was Eurylochus who urged him to run with both Circe and Polyphemus).

He has pretty much lost trust in Odysseus, but still is trying to give him the opportunity to say something, to explain. However, when Odysseus says he can’t Eurylochus says he’s forced his hand. He doesn’t really want to fight Odysseus, let alone kill him.

Once again, Eurylochus is the voice of the crew. They know now that Odysseus is willing to do absolutely anything to see Penelope again. They attack him. They voice their doubts in him and echo the sentiment that Eurylochus does which is that Odysseus must be stopped.

When he awakens, and they’re on the island, Eurylochus is the first man he sees and Eurylochus no longer sounds angry. He uses “we” and “us” telling Odysseus that hunger is so heavy in the crew. Voicing their concerns again. Looking out for them again.

He holds no malice for Odysseus. He’s resigned; he has lost complete hope in returning home. All he wants is to share one last meal with his brother and friend and the crew.

He switches to just using “I” stating that he is suffering, he is hungry, he is tired. This is one of the first times (if not the first) where he lets it known what his own desires and complaints are. Every other time it’s been on behalf of the crew. He’s being selfish. He knows this, but he’s so overwhelmed and hopeless that he’s willing to make this impulsive decision.

Odysseus continues to respond to Eurylochus’ pain with only thoughts of himself. He says that he needs to get home, he pleads with just him. But then the crew comes in and echoes Eurylochus’ sentiments. Odysseus addresses the crew this time, switching to “we” can get home. He knows that he’s fighting a losing battle, that the crew is essentially listening to Eurylochus now, that they don’t trust him.

And with Eurylochus’ action he declares that he’s just a man. He’s selfish. He’s hungry. He’s tired. He’s suffering. He makes mistakes. He can’t always just push through. He’s flawed.

And when Eurylochus hears the panic in Odysseus’ voice (which panic is not something he has shown before: he’s dissociated/been in shock, been angry, and desolate but never panicked) he realizes what he’s done. He immediately reverts back to seeking Odysseus’ guidance as his Captain. He calls for him by his title.

He’s relinquishing control, but it’s too late at this point.

Thunder Bringer closes out their portrayals of betrayal and brother's final stand arc with Zeus rubbing it in Odysseus’ face that his crew’s hunger is his responsibility. That as their King and Captain, he failed them so badly that they resorted to damning themselves to alleviate that hunger. He’s the one who drove them to mutiny.

Zeus tells him to choose and the crew already knows what he’s going to pick. They realize now that the monster was with them all along, that Odysseus has come full circle to being the true monster. After they sing their piece and Zeus fills Odysseus’ ears with Penelope’s song, there’s a deafening silence as the decision is being made.

Eurylochus breaks that silence, calling out one more time. He calls for his Captain but in his voice he’s calling out to his friend. He’s scared. He knows they’re going to die. It’s almost like they’re children. He’s making that final reach for reassurance that he already knows he won’t receive. There is nothing but resignation in his voice.

When Odysseus confirms his choice, saying that he has to see his wife again, all Eurylochus has to say is “but we’ll die.” Again, he’s scared. He was willing to die over the cow, but that was an impulsive decision. It is very different when imminent death is staring you right in the face and especially when it’s at the hand of someone who you thought you knew and cared for.

I imagine that as the rest of the crew rushes forward to strike Odysseus down, Eurylochus stays behind and just looks him straight in the eye. He knew all along who Odysseus would choose and he has accepted it.

It comes full circle. Eurylochus came in as the voice of the crew and he died as the voice of the crew.

#epic #epic the musical #epic: the musical #epic the cyclops saga #epic the thunder saga #epic the underworld saga #epic the circe saga #epic the troy saga #odysseus #eurylochus #I CANT STOP THINKING ABOUT HIMMM #IM A EURY ENJOYER #MY HEAD IS SPINNING

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yanderes-galore · 1 year ago

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yandere pets🐱🐶? Reader either accidentally eats something weird or comes into contact with alien pollen that makes the Xenomorphs reject their current Queen n make them view reader as their new “leader”. They become overprotective domestic pets. Platonic ofc

I love the idea but I'll do a version closer to canon if that's fine ^^

Yandere! Xenomorphs Seeing You As Queen/Leader

Pairing: Platonic/Pet-Like

Possible Trigger Warnings: Female/Gender-Neutral Darling, Overprotective behavior, Stalking, Kidnapping, Territorial/Possessive behavior, Forced companionship.

This idea reminds me of something similar to the fourth Alien movie.

In this case you'd be similar to Ripley 8, some sort of experiment involving a human harboring Xenomorph DNA.

This would naturally make you connected to the Xenomorphs.

However, the non-canon Alien pollen also seems like an interesting idea.

Maybe the "spores" seep into your skin and make you smell like a Xenomorph, somehow altering your DNA in the process?

These are the ideas I came up with that could make this concept work.

We haven't really seen Xenomorphs reject a Queen, however I could have missed it in lore.

As a result I would assume they'd react similarly to insects: they'd most likely kill the old Queen if they are somehow attached to you.

It's that or the Queen has already died at some point and the Hive is looking for a new one.

Which makes them choose you due to your smell.

I'd assume this concept would go like this, you have a whole Hive under your control.

It doesn't matter if you like it or not, the Xenomorphs see you as their new "Queen" regardless of gender.

While they would prefer you stay in their Hive, Drones would try to follow you just about anywhere.

Honestly towards you they may just act like pets.

You can't lay eggs or reproduce so the colony is doomed to be small.

That is unless a small group of Drones break off with you while a new Queen actually settles in the Hive.

If we go with that idea then I suspect you'd have about six-ish Drones following you at all times.

Obviously if they all saw you as leader than they'd fiercely protect you.

Even if this is a small group that separates from the rest of the Hive, they'd probably try to make your home a new Hive.

Wherever you live this new group will infest, they think they're helping.

After all they only know Hives as homes, they have no idea you live differently.

Expect the waxy and wet coating of Xenomorph Hives to quickly coat a sections of your home.

I'd assume they'd pick one of three places; your basement (if you have one), attic (if you have one), or your bedroom.

They'll make a section of your living space theirs then try to drag you into it as their leader/Queen.

You'll notice they smell rather acidic/earthy... yet they don't have a strong smell.

Even if you already smell like a Xenomorph I can see them trying to rub against you or cuddle you to make the pheromone smell stronger.

Xenomorphs would most likely be territorial of their new leader and home.

You can't really prevent it, either.

Better hope no friends come over as they'll be quickly attacked by one or two of the large Drones.

You may not even get to experience human contact again.

Your new Xenomorph followers would probably find a new place to make a nest then just drag you there.

