#still thinking about them <33< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[juicerca]

“make me dizzy,, ₍^. .^₎⟆

sylus x reader ₊˚⊹ ᰔ

a/n : i got a fever too. me and xavier synched up like we on our periods together (WHICH IM ON </3) or some shit. my nose is stuffy and my body is burning 😭 !!!!! sylus fever fluff written to comfort my pain. just a short lil thing <3 SUPER SHORT </3333 cus my brain is broken and ill and i have an exam in two days WAAAA

synopsis : f!reader gets sylus to cool her down when her fever gets too unbearably hot by calling him over

content : pure fluff/comfort fic. i can't bring myself to write sylus angst (˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ ) also sorry i keep writing MC in pathetic situations. i love girlboss MC as much as the next girlie i SWEAR, mc is cat-like/a little spoiled AGAIN (sylusMC is SOOO CATTY TO ME)

pet-names : kitten, sweetie, cutie, princess,

word count : 642

₍^. .^₎⟆ ⋆ 🐾 °

you lay in his (basically yours at this point) black silk sheets, tossing and turning, kicking your feet in nothing but a small black vest and your underwear. no matter how much you shimmied around, your feet felt hot, your entire body burned with a heat that made your sweat feel unbearably lukewarm and sticky on your skin.

the sheets were most definitely damp from all the cold (now room temperature) towels that you had used to try to cool your body. but to no avail. nothing was making it more bearable. 5 cool towels around your neck just didn't cut it.

and so, you crawl across the endless expanse of bedding to grab your phone (with some difficulty). there was only one person you wanted to see you like this.

you spam him with this sticker about 10 times before the three dots finally appear. you wait for two seconds...five...ten...god why is this message taking so long? you grumble, huffing with his pillow tucked under your chin and contemplating throwing your phone against the plush back of his bed.

he calls you before you manage to hurl your device,

"kitten? do you need something? i'm at the store now."

"huh? i thought you said you'd be at an auction?"

he chuckles,

"i was at one. but you only text when you want something... or if you miss me... and considering how you're in my room and i saw you this morning, i assume it's the former. though i'd be very flattered if it was the latter."

"i also text when i see something that reminds me of you."

"that fits into the latter." he smile through the phone. you can faintly hear the bustle of the convenience store as well.

"...i feel a fever coming on. can you get me some ice cream?"

"got it. what else?"

"i want you..." you mumble into his pillow, feeling sluggish.

"..."

"respond..." you whine close to tearing up.

but before you can pick up more of a fuss, he's already next to the bed with a grocery bag in one hand and his phone in the other and his evol swirling around him.

not really thinking, you immediately go to nuzzle your heated face into his tummy. it's not really that comfortable, and you brush against the cold metal of his zippers that scratch at your face. but, nonetheless, it's just what you needed. he always is.

he puts away his phone and the bag onto the floor, gently carding through your hair and his voice a soft rumble,

"hi sweetie... want your ice cream now?"

"later..." you take his hands, putting them on your face in a happy mewl, "so cool..."

"aren't you just a cutie? does my princess want me to cool her down?" he smiles, sliding one hand down to your sweltering neck. you exhale in satisfaction, it's a little congested and you look like a sticky mess...but he thinks you're adorable. he always will.

spoiling you was irreplaceable to him. there was nothing in the world more special than the feeling of being your one and only prince, dictated by his only princess. you could have anything you wanted, be as bratty and as demanding as you wanted, surrounded by luxuries and comfort and you chose him to be your supplier and partner in it all. it was undeniably his favourite feeling in the world.

you nod, settling like putty into his large hands. gently but surely bringing you back to a comfortable temperature. as you drift off, you hear him softly humming to you a lullaby. something familiar but yet not quite. he might not have ever experienced the song in his own childhood, but everything he found beautiful and comforting was something he would share with you.

your life adorned in joy and comfort would always be his priority.

