#the fact that you still acknowledge the theme changes is so fun

[nahoyasboyfriend]

i fw the new theme heavy !!!

Thank you !!!

[yanderes-galore]

rose quartz (SU) with human darling (Platonic/Romantic) Hcs 🪲 [Shiny Bug Anon]

Oh cool :0 This could be fun, lol. I haven written for Rose before...!

Yandere! Rose Quartz with Human! Darling

Pairing: Platonic/Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Manipulation, Overprotective behavior, Condescending behavior, Clingy behavior, Fear of loss, Isolation, Blood mention, Dark themes, Jealousy, Forced companionship/relationship.

Rose has been known to have a fascination with humans.

This is evident in the show where she's curious about them, often learning about them through Greg.

She sees humans as cute and funny... they're adorable little creatures to her.

I imagine she gets with Greg at some point for the sake of Steven, but imagine if she was fond of another human first?

Before she and Greg got together officially, she found you.

You're younger than Greg and might even be curious of her like she is of you.

Rose is described as caring and loving of those she's close to.

She's curious and sees beauty in all life.

Yet humans seem to be her favorite.

When she looks at you, she thinks you have a natural attractive beauty to you.

She wants to know you more.

In fact, it's canon that Rose isn't quite sure how human love works compared to Gems.

Be that platonic or romantic love... she isn't quite sure how either works.

Which makes her unsure how exactly to act upon her feelings towards you.

I can see Rose accidentally being condescending towards you.

She tries her best to see everyone as equal... but she can't help but coo over you like a pet.

She just thinks her human is so darn cute.

Although... she does worry about getting attached at first-

After all, you're human.

Your lifespan is so short compared to her.

But we'll get into that later....

Eventually she can't help herself.

You're too interesting for her and she can't help but be drawn to you.

Due to her curious nature, Rose may also be a bit... invasive.

She struggles with boundaries, often curiously prodding at you and asking invasive questions.

You try your best to keep up with it... she is an alien, after all.

Rose listens to every word you say with sparkles in her eyes.

She likes to learn more about you and humans in general.

She's adventurous and may even want to take you along on exploration.

Well... on anything that won't get you hurt.

Rose doesn't seem that bad, she's actually caring and adores you...

Unfortunately, things do take a darker tone eventually... this is still Pink, of course.

Rose is deceptive and a bit selfish.

She worries she'll lose you due to how fragile humans are.

She know doubt learns of your fragility by an accident.

Imagine Rose took you out to explore an area, only for you to get hurt.

The Gem freezes when she looks you over, seeing blood seep out of a few cuts you have.

The good news is she can heal... but seeing you with anything from bruises to a broken bone freaks her out.

It reminds her that humans aren't like Gems.

Your life can end much easier than hers can.

Rose's obsession is not just driven by curiosity... It's also her fear.

This was the reason she didn't want to be attached in the first place.

But... she can't help it.

You look so cute in her arms... your curiosity reminds her of herself.

Rose would do anything to protect those close to her.

Such a trait sounds selfless... yet towards you it's selfish.

Why?

Well, Rose refuses to acknowledge that all life... including yours... has an end.

A known power of Rose, other than healing, is resurrection.

If she doesn't want something to die... she'll change it.

Imagine if Rose is so scared of you dying... She makes you immortal.

She's too fond of you to just let you die.

Which means she'd use her powers to make you live longer.

Sure, you'll be a pink color now...

But you'll still be hers, in fact, the color you have now only proves it.

Yeah, this is what makes her behavior selfish.

She curses you with a longer lifespan to keep you as hers longer.

Not only that, but she probably begins to isolate you.

She is definitely one to tell you that all of what she does is for your benefit.

In reality... she doesn't want to let her human go.

It only works in her favor when people distance themselves from you due to your changed appearance.

It's true... that pink tint you have now is like some sort of brand.

Soon you're not hanging out with many other humans other than Greg.

Rose is always around you, when she can't be, the Crystal Gems are around you.

Rose is selfish about her human.

She purposefully takes your attention away, often feeling jealousy towards you interacting with other humans.

It's a... toxic emotion.

She knows she should allow you to thrive with your kind.

Yet in the end she claims you as hers, again, oddly like a pet or toy.

Perhaps she keeps you at the temple/beach house?

She is still very affectionate and curious as ever... even if you feel dejected due to what she's done to you.

She doesn't let you leave her home.

Maybe she even keeps you in her room?

She can create whatever you want there.

Rose just wants you to be happy.

Although... it often seems like she prioritizes her own happiness most of the time

When you're alone she holds you close, her touch delicate and soft as though you'll break.

When you ask to go outside, she turns it down.

The only time you're free from captivity again is when she makes Steven.

Imagine if you were still affected by her obsession even after she creates Steven.

She does imply in the show that she influences Steven's emotions (iirc-).

So... what happens if her obsession develops in Steven?

I'm talking Steven feels drawn to you but isn't sure why.

Of course it's platonic for most of the events of the show.

But it could change in Future when he's older.

You're cursed with being forever young... all because you got too close to an alien.

Now you have a Gem/Human hybrid who won't leave you alone.

But that's just a thought!

Overall, Rose may seem very interested and kind with her human obsession.

Yet catching her attention isn't really a good thing...

Especially if it means you'll never leave her... even when she's gone.

[themeraldee]

I think it would be cute if a partner was invited to one of those ~increasingly regular~ hair bleaching sessions Homelander has. I feel like it would indicate a certain level of trust from him. You're getting to see him get put together, as it were. It's a silent admission of the fact he has a very carefully constructed image that isn't real and needs maintainance. He's not naturally "flawless". And, even though all this should be pretty obvious to you by the point I imagine the relationship would be at before he invited you to this, it would still be a massive deal for him to acknowledge the construction of The Homelander in this way. To let someone not under a Vought contract see behind the scenes. There's a vulnerability to it, especially considering one of the S4 themes for him was aging and we know that the bleach is no longer just covering up brown hair. Also, he'd definitely expect lots of compliments and affection once it's done and he's all fresh looking. I just think it could be a cute and oddly intimate scenario.

If this was anyone else you’d feel strange. You're sitting off to the side of the in-house styling room Vought utilizes to keep all their heroes perfect and camera-ready on the regular. If you didn’t know the significance behind the offer to join, you would have just felt like a parent taking their teenage kid to their first hair dying appointment.

It’s a few hours long process yet you sit there patiently for the entire duration. A magazine lay splayed open on your lap but you don’t actually care to read the pages. You’re mainly focused on Homelander's reflection in the mirror and the way he carefully watches you when the angle allows.

You know he’s making himself vulnerable in front of someone who’s not officially part of Vought. That thought alone brings a soft smile to your face, the same one you grace him with each time he turns to look at you. This whole time it’s as if he’s been trying to catch you off guard, expecting to see a look of disgust at the not-so-perfect superhero unravelling right before your eyes. But none of that happens. You happily invite this part of him into your life, making more than enough space in your relationship for any imperfections. 

This hairdressing appointment is a lot more tense than you’re used to. What’s usually a fun, bubbly atmosphere filled with music or gossiping is now a quiet room full of tension. The only sounds come from the product application, the hairdresser’s scissors or the crumple of the magazine pages you turn just to do something with your hands. 

You watch as his hair gets bleached, toned, cut and styled, noticing all the nervous habits he’s showcasing. He’s bouncing his leg on his tip toes, tapping his fingers on the arm rest and periodically clenching his jaw. All actions you’re sure are making the hairdresser’s job harder but she’s smart enough not to complain. 

Before she even has a chance to announce, you’re done, Homelander is already motioning for her to leave with a wave of his hand and a snippy, “You can leave now.”

He gives her an irritated look when she’s caught off-guard, scrambling to put all her tools and products away, scurrying away as quickly as she can. Under normal circumstances you would have tried to get him to act a little nicer, or at least thrown him a little warning look of disapproval but this moment is about him and you’re not about to take the attention away from him.

“Well, what do you think?” He immediately gets up and turns to you as you release a breath you didn’t know you were holding. Now that it’s just the two of you the atmosphere feels familiar. Comfortable. 

He walks to you as you put the magazine away, standing up to your full height as well. He’s got his arms out, eyebrows raised and you’re surprised he doesn’t also do a little spin in the spot. 

“I think that you look dashing.” Such a little change yet he’s already positively beaming, feeling his fully confident self that he now gets to show off in front of you.

“Yeah?” He’s grinning, shamelessly fishing for more praise.

And you gladly give it.

