#sorry but kevin has to suffer because i said so

[afurtivecake]

Can we have some more Kevin/Ichirou scenarios pls pls pls. I’ve never even seriously thought abt these two together and I’ve read your DELICIOUS headcanons and now I can’t stop thinking abt them istg

THANK YOU. my friend, i am telling you, i had like max 1 thought about kevin/ichirou until maybe a week ago and now look what's happened to me. i am glad i'm not alone in this sudden madness.

i feel like i should preface this by reiterating that this version of kevichi is neither romantic nor consensual. they're also homophobic.

ok so, to the public and pretty much everyone else, kevin is the self-proclaimed queen of exy and everyone will fall over themselves to give him anything he wants. in-universe exy rpf is full of self-indulgent daddy(mommy?) dom!kevin day x reader fics. but that's the exact opposite of him and ichirou's dynamic. between them, ichirou just needs to idly say, hey i wonder what you'd look like if you had been a woman, and kevin's already resignedly, mentally psyching himself up to go get a full body + bikini wax in anticipation of whatever sick game ichirou's got in store for him.

ichirou has nothing to be insecure about. kevin can go out there and act like he owns the world, but they both know ichirou is the reason kevin is allowed to have his fame and status. in fact, ichirou mocks kevin for his perfectly fitting 'queen' status. once in a while, ichirou lets kevin take charge, let's him take the lead and play the dominant role. and for like 5 blissful seconds, kevin's internalized homophobia/toxic masculinity are so happy to be in control, to have the chance to get a bit of revenge maybe. but then he realizes, it's not that simple, because it doesn't matter that ichirou is sitting there patiently waiting for kevin's command, ichirou is always going to the one in charge. and kevin's going to have to do it the way ichirou wants, without ichirou's instruction, if he wants to please him. because kevin's busy second-guessing himself at every turn, he ends up being really clumsy and hesitant and making ichirou break character to chide and correct him. and the whole thing ends up being yet another exercise in humiliation and a reminder that a queen is nothing without a stronger power behind her - all exactly as ichirou had intended.

[elene78-blog]

Someone said this here not long ago (sorry, I can't find the post), and I agree.

I don't think the championship game will be between the Foxes and the Trojans, but I think they'll play each other and USC will win, advancing to the semifinals or finals.

If you think about it, the Foxes reaching the finals this year would diminish the importance of the titanic battle that took place in the first trilogy, and it wouldn't be very realistic considering that:

A) Neil and Andrew will spend three months recovering. They won't be able to train, which is already a disadvantage in terms of physical condition.

B) There's a major conflict with the new players that prevents the cohesion of last year, and Neil and Andrew being injured will only strengthen these rookies until they are put in their place.

I think maybe losing to USC will be what puts the new Foxes in their place. Seeing the superiority and impeccable teamwork USC displays against them.

I also think that…

A) Despite what Nora said at the EC, the gap between the Trojans and the Foxes will be quite large (I don't think it'll be by just one point, it'll be a few more), which will make the rookies feel down.

B) And this is just my interpretation… I think Jeremy won't play.

I think Jeremy will get injured (or have an accident, or be assaulted by a family member) in the third book and will spend a lot of time on the sidelines. Why do I think this? Because of Jeremy's obvious situation, but also because Nora will want the Trojans-Foxes matchup to be as fair and even as possible, and that can only be achieved if the Trojans have one or two of their key players on the bench. I'm voting for Jeremy.

I think the fair thing for the Trojans would be for them to play without Jeremy against the Foxes. The Foxes just got Neil and Andrew back, and they've barely been able to fully regain their form.

This would also focus interest on Jean vs. Kevin. And also, of course, Jean's final interactions with Neil and Renee. A closure.

I think the finals will be against Penn State, as they said in that post. Why? Well, this team is one of the BIG THREE and they're the second most aggressive team in the league (if I remember correctly). Their game is very aggressive, similar to the Ravens', so the parallels will be obvious. But aside from that, they're also USC's quintessential rival, who have always competed for second and third place, behind the Ravens. Let's think…

The Ravens have fallen. The crown is being contested between USC and Penn State. We know USC wants to win with sportsmanship and their game isn't aggressive, and we also know Penn State plays similarly to the Ravens. Both have been wanting to take the crown from the number 1 team for years, and they finally have a free pass.

Penn State isn't going to play fair. They're going to be brutal. They're going to go on a killing spree and say awful things about Jean and Jeremy to get an advantage. They're going to be like the Ravens or worse to take the crown.

The Penn State players want to be the new Ravens, while the Trojans want to prove that you can win with fair play. If Penn State wins, the "Raven" way will be inherited. If the Trojans win, there will be a "new era" for college leagues where fair play and sportsmanship are appreciated and admired. And not only that.

Imagine what this means for the Flozzies, but more specifically, for Jean and Jeremy, for the entire exy world. People know Jeremy and Jean are queer, and everyone has said awful things about them.

Think about what it would mean for this hypermasculinized sports world if they won after five years, a sport where Jeremy and Jean have suffered so much, after a year that is undoubtedly tough for both of them.

Imagine what it means to establish fair play as a starting point with a gay captain and the "irrecoverable," aggressive, "traitorous," and promiscuous defender (I refuse to use "the other word" with my boyfriend) who supposedly teamed up because they're "degenerates," shutting the world up and blazing a different trail.

Their chances are derived from what the Foxes achieved, but it won't be inferior to their feat (and it could also mean something for Andrew and Neil's relationship, for Nicky, and for some of the players Jeremy was with at the orgy, who were disowned or expelled).

Imagine what it means for Jean when "queers have no place on my court," and here he is. He survived Riko, he won with fair play, no dirty tricks. He survived the Ravens when they committed mass suicide, when everyone thought Jean would be the first to fall. And what would it mean for Jeremy after everything that's happened to his family? My hair stands on end.

The final play has to be between Jeremy and Jean. It's "poetic justice."

[karmacharmeleon18]

You’re aware that Thea was most likely SAd even more and worse than Jean right? At the end of the day Jean was a white man but Thea was a POC woman in the nest. She most likely was gang rap*d. She might have known that Jena was suffering but it wa nothing in comparison to what she had to do/what she was made to do to earn her place in the nest.

First of all I am a black woman so yes, I’m very aware how how shitty our lot is in life

I know this is rude and aggressive, but at this point you deserve it, because randomly showing up in someone’s inbox with an ask like this, two separate times (and the first time much more graphic), is just plain fucked up and you deserve the reality check. You got lucky tumblr ate your previous ask and my response because I tore you a new one.

Now, you’ve gotta explain to me why do you NEED (and atp it is a pathological need y’all seem to have) to make the abuse in the Nest even WORSE than what it canonically is?????

The Nest is a CULT.

THAT IS BAD ENOUGH.

Being in a cult is bad enough already. I’m sorry that doesn’t satisfy you? Doesn’t tickle your fantasy enough? And you need to fantasize about a black woman being gang raped to satisfy your craving for violence and sexual abuse because apparently beating kids to death and Jean being raped several times is not enough for you?

Seriously, what is your goal here? What do you expect me to say?

You randomly show up in my inbox with disturbing asks about an extremely triggering topic and expect me to do what, exactly?

And you dare use race as a “gotcha” when I have already acknowledged that Thea most likely, inevitably had it harder than other Ravens because she’s a woman of color

But again, that’s not enough for you, right? So I ask you: what else do you want me to say?

I have said several times that Thea is a VICTIM. Like every single Raven. Even Riko.

She was ABUSED in the Nest. Like every single Raven. Even Riko.

Why do I have to acknowledge and agree with your speculations about her being g*ng raped despite there being NO PROOF OF IT IN CANON?

Why do I have to agree with your graphic fantasies?

Because you do realize that what you're saying is all speculation, right?

And I’m sorry, but if you want to have a constructive conversation about these books and their extremely graphic themes, we can't focus on speculations, on what might have happened, because the possibilities are endless

What we can and should focus on, is what we KNOW happened

We know that Jean was raped several times

We know that Thea dismissed it as Jean being a whore

We know that Jean was almost killed by Riko

We know that when Thea saw him half dead, she assumed it was the Master's doing because Jean might have been "up to his old tricks" and he deserved the punishment

(Kevin fully knew Jean was being raped, and he said that all Ravens knew a variation of the story; I think many knew, while others - particularly Thea, who was in her last year, with her eyes set on her pro career already and not the time nor inclination to care for little boys following her around like ducklings - didn't care enough to look into it)

We know that Riko used rape to torture Jean

We know that he felt the need to keep it a secret from the Master

We know that Tetsuji used his cane to beat his players

As far as we know, no Raven was raped, waterboarded, pushed down the stairs, stuffed into a box, cut to pieces by Riko's knives like that, had his bones broken for fun

Only Jean

Even Neil was spared some of these tortures, despite being property like Jean

But being "like Jean" does not make you Jean

Only he was tortured like that

“She might have known that Jean was suffering but it was nothing in comparison to what she had to do” LITERALLY NO.

The main abuser in the Nest has always been TETSUJI, for years before Riko showed up

And Tetsuji’s brand of abuse is horrible and fucked up enough as it is

And does not include rape

Nothing in the books or extra content points to rape being standard practice in the Nest. Nothing points to it being used as a standard corrective method or punishment. Nothing.

(or waterboarding, Riko’s knives, being suffocated into a box, being pushed down the stairs, etc. …)

Jean never mentions it. Nora never mentions it.

The only one that uses rape as a weapon is Riko.

And specifically against Jean.

