#so now all his evils are just okay and erased and it's not so bad that he did a LOT of horrible things

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

still very disappointed they cheated us by making this guy be able to uwu his way out of being a villain

[kradogsrats]

Now we know What Viren Did(tm), and...

My personal side-eye aside, that denouement is actually an incredibly elegant application of the story's themes, within the scope of restrictions imposed by this particular medium (i.e. a cartoon targeted for pre-teens and younger). Like, I personally assumed for a long time that we would simply never find out the details, because it would be either too grim and/or violent for the story's intended rating or... kind of a let-down. On the surface, what we got seems like the second.

Most of us have looked at Claudia killing the baby deer to heal Soren's paralysis and went "well, it was obviously that, but y'know... worse, somehow," which is a completely reasonable assumption to make. It was definitely what was narratively implied, which makes the supposedly-damning ingredient being "your mother's tears" instead of like... idk, "your mother was pregnant again and I used the life of that unborn child to save you" or something kind of "... oh. Okay, then."

To be fair, that might also be why they went so hard in the IMO inadvisable male-dominated writer room direction of "so I held her down and took what I wanted" to convey the requisite "he's doing A Bad," which is what all my side-eye is toward. But here's the thing:

On some level, dark magic is about violation—of nature, of others, and of the self. Even violation by Aaravos, ultimately.

But it's also not just that.

Dark magic also sits at the center of one of the primary themes of the whole story, which is the evil of denying others' personhood. We see it again and again from the angle of the heroic cast: "You keep calling it a monster," "You knew he was a person, just like you," "She's not 'the elf.' She's Rayla." The evil they do not allow to take root is seeing people as things, the place where all other evils begin. (GNU Terry Pratchett, IYKYK.)

So Viren's damning crime, the crime that is dark magic, is this:

In that moment, he looks at his wife, and sees only a source of what he needs. One that he can take from as he wills. That's why Lissa leaves—Viren has pulled the circle he draws around "people" versus "abstractions, things to be used" in so tightly that she has found herself suddenly on the outside of it. That's not something you come back from, in a relationship.

As for it all being over something as innocent as Lissa's tears, as opposed to something like her blood, her unborn child, her heart, her last breath—that's also, I think, part of the point. It's a renewable resource, harvested without doing permanent physical harm, but it's still a violation of her. This is the ultimate refutation of the "but what if ethically-sourced phoenix feathers" argument as being, for the final time, bullshit.

When Viren bursts in looking like he walked straight out of hell and demands use of her tears, could Lissa have given them freely? Sure... but she didn't. Could he have talked her around, if he invested the time and respect for her that would require? Probably, but again, he didn't! He took what he'd decided was necessary, did what he decided he had to do, because he could.

And like, he knew, even then. Because while dark magic twists your perceptions and reasoning, dragging you deeper each time—it can't twist you so much that you no longer have a choice. It will do everything it can to make you rationalize making that choice, over and over, but it can't erase that it is a choice.

Like, I'm honestly kind of emotional about it because while the surface level watching experience is kind of hmmmmm, it delivers so well on a thematic and meta level that I'm just like idk. Fuck. It's good.

[tangents-within-tangents]

Thoughts on Echo as amputee/disability representation

First and foremost, I am not disabled or an amputee and I don’t claim to speak for those communities (and if I was I couldn't speak for everyone). What little I do know mostly comes from this youtube channel (@oakwyrm), this post, and other research I’ve done for my writing (and like one amputee I kinda knew in passing). By all means correct me and add to the conversation, I just have some thoughts I want to share because I haven’t really seen this discussed anywhere

Overview

So Echo is interesting. He is a triple amputee which is pretty rare in media. His disabilities come from extremely traumatic circumstances: injured in a near-death experience, imprisoned and dehumanized as an experiment with no autonomy over what happened to his body.

There are a few moments in the shows where Echo is treated… questionably. Like this bit where Rex uses him as an example of the Separatists' evils to convince the locals to fight back:

To be fair, yeah Echo’s treatment does prove that the Techno Union is not neutral like they claim. The modifications that everyone is gasping in horror at here obviously weren’t made with comfort and accessibility in mind, nor with Echo’s consent. But you still just want to be sure that “They took away his freedom, his humanity, they tried to turn him into a machine” is about using him as a living computer, not the fact that he is missing limbs. 

The Batch is also pretty insensitive toward him and his trauma imo, which is weird considering they've supposedly also faced discrimination for their mutations

Disabled people do have to deal with stuff like this in this day and age so I guess it can speak to those experiences. I think especially him being mistaken as a droid (and Hunter going along with it (bruh)) might resonate with some people. 

Aside from that stuff, Echo isn't really treated any differently as a character/person which is really good (as low of a bar as that is).

We get this moment in CW where Echo contemplates that yeah things are gonna be different now

While also (imo at least) showing that he is still the same person regardless, evidenced by the fact that he just echoed Rex :,) I also think it's significant that he joins the Bad Batch on his own terms and we're given a really emotional scene to specifically show that he's not just like 'lumped in with the other misfits' but that it is his choice to go where he feels his place is.

A lot of people, myself included, are disappointed that TBB didn't have more time to explore Echo's PTSD, but I think the one panic attack scene we did get is really good. Even thought it's minor it at least is an appropriate reaction from a guy who was medically tortured (which is more than I've come to expect from Star Wars shows lol)

And it's really sweet to see Omega showing Echo some empathy and consideration.

It would have been nice to see more of his adjustment period, and other side effects like chronic pain and maintenance, but there’s a lot of daily life stuff the show never had time for (i.e. we don’t know if he removed his prosthetics to sleep, but we also never saw him sleep anyway). His disabilities might take on a background role (much like the character himself sadly) but for the most part they aren’t invisible or erased, nor do they define his character and arc.

Physical Appearance

Okay this one is bit dicey, bc on the one hand, yes complaints that Echo’s paleness (most likely caused by burns from the explosion or chemical burns from the cryo-chamber) is whitewashing are totally valid. But I also think you can draw comparisons to real life conditions that affect pigmentation/complexion (like you know burns). So while I understand why a lot of fanart will depict him with his original skin tone and with hair, consider that there are real people who have to live with temporary or permanent changes to their appearance, and the idea of “fixing" him by making him look more like his old self can be problematic.

It's also interesting to note that Echo could act as a reversal of the 'disabled/disfigured = evil' trope. He's pale and bald and wears black and red, which is so often visually associated with villains, but we all know Echo is the bestest boy™

The Headpiece

Echo’s headpiece is interesting because within the show we don’t actually ever learn much about it (idk if there is more info in books or whatever bc i don’t have them so?). He didn’t have it in CW so we know it didn’t come from the Techno Union and therefore Echo probably had more choice with it. We don’t know its exact purpose but it’s most likely related to his scomping abilities. When he is hacking with his scomp in CW, before he has his headpiece, it’s clearly very mentally straining:

We don’t see him struggling like this in TBB once he does have it (though that could be bc he got more used to it over time). There doesn't seem to be much of an impact when he removes his headpiece in s3 ep14-15, except that he gets stuck in the ports every time he uses his scomp which is not something we’ve seen before: 

There might not be an exact real-world equivalent, but the headpiece is some kind of accessibility aid. It means that someone specifically designed a device to help him adapt to the changes the Techno Union made, as well as a helmet that integrates it. It’s removable and visually very present, much like a cochlear implant would be. (A lot of people actually headcanon it to act partially as a hearing aid, since it makes sense that Echo’s hearing would have been damaged in the explosion, but there isn't really any indication of this in canon.) The headpiece is never really acknowledged in the show, but I think that's a good thing. It's something he needs/wants and it just exists, completely normalized, and that's pretty cool 👍

Legs

Sigh... So from the very first episode of TBB I was really disappointed that the animation team or whoever completely visually erased Echo’s prosthetic legs (I think we all were, honestly, if fanart is anything to go by). It’s one thing when he’s in armor because he would probably want to protect his prosthetics, but we literally see him in his blacks and there is no indication whatsoever that he lost his legs even though it was not left up for debate at all in CW:

Like ??????!?

This is just really strange to me! Idk what went on behind the scenes with this decision but I don’t really see why it would be that much harder to animate or anything since it’s 3D and they've done it before. We do see some pretty sophisticated cybernetic technology in Star Wars canon that mimics real limbs:

But Luke’s fancy hand is technically 20ish years from now, so Anakin and Maul are more of a representation of what level we could expect here

So yeah, for no apparent reason, his leg amputation is effectively, visually and narratively nonexistent. Which is not great 👎

Arm!

The scomp on the other hand (uh lol!) is the complete opposite and I kinda love it!

At first I, like many others, thought it was a bit odd that they didn’t give Echo a prosthetic arm. Losing hands is basically a Star Wars tradition at this point, so robotic arms/hands are well established within the worldbuilding: 

We aren’t necessarily given a canon reason for why Echo doesn't get a cybernetic arm (again unless it's in some lore book I haven’t read, sorry). General fanon explanations I’ve seen are that he either couldn’t because the Techno Union wired the scomp too far into his nervous system, and/or the resources to give him one were deemed too expensive for a clone (what about his legs tho?), or that he chose not to, usually because he thought the scomping was useful. 

