#the rest of the world should be allowed to acknowledge it without DO BETTER and misogyny claims being hurled at her detractors

[notdefendingtaylor]

hot take thursday

if swifties weren't an unpaid pr firm for taylor and music 'journalists' weren't a paid pr firm for her and the nfl wasn't a quid pro quo pr firm for her

i don't think there would be any anti tag activity

[beeseverywhen]

Not in the US so can't speak for what's happening there, but I've def noticed here that healthcare workers are struggling with dealing with sicker patients than they felt they were getting before covid and lots of them are mentioning a lack of immunity thanks to lockdowns. every time I hear it I can't help but think that the increasing desperation thanks to years of underfunding that's really beginning to have an impact since covid (because the pandemic served as the last straw on the camels back there AND because it showed our government that they could neglect the vulnerable to the degree that they were dying by the thousands and still nobody bothered to blame them.) Is a contributing factor in this and I don't understand why nobody is mentioning it???

We're getting sick because we've spent decades being bled dry and now we're hungry, stressed and being worked to the bone. Meanwhile we aren't getting any kind of return on the money we're pumping in to the healthcare system and our governments aren't doing shit to address health inequalities or any of the factors contributing to everyone's poor health.

If you look at covid death statistics, if you look at which countries are currently suffering from supply problems; a job market bursting with unfilled vacancies, civil unrest and protests, strained healthcare systems, and all the rest; the countries at the top are those that have allowed capitalism to call the shots for the past century, more than the rest. That is why the UK and America have been so badly impacted. Its no accident that we are paying so heavily, this system started with us. We forced it on the rest of the world and now, we're the first to pay the price. There is a direct correlation between the impact being felt post covid and a countries wealth divide and I'm tired of everyone ignoring that.

I look around me and People are going hungry, the food they can afford to buy is lacking in basic nutrients, of course people are sicker! Even if you can afford them, the shops keep running out of vegetables! Our health system was already breaking and then, we were hit by a pandemic it was completely unprepared for (tho it should have been) and now, people are getting way more ill than they need to before they finally reach hospital. When they get there, the hospitals are understaffed (thanks to years of underfunded budgets and the extreme stress so many health care workers were put under), we keep having drug shortages because our country keep straight up refusing to pay how much things cost, and what they are willing to pay, goes to pay about ten profiteering middle men at each stage of the supply chain.

People are massively stressed thanks to the cumulative weight of a completely broken capitalist system and those in charge are more worried about lining their pockets for as long as they can until the whole thing collapses, rather than actually trying to address any problems. Stress IS something that's known to weaken immune systems so why are we blaming something that MAY affect them??? Extreme rises in energy costs have meant everyone's spent a winter without adequate heating (even those that can afford it are revolting at the increase and so are trying to cut costs by using less energy.) Again, insufficiently heated homes are also known to affect immunity. And that's just the people who still have safe homes! Masses of people have been made homeless recently thanks to rising rents and mortgages which were already unaffordable, our housing stock is largely dangerous, with homes falling in to disrepair because landlords are barely regulated and when they do break laws they go unprotected.

Is anyone surprised that so many people are getting so ill and not getting better? Cause I'm not.

It's startlingly obvious when you start looking at the health divide between those who have spent 40 years subject to the whims of poorly restricted capitalism and those able to opt out. Medical technology is improving, but healthy life expectancy is now dropping year on year, because there are more people living here without the capital to turn away from jobs that will break them, than there are those whose inherited wealth opens doors away from employers that'll ask you to pay the price of bodily health, so they might strengthen profit margins. Its just basic averages. 1% of our citizens are standing on the backs of 99% of us and wondering why more and more of that 99% are getting sicker and sicker. The labour market for working class people has been allowed to drain its workers dry for years now. The progress made in the early to mid 20th century has slowly been worn away at, with the labour laws we fought for, only being accessible for an ever decreasing number of people. The laws are still in place but no low wage employer bothers to follow them any more than they have to. Do you know how many people I know who've been working without breaks, going unpaid for extra hours, been forced to follow unsafe working practices that they know are illegal and then being forced to lie to protect the employer that put them in that position? The people being broken by companies raking in billions, as they flaunt labour laws, don't have any means to access justice! If you complain, you lose your job. If you take them to court that costs money and that company is willing to drag out proceedings for years till you run out of the money needed to keep things going.

When i look at how much money is being wasted in government budgets, while the people responsible for making that money, see little return; I can't help but think of various theories for why certain societies in history have collapsed. (If you want to be really worried about the state of things, read the Wikipedia page on societal collapse. Spoiler: most of the potential causes of societal collapse have already begun in America and the UK. That guy who wrote that article saying America was already past the point of collapse might have been right.) One theory behind the bronze age collapse is just that... societies became too complex. A society where the 1% are given too much power over the 99% becomes one great big pyramid scheme. Unnecessary burecracy at every level (designed to squeeze as much wealth possible for the person overseeing that level) results in those at the bottom, working themselves to death and still going hungry. The theory goes that there comes a point, in societies like that, where the workers look at how they are living and just...walk away. They decide that the security once offered by that society isn't worth what it's costing them and fuck off to become farmers, preferring a life of hard work and little security, to what they had been living. Without the workers, the system breaks down. The only people getting fed are the ones growing the food. All this stupid stratification. Allowing every supply chain, business and institution to become unnecessarily complex just so on each level the people in charge can let their mates get a foot in on the profits. All these middlemen. Business consultants. Supply chains allow for a product to be sent back and forth from country to country just so more people get a cut. Its no different to any other pyramid scheme so why the hell are we allowing it.

We need to start telling our politicians to show some goddamn accountability for this shit. Stop accepting them skirting responsibility for being at best: Inept and at worst deliberately negligent. We all need to stop supporting a system that's hurting us all. In the hope that we might be one of the lucky ones. That's not the reality of things. We'll only get out of this hole we've inadvertently dug ourselves in to, if we stop fighting each other and work together to demand change.

You know how sometimes you catch someone in a lie, and so they tell an even bigger lie to try and cover up the first lie they told?

Well, that’s happening right now.

Last winter, a handful of celebrity doctors went on mainstream news networks to assure us that Omicron was “mild.” They carpet-bombed us with articles and tweets, doing their best to brainwash everyone.

They were wrong.

In the end, real science junked that idea. An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that Omicron killed more people than previous variants, even when adjusting for other factors. Another study by doctors at Massachusetts General and Harvard Medical found that Omicron was just as deadly. In fact, “the risks of hospitalization and mortality were nearly identical.” As it turns out, the entire idea of “mild” Omicron was based on an old, flawed idea known as the law of declining virulence, developed by a doctor who was studying tick-borne disease in cows. It was debunked decades ago.

Most epidemiologists know that viruses don’t magically evolve to become milder. Virus evolution is random and chaotic.

In some cases, viruses evolve to become more deadly.

A handful of actual scientists tried to explain all this last winter, including disease experts at Johns Hopkins. A handful of other established experts spoke out against this myth. As a microbiologist at Penn State told Politifact, “You can’t just say it’s going to become nicer.” They were largely ignored, because everyone already sort of believed the misinformation. If they knew it was based on a study about cows, they probably would’ve thought twice.

This year, the makers of “it’s mild” are back.

They’re selling “immunity debt.”

We should be skeptical.

Schools and daycares are sending letters home to parents talking about this “immunity debt.” They’re saying that healthy children are getting sicker, even dying, because they weren’t exposed to enough germs over the last two years. Newspapers and TV stations across the country are running with it, proposing it as a “possible reason” for this year’s explosion in pediatric hospitalizations. Meanwhile, major medical organizations have sent a letter to President Biden urging him to declare an emergency over an “alarming surge of pediatric hospitalizations” due to a range of respiratory viruses, including Covid.

A lot of people are drinking the “immunity debt” kool-aid.

After all, Americans have believed for generations that getting sick is “good for you.” We think our immune system behaves like a muscle. We worry that if we’re not giving it a workout, we’ll get weak.

It’s a myth, just like the law of declining virulence.

Here’s why.

[allwormdiet]

Buzz 7.8

Nazi capes fuck off, like fucking for real

Honestly even if Kaiser deigned to tell his people that the Undersiders weren't responsible, somehow I doubt any Empire member would be inclined to treat them with much respect.

Yeah, see, this isn't about the leaks for Hookwolf. This is about the fucking beef over the dog fights.

Not a genius move from the driver, honestly. If you really want to put bullets in the villains that have good defensive capabilities, the last thing you want to do is give up the element of surprise. Stormtiger may not have been able to deflect those shots if he didn't have enough time to react.

Also, does Cricket wield kama? Like, the fucking Japanese farming tool? Are you allowed to join the Empire if you're a blatant weeaboo?

This is a really bad matchup honestly, it's tense to see how close they get to death with these fuckers

Disturbingly evocative and sadistic, but what else is to be expected from fucking Nazis, right

Clever guy

Fuck yeah, environmental takedown

Grue is fucking hardcore. Two shots to Stormtiger's legs and not even bothering to acknowledge Cricket's hostage. Dude does not fuck around when it comes to Empire, the only restraint here is that he's not killing them outright but honestly I wouldn't feel bad if he did. Just dump their bodies into the water, bing bang boom.

Well, okay, I guess Hookwolf would still be a problem, wouldn't he

This Cricket gal is bullshit honestly

So, yeah, now that we've gotten all three of the Empire capes to show their powers, I'll go ahead and say that this fight was stacked against Skitter and Grue from the jump. Hookwolf can't be fought hand-to-hand without being shredded to pieces and insects can't do much about metal flesh. Stormtiger can get bugs off himself no problem and can blast away Grue's darkness. Cricket, meanwhile, has some kinda sonic blast that lets her navigate Grue's darkness and also incapacitate Skitter's bugs.

The fact that they get out of this fight alive is a testament to remarkable intelligence and grit on their part.

This is a brutal slugfest honestly, although the fucking Nazi deserves every second of pain she's getting from it.

It's a little funny that they're having this conversation in front of Cricket. Like "oh yeah it looks bad but she's too busy being a sadist to do any real damage," "oh that sucks ass of her but I'm glad you're not too hurt" and she's laying there with a chunk of thigh missing. She should be embarrassed enough to leave town forever.

Yeah Cricket's busted, but good news is she's taken care of

It's a little funny that they're both stuck stitching each other back up after Brian cut off any romantic options. Like I've seen a lot of works where patching up someone's wounds and putting them back together would have a kind of bloodsoaked intimacy to it, but not here lmao

Also yeah you'd better appreciate Tattletale

These little punks. Love em to bits.

