#there was so much wasted potential with her plot line

[shidoukanae]

I would like to make an addendum to this piece with the new chapter out and say that I was wrong about Phillip, he's great, 10/10 he went from being a giant red flag of a character to being genuinely relatable and man do i feel bad about side-eyeing him for that line he said last chapter

Also this chapter finally wrapped up another plot thread I was waiting for it to return to and waaaaaah seeing someone else's POV on Helene is so nice (and we finally got another flashback of OG Helene for like,, the first time in literally forever). Helene being called out as a lonely person who hides her kind feelings behind a cold expression...man suddenly my fondness for Helene is increasing thousandfold

Like literally how the fuck does this manga keep making Helene better and better there's literally nothing disappointing about her character and im STILL shook about it

[srslylini]

the way Arcane wasted character in season 2 is actually insane. They gave us good character design but no good character. Especially the new ones. Is there honestly ONE, one you genuinely cried over?

I cried over Mylo and Claggor. I cried over Vander in season 1. I cried over Powder screaming and sobbing after Vi in act 1 of season 1. I felt deep emotional pain over all of this because they gave me character and an understanding of the world we are in. And they did all of that in 3, THREE, episodes.

What did they do with Isha? Well I sure didn't cry when she died. Her character, while interesting just wasn't fleshed out at all. What I felt when they killed her was how idiotic the writers were for that because okay? like huh. They had 5 episodes with Isha and somehow managed to not make me care enough to cry. Not because Isha's potential wasn't there but because killing her was stupid and pointless, just to further another characters pain which could happen way more naturally without introducing a character to die.

What did they do with Loris? They tried to make him Vander (which okay weird why do that? especially if you want to bring Vander back anyway like uhm? what was the sense of introducing Loris as a Vander stand in and then bringing Vander back??). But he WASN'T Vander because they never showed him to be. They just told me he was. Which doesn't work. okay, he died. Did not care. The only thing I felt was rage again because it was so unnecessary and dumb, they could have made a lot with this character.

Maddie. Well Maddie is a whole other thing, isn't she? She was introduced in a way that already raised a lot of eyebrows. But in a "she is a cop" way and not she is on Ambessas side way. There is so much questions coming up with that. Had she been on Ambessa's side from the very start? Even when we first saw her on screen? Did she come with Ambessa? But how was she an enforcer then? Did she always live in Piltover but how did she then turn towards Ambessa? When she made that fist sign, was the plot between Ambessa and her already going, or did it happen after that? Why were we not shown any of this? this is NECESSARY to understand her character and why the end happened. We should have been able to feel betrayed as well but like? I did not feel betrayed I was just like "okay well, that happened off screen I guess."

Steb had not one talking line, like why was he here, was I meant to feel bad when he ran into The Grey, I can't even tell, help.

And then the side characters of Zaun, especially the Jinxers. The one woman who then died with Vi's hand in hers while wearing the uniforms of Piltover. Did not feel sad. Felt absolute huge amount of unfiltered rage. Her character should have MEANT something. I feel they tried to make her mean something but they failed there too.

Lest?? LIKE LEST COULD HAVE ALSO BEEN USED IN SUCH AN INTERESTING WAY. She just never came back. Okay. Great, at least she didn't die but like? Was I meant to get invested? Was I meant to care? Usually I should be able to tell if I should care about a character in a show or not but in Arcane s2 they tried to make me care and failed or if I cared well then they failed, too

anyways just the side characters especially were a huge disappointment this time around.

[sourb0i]

Just got out of Beetlejuice 2! I'd give it a 4/10 overall

Pros:

All the original actors (Michael Keaton, Catherine O'Hara etc, Wynona Rider) reprised their roles really well; Catherine O'Hara in particular

The relationship between Lydia and Delia was nice; I enjoyed the whole 'you did it to me, now it's happening to you' between Celia, Lydia, and Astrid

Practical effects were good; honestly it was just refreshing to have any at all. I especially liked Charles' shark-bite effect

There were some genuinely funny parts, especially the (first part of) the wedding musical number

I thought Dolores was interesting as an antagonist, and I liked her character design (though I have gripes- see below)

Cons

The vibe just wasn't there. The plot didn't really feel committed to any one thing, and when the movie ended my first thought was "what the fuck was that about?"

There were also a lot of plot holes-- or at least, worldbuilding holes. Why was Beetlejuice working in the Afterlife office? Why is there a crime unit (and laundromat)? Why couldn't Lydia see her dead husband, even though he said he "checked up on [her and Astrid]" periodically?

I am honestly really pissed about how Barbara and Adam were written off. Obviously they can't have the original actors reprising their roles, but they deserved a better ending than a hand-waved one liner.

While Dolores had a lot of potential as an antagonist, she wasn't given nearly enough character. Her only lines (as far as I can remember) were "Where's Beetlejuice". Why is she so obsessed with him? What does she hope to gain by reuniting with him? What's the deal with her soul-sucking quest for immortality? So much wasted potential

The same was true of...the Murderous Boyfriend Who Was Such a Non-Character That I Forgot His Name As Soon As He Said it.

Seriously. They could've set up a great plot twist if they'd given him more character/more set-up with the parents. Instead the guy was a walking red flag.

I also wasn't a huge fan of Astrid's character. Like they set her up to be this girl who is ostracized bc of her mom (fair), but then instead of leaning into that they made her into this Gen Z Feminist/Eco-Warrior archetype, and it just felt like the writers were trying to make fun of that instead of actually making her into a whole person. Like, ok, she knows who Marie Curie is (even tho she got the nationality wrong), but what does she do for fun? What kind of music does she like? Does she have any hobbies outside of activism?

While I enjoyed some of the musical numbers (the wedding, and the soul train particularly) on their own merits, they just felt really out of place. The original had a solid musical theme, but this felt all over the place

Also! I wish we'd gotten to see more of Lydia interacting with ghosts in her day-to-day life! That seems like something that could be really traumatic and/or played up for comedic purposes. I loved the gag with her and the other actress in the bathroom! Give me more of that!

Overall, the movie felt like it didn't really know what to do with itself. There were so many out-of-place cameos (Burn Goreman, I'm looking at you), and stylistically and thematically it never really felt committed to one thing. It was an empty movie with nothing to say, and that's really disappointing, because it had a lot of potential to be something fun.

(Also. Produced by Brad Pitt?????)

[coraniaid]

Actually, on reflection, I think I'm persuaded that the "poor Willow is a magical junkie now and it's not her fault :(" subplot in Season 6 is, contrary to what I've said before, actually the worst multi-episode subplot on Buffy.

Say what you like about the other two contenders for that honor: the non-mystery of "is Giles really the First Evil and why hasn't anyone thought to check yet?" or the banality of "shall we engage seriously with the fact Spike has a soul now and how that might change him as a person, or shall we just say that a mean ghost hypnotized him?". But neither of those plots involve a woman telling her significant other (and I am really not paraphrasing much at all here) "I don't like that you used magic to violate my mind and rob me of my ability to consent to our relationship, because it's not good for you".

Moreover:

While the two Season 7 subplots are both pretty bad and boring to watch and are certainly part of why I don't enjoy that season, I don't think removing or somehow rewriting either of them would automatically make the season much better. By contrast, the Willow subplot of Season 6 is the worst thing about that season -- one which I think otherwise had a lot of potential and is arguably the most ambitious season the show ever did -- and fixing it would improve the season as a whole a lot.

The Willow subplot also takes up a lot more of the show overall than the two Season 7 subplots do. Giles as the First is a complete waste of everyone's time, but it's also fully resolved in less than half a dozen episodes (we first get the fake out that Giles might be dead in Never Leave Me, the ninth episode of the season, and we see that he isn't in The Killer In Me, the thirteenth episode). The Spike hypnotic trigger lasts a lot longer, but it still over within about half a season. But the Willow subplot dominates most of Season 6 and also continues to have ramifications for WIllow's character development (or lack thereof) for the rest of the show.

It's easy, I think, to understand why the writers resorted to the two Season 7 plots. They needed some excuse for Buffy's friends to not trust Spike, but for various reasons are committed to the idea that having a soul means Spike himself is now inherently Good and Blameless and so the reasons not to trust him can't be related to anything he's ever chosen to do himself, it has to be something done to him against his will. And the writers obviously stopped caring about Giles as a character with any sort of inner life the very minute ASH asked to be partially written out of the show so he could move back to England. I honestly don't believe the writers were capable of writing good subplots for either Giles or Spike by this point, even if they'd tried. But the Willow subplot comes out of nowhere and completely derails what was going to be a really interesting story line about Willow that the show had been patiently building towards since at least Season 3 and arguably even longer.

More broadly, both the Season 7 plots are bad in part because they are attempts to make the First -- previously a forgettable monster of the week whose primary powers included 'making people who have done bad things feel suitably bad' and 'not being able to touch anything'; a plot device which Buffy herself already rightly dismissed as all talk all the way back in Season 3 ("I get it. You're evil. Do we have to chat about it all day?"). Of course they're not successful attempts: there's no way to make the First as menacing and important as the writers wish it was. Being annoyed at the way they fail almost seems like missing the point.

Most importantly, I can more cheerfully ignore the two Season 7 subplots because I don't really care about either Spike or Giles at this point of the show's run. But I like Willow, so it bothers me more that she's subjected to all this dreadfully bad writing and that her character never really quite recovers from it.

[veesbees]

HEY GUYS WELCOME TO ME CRASHING OUT. 