“Yeah. Come on, let me have a proper look at you.” You smile right back at him playing into his game. With your fingers on his chin you turn his head either way to get a proper look at both sides of him, even though you’ve already seen it all in the mirror.

“Yup, picture perfect as always.” Your hand glides across his freshly shaven face up against his cheek where he eagerly leans into your touch, preening with praise. Your other hand reaches behind where it goes against the short strands at the back of his head.

“She made the back shorter this time, I like it. Looks really good on you.” You rake your hand through what could almost be considered an undercut. These days his hair is being kept a little longer and more uniform so this is a nice little change of pace.  

“Hmm, it grows out faster though.” He grumbles a little, though he’s still holding that pleased expression as he takes in as much of your touch as he can. Keenly aware of the way your fingers are caressing his head. 

“Don’t worry about it, it’s a great look on you. Trust me.” You place a soft kiss on his lips, just to reaffirm the sentiment. Like it normally would, your hand travels up to glide through his hair, letting your nails gently scratch up his scalp.

With a little chuckle, he grabs a hold of your forearm, pulling your hand down from his hair. “Hey, paws off, you’re already gonna mess it up.” 

“Well we need to test if it’s action-ready, duh.” 

“Oh, do we now? Uh huh, I see. And I'm sure you have some great ideas on how to do that.” 

“You bet!”

[wadewnstonwilson]

the proposal themed deadpool headcanons || suggestion by anonymous

pairing: wade wilson (deadpool) x shittyboss!reader

author note: let me know if you guys want me to make this into an actual fic!! also would love to make more headcanons in the future featuring logan or wade so please feel free to drop me an ask!

from the start, your dynamic with wade is charged with fiery banter. you throw cutting remarks his way, and instead of being intimidated or deterred, wade eats it up. he takes every insult as flirtation, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he responds with his usual sarcasm. “oh , sweetheart, if you keep talking to me like that, I might just fall in love. wait , too late!"

whenever you give wade instructions, he’ll purposely do the opposite or twist your words to irritate you—just for the fun of seeing you snap. he thrives off your anger and frustration. “you want me to file that? oops , shredded it instead. oh well, guess i’ll just have to stay late to help you fix it.”

no matter how many times you tell wade to leave you alone or stop annoying you, he never takes the hint. it’s the thrill of the chase for him, and your cold demeanor only fuels his desire. "you look like you want to murder me, and honestly, i’m into it. fair warning, it’s gonna be real hard to get rid of me.”

wade loves the power struggle between the two of you. you try to keep him in line with your sharp professionalism, but wade enjoys testing your limits. he’ll go out of his way to undermine your authority, all while throwing you a smirk that says, *what are you going to do about it?*

as much as you try to push wade away, there’s a part of you that enjoys using him when the tension becomes unbearable. he catches on immediately, loving every second of it. to him, this back-and-forth is the best kind of foreplay. “you say you don’t want me, but those late-night calls say otherwise. it’s okay, i’ll wait as long as it takes for you to admit it.”

one day, you finally snap. wade messes up yet another task, you berate him, your frustration boiling over. you throw in a comment about his laziness and his inability to get anything right, only for wade to go uncharacteristically quiet. that’s when you realize he’s dyslexic, and it wasn’t just him being insubordinate for the sake of it.

learning about wade’s dyslexia changes something in you. you still throw biting comments his way in public, but behind closed doors, you’re a little softer. when it’s just the two of you, your tone shifts from condescending to slightly more understanding. wade notices right away, and of course, he doesn’t let it slide. “oh no, you’re being nice to me now. deep down, you love me.”

while you maintain your cold, business-like demeanor in front of others, when it’s just you and wade, you occasionally let your guard down. you don’t apologize outright for your earlier comment, but you do acknowledge his struggles in your own way, making sure to leave clear instructions and offer him subtle help. wade, surprisingly, appreciates it, even though he’ll tease you mercilessly for it. "aww , you do care. next thing you know, you'll be knitting me sweaters and packing me lunches."

with the shift in your dynamic, wade becomes even more determined to win you over. your softer moments fuel his desire to be around you, but he still pushes your buttons constantly because that’s what keeps things exciting for him. “you’re going to crack one of these days and fall for me, and trust me, i’ll be here to catch you when it happens. maybe in my arms, maybe in bed, your choice.”

wade picks up on the fact that, despite your tough exterior, you have moments of empathy and understanding. it makes him fall harder for you, though he’d never say it outright. instead, he shows it in his own way—by being a little more helpful (but only when no one’s looking) and cutting down on his insubordination just a bit when he knows you’re having a rough day. "see? not all bad. just 95% bad. the other 5% is reserved for when you finally come to your senses and realize I’m perfect for you."

[dorims]

last christmas (i gave you my heart).

gif creds @/fightingdragonswithwho

pairing. roman roy x reader

wc. 1.6k

genre. fluff

Spending every holiday under Logan Roy’s roof wasn’t necessarily a problem. But just like any other family gathering, the pot tended to be stirred until have a holly jolly Christmas sounded either like a call for help or the theme song from the Saw franchise. for a change, maybe spending christmas away from his family would do him good. you can only hope he agrees.

tags. NOT beta-ed(?), english isn't my first language // established relationship (fiancee/married, i havent decided yet lol), brief mention of alcohol, allusion to roy family dynamics, roman and reader are the only characters in this one

a/n. idc that its march and the fact im not big on christmas either, this one really fun to write! hope you enjoy

“So,” You test the waters, lathering the bristles of your toothbrush with the bubblegum toothpaste in the process. In tune with the routine you had wordlessly established, you locked eyes with him through the mirror. Not before letting your eyes roam over his relaxed figure of course. Surprisingly intimate, you would describe the way he liked to watch you while you finished your nightly routine. He would look so painfully comfortable, maybe even serene, as he let his body rest against the doorframe as his eyes lidded with perpetual fatigue, took in the mundanity of watching you lather your face with creams and face wash.“I’ve been thinking.”

He hummed in acknowledgement, though it sounded more like a stifled laugh. “That's new, how's that going for you?"

“Funny.” The foam in your mouth was of no help at conveying the faux annoyance, balancing out the deadpan you sported with a dose of conveniently muffled speech. Not intimidating at all, it only caused his grin to grow wider. And contagious as always, you leaned over the sink to spit the toothpaste in an attempt to hide a smile of your own, though the thick layer of adoration in your eyes gave it away. 

“I’m just saying,” he raised his hands in mock surrender, finally walking inside to lean against the marble counter right next to you. “I only wanna know how it feels to lose your, you know, thinking virginity after giving no signs of brain activity for how long? Like—“

“You can tell yourself how it feels when you lose it.”

“Oh you want to fuck my brain so bad—“

“I’ve been thinking,” You cut him off with an amused smile, taking him in once more. Big round eyes shone with mischief along a hint of sheepishness as he noticed you looking at him. Really looking at him under the vanity lights with messy hair from running his hands through the strands all day and finally wearing the matching pajamas set you had gotten for him in a pretty navy blue because wearing a matching set made you feel good and you wanted him to feel the same way. Always. 

“You've been thinking…” he rolled his eyes as if to hold back another quip now that you had restarted the conversation. The pinkish hue you were so familiar with made a small appearance as you let your fingers brush over his, gently coaxing him to intertwine his hands with yours. Not that he needed much convincing, though. 

“We should spend Christmas this year with my family.”

At the beginning of your relationship, you were sure he would’ve pulled his hand out of your grasp. You could see the way he had to swallow down the urge to do so from the pensive furrow of his brows while the side of his brain in charge of his critical thinking tried to convince him that your words weren’t an attack on his family. He was still working on it, the lousy therapy sessions here and there helped a little, but he still found himself opening his mouth to complain.

“I know what you’re gonna say but think about it, Romeo.” Thankfully, you took the steering wheel before he could start. “My family loves you and we haven’t spent Christmas with them in like, ever, actually.”

Which wasn’t his fault, and you made sure to tell him so, leaning closer until your knee touched his and giving him a quick peck on his lips before he could protest.

Spending every holiday under Logan Roy’s roof wasn’t necessarily a problem. It was nice to exist alongside the people that Roman loves, the people he grew up around. Watching him interact with his siblings could be endearing. So much so that sometimes you wished you could record their banter and laughter so he could listen back and for a moment picture that things between them were okay. But just like any other family gathering, the pot tended to be stirred until have a holly jolly Christmas sounded either like a call for help or the theme song from the Saw franchise.

“Every year we celebrate in a different place,” you toyed with the idea in front of his eyes like one would a cat’s toy, using your smile to build momentum to the grand reveal that at this point didn’t even sound grand to you. “last Christmas was Italy and this year we’re doing Greece.”