₊˚⊹ ᰔ

[kenzan-brainrot-mp4]

talk more about the white whale/whale symbolism in general whatever thoughts you have on the whale stuff i want to hear it 👂

GRAHHHHH YEAH (This one got. Long (again lol) So be prepared (series-wide spoilers but I feel like that's a given atp))

First of all I just wanna say that I love how rgg drags the player along around the final chapter title. With how upfront the other chapter titles are in what they're referring to, you might end up wondering why they chose White Whale for the final chapter title once you see the title card (or at least I did). Of course, this could just be referring to the treasure that everyone's been looking for, but with how nonchalantly they react to the fact that the treasure isn't actually there, it doesn't seem to completely fit the bill.

But then you beat the game (and by this I mean beat the final boss) and lo and behold, there's an Actual white whale, and so you think "Oh! Duh, the chapter's called White Whale because there's a literal white whale and it pretty much just finished off the final boss!" But that still doesn't make that much sense. Why name the final chapter (arguably the most important one) after some whale that appears in the last like 15 minutes of the game? Like, take the final chapter name of (Kiryu) Gaiden, it's literally the name of the game (The Man Who Erased His Name) so it's gotta be something more significant than that, right? (But then of course take into the account that by this point the player is still convinced that nothing really in pyih is too deep/serious, so maybe it could just be something as simple as that).

Then you get to the credits, and they reveal that the "elixir"/the ambergris is found in the stomachs of whales. Damn, that's pretty crazy/cool, but once again, nobody that was actively seeking the treasure (Rodriguez, Jason/Noah, Spade Tucker, etc you know the drill) seems to hung up on the fact that they didn't find it, and they didn't even encounter the whale, so they wouldn't get that same sense that they just missed it either, again, it's not a big deal really, so why make that the final chapter title?

Of course, we all know what this builds up to: the big reveal, the fact that Majima, who we've been following along with this entire game, was looking for that elixir this entire time, was the only one to actually encounter a whale in the game, and then there's the insane line drop from Saejima.

"Kiryu Kazuma. You never could give up on that one."

Ironically, the final chapter title has nothing to do with that whale you saw earlier at all, rather it's a summary of what Majima's motivations/actions for this game, and the past. Almost every game, has meant for him. It's what Saejima spells out for us at the end of the game, but said in even fewer words.

An all-consuming obsession that only leads to your destruction. An impossibility, something that you can destroy yourself over but never achieve/obtain. This is what the white whale means, metaphorically. And it is this, exactly, that Kiryu is to Majima.

Kiryu is larger than life itself, to just about everyone. He's a legend, he's the one Majima has had his sights on since the very beginning, the legend he chases after game after game and also what he destroys himself over game after game.

(see:

Yakuza 1 -> Majima just straight up taking a full-on stab wound for Kiryu. Like, buddy, I literally saw one of my favorite characters die that way in another game, there was No guarantee you were surviving that.

Yakuza 2 -> Majima fights off an army of yakuza for Kiryu. That man was beat to total Shit (which is Not something that happens often) and we all saw it

Yakuza 3 -> Majima re-enters the Tojo Clan for Kiryu even though he is (extremely likely) aware that it is already entering its steady decline that we see throughout the rest of the series up until its dissolution. And while he's willing to do it for Kiryu, we can't exactly say that he's happy about the situation as a whole.

Yakuza 5 -> Majima's willingness to die for Haruka, specifically stated because "She means more to Kiryu-chan than life itself." Like, of course he wouldn't just let Haruka get killed, but to choose to mention Kiryu as part of his reasoning in that moment? Christ

While I (surprisingly) can't say anything particularly self-destructive happened in (Kiryu) Gaiden and Infinite Wealth, you could argue that Majima trying to more and more directly tell Kiryu not to leave ("No need to rush outta here yet... Alright?" -> "Don't leave! Don't you dare leave, Kiryu-chan!"), knowing that it's likely pointless, knowing Kiryu, is not doing himself any favors.

Pirate Yakuza -> *gestures at the entire game*

Also his reaction to encountering that giant squid ("Sure is a helluva way to die. I think I'm into it!"). Like, okay. I don't want to try and read too much into it because it was very likely just a one off line. But I'm still gonna side-eye it.