…So I just watched this youtube video about how Beth's character from the Walking Dead was wasted potential, and I completely agree.

Her death was rushed, and none of the main characters (other than Magie and Daryl) "gained" anything from it. I dunno, just after watching the youtube video and just thinking about Beth's death just feels so unfulfilling and wrong.

She had so much potential, and I just feel like the writers got lazy with her character. Especially since her death was around the mid-season finale, so there's gotta be a "big bang" in their eyes. But this was such a wrong big bang. All it did was set back a lot of character development, just to drive forward one character--Daryl.

And I'm not saying that Beth's death didn't mean anything to anyone else in the series, but...I might be.

Because, no one else mentions Beth after her death! Like, during Tyresse's death, yes, but what about Maggie? Rick? Carl? Or Carol?? Like hello??? They're all friends? And I get that everyone dies in the end, but didn't she mean at least something to them? Didn't she mean anything to them?

Beth is the only character outside of Rick's immediate family to wear his sheriff's hat.

Beth took care of Judith, like she was her own.

JUDITH WON'T EVEN KNOW WHO BETH IS BECAUSE NO ONE TELLS HER?? UM, HELLO?

Like, THAT feels so wrong to her memory. To her character.

And I get that some characters just grow numb and expect for some people to die, but you really were expecting Beth to die? And you...just move on?

Because, personally, I would not be able to move on from her death. (and you guys are seeing it now LMAO i'm crashing out.) Like, yes Daryl did have a moment, where he secluded himself and grieved. But Maggie? Her damn sister? Was she expecting her sister to die, break down a bit after her death, and then become so numb that she moves on? And I understand that Maggie threw herself into other things to maybe forget about her sister's death, but that just feels so wrong.

Like please tell me that there's some deleted footage of Maggie talking about her sister's death at least.

But back to moving forward with other character's development. Specifically how in modern media it's common for female characters to die, and "motivate" close male characters. Daryl. (Sorry Daryl.)

So, what I'm trying to say outside of the whole storyline and plot line, observing Beth's death was just a shock factor to drive another character. specifically male. I've seen this happen so many times before in other tv shows and movies. Like Natasha Romanoff drying, sacrificing herself for the greater good. Now I'm not digging into that now, but it's just such a recurring theme that needs to stop in modern media. A woman close to a man does not need to die to add more character development to the man. Why can't they both live and develop deeper, when the reason (in Beth's case) for their death doesn't make any sense?

Let's say that Beth survives. She wasn't shot in the head, then what would they do with her character? Because I feel that is the main reason why they killed her off. The writers got lazy, had no outcome for her, had no future already for her, since I read on Fandom Wiki that the writers or someone wanted to kill her off in early season 3 with Axel. So she was doomed from the start. They wanted her dead from the start.

And it makes sense, looking back to Beth's reaction in season 2 when she tried killing herself.

The writers never wanted Beth to survive, which is quite frankly sad. But they allowed her to develop slowly, get close with Daryl, have her own arc, only to kill her off? Which is so wrong. Because that's when, as a writer, you go back to the drawing board and shift some things around. Maybe it's not how you wanted it to be, how you wanted the plotline to go, but I think having Beth survive, and be present for the Saviors and Negan arc in seasons 6-9 would've been so horrifically brilliant.

Beth would've loved Alexandria, would've fought with Rick to make Alexandrai a better place. She would've carved out a place for herself. In season 6 when Negan comes around, she would've proved to herself, and her family that she's "not another dead girl". How she's become stronger.

Maggie would've had her sister after Glenn's death. Hershel Jr would've had an aunt. And her family would have a lot more hope than they did without Beth being there. Because she clearly gave Daryl hope that there are good people still left in the world. So what says she couldnt've shown her family how there's still good left in the world?

God. So much missed potential.

And I feel like reading fanfictions isn't doing her enough justice with her death. Don't get me wrong, some of them are phenomenal, but we (I) need to physically see her with my own eyes in the Walking Dead, going through each season and carving out her own story next to everyone else.

Welp. Thanks for listening to my Ted Talk.(thanks again to the AMC writers for killing Beth off, too. I dunno if you could see how utterly grateful I am that you killed her. NOT.)

(ps. here's the link to the video that made me crash out and think about Beth's death too much....https://youtu.be/-tRCucHpZVs?si=uXVfj5Lxtf01wTN_)

[wildwinterlunas]

You know what I think is wasted potential? The Junkers and Junkertown. Specifically in the fact of them being the foil group to Vishkar. Cause in my opinion the way Australia and Junkertown were implemented into Overwatch's story is the weakest to me, especially since I myself am Australian and actually know how Australians act.

The biggest thing to me is the wishy washy attitude the writers have with Roadhog being Maori, he has a skin and his name, that's it. The thing is though, I have never met a Maori or Aboriginal person that didn't show a significant amount of pride in their heritage. Now this also comes into my favorite part of Junkertown and the Junkers implementation, and that is the history.

Part of the reason why Junkertown exists is because of the fact that the Australian government did consult the Aboriginal people in the area about giving the Omnium to the Omnics. Inherently Junkertowns formation was partially because people had pride in their indigenous heritage, so there being basically nothing for Roadhog other then his name and a skin name genuinely makes me mad.

The voice acting would also make me mad in this wasn't just a thing that happened to Australians and New Zealanders in general, I have hardly ever seen an Australian character be played by an Australian, the same goes for New Zealand characters. Hell even Junker Queens voice actor feels like she's being told to play up her accent, and she's actually Australian.

Not only that but to me the Junkers fail at being a foil to Vishkar. The thing about Vishkar is that they pose as a benevolent organization when what they're really doing is gentrifying poor neighborhoods, practicing child labor, and are literally working with a terrorist organization. Junker town is supposed to be the opposite to that, but they're not, not in the way that makes them a foil to Vishkar. To be a foil to Vishkar Junkertown and the Junkers would need to be treated as the complete opposite, basically being this place of complete freedom and chaos, a place of equal intelligence but opposite morals to Vishkar. It has the foundations of that don't get me wrong, but it's not enough to make me see them as foils.

Story wise there also isn't an obvious conflict between the two groups. Overwatch and Talon have a rich history together, Null Sector and the Shambali monks have Ramattra and Zenyatta to represent both groups, there is basically nothing for Vishkar and the Junkers. Hell if there was history for those groups it would give the Junker characters more of a reason to join the fight and leave Australia other then "there's a fight". Cause right now the only Junker character to actually have stakes in the current lore is Hammond because of his connection to Winston.

Environmentally I would have loved to see more vibrant colors and Aboriginal art in Junkertown, I would love it to be more the "Mad Max but Overwatch", I would love for the Junkers to feel like complete opposite of Viskar cause so far we have the other two group rivalries be explored, Talon and Overwatch are mirror foils, there are a lot of similarities between the two groups but their goals are polar opposites, Null Sector and the Shambali monks are philosophical foils they have the same end goal but opposite methods to get to that goal. Vishkar and Junkertown are very obviously supposed to be complete opposites, yet they have none of the nuance that the other groups do have. Vishkar erases the culture of places they go, yet Junkertown isn't that culturally rich, Vishkar pretends to do good but is very much bad, Junkertown is just bad, Vishkar is control and order, Junkertown runs on chaos and freedom yet also has rules that got Junkrat exiled, taxes and harasses it's citizens and is just as elitist as Vishkar? This would make sense if this is how Junkertown worked before JQ's rule but fundamentally, nothing is different from Junker Queen and Howl's rule. They could have still done this plot line, just with Vishkar trying to take over and tax Junkertown rather then JQ.

Basically, Junkertown would be much more interesting to me if they had gone fully into Vishkar and Junkertown being complete opposites. Instead they get a faction that doesn't have any depth and characters who hold little to no stakes of the plot.

[gotskamstuff]

I will never forgive them for never doing a much deeper dive into Kie’s insecurities about her parents …it’s always about “they don’t like who I am and they don’t accept me” in the present time in their home life and all about her personality, but I would’ve LOVED to see them dive deeper into Kie’s feelings and insecurities AT THE CORE OF IT ALL and about the fact that her parents had her way too young and never planned on having her, how she just happened to them, how her mom who is a Kook who cares way too much about reputation probably saw it as something that ruined her life and resents her for it, how she probably feels like they never wanted her and she “ruined” her family (not saying it’s true, but it would probably be feelings that a teenager would have in her situation and with their type of conflicting relationship).

Kiara is a character that always had so much potential for depth and with a backstory worth to tell, so much to explore with her insecurities that would’ve spoken to a lot of people who could’ve related with a similar home life and so much we could’ve explored with her about mental health in regards of her Kook year, they really briefly mentioned for one second in S1 how she almost attempted suicide and clearly struggled with depression and bullying only for them to never mention it ever again nor having any weight in her story/character whatsoever, instead it was always just about “I’m a Pogue and they don’t like it, I’m mad about it.”

All this is something that they were kind of doing ok with in the first few seasons and then just gave up on it making her relationship with her parents and the complexity around it just flat and monotonous, at some point they just started making them antagonize each others and being bitter about it, completely ignoring the weight of their broken relationship, at some point they completely gave up on Kiara’s vulnerability and just made her someone who get feisty about things…she got sent off into a behavioral correction cult shit and disowned by them cutting ties after going missing for days and we only see them get pissed at her in a one line scene and her not giving a single fuck about it ever again? Not struggling even for one minute about it? They completely gave up on her character’s depth.