“Since when do you have a house in Greece?” He asked, toying with your fingers as his gaze locked itself on them. It was a good sign he was asking.

“We don’t,” the sound of your animated chuckle helped to loosen his shoulders. Though it didn’t dissipate his slight confusion, it always felt good to have you close like this. “It’s Kelly’s house— eh, her parents’ but sharing is caring or whatever…”

He let out a chuckle of his own. The sound made all sorts of warmth bloom in your chest, maybe even cute aggression if you felt like being dramatic. 

“And after we can spend New Year's just the two of us wherever you want.” He shrugged in a silent response, still pensive, and you couldn’t help but coo at him as if to coax him out of his shell. “It’s gonna be so much fun, they’ve been asking about us and the kids adore you, they’ve been obsessed with Uncle Roro ever since Lizzie’s birthday.”

“As they should be, my lower back never recovered from being used as a human jungle gym.” He rolled his eyes at the memory yet the love was evident from behind the thinly veiled sarcasm. He was a very particular individual but so were most of your siblings-in-law. And sure, the first time he met your family hadn’t gone as he expected, both in a good way and in a bad way, but your mother still asked him to join him for a glass of whiskey whenever they crossed paths with a welcoming smile and your father always hugged him in greeting like he did all his children. 

“You’re good with them,” You smiled against his lips as you leaned closer for a kiss, leaving a couple of pecks that eventually made him smile too. “you’ve always been good with kids.” 

“Yeah whatever, stop kissing me my breath stinks.” 

The way your brothers had instantly included him in their weird boys' night out, which was ruled by the obnoxiously corny motto ‘what happens in boys' night, stays in boy’s night’ that was used as a smoke screen for that one time they decided to go to the spa to never be taken seriously again once they swallowed their own stupidity, left you grinning for a week straight. And let's not start with the picture you had taken during a summer trip to Nice of all the daughters-in-law posing like they were celebrating their high school prom with Roman at the front of the line, it had been all laughter all throughout; the picture came out a little blurry. 

It’s all you could think about sometimes when you watched him doing nothing interesting in particular with a lovesick intensity only rivaled by his. How well he fits in your life, with the quips and interjections that kept you company and next to you on your shared bed. With both your slippers sitting neatly side by side and with the unmeasurable love pooling at the bottom of his chest that he had finally allowed himself to unabashedly share after who knows how long. 

“Can you pass me your headband? I need to wash my face.”

He insisted yours was better every time you told him he should buy one of his own. Even if he hadn’t tried any other than yours. You only let it pass because he looked cute with his hair pushed back. No other reason at all. 

“So,” you cut yourself by giving him a peck on the lips as he got closer to steal some face wash. He had his own on his side of the bathroom but the bottle was pretty much full and yours still ran out quicker than when it was just you. “Greece or no Greece?”

“I got chills, they’re multiplying.” He joked right before rinsing the soap from his face, chuckling at your lack of amusement. “What? You prefer right now there’s nowhere to hide since you pushed my love aside?”

“I prefer you answer my question.” 

The eyes of a kicked puppy on full display just put him out of his misery vibes, pleaded in silence as he dragged his feet across the floor until he was standing right in between your legs, his face hiding in the crook of your neck. He fit nicely against your body and instinctively you let your fingers brush along the strands of his hair. “It’s okay if you don’t want to go.” 

He groaned in response, his voice muffled against your skin. “It’s not that, I want to, I just— I already RSVP or whatever bullshit to my Dad.”

No one RSVP’ed to Logan Roy. Especially not his children. It wasn’t necessary when the table was already set for all parties involved regardless of conflicting schedules 

“That’s okay,” You kiss his hair, resting your cheek against his head and muffling your own voice. The vibrations made him hum. “I can talk to him.”

The disheveled strands tickled your skin as he shook his head. Now that his chin was resting on your chest you noticed how cartoonishly slow he was blinking, his lids heavy the weight of being awake for far too long. 

“I’ll talk to him.” He pressed a kiss against the side of your jaw, feeling the unmistakable excitement of your grin, before hiding the yawn that followed. “Tomorrow, I promise.

[tamaruaart]

Keep in mind this isn't me hating on Kirke, I love that fucked up goddess she's such a fun character. But goddamn I hate her fans.

It's all just people trying to push feminism where it wasn't 🙃 Yes, it's true ancient Greece was kinda shitty towards women. But goddamn that was 3000 years ago. We can enjoy these stories but it's important to not push modern perspectives and view points on these stories while also not condoning these actions. Not to mention we may very well experience this kind of thing with future generations that will come after us so it's important to simply stay humble. Civilizations and humans are constantly evolving and viewpoints are constantly changing so it's not exactly fair to history nor ourselves to take these ancient ideologies to heart. Grow up.

Anyways Circe/Kirke is not your hot little witch cutie 🥰 She's a goddess and the daughter of the Sun Titan. She's done terrible things and that's what makes her iconic. Istg if she wasn't so infamous no one would even know about her. She's morally gray and that's what makes her so neat >:D Now, is it unforgivable to paint jer in a good light? No, but I think if you remove ALL of her questionable morality she losses her charms. She isn't the same Kirke anymore. (Looking at you MM, your writing is good but holy shit.)

It's not unforgivable, but it's simply incorrect. If anyone wants to learn more about Kirke's original/actual character, I don't really recommend most modern interpretations- (MM's novel, Hades 2, DC, Odyssey Movies, my bbg Epic the Musical etc...) I'd say just read the Odyssey, reasurch some older mythos and read the Argonautica.

Can you still like these interpretations of Kirke? Yes. Of course. I love Epic's Kirke even though she is pretty inaccurate. You just have to acknowledge they aren't the real thing! :D That happeneds with most characters ngl, no adaptation nor interpretation is going to be 100% accurate to the original, but with Kirke it's always so... Apparent? So visible. They never make her at LEAST 50% accurate. Which 🤬

She was not a victim, she wasn't incredibly horny, she wasn't a girlboss, she wasn't love sick for Odysseus (it's hinted she only found him to be an 'interesting mortal' of sorts) she wasn't 100% cartoon villain of the week either. She's MORALLY GRAY 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️

She holds Odysseus' men hostage, she turns Scylla into a monster out of jealousy, she turns a man into a woodpecker because he didn't want to sleep with her. But she ALSO helps out Medea and Jason (even though it's because Medea was her neice but STILL) and she gives Odysseus instructions on how to head home.

She does BAD things that shouldn't be forgiven and aren't at all justified, but she also does GOOD things that should be acknowledged. She's a goddess. She's a character. She's morally gray. WHAT THE FUCK IS NOT CLICKING???? 😀

I just don't like modern interpretations of Kirke and I'm a meanie so I made this ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

That's why I stick to my 3000 year old books instead of these puny ones that were written in my century 💪💪💪

Do not apply feministic messages or themes on Kirke. Nor any Greek mythology figure for that matter. This was 3000 years ago 😀 if you want to focus on feminism FOCUS ON WOMEN WHO ACTUALLY HAD TO STRUGGLE ABOUT THESE THINGS AND THAT EXISTED IN THE 19-21 CENTURY 😀😀😀😀 WHEN PEOPLE KNEW OR WELL WERE SUPPOSED TO KNOW FUCKING BETTER. OR JUST FOCUS ON MODERN FEMALE STRUGGLES THAT ARE RELATABLE??

Also, if I haven't already made it clear. LIKING A CHARACTER ≠ CONDONING THEIR ACTIONS. I'm just talking about all the people who either call her a girlboss, hate on other figures for being morally questionable but turn a blind eye when it comes to Kirke, and people who make fun of Odysseus and call him a man whore for sleeping with Circe and Calypso. (Despite the fact he's a literal victim)

And for the last time:

👏 THIS 👏 IS 👏 NOT👏 A 👏KIRKE 👏 THE GODDESS 👏 HATE 👏 POST. 👏 THIS 👏 IS 👏 ME 👏 SLANDERING 👏 SOME 👏 OF 👏 HER👏 FANS 👏 AND👏 MOST 👏MODERN 👏INTERPETATIONS👏 OF 👏THAT 👏TWISTED 👏MORALLY 👏GRAY👏 BITCH.