That's why Riko kept it a SECRET from the Master. He didn't want Tetsuji to know because that might have been too deprived even for him

Rape is not the Raven's way

It's specifically Riko's way

And specifically towards Jean, a frightened yet combative queer boy that was also his property, and he was going to use rape, and knives, and water to beat the queerness and the fight out of him

This is what distinguishes Jean from other Ravens: he was PROPERTY

All the methods he was tortured with are exceptional, in the sense that they were exceptionally cruel but also the exception to the rule

There’s no mention of any other Raven being waterboarded, for example. Only Neil who, despite not being a Raven, was considered property as well by the Moriyamas

And yet Neil was never raped at the Nest

Maybe because Riko likes to have an active role when torturing people: he would never touch another man sexually, so with Neil he uses knives, and water and fists. Maybe there was simply not enough time for Riko to orchestrate Neil's rape, under Tetsuji's more watchful than ever eye. He wanted to personally torture Neil during his stay at the Nest, and rape is a boundary not even Riko will cross, so Neil was spared that agony.

Or maybe it's more simple than that:

Neil was Moriyama property

Jean was Riko's property specifically

Riko could do whatever he wanted with Jean because he belonged to him

But Neil didn't, so he was spared some of the horrors

I know that Riko is the Big Bad Wolf in the story because we watch it all happen through Neil’s eyes, but Riko was not the main abuser in the Nest

The MAIN ABUSER in the Nest, for years, since the Nest was created, long before Riko showed up, was TETSUJI MORIYAMA

Even Riko was abused by him

And his brand of abuse was physical violence administered with his cane

Even in Jean’s story, despite all the awful things Riko did to him, we see the amount of trauma Tetsuji caused him, the grip he still has on him, as strong if not stronger than Riko’s

.

Villains are nuanced. Beating teenagers as punishment is very different than having them raped, or tolerating mass rapes happening under your watch

Just because Riko is a special kind of depraved bastard, it doesn't mean Tetsuji is the exact same type of depraved bastard

Y'all need to stop thinking that every villain is the same, thinks the same, acts the same

Not every villain rapes people, kills children, boils puppies alive and kicks kittens to death

In my opinion the Moriyamas are cartoonish enough in their villainy as it is, there's no need to exaggerate even more

.

This is what y'all need to understand:

The average Raven experience is bad enough

YOU DON'T NEED TO EXAGGERATE TO MAKE IT SOUND EVEN WORSE

Thea, Kevin, Riko and every single Raven were in a CULT

THAT IS BAD ENOUGH

A cult that beat them up for every tiny mistake, that decided what they would study, that controlled their food and every single minute of their day, that kept them in a constant state of fatigue, sleep deprivation, physical and psychological stress, and forbade interactions with the outside world. The Ravens weren't even allowed to have families.

For Gods' sake, that is bad enough

Why are y'all so obsessed with making it even worse????

All we got from the books and extra content is that the Ravens see sex as a tool, a way to let out steam, and since women on the line up are rare, the Ravens don't make distinction, they sleep with whoever is up for it and still consider themselves 100% heterosexual

Jean specifies: "they'd made do with any man willing to tumble"

Key word: willing

He never mentions any rapes happening in the Nest besides the ones he was a victim of

And with how close of an eye he kept on Thea for that year they overlapped in the Nest, you'd think he'd notice if she was gang raped. Especially because Riko would 100% want to watch and torment Jean vicariously with it. Yet it never happened

The only ones who never slept with a man are Riko and Kevin, because in Nora's words from the ec: "they were too... press conscious? Public-opinion oriented? They were going to be champions; they were going to be world famous stars. They didn’t need anything that could “taint” that image, no rumors or hints that would put a dent in their stellar image."

(and now we also know that Riko was absolutely disgusted by the idea of touching another man sexually, he wouldn't even get his hands dirty when it came to tormenting Jean in that regard, he had other Ravens carry out the rapes for him)

Besides, Kevin was interested in Thea since the moment he met her, when he was still in high school and she was in the Nest. Kevin respected and admired her... and she barely gave him the time of day, she didn't beg for favors or special treatment because she didn't need to

Thea is a hell of a backliner and not even Riko has ever tried anything with her, because he never had a reason to (to use Kevin’s own words while explaining how come he was never raped 🙄🤢)

This is the average Raven experience: harrowing, because you are stuck in a cult for 4 years, and it will forever affect your life, but also rewarding, because if you train hard enough you get exactly what you signed up for

You get to win championships and become one of the best pro players in the country

And as far as punishments, that’s the Master's business, certainly not Riko's

He might like to torment you if you cross him, if you’re not good enough, if you show you’re scared and Riko smells fear like a predator

But Riko doesn’t have the right to beat some random Raven to death, or have them raped repeatedly or gang raped (or waterboarded, or cut up and bleeding, or or or---)

Riko doesn’t have the right to put a player's performance at risk

He could only do so with Jean, because Jean was property

And even with him, Riko spent YEARS testing the waters, pushing boundaries, understanding what he was actually allowed or not allowed to do to him, seeing what Tetsuji would tolerate and what he better keep secret from him

Jean does not represent the average Raven experience

Jean was property

Property specifically given to Riko by the Master, to do whatever he wanted with him

(I know I'm repeating myself ad nauseam, but atp I think the repetition is necessary; I've said the same things over and over, post after post, and I still keep receiving the same type of asks, so maybe if I say it a million times it'll finally sink into your heads and y'all will leave me alone?)

.

In a world of abuse, Jean is still the terrible exception

Just like Kevin and Riko were the exception, but at the opposite end of the spectrum

They were ALL abused, but Kevin and Riko were extremely privileged, treated as kings, "little gods" among men… meanwhile Jean was property and treated as such

And again, keep in mind that not even Neil was raped, despite being property as well

So why do you assume, with 100% certainty that Thea was?

Thea represents the average, but leaning more towards the privileged side

Jean and Neil are property

Riko and to an extent Kevin are family

Thea and all Revens, past and present are assets

All are abused

And all are given the chance, if they endure, to become the best

Which is why Thea is a Raven apologist through and through, and if Jean told her that he was raped, best case scenario she would just shrug it off (like Kevin)

And despite what happened to him, Kevin is still a Raven apologist, just not as enthusiastic as Thea:

.

There's no mentions of rapes for any other Raven, because rape is Riko's weapon, and only against Jean

I know (and I've said before) that technically in the Nest Kevin has power over Thea. If Thea disappointed/upset Kevin, he could go to Riko, and Riko could go to the Master and persuade him to punish Thea in some way; extra drills, less sleep, a slap, a punch, a hit of his cane to the ribs... That said, the only way to truly upset Kevin in the Nest is to suck at Exy, and Thea Muldani most definitely does not suck at Exy. So Kevin would have no reason to complain about her to Riko and set the chain of punishment into motion

As for Riko himself, he has a lot of power over Thea, but I simply cannot see him hitting her without Thea hitting him right back. And the Master would either ignore the whole thing or take her side, because I bet that old bastard would have loved to see his antichrist of a nephew humbled by someone better than him

(Not Kevin though, never Kevin because Kevin was Riko's brother in the way the Moriyamas understand brotherhood: the second always serves and submits to the first; the only time he was allowed to try, he paid dire consequences for it)

But a Raven decking Riko in the face? A woman, at that? Hilarious. Especially because Thea was one of the best, not some random bratty Raven throwing a fit against the King, but one of their best players putting a child back in his place, and why wouldn't the Master like that?

... Or maybe he would have laughed and then killed Thea for the capital offense of laying hands on a Moriyama, who knows...

But I don't think that Riko was willing to take the chance

I think he respected her

(again, all speculation)

Remember that Thea was a 5th year senior when Riko joined the Nest with his ideas of a "Perfect Court" and numbers to bestow upon hopeful Ravens. She had her eyes set on her pro career and most likely a pro contract already secured. Riko had nothing to offer to her. She admired him because he was a Moriyama, a "little god", the King of the court and part of a duo considered the future of Exy. But she is Thea Muldani ffs, she doesn't need a child to give her a number, she's going to earn a spot on the National team on her own. She spent 4 years in the Nest without Riko and absolutely dominated

Thea considered Jean a little lost duckling following her around (in an incredibly condescending, bordering on insulting way, rather than affectionate)

She considered Kevin the future of Exy but also, in the beginning, a guy not up to her standards and who "fucks like a virgin", she barely gave him the time of day... until she noticed how good of a player he actually was, how much Riko was stifling his talent... (btw she was actually the one to put it in Kevin's mind, for the first time, that he was actually better)

And I'm sure that she respected Riko as a Moriyama and as the King of the Court. But off the court, if Riko had tried to swing at her, she would've swung right back. With her backliner racquet instead of a fist

And I think Riko knew it and respected her for it

Thea is extremely arrogant. The type of arrogance born out of actual, tangible superiority (just like Kevin). Which is why you'll never convince her that she's wrong about anything (just like Kevin) and why she'll hit you if you try to hit her (just like Kevin does with Neil and Jean, getting aggressive and physical until Andrew or Jeremy intervene; but unlike Kevin, Thea will attack anyone that crosses her, not just people she considers weaker than her and easy to subdue, as Kevin does)

The Ravens have existed for years before Riko showed up

We only got to know the Riko-obsessed Ravens, because the books are set during his reign over the Nest

But that’s not the reality, the usual, the standard for the Ravens

For the average Raven, that trained at the Nest before Riko, there was a different god: the Master

Tetsuji Moriyama was their obsession, their recurring nightmare, their tormentor

(their savior, their leader, the source of their every success and fleeting moment of joy… because that’s how cults work)

And Tetsuji’s brand of violence, as far as we know, does not include rape

Doesn’t even tolerate rape, since Riko kept it a secret from him

And that doesn’t mean that Tetsuji is a good guy

It simply means that what Tetsuji is, is bad enough already

There are Ravens that were literally killed by the Master after a beating that got out of hand

That is bad enough

Every Raven was stuck in that environment for 4 years, witnessing and experiencing physical and mental abuse

You don't need to make it even worse

The Ravens have existed long before Riko joined the Nest

His particular brand of cruelty is not the standard

So I really don't understand this obsession with making everything even worse, more horrific, more cruel...

I do blame Nora for this, she undeniably has a fixation for pain/torture and even admitted she can't find a character interesting unless they went through unspeakable abuse

And she attracted a fanbase that for the most part thinks just like her

Or maybe you’re one of those Kevin apologists that hate my opinion of him and are trying to use Thea as a tool to diminish Jean’s suffering? Because you think that will somehow absolve Kevin? … Kinda racist to use a black woman as a pawn in your games to elevate an already privileged white man, don’t you think?