Okay so real quick, noticing Taylor's description of how Regent is talking, and I wonder how grounded Alec is as a baseline. Like I have to imagine that the Heartbreaker Experience doesn't do a whole lot of wonders for learning how to connect to the world around you. Is it an affectation like I've been speculating, or is that just the best he's got for engaging with reality?

I wish going straight for Purity meant killing her, but even without reading the rest of this arc I know the Undersiders don't have that kind of firepower. I can dream, though.

Teehee, parallels

Current Thoughts

I wish Grue managed to kill all three of the Empire capes but I get why he couldn't. I'll just have to hope they all die later.

Awesome that they managed to get the win over those bastards in the first place though, I don't think this is my favorite fight in terms of the beat-by-beat action but in terms of how they have to overcome the disadvantage of enemy powers it feels the best.

[simplydannie]

Inspired by and written for @meadow-hearthfire. Based on their ask:

“Oh! I got an idea:

Veneer has a very bad day (be it practicing for performance, a shopping trip, having a fight with Velvet, etc).

Guided by his subconscious, Veneer goes to the room Floyd is being held captive in without realizing it. Veneer picks up the bottle Floyd is in, but doesn't spritz himself with his essence. Veneer just vacantly stares at him, unsure why he even went into room in the first place.

Then Veneer sheds a tear before he realizes it, and then another, and so on. Soon, he remembers who Floyd is and what Floyd means to him, then Veneer and has a breakdown. Turns out Veneer subconsciously still saw Floyd as a father figure whom he'd go to for comfort and whom he feels most comfortable allowing himself to be emotionally vulnerable around.”

I loved this! Thank you! Just added a little twist in the end 🫶

It was just a rehearsal… but everything had to be perfect. SHE wanted it perfect.

“Again!” Mistress would cry out, “Again!…AGAIN!”

This time they had it though… this time it was going to be perfect. Sitting amongst the empty seats of the auditorium were the other producers that were part of corporation Mistress fell under, part of the powers in Mount Rageous. They watched as the twins rehearsed…

“Not bad. You’ve really turned them into your own little creations haven’t you.” A male Rageon told her.

A dark smile came across her face, “Molded them just like clay. The Troll helps. Funny to think a business their family started in the under-city would benefit them up here.”

“Does he know where they are at? Does he know you brought them up here?” He asked.

“…. He does.” She smirked, “He wants them back. When he comes knocking, that’s when we offer our exchange…”

They continue watching the twins. Velvet of course was meant to take the lead, Veneer was just meant to follow, push her, acknowledge her presence so the rest of the world can see. But for some reason, today, he was really feeling the music. His voice boomed a little higher than his sisters. Velvet turned to give him a warning look. He noticed…. He backed away…

“Interesting…Did he use the Troll today?” The male Rageon asked.

“She did…… he didn’t…” a scowl came across the Mistress face.

“Hm, then you have a problem on your hands.”

Velvet laid out the final note to the song. Both struck their final pose, breathing heavily, their eyes glued upon the Mistress and the rest of the producers who were watching. Mistress was the first to stand up… she wasn’t happy… and they could see it in her face. Her heels clicked as she approached them…

“Again.”

“What?” Veneer was the first to asked. He turned to his sister… she was exhausted.

“…. Again.” The Mistress said more sternly.

“Can I have a break? I’ve been none stop.” Velvet replied.

“You can have a break when your brother stops messing up.” The woman replied.

“Me? But I’ve done everything you’ve told me too.”

“Your ONLY job is to act as a backup. You’re there for looks and nothing more. Yet, you feel the need to over step your sister?”

Veneer didn’t know how to respond, sure he got a little carried away, but he’d never steal the spotlight from Velvet, “….That was an accident…”

“…. That’s all I ever hear, “it was an accident” perhaps I should have you replaced.”

“No! No. I can do it, I’ll try better. I won’t mess up….”

SMACK!

Mistress struck him clear across the face as her anger was released. Her nails scratching his skin. She gripped him by the collar and pulled him towards her. His face only inches from hers. Velvet took a step forward but was held back by Gruff, one of the Bergen body guards.

“…. You’re pathetic, you know that? You serve us no purpose. You’re just a spare in this world Veneer. Even daddy was disappointed that his only son turned out to be so weak, wasn’t he Veneer?”

His lower lip quivered as he tried to hold in his tears. She snarled and throw him back on the floor, “The mood is broken. Tomorrow you’ll get in that extra practice… No dinner either for both of you, we need to make sure you’re as thin as can be for the cameras.” She snapped her fingers, the Bergens escorted the twins back home…

….. The ride home was silent. Velver would only cast glances to her brother. She was never good at comforting, in ways she was like her father. Veneer was always the one to comfort her… like their mother. Velvet extended her hand but paused midway before retreating it. She then turned and looked at the window, no words being spoken between them…

Veneer allowed himself to cry alone that night. He hugged his pillow as he allowed the tears to fall. He took a moment to look around his room: it was big, luxurious, he had everything he had ever wanted, he was finally living the life of a Mount Rageon… he should be happy…. But deep down he wasn’t. Veneer began feeling that everything was just a lie..

“….. Daddy, please find us….” He whispered. Was running away from home a good idea? Was it ever? He wanted comfort… he needed to hear soothing words…. He needed someone. Veneer thought back to the words he had spoken…. dad. He didn’t know what made him do it, but he threw his blankets off him and walked out his door.

His mind wasn’t thinking, he allowed his feet to take wherever they wanted to go. As he walked the events of the day replayed in his mind… so did the words Mistress spoke to him. Veneer found himself standing in front of a door. It wasn’t Velvets room, but it felt right, it felt like he needed to be there. Opening the door, he walked in to a small room. The only furniture within the room was a table and a chair. It was decorated with lights all around. He flipped the switch allowing for the lights to illuminate little brighter. He went to the chair and sat, Veneer then reached over to grab the object that lay at the center of the table…. A diamond.

He picked it up gently and carefully so to not wake the small, sleeping Troll that lay inside. Veneer looked at him. Troll….Troll…. No, he had a name. A name he and Velvet once knew, once called him by. He looked at the small sleeping Troll encased inside…..

“……Floyd…..” The name escaped his words in a whisper. As if a key to a chest, the name allowed for memories to flush in Veneers mind…. The day Floyd fell victim to a Troll trap, the day Veneer laid his eyes on the small Troll… He looked gray, weak, and sick. Veneer freed him, hid him from his father… of course was punished for it too. When they ran away Floyd came with them.

“You’re doing to need an adult to watch after you out there.” He had told them.

And he did. He went with them. The little Troll could’ve left, could’ve gone home, but he didn’t. He remained. He became what the twins needed after their mother died….a father. Right now, that’s what Veneer needed, that’s why he subconsciously came to find him…to find Floyd.

Veneers lip quivered again, but this time he didn’t hold the tears back…. He allowed them to fall. One by one until a river fell down his face. His body shook as he cried. The small trembling awoke the Troll in the diamond.

“Veneer?” Floyd woke with a small yawn. Rubbing his eyes, he finally saw the Rageon breaking down in front of him. “Ven?” Floyd saw the light scratch marks across the boys face….Mistress laid hands on him….again.

“What did she do to you? Ven, look at me. What did she do?” Floyd asked again. But Veneer didn’t answer, he just continued to cry. He wanted an embrace so badly, he wanted to feel warmth wrap around his body. So Veneer held the diamond close to him, squeezing it in a tight hug.

Floyd felt the trembling in his body as Veneer continued to cry, soft sobs escaping his lips. He knew what the boy wanted…. Unfortunately he couldn’t give it to him. So all Floyd did was outstretch his tiny arms around the diamond, hoping Veneer could feel the hug he desperately wanted to give him.

“….its okay…. I’m here. I’ll always be here….always.” Floyd said.

At the sound of his voice and words, Floyd felt Veneer let a sigh of relief. He could feel the tears and sadness begin to diminish away, but Veneer didn’t let the diamond go, he still held it close to his chest, hugging it as tight as he could. Floyd squeezed the walls of the diamond in a hug, hoping Veneer could feel it. The two remained in peaceful silence…that’s all Veneer wanted, comfort, comfort from his dad…

Back in Under Rageous…

Within the walls of the Montegue manner, a tall pale Rageon sat on his arm chair. His face was cold and stern, he was twiddling a ring in his fingers….his wedding ring. He had never worn it to protect her, but now she was gone, he continued to wear as a reminder to kill the ones who would dare hurt her, who would dare kill her.

He placed the ring back on his finger. He stared at some pictures in front of him, articles he had obtained, pictures and headlines covering them all:

SUPERSTARS VELVET AND VENEER TAKEN MOUNT RAGEOUS BY STORM!

QUEEN AND KING OF POP! WHO ARE THESE FABULOUS TWINS WE ADORE!?

He search through and through in the under-city but never found them… until the news began to leak of these new pop stars. Who ever took them from him, whoever took them from Under Rageous was going to pay ten fold…but they weren’t the only one. He looked at one picture in particular, a paparazzi shot of Veneer. He looked closer and saw something perched on the young boys shoulder…a Troll. He recognized that Troll, it was the little devil Veneer rescued… the little devil that Veneer bonded with…

“The little devil that first took my children away from me.” Taking a knife he stabbed the picture….stabbed the little Troll. It pained him, being outsmarted by a little Troll, a little piece of nothing….

Vaughn was going to get his hands him….and kill that little rat.

[adorastarot]

How will the Supermoon influence you?

Is everyone ready for the Supermoon tomorrow? I decided to do a mini PAC reading with all of the changes you may experience! Let's goooo! How to choose a pile: Take a deep breath and close your eyes. Ask the universe if there is a message that you need to hear right now. You may either hear a number or be drawn to a pack once you open your eyes! If the message doesn't resonate then it may not be for you.

Ace of cups, 9 of pentacles, 9 of cups, wheel of fortune, 4 of wands, Full Moon in Virgo

As soon as I started shuffling the cards, Agust D’s Snooze came to my mind especially the way he says ‘dream’. Our lovely people from pile 1 are big dreamers and their dreams are about to come true with the energy of this supermoon! It seems like this supermoon is going to help you focus more on yourself - falling back in love with yourself and understanding that you are good enough. Deep down you know this, but the past 2 months or so have been up and down and you may have struggled with whether you are worthy of the things that you have achieved/ the things that you want. You may make a few new acquaintances over the coming weeks and the moon’s energy shines on you and you attract important people into your life. Watch out for signs! Especially numbers 9 and 4 - they will guide you. Are you going home soon? Wherever home may be! Enjoy your time there and rest! Allow your family to shower you with love and nurture you. You deserve to be taken care of as well, never doubt this. Be adaptable because luck and the divine is on your side, the door to the future is open and you will be guided step by step.