Also I made a typo in the meme. God damn it dyslexia. (It's should be 'transforming' not 'transformed')

[intrulogical]

with discussions of logan and the book from the new sasi short, something i'd love to talk about more is how the sides, most especially logan, fit the theme of "doomed by the narrative" in a more Meta way than usual.

the reason i call it more meta than the usual is the fact that c!thomas CREATED these sides within the narrative itself. the sides are aware they are part of a bigger narrative/content c!thomas produces, often addressing the camera. and yet, they continue airing their personal issues with each other, and you realize there's such a blurred line between these characters' lives and the stories c!thomas constructs sensationalizing his sides.

i was talking to @orbmanson7 about this, and they described the entire situation as: "but the kid gave them sentience to make their playtime more fun, it's so cruel." and i though this was perfect. the sides didn't have to exist, but they were created to personify c!thomas, and later on developed their own personalities independent of c!thomas. and yet, their capabilities are still confined to the fact that they are sides. they're unable to do things but personify c!thomas, and any wish to do something more would be nullified.

maybe for sides like roman or patton, it would be better. they're struggling, but c!thomas still likes them very clearly. but then we get to people like logan and you realize the true dreadful potential of being confined to your side-hood. we already know logan has been gradually losing influence on c!thomas ever since he pursued arts. in a normal person, it would be nothing because we don't have our logics personified. yet, c!thomas did, gave sentience to something that doesn't need it, and for what? for logan to feel like he's failed his job for decades?

i always thought it was horrific for a side to constantly fail at your job because, i mean, what else can you substantially have? they can't have aspirations outside of c!thomas. something i wished people acknowledged more is that c!thomas has more influence over the sides than the sides have on him. he specifically shapes how they are, how they change. and with logan, it's especially terrible because... what's he supposed to do when he can't do the one thing he's supposed to do? what's he supposed to do when there's no way out?

logan sanders, forever doomed by the narrative. a plaything given sentience for fun, only to be ignored and neglected for the following decades.

[lovemyromance]

"SJM is a fated mates author, y'all don't know SJM like we do"

I'm sorry - are any of you secretly SJM? Because that's the only way you'd be able to 100% predict what SJM is going to without acknowledging what is printed in the books.

Even SJM's friend Steph or Ava or whatever tf her name is was told to PIPE DOWN about her theories bc SJM DID NOT ENDORSE her running her mouth about Gwynriel on every social media platform.

Fun fact: You can read every SJM book. You can read every romance book. It STILL wouldn't give you any more clue into what is going to happen in the next book of ACOTAR, unless you are picking up on the clues and setup currently happening in the books.

Like why are y'all out here using SJM liking Jamie from Outlander and outdated Pinterest posts instead of actually what is printed on the page?? Why are y'all using deleted Facebook comments from a decade ago instead of the words SJM has written in her book?

There are patterns that exist in writing, yes. But not every book, not every story is going to be 100% the same. Someone has an equal chance of breaking a pattern as well as conforming to it.

And at this point in the ACOTAR series, SJM has laid out more groundwork and setup for Elain to break her mating bond rather than accept it.

That's it. That's the difference.

It doesn't matter what SJM has done in the past. Elriel is no exception to the rule of building up to a plot twist. Elriel is not an exception to SJM's "true love and choices prevails" theme.

At any point, an author can change their mind. What they cannot change, is the setup they have already laid out, the existing plot development they have already written.

SJM is not going to change all the setup she has carefully laid out for Elriel, just for Elain to decide "actually yk what, I'm going to do what everyone expects of me and accept my mating bond with Lucien like a dutiful lil mate, even though I have feelings for someone else and I can't stand being in the same room as my mate."

Eluciens are arguing that "fated mates will prevail because SJM always writes fated mates" when

1. no she doesn't ALWAYS do that

2. The setup we have seen so far has showed Elriel, NOT Elucien

Like I'm sorry but I'm not holding a mating bond Elain has explicitly said she doesn't want, a mating bond Lucien doesn't even seem to care about, over the fact that SJM has written canon Elriel moments instead. Nearly every important moment concerning Elain has been tied to Azriel, NOT her mate.

"But SJM is a fated mates author she would never-"

She. Just. Did.

It's not her fault or Elriels fault that y'all can't see it and have chosen to put your faith in some misplaced belief that you know SJM better than herself ig.

[flwrcrxwnlyon]

Des probably shows Pirandellian character traits: fun analysis (SPOILER AZRAN LEGACY)

First of all, I'm just a student who studied Italian literature as a subject at school, so please take all of this with a grain of salt and feel free to add your considerations. (And I hope that my teacher doesn't have Tumblr because it would be very embarrassing.) Also, maybe there are some regional differences, for reference I'll use the italian version of the game.

We all know that Descole is a broken husk of a man; Desmond Sycamore is dead; stuff like that. But I want to share with you guys a personal point of view about his character while using what I studied and STILL STUDYING for final exams ("maturità")

In order to understand what I am going to say, I need to explain a bit of his theories, which are also used in his novels, especially what we call "la teoria delle maschere."

Before talking about it, we need to essentially explain the concepts of life and form:

Life is a continuous change, a stream, and form is the structure where people try to contain life in order to make it more understandable by putting or letting people put a mask on ourselves (for example, a name, a role, etc.) that covers our true selves, our identity, which, just like life, changes and isn't coherent.

But since life is a continuous change, people are destined to face the fact that their identity isn't something stable. Usually it's a peculiar event or some random stuff, and they have different reactions to it. One of them is trying to escape from the form.

An example of this in Pirandello's books is Mattia Pascal, a man with a miserable life who decided to change his identity in order to escape from it, taking advantage of the fact that everyone he knows believes that he died, but in the end he realised that in his new form he couldn't be free, and he couldn't even go back to the old one since everything changed.

Now you may be wondering: What does that have to do with Descole?

His character is mainly centred on the theme of identity, just like Hershel Layton (but he accepts it) and the whole Azran Legacy game, but I wanted to focus on how he was written and especially how his life revolves around this, personally more than Hersh, and how his reaction is different.

Okay, basically the point is that his life is characterised by huge changes, and escapes from the form as a reaction to the event, which lead him to be stuck in an another form.

FIRST FORM: Hershel Bronev

For Pirandello, our first form is the name that our parents gave us. In the case of the Bronev Brothers, they broke pretty easily, and in Des' case, he gave up his name and his form in order to let his baby brother be adopted by the Laytons. This led Theo with a new form that wasn't his and Hershel "not being him" anymore.

SECOND FORM: Desmond Sycamore.

We don't know much about the period after the adoption of his brother. The only information that we have is that he was probably adopted by a family (the Sycamores), and he presumedly met Raymond at this point in the timeline. 

Desmond Sycamore is the name of his new form, perhaps even given to him by his adoptive parents. He acknowledges his past but presumebly tries to move on, in fact by getting married and creating his own family. But the event of the death of his family is going to change him even more. Killing off this form.

THIRD FORM: Jean Descole.

Now we start with the interesting stuff.

After the death of his wife and his daughter, Descole claimed that Desmond had died, and he, a broken husk of a man, substituted him.

On a more superficial perspective, the reason behind this change of personality could be grief, but to be honest, it doesn't explain why he thinks badly of his past self.

Sure, survivor guilt exists, but I don't think that it's the reason behind it.

I tried to reflect on it a bit more, and one of the explanations that I could give was that, actually, he could feel responsible for anything that happened to his family.

Maybe he wasn't present at the time that the tragedy had happened, maybe he found them already dead. Because of his incapability of defending them, he developed hatred and rage, so as a reaction, he created a new form. One that wasn't a fool and was the exact contrary of who he was and also with the objective to escape from the sense of guilt by separating his present self by the past one.

AZRAN LEGACY: Trying to go back.

Since Des needed help in order to solve the mystery of the azrans and what their legacy was, he presented himself as his past form: Desmond sycamore.

But the truth is that he can't really come back to be him. Just like Mattia Pascal, he changed mentally. He's a different man from before.

We can see that especially during his interactions with Bronev in the Nest, when his rage almost explodes just like Descole's.

But at the same time, it is clear that this whole travel with the layton crew changed him.

Maybe there isn't much evidence, but I personally think that he started to get emotionally close to them, and we can see that with the fact that he saved Luke from the laser.

At the end of Azran Legacy, he can't go back to be Descole anymore because of this and it's unfortunate how Level-5 didn't focus on this thing (just like the other relationships between the characters.)

EXTRAS: Aurora and Des confrontation.

[Image translation: "Now my wife and daughter are gone, and with them, that fool Sycamore."]

In the extras, we have this interesting interaction between Des and Aurora, where basically they talk about Descole.

After Des said that he isn't Desmond anymore, Aurora rebuts him, explaining how he was still capable of loving and hoping for the future, and that he can't really escape from his past, from his memories.