Whatever the case might be, go do that somewhere else. You’re not welcome here.

Kevin and Thea deserve each other. Jean deserves so much better than the both of them. He deserves Jeremy, Cat, Laila, Jab, the floozies, Coach Rhemann and Adi, the sun of California, rainbows, open roads, friends...

Die mad about it.

[elen-tari2]

My Kastle Scene Wishlist

I’m not sure what Kastle content we might get in Daredevil Born Again, but there is also talk that they might make a new Punisher show. What are some scenes/parallels that you would like to see between Frank and Karen? Here’s a few of my musings

Reversed Hospital Scene! I would like to see Frank momentarily panic over Karen getting hurt and have a turn holding her hand in a hospital bed. I feel like we deserve this scene so bad. (Caveat: Frank CANNOT be the reason Karen got injured, even if it’s just she got shot in the arm or has a concussion; Karen is in dangerous situations regardless of Frank being near her or not and he needs a wake up call for that). Bonus points for the total opposite of telling her to walk way—this time HE GETS IN THE HOSPITAL BED and puts his arms around her and just holds her and Karen gets to feel completely safe for a few minutes. Just go all out with the hurt/comfort trope for these two. Anyway, I have a whole WIP fic devoted to this, so honestly it has become my top wish to see some parallels drawn with another hospital scene.

Karen gets to help in a fight and shoots someone. I feel like since they never got to have the Wesley conversation, a way to show-not-tell would be for Karen to kill a bad guy and then Frank come check on her to be like, ‘hey are you okay?’and she’d be like, ‘yeah, I am.’ She’d be a bit shaken up but grimly holding it together because it’s not her first time killing someone. This would also work in contrast to the scene where Amy shoots the guy in the hall and then Frank infamously takes the gun from her and takes the responsibility of his death away from her. Sorry to make Karen suffer because I know she’ll feel bad about it, but I’d be okay with seeing her character go a little bit darker to save someone’s life. She’s been carrying that gun since DDs2, she deserves to take out a baddie on her own and it’d be a great segue into rehashing some of her past that Frank NEEDS to know about

Frank meets Paxton Page. Will the show make time for this? Probably not. But damn do I want to know what Frank would say if he knew that Karen’s dad cut off his only daughter, when Frank would do anything—anything—to spend one minute with Lisa again. I’d love to see Frank go to Fagan Corners with Karen to put flowers on her mom and brother’s graves. We spent three seasons of Frank being able to open up around Karen and talk about his family with her. Meanwhile she has never once said anything about the losses she’s suffered. Frank needs to know and I don’t want it all jammed into one big backstory dump where she tells him she killed her brother and Wesley in the same conversation. Another option would be for Frank to accidentally visit Karen on the anniversary of her mom/Kevin’s death and she is having a breakdown. If we can’t get into any of Karen’s past, have Frank find out Karen has his burner phone saved in her contacts listed as Home. I’ve seen that idea in several different fics and it just needs to be canon. They are Home to each other.

A scene where Frank holds Karen all night and they don’t have sex, but it’s profound. (Think like Spike holding Buffy). If they are nervous about comics fans being mad about Frank Castle finding love again, give us some physical intimacy and closeness where you know they mean everything to each other but can’t cross the line and make things real. Fan fic writers will know we won and then fill in the rest for those cowards.

If they’re willing to make Kastle real, give us a goddamn kiss. Actually, just let them have sex, because Karen Page has been forced to stay chaste for YEARS and she deserves to get laid. And Jon Bernthal seems to be more than comfortable doing sex scenes soooo please just make it the most beautiful thing ever filmed because they are so in love with each other. It has to be noticeably different in tone from the scene with Beth. And Karen cannot get shot the next day, don’t even start with any of that bull$hit trauma for Frank.

Kastle pillow talk scene. Since it’s Disney Marvel now, I don’t know how much we can hope for with a sex scene. So the pillow talk scene that follows had better be some life-altering confessions of love and cuddles. Do not even think about him sneaking out before she wakes up like he almost did with Beth. Karen deserves something good to happen to her for once, let her have a perfect night and a gentle, soft morning after. She deserves it even if Frank isn’t sure if he does.

Karen Page and Dinah Madani Friendship. I’m rewatching The Punisher s2 and one thing that pissed me off was the scenes of fake bonding between Dinah and Krista Dumont, drinking wine together and discussing men (Frank and Billy, who else). So. To make up for that, we need some genuine female friendships, like Karen and Dinah going to a shooting range together or gym or going out to a nice bar for girls night. Even if Frank has been keeping his distance, these ladies have struck up a friendship and Karen has someone to hang out with besides her lawyer coworkers.

Karen gets to meet Micro/The Lieberman family AND Curtis. David knows how Frank really feels about Karen. Curtis needs to find out Frank DOES still have something good holding him in this world. And Karen should meet Frank’s friends.

Okay those are some of the scenes I want to see for Frank and Karen! If someone could please get this list to the Punisher writers for the future of the show, it’s actually very important that we get some of this or I’m gonna have to come write for the show myself. 🙈

[spectacled-renegade-writes]

Boyfriends... - Ben 10

Description: Something Ben did has Rook questioning human customs. So, he calls Gwen to ask if it's normal.

Relationships: Rook/Ben, Gwen/Kevin, Rook&Gwen

Tags: Humor, Fluff, Friendship

Ao3: Here

-

Rook could not conceivably believe that this was normal human behavior. So, in times such as these, he called Gwen – she was always a reliable source of information. After leaving Ben’s house for the day, Rook got into his Proto-Truk and dialed Gwen’s number while driving back to headquarters.

“Hello?” Gwen’s voice sounded through the cabin after three rings.

“Hello, Gwen.” Rook replied, focusing on the road. “Apologies if I have interrupted anything, but I have a question I need to ask you.”

Over the phone Rook could hear footsteps and a door closing, then Gwen said seriously, “You didn’t interrupt anything. Is everything okay?”

It had not been Rook’s intention to worry her, and it suddenly occurred to him that he had probably sounded very cryptic. “Everything is quite well,” he replied evenly. “I merely have a question regarding human behavior I was hoping you could answer.”

Gwen laughed over the phone. “And here I was stepping away because you sounded so serious.”

“I am sorry for the distress.”

“Misunderstanding, not distress,” Gwen corrected, amused. “What’s your question?”

Once again reminded about why he called, Rook grimaced. “Ben did something while we were at his house that perplexed me, and I was hoping you could tell me if this is normal.” Gwen remained silent, which prompted Rook to continue. “We decided to have a movie date at his house, and after the first movie ended he told me that I could choose the next one.”

“How is that weird?” Gwen asked.

“It is not,” Rook replied. “It is what happened after that I found weird. While I searched for a movie Ben got up from the couch and went to the kitchen.”

“Uh huh? And?”

“Well, when he returned, he held a plate that had a single pancake on it. He proceeded to sit back down and eat it in silence. When I went to the kitchen I found that there were no other pancakes, which means that Ben measured out the ingredients for a single pancake and did not offer to make me any.” Rook paused. “Perhaps I am overthinking this but it seemed very odd at the moment.”

“I swear, sometimes I think boyfriends aren’t worth the trouble,” Gwen sighed over the phone. She sounded rather exasperated in Rook’s option. “No, Rook, that is not normal human behavior at all.”

“That is a relief.” Rook smiled. “I was beginning to think I was overreacting.”

“I can assure you, you weren’t.” Gwen laughed. “You want to hear something Kevin did the other night?”

“It would be my pleasure.”

“Get this,” Gwen began. “Like two nights ago I woke up to Kevin calling my name. When I opened my eyes, the clock on my nightstand read three in the morning!”

“Something must have been wrong.” Rook frowned.

“That’s what I thought too,” Gwen agreed. “But when I asked what was wrong he replied, ‘nothing. Here, babe. I brought you a rib’.”

Rook blinked. “Wait… what?”

“I had the same thought! Apparently Kevin was slow cooking some ribs and I guess they were done in the middle of the night. We ended up eating ribs in bed at three in the morning. It was the weirdest experience ever!”

Rook did not know what to say to that. It was indeed odd. So, he said the only thing he could think of. “Did they taste good?”

“They were delicious!” Gwen yelled. “But that’s not the point.”

“I agree,” Rook nodded. “Not the point.”

“You know, Rook. Sometimes I wonder if you didn’t get the idiot gene all boys have since you’re not human. Either that or you weren’t dropped on your head as a baby.”

“Ben and Kevin were dropped on their heads as babies?” Rook frowned. “That is much cause for concern. Do you know if they suffered any brain damage?”

“I don’t think they actually were,” Gwen smiled over the phone. “That’s just my working theory on why they can be such idiots sometimes.”

“Still,” Rook hummed. “We love them anyway.”

“Yeah,” Gwen agreed. “We do love them anyway.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Notes: If you know you know ;)

No but this literally came to me at 1 in the morning, and it is the dumbest thing I have ever written. Please, move forth with your night/day and think no more of this silly little one-shot

[kariachi]

Wake up, write fic.

You all may remember the note I have made before, that we get no indication Mike is still staying at home post his premiere. In fact the one time we get to see him with any sign of potential residence after that he's in a warehouse. Add on that we see him in circumstances like 'in an alleyway eating dogs', and that he's a Kevin foil... Boy being homeless post at least the Highbreed finale is entirely plausible within the canon.

So uh, I may have ended up writing about that in the form of an AU where Kevin gets involved early on.

~~

With Darkstar free, it should have been no surprise that Kevin was suspicious of any issues he noticed with the power. Until he knew exactly how shit was going to be from now on, it was better to be safe, to investigate anything unusual, than it was to be sorry. To risk other other peoples’ suffering longer than was needed. So of course when the lights flickered he went to investigate, to make sure he was on top of whatever might be going on.