Strength, knight of swords in reverse, 9 of cups, 6 of swords, ace of pentacles, Full moon

Oh how strong you are, do you even realise it? You may be feeling a bit jittering because you have been having to watch your back for a while. You have been sooo busy and now that things are starting to come down…you feel like you should be doing something. But you don’t you really don’t! You did it! Even if you can’t see it yet or believe it, things are done, it is done and now you just have to enjoy all of your hard work. You will start to get the acknowledgement that you have been craving from your colleagues, managers or professors. Say ti with me “It’s done, I’m done, there is nothing else I need to do”. Say it until you believe it. You may feel a strong pull towards the ocean, just go! It will help your energies to settle. The full moon is not helping your own restlessness but once it’s over you will feel better. All you need to do is ride the wave and surrender to the divine. It will not let you down.

The world, the fool, justice, 10 of cups, 10 of pentacles, Full Moon in Scorpio

You’re world is changing and you are feeling a lot more carefree and restless than usual but in a good way - where has this sense of freedom come from? You are going to be focusing on being unapologetically you. You may decide to jump into situations in a very foolish way without thinking about the consequences of said actions but things…will work out for you?! Over the coming 4 weeks, you are likely to either start a new relationship with someone that you have just met not long ago or start a new job that you applied for “just because”. You are working on releasing the negativity that is not helping you. As autumn comes, it is spring in certain countries and this is what your energy feels like! It feels like Spring has arrived in your life. Get ready to feel a lot more steady and grounded and to dance with life! Let’s dance the tango!

[soullessjack]

so im on s5 of miraculous and i keep thinking about cat noirs whole “kept at a distance” arc bc it’s genuinely really interesting but gets so wasted by always winding up with him basically validating ladybugs nonsensical decisions and treatment—the same treatment that we were already shown upset him enough to destroy public properly about it. the most consistent reason LB ever gives cat about why he can’t be fully trusted or relied on is that he’s too much of a liability for their partnership to work—either because he’s too reckless, too in love with her, or his cataclysm would be too dangerous to use.

whatever it is, the baseline is that she thinks he’s a liability, and obviously that’s like salt in the wound for cat since he genuinely loves her and enjoys being partners with her, but it’s also just sad to see him continue to respect her decision and act like it isn’t a problem for him when he’s literally upset enough to physically lash out and use his powers to do so. and I know a lot of it can probably be explained by ladybug’s experience in the cat blanc timeline, but 1) she starts holding him at a distance way before that even happens, 2) she’s actively making it worse by not telling cat noir about cat blanc and why she thinks she has to exclude him for his own safety, and 3) SHE SHOULD HAVE TOLD HIM ABOUT CAT BLANC TO BEGIN WITH BECAUSE IT’S LITERALLY A WORLD ENDING SITUATION INVOLVING HIM DIRECTLY‼️‼️‼️‼️

instead she just allows him think he’s unwanted and unnecessary, calls the shots on how he should feel about “having more free time” and ironically makes him even more susceptible to being Akumatized because of it. ladybug might not be aware that cat is adrien and has a terrible home life he actively uses his miraculous to escape from, but she’s playing right into all the key aspects that adrien resents from his father; she decides what he wants without considering or asking him, she trusts him conditionally and still distances herself enough for him to just not know certain things. it’s done with good intentions, but it still clearly affects adrien very poorly, and it’s just such a frustrating glass-chewing miscommunication that only needlessly complicates the situation

don’t even get me started on Kuro Neko where ladybug falls head over heels for the changed version of her partner and narrowly avoiding her having to actually screw up and learn a lesson about accepting cat for who he actually is because catwalker is just “too perfect” for her to function—instead of being an obedient idealized version of her best friend who lets her be in control of everything (WHEN ADRIEN LITERALLY USES HIS DOUBLE LIFE TO HAVE THE CONTROL HE DOESN’T GET AT HOME).

theres so much potential for the base concept of the miraculous of destruction and its Kwami/holder being distrusted outliers among the rest of the Kwami/holders, but the magic system sucks and it kind of loses any chance when the other Kwamis are established to be catastrophic if they use their powers without a holder. and it gets even more confusing if you consider that Fu specifically chose adrien to hold that miraculous, but then encourages Marinette to keep her distance from him and barely acknowledges him as a hero in general. Like why did you even bother testing adrien for his worthiness or whatever if you obviously don’t think he’s worthy of knowing anything about you or the rest of the miraculous OR his best friend’s identity??? but you’re totally okay with her just giving them out to anyone in Paris who’s conveniently around and having her know their identity???? master fu when I catch you master fu

auugghhhfgg I don’t know the magic system thing could be its own separate post but likeeeeee I just think the miraculous of destruction whos constantly mistrusted for no reason and goes Kamehameha Krazy in another timeline is very special and could be treated so much better if the writers were good at their job and didn’t make every character’s sole purpose be validating ladybug/marinette even when she’s in the wrong

[chevelleneech]

Gonna be the first (maybe) to say it, but if nothing comes of Buddie at all by the s7 finale, I am going to have a hard time believing any future storyline set up the show does.

To be clear, I do not think Buddie has to be canon for it finally be addressed, because I acknowledge what happened in seasons 2-6 kind of exist in a different world. It was a different network and majority of it was written with the *potential intent to have Buck be queer only to have that shot down, whereas now on their new network, Buck is canonically bi. So I am aware that the powers that be have changed, and with that, what the writers are able to do will differ.

However, I still think something should be said or done to tie those loose ends up. I still think Buddie is an unanswered entity in the 911 universe, and not putting it to rest is sour writing. Because if Tim didn’t want to touch on it, he would have said as much with 7x04. He would have crafted an episode that was definitively abut Buck wanting to be around Tommy, instead of it being ambiguous and coming across as him being jealous of Eddie choosing someone else.

And I know people who ship Buck and Tommy will say Buck said in the episode he was trying to get Tommy’s attention, but it is established in that very same moment Buck is only “guessing” Tommy is who he wanted attention from. He does not state it affirmatively, and in fact only says he guesses, after Tommy asks for clarification, because he too was surprised Buck’s actions were for him.

Now, this is not me saying Tim and the writers weren’t still intentionally aiming for Tommy, but if so, what they wrote does not make sense. So unless we’re meant to take that episode as being poorly written/constructed… I need them to go ahead and clarify things. Because how I would have crafted the episode if I knew I was aiming for Tommy not Eddie, is by:

Having a scene where Buck calls Tommy for the tour. — That establishes Buck seeking Tommy out on screen, and doesn’t leave viewers wondering how it happened.

Had Buck and Tommy run into each other so Buck could 1) ask him how the fight went, 2) have Tommy invite Buck to the basketball game, with him saying yes. — 1) would be giving them another chance to talk without Eddie, but for Tommy to sort of “gush” about how cool Eddie is and etc, solidifying the foundation of Buck’s jealousy out of fear he was being replaced. 2) would eliminate the need for Buck to peacock for Eddie in the gym, and could instead be replaced with him bragging that Tommy invited him along too, while Eddie is confused as to why Buck is excited since he doesn’t like basketball.

Shown Eddie and Tommy after the basketball game, in which Eddie expresses concern over Buck acting weird and hurting him. — It would have allowed viewers a chance to see Tommy connect the dots, then decide to go talk to Buck.

Lastly, I would have scrapped Tommy’s confusion entirely, replacing it with: “Trying to get your attention has been kind of exhausting.” — “Is that why you maimed your best friend?” — “I guess so.” — “Hmm, that’s not really my thing. I prefer talking.” “Yeah, my sister says there are better ways to get someone atten— *kiss happens*

So then, not only would that be blatant and intentional flirting from Tommy, but we’d also have known he had an idea about why Buck was acting out, and the kiss would have been less of a shock-shock (not that it truly was) for the audience and more us realizing Tommy sussed Buck out and took a chance on kissing him.

And that’s that. That is how the episode could have been definitively about Buck wanting Tommy’s attention, without changing anything major. Mind you, I’m not a showrunner nor professional writer, so I’m not going to act as if I know better than Tim.

What I will say, is I’m also not stupid and don’t see why they’d toe the line if they did not want people thinking Buck might be jealous and wanting of Eddie’s attention. Because there are only two answers, really. The first being, Tim didn’t know what the outcome would be the entire time he was writing it and couldn’t commit until he had an answer from Lou/ABC about the kiss. Or the other, Tim is actively teasing Buddie with no plans to make them canon. The latter would be fucked up, but not uncommon for television.

Either way, I said what I said. If all of this Buddie talk and intentional teasing within this season alone does not result in Buck and Eddie having a conversation about how they feel for each other, even if they do not date, there is no reason for me to believe any other storylines are being written with intent. Because there’s also only two ways this can go. Buddie is acknowledged and is shut down (a fair choice if that’s not the story Tim wants to tell) or Tim can act like he never dropped hints and that Buddie shippers were sadly looking to close despite what was said in 7x04, again, even though the episode plays both sides.

If he chooses the latter, that means he simply has lost his ability to craft interesting stories. And while I’ll still watch the show, because I genuinely love every character, it won’t matter to me what is being built up, because he could just as easily decide I as a viewer was looking too hard and only have myself to blame for misunderstanding what was written. That’s not a fun way to enjoy a show. Feeling like nothing matters when it feels like it should, just because the writers and show runner want to be chaotic or “subvert expectations”.

It’s why The Magicians went downhill fast after Quentin died. All that build up between he and Eliot for 3 seasons, followed by a 4th season of Quentin letting himself be tormented in attempt to save Eliot from being trapped inside the mind of a monstrous, magical killing machine, just to kill Q off before Eliot returned. Before either of them got to reconcile their love for each other and experience any sort of happiness together going forward.

I’m not saying 911 would ever be so dramatic, but am using it as an example of how to piss your audience off (not that Buddie shippers make up the majority of the audience) for no reason. It’s a great example of how crafting a story just to end it abruptly, then claim it as some profound and deep choice viewers just don’t understand about storytelling, is weak. It’ll be a poor excuse, and lead to me, at least, deciding to not actively care about how any storyline is crafted. I’m sure the show will continue to entertain me, again, I do love it, but the story building of each season won’t be my concern. I’ll watch whatever they show and take it as is, no expectations or theories, because what would be the point?

..

