#there's ben and then there's characters i hate that i can't stand to think about more more than a second before getting furious

[elizabeth-mitchells]

i love when characters i personally kind of hate are still interesting to think about and analyze. like that's the least you can do

[crazyk-imagine]

Revive Me

Pairing: Soldier Boy x Supe!reader

Characters: Soldier Boy, Supe!reader, Hughie Campbell, Billy Butcher, Frenchie, Kimiko Miyashrio, Mothers Milk, Annie "Starlight" Janurary

Warnings: Angst, minor fluff, the boys show is a warning itself, things get rough, ben was brainwashed, reader was forced into hiding, ben loves you but sucks at it, reader wants to kick his ass, a lot goes on here lol

Word Count: 1.9k

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“I’m sorry there’s another one of you?” Billy asks.

Ben grunts, furrowing his brows. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Frenchie and Kimiko share a look.

“Well- uh- there’s- there’s another supe that was… a part of your team?” Hughie adds with a calm and slow tone, as if he’s talking down a child throwing a tantrum.

“What do you mean? There wasn’t-” He pauses, thinking back to his time before the payback team was officially formed. “You’re lying.” He steps towards Hughie, causing Billy to stand before him.

“Watch yourself, mate.”

“Then his little fuck face mouth better start yapping.”

“Do you really not remember?” Hughie can’t help but ask.

“Does it look like I fucking know what you’re talking about?”

The non-supe jumps at his tone. “Okay, okay. Fair enough. Well,” he gulps, “before there was payback, you- you had a partner.”

“Oh shit,” Frenchie mutters. “The original woman.”

Hughie closes his eyes, slightly shaking his head at his buddy’s poor choice of words. “I wouldn’t use those words exactly but yes.” He turns back to Ben. “She was basically Wonder Woman before Wonder Woman but… cooler. She-”

“She didn’t play by anyone’s rules, much less Voughts.”

Hughie nods, “ex- exactly. You remember her don’t you?”

“Those little dick pricks.” He growls under his breath, taking another hit of his joint. “Fucking erased my memories.”

Billy brows rise to his forehead, “you mean to tell me those dickheads can erase our minds now?”

Ben huffs, “only those who can beat them. Where is she?”

“Uh- see that’s- that’s the thing. We- uh- we don’t know exactly.”

He narrows his eyes at the young man, knowing if he had laser vision, he’d use it.

“They put her away before you rose to fame, which is why her name isn’t familiar.”

-

He enters the bathroom and slams the door shut, causing the walls to shake, almost simulating an earthquake.

He stares into the mirror, reminiscing of a younger him, not that he’s aged but he’s battling an internal battle.

How could he have forgotten you?

Why did they take you away?

Why didn’t he realize it sooner?

He pulls his fist back and listens to the blood rushing through his hand as the glass shatters, falling into the sink, on the counter and to the floor.

He opens the door, pretending like nothing happened. “Alright, how do we find someone who’s been hidden?”

“I have an idea,” Annie adds.

“What’s the plan?” MM asks.

“And no explosions,” Billy adds, glaring at Ben.

“I’m not a fucking kid who needs to be told what to do.”

-

You moan in pain, the container gets colder.

Everything hurts.

You want to give up.

-

He slows down his pace, his body feels colder. He glances down, seeing nothing happening.

His expression hardens, he knows it’s you.

Those fuckers- he should have killed them when he had the chance.

He can tell by the way his heart hurts, it's you but the not remembering hurts him, but why does it hurt so much?

He can’t imagine the magnitude of your relationship having this much of an affect on him.

Fuck, why can't he remember?

-

You want to scream but it’s hard when the mask is snapped in place.

You hate them, hate Vought, hate what they made you.

-

He can’t help but ignore everyone’s wishes to quiet down as he kicks in the door.

His eyes scan around the room before stopping on your previous prison.

He turns, lowering his head; lips snarling at the sight of his precious girl in that damn ice box. “You fuckers have some unpaid debt, I’m here to collect.”

Kimiko pulls Hughie and Frenchie back, the heat already emanating off him before he could let it out.

The cries and plea’s to live and fear of dying do nothing, if anything it’s white noise.

-

More smoke enters your lungs, it’s harder to stay awake.

You don’t want to close your eyes but it’s been harder to hold your breath these last few months.

You don’t know how much longer you can hold on.

It’s like ice crystals are forming in your veins.

-

He lifts his shield and stares down at the bloody mess of what used to be a man- or a woman- he doesn’t care. He straightens himself and takes careful, rushed steps towards you.