In a way it was a relief to just find Darkstar at the substation. It meant he maybe wasn’t up to his same bullshit, that there weren’t victims running around doing this shit for him. Kevin heaved a sigh of relief at the first sight of short blond hair. For the about twelve seconds before his gut twisted, at least.

Only Darkstar was there, yes, but he was… He was drawing from everything he passed as he as much stormed as paced circles. His muscles were tight, eyes narrowed, nostrils flared. You could almost hear it creaking his jaw was clenched so tight. On occasion he would reach out as if to grab hold of a nearby part, only to pull a fist back and go for more energy instead. For how well Kevin could read him, he may as well have been a book. He wasn’t going for sustenance, or power, that was a hunt for relief.

The only thing that burned worse than realizing he was suddenly worried for the asshole, was just how familiar the whole scene was.

“Hey, you okay, man?” Kevin was careful about stepping into view as Darkstar froze in place, fists clenching. Smooth, easy movements, a safe distance, calm tone.

“Go. Away. Levin.” For a moment he wished he knew the guy better, just how normal, how much of a warning, was that breathy growl. He was careful not to look too close too obviously.

“Not here for a fight or nothing,” he said, putting up his hands slightly, “just thought I’d ask. ‘d say you look about ready to start biting people, but you already do that.”

It must have been at least a minute they stood like that. Kevin doing his best to seem nonthreatening, Darkstar tense as a bowstring, glaring daggers and clearly doing his best to try to make his deep breathes less stuttering than they were. Just before Kevin gave up, stepped back and left him to his business, he just barely licked his lips glare softening just barely as he took another, deeper breath.

“My mom changed the locks,” he said, a humorless smile beginning to twitch onto his face as he put it out in the open, as Kevin cringed- yeah, he definitely been this scared animal before, “to all the properties.” Fuck. Before he could determine whether he should stay were he was or come closer, Darkstar snorted an empty laugh and continued.

“Because getting pretty much thrown out of the main house wasn’t enough, oh no.” A manic edge grew in his voice, in the way he began gesturing. Kevin took a careful step forward. “No, as soon as she has the chance to be rid of me entirely without getting blood on her hands- They could have at least left left Wallace’s fucking condo, nobody ever uses it, but no! No.” More steps as his voice started slipping into something wet, the smile falling away as everything sank in. “And now what am I supposed to do?! There’s the place in Chicago but I don’t know where it is, or what it looks like, or- Or what the fuck I’m supposed to do! I don’t have anything! I-”

“You’re gonna be fine,” Kevin said, plain and clear, as he reached him, grabbing a wrist with an easy movement. He pulled out a handkerchief and began to wrap it around the bastard’s bleeding fingers, were he’d clearly bit himself. Carefully didn’t look at the tears in his eyes, or acknowledge the way the tension began to slowly bleed away.

It was more than he’d ever gotten, in the early days. When he had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. No plan, no supplies, no hope. He’d have given anything, in those days, for someone to come along and tell him everything would be okay. It’d gotten him into a lot of trouble before he learned better, with manipulative assholes like Dar- like this one. With worse.

Maybe that was part of all this, he knew there were worse, and that he didn’t wish them on anybody.

“I didn’t realize she hated me this much.” Kevin took a deep breath himself.

“We never do.” Morningstar tensed again, just a moment. With another breath, Kevin met his eyes. Tried to smile, be as warm and comforting as he could be. “You’re gonna be fine.”

He had to at least make an attempt.

“Before we do anything, you have any decent relatives you can call, it doesn’t matter how far off or removed-”

[constelationprize]

i’ll bite, #16 for the choose violence ask game :)

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

Oh brother.

90% of Raven!Neil fics. I don't get how they take such a good concept and somehow almost every time what we get is AFTG but worse. They are so often chock full of gratuitous violence and SA – and I do mean gratuitous, because while AFTG is a very heavy series, almost every act of violence that happens matters to the plot or impacts the characters. Raven!Neil is just so often this martyr that has suffered all the crimes in the world and never done anything wrong ever. Somehow everything that Kevin and Jean canonically went through gets stripped away from them, multiplied by ten in awfulness, and given to Neil instead.

I'm sorry but as a Perfect Court Understander I also almost never agree with how these fics portray the impact Neil would actually have. It often leaves Jean as this blank character because by virtue of making Neil the biggest martyr in the world most of what shaped his personality doesn't happen and the fic doesn't bother exploring who he could have become instead, and he's just this weird cardboard cutout of Neil's best friend that gets carried around with no relevance or character arc of his own. And buddy don't get me STARTED on Kevin. I already consider people being stupid about Kevin leaving the Nest the number one cardinal sin of this fandom, and Raven!Neil fics are like repeat offenders on this. They are where I most often see Kevin portrayed as this coward that never cared about Neil or Jean and only reaped privileges from being Riko's partner and doesn't move a muscle to help them after he leaves. Sometimes he is actively against them breaking out of the Nest. Riko characterization is also awful but unfortunately as I said in the previous ask the whole fandom is just lazy at writing him so not even that stands out here.

Like, genuinely, the most common thing I think when reading Raven!Neil fic is "who are these people" because somehow not even the Foxes have their canon characterizations. 90% of Raven!Neil fic content is like those weird fitness recipes where they tell you that you can make a chocolate cake solely out of zucchini and monkfruit and it will taste exactly like a normal one. Like my brother in Christ that doesn't even have cocoa and flour in it that shit is not a chocolate cake. How can it be Raven!Neil if that man is not Neil at all.

Also, what is it with Raven!Neil and making Kengo or Ichirou obsessed with him. Like genuinely this is less of a criticism and more a I do not know where this one came from

[jjnonken]

Been a while since I've posted. I've decided I hate Facebook again and for now I'm letting off steam here.

I said before that I'd deleted my long rant and just stuck to a mini-rant. Well, today I'm posting a long rant. Fair warning: This is a rant.

As far as I can tell, there's no good news about the Borderlands movie. They've changed Commander Knoxx's character to be Atlas's daughter instead of General Knoxx, so I guess she'll be Commander Atlas now. That... doesn't matter. Of all the issues I have with this movie, whose daughter she is is probably the least important. Actually, it's not an issue. Her EXISTENCE is an issue, but not which NPC is her parent. Atlas isn't even an NPC, it's just a gun manufacturer, presumably named after its founder. We never see the founder(s) nor, as far as I can remember, hear any backstory. I'm not sure which problem they were trying to solve by the rename.

First problem: We do have to rescue Lilith, Athena, and one other who I won't mention due to spoilers. I can only think of those three. Lilith tells you to kill her if you can't save her... "Better dead than a damsel." Athena engineers her own rescue; you're just the muscle. So there's kind of a dearth of damsels in this franchise. The movie's premise is that Commander uh... Atlas?... needs to be rescued. So, right. Damsel in distress. Kind of immediately contradicts the lore of Borderlands, who has strong women who generally don't need rescuing.

Second is: why General Knoxx's er, I mean, Atlas's daughter? She's a new character. It's like BORDERLANDS ISN'T CHARACTER-RICH ENOUGH, we have to add more just to get the plot started.

Edit: She still shows credited as Commander Knoxx in my web search, including on IMDB. I saw Atlas in the last article I saw on the movie. It's possible it was simply mistaken. I note parenthetically that Knoxx works for Atlas Corporation, and the DLC he's in is Atlas-heavy. Could just be a mistake. Edit to the edit: The Wikipedia article premise mentions her as Atlas's daughter. But she's named Knoxx. I'm fucking confused; which is she?

Next: They have Kevin Hart playing Roland. Kevin Hart is a comedian. Roland is a serious, somber, straightforward guy who never jokes and never laughs, or even smiles. Any humor that happens in relation to him works because it plays off his sober sincerity.

Roland: Oh good, you're not dead. Lilith: That's his way of saying "Hi". Roland: Sorry. Hi.

Why do they need a stand-up comedian to play Roland? Either Hart is trying to branch out and do some serious acting, or... they're making a comedy.

OK, Cate Blanchett is doing Lilith. I don't know if she's the best choice, but I don't know who else I'd recommend. I guess I'm OK with that.

As for Tannis... I love Jamie Lee Curtis, but she's a scream queen that also does comedies. Tannis isn't FUNNY, she's TRAGIC. Again, there's humor, but it plays off her personality, which is informed by her severe social awkwardness. (She's pretty much coded autistic. I don't know if it's canon.) No doubt the trauma she's suffered has exacerbated any existing personality deficits. Or caused new ones. Can Curtis do a sober Tannis? I mean, play her seriously, not deadpan. I don't know. Again, I don't think she's meant to -- this movie is looking more like a comedy every day. Could be worse, but I'm not sure I'd pick her.

Next, we have Claptrap, who is introduced as "The wise-cracking robot" and played by... Jack Black, a comedic voice actor. Thing is, Claptrap does not crack wise. He's hilarious, but that's because, similarly to Roland and Tannis, the game plays off his naive sincerity. He's funny because he's so serious, but clueless. I haven't memorized every line in the entire franchise enough to instantly recall everything that every claptrap robot has said, but as far as I can remember, Claptrap has told MAYBE three jokes on purpose. One is self-referential, spoken by a claptrap who is supposed to be programming the game: "Borderlands? More like Memelands, am I right?" One is spoken right after a hatch is automatically locked, trapping you in the first map: "I hear that getting eaten by bullymongs isn't such a bad way to go." Was that one a deliberate joke? Don't know, so that's my "maybe." And the third is from a side mission called The Iceman Cometh. It's a moderately silly pun that any 10-year-old would be proud of. When you (as a character) don't react, he then EXPLAINS THE JOKE. When you still don't react, he LECTURES YOU on the nature of humor. TWICE. Naive sincerity, not cracking wise. So again, this suggests the movie being a comedy.

So, we have two of the four vault hunters from the first game, Lilith and Roland. The roles of Mordecai and Brick are interesting, in that THEY AREN'T THERE. Why?