The (*) is because it is unclear to me whether or not any of this plan was actually written and shown on air, so people who say s4 was definitely leading to Buddie happening… I must disagree. Unless something else was said to confirm such, I can only go off of how I know episodes are usually pitched. Which is during meetings and stuff, either before or as they’re written. So Tim (or whoever) might have pitched the idea to FOX to have Buck be queer in s4, but that doesn’t mean they ended up airing the build up at all. What we’ve seen from s4 could very well be the consultation prize of sorts. Giving Buddie bigger emotional moments since Buck being queer was already shut down. That doesn’t mean Eddie was also planned to be queer back then or that Buddie was going to happen. Buck could have easily been dealing with unrequited feelings.

[peaceoutofthepieces]

Can you do the "are you wearing my shirt?" prompt for Willie and Simon (Wilmon? Is that their official ship name idk) and instead of a shirt maybe its Willie who wears Simon's purple hoodie?

i thought about giving this plot but it didn’t happen so it’s a short piece, but i hope it’s alright <3

124. “Are you wearing my shirt?”

Adjusting to life with Wilhelm wouldn’t appeal to Simon in the slightest, he realised, if it wasn’t with Wilhelm. The period immediately after Wilhelm’s impromptu announcement was more chaotic than the period following the tape leak, a feat Simon wouldn’t have thought possible. The difference—one that made it exponentially less frightening—was weathering it with Wille. Hand in hand, side by side, for better or for worse, even through Simon’s bouts of angry disbelief and Wilhelm’s anxious episodes, neither of them finding it as unbearable as before with the other always there to guide and soothe, support and reassure.

It was no longer a secret that Simon had Wille. It was the farthest thing from a secret, in all honesty. It was there for their whole town, for all of Sweden, for the entire world to watch and see. 

Hillerska had swallowed the truth much more quickly than the rest of the public, because the idea had always been there, sitting in front of them day in and day out with Simon and Wilhelm doing a poor job at covering it in every interaction. There were still whispers and stares, still outright approaches and invasive questions, but blanketing it all was a knowing acceptance they didn’t have anywhere else. 

Despite everything, it was the easiest place for them to be them. They could sit next to each other in class, in study, during meals, shoulders or thighs pressed together and intimacy obvious between them. They could walk hand in hand through the corridors, around the path, down the halls to Wilhelm’s room. They could steal kisses between classes, in empty spaces, lingering last in the locker room. 

And despite the newness of it, the flush of warmth that spread through Simon every time his eyes locked with Wilhelm’s and Wille smiled, open and honest and sure, none of it could be said to take Simon by surprise. 

Wilhelm had already said I’m yours louder than he ever allowed himself to say anything, and nothing should have been able to make Simon feel that affected ever again, and yet. 

Wilhelm filled out the hoodie much better than Simon did and still it made him look small, swathed, the way he did when he was asking to be held or when he had Simon, only ever Simon, above him or around him. He ducked into the collar and tugged the sleeves over his hands the way he ducked into Simon’s neck or chest or stomach or thighs, the way he folded his hands in the folds of Simon’s skin or hair or grip. He wrapped himself in it the way he wrapped himself in Simon, and he did so without a care towards who saw. 

And maybe that was because it wouldn’t matter, because no one would see what Simon saw. But Wilhelm settled at his desk, in his spot next to Simon’s, and Henry looked over briefly in acknowledgment and then looked again. Blinked. Simon felt the thrill in his stomach just as Henry caught sight of him in the doorway and raised a brow, lips quirking just so. Maybe it should have made the thrill twist into something nauseated. Maybe it would have, at a different time. 

Now, Simon only raised a brow back, grinned small and smug in return, and slipped silently towards his own seat as Henry gave a ridiculous wag of his head and nudged Walter beside him. 

Simon stopped paying attention to them in favour of Wilhelm and his beaming smile, the way the minute strain of tension slid from his shoulders as Simon settled into the space beside him. Instead he focused on the curve of Wilhelm’s lips, on the brush of fingers against the back of his hand, and on the contrast of purple and Wilhelm’s pale skin. 

“Hey,” Wilhelm said, eyes gleaming, and Simon could no longer help himself. 

“Are you wearing my shirt?” It should really be a silly question, because obviously Wilhelm was, but the prince seemed so utterly unfazed by it that Simon wasn’t entirely sure he’d noticed. 

But Wilhelm only smiled wider, despite the new rosy tint to his cheeks. “I’d consider it a hoodie.”

Simon rolled his eyes. “But it is mine.”

Wilhelm acquiesced with a small nod. 

“Since when are you stealing my clothes?”

“Not stealing,” Wilhelm protested, before offering a small shrug. “You left it in my room and I just picked it up.”

“Do not pretend you thought that was yours.” 

Wilhelm huffed a sigh, pulling the sleeves of the hoodie down over his hands. “It’s soft. And it smells nice.”

Simon raised a brow, unable to muffle a grin. “Nice?”

Wilhelm hummed. When he turned and caught Simon still gazing at him smugly, he rolled his eyes and his shoulders as his lips flickered in a smile. “You know what I mean.” 

Simon hummed back, feeling only smugger, knowing what Wilhelm meant was that the hoodie smelt like Simon. “That’s my favourite hoodie,” Simon pointed out. “So you’re going to have to give it back.” It was a pity even to say, because the truth was, Simon liked Wilhelm in his hoodie possibly a bit more than he liked the hoodie. 

But also, it was warm and comfortable and Simon’s favourite, and if Wilhelm simply wanted to wear Simon’s clothes, that could be separately arranged. 

Wilhelm crossed his arms over his chest. “You can exchange for the red sweater you keep under your pillow if you want.”

Simon froze. Wilhelm wasn’t even looking at him, and yet Simon could feel how the smugness had shifted, rolling off his boyfriend in waves as his lips quirked in that infuriating subtle smirk. When Simon only sat in silence, running a hand through his curls and shrinking in his seat, Wilhelm turned to look at him questioningly. “I wondered where that went for weeks, you know.”

“Yeah, well.” Simon cleared his throat. “You left it behind and I took it to give it back and you had some other things going on, so.”

“Right,” Wilhelm smiled. “And then you just…forgot about it.”

Simon nodded. “Exactly.”

Wilhelm nodded back, smile widening, and Simon only lasted another ten or so seconds before he cracked. His lips curved and he let out a puff of laughter, turning from Wille first this time and staring at the front of the classroom, where the teacher was yet to appear. 

“At least I haven’t been walking around in it,” Simon said, pointedly. 

“Why is that a good thing?”

Simon turned back to Wille, incredulous, but immediately got distracted as Wilhelm adjusted the collar of the hoodie around his neck, fingers running over the fabric as he cuddled deeper into it. Simon dragged his gaze up to Wilhelm’s face and cleared his throat. Wilhelm had his bottom lip pulled between his teeth and his brows still raised. “Possessive,” Simon tsked. 

Wilhelm smiled and curled a hand over Simon’s knee under the table. “Yeah.”

Simon flicked his eyes over Wille once more, and sighed, “Yeah,” in response. 

[theramblingsofadork]

📘 Starpoint Squad AU Fanfic: Deciding On A Team Name

It’s been about a week into the competition. Up until now, Starline and the others haven’t been able to decide on a team name because the group have been at such conflicting odds with each other, thanks to Starline’s failed attempts to control everything.

They’ve been ruthlessly teased for it too by another team who are shaping up to be their immediate rivals. “Not much of a team if you can’t even decide on a name! HA HA!”

So after Starline talks with Rivet and Charge and changes his tactics to allow everyone to be involved, they finally mellow out enough to come together and decide on something.

—

Mood Music: World Trigger - 31/40

“As you all know, today’s the last day to submit our team name,” Starline told the group huddled around in a comfortable circle, with some standing, and some sitting on the couches and chairs. He himself had chosen to stand.

“I realize we got off to a rough start. Simply put… this last week has been a disaster. But now that we’re all somewhat on the same page, we need to figure something out now.”

Starline then pressed his fingers together and glanced around. “So—in order to show my good will and that I’m serious about listening to what you all have to say, I have… decided to open up the floor to whatever suggestions you may have.”

There was a tangible pause as the group weighed the sincerity of his words, debating who was going to test that theory and speak up first.

Surprisingly, Hex was the one to take first crack at it, raising his gloved hand into the air.

Starline nodded to him. “Yes, Hex?”

“Um.. How about ‘Misfits?’” The small purple rat suggested, dropping his arm and dangling it with his other one over the back of the rolling chair he was occupying. “Y’know, because we’re all kind of a band of misfits working together?”

“Yeah, I guess that would make sense,” Rivet agreed, pointing to herself, then to her brother who was lounging next to her on the couch. “I mean, Charge and grew up in an isolated village without any technology—“ She then pointed across the circle to Cello. “Cello’s a hardcore scientist in a family of strict miners, Starline does multiple fields of study, Hex is a kid genius who could probably outcode the sun if he wanted to, and Lug—“

The lavender cat paused, as if suddenly realizing the bulldog didn’t really have anything noteworthy about himself to speak of. “…Well, Lug is Lug!”

Starline sighed as he crossed his arms, rubbing the bridge of his bill. Not… off to a great start.. “We are not going with Misfits,” he stated firmly. “A team name is supposed to inspire confidence, not make us sound as if we have no idea what we’re doing.” He shook his head haughtily.

“Well, how about ‘Intellects’ then?” Cello suggested next, her deadpanned expression unwavering as she adjusted her round, large framed glasses. “To show that we’re the opposite?”

“That’s too obvious though,” Charge pointed out with a groan, resting his arm over the back of the couch with his other pressed under his chin. His yellow ears flicked to the side. “Not to mention it kinda makes us sound like a bunch of know-it-alls. Not really a good look.”

The firefly crossed her arms and grumpily glowered over at the lounging cat. “Well then, do YOU have any better ideas?” Cello pointedly asked him.

Charge hummed and debated for a moment, then stated, “…Well, how about ‘The Hex Squad’? Y’know, because there’s six of us—a hex bolt has six points—and we’re primarily working on constructing robots and such?”

“I’ll confess that is a clever... utilization of that word…” Starline started, slightly impressed he had come up with that on the fly. “But I think the problem with that one should be fairly obvious.”

“Oh?” Charge glanced over at him.

Hex cleared his throat as he rose his hand again.

“…Oh, right—“ The cat acknowledged, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Guess we shouldn’t use the name of one of our teammates, huh?”

“I mean, it’s not that I wouldn’t mind my nickname being part of the team name,” Hex started, rubbing the back of his visor-clad head. “Honestly, I’d be kind of flattered really… But if we go with that, then everyone might think I’m the leader.” He shuddered in cold fear. “And I don’t think I could deal with the stress of that…”

“Yeah, you have a point there,” Charge agreed before hiding his mouth in the crook of his scarf. “I just thought it might make us seem cool and clever.”