Regardless, I actually really love this choice (and it's the whole reason I made this post), because here's the thing: There’s a lot of problematic tropes out there that either erase/cure disabilities or compensate them with perks (like how pretty much any blind character is actually not blind by some sort of magic power). With amputees that is done with robotic arms. The character is still an amputee or course, and there is still value in that representation, if this story from Mark Hamill that makes me tear up is anything to go by:

but for the most part these characters function like anyone else, just with a limb that looks a little different. It’s no more than a video game skin, an able-bodied actor with a green screen glove. It “cures” the disability, or it actually makes the character even stronger than usual: 

It usually makes sense within the world of the story, but the reason it’s not so great in my opinion is that in the real world we just do not have technology anywhere close to that yet. Prosthetics can more or less replace any mobility from lost legs, but not for all the complexities of a hand (and even if they could the average person wouldn’t be able to afford it).

So

I think it's actually really super cool that Echo’s scomp bypasses the canonically-established amputee erasure and functions much like a stump would irl. He integrates it into his movements and everyday life and it’s (as far as I know) a lot closer to an everyday amputee’s experience. 

It doesn’t define his character, it doesn’t hold him back, he lives a full life, the other’s don’t treat him any differently, and he’s still a total karking badass 

The only additional thing is that he sometimes uses it as a weapon (which given his story, I think it’s cool to see him taking back autonomy in a way, and we only see that like twice)

And also the scomping, which could be seen as the 'added/compensating superpower' trope. But narratively it's no different than if he was plugging in with a hacking gadget of some kind (he didn't necessarily "need" to lose his arm for it) and it’s not like Echo is completely defined by this skill. Personally, I think it's well worth the positives of him actually having a visible and realistically impactful amputation. 

I see a lot of posts or comments out there that say stuff like “how come Echo doesn’t get a hand?” or fanworks that do give him one and I just think it’s a bit of a shame. If he did get a robotic hand, it just would have disappeared the same way his legs and Anakin’s arm did (aside from that one time he got yoinked by a magnet). When Echo did “get a hand” in the last two episodes there were comments like “yay he finally got a hand! but it doesn’t even work” but I was actually so relieved that it didn’t! Bc for one thing that wouldn’t make any sense, he grabbed it off a droid, it wasn’t designed to implement with his scomp, that would be really complicated. But more importantly because it again refused to erase/cure his disability! It functioned like a real-world cosmetic prosthetic (useless beyond appearance) which is exactly what he needed it for, so that he could blend in better with his disguise.

And he continually took it off throughout the episode and ditched it at the end. He only used it for the necessity of a stealth mission, he doesn’t feel the need to visually “fit in” in his daily life. 

And, last but very much not least, he made a dad joke and from my intel that is very accurate representation!

TLDR: Echo’s scomp is actually really cool from an amputee representation perspective, especially within Star Wars, and I think that deserves some appreciation 

[yazthebookish]

I avoid talking about the other ship specifically but I feel like letting my thoughts out on some arguments I see sometimes. Not that I have any interest in engaging in any discourse with the other side but it's my page so I can post whatever I feel like posting.

"Gwyn's purpose in the bonus chapter is to hint at her Lightsinger powers"

Okay, so you think one of the most important points about the bonus chapter is to prove Gwyn has luring powers so my question is what are the implications of that? Her drawing Azriel away from Elain? Azriel and Elain exposing her true powers in front of everyone to reveal she is the reason she's been keeping them apart? She is being manipulated by Merrill and Koschei? She has powers she's using unknowingly and can't control them so she'll need Az and Elain to help her?

You're setting up Gwyn to be prominent in an Azriel/Elain book because of her powers, so will they spend time dealing with other plotlines or mainly focus on Gwyn? Because that kind of thing definitely needs resolution since it directly impacts Nesta and the Valkyries dynamic.

So do Azriel and Elain's fantastic romance needs another female character to be used as a scapegoat to pin all their issues on her because the bonus chapter wasn't a good look on them? Or simply because his scene with Gwyn and with Clotho ended on a hopeful note than his scenes with Elain and Rhysand?

Gwyn is an irrelevant character and serves Nesta's story only.

But your argument is she has luring powers and is using them on Azriel, so will that go unaddressed? Then why would SJM throw hints about her powers if it won't mean anything?

Gwyn was used just as a marketing ploy in the bonus chapter.

She's considered a new character and no one knew she was in Azriel's bonus chapter and the bonus chapter was strictly advertised to be focused on Azriel, please be serious.

The bonus chapter is irrelevant.

The author confirmed she planted things in it specifically and in ACOSF in relation to Azriel so I would disagree. The great "forbidden romance" trope wouldn't exist without it and Azriel and Elain spoke to each other more in the bonus chapter than they ever did in the main book, I can pin-point the scene where they speak to each other only ONCE in a 800+ page book and it was about Nesta dancing with the Duke.

Gwyn has powers.

She's Fae of course she has powers but why is the immediate assumption that her powers are nefarious? She didn't harm any character and there was zero hints of her having any bad intentions towards anyone. She deals with survivor's guilt and her trauma, but she had many opportunities to let that evil secret side show but it never did. Why? Because she's obviously not set up to be an evil character or even one with questionable intentions. This is the same character who was ready to sacrifice herself to save her friends and stood by Nesta to face hateful males who wanted to k*ll them.

She's a Lightsinger.

Pretty easy to debunk because there is no correlation based on what we know and we never even see any Lightsingers. Even if she happens to be one, I believe it'll play out way differently than what some people try to push. And come on, Lightsinger and Shadowsinger? You think SJM wouldn't go for that dynamic? But for now I disagree with it since canon tells us they're monsters who k*ll for sport and Gwyn does none of that. Even if she had other different powers that are not wholly good, it's not a point of concern because many characters have questionable powers that did not erase the fact that they were good characters. It's like people never read fantasy books with characters who had dark powers but it didn't corrupt them, for some reason there's an insistence that Gwyn already caused harm despite the serious implications of having a character who is SA victim portrayed as someone luring other people against their will.

Azriel ended up at the library because Gwyn was singing during the service.

1. Clotho is seen at the service, so her being at her desk when Azriel shows up at the library is a good hint that the services didn't start yet.

2. For a singing power to work, the victim should be able to hear the singing and Azriel made no note of any singing at the library.

3. The image he sees of Gwyn's joy didn't pop up randomly, it was triggered by Clotho after she thanks him for the joy the gift will bring her and tells him that Gwyn deserves something as beautiful as this.

The shadows stay around him because they sense a threat but she's luring them.

How is she luring them when she's not even singing if it's been established that her singing has powers? Also, that statement contradicts what's in the text because the shadows were curious at start of the scene and by the end they were described to have calmed and were content to watch Gwyn. In ACOSF, they were seen dancing around Az when Gwyn addresses him.

Nesta reacted to Gwyn's singing the same way Azriel did.

Context matters and a lot of arguments that support this statement are always taken out of context. Nesta loves music so if she is going to admire Gwyn's beautiful voice, it'll be simply for that and nothing more.

There is no way to 100% pin point what caused Nesta to have visions of the Prison during the services but it doesn't only have to be Gwyn's singing but also the lyrics which were found under Level Seven and are written in an ancient language. When Nesta gets the vision she says she can visualize what the song spoke of, meaning the song itself could be talking about story of the Prison/Land of Dusk.

"But Azriel's shadows reacted to her singing"

— "How was the party?" Her breath curled in front of her mouth, and one of his shadows darted out to dance with it before twirling back to him. Like it heard some silent music.

Silent music, not singing. Not song. Just like how Hunt mentioned hearing some beautiful music between his and Bryce's souls. Just like how Nesta and Cassian when they consummated their bond heard the music between their souls. Strong sign of Mateism friends.

"But Azriel still heard a beautiful singing, not just music."

— Azriel entered the warmth of the stairwell, and as he descended, he could have sworn a faint, beautiful singing followed him. Could have sworn his shadows sang in answer.

Could she be singing? Maybe though unlikely since she returned to training to cut the ribbon right after he left. If she did, maybe the shadows like her voice? Maybe that's a sign they're fond of her? And if it's not maybe that's another sign that the singing they're hearing is the mating bond, which was once described as the Song of the Soul.

The Shadows having a reaction to singing isn't necessarily a bad sign, we saw them dance to Azriel's humming in HOFAS.

Gwyn returned to the library, her story is over.

I have to assume you haven't read ACOSF or skimmed it if that's the conclusion you came to, because there were clear signs that not only Gwyn but Emerie have ongoing journeys and they will leave where they are right now to see the world outside. Gwyn literally states at around the 70%-80% mark that she's sick of staying in the library for two years and wants to leave. She returned to the library because that's her current residence and where she works, it's not like she'll immediately move out right after facing the Blood Rite. This is one argument I can't take seriously because it clearly contradicts what canon points out and I think it's mostly out of convenience to invalidate any discussions about her healing journey and incomplete arc.