Humans are a great source of hosts, yet they see them as too dangerous for you to be around.

They could harm the colony.

They could harm their Queen.

As a result, your overprotective Xenomorph pets would most likely become territorial to the point your life is now in isolation.

Sadly, you don't have a choice in the matter...

Until you eventually pass... you'll be their Queen/leader... away from humanity until something changes (if it even does).

#yandere xenomorph #yandere xenomorph harem #yandere alien #yandere alien vs predator

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cooketimm · 1 year ago

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Hardboiled #10-25 (1990-98) cover artwork by Bruce Timm

Interview from Cool Stuff Magazine #1 (1995):

Gary Lovisi: Much of your work is characterized by raw, intense energy and action, or beautiful women in stylish, dangerous settings. Some is obviously influenced by the pulps.

Bruce Timm: I’m big pulp fan, have been since the early 70s, when I started reading Doc Savage and Avenger reprints. I can’t really say how they’ve influenced my artwork much, except when doing pulp-homage stuff like the Bob Price books. But I do sometimes wish I was born decades earlier so I could have worked for some of the old pulps, which was why it was so much fun doing the Price stuff, and the «mock 50s» paperback covers for your Gryphon Books.

The hero pulps — Doc Savage, The Spider, The Shadow, etc — did have a big impact on my approach to the Batman cartoons. It’s something I tried to inject into the show from early on, the atmosphere, danger and illicit excitement, and especially that Norvell Page-type feeling of impending doom — the «doomed city» mood. It’s also why I set the sense in a timeless, 40s-styled world of big cars, padded shoulders, gangsters, shadowy streets, etc. I only wish we’d gone farther with it.

For instance, my original version of Batman himself was actually close to the Shadow: rarely seen close-up, speaking in short, clipped phrases, more mysterious, literally. I wanted to play him cold and remote, almost unhuman. But the network and our various story editors would have none of that! «We need to humanize him», «He needs to have a sense of humor», «We need to more about Bruce Wayne, the person», etc! Whereas I could care less about Bruce Wayne! He’s much more fascinating if you don’t know what he’s thinking, or what drives him.

A few «Shadowy» touches did survive. Batman is rarely seen be the public, almost never on TV. Even when dealing with the police, he’s usually off in shadows conferring with Commissioner Gordon only. And when he’s in the Batcave, he’s almost always in costume. My way of saying he’s Batman, not the other guy, not Bruce Wayne. Like Lamon Cranston, his true, «legal» identity is a facade.

I’ d love to do straight-ahead pulp hero adaptation someday. Doc or The Shadow or The Spider, either in comics or animation, without the senseless updating and over-explaining «character development» like in the Alec Baldwin-Shadow-fiasco-film.

Gary Lovisi: Your stunning covers for my Hardboiled mag are very popular with everyone who sees them. What are your feelings on hardboiled crime-related art?

Bruce Timm: It’s hard, actually, to define «crime-fiction» art. There’s pulp crime-fiction art, and digest crime-fiction art, both of which cross over with paperback crime-fiction art. Basically, I’m a fan of good illustration. Period. Regardless of subject matter. Composition, emotionally intensity, color and lighting effects are what I look for. And pretty girls, of course!

My favorite pulp crime artist is H. J. Ward, hands down. Gorgeous gals in twisty curvy poses, painted in luscious, creamy, wet-on-wet oil technique. My favorite paperback artists include Robert McGinnis, Robert Maguire, and Mitchell Hooks, the usual suspects.

My approach to the Hardboiled covers is different from my earlier «homage» work. When the covers were black and white, I used to experiment with different b&w textures, coquille board, zip-a-tone, xeroxed newsprint, whatever worked. Now that I’m doing them in color, I’m trying to make them as exciting and eye-catching as possible, with loud color, sexy gals, exaggerated action, and simple, graphic, almost cartoony styling.

#bruce timm #pulp #cover #cover art #interview

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elasticitymudflap · 1 year ago

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hey I know the whole 'I did not care for winter king' thing pretty much summed it up but i'd LOVE to hear what you thought of that whole fucking episode.

IT IS SO FASCINATING TO MEEEEEEE, i mean obviously a 'role swap' universe would be regardless, but beyond the surface lies a lot of hints towards reasons why this world was so different and fucked up fundamentally!! again, my big theory is that no matter what happens our simon is not going to be able to access the crown again in any universe they visit as an extension of betty's wish, so yeah winter king's ass was probably doomed the second they set their sights on duplicating the crown but also, good , because fuck that guy

one thing that stands out to me is how our simon's morals are very different and a lot stronger than wk's, especially how he very clearly doesn't wish the madness of the crown on anyone but himself, but he can empathize with other victims of the crown. throughout the entire episode he's desperately trying to get the others to empathize with candy queen's situation as someone who knows what the madness of the crown feels like and how it warps you. but also, his approach to her is so...

like he actually vibes along to her song, compliments her "metaphor", and above all BEGS fionna and wk to see her as a person who deserves compassion, patience, and understanding... something he seemingly doesn't seem to extend to himself as ice king.

but even her madness seems somewhat suspect to him - just before her musical number he seems mystified as to why the crown's madness would make pb obsessed with him, when he knows from his reality that it's marceline that she's in love with. i'd actually argue that there is a hint of distrust towards winter king that he can't quite put into words at first, but simon's self-loathing at how "functional" his counterpart is seems to counteract his instinct and so he never pries too deeply into it.

there's this interesting reaction to pre-winter king ice king that stands out to me, almost like he's confused and doesn't recognize this specific anger and wrath to be a part of his own ice king experience. our ice king seemed to be much more of a depressed and ultimately harmless nuisance than the threatening figure he appears to be in that sequence. in fact, despite the madness, our ice king is actually quite consistent in there being a line not to cross with violence: he saves finn and jake from the hitman he accidentally hired, he refuses to kill marceline and finn when the empress commands him, he's even horrified at himself in 'I Remember You' when he pushes marceline. our ice king cares infinitely more about having friends and for people to love him and understand him than he is to actively "fix" or change himself, and in the short-circuit that is his mind he always seems to find a way to redirect his 'bad feelings' into doing something fun or impulsive than to stew in anger.

and simon isn't exactly taken in by the splendor of winter king's whole thing the way everyone else is, he doesn't stop questioning how he did it. how did he supposedly "conquer" the crown through "sheer force of will", how did he manage to get the 'best of both worlds'?