The cat then blinked and side glanced at Rivet. “How about you, sis? You’re good at coming up with names. Got anything cooking up in that nogin of yours?”

“Mmm.. sorry to say it, but no, not really,“ Rivet stated as she crossed her arms and shifted her weight to the other hip. “Most of the ones I thought of were already taken by the other groups early on. And it’s kind of hard to encompass so many people with so many different talents under one name.” She sighed and closed her eyes. “Honestly, the best I’ve got at this moment would be something like ‘Team Vision’ or ‘Team Innovation’.”

The group grumbled and collectively deflated with a sigh.

“I mean, yeah, those would technically work, but they are pretty bland and generic…” Hex stated with a weak chuckle.

“Which is precisely why I didn’t bring them up...”

Starline rubbed his face as each of their ideas came up short. This was shaping up to be a bigger disappointment than the platypus had originally hoped. After all their insistance to be involved and work as a team, he had hoped they might be able to surprise him a bit and prove they were deserving of the voice he was giving to them. But so far, things were playing out just the way he thought they would.

The platypus huffed a bit, deciding it best to take control again. “Well then… unless you all can come up with something respectably appropriate by this evening, then I’m afraid we’ll have no choice but to fall back on the name that I chose earlier.”

“Oh please no,” Hex groaned, putting his face into his hands. “Not that one.”

“Yeah, can’t say I’m exactly thrilled about being called ‘Dr. Starline and his Minions’ either,” Charge admitted with an unamused frown.

Starline scoffed and stuck his bill in the air. “It is a perfectly acceptable name!”

“Yeah, for you maybe!!” Cello ground her teeth together like a dog ready to chomp on his head. “I don’t much appreciate being called a ‘minion’. And if Hex can’t have his name be part of the team one, then why can you? Like? Ego much?”

Starline blanched and glowered over at the firefly. “We’ve been over this already, Cello!” He argued, clenching a fist in annoyance. “I can do whatever I please because I AM the leader!”

As the two began to bicker back and forth, Rivet sighed loudly. “Aaand, there they go again… Honestly, you think they’d get tired of fighting after a while...”

“What do you expect? They’re both very opinionated people. Of course they’re gonna clash.” Charge stated before looking at her. “I mean, you remember how much we fought, right?”

“Oh yes..” Rivet nodded.

“Starline does have a point though. None of our ideas are really working, and we’re almost out of time.”

“You’re right… If only we hadn’t spent so much time squabbling amongst each other this last week…” Rivet grumbled, rubbing the back of her head.

Hex made a thoughtful noise, then glanced over to the bulldog sitting wide stanced in the couch chair besides him, twiddling his big gloved thumbs. “…Lug? What about you? You’ve been pretty quiet this whole time. You got any ideas?”

“Huh?” Lug glanced over at his best friend, before shrugging his shoulders at being addressed. “Oh, well, I mean—I do have one, but it’s probably not that good.”

“Aha—dear boy, I don’t think it can be any worse than anything we’ve heard already,” Starline scoffed, breaking off from listening to Cello’s flaming remarks and earning a dirty look from her and the others in the process.

Lug debated that silently for a moment, then his ears perked as he decided to just shoot his shot. “Well then, how about… ‘Starpoint’?”

The air of the group suddenly shifted as tensions dropped and everyone looked to him with complete confusion.

“‘Starpoint’?” Rivet echoed, tilting her head a bit in interest and bewilderment.

“Yeah!” The bulldog looked around at the collective group. “I mean— we are all here to prove something, right? To show that… we’re something more than what they say we are?”

Hex and Charge’s eyes widened.

“That we can be better versions of ourselves, and make a real difference?”

Rivet and Cello exchanged a thoughtful glance.

‘We’re gonna ‘reach for the stars’? Fulfill our goals and all that stuff?”

Starline blinked bc made an impressed noise.

Lug held out his hands like he had just told the punchline to a joke and was awaiting the audience’s response. “Ehh? Makes sense, right?”

“Starpoint..” Starline murmured thoughtfully, putting a hand to his bill in earnest contemplation as the platypus suddenly found himself genuinely surprised by the depth and insightfulness of that name.

How shocking for it to be coming from their arguably dumbest member as well.

“Hmm.. It does have a nice ring to it,” Rivet spoke up after a moment of thinking as well.

“Not too haughty or degrading…” Cello added as she also put a hand on her chin. “It fits our group dynamics pretty well too...”

“And it sounds cool!” Charge nodded. “I think it’s perfect.”

“Yeah?” Lug sat up straighter as his grin grew even wider. Almost like he didn’t expect them to like it.

“Yes..” Starline wagged a finger through the air as he weighed this new option, before glancing across to Lug with a rather impressed grin. “I do believe you might be onto something there, Lug. Well done!” A genuine compliment he did not expect to be giving.

“So, if sour face over there is behind it too, does this mean we’re going with it, or not?” Cello asked, ignoring Starline’s sharp, withering glare as her eyes darting from person to person, trying to judge the vibe of the room.

“Why not?” Rivet asked, shifting her weight to the other side. “Beats the other option by a mile.”

Starline grumbled, feeling his pride take two severe hits, like a flaming arrow to the heart. But the self proclaimed doctor quickly moved past it and cleared his throat to give an approving nod as well, despite his disbelief that he was doing so. “I suppose it does encapsulate our shared goals quite well... and if everyone’s in agreement with it, then I see no problem with us being the ‘Starpoint Team’.”

“SQUAD!” Hex suddenly exclaimed, his eyes suddenly lighting up. “Let’s be the ‘Starpoint Squad’, like how Charge suggested instead!!” He practically leapt up onto his seat cushion with a sudden zeal. “I JUST realized that if we do that, we’ll be JUST like my favorite heroes from Hero Mania: Mega Battle Robots VII! A team of powerful warriors using their combined skills to protect the world and make it a better place! Haha!”

“Ahah..” Starline hesitated, feeling a dip of reluctance to let that change slip through. He had already approved of Lug’s idea. Not to mention ‘Team’ sounded much more put together and professional than ‘Squad’ did. “Hex… we aren’t in a video game—“ he started to say. But the kid was too eager to let him finish.

“Awwww come on, please???” Hex put his hands together and gave the platypus his best puppy dog look.

Lug was immediately ready to back his best friend up, giving a big ole, sad frown as he pushed to the rat’s side as if to showcase him like a used car salesman. “Aww, I know you’re a big grump an’ all, Starline, but you wouldn’t say no to a face like this, ✨ would you? ✨”

“Yes, I would,” Starline said without skipping a beat, and Lug bristled like a cat being thrown into water. “WOW—SO COLD!!”

Charge chuckled at their back and forth before leaning forward on his knees to glance over at Starline. “Ah come on Doc, let the kid have his fun,” he said chidingly. “You know it won’t hurt anything in the long run.”

Starline grumbled beneath his breath, suddenly feeling very bullied from all sides. Hex certainly wasn’t going to let this go, was he? And was it really worth his time and effort to argue with them on this? Especially when they were already so far behind schedule as is?

“Don’t lose sight of your goal. You’re doing this to gain Eggman’s attention…” he begrudgingly reminded himself, pressing a hand to his well-maintained bangs.

The platypus finally sighed loudly and waved a hand through the air with a dramatic reluctance as he conceeded. “…Very well, fine! If you so insist, ‘Starpoint Squad’ it is.”

“YES!!” Hex exclaimed excitedly as he quite literally jumped out of his seat in joy, and Starline couldn’t help but huff a bit and shake his head.

“See? I knew it,” Rivet’s voice caused him to look up again, just in time to see the rider smirk as she gently shoulder bumped him. “You do have a heart in there.”

Scoffing, Starline rolled his eyes as he straightened his blazer. “It has nothing to do with having a heart,” he stated as he watched Lug hoist the excited, giggling rat into the air and spin him around. “Your brother is right. At the end of the day, the work we complete will be ultimately what matters.”

“Mmm.. sure, okay. Whatever you say, Doc.” Rivet hummed thoughtful. She didn’t sound like she believed a word of it.

“It’s simply strategy,” Starline thought to himself, dismissing her words. “Nothing more.”

Still… watching the laughing Hex, he did have to admit.. The boy’s energy over such a small thing was contagious.

The platypus smiled. Just a little bit.

He supposed he could deal with allowing this change.

[magical-girl-coral]

Wyll quest rewrite attempt number 39, take one, featuring a blank tav for self insert reasons.

(spoilers for act 3)

As the party crossed Wyrm's rock, a hellish figure waited for them near the entrance to the lower city. The smell of sulfur was familiar, and yet that was where the familiarity ended. [Tav] prepared their weapon in case it's a new enemy they have to put down. The rest of them followed suite.

Karlach's eyes widen in shock when the figure finally came in full view. A yellow cambion with blue eyes. She signaled her friends to lower their weapons.

"Flo!" She yelled out. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"What? Is it that odd to visit an old friend after they've been away for so long?" Flo asked back, as if this greeting was the epitome of normalcy. "Honestly, you'd think the living world would have better manners than this."

Karlach's expression didn't move an inch. "Cut the crap, Flo. Just tell us what you're here for or fuck off."

Flo huffed in mock annoyance. "And here I thought we could at least have lunch first. Very well." She turned to face the rest of the party. "Mizora is going to kill Ulder Ravengard within the next three days. Whatever he is taken to has him sealed shut enough to keep even the hells at bay, so I'd say you better hurry up."

Wyll eyes widen in terror. "What?" He readied his rapier. "Explain yourself, devil, now!"

Flo grinned. This was obviously the reaction she was hoping for. "You heard me, loves. Mizora is going to kill the grand duke of Baldur's Gate right under everyone's noses. Quite the spectacle if you ask me. Here I thought she knew better than that."

[Tav] couldn't wrap their head around the logic of this decision. It feels so... chaotic, rather the usual lawfulness that devils exude. "But why? What does she get out of this? Wouldn't it be more useful for him to live?"

Flo threw her head back and laughed like a mad hyena. "That's the best part! She fucked up so badly that Zariel has begun to lose interest in her, so now she has to get her hands dirty for the first time in forever."

When she faced the party again, her teeth pierced her smile. "You see, Mizora was originally supposed to just destroy the cult of the dragon seven years ago under boss' orders, but after meeting little baby Wyll Ravengard, she had the brilliant idea of going against Zariel's orders and trick the poor lad into selling his soul to her to "Save" his precious home." She turned to acknowledge Wyll. "The sending stone for an eye was a nice touch though. I'll give her that much."