She calls Descole a character, a mask that he used to cope with his pain, and after Des tried to say that "Desmond is gone," Aurora remarks how technically still exists through his actions.

This is evidence of how Des identity changed again and how, as I explained before, even Descole isn't the same as before.

The extras concluded with Descole with a hidden desire to follow Aurora's reflection about resisting and basically moving on. Not forgetting his past.

Conclusion: Who is the true des?

Now there's a discussion in the fandom about who des really is, mainly divided in Desmond or Descole.

While descole is CLEARLY formed after a huge trauma, we also need to consider that Desmond isn't a "true form" either. This is also evidenced in the game.

At least in the italian dialogue, des talks how when he was still in Desmond form, he hoped that he could have lived a normal life with his family (and in the next lines said that he hoped that he would forget about revenge).

But neither Hershel Bronev is his true identity either now. That belongs to his brother now.

So? Who's the true form?

The scared child that hoped for a better life for his brother?

The man that couldn't save his family?

Or the husk blinded by revenge?

Maybe it's all of them, maybe it's no one. After all, we learned that the people's identities aren't stuck. They evolve, and they are complex and contradictory sometimes.

Personally, I don't think there's a true truth. We can just analyse and express our personal thoughts about it, we aren't this character, and there are a lot of points of view on this story, so there's anything concrete, just his events and his narrative of it.

[theguytoendallguys]

Alright. I have some things to say about the demeaning of Ricky Potts, both within the canon and the Ride The Cyclone fandom, because the more I think about it, the more it pisses me off.

First, I would just like to say, I am not physically or verbally disabled, and I am not trying to speak for or take away from the lived experiences of disabled people. Feel free to correct me if I say something accidentally ableist during this rant, as I wish to be as respectful as possible when tackling this issue. Second, there will be a lot of discussions of ableism, and several mentions of sexual scenes/scenes where sex is discussed, so if any of that triggers you, I suggest you click off this post or scroll past it.

That being said, let’s talk about the demeaning of Ricky Potts in canon first. There are a lot of scenes where Ricky is actively demeaned, usually by Ocean. (i.e. Ocean calling him “sweetie” or other typical pet names, which is very gross considering they are not canonically dating, or even implied to be, hell, Ocean actively says at the end of the musical she never got to know anybody in the choir on a personal level, not even Constance, her “best friend���.)

One of the instances that most pisses me off is when, during/after “every story’s got a lesson”, When Ocean says that porno has no lesson, Ricky is able to speak up and express his opinions on this subject, contradicting Ocean’s own. Ocean responds to this by completely dismissing everything Ricky said and blaming Constance for what Ocean is implied to perceive as “ruining Ricky’s innocence”. (Quote: “now you’ve got sweet old Ricky Potts saying that porno is magical!”) There are many other instances of Ocean acting demeaning towards Ricky, but this is what is in my opinion the worst and most infuriating one.

Now, I’m not saying that you’re ableist if you like Ocean, or that you shouldn’t like Ocean. I like Ocean, I think she’s a fun character. This, however, does not change the fact that a lot of her actions and comments do read as ableist (because they are) and that she is the main canon source of ableism towards Ricky. Again, I’m not saying that you can’t like Ocean, but her ableism does need to be acknowledged by the fandom, and I wish it could be acknowledged in canon, and maybe in future productions it could be, depending on the director.

Now, let’s talk about the ableism in the RTC community, shall we? Before I continue, I would like to clarify that I’m not trying to call anyone ableist or say that they’re a terrible person because of the things I’m about to state, this is not my intention. I merely want to shed light on why certain things in the community come off as ableist. Specifically, the fandom consensus on SABM.

Generally, majority of the fandom, from what I’ve seen, usually treat SABM as a gross song about a horny teenager. Now, it’s understandable for adults to be uncomfortable with teen horniness, however, what bothers me is a) that completely ignores any and all of the deeper text and/or subtext contained within the song, and b) Noel’s lament, is, too, a horny song, the same length, and nobody seems to shit on Noel for it, like, at all. I have seen so much hate for Ricky because of SABM, but none towards Noel because of Noel’s lament. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been in the fandom long enough, but it still seems weird and biased towards Noel. There is a lot in SABM that goes ignored by most of the fandom, (i.e. the fact that Ricky was so neglected he had to create an entire fake universe of alien cat people just so he could feel wanted by anyone, the underlying themes of love and war that Ricky has created for this fake universe, etc.). The point of SABM is to show that Ricky is not a baby, but rather a normal teenager, and that he is so much more than just his disability, which not many people in the fandom seem to recognize. Ironically, the one time he’s able to canonically speak without being silenced (SABM) is one of the most hated on and neglected things in the fandom.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[wttcsms]

HELLOO WILL U PLEASE SPOIL US FOR HOW ISAGI SAVES READER IN UR FIC I LOVE IT SM

NOOOO A SPOILER WOULD RUIN THE FUN!!!! i will say, the title of the fic comes from the gracie abrams song “free now” + it heavily applies to reader and rin’s relationship, especially considering the growth that it takes for reader to acknowledge their relationship and the breakup in a healthy manner. because obviously reader isn’t in a great headspace rn, and she’s not taking this breakup well, and soon (we have a few more chapters to go before it happens hehe) we have reader being thrust into a pr stunt of a relationship w isagi.

a big part of the fic is that what we see vs what actually is the truth is sometimes vastly different. we get a glimpse of this through the jarring differences of me showing what the media is portraying you as versus how your life is currently going. so a common theme throughout the fic will always be about misconception through the public eye, especially bc of the role of social media. your “private” life is always going to be considered public business. and so, reader currently has an issue where she doesn’t mind the spotlight, but she desperately feels the need to have control over her image. so you’re constantly trying to show an outward image that will get you the headlines and feedback from fans that you’re searching for. but it comes with a nasty catch: you now have set a standard for yourself that you can’t always uphold. it’s unrealistic. it’s unrealistic bc a lot of what you present to the public is fake, and eventually, people get tired of acting, yknow? and your relationship w rin, it was this iconic pairing. a big thing i want to feature in this fic is the fact that we (collective we) have a tendency to see famous people’s private affairs as a spectacle and another form of entertainment. so reader is going through the worst heartbreak of her life, and you can delete images of him off your Instagram and camera roll, but people are still going to make tiktoks of you and him, even years after the breakup, saying some shit like “guys im still stuck at the restaurant” or “yall am i the only one who misses them😞😞”

and again, reader needs to understand and come to terms with the fact that she can’t control every aspect of her public. people will never behave the way she wants them to, and instead of focusing energy on trying to maintain a certain image, she has to just be happy with herself, with knowing the truth. and she learns this lesson (MINOR SPOILER!!!) whenever isagi gets tired of her behavior and it feels like he’s leaving her. it’s sort of her wake up call.

so not getting into too much specifics, but isagi is the reason why she realizes that she needs a change in her mentality and how she handles how the media talks about her. as for the relation to “free now”, i really like the bridge + the ending line of “never been less empty / all i feel is free now” + the meaning behind the song

[stackslip]

augh yeah as much as i do love the parts of COS that are very obviously trying to do something competent and genuine, the amestris parts are just so ????

ill be honest, im pretty sure i blocked those scenes out, so remembering that what happened on the amestris side is. yikes

definitely wish the movie was more focused and didnt try to add as much as it did. especially roy -- i dont mind the beginning, hell i think him exiling himself to the north is a good concept, but the fact that he takes back his position (iirc) is just. so are we throwing away the character development and him realizing that he CANT change the military from the inside or what.

in general i honestly wanted to see less of the military cast. they frankly dont have much reason to be there other than the fact people wanted to see them (esp armstrong... just. WHY). im sure there are still ways to work in roy if the creators really wanted him to be there but like. idk! they sure didnt have to do it like that! we couldve spent more time on exploring noah as a character. or let izumi die on screen. sigh

been a while since i rewatched COS but thanks for pointing out all the weird stuff, i'd almost forgotten it and i honestly shouldn't.