Honestly now that I think about it, if Majima Had died fighting that giant squid (that is such a way to begin a sentence thank you rgg), you could argue that that would've been his nail in the coffin for the white whale metaphor. If he had, it would've meant that his obsession for Kiryu is what got him dragged down into the literal depths of the ocean, and even if it wouldn't be Kiryu physically dragging Majima down like the white whale to Ahab, this is a situation that is completely, entirely, fueled by Majima's obsession towards him (Majima had no real interest in the nuclear waste cleanup project, after all, Kiryu was his one motivation this entire time), and it would've drowned him.

Guess that means he got real lucky with the last part, but we all know he sure as hell isn't beating the allegations.)

All this and yet Majima seems to fail to reaching Kiryu time and time again.

Majima does not obtain the Heart of the Dragon, found in the intestines of the literal whale. He does not obtain eternal life for Kiryu. And he (arguably, though the final scene of him walking to Kiryu's hospital room could oppose this) does not resolve the indefinite limbo that has been sitting between them throughout the entire series. What he gets at the end of the game is the acknowledgement (through Saejima, everybody thank him) that he has been obsessing over this, and perhaps the realization that Kiryu was, in fact, this white whale that he would never truly reach ("Well, still just a dream in the end.") Of course this is something he already knows/has acknowledged deep down, and it's a feeling that is hinted at in some of his dialogue in scattered moments, but this is the first time he ever says it in such an outright manner.

I guess in a way, you could say that Pirate Yakuza is a story about the newfound success of all the people Majima helped and supported in achieving their dreams, and the continued failure of Majima in pursuing his own (Kiryu), and him needing to acknowledge/accept that. And the post-credits begs the question of what he decides to do with the aftermath and what he has left. (An oversimplification definitely but still. augh. Augh)

Naming the final chapter White Whale was yet another crazy move on rgg's part. Its so unassuming, seemingly straightforward yet also seemingly insignificant, but once the realization dawns on you it slaps you right in the face, just like everything else about this game does. It's yet another instance of how rgg managed to pull its big reveal so well, with all the small details, all the reframing, all pointing back to the same topic that it had spent the entire rest of the game dancing around.

Majima recounting his story of how he went to Hawaii -> Majima recounts his story to Kiryu in the exact same way at the very end

The treasure everyone's been looking for/known about + Majima, the one guy who didn't have knowledge about any of this legend stuff prior? -> Wrong, he was after the treasure from the very start (before the amnesia at least). For Kiryu

Majima originally being on course for Hawaii so he could help with the nuclear waste cleanup even though he'd be bored as hell? -> Nah. For Kiryu (Ohhhhh you know what this is reminding me of some screenshots I took from near the beginning of the game)

(I'm sure this meant nothing of course. Lol. Lmao)

Majima's dream during pirate yakuza being to fulfill Other People's dreams -> Haha. Well, I think you get the point by now

Kiryu, Kiryu, Kiryu. It all goes back to Kiryu, every single time, without fail, in an obsessive loop that Majima has been dragging himself around over for Years. He is the white whale, seemingly untouchable, the constant object of Majima's attention and devotion in so many forms, his consistent weak point, that only seems to dig at him deeper as the games go on.

Like I said before, while the white whale metaphor is undeniable, and essentially spells doom for Majima, it's not over for him yet. Because, hey, he didn't drown at sea, or die on the beach. He was saved, and he's survived enough to retell that tale and reflect on it all with Saejima in the post-credits, brief as that reflection was. I mentioned before how he really only said one line of any actual substance during that specific part of the exchange, but the significance of it says so much.

"Well, still just a dream in the end"

As much as it hurts to here Majima address the hopelessness of it all, to hear him say something like that after Saejima basically just laid out his sheer devotion and refusal to give up on his dream for everyone to see, I think the bittersweetness is. Good, actually. Captain Ahab never gave up on that pursuit on the white whale, and it destroyed him; that whale dragged him down until he finally drowned, and it feels like all Majima has been doing over Kiryu since Yakuza 3 is drowning himself in him.

Don't get me wrong, I (for now at least) do not take that line as a complete admittance of defeat, or Majima finally giving up on Kiryu, on that dream he could never let go of. (Like I've been saying, it's an acknowledgement, not exactly a declaration.) I do not think it means he is just letting go, full-stop.