Wyll just stood there, completely lost to the world, his rapier slowly slipping from his hand. "You... You mean...I.. I never... I never had to..." His breathing was getting worst with every word he choked out. Lae'zel stood closer to him in case he collapsed.

Flo grinned like a shark. "Nope! Fucking none of that was needed! Mizora had just assumed that if she had the son of the duke under her claw, she could slowly influence Baldur's Gate into selling more souls for herself in Zariel's name. Unfortunately, daddy dearest didn't approve of son's new friend, and banished both of them from his beloved home. And now Mizora is trying to fix that mistake by killing Ulder to pressure little Wyll into a new contract. Would have been brilliant if she wasn't so stupid to begin with.

[Tav] was somehow even more confused then they were before. "Why didn't Mizora allow Wyll to tell Ulder how he sold his soul to save Baldur's Gate? Wouldn't have that helped them both stay?"

Crackling like a rabid dog, Flo continued. "Because Mizora herself couldn't say a word about the event. The cult came into power thanks to Zariel not noticing who was selling their soul to her, and wanted to clean up this mess she made without anyone ever knowing she had a hand in it through fucking up her paperwork. Thanks to that, Mizora couldn't speak a word of the cult to anyone, and since Wyll was her little pet, she decided he should share her suffering to avoid a little tongue slip and igniting Zariel's wrath. We were only allowed to speak of this incident a year after it was done, but of course Mizzie just had to leash her favorite a little harder than she needed to. What a beautiful wreck of a conclusion."

Wyll was fully leaning on Lae'zel by the time the story was done, too numb to the world to feel his limps around him with erratic breathing making it all worse. Karlach shielded him from her 'friend'. "That's enough, Flo. You've had your fun, now beat it before I beat you."

Flo hummed. "So be it. This will keep me entertained for days anyway. Tata for now!"

With a mocking wave of a hand, Flo returned to the hells, living only ashes and the stench of Avernus behind her.

Wyll had collapsed on the ground, Lae'zel catching him just in time. [Tav] turned their head in worry. "Shit, Wyll!"

They knelt by his side, bringing cold water to his lips. "Stay with me, alright? We have three days to find your father. We got time."

"That's not it," Wyll wheezed out, "That's not it at all. My home. I've been away for seven years. For nothing. It was going to be saved. She was going to save it. I didn't have to lose my eye. I didn't have to be alone. She took it all from me. Everything. That..That..."

"That cunt," Astarion finished for him. It was hard to tell if he did it out of sympathy, or just as a good excuse to curse someone out to the wind.

Wyll chugged the clown water and gingerly rose to his feet. "I think I need to get back to camp. Or an inn. Just, somewhere to be alone. Get my thoughts in order. Maybe throw up. I don't feel like I know anything anymore."

Shadowheart slung Wyll's arm around her shoulder. "I heard there's a tavern close by called the Elfsong. We can camp there for the evening."

The party had continued forward, with Wyll walking right in the middle of it, being protected from all sides in case another unwanted surprise pops up. [Tav] was in the front with Karlach, a few more questions on the tip of their tongue.

"Why would Flo spill all of Mizora's plans to us? Do you think they have another motivation?"

"Don't worry your little head about," Karlach answered. "Flo is only here for a good time. It's just that her good time usually involves someone else having a shit day from hell. I can see why she did it; if we fail, Wyll will be miserable from not being to save his dad. If we succeed, Mizora will be seen as a fool at best and a useless vessel at worst. Either way, Flo will have her fun."

[Tav] grimaced. "If this was the best company you could find in Avernus, I don't even want to think about the rest of it."

Karlach snorted. "Trust me, you really don't"

_____________________________________________________________

A few notes:

1). Flo's color choices was to balance out the cambion color pallets. Raphael has red skin and yellow eyes, Mizora has blue skin and red eyes, so Flo has yellow skin and blue eyes.

2). If the party find the iron throne before the the day limit is up, Mizora appears just as they enter it, finding it thanks to Wyll's stone eye. If the party misses the three day mark, Ulder is dead with his soul taken to the hells, so the usual resurrection scroll or revival wouldn't work.

3). The new contract goes like this: Ulder's soul has been claimed by the hells after he was trapped in Avernus along with the city of Elturel. Wyll's new choice is between sending his soul or his father's into enteral damnation.

4). I mostly wrote this out of annoyance when I found out Ulder dies if we go to the iron throne before meeting Mizora at act 3. It's so fucking dumb. Just kill the man before you do your dramatic entrance, you dumb bitch. You'd think her horns pierced her brains with how she thinks.

[nullians]

William James Moriarty willingly falling to Hell of his own making when being confronted by Sherlock

William James Moriarty who knows Sherlock has a point (“There isn’t a single thing in this world that can’t be undone!”, what a spectacular but also devastating lie you’re telling here Mr. Holmes!!) but who’s in too much pain and is too exhausted to be able to choose differently

(And oh my gods, Sherlock. Sherlock!! It’s true that William can still be saved but you’re saying that to a person who is. Examining his hands and seeing so much blood there!! Some things cannot be undone, people can’t be brought back to life! William cannot undo his Moriarty plan, the same way it couldn’t be anybody else but him to make it work anyways! AAAAAA)

William James Moriarty who falls to his death with a mocking smile and empty eyes because that is his final victory over Sherlock - to be the only one who dies for his grand scheme, to be the only one put to early rest, to not allow himself any other path than the one he has chosen so many years ago. He is right. He was never wrong. He will prove it.

(Save him)

(You cannot save me)

(Nobody should want to save me)

And Sherlock Holmes who in attempt to save him blunders through his words but ultimately takes the role of the devil himself, only he’s the temptator made solely for William. William is not wrong to call him the devil then. Sherlock is hurling words at him just to make him reconsider.

Take a moment to see how his words evolve. Sherlock comes to the scene starting off with stating how things are, how the people of London have all deemed William to be the devil. He then says the line about how things can still be undone. It’s an attempt to make William reconsider dying for real and instead going for a fake death. It obviously doesn’t work, if it could then Louis and Fred would’ve been able to change William’s mind without Sherlock.

Then Sherlock does a bit better by expressing how he’s not okay with just letting William die

(“You expect me to just stand by and watch as you go to your death?”)

but immediately fucks up with following with a taunt that’s crossing with William’s plan

(“Is dying the atonement that you’ve come up with for yourself? You’re just doing it to escape from your own suffering. Don’t use death as your escape! If you truly want to atone, then make the harder choice for yourself! Live and atone with your life for what you have done. Right? Isn’t that right, Liam?”)

+1 -2, he’s back to zero and then worse with this. William might want to hear that he’s important to Sherlock, but telling him to atone by living is akin to telling him that his pain doesn’t matter. It’s a failure of acknowledging just how much he’s suffering already. It’s a blunder. He immediately changes his approach and decides to jump off the bridge after this. It’s a clear “Fuck you” to Sherlock’s taunt.

And it would end there with him hearing “You stubborn jackass!” as Sherlock’s parting words but then Sherlock finally kinda breaks out of that initial anger he was aiming at him and lunges after him and manages to catch his hand. It becomes personal then. Sherlock is putting his own life at risk in order to save him.

And Sherlock realizes a few things there too, throwing his previous words out of the window and trying again with stating that no, he’s doing all this because William is his friend. He does a 180 saying “Living may hold nothing but bitterness for you, but the world that you are changing is going to be a world worth living in. I’m sure of it!”. It manages to 1) acknowledge the weight and pain that William shoulders, 2) tell William that Sherlock sees that the Moriarty Plan is/was a worthwhile effort, 3) affirm that Sherlock, personally, believes that William’s ideal of the world will succeed. And it works! Even if William is still set on dying here, it makes something in him finally be at ease, returning the light to his eyes.

“You can see that same future for yourself!”

William realizes at this moment that Sherlock didn’t come there as a part of his plan. That he came there on his own volition to save him and that this whole set up he’s made into a spectacle is not like that to Sherlock at all. That while he’s still playing the Lord of Crime, Sherlock is genuinely there to save his ass and nothing more. And he gives that victory to him. He says “You’ve bested me, Sherly”. It’s the one thing he doesn’t let himself hope for but gets it anyway, and he’s happy to go. This time with a real smile. William is incredibly stubborn when it comes to sticking to his plan and he doesn’t intend to drag anyone down to hell with him, so he does the logical thing of stabbing Sherlock’s arm and forcing him to let go of his hand. His last act of selflessness. The last gift.

Only you know, he didn’t account for just how stubborn Sherlock himself was. Because Sherlock Holmes jumps into hell with him, throwing everything of his own away, doing the illogical thing. Sherlock, who just moments ago was taunting him with how he was a coward for choosing death, who doesn’t even flinch before reaching for him in what was then their downfall, whose last words to him there were an order to live.

Sherlock is nothing short of insane. He decides on the spot that if the world has already chosen to condemn William, and William decided to agree with that, then he’s still going to choose his side and stand with him and his pain. Sherlock can only lose here. He uses what’s left of himself and his time to show William that no matter what he does, there is still someone who will see him for who he truly is. He doesn’t get to die alone. He doesn’t deserve that. It’s utterly devastating and beautiful.

^Basically what I’ve been scattering across my blog these past few days but a bit more detailed because I’m down bad:

[the-graves-family]

No. 24: Radiation poisoning

“Sire, you shouldn’t be out of bed.”

Ace looks over at the retainer reaching out to him, and he politely sidesteps the man with a tired smile behind the veil.

“I am fine,” he murmurs, and bows his head. “Thank you for your concern.”

“My lord, I must insist—!”

“Enough, Edmund,” Adrian’s voice rings out in the hall, and Ace turns to look at his brother with a big smile, hidden though it might be. “If my brother wants to leave his room, he can.” The man walks up to them with a serious look on his face, before turning to Ace with a gentler smile. “Provided he lets me accompany him.”

It’s not exactly a question, but Ace still nods his head, trying to ignore how dizzy just that small action makes him feel. “Of course. I’d love that.”

He’s so tired, but he misses the gardens and his roses. And he’ll take any excuse to spend time with his older brother. Adrian already spends too much time away from the estate, and Ace wants to take advantage of every moment he’s back.

Adrian offers him his arm, and he takes it with a small murmur of thanks. It’s been some time since someone’s willingly touched him without fear. Even the staff, despite being fully aware for years that the curse can’t be spread, avoids him.

It’s very lonely.

The brothers walk in silence for a few minutes until they reach the gardens, where Ace reaches up to unveil himself, letting his eyes adjust to the bright colors of the blooming flowers. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see his own marred skin, but he tries to ignore it.