I’ll die on this hill, we all know that at the end of the day OBX is a show about the treasure hunting and adventures, but what made it so special in the beginning was how even all the things around the main plot perfectly mixed with the characters stories and families and bringing out that vulnerability in them and giving the chance for their feelings to be portrayed on screen, at some point all that got put to the side and it bacame all about the shock factor in the plot going bigger and bigger and making it way less about the characters themselves, which realistically is the thing the audience cares about the most.

A LOT of the things about Kiara’s past and emotional complexity would’ve explained A LOT more of her behavior and personality, a lot more even in her relationships with the boys, a lot more of her falling for JJ specifically and their relationship, if only all this got explored more deeply it would’ve also spared a lot of the unnecessary hate and misogyny her character receives from the audience and she would’ve gotten slut shamed way less by the occasional viewer. So much potential in her story gone to waste… and yes, there’s another season coming which they’re promoting it to be “Kiara’s season” but let’s be real, they already set the tone for it to be about her once again being mad all the time and seeking revenge, by the rate the show has been going (getting progressively worse and worse at character development) they’re probably only gonna make her even more unrecognizable and ruin her story some more.

Kiara baby, you’re a girl for the girlies and I am so sorry you were written by a room of middle age white men who didn’t give a shit about you! 💔

[imthepunchlord]

I always felt that Nathalie always had more potential as a villain than Gabriel. Not only was she portrayed as more competent than him (she had a lot of better plans than he did, like using a fake ladybug to manipulate Chat Noir and using a sentimonster to spy on the exposed heroes), patient, and stealthy, she was also seemingly more calculating and manipulative than him. Plus she was also a lot more athletic and a better fighter, she was able to hold her own for a while against three different akuma at once (and also season 5 showed that she used to be a treasure hunter so she would probably know more about the miraculous than Gabriel (she was the one that found the butterfly, peacock, and grimoire)). Plus, I don't know if it's just me, but I always got a femme fatale vibe from her, especially as Mayura.

Well, if Nathalie was always planned to be Mayura, it'd make sense.

Mayura was initially built up as THE big bad, that she was HM's boss and "would make him look like a baby". Being his boss suggests he got the Butterfly from her, and I think there was lines in Origins where Gabriel is double checking information fed to him, which can back he knows less and is potentially a pawn in comparison.

And yeah, how Nathalie works as a villain, it could make sense if she was a bigger bad. Though I feel that potential was ruined by her being "in wuv" with him. And largely following him and his agenda (until he was a big enough idiot that she got over him; shame she wasted her time and got sick for him).

Biggest thing that bothered me about Nathalie being Mayura is that she's just another addition to the Agreste plot, semi meant to be a sort of mother figure in Adrien's life (though it does vary certain eps), and Marinette still lacks her own villain. Which is a wonder what's the point of applying the villain plot to Adrien if he's not even going to be involved in his own plot? Additional frustrations that she actually was a great visual counter to Ladybug: bright red vs dark blue, dark spots to light (pink) spots, bright pink eyes against dark sclera vs dark blue eyes against white sclera.

First time seeing her, I actually wondered if Mayura was going to have some sort of familial relation to Marinette on her mother's side, since at the time we had nothing of the Cheng side of the family and it was largely just Agreste focused so far.

But nope.

We needed more to the Agreste plot I guess. For 5 freaking seasons...

To add to the topic, I do wonder if Nathalie is one of those characters that has two earlier character concepts mashed together. It does seem like Gabriel was going to be working with a woman (who was probably early concept Emilie), and was presumably his wife/in love with him.

Mayura though, by how Zag built her up, didn't match up at all for what we got. She felt like a big upcoming threat who was going to shake up the status quo. Bring in that needed edge that HM just wasn't delivering.

But I guess that shook things up way too much. Can't have that.

So yeah, it feels like they wanted femme fatale Mayura but also lady in love with villain and doing evil because it's what he wants and mashed the two concepts together.

Not to say it couldn't work but man it was awkwardly done. And frustrating.

[ya-boi-haru]

Sharing my Fable Coffee Shop AU plot lines I had cause - let's be real - it's not getting written any time soon, partially due to time and motivation, but also I like to do my homework before I write something like this, so it was tricky to determine if some of the things that happen... were even a thing that *can* happen like this...

Here's a link to some old headcannons about it: Link Here

It wasn't all finished, some parts/arcs/characters obviously missing or not done but...

I believe I called it something like: "The Longer You Brew, The Bitter It Tastes"

• Fable owned a coffee shop (Gilded Cafe), but one of those super fancy, high priced ones, with over the top looking desserts and high name fancy brand ingredients.

• Rae and Icarus grew up together and grew to live the cafe. Icarus was meant to inherit it, but they wanted to pursue their own career in hospitality.

• Since Fable frequently left on buisness and was never really around, Rae stepped in to run the Gilded.

• Ven is one of the oldest working members there and sometimes went with Fable on his buisness trips, however it seems he hasn't been doing that recently and actually, not a lot of people have been in contact/heard from Fable.

• When Ominous Bane - I don't think I worked out a good coffee shop au equivalent of OB, but it was illegal either way - got caught, Icarus made bale though no one really knows who got them out/it was left anonymous almost instantly. Momboo had to call Kai with help to bail Easton out. Centross was left in holding the longest and Rae managed to get the money to get him out.

• Kai had moved into the area recently not only to help but to start her new business, The Sea Dragon.

• Centross ended up getting a job at The Sea Dragon, though when he applied he didn't know Kai was the owner and after an ear full of criticism and cursing out, she gave him a chance

• Athena and Jamie were saving up to open their own bakery (Flour Garden) and would leave sample sweets at other Cafes (Raes', Momboos', Icarus' etc) to see how they would do and promote their future buisness

• The Aax and Ulysses story was tricky to work into the AU, but I did have the idea of Aax coming to work for Rae at The Gilded.

• Ulysses tried to adopt Aax, but something went wrong and they were separated, only to be reunited years later.

• Caspian was The Pink Tulips (Momboos lil coffee shop) no. 1 customer until he started going to The Gilded to see Rae for their coffee

• I also didn't get around to developing Wolf much in the AU, but yes, he was a Starbucks manager

• Midas owned a nightclub (The World Port) near Icarus' Cafe and you bet they were petty rivals, even though their businesses were completely different and Icarus had oddly never even met the guy.

• When they finally met and spoke, it was odd. Midas liked them and would even talk about how good they were at what they did, but thought their talents were wasted on a, "little rented out shoebox, that seemed to hit one too many dead ends on occasions" Icarus did feel like they wanted to do something more, but they wouldn't admit it to them.

• Rae really wanted to start a Cafe in his own name and do his ideas with it. His boyfriends were obviously super supportive.

• One night, for giggles, Ghaae were spit-balling names for Raes potential new business and looking them up to make sure they weren't already taken. They tried "Morningstar Castle" and ot was taken. The owner was Isla.

- After heavy, long days and nights of consideration, Rae decided, yes, he wanted to meet her.

- When they get there though, they meet Enderien. After some heated discussions, Enderien explains that

(TW: for postpartum depression, and ideas of miscarriage)

- Isla had a terrible birth experience with Rae, she was stressed, overwhelmed and dealing with all of Fables shady bullshit. When she finally gave birth, something came over her and she was convinced she had lost the child.

- Not wanting to strain Isla anymore and not knowing if she (Enderien) was actually ready to raise these two kids, she sent Rae with his brother and they were raised by Fable.

- Eventually, Rae did get to introduce himself to Isla and they slowly explained what had happened.

• Icarus learns that Midas' buisness actually started with Fable. They were young and needed just a *little bit more help* and got a loan form Fable. Midas was now indebted to Fable and he never let them forget that. And with everything seeming to get mysteriously worse at every turn for The World Port, Midas was hanging by a thread.

• Fable managed to contact Icarus, saying he needed help with a "small favour". The favours were questionable, but Icarus wanted to help their dad.

• After finding out Icarus was in contact with Fable again, they got very upset. They broke out into a fight and in a flash moment, Midas ended shoving Icarus but they tripped back and landed on their back wrong.

• Enderien was able to shed light on the mysterious Fable situation. He was actually involved with several illegal schemes (including but not limited to: Money laundering and fraud) and had been gone for so long cause he had a sense someone was close on his trail to finding out what he had done.

• That person was Ven. Ven had realised what Fable was doing and ended up going to Enderien for help. Ultimately - with some gentle nudges in the right direction - Centross was also in on what was happening and they helped take Fable down.

• In the end, Isla and Enderien would go back to their cozy life - with of course, visits from her sons.

- Rae would refurbish the Gilded into "Wonder Cafe" and it would be a hit. Raes step-grandparents actually helped him get the buisness started

- The Flour Garden would be starting their first weeks of business

- With Fable gone, Icarus inherited/got access to *a lot* of money. They used it to buy The World Port.

- Midas was free from Fables terror and the stress of being a buisness owner. They still work at TWP and loves it. Icarus feels they found their place here. (Side note: I came up with this before the final, how tf is this more accurate than any theory I came up with!?)

So yeah, that's some plot I had! Hope you like it?

[bibibbon]

Have you ever noticed that the female characters with Mutant quirks are… not as exaggerated compared to the male characters?

Like Tsu is meant to be a frog but she barely resembles one side from a few subtle hints, and then there’s Mirko, who only has the ears to indicate that she’s a rabbit. The most with Bubble Girl is that she’s blue.