Casual readers don't even ship Azriel and Gwyn and have no knowledge about the bonus chapter

A lot of casual readers do in fact see a potential in Azriel and Gwyn as a romantic pairing because they have canon interactions in ACOSF. Plenty of readers shipped them even before they read the bonus chapter. Casual readers are dismissed when they address that and are claimed to be hardcore shippers that hate Elain when it's not the case since they just point out what they think is the obvious in the book to them. Every casual reader will have a different opinion but for some reason if theirs is not in favor of Elain and Azriel, they'll be dismissed so that says much.

Just a hot take that I wanted to put out there since I'll be avoiding fandom discourse moving on (unless I feel like it Lol).

[thowawayuntilfurthernotice]

I know complaining about The Acolyte’s horrible writing is pretty standard, but it's genuinely fascinating how bad the writing on this show actually is.

It’s the best example of “Characters do things because the plot says so and not because they want to.”

Mae went from wanting revenge, to wanting to reunite with her sister, to abandoning her sister, to being okay with Qimir erasing her memories of Osha in the span of eight episodes.

Speaking of Osha, her motivations make even less sense. It’s clear that she failed her Jedi training because she had a lot of repressed anger and hatred regarding her mother’s death, but with the way she’s written, she kind of comes off as someone who’s just going with the flow.

“Oh, this Sith Lord is clearly trying to manipulate me into joining him by preying on my fears and insecurities? Guess I’m evil now!”

It’s like if Anakin suddenly decided to join forces with The Separatists after Ahsoka left the Jedi at the end of The Clone Wars.

But I think the worst character has to be Sol, I get that the writers wanted to deconstruct the “Wise Jedi master” archetype, but he just comes off as a complete moron.

Why is he so hell bent on wanting to take Osha under his wing? What was about her that made her so special? Why didn't he just tell Mae that he killed her mother because he thought that she was going to hurt her? Why does he leave out Aniseya's dying words?

And what's even dumber is that Mae tells Qimir that she wants Sol to face justice, yet she just stands there like a fucking idiot as Osha force chokes him to death.

You'd think being Qimir's former apprentice, Mae would realize just how terrible the Dark Side actually is and she would do whatever she can to stop her sister from going down that path, but she doesn't.

She's all like "Oh yeah, I have no issue with you turning to the Dark Side. It's fine, I won't stop you."

This entire series feels like a really bad Star Wars fan fic from the early to mid 2010's.

[ckret2]

I don't quite understand the point of Theraprism. If they can just erase the memory and reborn the patient as a completely new being, why do they arrange therapy and everything else?

Or is it such a precaution in case the patient remembers erased memories? Like, even if he remembers everything, he will remember that now he is good, that evil is bad, and so on

Gotta take that one up with Alex.

How often have you ever heard, in fiction or in religion, of reincarnation that DOESN'T come with a blank slate and all your memories being erased? Occasionally (both IRL and in fiction) you get individual people who claim they can remember their past lives, but it's ALWAYS treated as a rarity instead of the default, and usually they have to meditate or get hypnotized or go on a magic quest or something to unlock those memories.

So, that's why I write the Theraprism as erasing memories before reincarnation; because erasing memories is clearly a part of reincarnation in general. So why do they go through all the therapy just to get erased and start over? I'unno, because Alex wrote it that way.

My theory/headcanon is that even when the memories are erased, the personality remains. Reincarnate an asshole, you get a baby asshole. Reincarnate a serial killing knife murderer, you get a baby that's gonna start playing with the knives as soon as they're old enough to reach them and mommy turns her back for two minutes. Reincarnate a Bill Cipher, and you get a child born with a loathing for even the most reasonable rules, a tendency to charm & manipulate & abuse everyone around him to get what he wants, and a bizarre desire to set his house on fire with his parents inside. Gotta reform an evildoer so they DON'T want to do evil before you can set them loose.

And even in real life beliefs about reincarnation, if you were bad in a prior life, oftentimes you're not allowed to reincarnate into a better life until you've learned a lesson in a worse life. Why bother, if you won't remember it? Presumably because traces remain.

Theory 2? Maybe it's not actually "therapy": maybe it's punishment. Even though Theraprism is nominally a forensic psychiatric hospital, maybe whatever fantastical space legal system it's part of has decided that it's not okay to let criminals go on to their next life until they've paid their dues: suffered through eons of involuntary commitment until they feel remorse. Usually in our legal system going to a forensic psychiatric hospital means you HAVEN'T been found responsible for a crime and you AREN'T being punished, but we don't know about this universe.

And real life beliefs about reincarnation also sometimes have "you have to go through a worse life, not as a 'lesson' but as a punishment, before you can get to a better one."

So like, the Theraprism isn't doing anything new re: reincarnation.

[aishangotome]

Ikemen Villains Wedding Campaign (LINE) Translated

I swear to Liam

I'm so happy that you chose me, I feel like I'm going crazy. I'll erase everything that makes you unhappy, and give you anything you want.

So, let's love each other until the day we stop breathing.

I swear to Harrison

You must really love me to swear eternity to such a liar. Well, your judgment isn't so bad, is it?

Because I was thinking of choosing you too. Maybe I'm actually in love with you.

I swear to Victor

You have a great eye for choosing me! You are truly my Komadori (little robin).

Now that you have chosen me, I must respond to your love and sincerity. Are you ready to be loved by a man who devotes himself to evil with all his evil?

I swear to Ellis

...Do you like me?

...Hmm, same here. I like you too.

I think I can make you even happier. Be happy with me. Then maybe you'll find eternity.

I swear to Jude

What, forever? You mean you'll follow me until I die? Your crisis management skills are gone.

Whatever. If that's what you're planning, I'll work you to death. I won't let you escape until the very end, so please serve me to the best of your ability.

I swear to Roger

Forever, you say. Is it okay to make a promise like that so easily?

So from now on, your fate is to have me toy with you and make you cry forever.

Haha, I'm not going to let you take it back. I've decided that from now on, I'll take everything from you.

I swear to Alfons

You're crazy to think you'd stay with me forever, you know? I like the fact that you make foolish choices even though you don't trust me at all.

I guess it can't be helped. Let's just have fun and be together until we both change our minds.

I swear to Elbert

Thank you. I wanted you to choose me. I want your eternity to be mine. I love you too. I love you so much that I want to swallow you all and become one with you. I'll never let you go...forever.

I swear to William

You're a brave robin, swearing eternity to me.

Thank you. I'm glad you had the will to promise me. I love you, too.

Let's live life to the fullest, until the final line comes to take us.

[oscconfessions]

my distaste for the new ii ep comes from how annoying it made everyone be about taco, the ep was good but yeah i just realized that. anyway.

listen. I think that Taco CAN become a better person. I think that she CAN be able to move on and that she needs to let go of II as a whole. But that doesn't mean that all of her actions are immediately erased/forgiven either. Like the whole point of the episode is to show that Taco KNOWS that she's a terrible person, but like, being aware of it doesn't erase all the harm she did. And Taco KNOWS that herself. She says that she can't let go, and she DOESN'T want to get better either. That's the whole thing. She doesn't want to get better because she thinks she can't get better. And like. Listen

BOTH take aways from the episode are like genuinely horrid. "Taco should make up with Mic and Pickle" nope! She wouldn't! And she can't! She literally can't! She died from the stress the idea of confronting them caused her, and she doesn't want to because she's aware of how much pain she caused. Mic leaving made her realize she was terrible. "Taco is an irredimable monster" ALSO no. Listen. Taco isn't doing anything to become better. Blah blah blah "her arc is not done yet" we know shut up. My point is that Taco is aware that she's a terrible person and her whole song is about her having pity for herself instead of working on being better. MEPAD is the one who's pushing her to do those things, but that's because he's only aware of like, half of the context and doesn't know Mic's and Pickle's sides. Does this mean she's irredemable? Not really. Yeah she did a lot of harm on purpose and recognizing that WON'T kill any of you. And calling out the fucked up shit she did won't kill you either nor does make you a woman hater, everyone calls out shitty stuff characters do all the time, I am impressed that the "evil woman enjoyers" are so adamandant on saying that the evil woman isn't actually fucked up??? However. I don't think Taco is irredemable AND this comes from someone who very openly dislikes her. I GENUINELY want Taco to become a better person and to heal, I want her to let go of II, and of everyone there as a result. People don't seem to understand how her attachment to the past, and to the show, AND to pickle, is literally killing her at the moment. It is literally stopping her from becoming a better person.

Feeling "bad" about your actions doesn't make it okay. You can't keep doing shitty things and then feel bad about yourself like that makes it okay. That's the thing that Taco does. There's like SPECIAL emphasis on mic and pickle being happy and comfortable without taco being around, everyone calls out Taco because she's been stalking them, Taco did the whole questions thing just for. the sake of it. Like she didn't have to do that. Sure "I want you guys to see how bad the show got". Knife LITERALLY called her Ms Projector. But Taco CAN change. She NEEDS to forgive herself and let go for once and for all.