Tiny Tina is. She's a psychotic young teen with a penchant for explosives. She's got a connection to Brick, who -- for some reason -- isn't in the movie. She's not the kind of person who needs a bodyguard -- she's the kind of person against whom YOU need a bodyguard. I only bring this up because... ... Krieg is her bodyguard in the movie. Why? I already mentioned her connection to Brick. Krieg doesn't have a connection to Tina, he has a connection to Maya. I don't know when this movie is supposed to take place in the Borderlands timeline, but if Lilith is retired, it'll be between the first and second. Possibly around the time of the Pre-Sequel. We don't see Krieg until BL2, where he's added as the last playable character after the original four plus Gaige. So the timeline doesn't make sense and Krieg's connection to Tina doesn't make sense and Krieg being Tina's bodyguard doesn't make sense. I don't know anything about the actors, I may look them up and try to watch some of their stuff.

Tina doesn't show in the game until BL2, but there's no reason to think she hasn't been around since Borderlands, we just haven't seen her. (But only after the events of BL:PS, since it's Jack's slag experiments on Tina's parents that kill them and drive her into being a vengeful little psychopath.) But Krieg doesn't show up until he becomes a vault hunter? OTOH until then he was living as a psycho... probably on Pandora. So I suppose the timeline might be OK, technically. I'll give them that one. But I still object to the Tina/Krieg connection.

Gina Gershon as Mad Moxxi: Gina is an attractive woman, doesn't have Moxxi's curves, and she's 61. She's pretty hot-looking but I'm not sure she really fits the character, physically. Can she do Moxxi's va-va-voom? Don't know.

Charles Babalola: I don't know him. I try not to get upset at race lifts; I'm used to Sir Hammerlock being the "great white hunter" stereotype, but I suppose it doesn't hurt anything if he's black. At least he's British. This is a weak protestation at most. EDIT: Several people have pointed out that he's canonically black, which I never noticed. Well, OK then, that one's on me.

Bobby Lee plays Larry. He's another stand-up comedian. There sure are a lot of those for a serious film, eh? Also, who the fuck is Larry?

Ryann Redmond as Ellie: nobody's going to match Ellie's unrealistic proportions, but Ryann seems like a reasonable choice physically; basically, you just need a plus-sized woman who can act. I don't know anything about her acting but I presume she's competent, at least. Ellie is a smartass, so wise-cracking from her is welcome. So how come they cast a stand-up comedian as Roland but a serious actress as Ellie? The cognitive dissonance is making my brain cramp.

And Eli Roth has left the project and declared that he does not want credit for his writing. THAT bodes well.

This is supposed to be canon. Canon my ass. This is a TRAVESTY. EDIT: Somebody said it's not supposed to be canon. I read that it is. I'll try to dig up the reference when I get a minute. EDIT 2: Sorry it took me so long, I was busy procrastinating. Now, in my memory, when the first announced the movie they claimed it would be "true to Borderlands", but of course that's changed. I must have skimmed over the more recent "canon" phrasing, sorry. Apparently it's changed to "canon for the Borderlands Cinematic Universe", which is not the same as canon to the games. To me that's seems a bit disingenuous, considering that as far as I can tell, the Borderlands Cinematic Universe consists of one unfinished movie. (And calling it a "Borderlands Cinematic Universe" also seems a bit conceited since their first -- and so far only -- entry has been in Production Hell for 9 years and hasn't even finished.) So my apologies for getting the "canon" claims wrong, but I'm still unhappy and I think they're making excuses. They've taken an Action Movie script, grabbed some names from the Borderlands franchise, and pretended that the result is a Borderlands movie. They did that with Sly Stallone and the first Judge Dredd movie, remember? (Maybe you don't, but I was a fan of the comics. Fortunately the second movie was much, much better.) This makes me think of Stallone's Judge Dredd. (Also the anime version of the Lensman, but that one's pretty obscure.)

Anyway, I have more, but I think I've said what I need to. I may watch the movie out of morbid curiosity. I'm not going to dislike it out of spite, I'm not that hateful. I'll try to give it a chance. I just don't like the odds.

[asinglemagpie]

The Golden Raven: Here Be Spoilers 6 (Once More With Feeling)(Chapter 11-12)

It's bedtime, which means it's reread time!

Wholesome Trojans warm my heart in a way few things ever will. Though the "look, he's scared of Rhemann, in no world is a danger to anyone" line of thought is kind of hilarious.

"did Jeremy and Kevin combust when they saw each other out of uniform"? Something was bust 👀 (No one can tell me Kevin is straight, sorry 😂)

Jean may hate exy but he sure retreats to it when he's uncomfortable.

I hate Hannah Bailey. I hate that she drew attention to Jean hurting himself - because he wasn't uncomfortable, he was trying to bite his tongue and not topple into flashbacks. Baby has PTSD, you cretin. I mean sure she can't have known that, but we'll adjusted people don't hurt themselves to keep themselves in control. It's common sense that maybe drawing attention to it is shitty.

The fact that double-D went "no he did nothing wrong, it's cool" when they realise they'd crossed a previously unknown line is just... It's part of why I love them.

Even if they didn't drop it, but did try to get his help so they wouldn't cross that line again.

Derrick, you live in such beautiful hope 😂

Poor Sebastian, I love that he's trying. Confused but trying! (Plus most bi people, myself included, used the phrase "chicks and dicks" back then, even if it was a gross simplification... And y'know, gross in general. Look if there's one thing AFTG should teach you is that we said a lot of reaaaaaally shitty things in the '00s and it was just so fucking normal.)

Kind of tempted by a Bourne rewatch. I should do that tomorrow! The end song annoys tf out of me though. Never been a Moby fan.

Oh, to be the fruit cradled so lovingly in Jean's hands *dreamy sigh*

I was so tempted to do exactly what Jeremy did with the sticky notes, I still am occasionally. Mostly they'd annoy me after five minutes, but he avoids home as much as possible so it can't be so bad for him.

Home 😭

Okay serious talk time. Jeremy is on academic scholarship, like everyone else, one has to assume because it's how they hook players to go to them. No matter what happens with his family his education is secure, as is his spot on the team. He is never going to get access to his share of the family money. If he let himself recognise that and let it sink in then he could leave. Because he can apply for legal reissues/copies of his paperwork and apply for a new passport. Heck he could wait until he needs his passport for a game and then officially never go back. He's an adult, they cannot legally make him stay. The ONLY thing I can think of that's forcing him to stay is that his step-father has assured him that his family in the forces would make his and his friends' lives hell if he tried. That is the only reason that he would stay and go through this imho. Guilt can only blind him so much.

I mean, Jean in bike leathers would get me all hot and bothered too. Jean checking out my sister when I'm hot for him would have broken the basket. After her comment I'd have broken it over her head.

That Mathilda wasn't used as kindling is the second tragedy of the house fire.

Jeremy accepts suffering quietly just the same way as Jean does, and urgh, my poor heart hates it.

It's okay, Jeremy, you can marry Jean and become a Moreau. Surname problem solved!

The postcard 😭 Reacted to with the Andrew Minyard book of romantic utterances.

Trojan horse pancakes, with thankfully no unpleasant surprises inside.

Bryson absent because he's too busy taping his artwork to Laila's door because his mother didn't want to sully the fridge with such sub par imagery.

"except us and the Foxes" AND BRYSON! How have you forgotten this so soon?!

Jean might be French but I bet he only knows that fact because of Kevin "history nerd" Day.

Look, mascots and cheerleaders are fun, but sports can exist without either and the crowd does just fine. Jean just has a very European stance on the matter.

Last year under the thumb of tyrants! Then freedom on a pro team! (Like to charge, reblog to cast!)

I wonder is the reporter said his name right or it was more "jeen ee-ves morrow".

The press starting to put shit together... I should link that amazing post about what Neil's been doing in the shadows, but I'm tired and lazy and I know where to find it (under all the same tags as this one lol).

The second reporter is so lucky Jean doesn't get the reference because his reputation might have been lived up to when he made that jackass swallow his own teeth.

I fucking love Cat.

Someone mentioned that the need for so much caffeine could be because of his former long-term drug use. I keep meaning to do some research on it.

Eli. Another hook-up. Honestly we are so lucky that Jean has the Raven mentality towards sex or TGR would be about Jean becoming a serial killer.

How no one considered pottery class might be messy and dressed appropriately does and doesn't surprise me 😂

Jean really was made to be a baker or professional chef in another life.

I love that all the fandom I've encountered all agreed that Jean would be a natural and Jeremy would be just short of a disaster, and we were dang right.

Jean and Cody please me. He needs friends, they make him better.

Anonymous tip, my ass. BRYSON!

(I've angrily screamed about this so many times that his name automatically comes in all caps.)

"I want you to stay." My heart 😔

[themosleyreview]

The Mosley Review: Den of Theives 2: Pantera

The art of the heist film has been perfected by great filmmakers of the past and at times, there have been some stylistic reinvention. What makes these films so entertaining is not the heist itself, but the characters on either side of the law. We love following the outlaws as they try to succeed against the police, but we also love seeing the police race against time to stop the thieves from getting away. Its the game of cat and mouse that is always so thrilling, but you have to care for both parties involved to keep invested. Films like Oceans Eleven, Tower Heist and the greatest of them all, Heat, are the blueprints of how to make a fun, sometimes hilarious, stylistic and thrilling heist story. The first Den of Thieves was a surprise as the narrative may have been derivative of Heat, but it did its homework and presented the same amount of grounded storytelling and an amazing amount of heart. Now comes a sequel that unfortunately doesn't carry the same amount of lets say, craftsmanship as the first film. We get a more plotting and drawn out caper that really felt empty and sometimes over indulgent as we are taken to a new location, but without any clear direction or sense of urgency. It was a shame because not only do we get some great visuals and some good character moments, but its dragged down by its length and inconsistent tone.