And when you compare them to the male characters with mutant quirks, it’s obvious that Hori’s sexism is once again showing since he doesn’t want any of his female characters to be considered “ugly” with one.

Hi @theloganator101 👋

No I actually haven't noticed that and thank you for pointing it out.

Now the more that I think about what you said the weirder my train of thought becomes.

Majority of the mutant female characters have minor mutations and if they do have major mutations they aren't as present or exaggerated like the male characters.

Class 1A is a good example of this. Look at the mutant male characters who all have a very expressed mutant like shoji, tokoyami and koda. Now compare this with the 1A mutant girls like mina and asui. The only male character in 1A that doesn't have an exaggerated mutation is ojirou mashiro.

The pro heroes also show a major difference take miriko, bubble girl and compare them to gang orca, nedzu, centipede (the hero who works in nighteye's agency) and kamui woods.

There seems to be a lack of female mutants and major female characters in general which is a shame and also weird.

Now that isn't saying that there aren't less shown mutants who are male like hawks and ojirou but they are incredibly few.

Also when it comes to the female mutants who have a very expressive mutant quirk I can only think of asui's middle school friend but she isn't even present within the main story so does that even count. I mean I think you can include the woman who called Izuku a crybaby hero in the vigilante arc but after that who else is there.

I really would of enjoyed seeing other types of mutants and having our current mutant characters get some of their animal or whatever their mutant type quirk is characteristics. For example, I love the idea that miriko acts a bit like a rabbit and has super hearing or that asui's legs are naturally flexible and can help her body.

I also think that seeing other types of mutant characters like a jellyfish mutant (jellyfish are flexible, almost immortal and some poisonous so you can do so much with that as a quirk) or someone with a spider mutation (eight legs, many eyes around the body and also maybe even poison and can spin webs around). I don't know I just think it's wasted potential to not have characters like this and it might even add to the underbaked plot line of mutant discrimination or you can make it more nuanced by having something of "pretty /societally acceptable" looking mutants like hawks and miriko compared to the other mutants who have much more of an expressive and exaggerated mutation like tokoyami, spinner, shoji and chimera.

[hyperfixatedonthisnow]

Bound by blue ribbon

*not my GIF

Requested by: Anonymous - hiiii! If ya are still taking request!! Then may I get one of the ribbon scene from Rule of Wolves (I think???? I’m not surrrre) but it’s fem!reader x Nikolai? And instead of in her hair, it’s around her neck like a choker??

Just IMAGINE it with the classic character A walks down the staircase looking absolutely STUNNING and character B is s p e e c h l e s s trope! -

Dearest anon, I’m not sure I can properly convey just how much I loved this request. Like, you don’t understand, I am OBSESSED with how good this idea is! So much so that I was worried I wouldn’t be able to write anything that did it justice, but I tried my best. Hope you like it 🙏

Disclaimer (because I’m not looking to get sued): Some lines/dialogue directly borrowed from RoW, with a few minor changes. Obviously, I do not own those words and don’t claim to - they are the property of Leigh Bardugo and all rights belong to her and/or Netflix. Fanfic is for fun only; I am not making any money from this in any way.

Word count: 6Kish

Warnings: NSFW - 18+ only. Dual POV, idiots in love, fluff, the teeniest smidgen of angst if you squint, A little triumvirate cameo, more Genya than anyone - because someone needs to get these idiots together, soft!Nikolai, minimal plot, fem!reader, smut, oral sex (female receiving), P in V sex, unprotected sex (not recommended in real life!)

The party to celebrate Nikolai’s saints day was going to be beyond anything Ravka had ever seen before. Lavish decorations were being put up, the palace kitchens were working on a complicated menu, and the best musicians had been hired to perform. Nikolai hadn’t wanted such a fuss, but the triumvirate had invited every eligible maiden in the country, and most of the neighbouring countries as well, insisting that it was the perfect occasion for the king to finally choose a bride. Which was exactly why you had decided not to attend.

Nikolai had been your best friend since childhood, and you had been in love with him for more than half that time. Over the years, as you had grown from a child into a young woman, you had hoped that maybe he might see you in a romantic light, but unfortunately that hadn’t happened. You didn’t hold it against him, in fact you treasured his friendship, and you wanted only the best for him. You just weren’t sure your heart could withstand watching him fall in love with someone else.

The day of the party, you kept to your room, feigning illness. Nothing too serious, just a headache that would prevent you from attending the party, so that Nikolai could meet the potential woman of his dreams without you having to witness it. Unfortunately, sitting alone in your room all day gave you endless time to think, and your mind was determined to linger on thoughts of Nikolai with some faceless princess. Before dinner, you decided to take a bath, hoping to distract yourself. When you returned to your bedchamber, you found Genya lounging on your bed, alongside a large box.

You stared at your friend, wrapping the towel tighter around yourself. “How did you get in here? And why are you here, shouldn’t you be at the party already?”

“Unimportant,” Genya said breezily, waving her hand as if brushing the question aside, “and yes, I should, but someone had to help you get ready.”

You opened your mouth to tell her she needn’t have bothered but she cut you off with a disapproving click of her tongue. “Don’t waste your time trying to convince me you’re ill, I know that’s a lie.”

“Fine,” you huffed, “but I’m still not going, even if I wanted to - which I don’t - I have nothing to wear.”

Genya gave you a sly smile, holding out the envelope she had hidden in her hand. It bore the royal seal, and was addressed to you, but it had already been opened.

“Have you been reading my private correspondence?” You questioned, irritation bleeding into your tone.

“Mmm,” she hummed, not sounding sorry in the slightest, “it seems the king has sent you a gift. How very thoughtful of him.”

You eyed her suspiciously as you pulled the note from the envelope. The message was short, just two lines, written in Nikolai’s familiar cursive.

~ I hope you’ll wear this tonight. Lantsov blue looks good on you. N ~

Your brow furrowed in confusion. That shade of blue was reserved exclusively for the royal family. The closest you ever came to wearing it was a baby blue silk ribbon that you used to tie your hair back every day. A ribbon you had stolen from Nikolai himself, many months ago. He had been using the blue silk to tie his invention blueprints, keeping the rolls of parchment together and relatively organised when he wasn’t using them. On that afternoon, you had been wearing your hair down, but it was hot in his workshop, so you had pulled your hair back into a braid, snatching up the ribbon to secure it. You had meant to give it back, eventually, but then you had forgotten, and soon it had become a part of your daily wardrobe. You hadn’t even realised he had noticed it.

Genya opened the box to reveal a beautiful gown of pale blue silk, overlayed with a layer of tulle, embroidered in a galaxy of sparkling silver stars. You moved closer, lifting it from the box to finger the delicate fabric.

“See, problem solved.” She announced smugly.

“I can’t wear the king’s colour,” you protested.

“Clearly, he wants you to,” she argued, “would you really deny him?”

You gave her a withering look, “You know full well that I would never deny him anything,” you grumbled, “but people will talk.

“So? Let them,” she shrugged.

You bit your lip, deliberating. On the one hand, the thought of Nikolai buying a dress specially for you to wear on his birthday made your stomach flip pleasantly, but on the other hand, you had already decided not to go to the party and a pretty dress wasn’t going to change your mind. But surely it couldn’t hurt to just try it on … right?

“Well, you have to try it on, at the very least,” Genya insisted, as if she had read your mind, “a dress this beautiful deserves to be worn.”

“Alright,” you conceded, “but just for a moment.”

Genya smiled widely, clapping her hands together with glee.

The second you stepped into the dress, soft silk slipping over your skin, you knew you had made a mistake. Genya laced the corset up with practiced ease and when she was done, she stepped back to admire you. She gasped as she took in the full effect of you in the dress, and as you turned to look at yourself in the mirror you could see why. It fit you like a glove. The colour complemented your skin perfectly and the fabric clung to you in all the right places, accentuating your waist and the curve of your hips. The sweetheart neckline was so low as to almost be scandalous, putting your breasts on full display. You wondered what Nikolai had been thinking when he picked it out. If he had picked it out. Either way, now that you had seen it on, you knew you had no choice but to go to the party. A dress like this demanded to be seen. Genya fixed your hair, sweeping it into an elegant updo and leaving a few curls to fall loose around your face. You kept your jewelry light, diamond earrings and bracelet to match the stars on your dress, but none of the necklaces you tried were quite right. You didn’t want anything that would draw focus from the gown. Genya suggested your hair ribbon, and when you fastened the light blue silk around your throat as a choker, she helped you to tie it into a simple bow at the back.

“Perfect,” she declared, lips curving into a smile, and as you looked yourself over in the mirror you thought she might just be right. The two of you walked together to the ballroom, but when you got there, she dropped you off in the queue of nobles waiting to be announced, insisting you should make a grand entrance. She slipped away before you could argue, muttering something about how she couldn’t leave David unattended any longer, lest he use the opportunity to retreat to his workshop.

You waited at the top of the staircase, just out of sight, as your name was announced. Your heart pounded as you made your way down the stairs. It felt as though everyone’s eyes were on you, but then you saw Nikolai, standing at the foot of the stairs as if waiting for you, and suddenly everyone else melted away. It was just you, and him, and his eyes on yours like you were the only thing that mattered to him.

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

Nikolai was having a dismal evening. So far, he had suffered through what felt like a lifetime of conversations, the longest of which was with the Kerch ambassador, a pompous peacock of a man with an impressively large moustache and unfortunately low IQ, followed by a highly uncomfortable discussion about politics with both the Shu and Fjerdan delegates. To top it off, every time he managed to escape, Zoya would appear with a new princess for him to meet, each one less suited than the last, and he would be forced to spend several painful minutes listening to them talk about their own virtues, of which there were many, apparently.