AND before someone compares Taco to Nickel or to any character to ignore the whole fucking point of the ep and of this analysis. They're not the same. They have their similarities but Taco did all of that shit because she wanted the money, and just because she could. Like have we forgotten that she wanted Mic to literally kill Balloon. Come on. A taser would've just killed him. Taco is NOT trying to get better, she says it on her song as well. She knows she did terrible damage and doesn't want to get better because she genuinely THINKS she can't start over at other places. Her unhealthy attachment to II is ruining her. And Nickel? He was like that because Balloon WAS a terrible person on s1, Nickel wanted to protect his alliance, and he KNOWS he was a terrible person now but you know what he did? He started to become a better person AND a better friend once he realized he was in the wrong. AND he's not aware like Taco is! He IS going to therapy and becoming a better person because he WANTS to be a good friend. Taco isn't. Taco kept digging further and further on her own hole despite the fact that she could've just. Start to get better ever since the ep started or moved on with Mepad but she didn't!!!! Because that wouldn't be Taco!!!!

and because i know people will only focus on me shitting on taco via recognizing what the ep pretty much told us. AGAIN. TACO CAN BECOME A BETTER PERSON. BUT SHE NEEDS TO LET GO OF II. AND IT DOESN'T ERASE HER ACTIONS TO DO THAT BUT IT MEANS THAT SHE GENUINELY WANTS TO BECOME BETTER. THE WHOLE POINT OF II IS THAT YOUR ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES BUT THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO LET THAT STOP YOU FROM TRYING AGAIN. TACO IS STOPPING HERSELF.

also i honestly don't think people actually like taco as a character i think most of you are like that with her because you think she's hot. "oh max you just hate women" first of all shut up get another argument for whenever someone calls out your shit and also don't you DARE forget the fact that people villainized candle for wanting to take care of herself + that people were HORRID about cabby winning and about her disability. like the treatment you guys give to women is genuinely horrid. DON'T get me started on the way people treat mic or how people infantilize suitcase for being naive/kind. i love fem characters (my main one is literally mic) and the way literally everyone started to treat taco as a shell of her character is genuinely upsetting when the whole point of the ep was to show that "taco is a bad person and she doesn't want to get better". do you guys ACTUALLY care about taco? do you guys see her as a complex individual? do you understand that she's a bad person? do you understand that she doesn't want to get better? do you understand that she NEEDS to let go of ii AND of the past in order to start healing properly? do you understand that you can still enjoy an evil character while also not having to justify their actions, ESPECIALLY when said character recognized that they're fucked up? or do you just feel attracted to her aesthetic? because i think most of you are just attracted to her aesthetic and the fact that she's "hot" to you. taco is a genuinely compelling character and deserves so much better than being treated as a hot woman who's main character trait gets forgotten every single time.

also the ep made me like her more actually but by jove is everyone stupid about her leave her aloneeeee she doesn't need to be excused she doesn't need to be condemned she needs to let go. she needs to accept that meanwhile she can't fix things anymore that doesn't mean she can't work to be a better person.

.

[nobodyfamousposts]

How would Littlebug react to characters like Doofenshmirtz? Or Jack Fenton?

(In Doofenschmirtz's living room...)

(Doofenschmirtz and Littlebug are having tea.)

Doofenschmirtz: …all that to say, I am kind of off the market for an arch nemesis, though I do appreciate the offer! But I promised Perry the Platypus that I wouldn't take on another arch nemesis and then I promised my daughter, Vanessa, that I would stop my acts of villainy after she made me see that it wasn't actually healthy or what I really wanted in life. And now I'm helping out at OWCA, supporting my daughter, and sharing my non-evil inventions meant to help the world instead of trying to settle petty grudges. So I am sorry, but I hope we can still be occasional rivals or maybe allies?

Littlebug: (Confused)

Littlebug: (Looks down at List)

Littlebug: (Looks up at Doofenschmirtz and points to name on the List)

Doofenschmirtz: (Looks at the name) Oh! I see where the mixup is! I'm Dr. Doofenschmirtz! Mr. Doofenschmirtz is actually my father!

Littlebug: (Tilts head)

Doofenschmirtz: Well you see, a lot of my villainy has been related to my backstory…backstories. You see, back when I was…

(15 Minutes later.)

Doofenschmirtz: (Still going)

Littlebug: (Eye twitching)

Doofenschmirtz: And then there was the time I was shamed for not jumping off the high diving board and—wait, where are you going?

Littlebug: (Leaves)

Doofenschmirtz: Okay! Well feel free to drop by again sometime! What a strange girl.

(Suddenly, Perry the Platypus bursts in.)

Doofenschmirtz: Perry the Platypus! I'm not evil anymore! What are you doing coming in through my window?

Perry: (Chitters and pulls up a screen showing Littlebug)

Doffenschmirtz: Oh, the little living doll thing. Yes, she just left.

Perry: (Looks around warily and chitters)

Doof: What? No! She was perfectly nice!

Perry: (Gestures to Doof)

Doof: Oh, it turned out she actually wasn't looking for me, she was looking for my father.

Perry: (Worried)

Doof: What? What harm could she do?

TV Announcer: This just in! An attack in Gimmelshtump as an elderly citizen is being dangled from a rope off the condemned diving board at the old community pool.

Doof: (Eyes widen) …oh.

-----------------------

(In another universe, in the Fenton household...)

Jack: (Going to the kitchen when he sees a piece of fudge on the floor) Floor fudge!

(As he picks up the fudge, he notices another piece on the floor and proceeds to pick that up as well.)

(Then he notices another piece.)

(And another.)

(He follows the trail of fudge all the way into the basement and leading to the Fenton Stockades.)

Jack: And that's the last piece! (Picks up the piece inside the Fenton Stockades)

(The door slams shut on him, trapping him in the Fenton Stockades.)

Jack: HEY! Who's there?! Let me out!

Littlebug: (Nods resolutely and marks Jack Fenton's name off The List and starts to leave the Lab)

Voice: Ahem?

Littlebug: (Turns)

(Danny is standing there.)

Danny: You're not another ghost sent by Vlad to kill my dad, are you?

Littlebug: (Shakes her head and shows him her Bad Dad List)

Danny: Why is my dad on this list?!

Littlebug: (Gestures to the Fenton Stockades with a flat look)

Danny: Okay, I know that looks bad. But he's a good dad, really!

Littlebug: (Frown)

Danny: Look, I know he's fought me, but that's only because he doesn't know I'm half-ghost. And the times he found out, he was pretty supportive. I mean, there were situations going on at the time, so we didn't really get to talk it out, but he still seemed to care about me. Even in an alternate reality where I accidentally erased my existence.

Littlebug: (Uncertain)

Danny: If you want to look for bad dads, you should see Vlad Masters. He keeps wanting to kill my dad, marry my mom, and make me his son like some sort of twisted setup of Hamlet.

Littlebug: (Eyes widen)

Danny: So yeah, there are already enough plots against my dad, so I'd really appreciate if you—wait, where are you going?

Littlebug: (Holds up The List, now with Jack Fenton scribbled out and "Vlad Masters" written in on it)

Danny: ....you know what? Have fun.

(They leave.)

...

...

Jack: Hello? Anyone?

[batsplat]

speaking of smallville now that was certainly a show. how many seasons did you manage and when is it best to stop? I am currently at s2 and already I would kill every other character for lex, wyd it’s only gonna get worse 😭

lmaooo okay so I got to. six. which actually kinda kills me because I swear I poured my heart and my soul into that stupid show, it drove me insane it left me a lesser person and I BARELY GOT HALFWAY

my basic analysis of the default journey with that show that I'm going to pretend is universal is like. it hooks you with something compelling in s1 and you still have enough naive faith to give it benefit of doubt that the writers actually know what they're doing, because you just wanted to have a bit of fun but, hey, these characters are actually more interesting than you expected!! then in s2 you're starting to get doubts but you're already kinda too deep. then s3 breaks your sanity and makes you scream and at this point you just see how far this shit goes. then s4 is.... mid..... but is also in a way the last remotely palpable season? and then at some point in s5 you're just like. wow I don't even enjoy the hate watching any more. and s6 is. yeah. eventually there was one storyline that is so insanely uncomfortable that it's just. enough. enough!