Gerard Butler returns as Nicholas "Big Nick" O'Brien and somehow the character has lost a bit of the same charm he had in the first film. His life is truly going down the drain and I felt more sorry for him instead of rooting for him. I liked that he had a moral challenge this time around as he gets involved with crime this time. O'Shea Jackson Jr. returns once again as the smart and slippery thief, Donnie Wilson. He was having more fun this time around and I loved that we got to see his mind work as he sets up the big score this time around. The rivalry between him and Nicholas was the heart of this film and the most entertaining aspect. I loved the tension in the beginning when they reconnected and how their chemistry truly developed into a sort of twisted friendship. Evin Ahmad was fun as one of the main organizers of the heist, Jovanna. The partnership and many deals she put together were fun to watch navigate and revealed the many parties connected to the Diamond heist. Her working chemistry with Donnie was good, but it was the strongest with Nicholas as their could've been a slight romance brewing between them.

The score by Kevin Matley was good and pulse pounding as the heist took place and during the finale. Visually the film is very crisp and especially during the many night shots of Nice, France. The opening heist and the car chase / shootout in the finale were truly the best action sequences of the film. The heist itself was pulse pounding in its timing and escape route. Like I said before, the film truly suffers from its lack of urgency. I get that we got a chance to explore the depth of the relationship between Nicholas and Donnie, but everything else was truly filler and noise. You could've trimmed at least 20 minutes of this film out and achieved a tighter and more concise storyline. Also, I wonder if it was a stylistic choice, but their are multiple scenes where characters are speaking French and their are no subtitles. I could make out what was being said by the body language and the overall tone of the scenes, but it would've been nice to have that option. Overall, this was a sluggish sequel that didn't deserve to be so drawn out. It had the chance to be a more fast paced heist film that kept the same grounded prowess of the first film, but it failed to capture that same lightning in the bottle. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in comments below. Thanks for reading!

[pyrepostings]

I had an old dsmp fansong stuck in my head so I listened to it and now I realized that might have been a mistake because now youtube's playing a bunch of dsmp fansongs into my ear at work which means yall get to hear my If Kevin Was A CC In The DSMP fanfic ideas under the cut. (Also note that it's been about three years since I've watched a stream from that server or most of those streamers so sorry if anything is out of character for the real people. However I think these interactions would be funny so really I don't care)

First off on a technical level, the way I've been imagining Kevin in fanfic type scenarios is as a ghost. After he dies in canon he haunts the world mostly freely but he can't usually be seen or heard or interacted with. He'll be drawn though to suffering and captivity, and found that *sometimes* the whumpee can see and hear him (though he can't talk because his tongue was cut out during his final captivity and that carries over into death) he can try to comfort them with his presence or humming a light tune.

This template allows him to still be *him* while still interacting with the story without actually having an impact on direction of the plot which means he can just hang out in the background most of the time but I can imagine comfort or angst (or both) for the whumpee (and kevin) when whumper's not around.

So for DSMP fanfic in my head, I'd have to break this format a little. Maybe he gets it in his head to wonder if he can possess things yet and possesses the server itself. Maybe he knows what he's getting into maybe he doesn't. All that matters is he shows up one day early on and everyone thinks someone else invited him.

And now for the specific interactions I'm imagining in my head.

I think, especially given the nature of early L'manberg, Kevin, the Irishman and fenian-alligned man that he is, would find an opportunity to drop a Tiocfaidh ár lá in the chat (which for those not in the know is an irish revolutionary phrase equivalent to 'from the river to the sea Palestine will be free' in english it means 'our day will come')

And then maybe tubbo_ specifically, being the child brit that he is, will ask "wait what does that mean?"

And Kevin, smelling blood in the water, would reply, "It's pronounced 'chucky are law' and is commonly used by us Irish to say hello. And goodbye (it's like aloha ya see) but can be used to express general agreement. You should say it loads next time you come visit Dublin :)"

And tubbo_ would believe him wholeheartedly like "Ok yay <3 I'm learning so much about your culture :) I feel so educated <3"

And this interaction would be realitively forgotten for a short time until he says it to an older brit who would actually know what it means like Phil or Wil (maybe the whole sbi crew is in a vc) and Phil leans into the mic for emphasis the way he does and just goes "the fuck you just say to me tubbo"

"I said chucky are law it means hello :) wait why are you mad at me Phil :("

And philza, for whom it is far to early in the morning to be explaining such things, has to explain "no, tubbo, you can't say that on stream, that's not what it means. It's a revolutionary phrase that a lot of people have killed and died using it."

"But Hamilton was also a revolution and if it's a revolutionary phrase then it's fine right?"

And while Phil is trying to explain the difference between role-playing the backwards fanfic of a revolution that happened 300 years ago and using a phrase that has been used as a rallying cry for people who have killed in the recent day after a culmination of 800 years of oppression and how one is ok and one is not,

Wilbur would at this point take the side of 'a revolutionary phrase is a revolutionary phrase. If the local Irishman said its OK to use then it's ok to use' while Tommy wouldn't know anything about the topic beyond the current conversation but would probably take wils side to take his side and to argue for the sake of arguing.

And meanwhile Kevin is floating in a void infront of a disembodied twitch stream screen watching the whole thing going down while eating popcorn like "Yes this is how the phrase is meant to be used from its conception: to sow discontent between brits. They should refer to the authority of their Local Irishman more often."

And then they eventually settle on maybe not using it without fully acknowledging all the real world implications, Kevin lets it go (not before finding an opportunity to ask if Phil was calling him a terrorist when that's absolutely not what he was saying, to push his buttons)

And then much later Kevin drops In a 'up the 'ra' in the chat to which tubbo again asks something along the lines of "what like the sun god?"

And Kevin is like 'dude you have to know that one' "Yes the Egyptian God of the sun :) referring to him is how the Egyptians say hello. And to express general agreement-"

anyway~

When he's not being a gremlin and giving fenian phrases to british children like poisoned candy, there's a few Americans I think he would hang out with. I think he'd give Eret shit for conflating being queer with a monarchy, but ultimately concede that it's a really cool build and the rainbow beacon has really cool redstone which he doesn't really understand.

Kevin would have referred to himself as simply Bi for most of his life, but I think if he talked to Karl about Karl's greyace identity Kevin would learn about the split attraction model and adjust his own label accordingly. (Towards women he's heterosexual aromantic, to guys he's romantic demisexual. I dont think he needs to be specifically labeled in canon but its what he is in my head the whole time. Its why he takes a long time to get in bed with a guy but gets really close to them in a way he doesnt with girls. Its also why he cant tell the difference between sexual and romantic attraction, because he gets both as surface level feelings but they manifest differently depending on whether it's towards a guy or a girl and he just assumes he has underlying misogyny issues to figure out. Point is he's only ever been in one long term sexual relationship and it was Julian ok? Ok.)

as far as actually interacting with the plot, I think he would aid lmanberg and oppose schlatt's manberg. Yknow, opposing tyrants on principle. He'd be friends with Techno. He'd oppose both Sam and dream for being tyrants. And the eggpire. Damn there were a lot of tyrants in that story.

He'd visit Tommy in his exile. He would fulfill his original calling with that. He'd try to tell him he knows what it's like to put yourself high up over an ocean and wonder how worth it would be to jump. That he won't force him to stop but that he really wishes he won't step off. He would do everything he can but this is the first time he can actually physically stand between the whumper and the whumpee, and somehow it would manage to not be enough.

Dream would be brought to the brink of death and captured as he was in canon I liked that. Kevin would oppose letting a cruel man and a tyrant live and would immediately aid any plot against the prison so he could destroy the prison and kill dream.

I dont know if he'd help with the final destruction of lmanberg. I think he'd stand against it actually. Tubbo and Tommy finally got what they wanted, a city state peacefully existing in their corner of the world. There may have been a betrayal, but only because of the previously established tyrant dream. Lmanburg finally achieved the ideal it was working towards, i think he would fight to defend it, even against people like Nicky who were there from the start and are turning on it now. I think it would still not be enough, and would still fall into irrepairable ruin. He might try to talk Techno out of it beforehand but it wouldn't work.

There was definitely more interactions I had in mind but I don't remember them now. I just wanted to get them out of my system.

If anyone read this far and wants to know the song which prompted all this, it was vantage by Halfy&Winks, and Oblivion by them is a banger too. There's only like 3 dsmp song channels I would recommend to people not in the fandom and they're one of them.

[pieofdeath]

god. pacing. this is ROTD spiff so badly its INCREDIBLE.

so like. i DID intend ROTD spiff to be an asshole!! lord barkis is SUCH an asshole in the movie! he's visibly older than victoria by a good bit. he flirts with her in a way that just feels. sooo gross. there's a scene in the movie that I didn't adapt to the fic because I didn't want ANOTHER pov change where Lord Barkis (IIRC) talks to a portrait of Victoria and says something along the lines of how she wont have to suffer this union for very long. BRO. YOU'RE IN THEIR DAMN HOUSE STILL. I intended ROTD spiff to be similar! just rude and an asshole and unrepentant about his crimes!

and then he just. wasn't. and it's mostly my own fault jakdfjs.

My first mistake was that I made Spiff too young. I made him too close to my age, which made me keep thinking about how I would've felt- I'm turning 20 in march, and I made him 20 in Jan of 1877, which makes him 17 in 1874 when he murders Dan.