(and of course i have to say i love your posts on the series proper. i will never be normal about scar. ever)

the second i saw roy in there i was like why is roy still in the military at all. wasn't his whole arc about realizing that he can't do shit within the military because it is an institution built on atrocities and exploitation? why is he still in it then. why is he talking about serving his country. why's he talking about waiting for ED that makes no fucking SENSE. (why is he alive. someone said they thought roy was supposed to die by the end of 03 but they kept him alive bc he's a fan fave and i wholly believe this frankly). why is the country's military still seemingly intact with a whole surveillance network, when 03 ended on the military being severely crippled and amestris's neighbours getting ready to invade it and bring it to its knees? why are we literally seeing *the fucking weimar republic* in cos only for amestris to not parallel it in any way and instead be the brotherhood-type funland where once you've taken out the mean führer, everything is fine and there's nothing to fix?

and like. this is a short movie right! i know that they were denied a season, maybe even a season and a half to finish off the show and that some elements of cos were meant to be in the og show's ending. and it shows! bc again munich is fucking reasonably competent considering how much is crammed in on hour thirty. and i know that cos's production was also rushed as hell and that as an Anime Movie they were contractually obligated to 1) put as many recurring fan faves in as possible 2) have at least a third of the movie be a big action scene. so like. i can understand the limits. you have no time, you're told you have to put all this shit in, you want to finish off the brothers' story at the very least. but my gd! you're telling me you had an izumi death scene and it doesn't happen??? you could cut roy out ENTIRELY from this. you could not put ARMSTRONG IN LIORE. you could..... i know they had no time at all, i know once again it was 03 being shafted by production committees and time and budget but it's legit insane how the very stupid and seemingly innocuous choice of having armstrong "rebuild" liore comedically completely slapped me out of whatever headspace cos had managed to slip me in before. i was enjoying it a lot until we got to amestris. and this armstrong thing, followed by rose's line here:

it's just. it's almost comedic. i'm almost wondering if the writer is fucking with me here and acknowledging just how stupid it is to put armstrong doing alchemy in liore is. probably not but gd this is bad. this is brotherhood levels of obliviousness to the themes.

anyhow i'm not finishing cos tonight bc i'm too pissed about it lol. it's funny bc for years i was told it was bad but for the opposite reasons that it's actually bad. like folks kept saying the munich parts were bad/stupid/wrong and made no sense when to me they're by far the most thematically coherent and interesting/emotional bits of it. i LOVE the relationship between noah and ed. and like, i know the bar is is in hell when it comes to depicting roma on screen, but i can't help but appreciate the little and big ways both noah and her people get humanized, how they feel like the most real and concrete part of this world ed insists is a dream or hell. but really, genuinely noah is so good, alfons's weird crush on ed is hysterical, the general atmosphere and research around 1923 munich seems genuinely thoughtful (and it also tells me that the writers had been thinking about this long, long before even 03 ended). i genuinely believe that making munich! hugues a nazi sympathizer and a racist is a really inspired and brave choice that makes the audience reflects THEIR hugues and how the amestrian military behaved. so anyhow these parts are good, genuinely. it's sad that that's the first third and then you get thrown into this mess, and there's still a whole stupid nazi battle to come. it's stupid. it's stupid especially bc there's a genuine part of the movie that IS smart and thoughtful. it'd be so much easier if all of it were bad, or if the difference between the writing in each part weren't so obvious. anyhow. i wanna finish cos bc i wanna see wrath's arc end and envy eating hoheinheim and ed/al reunion and more of noah. but also i think i'm gonna be writing off large chunks of it lol.

(also thank you very much, i'm trying to preach 03 to whoever i can whenever i can. appreciate the love)

[dragongirltail]

Finally finished elden ring, not the dlc just base game cause I am not about to give the bastards more money for something I dislike, but:

All of what I've held in beliefs from just the playtime I've had accumulated from repeated attempts before is unchanged, and only some small changes to the positive have arisen. It's an okay game. It's a terrible fromsoft game, but if you set this in front of me and told me it was made by ubisoft to cash in on the souls hype I'd believe that instantly.

Copypasted bosses and enemies out the oiseaux, repeating gameplay patterns and loops that make you grind your teeth and truly hurt the strongest things about fromsoft's game design. Can't say I find any of the bosses memorable except maybe elden beast (good theme) and radagon (fun to parry sometimes), but nothing of the experience stayed with me after the fact! The themes aren't memorable, the bosses and enemies become a slurry of rehashes of bloodborne and dark souls 3 animations sped up by 150%, and the power scaling goes so far up that having an attack rating of 1200 at the end of the game is barely passable.

You run around for 2 hours picking up shit to get strong enough to have a decent time with the first few bosses, then spend another hour running around collecting shit to fight a few bosses, then another 2 hours and then you can plow through the rest of the game cause the open world absolutely destroys what made fromsoft games so excellent.

And with elden ring being the most popular game they've made yet it means waves of new players who haven't played any of the other games and have no reference of what a fromsoft game should feel like! Which obviously isn't said to gatekeep this genre, but rather because elden ring is still a good game from the perspective of anyone who hasn't experienced better.

And I wouldn't even be so harsh on this game if it wasn't trying SO HARD to just be dark souls again They ended on DS3 because they said the story was told and wanted to go other places and do other things but then elden ring is just dark souls' world again but slightly different so the teacher doesn't notice. Sekiro isn't for me but I can acknowledge how it still does cool things and make it's own path, I don't own a PS4 so bloodborne has been out of reach but everything it has done to differentiate itself is amazing. Elden ring is just king big sad guy finds a powerful thing then age of prosperity happens then bad thing happens now you are shitty lame guy and must go on a world tour to kill all powerful guys to perpetuate a cycle. Dark souls with a new coat of paint, and this time it's got RR Martin's fingerprints allegedly all over it but I cannot in the slightest tell where the guy did anything, aside maybe more of the weird shit that miyazaki isn't known to be into.

If bethesda released a game that was this much reused assets, animations, audio files, weapons, and gameplay mechanics then there'd be a riot for how they could repackage the same game for 60 bucks again. But fromsoft does it and it's a game of the year and miyazaki does it again and it's so good and if you don't like it you simply don't get it and should get good instead or whatever. There's been so many moments with this accursed game where I went "oh hey this is just the animations from x enemy from ds3 but faster", lothric knights, outrider knights, pontiff knights, sulyvahn's beast, just to name a few.

I've tried so hard to like this game, I've given it so many chances and accrued 47 hours in a game I still don't like. At this point I cannot in good conscience say that I just don't 'get' this game, it's got flaws out front and back and yet nobody seems to see them, I don't get it, I just don't.

If you wanna say something about this feel free to comment or reblog, I'll have a wrassle with you if you do

[zahri-melitor]

Future State:

So this is a qualified opinion based on the fact I have only read the Bat-related titles and have not yet read the Bat book storylines subsequent to this, but my first impression of this is that you are just fine to skip anything in Future State that you don't want to read.

It does contain 'who is the Magistrate'. The Magistrate are a paramilitary force paid for by Mayor Nakano to hunt down 'masks' in Gotham (both capes and rogues). Their major members are called 'Peacekeepers'. If you literally just substitute the current cape-hunting paramilitary force of Peacemakers commanded by Amanda Waller in your mind, you've got the entire effect without needing to read any of it (Also Gotham is indulging in its neon futurism aesthetic, so think Batman: Gotham Knights the game, or just Bladerunner).

I only have time to read one title: Future State: Dark Detective. The A story in this title follows Bruce working undercover to find a way to reveal what's going on inside the Magistrate. The creative team is Mariko Tamaki, Dan Mora and Jordie Bellaire. One of the only stories in the entire set where I would confidently say this was still a solid yarn even out of context.

I'm interested in John Ridley's Fox Family Drama: read the A story of Future State: The Next Batman. Tam's had a relapse (because nobody can track whether or not Tam is supposed to be better or not), Luke's literally at a loose end because of plotting changes, you meet Jace, Tiffany has been aged up by the time jump to effectively be the age she was back pre-Flashpoint, Tanya is angry at the world because reasons (Tam) and Lucius is making bad decisions because ???.

What else do you think is a fun story? Future State: Catwoman is a train heist story with neon futurism aesthetics, which is busy indulging in re-education camp/concentration camp themes with more than a dash of Hunger Games references. Creative team is Ram V and Otto Schmidt (no prizes for guessing why it's a good story hey). Worth it just for Selina and Talia working at slight cross purposes but acknowledging the other has her own goals.

The E plot of Future State: The Next Batman (the Gotham City Sirens) has Ivy, Selina and slave android named Dee-Dee who has broken from her creator. This is fun for me personally because it is the rare concept where Ivy and Selina are bouncing off each other and Harley is nowhere in sight. The characterisation is at best fine, but the GCS vibes are there and fun.

The rare 'look I don't want to read this but it's well written' award: Future State: Harley Quinn. I deeply, deeply do not care about Harley, but if more of Harley's books were written like this, I think I would enjoy her far more as a character. So, recommendation for the 2021 run of Harley Quinn under Stephanie Phillips, I suppose (I am not planning on reading it).