[mild spoilers to follow]

if s2 drives you insane on lex grounds then!! boy!! s3!! the thing about s3 from lex's pov is that. okay it's extremely angsty and does increasingly radicalise you... I have to say I started this show in a very innocent jokey 'oh ho ho I heard they have some good superman/lex luthor queerbait in that noughties show!!' and was ready to be a lex fan like. as a bit. and y'know my readiness to adopt morally dubious characters is pretty high anyway. but the first few seasons made me go?? okay but he genuinely isn't even the villain?? like I'm not even saying this for the bit, he LITERALLY is not the bad guy in this story?? guys??? and then by the end of season 3 I had been completely radicalised to the 'Actually Lex Luthor Should Turn Evil And Kill All Of You People And I Will Cheer Him On' stance. but what really, really, really kills me is that after all that, they still manage to bungle his transition to evil. like, they ignore all the very obvious reasons for why lex would turn evil after all that, and just come up with completely new ones? that have fuck all to do with this character you've been writing up to that point?

and the worst bit. the WORST bit. is that after all that, he literally does not even have fun being evil. like, you know that season one episode where he's being mind controlled and does his gay little swagger. this scene, yeah:

first of all, again, they ended up erasing lex's canonical motivation for turning evil, which is being so queer-coded he might as well be wearing a sign with slurs around his neck while he's stuck in a small town in fucking kansas. like "you think I don't see the way your parents look at me? the way half the town looks at me?" okay, great, love how this entire arc is eventually concluded by having the show say the entire town including clark's small-minded parents were 100% right to be suspicious of him, that there was something fundamentally defect with him basically from birth and he was always going to turn out to be evil. I feel like you definitely thought through the implications of what you wrote here!

but never mind all that, my actual point is that lex is having fun here!! this is one of several episodes where they're 'foreshadowing' lex turning evil by 'having a paranormal reason to make lex evil for a few minutes' (some subtle writing, this), and he's generally having a lot of fun with it!! he's leaning into the camp of it all!! he's freed from all his nasty and completely unnecessary inhibitions like 'not killing everyone in smallville' which. good. and he's just having a great time. and then he becomes a villain and he's literally just miserable all the time!! it sucks!! like omg if you're going to butcher his writing and ruin the character then at LEAST let him have some fucking fun?? at least let him experience joy at his own depravity or whatever? like he doesn't even get to do any fun villain monologues at clark, he's literally just sad clark isn't his friend any more while clark is giving him the homophobic dog slur. and then also about twice a season something paranormal happens to clark and he physically assaults lex to the point where he like, almost kills him, and then after that everyone pretends it didn't happen and clark never apologises and continues to burst into his room demanding answers. like omg?? lex, they hate you anyway, can you please just attempt to shoot clark?? also, obviously the turn to villainy should have been in large part motivated by lex finding out clark's secret and going?? the fuck is wrong with you for not just SAYING this?? (plus finding out everything clark did to lex in season three to keep his secret like it's genuinely so fucked up #lmao) but. I hate to break bad news to you about where we're at with the whole 'does lex know clark's secret yet' situation at the point where I gave up. genuinely what is the point of all this building and perfectly interesting character work if you're NEVER gonna deliver

but quite possibly an even worse sin of the later seasons that genuinely broke my brain was the treatment of lex's father. like, not to give the game away too much here, but the show's philosophical stance on rotten apples ends up being.... well. it's interesting which characters this show feels is worthy of redemption!! also interesting when they retcon several seasons of writing for the show that already very much set up why a character would actually perfectly legitimately go insane and instead settle for 'well his father sure did know there was always something wrong with him'!! watching some season 3 and season 5 episodes back to back would leave your face scarred from the amount of whiplash in the writing. the whole thing's kinda incompetent and dumb but is also like?? actively a little bit evil when you really think about the implications of what they're writing here

anyway. it's a brave stance on superman to go 'okay but what is being a superhero really about if not a whole whole lot of gaslighting'. and I do love the clark stalking room!! but the problem is, they could've played the clark/lex dynamic in a kinda tragic 'wow clark really has been so blinded by his parents that he's gonna end up destroying his relationship to lex because he just can't be honest with him and lex really needed one person in his corner who actually trusted him but clark wasn't the right person to provide that' way. they could've played it in a sort of fun 'yeah this is kinda fucked up and weird and toxic how they simply cannot stop doing dubious shit to each other' way where you just kinda roll with how terrible the whole thing is. but they don't go for either of those!! they're so stuck with treating clark's parents as the moral centre of the universe, with their "marriage is SACRED, clark" schtick and all that (yeah, there's an episode where clark gets lectured about the importance of the bond of marriage, this is a thing that happens) that they're blatantly unaware of what story they're telling but ALSO just refuse to lean into the batshit insane elements and just have!! fun!! and it's one of those things where you really do feel like an idiot for even thinking about this stupid fucking show so!! much!! but I swear, I swear they had a dynamic that hit like crazy in season one... also some of the fic out there for them is CRAZY like it kinda does make it all worth it but still!! still!! this shit infuriates me!!

anyway, here are some bonkers plot bits I remember happening in this show for you to enjoy if you continue in this endeavour:

the lex luthor slut shaming episode

clark kent slut shaming lex luthor, which is conceptually funny anyway but becomes funnier if you just read it as clark being unable to figure out he is actually just subliminally attracted to his friend. like, okay, clark being disappointed at lex for sleeping with thirteen different women, I see you

like. multiple lesbian lana moments. she's constantly getting herself in lesbian situations. and I get this is some kinda weird fanservice-y shit from the showrunners but, sue me, I thought lesbian vampire lana was cute

which is a thing that happens

they get spike from btvs to tell clark vampires aren't real, which is the one funny thing they wrote in about a season

the native american stuff is always deeply uncomfortable but it becomes even weirder when they invent some native american prophecy *deep sigh* to explain how lex was always evil

clark steals a car from lex several episodes after committing like, one of the most obscene acts of betrayal it is possible to commit against a friend (lex is unaware of this and possibly never finds out? I think the writers maybe forgot about this.) and lex is just like. it's fine <3 I know friends sometimes have to do crazy shit for other friends!! you're my friend, right?? and clark goes... yeah. sure

I vaguely remember lex buying stuff the american football high school team at some point and showing up to the lockers to give a speech and it's just?? this is right after the friendship break up and it's basically lex talking right at clark and he's talking about the importance of fresh starts and it is so fucking funny

the one episode where lana is in paris. they had built up to this for ages as like a whole thing where lana finally frees herself from that miserable town and all the people in it (don't ask how the 'lana knowing clark's secret' situation develops. it doesn't) and then she's there for. one episode

martha kent tells clark how they can't harbour illegal immigrants at one stage?? she eventually changes her mind I think but what even was that all about

the papa kent goes into politics arc. shoot me

lex becomes like. possessed by zod. which somehow manages to make everyone involved more dull

silver kryptonite makes clark paranoid, which ends up being pretty funny because he genuinely talks the exact same way

lex thinks clark can throw him across the room because he's been hypnotised

lex starts capturing various clark super powered friends and delivers these gay villain monologues to them (like genuinely, in one of them he's got shirtless aquaman strapped to a gurney and he's like, leaning over him, teasing him with a glass of water) and they're some of the best bits of the show

clark discovers the clark stalking room, which I will say was very funny

chloe basically saying lex always sends clark these massive gifts as a way of keeping his affections which?? clearly true but I thought we were keeping that the subtext

clark gatecrashes lex's wedding high on red kryptonite

one of lex's old bullies gets killed by like, a statue falling from the top of the building they're standing next to and stabbing the guy and then some of the blood splashes on lex and he's just like ?? bleh. fantastic scene

and THEN there's several scenes with his father where lex is like 'well that sure was a nice shirt :(' and lex's father is berating him for his lack of humanity. or something

there's an episode where lex is split into good lex and evil lex and it's genuinely the only worthwhile thing the show did that season. like the writing is still kinda incoherent but, crucially. it sure is fun

the spirit of lex's mum tells him she thinks he sucks

worst show in existence. I'll never forget it

[oreharuuu]

Summary: Living in a small town with a famous priest for a father accidentally made you the target obsession for eight demons.

Pairing: yandere!demon!ateez x reader

Warnings: religious setting, yandere themes, obsessive behavior, stalking, invasion of privacy, forced love, noncon mind erasing

A/N: so sorry this took so long for @sollattes T-T I keep rewriting and adding new things because I can't see it working well. A warning, this story contains a lil bit of a religious theme but it's not that focused on, so please read with caution. But hope y'all like it!

Taglist: @starillusion13 @cqndiedcherries @wooyoungjpg @miriamxsworld

‌Honestly, if they're basically the same as the demons in my series "éta ritual", then it'll be such an easy thing for them to do to manipulate readers mind to love them if they want too.

‌But that's too boring! We want more exciting things. And you know what will be more exciting? If reader's father is a priest, the starting catalyst for reader meeting demon!ateez.

‌Let's start from the beginning.

‌You're religious, but you're not the type to force your own beliefs onto others. Yes, you go to Catholic School, but you stayed away from the crazies that to you are a bit too extreme on religion.

‌Your father works as a priest, especially the ones who exorcise possessed people. Your father never showed you his line of work, deeming it too disturbing for you as sometimes it gets too extreme.

‌But you're curious. You want to know what exactly he does to help these people. You never fully believed the presence of evil entities since you never really acknowledged it. But when you heard praises from other people about your father's work and basically how famous he is, you're curious as to see how bad exorcism could possibly be.

‌So you pushed your father until he agreed, taking you to a case outside of your city. A young girl, believed to be enticed by a demon to do horrible things. The reason is still unknown, and your father is called to investigate.

‌You perceive the whole thing with doubt, eyeing the girl with hard eyes as your father continues to ask her questions about why she did the acts she did. You grimaced when she lets out a piercing shriek, flailing around to escape the hold she's trapped in.