except we know it's not. and the mask-slip starts pretty ominously with his insistence that candy queen's kingdom is "forbidden". he slips up just for a moment and then returns to his whimsical wizard of oz-ass persona, and he looks almost guilty for letting on that there's something wrong here that should be avoided

which is something else i'm very fascinated by: winter king's obvious hypocrisy and the awareness of his unethical behaviour. he's quite callous in performatively pretending not to remember who betty is, and then only referring to her as "the dead one". he also seems confused by simon's heartbroken reaction to this callousness, but even more so to his characterization of her as "the great love of (his) life". he obviously has some of our simon's attachments to the past and memories of people he loved, he definitely knows and loved marceline, so why is she the only person he cares about enough to make an "ice person" of? he doesn't recall betty as someone he had a great love with - though he obviously knew who she was, so does that mean he still had some kind of relationship with her?

remember, the mere notion of finding betty so he could apologize to her literally meant so much to our simon that he was able to hide his surviving research on time portals from himself inside the ice castle, long after she would have died naturally had she even survived the mushroom war. and during the bellanoche fiasco he literally staved off death from losing his magic through sheer force of will; the intense motivation to see her kept him going in a decaying 1000 year old human body long enough for him to jump right back into his research and create a time portal to her to say goodbye. that's how much she means to him.

winter king doesn't know that betty is technically still alive, or how our simon was freed from the crown's curse. he simply offers simon a solution to reuniting with someone who he loved who is dead, without knowing how very different our betty's situation is. and that solution is to make an ice-person of that person from the time you loved them, even though you know it's "unethical".

... but betty being "dead" was always the case to our simon, he knew that she was dead because of course she was, it was hundreds of years in the future! but there was always a way back to her, and it was because of his relationship with one miss betty "ancient magic was my major" grof that he had this plan ready at his fingertips

so i think maybe either this world's simon didn't have a very strong relationship with betty, or he did but he had some reason to write her off as 'dead forever' and throw away the prospect of ever seeing her again. it's interesting that despite writing betty off, ice king's obsession with bubblegum persisted as a point of his madness and transferred to her, when even our ice king still cared a lot about "weird lady", though he didn't know who betty was.

in any case, he dismisses the subject very quickly with "jokes" that creating an ice person of someone you cared about, who died, would be unethical. and yet...

this, too, is very interesting to me. little ice marcy has marceline's actual axe bass, the axe which hunson brought with him to ooo after simon summoned him to take care of marceline when he had to leave her - marcy converted it into a bass herself of course. and the two definitely met and stayed alive together when marcy was a child

i've seen people theorize that marcy died in this memory here, but considering the presence of the axe i'm honestly not so sure. i mean, she grew up enough to gain and convert the axe to a bass, maybe she died of old age as a half-demon and never turned into a vampire? except that non-vamp marceline from farmworld seemed to still be kicking, what would an extra 12 years be to someone like her?

despite simon's pleas for fionna not to hurt candy queen and for them to help her, winter king INSISTS that she can't be helped, and that the only solution is for fionna to "knock her out", not kill her, because he would lose his conduit for the crown's madness and so this cycle will continue forever. winter king seemed committed to keeping the secret of how he "conquered" the crown, and who he hurt to manifest this reality of his, only to reveal it supposedly when simon was infected with the crown's madness again.

so why did no one stop winter king for 100 years? finn wouldn't have been born yet, but surely marceline, if she were vamped up and aware of what winter king had done, would try to stop him? but there's no sign of her in this world... save for her one possession we know she had later in her life, in the hands of an ice clone of her, frozen at a time in her life when she still loved simon unconditionally.

... i'll leave you with one VERY interesting production note steve wolfhard posted today about the blade he gave fionna, because it implies that even beyond this simon lacking some integral part of what makes him himself, the madness of the crown wasn't completely absent the way he'd thought it had been, so even in the end it wasn't a "perfect" solution to the madness.

#fionna and cake spoilers

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anheliotrope · 25 days ago

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It's always "funny" to remember that software development as field often operates on the implicit and completely unsupported assumption that security bugs are fixed faster than they are introduced, adjusting for security bug severity.

This assumption is baked into security policies that are enforced at the organizational level regardless of whether they are locally good ideas or not. So you have all sorts of software updating basically automatically and this is supposedly proof that you deserve that SOC2 certification.

Different companies have different incentives. There are two main incentives:

Limiting legal liability

Improving security outcomes for users

Most companies have an overwhelming proportion of the first incentive.

This would be closer to OK if people were more honest about it, but even within a company they often start developing The Emperor's New Clothes types of behaviour.

---

I also suspect that security has generally been a convenient scapegoat to justify annoying, intrusive and outright abusive auto-updating practices in consumer software. "Nevermind when we introduced that critical security bug and just update every day for us, alright??"

Product managers almost always want every user to be on the latest version, for many reasons of varying coherence. For example, it enables A/B testing (provided your software doesn't just silently hotpatch it without your consent anyway).

---

I bring this up because (1) I felt like it, (2) there are a lot of not-so-well-supported assumptions in this field, which are mainly propagated for unrelated reasons. Companies will try to select assumptions that suit them.

Yes, if someone does software development right, the software should converge towards being more secure as it gets more updates. But the reality is that libraries and applications are heavily heterogenous -- they have different risk profiles, different development practices, different development velocities, and different tooling. The correct policy is more complicated and contextual.

Corporate incentives taint the field epistemologically. There's a general desire to confuse what is good for the corporation with what is good for users with what is good for the field.

The way this happens isn't by proposing obviously insane practices, but by taking things that sound maybe-reasonable and artificially amplifying confidence levels. There are aspects of the distortion that are obvious and aspects of the distortion that are most subtle. If you're on the inside and never talked to weird FOSS people, it's easy to find it normal.

One of the eternal joys and frustrations of being a software developer is trying to have effective knowledge about software development. And generally a pre-requisite to that is not believing false things.

For all the bullshit that goes on in the field, I feel _good_ about being able to form my own opinions. The situation, roughly speaking, is not rosy, but learning to derive some enjoyment from countering harmful and incorrect beliefs is a good adaptation. If everyone with a clue becomes miserable and frustrated then computing is doomed. So my first duty is to myself -- to talk about such things without being miserable. I tend to do a pretty okay job at that.

#i know to some of you i'm just stating the sky is blue #software #computing #security #anpost #this was an anramble at first but i just kept writing i guess #still kind of a ramble

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fleurmionefridays · 1 month ago

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Fleurmione Fridays: Fall 2024 Spooky Season

A quarterly rec list curated by the 18+ fleurmione discord server. Inspired by @hpsaffics #wlw wednesday.

This season we’re here for the horror, the big beasties, the creepy crawlies, and even the cute shenanigans. All fics below the cut are complete and a few are even accompanied by blurbs from their reccers.