But I do hope it means he can stop himself from self-destructing completely. I hope it means that he can slow down with the wild chase, (and that he and Kiryu can just. Sit down and talk like fucking normal people. Which i guess they are doing in the post-credits, supposedly) and I hope it means that he won't drown completely, especially in the case of the worst possible scenario.

[corseque]

I wanted to post this specific in-game version of Une vie à peindre as well because their duet plus the counterpoint melody and the guitar solo makes me feel so alive (spoilers in French lyrics)

[dailyhtfboards]

Day 121

Today’s board is:

Eh, screw it we’re ants posting tonight.

(From TV episode 11B Tongue in Cheek)

[normalbroadcast]

i am such a big fan of when there's a radio in a podcast and the radio is sentient in some way. like yesss that is a Character!!!

it is maybe adjacent to my love of fictional AIs? but somehow distinct. possibly it's that these are a little more fantastical/cryptic in origin rather than like. purpose-built. also probably something about what radio specifically represents in terms of connections between people across space. idk

[deadn30n]

With such a large roster and you adding more by the day can you even write all of them decently? Do you feel like you sacrifice some of the character's nuance by being That multi muse?

nah 'cause i'm sexy and my ass is huge and so is my brain maybe if you touch it you'll get some of my sexy and cool creativeness too

but as trademark to me when i answer anon hate, here, have a meme hand picked just for you <3

enjoy this quote from a friend that made me laugh

[thedeadthree]

-ˋˏ .·:·. ⊱ 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐕𝐄𝐈𝐋𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐛𝐲 @pavus — day one: 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞.

— 𝐈𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐕𝐀𝐑 . 𝐕𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐈 𝐃𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐀 . 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐀 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐄.

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐃𝐀𝐒. 𝐄𝐍𝐉𝐎𝐘 𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐈𝐓 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐒.

— 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 (mutuals can opt in/out via 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 <3):

@loriane-elmuerto, @carrionsflower, @auricfog, @girliefailure, @sunsofdawn

@risingsh0t, @griffin-wood, @lilywatt, @full---ofstarlight, @grapecaseschoices

@tommyarashikage, @shadowsofrose, @shadowglens, @weisshaupts, @queennymeria

@deadrlngers, @d-esmond, @courtana, @gothimp, @wlwaerith

@unholymilf, @aezyrraeshh, @socially-awkward-skeleton, @shellibisshe, @florbelles

@celticwoman, @neonshrike, @cloudofbutterflies92, @adelaidedrubman, @carlosoliveiraa

@pinkfey, @spookyrares, @yharnams, @aceghosts, @confidentandgood

@theelderhazelnut, @leviiackrman, @ellierenae, @anoras, @lavampira

@dialdrunk, @full---ofstarlight, @imogenkol

[yannfredericks]

Hey!! First of all I love your writing, especially your portrayal of the gang and scorbus!!!! I wanted to ask, we can clearly see that albus is extremely close with the gang and Polly is definitely his best friend( apart for scorpius ofcourse) but who is SCORPIUS'S best friend? I always wondered if it were karl, but even he seems closer to albus and it kinda makes me feel like scorpius feels left out a bit but ofcourse I cam be extremely wrong and this ques was just bouncing around in my head !!

Hiiiii!!! Oh my goodness, thank you so much! That is such a compliment and I’m so glad you like my writing and version of the gang 🥹 this is going to be a little long and ramblely bc that’s just my nature I’m afraid!! anyway!

I think you’ve kind of hit the nail on the head there, and Scorpius definitely feels quite left out with the gang for a while. I think part of that is his only child-ness and the fact he Does Not Want to share albus with people. Like albus is His Friend and he definitely has a harder time initially accepting the gang as being their friends. Albus definitely has similar feelings for Scorpius but bc the gang don’t initially blend so well with scorp he wouldn’t realise the extent to which he feels possessive of albus (like Albus doesn’t realise Scorpius feels possessive bc he himself has no reason to bc it doesn’t feel like they’re stealing Scorpius away from him, if that makes sense??)