“How have you been?” Adrian asks him as they walk along the paths, and Ace smiles at him.

“Not many changes,” he replies. His brother’s expression immediately sours, and he shakes his head calmly. “It means nothing has gotten worse, ‘Ian.”

“It also means nothing has gotten better.”

Adrian thinks it’s his responsibility to find a cure. Ace had given up hope for one a long time ago. He’s just waiting for the family to accept it as well. Every day, he’s getting weaker and weaker, and no healing or praying is helping.

“It’s alright,” Ace murmurs, leaning down to inspect a bright white rose, gently brushing its petals with his fingers. When he straightens his back, the world fades for a moment, and when it blinks back into view, he’s in Adrian’s arms, looking up at his worried face. It seems his body has given out again.

It’s not fair.

“Ace?” Adrian asks, and he makes a quiet noise, just to acknowledge that he’s conscious once more. “We should get you back inside. The morning chill has to be upsetting you.”

And it’s not. Not really. Ace misses fresh air, and he misses riding horses, misses flowers, and animals, and just being allowed to exist outside of the confines of his room. But he’s being killed by a very slow-moving arrow, and it comforts his family to think that if he’s kept away from everything, that death will somehow be avoided.

His heart beats weakly against the dark thorns of the curse, and Ace nods, holding onto his brother as the man lifts him up in his arms.

“Will you stay and read to me?” He asks quietly, closing his eyes as Adrian replaces his veil to hide his face. There’s not a lot of hope in his tone: his brother is a very busy man, and wasting time with Ace is not something he does often.

“Sorry, little brother. I promise I’ll do that next time,” Adrian tells him, and they both know he’s lying. “I have to go out again. Maybe this time we’ll find something to help you.”

Ace wants everyone to give up and just be with him.

“Of course,” he murmurs, resting his head against Adrian’s chest. “I can wait.”

For as long as he can hold on.

[ficfanatictrf]

The Night Stand (Part 5)

Summary : Finally, a little of Viktor's worries become clear and Jayce has had enough.

Warnings : lots of angst and drama

Edited and proofread by nobody - just going for it!

Word Count: 1.7K

The first thing you were aware of was just how bright and cold your location was. A sterile scent lingering in the air as well as something else that you couldn’t quite place. It was sweet but fresh.

And as you crack your eyes open, hardly being able to manage much with just how bright the room was - you were surprised to see who was sitting with you.

Completely passed out, it was clear from how he was sprawled across the chair that he was asleep in that it wasn’t comfortable. Constantly shifting in hopes of finding a better position, a frown slowly deepening as such a spot just couldn’t be found.

Was Jayce.

Glancing about the room, you were desperate to see someone - the one that you truly had hoped would be there even after all the distance that had grown between the two of you. Yet, as you found the rest of the seating empty, you could feel the damn break as a sob ripped through you.

Why wasn’t he here? Why wasn’t Viktor here?

You felt so silly, so stupid for believing he would care - so embarrassed that you had even had hope that someone you had once been so close to would come.

Did you truly mean so little to him?

Just from Jayce being there, it meant they had to have contacted your work. When the news came, did Viktor just turn back to his work? Had he even paused what he was doing to acknowledge that you were in the hospital?

You could picture it now, Viktor scoffing at the news. Already thinking of how much money this was going to cost him.

“..huh?..What is…oh shit!”

Jayce awoke to your breakdown, up and by your side. Not even caring if it was appropriate, the man was soon holding you close in his arms as he moved onto the bed to join you.

“Hey hey hey, everything is alright. The doctors say the baby is alright, they don’t want you working anymore till the birth but they are still kicking.”

You know he was trying to help, you did - and yet, even as the tears slowly came to a stop, you just felt so hollow and numb.

“Viktor nearly begged me to bring you those”

After so long in the silence, Jayce’s voice startled you - the man gesturing at the flowers on your bedside table. They were the most beautiful blue hydrangeas you had ever seen, already knowing that it must have cost him a fortune with how large the display was.

“He made sure I remembered, but apparently the fact they are blue means it is an apology? No clue how the color means that, but he made sure that I would promise to tell you that”

Your eyes moved to stare at the floral arrangement, whispering your sassy comment without even realizing that you had done it.

“Why doesn’t he tell me himself?”

The silence that followed was all the answer you needed, rolling over onto your side away from the man. Pulling the blankets higher, you hide. From Jayce, from sight, and from the rest of the world.

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

When news reached the lab about your incident and that you were being taken to the hospital. Jayce was surprised to see just how fast Viktor had been out of there, nearly knocking over the furniture in his path and one of the assistants.

So, when it had taken him a bit of time to get the lab under control before heading to the hospital himself - he was rather confused as to why Viktor was still at the front desk.

Surely he would have made it here much sooner than he had, the man would have had almost a full half-hour head start.

“As per our policy, we cannot allow you past this point”

“I understand the policy! However, I am not a patient! Surely it should be fine if I am not a patient, correct?!”

As Jayce came to Viktor’s side, he saw a side of the man he had never seen before.

The smaller man looked completely desperate, frazzled, and terrified.

“If you continue to shout, I will have you escorted off the premises”

The woman’s attitude was like nothing the man would comprehend. Someone had just been admitted into the hospital and had someone wanting to visit them. That should be completely common in a place like this.

Yet, as he took in how she was standing - looking down her nose at Viktor, small hints to her features that there was disgust hidden behind her professional mask. It was obvious even to someone like him that something else was going on.

Viktor could only stammer out an apology, Jayce already seeing a way to fix whatever misunderstanding was happening.

“Surely he can see her, he is the fath-”

“Godfather!”

Viktor quickly cut off, sheer panic in his eyes as he roughly brought down his cane onto Jayce’s foot.

“Policy is policy. Please leave”

Jayce was ready to fight about it more, that was till Viktor was pulling him away from the desk and towards the door.

“What in the world Vik? Don't you have the right to see her and the baby? Why are we leaving?”

As he asked question after question, he soon found himself outside away from prying eyes - Viktor finally turned to face him. Except, now instead of fear he saw only rage.

“You knew?”

“K-knew?”

“You knew that I was the father and yet you continued to let me try to hide it as much as I could, even when it was just the two of us in the lab?”

Rolling his eyes, Jayce couldn’t help but laugh at the man.

“Yes, 'cause everyone would spend hours pouring over pregnancy books for an employee. Who would have guessed that after a ‘one night stand’ that she was panicked about and the fact that you admitted to making a horrible mistake the next day? To top it off with the fact that baby’s age and the fact that you two have blindly been in love with each other for years - yeah, we all knew you both had feelings for each other. There were bets in the lab on who would admit it first - you damn fools”

The man’s tirade seemed to be what was needed to squash the other’s rage. Lessening it down to just a simmer as the irritation was still there, just now not directed at Jayce as it had been before.

“Fine, fine. I admit I was a little too…haphazard.”

Scoffing once more, Jayce wouldn’t help but comment once more.

“Haphazard? Do you know how many breakdowns they’ve had because of you? You never explain yourself, even now you don’t explain anyth-”

Cutting off the man, Viktor’s voice was serious and cold - but sounded a lot like a part of him had given up.

“The policy of this hospital, as well as most healthcare facilities in Piltover, is simple. Those from the Undercity will not be treated in their facilityies”

So much of Viktor’s health issues made so much sense. Why he had to go to a little hole-in-the-wall clinic near the edge of town, why even though he was in pain almost constantly was given almost nothing to help with the pain.

Why he had been so vocal in denying that he was the father.

“Don’t tell them. I will explain everything to them once they are cleared, if they hear anything about this - the stress will only hurt the baby.” Viktor whispered, giving his friend a forced smile as he reached up to pat his shoulder softly.

Whatever expression he had made to this information, it must have been enough that Viktor felt the need to comfort him. Which, given the situation, was rather gut-wrenching.

“I won’t be allowed inside, but you can. Get them flowers, blue hydrangeas specifically. It has to be blue hydrangeas.”

Fishing through his pockets, Viktor pulled out his tattered wallet.

There was hardly any money in it, Viktor having given you nearly ninety-five percent of his earnings. The rest being used for his living expenses.

So as he pulled out on a few ones and started to try and scrape together whatever coins he had - Jayce already knew he wouldn’t be allowing him to pay for it.

Reaching out to stop his friend's search, he reached into his own pocket to pull out his wallet - handing the man some money before patting him on the back.

“Got it, blue hydrangeas.”

“It has to be those.”

Viktor quickly cut off, grabbing hold of Jayce’s sleeve before he could head back inside.

“You must remember, blue hydrangeas symbolize an apology. That I regret not being able to be at her side, and I hope she can find it in herself to forgive me. Please, she needs to know that I am sorry for not being there”

He already knew that this wasn’t going to turn out well.

After seeing how you broke down from Viktor’s rejections before, to find that he wasn’t even at your side after a time like this? He could already picture just how broken this would leave you.

“This is the last time I let it slide. I won’t tell them, but after they are released you tell them everything -”

“Yes, yes, of course”

“I wasn’t finished Viktor”

Gulping, the man went quiet, a little taken aback by just how serious and somewhat threatening his partner was being.

“You tell them everything; why you pushed them away, why you won’t claim the child, why you wouldn’t be honest about your affections. You seem to forget, I’ve drank with you multiple times before, I know your nonsensical reasons.”

Viktor’s eyes widened before him as he grasped just what Jayce was threatening.

“You tell them everything. Or I will”

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

@piperdoodles @cheeriecherrymain @twisted-carnival-creature @thehistoriangirl @vmyths @luixiv @linky-dinks

[adreamthatsworthkeeping]

I've learnt my lesson from BBC Ghosts where I dove into immediate reactions without thinking things through.

Having finished season four of TUA, I definitely can see where all the criticism comes from, but at the same time, it wasn't as bad as I feared (despite still being bad).

The main thing was the fact there was very little character arcs/plot for most of the siblings. Klaus got one, but at the same time he doesn't grow, he also gets stuck back where he was and he and Alison resume relying on one another and learn nothing.

As far as I could tell Alison had no plot, side story, or arc. She gets back into Klaus' codependency and that's about it.

Viktor had one where he gets acknowledgement he has great skills and should have been allowed to be in the team, so there's great closure there for him. But his main thing was trying to save Ben with closure on the side.

Luthor was the butt of jokes when he had anything to say at all. His whole life seemed depressing and he had no growth and would have gone back to doing the same thing powers or no powers. He was also a bit of a loser in the main one, but being a dag is different to being a loser.