Fics are sorted by Spooky Scale™! A small panel of spoop detectors (it's me and lipz) discussed the spoop level of each of these fics. The more ghosts in front of a fic, the scarier or darker we think it is. Your mileage may vary, of course. All these fics--regardless of spoopy level--are great and worth reading! Choose your spoop tolerance, cuddle up under the covers, and turn off the lights. Enjoy, mind the tags and remember...fleurmione is forever!

(because they might be ghosts haunting you)

👻👻👻👻👻 Of Blood & Carnations by @rice-and-beans | E, 17.7k multichap. Inspired by Pablo Neruda's Sonnet VII. The war is over. It is a time for healing. The Order has invested in a sort of intensive therapeutic house for our heroes to recuperate. Therapists, therapies, reprieve. Exactly what they need to begin a long road of recovery. So why does Hermione feel worse? Is she going mad? She's hearing voices, and she feels more and more that her body is not her own. She suspects others know more than they are sharing, and she doesn't know who to trust.

“A fantastically dark piece by rice_and_beans that I think everyone should read at some point. Do mind the tags.” - Shira

👻👻👻👻👻 In the Depths by Semjaza | E, 4.3k one shot. Hermione's lover goes home for the solstice celebrations and returns... different.

👻👻👻👻👻 Against the Tide by @akaseru | E, 2.4k one shot. Hermione knew what was happening and was terrified and panicking, not that Fleur could perceive it; there was nothing to see but the want in her eyes. The long-dormant creature within had finally woken up and seized control, and the curly-haired woman was powerless before it.

“A wonderful horror nugget which should be read by all.” - Lipz

👻👻👻👻 Penetration by @hoardlessdragon | M, 4.1k multichap. What happens when Hermione accidentally finds herself in a vampire coven?

“I think the summary says exactly why this belongs in the spooky edition. Mind the tags. No happy ending, but still chef’s kiss” - Lipz

👻👻👻👻 The Transitive Property by @perfectly--random | T, 3.4k one shot. Seventeen years after the war, Hermione and Fleur bump into each other in France and realize they are mates. Is everything as it should be?

👻👻👻👻 Metal and Bone by @ljthenerdsbian | M, <500 word flash fic. Two knights lost in the woods after fleeing from the bloodied battle field with the white spector known as Fleur stalking them. My prompt was 'She was now well and truly lost in the Labyrinth.'

“john6lisa has a few fics that fit this theme but Metal and Bone gets the nod from me for its heavy lean on horror and spookiness.” - Lipz

👻👻👻 When the Thrill is Gone by @sleepingontheway | NR, 6k one shot. Years post-war, Hermione is a shell of the girl she once was. This is not a happy tale.

“How about more vampires and dark fleurmione in When the Thrill is Gone?” - Lipz

👻👻👻 Monsters by @perfectly--random | M, 2.5k one shot. Life can make monsters of us all. Happy Halloween. Mind the tags.

👻👻👻The night is shaped like a howling wolf by @waxwing-saint | T, 5.4k one shot. Between 1764 and 1767 a monster hunted in the province of Gévaudan. Eye witness accounts describe a terrible and impossible creature who is believed to be responsible for over two hundred attacks and nearly one hundred deaths until it was finally struck down by a hunter.

👻👻👻Touched by the Wind by @mushroom-grey-scale | T, 2.1k one shot. "Go to the one who collects curses. Who makes deals in the dead of night. Yes, go to the one who is unable to tell lies. But remember my warning, my child, as this may be the only thing that will allow you to return alive from that doomed place that sucks up lives."

“Hits that spooky craving with fae and fairies without breaking anyone’s heart while doing it 😂” - Lipz

👻👻A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night by @rachelc978 | T, 3.3k one shot. Don’t you just hate it when your meal gets interrupted? When it’s by a beautiful woman whose blood sings to you, it’s slightly more forgivable.

👻👻BFC by @indiefoxproductions | G, 6.8k multichap. Did you know an average coyote in Montana can get as big as 46lbs?

“It has a creature in it. Is it a wolf, is it a coyote, is Hermione going to wear that beanie forever? Come read and find out.” - Lipz

👻👻Reunion by @lipzlipzlipz | G, 500 word flash fic. Fleur has led a dark existence since losing her wife twenty years ago.

👻Which Witch by @perfectly--random | G, 1.5k one shot. Hermione takes Fleur to a non-magical Halloween party.

👻“A witch, really?” by SquirrelGay | G, 2.6k one shot. Hermione made up her mind then. This was a night to relax, and maybe catch up with Fleur. They hadn’t seen each other in a while, after all.

“Sometimes you just need that Halloween fluff tho, in which case you should read “A witch, really?”” - Lipz

#fleurmione #fleur delacour #hermione granger #spooky season #femslash

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faelorelia · 10 months ago

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Deciphering the Will-El-Mike Love Triangle: A Personal Perspective

I stopped liking Mileven as a couple way before I started shipping Byler, and the reason had nothing to do with Will, actually.

As someone who appreciates both El’s and Mike’s characters, I firmly believe they were always meant to be friends. They care deeply about each other, but their relationship has felt forced for a very long time. The main reason I stopped liking them as a couple is that I didn’t like how Mike treated El at the beginning of S3, which led El to “dump his ass.” Subconsciously, Mike believed he knew what was better for her and, without realizing it, hindered her from developing her own personality. Also, he wasn’t always good to her in S1 when he used her to find Will and snapped at her a few times. Don’t get me wrong – Mike is not a bad person, and he did many good things for El, but they simply didn’t seem to work as a couple. All they did when things went well was kiss and make out. They didn’t have any common interests or things to talk about, only the Upside Down-related adventures. This is one of the reasons I find their couple boring: when physical attraction is the only thing keeping you romantically interested in someone, it won’t last.

I watched all four seasons as a GA member, and my opinion is based on what I saw from this show. I didn’t even think about Will when considering El and Mike initially – this is just something I noticed when watching the show. Yes, I suspected Will had feelings for Mike since S3 came out but didn’t think they could possibly be reciprocated at that time. My initial thought was, “Aww, poor Will, I feel bad for him.” This thought only strengthened after watching S4. My love for Will as a character grew, and I felt a protective instinct towards him (much like Joyce, haha), but he is not the reason I think Mileven doesn’t work. Observing El and Mike’s relationship in S4 only made me like them as a couple even less. I don’t think Mike was scared of saying “I love you” just because he felt worthless and was afraid of losing her. I think there’s something deeper than that. Otherwise, why did the season finish with El being annoyed at him after his “brilliant” monologue? And let's not forget the reason why Mike finally said he loved El and who pushed him to do that.