It seemed like everywhere he turned was some ambassador offering him thinly veiled threats disguised as polite conversation, or one of his ministers trying to push their own agenda whilst they had him alone, or worst of all, another pretty, but vapid, young lady, waiting to be thrust upon him as a potential bride. In truth, he wasn’t interested in any of it, because all he found himself thinking about was you.

As the minutes passed, he started to worry that you wouldn’t come, that you would leave him to deal with the vultures all on his own. And more than that, he worried that he had overstepped with his gift. He had been full of confidence when he helped to design it, chosen every detail to compliment you perfectly, but now he was second guessing himself. Would you like the gown? Would you understand his meaning, about you looking good in blue? Would you return his feelings? He wasn’t sure.

He was contemplating this - whilst only half listening to one of his ministers drone on about the dangers of allowing farmers to have control over their own crops, when Genya suddenly appeared at his side. She politely excused them both from the conversation, pointedly ignoring the minister’s indignation at being interrupted, and looped her arm through Nikolai’s, pulling him away. She led him quickly across the room to stand near the bottom of the stairs.

“Stay right here.” She instructed him sternly, and Nikolai could only blink at her, perplexed, before she was gone, melting back into the crowd without even giving him a chance to respond.

He felt a prickle of annoyance at being ordered around, honestly, wasn’t he the king? He considered walking away just purely on principle, no matter how childish that might be, but then he heard your name being announced, and he wondered if Genya had known. He looked up, his heart hammering in his chest, and when you walked out onto the staircase, he thought it might have stopped beating altogether. You were wearing the gown he had picked out, your hair curled and styled perfectly, and around your throat, that scrap of pale blue silk that haunted his dreams. Usually, you wore it in your hair, and it was eminently practical, but it had the unfortunate effect of making him want to untie it. Seeing it around your throat made that idea all the more appealing. You were stunning. He realised his imagination had not done you justice, could not even come close. The sight of you quite literally took his breath away.

He reached out almost automatically as you got near enough, offering you his hand, and you took it, letting him guide you down the last few steps.

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

“Hi,” you breathed once you were standing face to face, butterflies fluttering in your stomach, but Nikolai just stared at you, slack-jawed, for what felt like an eternity. You began to fidget, feeling self-conscious.

“Do I look ok?” You asked, smoothing down your dress nervously.

He shook his head. “‘Ok’ would be a gross understatement,” he said, “You are a vision.”

Your face lit up in a smile, pleased at the compliment, and you could feel the warmth of a blush spreading across your cheeks. Nikolai dropped your hand, and you almost mourned the loss, but then he pressed his hand to the small of your back instead, and all you could focus on was that intimate point of contact as he led you away from the stairs and further into the room.

“I was beginning to think you had abandoned me,” Nikolai said, his mouth tipping up into a small smile.

“I wasn’t sure I’d come,” you found yourself admitting quietly, “but then someone sent me this beautiful gown, and I changed my mind.”

“You like it?”

“I do,” you assured him, “Thank you. It’s a very generous gift, although it’s your birthday, shouldn’t I be the one giving you a gift?”

“You deserve it,” he said, voice low in your ear, “and seeing you in this dress is a gift for me.”

You were sure you were blushing again. Was he flirting with you? Surely not, that had to be wishful thinking on your part.

“Do you want to dance?” You asked, changing the subject lest you embarrass yourself.

“Yes,” he murmured as he took your hand again, leading you out onto the floor.

He held you close as you moved together through the steps of the dance, effortlessly in sync. You focused completely on him, enjoying the intimate feeling of being pressed against him, his eyes on yours and his hands warm on your body. Being so close to him was the sweetest kind of torture, and you quickly began to feel overheated, as your mind inevitably drifted to all the other ways you could enjoy being close to him, of his hands in much more intimate places. You looked around, trying to clear your head, and you realised that it hadn’t been just your imagination, people were staring, but you found that you didn’t care at all. As your eyes met his again, you were surprised to see that same feeling of desire reflected back at you. Maybe it wasn’t just wishful thinking after all.

When the dance ended, he asked if you wanted to get some air, and you agreed, following him across the room and out into the hallway.

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

Nikolai pulled you into an alcove, just off the main hallway. It was quieter here, with less chance of being seen or overheard.

“Genya and Zoya won’t be happy when they realize you’ve ditched your own party,” you told him, “They’re determined to find you a wife tonight.”

“I don’t care,” he said honestly, “and I’m not interested in any of those girls.”

“You must marry, Kolya. You can’t put it off forever,” you insisted, even though it pained you to say it. “You’ll have to choose someone eventually.”

“You’re the only one I would choose.” He confessed. The words were out before he thought better of them, and there was no way to pull them back.

You studied him carefully, your heart racing. “As your friend?” You asked, offering him a chance to right the ship, to take you back to familiar waters.

He could have lied, could have given you a hundred different easy replies. Instead, he said, “As my queen.”

“Because I’m dependable,” you said cautiously, tentatively, “or because I know all of your secrets?”

"I do trust you more than myself sometimes- and I think very highly of myself." He said, and you huffed a laugh, convinced that any moment now he would take it all back.

“But I would make you my queen because I want you. I want you all the time."

You wanted to tell him that you wanted him too, that he was the only man you had ever wanted, or ever would want, but it wasn’t that simple. He was your best friend, and he was also your king, and you had to be practical. “As your friend, I should tell you that would be a terrible decision. You should make a political choice, take some foreign princess as your bride. Someone who was born to be a queen.”

He met your eyes, voice steady and earnest when he said, "As your king, I should tell you that no one could dissuade me. No prince and no power could make me stop wanting you."

Nikolai felt drunk. You were going to laugh at him. You would knock him senseless and tell him he had no right. But he couldn't seem to stop.

"I would give you a crown if I could," he said. "I would show you the world from the prow of a ship. I would choose you, as my friend, as my queen, as my bride. I would give you a sapphire the size of an acorn." He reached out, fingers brushing over the blue silk ribbon tied around your throat. "And all I would ask in return is that you wear this damnable ribbon on our wedding day."

You should say no, you should tell him he was making a mistake, but you couldn’t. You wanted him too, and not just tonight, but forever. You wanted a future with him, and if you closed your eyes, you could see it, as clear as day. Standing at an altar set before the Saints as a priest named you man and wife. Mornings spent together, eating breakfast and sipping coffee while you discussed the day ahead, and nights spent tangled together in his sheets, sweaty and sated. Soft touches and words of affirmation whispered in the early morning light. Two - or maybe three - golden-haired children, with your eyes and his smile, running about the palace, happy and loved, and constantly getting into mischief. A million inside jokes, and shared looks, and fights about nothing, easily forgiven. A lifetime of moments, big and small, side by side with him. You wanted it all.

“Yes,” you said simply, meeting his gaze.

“Yes?” He repeated, as if he didn’t dare to believe it.

He cupped his hand to your cheek, his palm warm against your jaw. His thumb brushed lightly across your cheekbone, and when your tongue darted out to wet your bottom lip, his eyes followed the movement. You wanted him to kiss you, so badly that you ached with the need of it. You tilted your head up slightly, lips parted in invitation.

He dipped his head, then paused, lips hovering just inches from yours as he searched your eyes, waiting for permission. The heat of his gaze was like flames across your skin. You leaned into him, pressing a hand to his chest and you could feel his heart racing beneath your palm. “Yes,” you said again, barely above a whisper, and he bent his head forward, finally, touching his lips to yours. His kiss was soft and sweet, just the barest brush of his lips over yours, but it wasn’t enough. You wanted more. You made a needy sound, chasing his lips when he moved away, and his mouth curved into a smile.

He pressed you back against the wall, his hands settling on your hips and then his mouth was on yours once more, and this time there was nothing tentative about it. His tongue met yours hungrily, desperately, swallowing your sounds of pleasure. You grabbed a handful of his shirt, crushing the fabric beneath your fingers as you hauled him closer, but it still wasn’t close enough. You reached down with your free hand, tugging your skirts up so that you could curve your leg up around him and he groaned low in his throat, his hand immediately dropping from your waist to the bare skin of your thigh.

He pushed his hips forward, and you could feel the proof of his arousal, pressing against you intimately. You gasped, tipping your head back against the wall. He ducked his head, his tongue darting out to taste the smooth skin of your exposed throat, and he nipped lightly at your pulse point before trailing kisses down to the dip of your shoulder and along your collarbone.

“Can I kiss you?” He asked, teeth just barely grazing your skin, and your eyebrows knitted in confusion, wasn’t he doing that already?  

“I want to taste you,” he said, his fingers skating up and over your inner thigh to press at you lightly over the lace of your underwear. Oh. The thought of having his mouth on you, there, sent a wave of heat straight to your core.

“Yes,” you murmured after just a brief hesitation, and his smile turned wicked as he sank to his knees in front of you.

You hiked your dress higher, bunching the fabric above your hips so that you could watch him as he dragged your underwear slowly down your thighs and helped you step out of them. He stuffed the scrap of lace into his pocket, before he ran his hand up your calf, bending your knee and then lifting your leg to rest it over his shoulder. He kissed a path from your knee up your inner thigh towards your centre and then he stopped, warm breath ghosting over you and eyes fixed on your core, until you began to squirm. He stilled you with a firm hand on your hip.