Diego finally pulled his finger out and managed to realise his wife was great and he shouldn't have a one person pity party about how much his life sucks. It's a typical bored hero, kinda like where Mr Incredible could have gone if he blamed his wife for his boring life. His resentment on Lila for having a hobby when he didn't was stupid and I'm annoyed they did the boring suburban life bickering couple for these two. After seeing them kick arse in season three it was a shame to break them down like that. The CIA stuff was just embarrassing.

The time on the train could have been done better for Five and Lila. More bickering, conversations, more dialogue between the pair as they fought to escape. That would have eased off the weird vibes of them suddenly getting close. You need to see the struggle, even if we stayed underground, show the conversations, have them talk about their old life more, about missing birthdays and regret the fights.

I see that Lila wanted companionship, but she needed to go on about how much she missed her family and realised she didn't want a break from Diego. She needed that, we needed that to give her some depth and show us she didn't get with Five flippantly, but kinda got lonely and lost and feels bad.

Five I think was hard because after growing up alone in an apocalypse and having to come back, grow up again, and get caught up in the world ending, he didn't have a lot of relationships so Lila might have been his first real feelings and he was lost and confused himself. He didn't have a love interest to fall back on, but the fact he doesn't realise how Lila's looking at things is ridiculous considering his attachment to Delores. He knows what being alone does, he should be the one who understands the most. Not have his puppy dog eyes at being hurt. But I do get how he feels rejected because it was a long time, even if they weren't together the whole seven years, the emotional dependency is hard to break. But the writers brush over it, use your words and maybe just once say what you're feeling instead of starting and looking sad.

As for the rest.

The entire thing in the car with the vomit was insufferable and it's a miracle anyone pushed past that episode to even see the other episodes.

The actual plots they had made no sense and didn't connect. Klaus' had nothing to do with anything, it was a reasonable side plot at least, every one had a smidge side plots that barely connected so there was no flow in the season because it was just mashed together. Klaus' was the closest to being a good plot though, even if it's sad he had to regain his powers.

The whole Jennifer thing could have been good, was it to give Ben more time after being missing/dead for the other seasons? But it didn't make sense and was poorly explained. So Jennifer and Ben were drawn together because...reasons? They didn't have the same powers, they assumed Jennifer was one of them but she didn't show powers (or they were repressed like Viktor?). How did Reggie know to keep them apart? Did they meet as kids?

Jean and Gene were great though. Good work there, that was a nice addition. The weird side addition of the dead wife possessing people was odd but kinda worked in a MIB style.

But so much wasn't explained, I didn't need things to be spelt out, but the fact it came from nowhere and had to be worked out as a fan group means it needed better execution. I can pick up clues and inferences, but some stuff didn't have anything to hold onto to even work out.

As for the Care Bear Stare ending. It wasn't as bad as I had heard. I understand the 'better if we weren't born' idea. but it didn't come across that way. It was 'we need to prevent more disasters from happening, we are stuck in a loop and this needs to break'. Not, 'our lives are meaningless and we shouldn't have been born'. There is a difference. They save the world one last time with sacrifice, not admit they shouldn't have ever been born and their lives are meaningless. I didn't get that vibe. Plus they get their closure, they feel better, and still get to save the world. They don't die feeling like soldiers or puppets.

[red-elric]

okay so like. theres a part of me that wants to say smth like 'after all his promises and morals, vash just kills knives? whats the point then!' but. ive been left FLOORED and still think its really good so lets think about this some more. like its not unsatisfying at all; let me figure out why. this might get a little stream of consciousness

i think the penultimate episode where vash struggles to come to terms with having killed legato is crucial here. he comes into the episode shaken; no one has the right to take the life of another, regardless of what they do, he's stopped living up to rem's ideals, he's killed a man and even though legato was a killer, even though milly and meryl and the townspeople would have died if vash hadnt killed him, theres smth in vash thats screaming out that its NOT RIGHT. that its a mistake. but then vash ackowledges that, and its through making the mistake that he finds his peace with what he's done; everyone makes mistakes, and as long as you keep trying to do better next time, youre still okay. and like.... that on its OWN still doesnt sit right w vash killing knives, but hold on! theres another layer

because whats REALLY important here i think is that vash is acknowledging that hes ALLOWED to make a mistake. and i think something much much deeper clicks here; this is the point where vash shifts from 'plant/superior being who preaches kindness, can always find another way out, and refuses to break his morals' to 'human who can and does make mistakes, and isnt any better than anyone else.' for as much as vash loves humanity and has tried to live among them, theres been heavy themes that hes NOT one of them throughout the show, even before its more explicitly revealed. humanoid typhoon. angel. plant. act of god. knives is so clearly out of touch with humanity, and embraces it, but vash is just as bad; hes just trying to pretend hes human. half his smiles are fake. his haircut is one rem gave him. one of his arms is a prosthetic and the other turns into a plant gun that destroys cities overnight and puts a hole in the moon. he doesnt BELONG.... until he does!

going back a step further here. wolfwood is absolutely crucial. he's an ideal example of the worst kind of human (and theres some deep heavy symbolism of him being a priest, the ambassador to a higher existence that speaks with the angels on behalf of humanity), he has killed time and again, he shoots a child to protect his own. vash cant understand him, until after he's already dead and vash has to shoot legato. wolfwood was a crutch for him, making the hard choices so that vash didnt have to, but he also becomes the model that vash follows, because even after everything else, vash FORGIVES him. vash recognizes that wolfwood was following his own morals, protecting his own people, and was able to grow and change and love in ways that prove that he was still, to the end, a good person. and if vash can offer that forgiveness and salvation to wolfwood without question, then it follows that he can offer it to himself, as soon as he stops acting like he should somehow be better than the rest of humanity

and all that on its own, with just the death of legato, is a very very good arc. so why does vash still need to kill knives afterwards? well..... because trigun is also a story about abuse. its about brothers who love each other so so much, but one of them uses that love to convince the other that the two of them are special, that the whole world besides them should die, that if vash would just sit tight and LISTEN to him then everything would be okay. a brother who cries like a child when vash dares to rebel against him, who insists vash is a fool playing games for leaving him and trying to save everyone else. vash spends the series following rem's final command: take care of knives. he cant kill knives, cant even hurt him, cant do anything to stop him when knives has been wiping towns off the map, because deep down knives MUST be good, there MUST be something worth saving, and vash is the Only One Who Can Stop Him. who can protect him. who can take care of him. and thats.... vash's way of seeing himself as the special little boy, the protagonist of the story, the Superior Being he keeps pretending he isnt. so OF COURSE when vash acknowledges his humanity and the fact that he just... cant do everything, hes able to see that actually, he cant fix knives. maybe no one can. and even if someone could, it would be a long time of people hurting before it happened. and vash can do something now to save those people and free himself from the cycle of abuse, so he does

and man. fuck. the shows been telling us from the beginning that vash is just some guy. we spend four or five episodes with no confirmation that he actually IS vash the stampede. he acts like a side character in his own story. its only when meryl starts to believe he's someone special that the audience starts to see it, and fittingly, its meryl speaking in his defense with the words 'no one has the right to kill anyone else,' as if shed say the same thing about anyone else, as if its not just that its VASH that drives her to defend him; thats when vash's humanity becomes real

anyway good show

[whoiwanttoday]

Happy 4th of July to my American friends. Happy 4th to the rest of you as well but I imagine it holds less luster for the Europeans among you. Canadians are excited I know. They are so excited they start celebrating the 4th of July three days early every year. Anyway, this is such a fascinating day for me every year in the fact that I am proud to be an American but always find it impossible to not reflect on the work still left to do. There are words we all know, I think about them a lot. You know…

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.--That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed".

It's a very important moment in history. Of course, what keeps it from being the greatest moment in history of course is the inherent hypocrisy in all of it. Thomas Jefferson wanted to denounce slavery in the document because he as an enlightenment thinker was well aware that slavery was cruel and evil and had no place in the ethos of what we were creating but it turned out slave owners liked having slaves and people really wanted to ignore how wrong it was and no one cared enough for it to be anything but a thing they'd deal with in 80 years. No one at all seemed to have any thoughts about how hollow some of those words sound when you look at the treatment of the native population. It's all tied in together with being an American and I don't think you can praise one part without acknowledging the other. It was an is a grand experiment and that means you have to keep trying. That also means not sliding back into old and bad habits. I have in the past week watched a few documentaries about the Iranian uprising, which has been pretty well suppressed now. I think about the acts of heroism a lot though. Nika Shakarami was one of the many women killed. She was just a girl but a brave one who was willing to fight and lost her life because of it. It might seem strange to talk about Iran here but we're all people and I think about my life. I am proud of being an American because I believe many Americans really do care about freedom and human rights. And I look at my life and objectively it is comfortable and free. It is a privilege that most of my problems come from inside not from the outside. That is not true of everyone around the world and it's not true of everyone in my country. So when I look at a 16 year old girl who just seemed to be a 16 year old girl like anywhere in the world and she died fighting for what is right, well, it reminds me of the cliche that made me roll my eyes when I was 16, that freedom isn't free. Which was mainly said by people who really, really wanted to kill someone and feel good about it but it is true. It is a thing we need to fight for and as an American we should want everyone to have what we have, which is the freedom to be ourselves without fear of reprisal or oppression. That we are allowed to live, that we are allowed to be free to be ourselves, and that we are free to do what makes us happy in life, not be obliged to do what others think and wish we should. And so it's a reminder that actually we all need to keep fighting for that and as Americans we have an easier fight than anyone else. Try empathy, trying caring about others. Recognize how good we have it and ask ourselves what little acts can we do to help others. It's a long road, it's been 246 years and we have so much further to go still but that's always the secret. There is never an end. You don't solve the world and then relax, you keep trying to be better. I am posting Alex Morgan today because she is also an American and one who has represented my country many times and does so in a way I am proud of. Currently, she is at the forefront of promoting the women's world cup, a thing I am very excited about. The women's sport has come a long way and I think it's an example of how pushes for equality help us all. By us all I mean Americans because soccer is a sport that takes a lot of players so when Title IX went into effect schools had to scramble to get sports for women that would create a lot of female athletes to make sure there was equity in student athletes. Thus I grew up in an era where a lot of female athletes played soccer. And the result? American women fucking dominated at soccer for a lot of my lifetime. So you know what, if you're that person who is unsure about the advantages of making things equal, I am here to tell you in a generation it pays off when you are kicking everyone else's ass. Because everyone might be created equal but it takes funding and practice and support for people to get results. Sorta ruined it at the end there didn't I? Oh well. USA! USA! USA! Today I want to fuck Alex Morgan.