I also believe that both El and Mike are incredible characters and their own heroes, but they just don’t bring out the best in each other. El does need someone to care for her and make her feel loved, but she needs a familial kind of love much more than a romantic one. And she has always needed people who would love her no matter what and wouldn’t make her feel like she can only be loved if she’s a “superhero.” She needs someone who would love her regardless of whether she has her powers or not. And she needs someone with whom she would still be independent and her own person. And I don’t think Mike is right for her in this respect.

Likewise, I don’t think El can give Mike what he needs. He doesn’t just want someone to kiss and make out with; he needs more than that. He needs someone who would share his hobbies and interests; someone who would understand him without saying a word; someone who is simply there for him and is always willing to support him; someone who makes him feel loved no matter what. I don’t think that El and Mike can love each other romantically under any circumstances. I think they started a relationship with their ideal images of each other in mind but later struggled because they felt they both didn’t live up to each other’s perfect images of themselves. And that’s what makes this relationship doomed to fail.

And then, you know what happened? It suddenly dawned on me, shedding light on many things I hadn’t quite understood at the beginning. It was that kind of moment when you think, “Oh, so that’s why! It has always been there but it took me so long to figure it out!”

There is exactly the kind of person in the series that can make Mike feel loved the way he wants to. The character that shares his interests and hobbies and is always there for him. The one that loves Mike unconditionally and is always ready to sacrifice his own feelings just to make his love feel better about himself, feel worthy and needed. This character has been there all along, and this character’s name is – you guessed it right – Will. And I wouldn’t be saying all of this if I believed Mike was totally straight, and could never love Will the way the latter loves him.

From the very first season, the show makes it clear that Mike and Will’s relationship is not the same as the one boys their age usually have (compare it to Lucas and Dustin’s, for example). We are both told and shown that Mike cares about Will much deeper than anyone else in their circle of friends, and he’s the one who was losing his mind, thinking he had lost Will but nevertheless never stopped looking. Mike is someone who’s always been ready to do anything for Will, to be there for him when he had nightmares and was possessed, and bike to him through the storm just to apologize for hurting his feelings. Mike has always cared about Will very deeply, and even though with time the societal pressures forced him to set some boundaries of what is allowed between two male friends, Mike often “slipped” and demonstrated his gentleness and attentiveness towards Will. The way he often looks at Will and the things he says to him when they’re alone make me believe he has feelings for him even more. He may not fully realize them yet, he may be confused about those feelings, and he may certainly convince the GA that he’s straight, but those feelings are there and just haven’t come out yet. He needs time to understand himself better and feel ready to acknowledge his feelings.

And returning to El, I strongly believe that her arc is leaning towards independence. She desperately needs to break free from everything and everyone that has been holding her back, to start living for herself at last and become her own person. This is how she can finally get her happy ending. And I think that Mike-friend can help her achieve that much better than Mike-boyfriend. As Max implied, El needs to discover herself without thinking about what her loved ones want her to be, and this is the right way for her character to develop. El is amazing and deserves happiness, as do Will and Mike.

Please note that this is my personal opinion and the impression I got from watching the show. You’re completely free to disagree with me and have a totally different perspective. If you ship Mileven or dislike Byler, simply move on. I’m sharing my thoughts here for those who I know will support them, and I’m not here to engage in ship wars. I’m not going to interact with you if you’re here to spit bile and troll those who don’t have the same opinion as you. Anyway, thanks for coming to my TED talk. :)

#byler #byler tumblr #byler is canon #byler endgame #byler nation #will byers x mike wheeler #will x mike #will and mike #will byers #mike wheeler #el hopper byers #stranger things #anti mileven #platonic elmike

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dangermousie · 1 year ago

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When an episode opens this way, you know things are either go really glorious or really dark. And this drama does both. But before we plunge into horror, it gives the characters this moment of grace. I especially love when you see her hand on his back, next to the wound he got saving her.

And the voiceover, which combines the scene where they are closest with their talking about their most painful, separated time..

The way her eyes shine watching him sleep.

All that tenderness...

And that moment of grace is over as quickly as it came. JH finding out the Crown Prince is refusing to bring back captives - despite his cynicism and his experience, there is something incorrigibly naive about goodness and hope in JH. But also he got to know CP and he thought he could trust him a little. He does not know that CP cannot bring them back because the mad king views those miserable women, farmers and children as some sort of potential rebel army.

And things get worse - when JH gets them back regardless, they are ambushed and most of them are killed or wounded. People who survived captivity in enemy country, killed by their own, on orders of a paranoid madman. (I don't think anyone realized how far the King is gone - CP didn't want them back to save himself; not even he thought the King would order them massacred, and those who did not either die or make it back to China taken for torture and execution.)

The scenes of JH in the torture chambers - that vivid intelligence and strong will at the end of its rope - ouch!

The bit when he's barely conscious but still grabs her ring, my heart!!!

And I love that her ring is what saves him because she sees his slack hand drop it, when he's being taken out as one of the pile of corpses. Their love is their salvation, again.

The way she finds him (the fact she's in the palace in the first place is to look for him), the way she hides among the corpses, smearing herself with his blood, the way she brains the guard. THIS WOMAN IS EVERYTHING!!! (And I love that this time she rescues him.)

But also what a contrast that embrace at the end of the episode - on a pile of bodies, with him brutalized and dying - to the way the episode opened.

That line from Song of Solomon comes to mind: Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.

Switching gears entirely, I want to talk about the prince and king. I honestly love how upright both the prince and his wife are. She begs him to save himself and not plead for the captives (once he found out they crossed and were killed or taken to be tortured) but while he knows danger, he goes anyway.

And she goes with him. She may not care about his cause, or at least not as much as she cares about him, but she will follow him. (Seems pretty historically accurate for So Hyeon's Crown Princess and ultimately her doom.)

In an episode full of amazing scenes, my favorite is actually none of the rest of them but the scene between Crown Prince and his mad father. The way CP begs and the King cannot understand but suspects him more not just because he's paranoid but because he fundamentally cannot imagine someone caring for peasants (or for anyone not their dear self), not really. He cannot understand his son because they do not inhabit the same moral universe.

The way SH tries, tries SO HARD even as you see him realize his father is unreachable, even as he knows that jeopardizes his own life.

There is no hope there. (And the tragic thing is the King, paranoid and selfish and monstrous as he is, loves his son. He views not executing him as a kind act of love. My God!)

#kdrama #my dearest #ahn eun jin #nam goong min

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kamisadopteddaughter · 6 months ago

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I have many things to say about the whole Liv/Dom situation so buckle up.

I'm constantly going back and forth on where this is going to go, which is probably the point. We're intentionally being shown conflicting events to make us second-guess ourselves and everyone either thinks he's guilty or he isn't.

I'm going to break down the why and why not from my perspective and give my full opinion at the end.