“Nikolai,” you started, but you were robbed of the power of speech when he leaned in, his face disappearing between your thighs.

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

He licked a broad stripe across you with the flat of his tongue and you gasped, your hand shooting down to fist in his hair. He licked into you slowly, nose bumping your clit, until you were writhing and panting above him. His fingers worked you over, drawing lazy circles over your clit as he explored every inch of you with his lips and tongue. He dipped two fingers inside you, moving them in and out, crooking them slightly to search for that spot that would have you seeing stars and he knew he had found it when you moaned, clenching around him.

Nikolai had always enjoyed this, drawing pleasure from his partner with his mouth and hands, and he prided himself on being good at it, but he had never found it such a turn on before. His pants were uncomfortably tight, and he thought he could probably come untouched, just from the taste of you and the sounds you made. He turned his head for a moment to draw a ragged breath, and he smiled against your inner thigh when you whined impatiently, using your grip on his hair to drag him back where you wanted him.

He went easily, happy to oblige you, and this time he closed his lips around your clit, sucking it against his tongue. You cried out, your hand tightening in his hair hard enough to make his scalp prickle. He kept the pressure of his mouth gentle but non-stop, as your thighs began to shake, your hips jerking against his face. He couldn’t hold back his moan as he felt your body shuddering, his mouth flooded with wetness when you found your release. He worked you through it, lapping at you gently until finally, you pushed him away with a shaky hand.

He shifted from his knees back to his feet, and you reached for him as he stood, wanting to keep him close. His hair was sticking up at all angles, mussed by your hands, his cheeks flushed, and his lips tilted in a lopsided smirk. He looked utterly debauched in the best possible way. You swiped your thumb across his bottom lip before you leaned in to kiss him, tasting yourself on his tongue, and you were surprised to find that it wasn’t unpleasant.

You reached a hand down between your bodies, to cup him over his pants and he groaned, pushing himself into your palm. A door opened somewhere, the sounds of the party drifting out into the hallway, and you froze, the illusion of privacy shattered.

The noise from further down the hallway brought Nikolai back to his senses so suddenly, he felt like he’d been doused in ice water. Had he completely lost his mind? Your first time together shouldn’t be like this, frantic and dirty, pushed up against a wall in a public place, where anyone could discover the two of you at any moment.

“I’m sorry,” he said breathlessly, “I got carried away, I shouldn’t have … this wasn’t…”

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, trying to find the right words. You deserved better from him. You deserved a white veil, and matching rings, and a promise made at an alter set before the Saints. He wanted to give you all of that, and he would, but not tonight. Tonight, he could at least give you a soft bed, and gentle hands, declarations of love whispered in the dark. Romance, because you deserved that if nothing else.

He pulled back, letting you drop your skirts down and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. You felt your face fall before you could stop it.

“Oh,” was all the response you could muster, the sting of disappointment sharp, and so bitter you could almost taste it. You closed your eyes, willing away the tears that threatened to form. Was he saying this was a mistake? Had he changed his mind? Had you done something wrong?

“I only meant, we should go somewhere more private,” he said, watching you carefully.

“Oh,” you said again, relief flooding through you.

“Unless… if you’d rather return to the party, that’s fine too.” He clarified.

“I don’t,” you said quickly, and you almost blushed at how eager you sounded.

“No?” He questioned, raising an eyebrow at you.

You gave him a smile that you hoped was sultry. “No. Take me to bed,” you purred, and you knew you’d hit the mark when his eyes darkened in response.

He took your hand, guiding you through the palace hallways until you reached his rooms. He opened the door for you, ever the gentleman, allowing you to enter first, and then he followed you inside, locking the door swiftly behind him. There would be no more interruptions tonight, not if he could help it.

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

You came to a stop by the foot of the bed, waiting for him to join you. He crossed the room in just a few quick strides, pulling you into his arms, and then his mouth was on yours again, hot and demanding. You let your hands roam, over his shoulders and into his hair, before the desperate need to feel his bare skin against yours took over, and you set to work on removing his clothes.

Your nimble fingers made light work of the knot in his cravat, pulling it loose and free of his collar in just a few short movements, and you quickly moved on to his shirt, opening the first few buttons. He pulled back for just enough time to yank the shirt off over his head, and then he was back to kissing you like his life depended on it. When you moved to unbutton his pants, your knuckles inadvertently brushing up against his hardness, he groaned low in his throat and pulled away again, this time to spin you around so that he could unlace your corset and free you from your dress.

He placed kisses across your shoulder, and down the length of your spine as it was revealed to him and once you were completely nude before him, he wrapped an arm around your waist to tug you back against him, his clothed arousal against your bare ass. You brought your hands up to your throat to untie your ribbon, but he stopped you. “Allow me, he murmured, voice low and rough in your ear. He hooked a finger into the bow at the back of your neck, tugging gently until it unravelled, soft silk sliding over your skin, and then he curled it up to put into his pocket, joining your underwear from earlier.

He cupped your breast, thumb circling your nipple until it hardened into a peak, while his other hand travelled down the side of your ribs and across your lower abdomen to your core. You moaned as his fingers found their mark, dipping inside you to gather the wetness there before rubbing gentle circles over your clit. Only once you were panting, your head falling back against his shoulder, and your hips moving in small circles along with his hand, did he nudge you in the direction of the bed. You took the hint, though you were loath to give up the delicious friction of his talented fingers. You moved to sit on the edge of the bed first, watching with bated breath while he took off the last of his own clothes.

Once he was undressed, you scooted backwards onto the bed, so that you were positioned comfortably on the pillows, and he climbed over you, covering the length of your body with his. You gasped as you felt his erection pressing against you, almost, but not quite, in the right place. He pinned one of your hands to the bed beside your head, fingers twining with yours as he dipped his head to kiss you, licking into your mouth until you were both breathless. You bent your leg up around his hip, opening yourself up for him instinctively and he kept his eyes on yours as he flexed his hips, entering you at an agonizingly slow pace. You were warm, and wet, and perfect, and you dug your heel into the back of his thigh, urging him deeper. He groaned, his eyes slipping closed and his hand squeezing yours tightly.

Once he was fully seated inside you, he had to stop. He let his head drop to your shoulder and he held completely still, desperately fighting to get a grip on his self-control. Late at night when he lay alone in the dark, his wildest fantasies playing out behind his eyelids, it was your face he saw and your name on his lips when he came. He had dreamed of having you so many times, in a thousand different ways, but nothing could compare to the reality. It was as if he was suddenly a boy of sixteen again, green and eager, ready to spill himself at the slightest hint of friction. You shifted beneath him, wriggling impatiently and only once he was sure he would not embarrass himself, did he raise his head to look at you.

“Sorry,” he said, the corner of his mouth tipping up into an amused little smirk, “did you need something?”

You just barely resisted the urge to smack him, and instead clenched your inner muscles around him, watching with a smug sense of satisfaction as his eyelids fluttered, the smirk dropping from his face.

“Fuck,” he cursed, his eyes dark with arousal as they met yours, but he still didn’t move.

“Please,” you begged, and you would have been embarrassed by how needy you sounded if not for the way that his hips bucked in response.

He dipped his head, slanting his mouth over yours as he withdrew slowly, almost completely, only to fill you again with a sharp thrust of his hips. His hand was warm in yours, palms pressed together, and fingers intertwined, the connection anchoring you as he started to move in earnest, settling into a perfect, maddening rhythm that was somehow altogether too much, and yet not enough at the same time.

The muscles in his biceps were straining with the effort of holding himself up and you wrapped your arm around his shoulders, pulling him down on to you until his chest was flush with yours. He nuzzled at your throat, as he maintained his languid pace, drawing out your mutual pleasure for as long as he possibly could, and you were torn between the desperate need to climax, and the desire to stay entwined with him like this forever.

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

When he felt the beginnings of his own climax, Nikolai reluctantly released your hand so that he could slip his between your bodies to thumb at your clit. Within moments, he felt you tightening around him, your orgasm beginning to ripple through you, and he kept the movement of his hips slow and steady, drawing it out until you were writhing beneath him. He removed his hand as the last tremors ran through your body, and he lifted his head, mouth finding yours, as he finally allowed himself release. He sheathed himself fully inside you, as he shuddered and came.

He collapsed onto you, pressing you into the mattress, and you stroked your fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, holding him close, as you both struggled to catch your breath. Your bodies were tangled together, completely enveloped by each other, and neither of you wanted to move.

“I love you,” he murmured after a moment, turning his head so that he could press a kiss to your temple.

“I love you too,” you assured him, holding him tighter.

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

In the morning, you had woken early and taken the opportunity to study Nikolai in the light of the sunrise, his face relaxed and boyish in sleep, and when he woke, he had nudged you onto your back and made love to you again. That had been followed by a bath, in which you both ended up dirtier than you had been upon getting in, and a second one - strictly for getting clean, and one horrifyingly awkward conversation with your maid, during which the girl giggled and blushed furiously, as you begged her to bring you something to wear. All of this meant that it was late, long past noon, when the pair of you finally emerged from his room.

You walked hand in hand to the council room, where the triumvirate were already assembled. Genya and Zoya were standing over the table, heads bent as they looked over a map, talking quietly together. David sat across from them, scribbling away, fingers stained with ink. Genya lifted her head as you entered, smiling knowingly at you.

Nikolai cleared his throat. “I… well, we, have something important to tell you all,” he announced. “We’re getting married.” Subtle as ever.