‌You eyed the camera recording all of this, feeling how wrong it is to record someone in a vulnerable state; sitting down besides it as you eyed the scene from the screen, only to be shocked when you noticed eight black figures standing behind the girl.

‌You stayed calm, trying to hide a flinch when one of them made eye contact with you through the camera, smirking as he tilted his head slightly. His mouth moved as if he's talking, but none of the other figures are noticing. That's when you noticed what words he's mouthing. "You can see us, can you?"

‌The girls lets out a final, pained shriek before collapsing, everyone in the room exhaling in relief as they hoisted the girl to her room. Your father proceeds to talk to her parents, glancing at you every now and then to make sure you're okay.

‌Your eyes moved back towards the screen, humming in confusion when you noticed none of the figures are there.

‌After this encounter, you start to experience weird things happening. Items moving from its original spot, the TV turning on at random times, the feeling of being watched; anything that makes you even more paranoid when your father only met your claims with a confused look. But you stayed calm, ignoring the weird things that are happening more and more before it just...disappeared.

‌Then, as if things couldn't get any weirder, eight boys transferred to your school in the middle of nowhere. Eight boys that made your school and town go wild with gossip. Sure, you're interested in them but you're practically a nobody. And people are hogging them at every time since they're curious about the boys.

‌Small towns like yours experiencing something shocking like these are suspicious enough. No one wants to move to this boring old town just because they want a change of scenery, that's why you decided to avoid them. You're already suspicious when one of them smiled at you brightly, even though you've never met him before.

‌Of course, avoiding them didn't happen when one of the boys asked you where the library is on lunch. Begrudgingly, you lead the way to the library since you noticed the boy only got more confused when you told him the directions. He thanked you and introduced himself as Seonghwa, the eldest of the bunch.

‌After that, it feels like God is laughing upon you as your meeting with the boys only grew more frequently. They're nice and all but you like to kept to yourself, only socializing to your close friends. Seems like all of them wants to be your close friends.

‌Wooyoung and Jongho were the two boys that you always met with, since you three are partnered up for a group project. Wooyoung was loud while Jongho was calm, a bit of an odd pair but they worked nonetheless with you. One thing that's weird though, is how tense and awkward they are when meeting your father, noticing how straight and tense their posture is, giving a smile to your father that didn't even reach their eyes.

‌You really do want to be close with them, but there's this gnawing feeling deep inside you that makes you suspicious of them. They're faces are somewhat familiar to you, yet you can't place your finger as to why.

‌Not only that, they're oddly...obsessive and possessive towards you. You had minimal interactions (except for Wooyoung and Jongho,even then you only talked with them when you need to work on the project) with them yet your friends are always confused as to why they're always boasting about your relationship with them. This only irks you more when people begin to ask what your relationship is with them, even your father had to ask!

‌This prompts you to ask them what's going on, only for them to act innocent and dodging your question with easy smiles. It only irks you more when more people ask you, because of this you could just imagine the dumb satisfied smirk on their faces.

‌The reason why they're so obsessed with you can't be summarized short. Truthfully, Yunho only told his brothers about you because you're the only one who noticed them. Smart girl for using the camera to see them.

‌They've decided to move on to another victim, seeing as the girl's energy is already drained enough from them pestering her and because of the exorcism. That's why they chose you to be exact. A bit of a fun choice since they realized that your father is the priest, only fueling their hunger for you.

‌At first, they followed you because they want to absorb your energy through your fear. Resulting in them trying to scare you or make you run to your father to tattle on them. But surprisingly enough, you stayed calm, eyeing everything with doubt and suspicion that it almost frustrates them.

‌That's what makes them obsessed. In the end, they're craving for your attention. Anything to make your attention solely on them.

‌They'll go to any lengths, even pretending to be new students from your school just to be one step closer to you.

‌Wooyoung couldn't even handle his excitement when you actually stare at him from a distance. You're staring at him! You're actually paying attention to him! Hongjoong has to physically hold Wooyoung back before he follows you around everywhere only on day one.

‌You think they'll stop seeing you after school? Yeah, they'll still follow you home and just observe you at home. A few of the boys respected your privacy while others...not so much.

‌They'll try very hard to make you fall in love with them. Pesky boys that also likes you? Gone, they moved in the middle of the school year. Jealous friends who lies to you? Suddenly they're gone from school, no one knows where they are. Anything or anyone they consider as a threat or a nuisance, they'll gladly remove it in seconds.

‌If you do begin a relationship with them, they'll be ecstatic! At the beginning of the relationship, I think they'll try to be authentic and act normally without using their powers. They really do love you, that's why they want to experience things with you without them using their powers. They'll eventually use it if they have too but you'll never know.

‌Seonghwa will be with you everywhere, carrying your bags or books as you move classes. Hongjoong will show you his favorite songs, the both of you listening to songs together in the library as you worked through your assignments. Yunho and Mingi will always be there in your classes, whether it's one of them or both of them; you bet they'll always be the one sitting besides you, exchanging notes every now and then when the lecture is boring. Yeosang and Jongho are both the only ones who are helpful with helping you learn materials, you'll invite them to your house or a nearby library to learn from them. Wooyoung sometimes cooks you lunch, asking for your opinion about certain foods that you don't even know the name of. And San just likes to hangout with you to feed the cats outside of school, basically claiming that you and him are their parents as you make small cardboard houses for them.

‌Look, you're relationship is cute and all but remember; you're living in a small town filled with religious people and you're father is a priest. They can't accept your relationship with the boys, so you kept it hidden. The public scrutiny you'll receive your whole life will always make you anxious whenever you're with the boys. You can't help it, words will spread like wildfire when something as weird as being in a poly relationship with the new students are known to everyone.

‌They'll notice it for sure, subtly using their powers to ease your anxiety a little bit to forget about your worries for a while. You're with them now, you don't have to worry about being scared because of some lowlife humans that are beneath you.

‌There's two possible outcomes that could happen, the good and bad one. It really depends on how you see it.

‌The good one is that after graduating, you decide to just move out of the small town because you're in love with them, you can't help yourself to break up with them. So you told them about your worries, and they'll happily agree to move out of the town if it means they'll be more open with you. They're already planning on bringing you along by force after graduating, but with you wanting to move by yourself was already helping them by a mile.

‌You'll keep it a secret from your father, just saying that you want a change of scenery when you're in university. He'll agree, of course, since he didn't find anything suspicious because your reasoning is wanting to continue your education. Even though it's somewhat true, you're actually a bit relived and happy to move out and continue on with your life with your boys.

‌The bad one somewhat happens because of your religious beliefs. The guilt eating your mind as you think back and forth if this relationship is the right choice for you to do. It feels wrong to be in this relationship, and you're afraid of what people will assume because of this relationship. That's why you want to break up with them.

‌But this will only be the catalyst for the boys to actually lose their minds. They already worked so hard to show their love and devotion to you, and this is how you treat them in the end? They'll be livid, but they'll accept the break up nonetheless calmly. But that doesn't mean they're giving up.

‌They, in the end, will force you to come with them, wiping your tears away as they force you out of the house. They'll coo and comfort you, saying how much they love you and how much they expect you to love them back. You're their soulmate, you can't just leave them behind.

‌They'll use their powers to basically force you into submission, maybe even erasing your memories to insert new ones that they created just so you could love them back. You'll forget everything about your old life, and you'll follow them everywhere because of how easy it is to control you.

[yanderecrazysie]

here me out yandere! erasermic with shy!reader who has tendency to have nightmares and doesnt sleep well-

[this has been on my mind like all week for some reason😭 but anyways have a great day/night and take as much time as you need/want its healthy for you!]

Just a little heads-up, I write multiple characters as working together and not as poly, so I hope that’s okay!!! You can technically think of it as poly if you want, since I’m not super specific on it lol.

And you have a great day/night as well!

Title: Circles

Pairings: Eraser Head/Aizawa Shouta x Reader; Present Mic x Reader

WARNINGS: Yandere themes, drugging

Summary: Eraser Head and Present Mic’s new darling is adjusting well in every way except sleep. Is there a way they can finally give her the rest she needs?

“Sleeping peacefully

The girl I used to be

Until I fell so deep

A neverending tragedy.

You haunt me in my dreams

But it's all I want to see.”

-from “Circles” by KIRA

 You had been here nearly four months, and your sleeping had only grown worse.

It took forever for you to fall asleep and, whenever you did, your slumber was plagued with nightmares and heartbreaking memories that had you waking with a start and crying before you even opened your eyes.

 Your captors grew more and more stressed at the sight of you withering away from the lack of good sleep. The rings under your eyes were larger and darker than even Aizawa’s, and the sight alone had their stomachs twisting with worry.

“What do we do? Why won’t she go to sleep, Eraser?”

“It’s not just a matter of falling asleep, Mic, it’s a matter of staying asleep too.”

Your captors were kind throughout the months you’d been here, but they still terrified you. So many of your nightmares twisted their happy expressions into evil ones and used their soft voices to scream obscenities, until you awoke more afraid of them than on the day you’d been brought to the isolated cabin you resided in.