As of right now, on television, no one has suspected Dominik of anything. Nobody has brought up him infamously coming out of a room Liv came out of seconds prior. Not really sure how much the social media aspect plays a part, if at all but a purple bandana was spotted in her pocket (if you watch the episode back you can see a glimpse of it), that same day Dom was spotted with it on and off.

About the commotion surrounding Dom's likes on social media, it definitely feels purposeful but it does also feel like he's trolling so we'll have to wait and see if it gets brought up.

My main thing is that nobody (Priest) has been like, "What the fuck do you and Liv got going on?", and I need to hear how he'll explain himself.

Now, what went down last night suggests the opposite and the Finn + JD inclusion is a big reason. You could argue that Dom knew what he was doing at K/QOTR and set Liv up to win while making it look like he intended to help Becky. What happened last night however straight up was not his fault. If Finn and JD hadn't come out there to stop him, none of what happened would've happened. Mind you, Damian told Dom to handle the issue and both of them have been caught talking to Liv as well.

I said last week that Finn plotting with Liv doesn't mean that Dominik isn't, which is still true but with the way she was quickly seen with JD, Dom's suddenness in wanting to sabotage Liv, and Finn and JD coming out to stop him, it doesn't seem like everyone's on the same page.

Also, Dom did NOT want that kiss. No he didn't push her off with his one good arm (victim blaming 🤨) but he didn't kiss back and he was clearly uncomfortable. He could just not want whatever they got going on to be public (I'll get into that later) but regardless he didn't want that.

My last thought is that I don't see what he gets out of this. Besides simply being tempted by an attractive girl, he doesn't really have any motive to side with Liv over Rhea. The dubious circumstances surrounding the start of the R + D relationship have doomed them from the start but who knows if that'll even be brought up. Liv doesn't like him, he's once again being used to get at someone else so there's no actual romance there, which is what he wants.

Finn and JD have an incentive to break up the Judgment Day. JD has never really been accepted as a member, he's just there as cannon fodder. Finn has already proven that he'd rather do things in his best interest rather than the groups. He was a catalyst for a lot of the drama in the summer of 2023 over his desire for the whc, refusing to communicate, refusing to cooperate, involving a non-member in the group's business, etc. Now that Damian is the whc and they don't have the tag titles to satiate him, he doesn't see how he benefits from being in tjd anymore.

At this point, I'm somewhere in the middle on what I think is going on. I think that something did happen between them but he doesn't want to break up with Rhea and he doesn't have any intention to sabotage her, which is where Finn and JD come in. It's also why he's gone on this crusade to try to stop Liv from being champion. I think he's trying to make up for something that he did that'll be revealed later and that's why they'll break up.

*might make some more posts on this topic that I wanted to put in here but couldn't find a way to include it*

#dominik mysterio #finn balor #liv morgan #rhea ripley #damian priest #the judgment day wwe #the judgement day #wrestling

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markantonys · 7 months ago

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Apologies if you've answered this question before, but if things had gone down differently and Mat hadn't had to have been written out of 1x7 and 1x8, what do you think his s2 arc might have looked like?

an intriguing question!! i believe rafe stated that the original plan was to have the 3 boys on the hunt for the horn as in TGH, but the changes they were forced to make to mat's storyline made them decide to double down on the isolation theme and send rand and perrin off on their own too. and while it was unplanned, i think it actually turned out so perfectly because s1 introduced us to the kids in a group and then in pairs, and splitting them up fully for the bulk of s2 was such a great way to dig deeper into each individual character. in the book perrin and especially mat just kinda get dragged along like sacks of potatoes while the lion's share of the hunt storyline is about rand, so i'm kinda hard-pressed to imagine how those two would've had enough content specific to them in s2 if all 3 of them had been together! (i don't know how far they actually were into planning s2 when all the shit went down during s1 filming, so it could be that rafe's mention of the 3 boys on the hunt was only a vague idea at the time and they never had the chance to nail down too many specifics of what s2 would look like for mat and the other boys.)

now, back to mat. in s1 he had more "reluctant hero" vibes (doesn't want to be a hero, just wants to go home) while in s2 he had more "self-doubting hero" vibes (doesn't think he can be a hero, thinks he's doomed to repeatedly let down the people he loves). and there's definitely some self-doubting hero vibes in s1 mat too and some reluctant hero vibes in s2 mat, and overall Mat Doesn't Think He's A Hero is a consistent throughline of both seasons, but there is a slight shift in WHY mat doesn't think he's a hero, or at least a slight shift in focus on which of a couple reasons is the main one. and this is almost 100% due to The Great Waygate Abandonment, i think. mat for sure had low self-esteem in s1 too, but the s2 arc of "mat is scared that he's a piece of shit who'll keep on abandoning his friends when they need him", that organically grew out of The Great Waygate Abandonment and i don't know if it would've been as much of a focus for his s2 emotional arc if he'd gone with everybody to fal dara as originally planned. as such, while i think him being a hero of the horn would have been the plan regardless, i don't know if that moment would have been framed exactly the same way or would have felt like such a cathartic moment of validation for mat. (but maybe it would have, because like i said s1 mat certainly struggled with his self-worth too. the idea of him being scared of being just like his dad came from 1x01, after all, even if s2 was able to enhance it even more thanks to having a concrete instance where mat failed to show up for his friends.)

and to think that we never would have known the beauty of The Great Cauthor Reunion if The Great Waygate Abandonment hadn't happened! although, in TGH rand gets separated from the group and then mat and perrin (et al) find him again in cairhien, so it IS possible that an original plan for s2 could have still featured rand going off on his own for some portion followed by a cairhien reunion. but it wouldn't have hit nearly as hard if they'd only been separated for a brief time as it did when they hadn't seen each other since the waygate!