Which is funny bc I think there’s a world where Scorpius would be the one saying hey they’re being nice to us we should give them a chance!!! but that flips the second he realises it means albus isn’t Only His anymore, and he’d have a lot more trepidation for anything deeper than a surface level friendship with them. Albus would also be pretty unsure but I think surprisingly he falls into it a little easier than he’s expecting too whereas scorpius struggles a lot more than he’s expecting to. They are each others Best Friend at the end of the day but I do think watching Albus get closer to them is difficult for Scorpius but as long as he’s still Best/Number 1 then he would manage (he probably has the mindset of ‘I was his friend before you and I’ll be his friend after you’ for a while there)

ANYWAY!!!! I have reasons as to why I think he’s really close with all of the gang but he definitely only gets there bc of the perseverance of Yann and Karl specifically. Yann is very intentional about trying to include Scorpius and relate to him whereas Karl is just Like That imo. Karl’s not so good at reading social cues (read: bullied scorbus for 3 years thinking what he was actually doing was Banter and Befriending Them) and so he wouldn’t be deterred by Scorpius being less receptive.

I think Yann and Scorpius have a lot in common and are actually really very similar people, Yann just has a lot more confidence. they both come from money and they both have family in France and are therefore fluent (imo!!) and I think that is a starting point for bonding between them. Yann is very good at reading people and naturally takes on more of a leadership role in his friendship groups and I think he’d see Scorpius’ reservations immediately and really work at including him and inviting him to do stuff both on their own and with the others. I think it’d be very difficult for Scorpius to dislike Yann, he’s just too earnest and well meaning (and obviously desperately in love with polly and that always humanises someone) !!!

On the other hand, Karl is just too likeable once you get to know him. I think the fact he keeps trying with Scorpius would eventually work in his favour and scorpius would become begrudgingly quite fond of him, even when he’s being objectively Loud and Annoying. his heart is just too big and once scorpius realises that everything Karl does is a misguided attempt at connection and friendship I think they’d suddenly click. Karl would follow him everywhere and literally not take one pause for breath and scorpius is like why is he doing this why is he following me why is he talking to me and when he realises the answer is ‘because he’s desperately lonely and desperate for connection’ he’d become waaaaay more open to it. He indulges Karl in ways that the others don’t and I think that connects them!!

Of course it’s kind of hard to show all this bc I realise I almost exclusively write Albus POV so he’s not always privy to the stuff that’s going on with scorpius and the others when he’s not around. Also he definitely has a special connection with Polly, but that’s bc I have always seen Albus and polly as two sides of the same coin and once they realise that they become unstoppable <3 also I think scorbus and yolly go on double dates (potentially even before they realise that’s what they’re doing) and polly and albus get flustered over their bfs speaking to each other in French <3

in the life after verse specifically I think the shared trauma def bonds Craig with scorbus and I think he and Scorpius become much closer than Albus realises. outside of that verse I do also see scorpius and cbj being really close, I think they like the same trashy romance books and scorpius pretends he agrees with Albus that they’re above them but in secret he reads them with Craig and they gush over them :D

anyway ahhhhhhh I’m sorry this is so long and self indulgent!!! TLDR: Scorpius is probably closest with Yann and Karl, but everyone is really close with everyone once their friendships are fully developed. He doesn’t really have his version of the Polly and Albus friendship but Karl is possibly the closest to that? I think Scorpius is just really fond of him. Yann comes very close too just bc they’re so similar at heart.

Thanks so much for asking this was so fun!!!!!