The rest: look, the biggest issue with basically all of the Future State titles is due to being set in media res of an altered future, there's an awful lot of characters with changed personalities and no clear connections as to why they're acting OOC. And I'm a full believer in 'if you show me how the character got there, it's not OOC', but the whole concept of this is we don't get to see how the characters got there. So you're stuck going "why is Jefferson Davis currently a being of pure lightning, this isn't Jakeem Thunder". "has this writer read a single Stephanie Brown story not written by Bryan Q. Miller? (Vita Ayala I have been anticipating getting to your Wonder Woman stuff but wow you can't write Cass or Steph)". "I really wish this story where Dick is based in the bowels of an abandoned Arkham Asylum was leaning more into the Batman RIP/Reborn era storytelling around Dick and Arkham Asylum" and so on.

Characters don't fully track in their storylines between titles. Who's imprisoned when? Who are Two-Face and Croc working with? What hero titles are Cass, Steph, Barbara and Tim using? What costumes are people using? And so on and so forth.

You can really tell it's worked up from existing plots that got some surgery to rewrite them from the initial concept. Damian is Sir Not Appearing for the entire set of Bat titles, which makes sense on one level (given this is based out of scrapped 5G material) but makes absolutely no sense on another. Talia al Ghul is running around the background of at least two stories helping out the Bats, with no explanation given, but Damian can't be thrown into the art of group scenes because???

Like, read Mariko Tamaki, Ram V and maybe John Ridley because they can actually write solid stories and know (or are busy creating narratives for) the characters they're working with. Ridley's busy retconning a huge amount of existing Fox family stories but as it is he's setting up what will be their default for the ongoing future. Skip everything else unless you're feeling completionist (or interested in the Jason Todd-based alternate future title that spins out of this in Future State: Gotham).

[goodluckclove]

hey clove! i'm taking an ap visual arts class this year and we need to do a "sustained investigation" aka create a series of works connecting to and exploring a theme. one i'm thinking about a lot is relating queer people and the essence of queerness to divinity and also the occult, as a lash-back at christian nationalism and a celebration of queer joy. some examples of this would be comparing the transmasculine experience to the christian creation narrative and gnc/genderfluid people to figures similar to dionysus. i'm still workshopping the concept, do you have any thoughts on this or experiences you'd be willing to share so i can think of specific pieces and ideas to explore?

also i recently bought a binder and i felt so pretty and masculine but at the same time felt this overwhelming freedom to be feminine. it was really cool and i've decided i'm going to grow my hair out long again. i felt a lot like scott, just having this sort of wild feminine whimsy, and it felt really nice

hope you're doing well!! glad you were able to relax a bit :))))

Dude I'm literally planning a short story about a transmasc man who forms a relationship from childhood with the voice of God. This is crazy. I'll tell you about it later but there's so much potential there and it's such a cool idea. The words virgin birth in terms of the virgin Mary herself being Jesus Christ. An idea of a god that arranged for the circumstances of something that has to grow into an intended outcome even if through struggle. A god that like learns from trans people and finds it interesting because it's different and it's the same and now people are making new genders? You made new ones? Why did it take this long for you to think of new ones? I threw up about five minutes ago because I am the child of severe alcoholics and yet if you allow me two cocktails my body will collapse on itself like a dying star.

Also fun fact you can still be Scott-core without your binder if you want. He's got a chest too. His secret is that if anyone tries to question the validity of a man with breasts he gets really, truly, openly bored and politely waits for them to make their point before changing the topic and not acknowledging what they said at all.

The binder sounds very useful though. I miss my old binder. If that's the thing that makes you feel powerful being masculine and feminine that's fucking radical as hell. Wear a pretty skirt and a cool shirt and put like a fucking scrunchie in your hair. There's so many options and if you're a guy or masc leaning person who takes advantage of them you are just objectively more interesting, case closed. Anyone who is locking themselves out of half the amount of baubles and drapery that exists because of gender or body type is at a strategic disadvantage.

I was going to say that if my man Scott saw you on the street he'd be proud, but I know he would be unable to perceive the potential risks or fears. He's so insufferably Non-judgemental that he could bump directly into you by accident and come out with no other thought than "I am the same height as who I believe to be a child".

Edgar, on the other hand, would absolutely stare at you too closely until they felt weird and looked away, but would think about your style and freedom on and off for days afterwards.

I need to sleep for a few hours you people need to stop being interesting and important to me.

[worldheadcanons]

hi! could u do romantic + platonic hcs of india, australia, america & canada with a tropical country! reader? 💞

☆ them with a s/o who’s a tropical country!

starring. . . gender neutral, tropical country!reader and india, australia, america, + canada. 

author notes; matthew’s part might be a bit shorter compared to the rest, sorry! here are some songs that i found myself listening to a lot while writing this!

— dogtooth by tyler the creator, the theme from big wave by kaiyo (a little niche but it’s a banger), alcohol free by twice (shows in alfred’s bit oops!), i want you by savage garden, leão de bronze by quinteto ternura, and premier gaou by magic system.

not really a playlist for this piece but songs that i recommend you all listen to! 

> kabir!

— he goes into tourist traps willingly. he wholeheartedly goes into little shops just to get scammed by buying overpriced silly trinkets. kabir just likes having them. you didn’t know this about him at first though, so it worried you in the beginning when he’d come to your country and waste money in various tourist traps. one day you pulled him aside, telling him bluntly that he was throwing money away on useless items. kabir simply laughed, shaking his head. “i know,” he replied, chuckling a bit, “it’s fun though. and i like the cute toys.” ever since then you’ve just let him do as he pleases. occasionally you’ll scoff or roll your eyes as he insists on going into a trap shop. at this, he simply teases that he’s just “supporting your economy” and that you should be happy he’s spending so much money. 

— even as friends, he dotes on you a lot. it’s not very parental, more like a sarcastic older brother type of caring. is your economy okay? need help with resources? kabir will complain about how you’re less mature than he is while working hard to help you fix whatever issues you’re facing. he also makes sure to check on you, the person. you’re more than your country and sometimes you need a reminder of that fact. if you’re ever trying to get out of a work meeting, just give him a call. he’s got the perfect excuses ready for you to use. its just his way of showing his care and appreciation. 

— kabir really enjoys sharing food with you, like seriously. oftentimes for lunch after meetings you’ll bring a bag full of your favorite foods and he’ll do the same. the two of you will switch bags and try out new things. of course, there’s always lunches where someone doesn’t like something. everyone has different tastes. it’s not the end of the world though. eating and talking together has allowed the two of you to get even closer, so the tradition doesn’t end even once you’re in a relationship with kabir. he’ll even get jealous if you offer food to other countries, especially countries like china or england. 

— he has one of the best beach bodies known to man. okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but he is extremely attractive. it’s hard not to feel giddy as he comes out of the changing rooms shirtless with some swim trunks and flip flops. being a long-standing country, kabir has been around for a while and it shows in certain ways. still, he’s hot. he doesn’t hesitate in teasing you for looking at his body. it’s okay, because you can tease him for the same thing! he’s not the type to stare  but trust and believe he’s enjoying the sight of your body the same way you’re enjoying his. 

— he pays attention to the little things, especially when you start talking about your country and your history. you’ll be strolling with kabir, musing about how the coastal city you’re walking in used to be a major trading port maybe two or three centuries ago, and he’s just listening. he may not speak much but he nods his head in acknowledgement. in his eyes, understanding a person's history is vital to understanding the person themselves. that’s not the only thing he pays attention to though. he notices other things like body language too. he notices when another country has said something insensitive to you and he won’t hesitate to step in and stand up for you. kabir also notices when you’re eyeing something in a window of a shop— you can consider it yours, by the way.

— he loves holding your hands and hugging on you. kabir loves to pamper you in public but behind closed doors he’s a complete drama king. he’s not above whining or pouting when he’s mildly upset. if you’re cooking then he’s there, wrapping his arms around your waist and kissing your neck while muttering sweet nothings. if you’re reading then he’s in your lap, quietly asking if you’ll read aloud so he can listen. he’s considerably clingy but he’s also considerably charming and cute so he gets a pass.  

> brett kirkland!

— for your first visit to his country he takes you out on a huge aquarium date. the aquarium you go to is of course the sea life sydney aquarium. brett talks a lot during the date, passionately informing you about the marine animals there. when you reach the shark exhibit he decides to take hold of your hand, even if you’re not scared. he sizes up the sharks before turning to you and joking about how he could take them in a fight. or at least, you think he’s joking. you hope kirkland’s joking.. he’s happy to have you in australia, but he’s really happy to be showing you the sea life. it’s something that he figured the both of you could enjoy. your country’s surrounded by water.. his country’s surrounded by water.. it just makes sense. at the end of the date he’ll buy you both souvenirs from the gift shop. for the next date, brett’s thinking whale watching would be fun. 