Not a single night went by without turning into a sleepless night or one packed full with night terrors. At this point, you were afraid to sleep. Afraid to see what your unconscious mind was ready to traumatize you with further the minute you successfully drifted away into dreamland.

Your captors were there for you as you fell asleep and whenever you awoke screaming and crying. You could see their faces lined with worry as they reassured you that you were safe. You welcomed the comfort, even if you knew you shouldn’t trust the people who kidnapped you.

One of them, the dark-haired one that the other called “Eraser”, seemed to understand your inability to sleep. Probably because he always looked so tired himself. He also spent the most time with you at night, pulling all-nighters sometimes to make sure you were okay. 

A strange part of you appreciated that.

“Summer break, finally! Now we can spend some time with our favorite listener!”

Your head perked up when you heard them both enter the house. You had learned that they both worked as teachers during the day, so they often had to be away from you… Was it really summer break already? Had you really been here long enough for school to let out?

Your blond captor, who the other called “Mic”, was much more energetic than his companion, and he quickly came running into the living room, searching for you. He beamed when he spotted you on the couch.

“(Y/n)! Let’s have a movie night!” He said, seeming very proud of himself for coming up with the idea.

“A movie night?” Eraser entered the living room after him, one eyebrow raised, “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

You agreed to it, even though you weren’t sure you had a choice in the first place. They were kind enough to let you pick your favorite movie, one neither of them had seen, and pop it into the DVD player.

With the lights off, your favorite movie playing, popcorn from Mic and soda filling your stomach, you weren’t too surprised that your eyes were beginning to droop. After days of barely getting any sleep at all, your body was finally at its limit and ready to give you what you truly needed.

You saw Mic give Eraser an excited look, which was returned with an indulgent smile (perhaps the happiest you’d ever seen Eraser). You couldn’t help but smile yourself a little, both in happiness and relief. You had a feeling there’d be no nightmares tonight.

You were sleeping peacefully between them on the couch long before your movie was over. The two were beyond glad that Mic had proposed a movie night, as it had done what they needed it to do and given their precious darling the gift of dreamless (and nightmare-less) sleep.

That, and the pills they slipped into your soda.

[matan4il]

Thank you for your daily posts. And for keeping up the updates. I'm exhausted by the war and the hatred and the gaslighting and I appreciate you so much.

מקווה להיפגש על אמת יום אחד, בזמנים טובים יותר. יישר כוח. שולחת המון אהבה.

(I hope it's okay, because of my health, I've been falling behind on replying to asks, so I wanna respond to a bunch of lovely ones here...)

Awwww, hi lovely! :D It's so wonderful to get this message from you! Thank you SO MUCH! I appreciate you as well, and I am sending you the biggest of hugs!

I think we're all emotionally drained by what has been going on, not just Hamas' brutal massacre, or the war it forced us into and the pain and loss it is causing us continuously, or the terrorist attacks that keep on killing us and hurt even more after the massacre, or having to deal with the impossible choices Hamas has forced on us, but also the wave of hatred towards us that started on Oct 7, while our people were still being massacred.

It's even worse when we remember that this wave was enabled by antisemitic propaganda, which has been spread for so much longer, way before they could have used the current war as justification. But it really shows how Jews are treated worse doesn't it? All land back movements should be supported, but Jews returning to their native land is evil and racist, all violence and killing is bad, but killing Jews for living in their native land is "resistance," rape is bad and victims should always be listened to, but Jewish victims of rape are to be doubted and ignored if they're living in the Jewish ancestral land, colonialism is horrible and practically any act is justified in resisting it, but Arab colonialism can be easily ignored and even denied, at the same time as Jewish people being native to Israel will be erased, so that the anti-colonial narrative can be comfortably misapplied to Israel and justify the crimes perpetrated against Jews in and outside our homeland, genocide is the worst of crimes, making it incredibly serious, but when it can be used against Jews, suddenly every keyboard warrior is an expert on it and does not hesitate to falsely apply it to Israel in a manner that minimizes and disrespects actual genocides and their victims (including Jewish ones), intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime, but it's fine if Hamas declares its intent to kill every Jew in the world, most of whom are civilians, because *throws out another false slogan, but hey, it rhymes*...

אני גם מקוה להיפגש יום אחד, כך שאם את מתישהו בירושלים אנא אל תהססי ליצור איתי קשר, ואני שולחת מלא אהבה בחזרה!

Hey, I want to thank you for everything you've been doing. I'm not Jewish, but I have been trying to be as supportive as I currently can be, and I feel it helps me do that to actually know what's happening. I hope you haven't been being sent a bunch of horrible things because of the war, even though I know you probably have. Thank you again.

Thank YOU so much for this kindness, both your message and your support for Jewish people! I know it's probably the worst time to be an ally to Jews, which is why I appreciate each and every single one of you even more than I usually already do. I'll do my best to keep updating, and I also now have, in addition to my general Israel tag, a resources tag which I tried to fill with some of the more important subjects I've covered, and for which I provided links to reliable sources. I hope this is also something that's useful to you! As for hate, I've gotten a lot of it. But if those people think they're doing anything other than exposing themselves as cruel, and not caring about humaneness at all, and if they think I'm more scared of their nasty messages than I care about the well being of my own people, they obviously have no idea about who I am as a human being (which I guess is not surprising, if they don't really acknowledge me as one).

Thank you again, I'm sending you love and nothing but the best wishes, always!

next time Im at Yad Vashem Im gonna ask every staff member if they are you it would be an honor to meet you in person

That's so very kind, Nonnie! But I'm honestly nothing special. Yad Vashem itself is an incredibly powerful place to visit, anyone who would guide you through it will give you a prfound experience, I have no doubt of it. But if you ever are there, and you tell the guards you're looking for me (the head of security is actually one of my best friends, so I know he always keeps an eye on me and my whereabouts), it would be nice to say hi! :D

thank you for all your daily updates

No, Nonnie, thank YOU! I seriously appreciate the kindness of your message and encouragement!

From @blu-eyed-demon -

Thank you so much, my lovely Jace! This is so kind and sweet, and you have been an amazing, continued source of comfort. You have so much kindness at a time when that's so scarcely found, I just with you that will always be met and wrapped with just as much kindness in return, everywhere you turn! *sends so much love*

From @yelenasbuddie -

Hey.. I'm just passing by to give you 💐💐💐 so you can have a much more wonderful day. Even if we don't talk much, I'd like to say that you are loved and mattered. I believe in you and you got this 🩷🩷🩷

and also -

Hope you are loved 🩷🩷🩷🧡💜🥰

Sweet Yelena! Thank you so much for all of your messages, I can't tell you how much I treasure them. I'm sure you feel like you're caught up in the middle of a storm, and I know it's not easy remaining strong in the middle of that, but you have, and I hope you give yourself a lot of credit for that, I def do. I'm also hopeful that you always see the measure of your own kindness reflected back to you! Sending lots of hugs and kisses and all the cutesy emojis in the world, to make you feel loved! (sorry, as a Jew I don't celebrate Valentine's Day, but I hope you had a lovely one...)

Been following you since the Robron days. Proud to still be following you now 🦾

Nonnie, this is so lovely! I can't believe you're still here since then! I'm the one who's proud to have such a wonderful follower. IDK if we've ever talked, but I hope I always made you feel appreciated if we did, and welcome and enriched even if we didn't. Thank you for sticking it out with me through the best and worst of times, it means so much! Sending you love!

From @dominikadecember -

sending you lots and lots and lots of love

Thank you so much, my lovely Dom! I hope you know you've been a real help throughout all of this, and that I manage to show you how much I appreciate you. I'm sending you tons of love back!

here to put some jewish love and kindness in ur inbox 💗✡️🇮🇱

Thank you so much, Nonnie! This is so gorgeous, I love it, and I appreciate you for the beautiful human you are. I'm assuming you're Jewish as well, so I hope it's okay if I send Jewish love, pride in the way we're standing up to all this hatred, and kindness right back to you, and I hope you're doing well throughout all this!

hey just wanted to say i really appreciate you and your blog.

Thank you wholeheartedly, Nonnie! I really appreciate this kindness, and I hope you know that you put a smile on my face, and that you really help and make a difference! Sending hugs and hope you're well!

To the Nonnie who doesn't know or follow me, but still had a look at my blog instead of just blindly accpeting the notion that I'm a bad person, and then added -

You're not a terrible person. My sympathy and support. It's awful how tumblr is suddenly full of antisemitic sheep.

Thank you so very much! I seriously don't know how to express to you how much it means to me, to know that there are people out there, who don't automatically participate in judging and silencing others, when it has become the more popular thing to do. IDK if you'll see this, since you're not following me, but I hope you do, because to me, you're the person who refuses to do the antisemitic salute just because everyone else is, and knowing that people can still have that strength, integrity and kindness really matters to me, and to other Jews who watch with horror the ease with which we're being vilified and de-humanized. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart for that, I seriously can't wish you enough good things...