[goldenflowers]

A3! Act Addict Actors || one gifset per episode ↳ Episode 04 ❀ A New Challenge

[perilegs]

Which would you rather be: prey or hunter?

yes. #bisexuality

[yujeong]

Time was at a standstill. Vegas was holding his breath without noticing, and continued to hold it when he did - he was afraid of what would happen if he exhaled loudly enough to draw attention to himself. His gaze was shifting between Pete and the man who was standing before them in the doorway, blocking their entrance. Vegas had never seen him before, but even so, he recognized Pete in him enough to know who he was. A dangerous aura surrounded him. There was an edge to his presence that Vegas would only come across people of certain circles. He was a fighter. A muay khao. Pete's father. Shame coursed through Vegas' body, smearing his skin, settling in his lungs, rendering him speechless. I thought he was dead, he wanted to tell Pete if he could. He wanted to scream at him, I thought you killed him. Pete was the one who broke the stillness. As if awakened by something, he took a half-step back and made a motion with his arms, almost raising them to his chest, but not quite. In an instant, Pete reverted into the pet Vegas had been keeping at the safehouse, bound by handcuffs and afraid of his belt hitting flesh and drawing blood. A lump formed in Vegas' throat. "Have you stopped practicing? Your form is off." The uncanny similarities between Pete and his father appearance-wise didn't mean a thing when it came to their voices. Vegas shivered. Was this what Pete would sound like in a few decades? (Were these the condescending words he'd choose to spew? Was Pete going to embody his father? Was Vegas embodying his?) "What are you doing here?" Pete whispered. "They let me out for a few days, so I came here to collect some money. Imagine my surprise when I found out my offspring left the job someone found him worthy enough of doing to... do what exactly? Yaai didn't want to tell me." He crossed his arms, waiting for an answer. Vegas didn't know what he was allowed to say. If he was allowed to say anything at all. "It's none of your business." "I'd say it very much is my business, as well as yaai's business who was dependent on the money you were making being some rich asshole's human shield." A choked sound scratched Vegas' throat. He didn't like getting reminded of Pete being the main family's bodyguard, even though he stopped being one mere months ago. Especially like this. That was the first time Pete's father stopped looking at his son and turned his head to look at Vegas. For a moment, there seemed to be recognition in his eyes. Did he know who Vegas was? Did he care? A snort came out of his mouth. He leaned on the door. "Oh, I see how it is." He laughed, scratched his neck. "I never expected you to whore yourself out for money. Tell me, is it preferable to the path I carved out for you?" Vegas could sense the disgust in his voice. He could also see it on Pete's face. He was too astonished to share it, but not enough to be unable to speak. "Khun, there has been some misunderstanding-" "Don't bother. I can recognize a faggot when I see one." Pete's movements were too fast for Vegas to stop him. A direct jab to the nose; his father fell like a pack of cards, groaning like a wounded animal. Surprisingly, no blood - Pete held back. Vegas didn't know what to think about that. "That was a pathetic attack, even for you." "Get up." "We're not in the ring, son." Pete growled. Vegas could see his hands trembling as he was keeping them in the air, maintaining an offensive stance. "That never stopped you before." "You were too young to understand what I was doing back then. What I was preparing you for." Pete was silent. "The world isn't kind. It'll fuck you over one way or another." He got up, spat on the ground. "You still haven't learned a thing. You're too old to afford being naive." He turned around, and without sparing a look at Pete again, said: "Now get the fuck out of my house." (For @musictooth, whose posts about Pete's father have reignited my passion for this specific concept and for @wretchedamaranth, whose comments on my writing are always lovely and precious ❤️)

[milfbrainrot]

i know other people are tired of female characters having stories revolving motherhood but god it is so nice to get stories about it that are actually... written with care? i imagine some of the fatigue around these stories is bc of how it's done with the assumption that all women must be or want to be mothers or it's done without any actual examination of the woman's characterization--and i also get tired of those! but there are so many female characters who specifically do not have or want kids as well these days, so i am glad that we can have a balance of ones who are fine without kids but also ones who are well-written as mothers??? idk. it makes me happy that we can have both, because parenthood will always be a thing, even if some people... equate their own preference of avoiding those stories altogether with automatic misogyny when a story does include it at all.

[destiel-wings]

watching Angel (the series), I feel like is really interesting, specifically in s3 cause I think in some ways it was good but they did Cordelia SO dirty. I feel like there were some aspects where I was like yeah that was totally written by a man e.g. when Angel gives her a necklace after being away cause of Buffy’s death and she’s like it brings out my boobs 🙄.

I feel like there are some scenes that are kinda ironic considering how Joss treated Charisma like when Cordelia was doing that commercial? Like was that a dig at Joss? But also that’s 90s early 2000s writing as well.