— when he’s visiting your country, he loves to match outfits with you. he’s used to hotter temperatures so his closet matches your weather for the most part. cheesy matching couple shirts are definitely a thing with him, though if you say no he won’t continue to push it. even if you two have completely different fashion styles, kirkland’ll try to make his outfit coordinate somewhat with yours. it’s just something he finds to be cute.

— brett is the type of boyfriend to call you at one am talking at the speed of light about some sort of incident he’s gotten himself into. he loves calling you when the two of you are apart. hopefully you’re fine with hearing him ramble on the phone about nothing and everything at the same time. he’s also the type of boyfriend to sneak out of work with you, slyly leaving a meeting in london so the two of you can explore around and enjoy each other's company. kirkland takes full responsibility whenever you’re caught in the act, though his mischievous glances at you are a clear sign that you’ll be sneaking out again like rowdy teenagers sometime soon. he’s the type of boyfriend to think of you as the best thing to ever happen to him. he’ll kiss your hand and pretend to be a gentleman, smiling as you laugh at his behavior. 

— he claims that you’re his good luck charm but brett’s just a lucky man in general. occasionally his luck will rub off on you and you’ll call him to talk about it. he likes to say that his love for you is just so strong that even when you’re apart he’s there making things better for you. it’s cheesy but when you walk along your capital city one day and find a large amount of money just barely hiding in the crack of a sidewalk, you really do start to believe it. it’s not logical in the slightest but hey, it’s sweet.

— he is naturally touchy. kirkland has one hand on you at almost all times. especially when it’s the two of you out on a date. what can he say? you’re a catch! he’s sure that if he didn’t hold onto you, someone else would try to steal you away from him. though he’s not easily jealous, he doesn’t enjoy the thought of someone trying to flirt with you. typically he just holds you by the waist. if you’re ever uncomfortable just talk to him about it— brett never wants you to suffer in silence, so trust me when i say he appreciates it when you speak up. he believes firmly in talking about your issues and working through them together. the two of you can find a nice compromise that works for both of you.

— kirkland loves playing on the beach with you! please, please take him out to one of your beaches so he can play volleyball or go surfing or build sandcastles. he’s a pretty outgoing person too, so it’s easy for him to find friends at the beach. if you want to just sit out in the sand and relax, that’s fine with him! he’s not one to sit still for too long but he’ll try to come check on you in between playing on the beach. 

> alfred f. jones!

— he loves going to the beach with you and walking along the beautiful sandy shores that your country is filled with. jones absolutely adores the feeling of the sea breeze hitting his face and running through his hair as he plays beach volleyball or builds sandcastles. the waves are perfect for surfing, an activity he’ll undoubtedly try and partake in. alfred’s no stranger to beaches of course. he has plenty of his own back home. however your beaches are so pretty with such clear water and gorgeous sand almost 100% clear of trash. he’s almost jealous about how well taken care of your beaches are. your citizens seem to care about keeping beaches healthy just as much as you do.

— he gets a ton of tiktoks about food from your country, specifically the fruits. every so often he’ll try to play expert and will grab fruit and eat it raw right off the plant. jones isn’t dumb enough to eat something poisonous, but it’s still a little embarrassing. especially considering no natives of your country actually eat fruit right off the plant. he enjoys eating all sorts of cooked meals that are favorites in your country. he’s not afraid to try new things so if you recommend him something a food, he’ll definitely check it out.

— alfred falls for nearly every single tourist trap he happens to see. though he’s your friend, he’s still technically a tourist to your country. it’s something you failed to notice at first until one day while visiting he left you and came back with an armful of little souvenirs. they were useless and you told him that but he didn’t seem phased. jones told you that he’d treasure them until the day he died. basically, he’d treasure them forever. it was cute so you let it slide that day, but from then on you made a note to keep him away from tourist traps. he’d probably go broke if you didn’t keep an eye on him. the souvenirs alfred did manage to sneak off and buy were used to decorate the personal homes he had around america. they were accompanied by keepsakes from japan, denmark, and a few other places.

— inviting you over to america is a whole different can of worms. really, jones is not sure which state he should show you first— maybe hawaii or cali because they’re somewhat similar to your country.. maybe new york or maybe even florida.. actually no, not florida. never florida. maybe arizona or new mexico (you’ve seen breaking bad, right?) or alaska so that you experience the snow. the decision process isn’t made easier when you comment on going to new york and arizona in the same day. alfred has to explain to you that his country is huge and going to all the states you wanted to see in the same day was simply impossible. there’s a lot of american things he wants to show you as a sort of thank you for showing him your country.

— the two of you make a pretty cute couple as boyfriend and girlfriend. it’s a little jarring at first, since he’s very american and occasionally ignorant on issues concerning your country but jones isn’t above learning to be better. as long as you call him out on his bullshit then he’ll change because really, he does love you. fully and wholly, he loves you. he shows his love when he visits your country and instead of playing on the beach he helps you pick up trash. alfred shows his love when you come to america and he waits at the gate, running and hugging you as soon as he sees you. he shows his love when he takes you to basketball and baseball games and kisses you even when you don’t appear on the kiss cam. 

— jones is obsessed with the drinks from your country. he finds that both the alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks are delicious. they seem to come in an endless combination of interesting flavors. they always leave him wanting more. when he sees you during breaks in between meetings, he’ll occasionally beg for a sip of what you’re drinking. he’ll ask to ‘waterfall’ from your cup, giving you a strong dose of puppy dog eyes so that you give in. if you manage to stay strong, it’s not the end of the world— alfred will just ask you to bring a drink for him next time. if you give in though, he’ll happily give you a bone crushing hug before tasting some of your drink. ah, so refreshing!

> matthew williams!

— williams really enjoys learning about your local wildlife, especially if you have a species that’s native solely to your country. he’s very invested in wildlife conservation and protection in general, so hearing about the plants and animals that are protected here in your country is pretty cool! he wouldn’t mind visiting a few centers or zoos in general and seeing the animals up close. if you do end up taking him there, be prepared for a lot of picture taking. matthew actually prints out some of the pictures he takes of the two of you together, framing them in his bedroom. it’s nothing big, just a small framed picture or two on his nightstand. in general, he’d bond a lot with you over wildlife conservation.

— you two dress like complete opposites due to the differences in weather. it’s a little jarring when either one of you visits the other’s country because both of you always underestimate the difference in weather. at this point, it would be more productive for you to have two closets— one for home and one for canada. williams doesn’t complain much about the weather even when he’s not properly dressed for it. he just sits and suffers silently until you notice and make him change into something more fitting. 

— he sometimes worries you’d like his brother more than him. i mean.. alfred is the more outgoing one out of the two.. it just feels like you guys are total opposites. you’re a tropical country meanwhile his country is pretty cold.. every so often matthew thinks of the two of you as too different for each other, not really realizing that you two have a decent amount of stuff in common. even if you were complete opposites, opposites attract! you love him just the way he is. you’ll have to remind him of that every so often. give him a good talk and a few kisses to the cheek or a nice hug. he’ll feel just fine after that.

— williams would absolutely love to take you out to go ice skate on a frozen pond or play in the snow. he wants to be the one to introduce you to these things. even if you’ve already been in the snow before.. maybe he could reintroduce this sort of stuff to you. he finds the whole idea of a snow day with you to be romantic.

— stereotypical but please go to a hockey game with him. please please go to a hockey game with him. the first hockey game you go to with matthew is a special event. he makes sure to get you both the best tickets he can. of course, you’re both decked out in merch for the team he roots for (don’t worry about not owning any, he has plenty to share). he even goes as far as to ask for good luck kisses before the match. every time his team scores he cheers his head off before hugging you and thanking you for your luck. even if his team loses, williams is just happy to have gone out with you— though next time he will be asking for two good luck kisses instead of just one. actually, how about a kiss for every member of the team? he’s sure they’ll win then. 

— he definitely enjoys your sunny weather though he’s a bit shy about his body. he doesn’t suffer too badly with his self image, but matthew gets self conscious every now and then. usually this doesn’t hold him back though. once he sees you waiting for him he puts his fears aside. as long as you love him and his body then who cares what someone else thinks? plus it would be improper to keep a lover waiting. especially when you look so good in your swim outfit.. of course he’s joining you in having fun on the beach.