The Great Cauthor Stabbening is another interesting thing to ponder. would that still have happened if mat had gone to fal dara? i think so. i suspect that rand getting the shadar logoth wound from mat rather than fain may have always been the plan, because it's just so hard to get fain into rand's storyline and makes a lot more sense to keep him limited to being an antagonist to perrin and mat (like, sure fain could've stabbed rand at falme, but it would just feel kinda random bc the two of them have very little narrative connection to each other even in the books and none whatsoever in the show). i also think it makes sense to switch the wound order so the dagger one comes first because the dagger is never as much of a focus again as it is in the first couple books/seasons, so makes sense to strike while the iron's hot and have rand get the dagger wound early while the dagger is still relevant, and save the shadow wound for later.

and s1 set up mat and fain's relationship and many people have speculated that fain's fal dara scene with perrin was originally supposed to be with mat, so i think the scene of him meeting up with mat in falme and trying to tempt him with the dagger would probably still have happened regardless, and i think mat accidentally stabbing rand with the dagger would probably still have happened too. however, i don't know about the min viewing angle. it's definitely possible that Mat On The Hunt could have still encountered min and the rand stabbing viewing could have still happened, but it's also possible that that viewing and the mat-min meeting grew out of the s1 changes and that in a different version mat would've stabbed rand by accident but not had any prior idea that that was fated to happen, and maybe min would have been involved in the girls' storyline instead like she was in TGH. but then, a preexisting mat-min connection improves the story beat of them both ending up with the seanchan together, so maybe they did plan to have them meet up in s2 regardless (meet up AGAIN in this case since mat would've briefly met her already at fal dara in this version). who knows! it's so interesting to think about all the alternate possibilities, and so delightful to realize that for me personally, none of the alternate mat s2 ideas i've come up with in this post are things i enjoy as much as the version we actually got. saying that they made the best of a difficult unplanned situation is an understatement!

#bedwyrssong #answered #wot book spoilers

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yakool-foolio · 2 months ago

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"Exactly as I instructed" RRRRRRRRRRR STAY THE FUCK BACK STRONGHART I DON'T LIKE YOUR TONE! Hi Kazuma :D Bye Kazuma ;-;

I doubt Kazuma is prosecuting Van Zieks to avenge his father. I still think that someone (main suspect being Stronghart) is pushing him into believing that Van Zieks really is the Reaper, which would make his mentor no better than his serial killer father. Regardless, Kazuma's not gonna submit himself to Stronghart's rules! He will not be boxed and stuck in your single file line!

I don't believe Gregson's the Reaper for a diddly darn SECOND. Waiter, one assassin with an identity crisis, please!

SHINN?!

Not the assassin I was expecting at all. So why the hell was she part of the morse code message?! She killed Wilson! The person/people behind that message really didn't think this through. It's like that one brain game where ya have to get a bag of grain, a chicken, and a fox across a river without the animals eating anything, but in this case it's four randos trying not to kill each other and failing miserably.

Genshin protected Van Zieks? I'm now suffering from mixed feelings, cause if Genshin was wrongfully accused as the Professor, I'm going to have to reevaluate everything I've thought of him and Kazuma's motives uh oh.

Wilson wasn't Sholmes' partner, huh. And now Jigoku's gone missing. Everything keeps going further and further downhill these days. "So where does that leave me?" OWOWOWOW MY HEART NOOOOO RYUNOSUKE YA CAN STRIVE TO HELP KAZUMA STILL HE NEEDS SOMEONE TO HELP HIM SORT THINGS OUT

SHOLMES JUMPSCARE

Aw Kazuma n Ryunosuke both apologized to Daley, it's good that they both recognized that they pushed him too hard. If the coroner was there during Genshin's 'execution' then could it be that Sithe is the one who let him escape? Genshin said he ended another man's life, but he said nothing about killing the noblemen. Oh man I'm really gonna regret painting him as an irredeemable killer aren't I? That note must hold the truth of what really happened with the Professor killings, and someone must've stolen it. Kazuma never got to read his father's last words.

Ryunosuke when he's told not to leak a government secret:

Kazuma spotted! OH JESUS I GOT JUMPSCARED BY BATS I DIDN'T KNOW THEY'D DO THAT Aww Ryunosuke thought a sparrow would be nice for Kazuma as an animal companion, that's so cuuuute ;w;

NAHHHHHHHH SAD BACKSTORY IS GONNA MAKE ME EMOTIONAL ACK! And Kazuma was lied to about Genshin's true cause of death, only for it to be revealed that hey your dad's actually a mass murderer, ouch. AND HIS MOM DIED TOO NOOOOOO! I WAS RIGHT HE DOES THINK VAN ZIEKS IS THE REAPER! He believes his father is innocent and that Van Zieks doomed him to die. That's why Kazuma's prosecuting against him. The real reason Kazuma cut down the wax model was because he believed it's a horrid defamation of a justful protector.

GOD DAMN THAT SHIFT IN TONE WAS FUCKIN PERFECT AUGH Ryunosuke and Kazuma were able to reminisce fondly together, but as soon as Van Zieks wedged its way into the conversation, they realized that they're on completely different wavelengths and they don't understand each other like they used to. That shift being so expressively presented through the sudden change between Nocturne and A Prosecutor Reborn is UNBEATABLE it's gotta be one of my favorite scenes in this series now.

(To Whom It May Concern - @raymondshields)

#live neo reaction #ace attorney #ace attorney spoilers #the great ace attorney #tgaa #tgaa spoilers #tgaa2 #tgaa2 spoilers

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kerryweaverlesbian · 9 days ago

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Ghostwatch (1992) is about rape culture/domestic abuse and the media's complicity in it. Btw. Discussion of domestic violence, SA and CSA below.

It's literally about a family of women who will not be believed about what they're going through no matter what their evidence. Case closed thanks for reading. Okay but seriously:

Haunting is SA/Domestic Violence

The signs of the haunting are: items of monetary value being destroyed (making it harder to afford to leave even if they weren't already in council housing - they can't afford a new home); children having unexplained marks; disturbed sleep; children talking about being asked to do things they don't want do (such as drown the "bad bunny"); children having someone in their room at night that they dont want in there; inappropriate writing found in school books; literally feeling the sense of being touched all over. These can be signs of abuse.

The site of the most horror, the glory hole, is where Suzanne and Kimmy's father (and Pam's husband) spent a lot of time. When Kimmy peaked in there, that's when she saw Mr Pipes.

Multiple phone-in accounts of the supernatural take place in the viewer's homes.

Dr Pascoe says that Suzanne would be easily victimised by a poltergeist because she's from a "broken home". If there's already family upheaval, it can be very easy for the warning signs of abuse to slip through the cracks.

All but two of the people most willing to take the paranormal seriously were women. Of the men, one was a victim of it himself and opted to obscure his face before talking about it due to fear of ridicule (whose trauma revolves around an unpleasant gloopy liquid being put on him without his consent) and the other was an occultist who didn't take the story of this particular family seriously enough to do the whole shebang, instead merely prayed with them. I'm not saying that only/almost exclusively women get sexually assaulted, or that women do believe each other more frequently - because we don't- but I am saying that the 90s would.

Media complicity

Initially, the reporting on the paranormal in Ghostwatch is lighthearted but aims to entertain the idea that the Early family are being honest. They have Dr Pascoe in the studio, they send a team to investigate, they do believe that something is going on, if not a haunting.

However. Over time, the cracks in the media's willingness to believe women starts to show.