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

I don't know if you're watching the show for the first time or not, so I won't give you direct spoilers, but what they did to Cordelia gets so much worse in season 4.

There is one storyline specifically that happens that season that we as a fandom collectively pretend never happened.

And I actually like season 4 (i love the way that it's built, the plot twists, the epic tones of the main villain coming, the way that some characters develop and the main theme/metaphor that relates to the big bad of the season), but what they did to Cordelia will always be one of the greatest faults of the show. And now that all the rumors about Joss are out, we know why that happened too. 😔 That's when Charisma was pregnant and Joss threatened to fire her. And he did.

I mean, I can see the casual misogyny you're mentioning in the first three seasons as partly being due to the 90s/early 2000s writing (definitely a factor), and partly as a sad realistic depiction of what real actresses in the business like Cordelia (or generally women everywhere) had to endure at the time, when they couldn't even speak up. And i think there's a distinction to be made here, because there's two types of misogyny (or any other problematic behavior) that can be shown in media.

The scene where Cordelia is posing in a bikini and the photographer is a complete jerk for example is a harsh depiction of what society used to be (and still is), and so, in my opinion deserves to be in the show, because stuff like that is a slap in the face that should outrage us. Shows nowadays are excessively tiptoeing around real life issues. And i don't think it's helping anyone. I think we should be able to see stuff like that in fiction so we can say "this is horrible. It shouldn't happen in real life," and hopefully we can learn from it and get better as a society. In this sense, it's useful misogyny, because it exists to outrage the viewer and sensitize them to the issue. And there's tons of other examples of this in the show (I'm thinking about Lilah's storyline for example).

And then there's the pointless misogyny. Lines like "it brings out my boobs!" or other examples that i can't think of right now that won't really teach you anything if not make you cringe thinking "a woman would never say something like that", or "this is a disservice to the character for no valid reason" (like what they did to Cordy in season 4). That type of misogyny outrages us, but for different reasons, because it's gratuitous and completely unnecessary, and should be rightfully cut out.

Unfortunately the show does both. It is the product of its time, and that needs to be taken into consideration. In the end, I think the good it did outweighs the bad, and it managed to tell stories that are still strong and powerful today because it never shied away from speaking about human weakness and visceral struggles in a way that's raw. And people can relate to that (generally speaking).

And you're right, it is ironic, Joss became a feminist icon for creating Buffy, a show where strong (and yet human, flawed, imperfect) characters always stole the scene (with a few male characters exceptions)-- and then he created Angel. A different show, more adult, darker, with some noir touches, and a male lead. And I think, the vibe being so different and more focused on a male lead like Angel (who represents an anti-hero version of the knight in shining armor, which is, per se, an anti-feminist trope) the slope was slippery and so some misogyny slipped through. I'm not saying that misogyny was inherent to the basis of this show but... it kinda was. One could even say that Angel is the anti-Buffy (literally, one show being about a frisky young female lead who is a hero pledged to rid the world from evil vampires, and the other one being about a brooding 200+ year old male lead that is a former(?) evil vampire always ready to save a damsel in distress). The cool thing though, is the show itself is aware of that, and brings it out at text level (for example with Spike mocking Angel for it, in one of the very first episodes of season 1). So what I'm saying is... it's complicated. It's a show that uses its female characters to cater to its male characters' arcs sometimes. But it's also a show that gives us great female characters. Strong, powerful, intelligent, human, unapologetic. There's the good and the bad.

Back to Joss Whedon, personally, I can see him putting a lot of his own personal struggles into the show. Like, the theme of Angel season 5 is literally about the heroes trying not to get corrupted by the power, and that's kind of what Joss did. Guess he wasn't as good and righteous as most of his characters in the end.