My second, and primary, mistake is that I thought about him for too long. When writing the final chapter, I went. huh. Spiff is 20 here, a few years younger than Kevin and Seán (who are 21 and 22-almost-23 in Jan 1877 respectively). and he killed a guy at 17. That's gotta fuck a guy up.

and then i couldnt stop thinking about it. ok. abstracted, we have a guy that has killed a guy and planned to kill another and is still literally only 20. age is not an excuse for Actual Premeditated Murder but you can't tell me that it didn't fuck him up, at least a little. and add that on top of the possibility that he killed the only person who genuinely, really cared about him. how long do you think he deliberated on if he was going to go through with his plan. do you think there was a span of time where he truly let himself love dan. do you think answering "yes" or "no" to those questions makes it worse?

i reblogged this post into the rotd tag back in April. i think that's a good summary of ROTD spiff. a guy who was unloved (woa what who said that) and couldn't handle being loved and made the worst mistake of his life. and proceeded to keep making it because then he could pretend he meant it. spiff can be summed up by "hubris and hates it" i think.

there's a lot of similarities between spiff and jim I think. interpret that as you will. there's actually a really rough idea for an alternative universe where everything turns out fine because jim or grim or someone finds out about spiff's plan to kill Seán before he goes through with it. jim and spiff are murder buddies and rtspiff reconcile- the trio shifts into a strange little polycule in that verse.

and while writing the finale I started toying around with the idea of writing his perspective, and then i listened to a few songs that gave me a few ideas for future events and it was all over. He hasn't left my head. I'm thinking about him ALL THE TIME. I'm only barely exaggerating.

hes a squeaky toy to me. im chewing on him. I'm making him cry. I'm making it better but I'm making him cry.

woa hold on i just rambled a LOT I'm so sorry aksjdfksa I need to go listen to his playlist maybe then ill feel better

[karmacharmeleon18]

different anon, but wow I also super agree with your kevin takes! i can’t believe you’re getting so much hate over it….i wanted to ask if you felt like there was any other path for kevin in the new trilogy, bc while what he did to jean pmo, i also can’t imagine him doing anything else. on one hand, he left jean to suffer kevin’s own consequences (in part) by leaving him, but also jean even admits he would never have let kevin leave, thus kevin wouldn’t have been able to get his revenge and freedom. it’s the same issue over and over again—why is kevin allowed such selfishness and isn’t as punished or criticized by the fandom (maybe even the narrative? i can only hope the final book actually does something with kevin, since unlike many i doubt we’re getting another book after tsc3)? do you think it’ll be addressed? Nora’s addressing of jean’s trauma seems well crafted enough to suggest that kevin and thea’s callousness would also be addressed. kevin still clearly cares about jean, but its not enough, i think, for not only the betrayal (which is nuanced and very sad) but the continued attitude he has towards him afterwards! kevin will do stuff that shows he cares for his “friends” or whatnot, but this stuff could also clearly be seen as self centered and watered down by his constant insults. he’s an interesting character for sure, but oh wow do i understand jean’s love-hatred of him from his POV. he’s an asshole who feels like he’ll never heal or grow emotionally from the ravens and riko, which is a very unsatisfying and upsetting thing to see from such a crucial character in the series. but i also don’t know how he would move one without losing his ego, which is probably the only thing really keeping him alive now that his revenge has been fulfilled?

sorry if this was repetitive to what you’ve said before or long! love your analysis/thoughts. :)

You know, anon, the og characters being different in this new trilogy was actually a fear of mine. It’s been 10 years since AFTG and I thought, Nora can’t be the same writer she was 10 years ago, and what if she’s changed her mind about this or that character? What if she uses the new books to retcon the old ones? What if I can’t recognize these characters???

But thankfully I could. Thankfully Nora is a very consistent writer and she has not changed her mind about anyone (save for Jean and Jeremy lol).

So taking all of this into account, no, I didn’t expect Kevin to act any differently. irl it’s been 10 years but in-universe it’s been no time at all from TKM. Kevin Day is Kevin Day and at this point it’s pointless to hope for change lmao

To be completely honest, I don’t think it’ll ever be properly addressed. Kevin is allowed to be selfish, and callous, and condescending because he’s Kevin, simple as that. The narrative, the characters have accepted that a long time ago. And most of the fandom has too. Those of us who have a problem with it are destined to suffer lol

Maybe Jean will confront him in the last book, but honestly? It will go in one ear and out the other.

Kevin might “care” for Jean in his own way, but he doesn’t care enough to change his behavior. And I think Jean knows that.

Jean also doesn’t care for apologies, an “I’m sorry” will not change the past. Maybe the Trojans have changed his mind about that, maybe not. Realistically it’s far too soon for such a change.

But what Kevin could do is apologize for his recent/current behavior. Maybe that would give Jean some satisfaction in the moment, it would make him feel vindicated to see and hear Kevin Day admit he is wrong. But after that initial reaction, nothing will have changed.

The best way to take accountability is to change your behavior. And Kevin never will. Because he’s Kevin Day.

Jean can’t hold Kevin accountable because Kevin doesn’t care about him enough.

So who could hold Kevin accountable? What would accountability look like?

Nora said Kevin doesn’t have friends, Thea is the closest thing to one he has. But even with her, he was willing to completely shut her out of his life when he left Evermore. Besides, him and Thea are far too similar for her to be the catalyst for a change of conscience. The only time Thea will ever call him out is when Kevin is thinking too much like a victim: Thea doesn’t tolerate that and pretty much tells him to get over his trauma. The same way Kevin expects everyone else to get over their trauma and just focus on the damn game.

Kevin and Thea will never hold each other accountable for their callousness, their selfishness, their disregard for the feelings of others.

At the end of the day, the only things Kevin truly cares about are Exy and… himself, which by extension means his public persona, the way people see him.

So, what would accountability look like for Kevin Day? Some sort of public reckoning? Ex Ravens coming out and telling the media what really went down in the Nest and the role Kevin played in the hierarchy? How he was the prince, the future legend, the little god of Castle Evermore, as Nora said in the EC. How he was above the general abuse, the suffering all around him, how he only had to answer to the Master and the King, and he had long learned how to keep them calm and himself safe. And how, when it all came to a head, he used the memory of his old, dead friendship with Jean against him, guiltripped him into distracting the monster so that he could escape. How he left Jean to be tortured to death.

But I don’t think it’ll happen, because the shockwaves of that would be monumental for the sport, the hero falling from grace again. And having that happen in the last book of the series simply can’t do it justice. If it did happen though, that would be the narrative holding Kevin accountable.

The alternative would be Kevin himself calling a press conference, of his own volition, and admitting to all of this. That would be a great way to take accountability: acknowledge what happened, what role you played in it, how fucked up it was. That would be Kevin holding himself accountable.

But that’s never going to happen either.

Because that would destroy his ego, and as you said, that might be the only thing he has left.

He is Kevin Day the Son of Exy, the future of the sport, a legend in the making, the hero that led the Foxes to win the Championship against the Ravens, the martyr that sacrificed his childhood for a chance to be Court one day… and he can’t be seen as anything else. It might kill him.

Waymack is possibly the only person with a concrete chance to get through to Kevin, to make him fully realize how much of an insensitive asshole he is to everyone around him and how that’s not fucking ok. But Waymack loves Kevin too much, like he loves all of his Foxes too much. He might give them advice, nudge them in the right direction, but I don’t think he’ll ever directly challenge them. Maybe some of the Foxes. But with someone like Kevin (or Andrew) it would go sideways really fast. Better to just let them do their thing and keep the peace. He lets the Foxes drink and fuck around with court-mandated meds, he provides Kevin with alcohol to use as an emotional crutch. It’s honestly a small miracle how none of the Foxes have died because of their own actions (Seth included since we all know he was murdered). David Waymack is a great character, but I’m not sure he’s a great coach lol until Neil showed up, the Foxes were an absolute dumpster fire. Neil had to meddle, get in everyone’s business to get them to cooperate. But we all know such behavior is “above pay grade” for Coach. So I don’t think that’s a possibility.

Besides, the Foxes’ story is over. This is Jean’s story. Any type of reckoning for Kevin must come from his side, Jeremy’s side, the Trojan’s side. And I don’t think it’ll happen.

It’d be nice to see Jeremy, Captain Sunshine of all people, call Kevin a bastard, because we know how much Kevin cares about his opinion. But idk that seems unrealistic. And it would sound too much like Jeremy fighting Jean’s battles for him, which I don’t like.

Kevin will never truly heal, he will always be a Raven. Like Thea will always be a Raven. They are the worst possible thing for each other. But at the same time, they can’t be with anyone else. Thea will never let Kevin heal and recover from being a Raven, but she is also the only person Kevin can be with.

From the EC we know that for Kevin the grueling practices, the 16h days, the abuse, the torture Jean suffered, were all part of the deal. He accepted those conditions because in return he would get the Perfect Court. And all the Ravens (Thea) believe the same.

But his hand was not part of the deal. That’s the one and only thing that made Kevin want to leave.

Had that not happened, he and Thea would almost be the exact same person, Raven apologists through and through, callous, condescending, solely focused on Exy to the point that if someone gets hurt, their first and only thought is “When can they play again?”

And if you don’t like it, that’s your problem.

So the best possible thing we can do going into the next book is to expect absolutely nothing lol

I hope this made sense, anon. To me it looks like a whole lot of rambling nothing, but maybe you can make some sense of it 🤦🏾‍♀️

[busghost]

I've been really negative about Honkai recently and I'm sorry about that but with everything that's wrong it gets you thinking about how they could have done it better.

So now I'm wondering what ideas people have for Mei's (gestures at her) everything. Instead of just telling us everything Mei is supposed to be and show us Mei growing as a person.

I do want to see what other people think up because by no means is my idea the only good one.

DISCLAIMER: I'm only throwing ideas out, I'm not claiming to be an actual good writer. I'd be a pretentious asshole to think that if I wrote this in a story format rather than an outline that it'd be any good. It'd be worse than what we got. I'm also not blaming the writers for being crunched so bad. It's just a lot of unfortunate circumstances.

Personally I'd go nuts with the beta Crown of Thorns + the ideas introduced in ch 1-2 of Elysian Realm and the story beforehand (Elysia is "perfect" but acts mean).

Elysia considers herself the perfect human when there's no humanity in her having let the end come because "it's their own fault". As if Mei let Kiana die to her own foolish self sacrificial habits. Her love is a detached one, like she doesn't truly understand what it is to love nor does she understand what she is loving. Humanity is more like a cute plaything than the collection of all people and their hopes and sorrows and hatred and love and everything in between.

The point of the Previous Era was that they were so coldly logical that they lost. They had no love, just look at what happened to RIN, murdered in cold blood and only became a Herrscher because of it. And that basically ALL we knew about the PE for the longest time, the coldblooded murder of a young woman just because she might've been a threat and how Sakura was able to reach RIN and get her to stop killing in the end with love.