They bring on an "expert" (who says merely that 'this could all be fake', not getting into any specifics of how or why, who openly insults Dr Pascoe and then she is tone-policed when she responds to his criticism - "did he upset you?" "[clearly upset but knows she's being goaded on live tv] no!").

Pam shows how print media responded to her, using her as a spectacle to keep eyes on their product - which is also what the BBC is doing in-universe. (Ironically, having so many eyes is what ultimately dooms the broadcast!)

And then, of course, Suzanne is caught hitting the pipes. Immediately, with one piece of evidence against them and regardless of the other evidence, Michael Parkinson gleefully (from, I suspect in part relief that he doesn't have to believe this could happen) starts disregarding everything else Dr Pascoe has to say. Why should we believe her? We have one piece of evidence to the contrary.

He hangs up the phone when she gives advice. He (more openly) devalues her contributions as false. He interrupts her saying that they don't want to give people nightmares. He's indulging, while maintaining his professional façade, in the high of catching someone out.

Suzanne is caught and discredited on the basis of her recreating the events of the haunting - aka the abuse. Dr Pascoe says this is part of the pattern, and she's not wrong. Children can do this as victims of abuse. Suzanne not wanting to talk about these actions - the writing in her schoolbooks, hitting the pipes - is taken as a sign of her guilt. In-fiction, had Suzanne believed that she would be taken seriously regardless of whether something happened specifically that night, she likely wouldn't have taken that action. But the BBC themselves staged a joke on Sarah earlier that night with Suzanne as a co-conspirator, having Craig jump out at her, implicitly mocking them. She knew she wouldn't be taken seriously if nothing happened. She needed there to be spectacle because otherwise they would be condemned just like her mum was by print media.

The BBC turns on this family, just as media outlets and public opinion can and will turn on victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault if they are 'revealed' to not be perfect victims. If they hold something back that they're embarrassed about, they're a liar, if they ever tried to protect themselves, they're just as bad, if they tried to communicate their distress in a way that isn't palatable or immediately understandable they're denied safe housing and ridiculed.

Even after seeing more ghostly events after the Suzanne reveal, and even with the phones ringing off the hook with more people who relate to these events, Parkinson is perfectly happy to accept that the girls and the reporter team are now happily playing board games again. He stops investigating. He's decided who the guilty party is, and his condescending correspondent is in agreement.

We cut back to Craig Charles, and he's having a laugh with the other (male) paranormal invesigator about how nothing is happening. How silly it would be if ghosts were real! "Where would I hold the microphone!" While being followed by two kids, out alone past the watershed - after Parkinson calls out a distressed mother for her kids watching tv after the watershed. Who's looking out for them? Certainly not Craig.

And then. After the problem is willfully ignored. It gets worse. After being ridiculed on the trusted news channel BBC 1, paranormal activity goes on the rise.

"It's in the machine", Dr Pascoe says, and again, she's not wrong. At the end of the film, Parkinson is literally, physically used by the ghost to spread its message. The callous disregard for women's safety, the downplaying of victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, the lack of respect for the reality that some people have to live in - part of it is down to the media's portrayals of the people that bring these cases forward. The stigma perpetuated by the machine empowers abusers to continue and to escalate their behaviours.

In real life, one should definitely be skeptical of someone telling you that ghosts are real, especially someone with dubious, unsubstantiated evidence and who's trying to sell a book about it. However, in the film Ghostwatch, the paranormal IS objectively real and it is an effective metaphor for how victims can be mistreated by the media. If the BBC had believed the Early family outright - or at least treated them with a greater deal of respect than camping inside their house and making jokes at their expense - the problem would not have spread.

#ghostwatch #augh it's 2am kiss kiss goodnight #cawis creates

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vickyvicarious · 1 year ago

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"Why not go on?" I asked. She shook her head, and, coming back, sat down in her place. Then, looking at me with open eyes, as of one waked from sleep, she said simply:— "I cannot!" and remained silent. I rejoiced, for I knew that what she could not, none of those that we dreaded could. Though there might be danger to her body, yet her soul was safe!

Somehow, I had thought last year that Van Helsing was bunking down with Mina inside the wafer circle. But it doesn't seem that he is, since here he mentions the fire being outside of it, and later on when they're being circled by the vampire ladies, he attributes his own safety to the holy wafer he is holding up at them, and Mina's to the circle.

This is interesting on a couple of levels, because on the one hand it points pretty definitively towards him not feeling safe resting next to her. It makes me feel like he really strongly suspects he might've been drunk from the night before, or at least that he fears she might do so tonight. And yet, he is also willing to give her all the surefire protection, and rely on only a wafer in the hand for himself. He didn't even make himself a separate circle. I suspect his supply is finally running low and he wants to make sure he has enough for the job in the morning/anything that might have to be done with Dracula, so he's trying to save the rest. That means that him giving up some of his finite supply is a real sacrifice, one which again places her own safety over his own. He's holding true to his promise to protect her to the fullest extent of his abilities, regardless of the risk to himself. If he faltered in his vigilance during the night, he could have fallen prey to the vampire women.

EDIT: disregard the above paragraph, literally right after posting I noticed that he does (and Mina also) actually mention he is in the circle too, haha. Guess I had reason for thinking that before, and this was more a brainfart moment. But actually that raises the question of how much is he trusting her, here. I still feel like he fears her a lot at this point but even after he sees she cannot cross the line he stays within it with her, which is a big show of deliberate trust in a way. Maybe his supply is running low so he doesn't know if he has enough for a second circle, but still. He's choosing to believe in her and to take the best interpretation of her reaction here.

Of course, there's also the risk of wolves for both of them. But he says he is happy because her soul will be safe, even if Mina could be killed by wolves. Is he taking comfort that the vampire women can't get to her? Well, that seems to be the case, but at the same time, it doesn't make much sense because Van Helsing is the one who has repeatedly said Mina is doomed to turn when she dies regardless of what kills her at this point. So I don't really think that's it. I think it's that, not only can the vampire women (or Van Helsing if they turn him, or even Dracula if he returns) not get to her, but also if Mina dies for any reason, if she finishes turning, she can't leave. She'll remain in the circle, and he will at least save her soul from the crimes it would commit as a vampire, by holding her in place and preventing her from ever committing them. None of the other vampires can approach so they can't let her out. The only way she gets out is if someone human helps her (and Van Helsing is the only one around for miles), or if she regains enough humanity to do so on her own (which will happen if they kill Dracula as planned).

Her reaction to the vampire women gives him hope that it's really not too late for her, and later on he takes comfort in her pale and ill appearance, but it kinda seems like he was planning for ways to minimize the harm to her soul even in a worst-case scenario.

#dracula daily #van helsing #mina murray #d'oh

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