[spaciebabie]

unamed is a "failed" (really they only failed b/c they were unable to be controlled) biological weapon and dahlia is a military girlie who has started to be disillusioned w/what she's actually fighting for (its nothing: spoilers) and it comes to a head when her squadron is tasked with terminating this "biological weapon" that has somehow evaded the government for years and killed a good portion of their soldiers. everyone is super vague about it, they tell the squadron (minus the leader) basically what they need to know and nothing more. its a biological weapon. it can kill you. it has killed before. it has the ability to rip chunks of concrete off of buildings and destroy entire blocks of city. you must kill it.

now dahlia is scared for her life. shaking in her military boots, she knows shes a good soldier, but is she fit for this? shes not the best around and she doesnt try to be, there are others who fill that position for her, but after this? she could become a military hero. it makes her stomach curl up in a knot b/c she already was considering quitting because of the shit shes seen. maybe this was a sign that she should actually quit

but she doesnt

and thats the best/worst mistake of her life.

they get out to where this biologican weapon has made a "home" for itself and its run down, stinky, dirty, just the worst possible place any living thing can...well live.

so thats immediately a red flag for her! but, she has orders to follow.

they get all stationed up. they're going to ambush this thing and put it down like a dog. its a bit sad she thinks to herself as she sets up the rifle for use. shes the one tasked with sniping this thing when it emerges. her squad mates all light up the in ear radio with testing testing...bravado to delta barking out various military speak. shes not really paying attention. shes just thinking about the "biological weapon" that had the misfortune of being born into this world.

yet another innocent life ruined by the government. and better yet the same entity that created this life is going to end it. that truth is more bitter than the blackest coffee in the world. and after this, dahlia says, shes going to finally quit. she thinks about what form this biological weapon could have taken. some kind of big cat? maybe a wolf or dog (she knew they were experiementing with those). maybe some unorthodox animal like a cow maybe a chicken (she didnt know why chicken experimentation was kept under such strict wraps but whatever. the military is weird.) or ape. really, there were no limits. the big guys did what they wanted. and then one of her squad mates gives the signal that the weapon has left its chambers and headed into the main area. dahlia sniffs (its freezing out here), steadies her breathing, and coils her finger around the trigger...she waits for the target to enter the view of her scope and...

its a person.

its a whole ass living breathing person. a skinny, malnourished looking one at that. they're effectively wearing rags, their dark skin is ashen, their cheekbones protrude from their face, it looks like they havent had a good bath in awhile, and dahlia falters. her breath hitches. she removes her finger from the trigger. surely this isnt the weapon they're speaking of. this guy looked like they could barely pick up a spoon. so she radios her squad leader who had seen a picture of the thing and is like, "hey i think there's a civilian out here" leader is like, "okay we'll check it out hold your fire". a moment passes. the civillian is still just kind of standing there not doing anything. looking around absent mindedly. kicking rocks. interesting. when they catch the real bioweapon she's gonna go down there and help this person out. get them some clothes, a bath, and-

"there are no civilians around solider, free to shoot" what. surely she must be mistaken. and so she asks again. and is met with the same response. so she asks more clearly, "is the bioweapon a person?" there's a beat of hesitation before the leader confirms that yes, that poor looking fellow below is actually what they were sent here to kill.

but she doesnt have time to register what that means or throw down her weapon because the ground is suddenly ripped from under her.

[elizabeth-mitchells]

OKAY YAY FINALLY FINISHED WATCHING THE EPISODE (there's a power outage so i dont have internet so i cant post my regularly scheduled silly little screenshots so instead. huge rant in the tags of this post <3)

[widevibratobitch]

Ok, drop your favourite characters and ships from the Three Musketeers, queen. <3

the answer is pretty simple actually <3

Aramis is my babygirl, my murder kitten, my favourite little princess, my rotten soldier, my sweet cheese... truly one of the characters of all time. to me. and he ages like fine wine - the older, the more cruel and ruthless and cunning and evil he gets, the better.

im a die-hard Athos/Aramis truther 🙏 i also adore the whole thing Aramis and Madame de Chevreuse have going on, especially their fucked up little divorce in the last book, it's insane and i'm obsessed with it. I do also think Aramis and d'Artagnan are long overdue for some quality hatesex sesh! and none of these are mutually exclusive, the opposite actually. basically i live for and breathe the entire d'Artagnan/Athos/Aramis/Marie drama. it's everything to me <333