Take the examples of love from the PE and crush them under that cold logic. Su being a doctor forced to continually sacrifice the few for the many, going against all he stands for. Griseo growing up in a world so apathetic towards new life. Hua hating Kevin for being Dr. Mei's pawn and killing HIMEKO. Expanding on the throwaway line where she was ostracized for being so close to somebody who became a Herrscher. Eden being so depressed at the loss of art and so much life. Sakura trying to do good by her sister but killing for a living to make it so. I think they really nailed Pardo the first time around. And very importantly, make it clear that MOTH/Dr. Mei's rationality is what caused so much suffering. Despite this, have her thaw out and be understanding even for their worst qualities. As the sims open up, so does she, becoming more like a person again rather than angst with a vague goal.

Contrast all of this with the love Mei has felt through her life. Her few interactions with her father that left a mark on her. Seeing how Hua has changed from the past into the present, finding people that she can openly love and care for. Theresa and Himeko giving her unconditional love and teaching her so much as parental figures. Even the tough love like Himeko slapping her across for face for suggesting everyone else would be better off if Mei killed herself. Kiana and Bronya relying on her and supporting her, her happiest moments being when she was at St. Freya with her family. Even during her short time at Anti-Entropy, Tesla was very kind to her. See the few examples of love that appeared in the Previous Era and realize THAT'S what they're fighting for in the real world.

I forget where it was stated, but I think it was Otto who said that the Current Era has come to a better understanding of what it means to be human and I really like that idea. Herrschers are more capable of being human than some people. That being human and defeating the Honkai isn't based on plans that kill nearly everyone on Earth or making decisions for the people of the future. It's not "PURGE THE HONKAI" as the PE was so fond of saying, it's "Fight for everything beautiful in the world."

With Elysia as the antagonist it doesn't even necessarily need to end in a boss fight against her or anything. But make Mei decide for herself that what she is going to fight for, she isn't "perfect" like Elysia but her love is genuine and she has a deeper understanding than Elysia ever could. She can carry on the memories of the Previous Era, not of all the fighting and plans but of the love people tried to show each other. A rejection of what everything the Previous Era stood for.

Have Mei leave the Realm and World Serpent, not because Kevin said "okay you can go now" but to abandon them to be with the people she truly cares about and believes in because that is what is important now. Maybe have her come to their aid when it's explicitly against WS's interests.

THEN Mei can take Elysia's place as Herrscher of Human/Origin because she truly understands what it means to love people unlike Elysia. How Kiana's arc is learning to accept love and loving herself, have Mei's arc be learning to love the world again.

Also do none of the retconning in chapter 34. Make everything they are doing in the Current Era their own decisions, their own plans. They are supposed to be overcoming Project Stigma through their own determination and knowledge, not because this was the real purpose of Project EMBER. Also just let the Will of the Honkai be something the Previous Era inflicted on the Current Era while tampering with it, not "we were making it easier for the CE the whole time". The Current Era's victory over the Honkai has to be their own.

I'll be first to admit, I haven't thought much into how it's play out and definitely should have more to do with Elysia, the realm is named for her and it's her big secret at the center of it all. You could still pull this off with making Elysia suffer so much for having so much genuine love for everyone in a loveless world or a million other ways. Just not, Elysia decided the future for the Herrschers and everything the CE is doing is actually a PE plan.

[beardedmrbean]

With some Democrats deciding to re-commit funds from FTX donations towards charity or other party campaigns after the crypto exchange’s bankruptcy, Rep. Maxine Water, D-Calif., told FOX Business she doesn’t "want to get into that" topic.

Waters avoided reporter Hillary Vaughn’s question when asked if Democrats who received campaign cash from FTX should give it back, saying, "Well, I don't want to get into that. As a matter of fact, both sides, Democrats and Republicans, have received donations. So thank you."

The Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, however, did claim that lawmakers will be putting together a hearing to "explore exactly what has taken place" with FTX.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, was a major contributor to Democratic candidates during the midterm election cycle, funneling most of his donations through a little-known political action committee (PAC).

FTX FOUNDER SAM BANKMAN-FRIED HIT WITH CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT THAT ALSO NAMES BRADY, BUNDCHEN, SHAQ, CURRY

Overall, in 2021 and 2022, Bankman-Fried donated nearly $38 million to various candidates and PACs, mainly giving his cash to Democratic candidates and left-wing groups, according to Federal Election Commission filings (FEC). The majority of his political givings, though, went to the Protect Our Future PAC, a group founded in January that is dedicated to boosting candidates committed to preventing future pandemics.

Bankman-Fried wired an initial $9 million in February to the PAC shortly after it was created, FEC records showed. He then made three additional donations worth $18 million between March and June, increasing his total contribution to Protect Our Future PAC to $27 million.

The Daily Beast reached out to more than 25 lawmakers that received money and reported that some said they'll give the money to charity. Other congressmen said they spent it to boost other Democratic candidates, and some didn’t reply at all.

Names of Democratic candidates that have received political contributions from FTX include Rep. Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., and Reps.-elect Morgan McGarvey of Kentucky, Maxwell Frost of Florida, Sydney Kamlager of California, Jonathan Jackson of Illinois, Nikki Budzinski of Illinois, Jared Moskowitz of Florida and Rob Menendez Jr. of New Jersey.

On Wednesday, Bankman-Fried was hit with a class-action lawsuit filed by investors alleging he and other high-profile celebrities – such as legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady and NBA star Stephen Curry – violated Florida law and made consumers suffer more than $11 billion in damages.

The lawsuit, which names "Sam Bankman-Fried, Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors, Shaquille O’Neal, Udonis Haslem, David Ortiz, William Trevor Lawrence, Shohei Ohtani, Naomi Osaka, Lawrence Gene David, and Kevin O’Leary," seeks to make them "responsible for the many billions of dollars in damages they caused Plaintiff and the Classes and to force Defendants to make them whole."

The suit describes the well-known celebrities as "all parties who either controlled, promoted, assisted in, and actively participated in FTX Trading and FTX US (collectively, the ‘FTX Entities’), offer and sale of unregistered securities in the form of yield-bearing accounts (YBAs) to residents of the United States."

The lawsuit was filed in Florida because the defendants, it says, "conduct business in Florida, and/or have otherwise intentionally availed themselves of the Florida consumer market through the promotion, marketing, and sale of FTX’s YBAs in Florida, which constitutes committing a tortious act within the state of Florida."

Last week, Bankman-Fried admitted his fault in a tweet: "I'm sorry. That's the biggest thing," the founder wrote. "I f---ed up, and should have done better."

[samwomanizer]

Ok ok so here's a bunch of my thoughts on the finale in no particular order.

I think Dean turning into a demon is just PERFECT. What can I say? The last take of 10x23 with Dean opening his eyes gave me chills, man. I love that shit.

I also kinda(?) Liked Gadreel's death, I saw it coming the second he went to help the bros and Cass against Metatron but still, it felt good to see the guy redeem himself in a way. Bro was never evil, he was just like Castiel, he fucked up and got convinced by the random powerful duche in service to do some bad stuff in order to "be good again" or whatever. But he was never the villain, not really I think. RIP King.

Now I don't remember exactly in which episode this happened or what exact words were said but ONCE AGAIN!! SAM HAS TOLD HIS ASS BROTHER WHAT THE FUCK IS UP!!! Sam was like "we are ALL trying to help you kill Metatron, stop being an edge lord" and Dean was like "you are working with Gadreel!! He killed Kevin!!" AND SAM WAS LIKE "YEAH AND NOW I HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE IMAGE OF MY HANDS KILLING HIM BECAUSE YOU LET HIM IN ME IN THE FIRST PLACE" 🗣🗣🗣🗣 Tell em Sammy.

Not that it really mattered tho, cause in like the next scene they were getting ready to go jump Metatron and Dean did what he does best, knock his brother out and be all "im sorry little brother..... this ain't your figh......" and I wish I could say I was surprised. He so cringe when he does that 🤢

Like earlier when he said to Sam "this is a dictatorship" my face was like this the entire scene:

He's so yucky. I was also yelling at the screen like my dad watching football telling Sam to SAY SOMETHING! FUCKING SAY SOMETHING YOU IDIOT YOU ARE AN ADULT AND THIS IS ABOUT KILLING METATRON. YOUR BROTHER IS MORE FUCKED UP IN THE HEAD THAN USUAL IF THATS EVEN POSSIBLE AND YOURE JUST GONNA NOT SAY ANYTHING AND SIT THERE AND TAKE THAT SHIT?? FFS SAM

I did enjoy watching Dean die later. Gotta say I was NOT expecting Metaking to just stab him like that. I was shocked but very pleased. Bro has been annoying af since like s8, but I gotta say, he ate with this one. Anyone who kills Dean Winchester is on my forgiveness list. 🙏

I gotta say it's always so tiring to see Sam be deep down just as messed up obsessed with Dean as it is the other way around. Every time I think yay! Sam is growing! Developing! He's not as dependent and submissive to Dean as before! Yippee!!! His bro fucking goes and gets an angel blase run through his chest and Sam is there to make a deal with Crowley to save him. Smh Sam, I expected more 😔

Nothing to say about Crowley, tho. He was serving cunt with every word as usual. 0 complaints. Go, King.

Oh and Cass, uhhh. Idk I never gave a shit about his army. I just wish they didn't recycle the same motivation they've been giving him over and over and over again since s6 or something. He's always trying to "do good", to "set things right", to "be worthy of forgiveness" and stuff like that... Lil homie doesn't realize every god damn time he does that it ends up him betraying the brothers in one way or another and with even more angels dead😭 Give it a rest dude you suck at redeeming yourself 💀.

Overall, the entire season made me suffer like no other season before. Up untill now every season since s5 has just been one train wreck after another and I just can't.Stop.watchING.👁👁. Anyways i AM excited to start on s10. Can't believe I've actually watched 9 whole seasons of this fuck ass show. Yay me i guess

Finished s9, might yap about it tomorrow