Thank you to everyone who says, does, supports Jewish people, no matter how much you think it might be a small gesture. It all matters, you make the world a better place, and you give Jews hope! xoxox

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[skaruresonic]

I hate the new notion of portraying Sonic as evil because he doesn't go around solving every little inconvenience that someone might potentially face

We went from "Sonic needs to do a better job ensuring the villain won't come back" to "Sonic is intentionally letting villains run wild because of his own selfish amusement" to "Sonic is a piece of shit because he didn't erase all suffering from existence"

I guess saving multiple civilizations/worlds/dimensions from being destroyed or enslaved by lunatics isn't enough anymore. Somehow it might as well be Sonic's fault that Eggman goes around committing extreme acts of terrorism.

"The world would be better without Sonic as the hero" is such a dumb conclusion because who's gonna stop Eggman and all the other nutcases running around with apocalyptic levels of power? I guarantee someone like Lanolin can't take down a Death Egg or monsters that eat existence itself.

Okay sure bad things happen even though Sonic is around. Even MORE bad things would happen if Sonic wasn't around to stop villains from continuing their onslaught. Why are we suddenly expecting absolute perfection from a character who has always been portrayed as some dude who just so happens to have awesome powers?

I guess saving multiple civilizations/worlds/dimensions from being destroyed or enslaved by lunatics isn't enough anymore. Somehow it might as well be Sonic's fault that Eggman goes around committing extreme acts of terrorism.

That's the part that gets me - pinning all of this moral quandary on Sonic is ultimately just another way of downplaying Eggman's role in his crimes, just like how "Sonic lets Eggman go" only works if you completely ignore Eggman's uncanny talent for survival. It's not Eggman's fault for wrecking shit, it's Sonic's for not playing janitor thoroughly enough.

It's cynicism. Plain and simple.

"Sonic vs. Eggman is not only old hat but it results in untold suffering and Sonic should reckon with that" - okay but imagine saying that about Mario with a straight face.

"OMG MARIO ONLY REACTS TO BOWSER AND DOESN'T CONSIDER THE SUFFERING OF THE COMMON TOAD WHEN HE WAHOOS ACROSS LAVA TO SAVE PRINCESS PEACH" like come the fuck on, you cannot be serious. Are you pulling my leg right now? Lmao and they say we take Sonic too seriously.

When you pare down these arguments to their core idea - usually just pretty rhetoric saying "Sonic games suck because they're ~~inconsistent~~," in so many words - it really starts to sound like people's problem is that Sonic and Eggman aren't psychic.

Sonic cannot know the full extent of the suffering Eggman's schemes cause on a global scale, therefore it means he doesn't care. Portraying it as a moral failure to throw the trolley switch sounds an awful lot like "Eggman can't plan because he isn't psychic and cannot account for every possible fluke ahead of time."

Yeah no shit Flynn, Project Shadow was classified top-secret. Obviously Eggman couldn't have known what it was until he stormed Prison Island and saw it for himself. Were you expecting him to know this information before he had any reason to?

---

"The world would be better without Sonic as the hero" is such a dumb conclusion because who's gonna stop Eggman and all the other nutcases running around with apocalyptic levels of power? I guarantee someone like Lanolin can't take down a Death Egg or monsters that eat existence itself.

The argument seems to be that Sonic isn't a perfect hero and IDW is doing us all a service by giving him flaws and failures allegedly not provided by the games. The writers "aren't allowed" to portray Sonic losing because muh Sega mandates, so they're making Sonic lose on a more metaphorical battlefield: the battlefield of morality. So it makes total sense now that Games!Sonic's philosophy was always flawed in retrospect.

Omg such scathing meta commentary, truly a fresh new perspective on the series, now I have "official source material" to back my claims that the games suck and have always been inconsistent

And it's like. Okay. And? Lol the games have established that Sonic can be fallible sometimes. Why do folks act like the comic's breaking new ground?

...Oh, but that would entail admitting that the games don't portray Sonic as an uber-perfect Gary Stu who's always in the right. God forbid.

[actual-changeling]

Hi! In case you're in the mood for more Aziraphale questions -- if you think he still considers Heaven the true moral authority, how do you explain him sheltering Jim from Heaven? I thought the whole point of that was to show that trusting his own moral compass can still lead to disagreeing with Crowley. Because, well, it's his own moral compass, and not Crowley's.

Hopefully I can express my thoughts correctly on this because it basically comes down to Gabriel/Jim being Aziraphale's experiment—his chance to prove to himself (and Crowley by extension) that heaven & angels are fundamentally good and that any cruelties are a few bad apples.

Gabriel shows up and Aziraphale talks to him, realizing that he has lost his memory but that he IS Gabriel; he loses his patience incredibly quickly and then calls Crowley to do the dirty work for him. By then, he has already decided what he wants to do, which is keep Gabriel in his bookshop for an unlimited amount of time while figures out how to deal with him as they go.

See, both Aziraphale and we as the audience know that Gabriel as the Supreme Archangel was a dick, he was rude, arrogant, on a constant power-trip, and the horrible boss of practically everyone.

Meanwhile Gabriel without his memories is entirely without experiences to shape him, and while he isn't a child, he has that childlike innocence and inherent trust the world eventually rips out of you.

This essentially ""proves"" Aziraphale's theory (to him, at least). If you take away the Bad Person traits, you end up with a fundamentally Good Angel, which means heaven is also fundamentally good. This is why he insists on calling Gabriel Jim, why he corrects Crowley whenever he calls him Gabriel, why he trusts Gabriel over Crowley, why he chooses taking care of Gabriel over Crowley's physical and mental safety & well-being.

If THE Archangel fucking Gabriel is deep down a Good Angel, then everyone must be, and it's simply a few bad angels that make everyone seem bad, too. For Aziraphale, those are AMAZING news, and when the Metatron eventually tells him he can turn Crowley back into an angel, it's the grande finale to the entire experience.

Taking Gabriel in is not about some sort of moral compass, it's not done out of compassion or sympathy, it's not done because Aziraphale cares about him.

Aziraphale takes him in to win an argument, plain and simple. If Gabriel had shown up without a deleted memory, Aziraphale would have probably been a lot less inclined to take him in.

In the final fifteen, Aziraphale talks once again about heaven being good and hell & demons being evil, and the whole Gabriel thing just cemented that bullshit in his mind.

Heaven is fundamentally good

-> a lot of cruelties happen in heaven's name

-> it's caused by a few bad angels

-> erase the memory of one of the bad angels and he is back to Good Angel factory settings

-> all angels are fundamentally good and so is heaven

-> demons are bad and evil and being an angel is superior

-> accepting the Metatron's offer is good and means I can turn Crowley back into someone I can love without moral qualms

-> all my problems are now magically solved, yay

Aziraphale does not HAVE a moral compass, he copies heaven's and then adjusts it according to what he thinks God wants (blasphemy and hypocrisy much but okay) because thinking for himself would mean being uncomfortable—and he rather shatters Crowley into pieces than accept that he's wrong. Sure, he loves him, but he loves heaven and himself more than he loves Crowley, and the decisions he makes show that.

[theangelshavethephonebox]

I just found out about RTDs decision not to use Davros' past design and I have Thoughts™. I'll put them under a readmore because I know this is verging on discourse and who really wants that but I feel the need to say it anyway.

I am saying this as a mobility aid- but not a wheelchair- user, so I speak from a personal place but not with full authority on this. (As in, please do not take my voice on this over wheelchair users' opinions).

Okay, so, here's the thing. We get so little mobility aid/physically disabled representation that quite frankly even if they're nazi-allegory villains, it's still something. Bad faith rep for sure- put Davros in a wheelchair to show he must be evil, you know the drill. But back then it was all we had.

Now, Rusty wants to change his design because the original design was in bad faith. However, even if he's a villain, I'd still take what I can get.

Now, I know RTD seems to be about to change that- Ruth Madeley, for example, does not seem to be playing a villain. Maybe it's not a one-off- maybe RTD really is committed to providing good disabled rep that is done in good faith, with input from disabled people, characters played by disabled actors, the whole shebang. Maybe he really is trying to make a change.

But he should not erase a disabled character's disability just because he now has more "good" disabled rep. Davros is disabled. Erasing that disability does not improve disabled representation; doing what he's already doing, introducing more disabled rep in good faith, disabled people as people, not as "ooh this person is disabled they must be evil", that's what makes the change.

So, I really don't think they should erase Davros' disability. I hope they don't. Actually, I hope they focus on it- I hope Davros, in a wheelchair, is confronted by a physically disabled main/recurring character, preferably also in a wheelchair. I hope they have that conversation. I hope this wheelchair user tells Davros:

'As a disabled person, you should know, better than abled people, that what you're doing is wrong. You should know, most of all, that we have to fight for life, not destroy it'.

I hope that the past is not erased, but used to have a real conversation about the past and present, one that could actually have an impact on the future.

Tldr; I really hope they let Davros stay disabled and use it to bring up why it's so fucked that before recently he was the only kind of disabled rep we had. Well, that and "pitiable inspiration porn".

@a-wartime-paradox