“Thank the Saints,” Zoya muttered, without even looking up, “I thought I’d be old and grey before you two ever got your act together.”

“I told you it would work!” Genya said gleefully.

You and Nikolai shared a confused look. “What worked?” You asked.

“The party,” Zoya explained, speaking very slowly, as if she were talking to a pair of particularly dim children, “the one we planned, to push you both into admitting you’re in love with each other, obviously.”

You both just stared at her.

“Someone had to do it,” she continued with a shrug, “Saints knows neither of you were going to do it on your own.”

“I would have done it without your intervention,” Nikolai said defensively, “eventually.”

“Yes, of course you would,” Genya said mildly, her tone just on the edge of patronising.

Nikolai pinched the bridge of his nose, screwing his eyes shut in frustration. “So, just to be clear - you conceived an elaborate plot, which involved throwing an expensive party with hundreds of guests, and making me suffer through hours of mind-numbing conversation with prospective “brides”, all so that you could manipulate us into confessing our feelings for each other?”

“I wouldn’t say manipulate,” Genya objected, “more like give you a loving shove in the right direction.”

“A brilliant plan, really,” David piped up, “and, clearly, effective.”

Genya smiled fondly at him. “Thank you, dear.”

And suddenly it all made sense, the way Genya had come to insist you go to the party, the way she had pushed you to wear the dress even though it was Lantsov blue, the fact that she had made you wait to be announced, and that Nikolai had mysteriously been waiting for you the moment you entered the room. The mysterious coincidence that all the young ladies Zoya had introduced to him were almost comically unsuitable. They had engineered it all.

You couldn’t stop the grin that spread over your face. Perhaps you should have been upset by the idea that they had manipulated you both, but honestly you weren’t. You shared another look with Nikolai. He shook his head exasperatedly, but he was smiling now too, and you knew he shared your feelings on the matter. This whole charade might have been ridiculous, but how could you hold it against them, when it had resulted in the happiest night of your lives.

[nationmckinleyscorset]

My opinions if the writers hadn't shredded The Guide:

Building the monster a bride? Could've been slay if they didn't run out of time

The alternate endings? Two out of 3 were really cleverly exectuted

Sitcom ending? BURN IT. We don't mundane nandermo we want passion with a little bit of awkwardness and those constant married couple type arguments (or at least I do). The spoof ending is chickening out imo

Nandermo in a coffin together? adorable. All I ever wanted. They 100% fucked when they hit the floor if Guillermo lived

Nadja defending The Guide? Had so much potentiallllll omg! Hoping writers do a little bit of a fix up for the end they got

No baron ending? Bummer

No Marwa returning explicitly? Big bummer

Nadja frying our brains? She can fry them and scramble them and serve them up with a rasher of bacon and two hash browns and I'd still find her attractive

Laszlo becoming irrelevant except for being a psycho scientist? I'm scared.

Previous documentaries? Again so much potential they could have shown cut scenes from them where tiny things happen that affect characters relationships

Colin still unaware Laszlo is his dad? Fuck this shit. Laszlo needs a break and Colin needs a reality check.

No explanation for Colin smacking the shit out of Gizmo? No supernatural being Gizmo? Disappointing but ok whatever.

The characters spoke about the end of the documentary for way too long, if half the episode is them saying "we need a good end" a good end becomes wasted in a bad episode

All in all I think it could have worked as an earlier episode but for the finale? Kind of shoddy. I think if they cut half of Guillermo's freak out and actually put together a plot line it would have been 👌🏻 just fine

As we already know I have opinions on the way they wrote the women that wrecked it but this is my fair and balanced opinion outside of those characters

[thesunfyre4446]

I really don’t understand people’s need to find reasons to not like Rhaenyra. What is there to like about her? She’s the most insufferable, boring and annoying main character I’ve ever seen. I really couldn’t care less about her having harwin strongs children. Like who cares??? Her relationship with harwin was also boring her character never does anything!

People like her because she’s the “rightful heir” also doesn’t make sense to me. Ok, she’s the queen. She’s still a horrible main character and I’m falling asleep everytime she’s on my screen. Her only line in s2 is I’m my dad’s heir.

I feel like the discussion regarding her character is only focused on her having bastards/ her being the rightful heir / why she shouldn’t be the queen because there is nothing else to talk about. She’s not a good or interesting character in any way.

lmao yeah i'm not the biggest rhaenyra fan either anon. (i actually really liked the way young!rhaenyra was written)

the whole concept of liking characters because "it's the right thing to do" or disliking them because "they are bad people" is just brainrot imo. i've seen someone says "i like TG characters more but i'm TB because rhaenyra is the rightful heir" which i think is absolutely ridiculous because that's not how i watch the show. i don't care about the actual succussion i'm going to root for the characters i love.

i do agree that 95% of the rhaenyra post i see are about why she should \ shouldn't be queen (bastards, succussion etc. etc.) and hardly any posts discussing her as a character. but the show hardly explores rhaenyra as a character. she has so much potential to be a great character but it's wasted in an attempt to whitewash her character & make a daenaerys parallel. rhaenyra the character is disregarded by the show itself, so the discussion around her makes sense to me.

the show's refuses to explore her flaws & letting her have any to begin with! she only becomes "book rhaenyra" when the plot needs her to and then those moments are conveniently forgotten by the narrative & the characters (like rhaenyra saying aemond should be tortured, rhaenys suspecting rhaenyra's involvement in laenor's death, marrying daemon on laena's funeral, starving the people of KL, how she treated rhaena...) all of those moment could've been used to create a more interesting well-rounded character but instead are "forgotten". (alicent's character also suffers from that problem)

so when we get to s2 rhaenyra is literally not allowed to do anything. she can't want to go to war because that's bad, she's not allowed to want revenge because that's bad, she needs to have a "moral & just" motivation for wanting the throne because her wanting the throne just because it was promised is not noble enough. all she can do is just walk around dragonstone saying "what would you have me do" & in ep 7 her "arc" feels weird and out-of-character.

emma darcy is great actor!! i love them!

[tae-rhymeswithslay]

TMNT Hottake: TOTTMNT was disappointing (in my opinion)

i know i know!! i shouldn’t be putting down the new gen of turtles bc thats what every past gen fandom does to every single new iteration BUT this is my blog and i do what i want. Also, thisnis my OPINION feel free to disagree or debate.

SO MUCH wasted potential

GUYS the amount of openings the MM movie left for the series to branch off of was crazy. The Shredder and Cynthia Utrom and her extremely likely connection to the Kraang the were obviously plot points the writers were saving for the second movie and the turtles also couldn’t have drastic character development because of that, but still. The first movie left off on the turtle’s going to high school and regular kids, which was a concept that hadn’t been explored before in the franchise. And the show just. Didn’t. They didn’t go into their school life beyond passing comments about homework and wrestling. We could have gotten a silly shenanigan filled episode of the turtles trying to find after school jobs or clubs or even how they dealt with their newfound fame. That would have been epic.

2. Lack of story content

Really, we only got two complete stories from the series. part one with bishop and then part two with goldfin and even then neither villain really stuck out to me. Bishop had that inciting moment that tied her into the first movie with her mechazoid getting crushed by the superfly mutant. But then her ‘revenge plan’ still felt shoehorned in like they were trying to make a morally complex villain and failed. Her side backstory with her sister just fell flat. i’m sorry, I love sweet sibling bonds, but we just weren’t given enough information or time about Elena for me to personally care about her. Then at the end when bishop turned herself in and then immediately relapsed into villainous territory, I was like “wow, i can’t wait to see her descent into madness as the second half of the series progresses!” but then she was just pushed to the side COMPLETELY in order to start the goldfin plot line. Where Bishop was a fresh take on a classic character, Goldfin and the East River Three were completely new characters created for TOTTMNT. i can kinda see what they were going for by starting off with whats familiar to fans and then branching out into more creative territory, but the shift between stories was so jarring, it felt loke i had just started a whole new series entirely- though, now that i’m typing this out, that also could have been the feeling the writers were going for since part one was told through Leo’s point of view and part two was told through Raph’s. The writers might’ve purposefully made the transition choppy.

3. Personal gripes, aka my fave characters were not there

CASEY!! CASEY MY PRECIOUS LITTLE BOY WHERE WERE YOU?!! Casey was never named as a character in the show, but i will bet my bottom dollar that they were one of the unnamed purple dragons. I have theories that either the boomerang dragon was casey (really really hoping he was. he was my favorite dragon outside of Hun and Angel) or the knife-stick hockey girl was Casey (girl casey truther fr) and i really hope the bucket hat dragon is Keno bc that man NEEEDS to make a comeback. Theres really not much to say about this reason. MONA ALSO WASNT THERE. ik it would’ve been hard to do a space arc in the very limited number of episodes, but it would’ve made my 2012 and 1987 loving heart to see her just make some kind of appearance.

THINGS THE SHOW DID RIGHT!!

guys, i’m not a complete hater believe it or not

no uncomfy crushes/relationships/love triangles

after the Apritello disaster of 2012, i was waiting with bated breath to see how they would handle the Leopril romance introduced in MM and i was pleasantly surprised. It felt so much more genuine and like a realt teen crush. Hes so much more chill about it than Donnie ever was, but he is still clearly very in love and its all so sweet to watch.

2. The ANIMATION

HOLY SHIT WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN?? it was nothing short of STELLAR- the subtle style changes as the turtles perspectives shifted?? UGHHH!!! i wanted to consume my phone. THE FIGHT WITH GOLDFIN???!! JAW!! ON THE FLOOR!!!

[kaythefloppa]

Wild Kratts - Our Blue and Green World: Part 1: Review [Spoilers]

Welp, here it is, the Wild Kratts TV movie (not to be confused with the feature film they've been teasing us with since 2021). There's been a lot of hype around this special and season, especially with how much the latter was being hyped up during the hiatus. Let's see if the blue and green bros were able to deliver: Spoilers under the cut

Well, this is certainly an attention grabber!

This entire live action intro is shot and edited like an animated Wild Kratts episode, it's glorious.

Woah, intro change!

They said the thing! They said the thing!

HELP THIS IS SO RELATABLE. Also, THE BOYS ARE FIGHTING

Lmao I don't think they do it very often, but using animals/nature in their insults is very creative.

Also, whooping crane episode when?

This entire song is mercifully short. Like most character sung songs in Wild Kratts, it's not good, but this at least is clever in its lyrics and its visuals. It feels like a Disney reference at best and I am content with that. I also ADORED seeing the Draco and Walrus Suit return again. It's arguably the best musical number in the series. No, that is not saying a lot.

MARTIN WHY ARE YOU THE ONE WHO'S MIFFED YOU NEARLY MUFASA'D YOUR LITTLE BROTHER

CHRIS WHY ARE YOU MILDLY INCONVENIENCED YOU GOT ACRAPHOBIA FALLING FROM THAT HEIGHT

When I first saw the clip, I thought that they were going somewhere with this, like they'd activate Peacock Powers at the end when they recognized the compatibility and blue and green. But nope. Wasted potential is an understatement.

Also, where the fuck are they right now? In a previous shot there was Target the Chameleon, implying that they've been to Madagascar, but that is an Indian peafowl, and as far as I'm concerned, they don't live in Madagascar. Were they just having an off-day? These animals have little to nothing to do with the plot when they really shouldn't have, so I don't see why they couldn't have just shown a projector image or something.

Remember when I joked about the Wild Pony Power Suit returning in S7.... fuck you Apollo.

Man, they are eating it up with the animation here. It's hard to tell with screengrabs but man, is it fluid.

The first half of this episode is mixed. While it feels like the brothers are incredibly stubborn, it also does make sense for them to be this fixated on their favorites. So I can totally buy this. It could've been insufferable to watch, but it wasn't.

As if YOU haven't spied on them since the first time your dorito-headed ass showed up on screen

Did you find that funny? Because not only do they do a similar joke like that later on, but they follow through on that joke in the most unexpected way you will shit your pants when you first ingest it.

Oh my god if they make a Creature Power Suit off of that bird, I will take back any diss I've made, that is so beautiful.

Good to know that Aviva put the button near the chest and not near the back.

Maybe it's just me but this is kinda pushing it. Chris is literally getting his organs crushed, I think that should matter more than A) being right or B) trying to get 2 people to stop fighting.

I'm loving the callback and what this leads up to but ew, all this does is remind me about how ugly bright the color pallatte in S6. Really glad they fixed it in S7.

HELL FUCKING YES

This episode finds really unique ways of showing how the two different biomes are interconnected. It's like Rainforest Stew's (very brilliantly handled) message only to a larger degree. Kids can learn a lot from this.

I fucking love this episode, man.

Honestly, the way they write Paisley in the first half of the episode is very in-line with her character. Most shows that do what this episode does has them be out-of-character as a set-up, but here, she's just roasting the fuck out of Zach. Once again, recontextualized entirely in the climax.

HOW THE FUCK DID HE GET TO MADAGASCAR FROM THE GODDAMN AMAZON IN ONE AFTERNOON THAT IS LIKE MORE THAN 1,000 MILES AWAY?? ARE ANACONDAS THAT FAST?????

Also, INDRIS!!!!! :D

I was frankly expecting this to horribly backfire but spoilers, it doesn't. This actually winds up working. Common Aviva W.

To be continued.... will the blue and green rivalry end? Will one prove superior over another? And will they be able to stop Zach and Paisley and save the planet earth? And will this change the adventures of the Wild Kratts team forever? Stay tuned for part 2!

Pros:

The live action segments.

The animation of the earth's model.

The musical number not being ass.

Paisely's catty behavior.

The Anaconda Suit.

The inventive ways they show how the stability of the Earth is complex. There are a lot of ways it functions and thus a lot of ways it needs to survive

The comedy.

Cons:

The villains do not do anything until the second half of this episode. In fact, they're left completely in the backdrop. I expected them to make their prescence known and for Aviva to invent the discs to get them together for the SAKE of fighting the villains. But no. It makes the stakes feel hollow, which is the opposite of what they should be gunning for in an hour long special that they hype the shit out of.

CONCLUSION:

It was an "okay" set-up. It did live up to some of the hype it had, but not all of it. Honestly if it wasn't for the second half of this episode, this movie would be mediocre or slightly above average, but no. They do pick themselves off the ground and... they do jump the shark. But we'll get to that next time

[iwasthewind]

I'm so mad about this year's lantern rite lmao. It was centred around Menogias, the Geo Yaksha. Xiao's dead comrade and close friend. His official title was General Kapisas. He's based off Sun Wukong.

And there was nothing about him exept for a few random lines? Barely anything? I don't understand why. This was what Xianyun said about him- completely randomly- and then went back to talking about something else???

"He possessed a singular talent for clothing designs. He had an exquisite eye for not just fabric selection and colour pairing, but also for what accessories could best accentuate a garment's overall styling." (Dialogue one.)

"At a gathering of adepti, Bonanus (hydro Yaksha. She and Menogias went mad with Karmic Debt and killed each other. She and the Pyro Yaksha, Indarius, were presumably close friends. Bonanus' official title was General Chizapus and she seemed to be a gentle person.) once complained in secret to the ladies in attendance that the skirt Menogias made for her was too long and impractical, lamenting that it would only hinder her in battle." (Dialogue two.)

"However, when one asked Menogias his opinion, he remarked that the train of the skirt would serve to enhance her adeptal countenance by exemplifying a certain elegance. Menogias was that type of person. When it came to topics relating to garments and accessories, not even Rex Lapis could best his stubbornness." (Dialogue three.)

AND THAT'S IT?? Menogias designed Zhongli's outfits. Menogias fought in the archon war and was one of the Yakshas that sealed Guizhong away when she passed. He was one of the central figures in Xiao's life and Xiao grieved him terribly after he died. His death along with his siblings' deaths impacts Xiao till this day. He was like a brother to Xiao. Xiao talks in a quest (I don't remember which, sorry) about how Menogias once mentioned wanting to live a peaceful mortal's life-but in the end Menogias lost his sanity for the sake of his nation and his people and killed his sister, someone he held very, very dear. It's tragic. It's heartbreaking. His karmic debt took over his mind and destroyed someone he wanted to protect and live a mortal's life with. Menogias is such a wonderful character? When I saw in the livestream that the main lantern was Menogias, I gasped and sat up. Yaksha lore?! Menogias centric lantern rite?! Instead we dealt with Gaming's fucking family problems. Why couldn't that have been a sub-plot? Why didn't they use Gaming's stubbornness and passion as a parallel to MENOGIAS' stubbornness, passion and ferocity of both mind and body? Why???? Zero stars, I'm admittedly biased as fuck. I love the Yakshas and I wanted Yaksha lore- and this isn't like a "ugh I didn't get what I wanted" thing it's a "this year's lantern rite had so much potential that was absolutely wasted"

Like sure, the Xianyun-Shenhe convo was comedy gold, Gaming running to his dad and hugging him was sweet, but? Couldn't that have been a sub-plot? Menogias was this year's Mingxiao lantern. I don't care if they executed it badly and just brought him up via long winded exposition- the fact that barely anyone knows about Menogias is so sad and it could genuinely have made for such a good story? The fact that Xiao didn't even attend a festival more or less dedicated to him and his family? When "Lantern Rite Festival is a festival celebrated every year, on the day of the first full moon to commemorate heroes of the past."

I wish Xiao could have at least seen the Mingxiao lantern from afar. I wonder how he would have reacted to watch the people he protects honour someone he loved so much. Would he have cried? Could we have gotten a scene where an adeptus comforts Xiao? That was his brother.

Xianyun hangs out with her children, Zhongli with Hu Tao, the Fontaine cast randomly drops in which was kind of nice to see since Furina (<333333) came along. Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper (I cannot believe they got NPC treatment, what the fuck) hung out but Xiao was alone until the traveller releases a lantern with him. On lantern rite. Which is a festival more or less meant to commemorate him. He got what, a minute of screen time?? Two? Three?

In Xianyun's story quest (and obviously this is a spoiler for her story quest) we see just how much the traveller misses their sibling, how desperately they want them back and how much they bottle up their feelings. Xiao must feel the same, right? I can't imagine how guilty he must feel or how much he must wonder what life would be like had they survived. It would even have tied in with Gaming's story- how much he'd want his family to accept him and be there with him on lantern rite. Why didn't we get something about these three? Why was there so much focus on a random four star (I'm sorry if you like Gaming, I love his playstyle but I really don't give a shit about the character).

I feel like they really just want people to pull for Gaming and Xianyun, I really can't explain why they (imo) fumbled this so bad. I expected so much after the Fontaine AQ but man this was so disappointing it literally killed by desire to keep playing the game. I'll just do my dailies and log off, HSR welcomes me with a much warmer embrace