He listens for your heartbeat, needing to know if this is all just some sick and twisted lie or if the woman he’s dreaming about is really here.

He leans over and finds your cold face.

The difference between you and him, he got hotter (in more ways than-) and you, you’re cold to the touch and he hasn’t even opened it yet.

“Baby,” he mumbles, the nickname foreign and so familiar on his tongue; it makes him sick to his stomach. He slips his fingers under the handle and lifts it, not caring if he breathes it in too.

“Holy-”

“We came all this way for a dead body?” Billy grunts.

“She’s not fucking dead.”

“Oh my god, they- they preserved her like-”

“The perfect doll they made her.” Ben takes a deep breath, not wanting to blow up… and potentially hurt you.

He can hear the steady rhythm of your heartbeat and knows you’re under; he doesn’t care how long, he breaks apart the container with his gloved hands.

“Come on, sweetheart.” He lifts your limp figure out and tosses it over his shoulder, keeping his shield in his grasp in case he needs to defend you. “Come on, pansies. Let’s get a fucking move on.”

“Are we really just gonna wait around and see if she wakes up? What if she’s like him but even more violent?” Annie asks.

“She wouldn’t,” Ben hisses. He thought it was interesting that a non-supe was fucking a supe but then realized two annoying people make his head pound.

“If you’re too scared to stick around and find out who she is, then get the fuck out of my face before I mess up yours.”

Hughie pulls her out of the room before she could say anything.

-

Ben turns back to your cold figure. “I don’t care how long it is until you wake up, I’m not leaving your side,” he mutters under his breath.

-

You didn’t realize how long it had been since you moved a muscle until now.

Air fills your lungs, seeming like you can breathe for the first time.

You open your eyes to find the room engulfed in darkness. Your eyes take in the room, stopping on the sleeping figure in the chair near the bed.

When were beds so comfortable?

You push yourself off and take a step towards him, almost collapsing at the sensation in your legs.

You close your eyes and take a moment to process everything.

Your eyes snapping to the left, where noise comes from on the other side of the door.

You glance down at Ben and back to the door, you move away from him.

The hinges squeak and you don’t care if he hears or not, the sound of people talking worsens your headache.

You stand in the hallway, covering your eyes at the lights above.

They stop and stare at you, jaws dropping.

The asian female next to the scruffy man, signs to him, asking what to do.

You sign back and ask her to tell the others to quiet down, all the noise hurts your head.

She owlishly blinks, unsure if she saw what she did.

Frenchie sits there stunned, happy his girl could have someone to communicate with but sad he can’t understand fully what it was you said.

You turn and almost bump into him.

He glances at you, wondering what’s going on inside your head and where you learned sign language. “Sweet-” He groans, staring at the broken dry wall particles floating through the air.

“Oh for fucks sake,” Billy groans.

You glance over at him over your shoulder, the light reflecting off your eyes, causing a flicker of bright light to emanate off them.

He furrows his brows at the sight, sharing a look with MM and Annie.

Ben pushes himself off the ground and glances at you, wondering where the hell this strength has been. He takes a deep breath, wondering what’s going on in your head. “What the hell was that?”

So much for mystery.

You glare at him. “Don’t fucking look at me like that,” you tell him with a raspy voice.

He’s stunned, you weren’t one to curse, even when someone pissed you off so much.

“What the fuck happened?” You aim for him, holding him up by the collar of his shirt. “What the fuck happened to me?”

He glances down at you, ignoring the stares he gets from the others. “I need you to let me down, baby so I can explain everything.”

Your blood boils at his voice.

The memories of the tape recorder playing as you entered that stupid fucking room.

The beginning of the end.

He furrows his brows at the sight of your red, glowing eyes.

Had he been a non supe, he'd probably shit himself thinking you were gonna blow his head off.

You tighten your grip on his neck and slam his head into the wall before letting him fall under your hand.

You walk away before anything can happen to them.

-

You enter the room you found yourself in and talk deep breaths.

You overcame this before and you can do it again.

Ben grunts as he follows you, wondering what the hell just happened. He enters the room and holds his head. He groans, rubbing the palm of his hands into his eyes.

He raises his head in time to see steam radiating off you.

He reaches for you only for his hand to fall at his side as you race to the bathroom.

The door slams shut.

He listens to you, the heavy breathing and the way your hands shake as you try to calm down. “Sweetheart?” He knocks once. “Let me in and I can explain everything.

“No,” you groan.

The shower turns on, you sit in the tub.

He opens the door, knowing you didn't lock the door.

His eyes fall on your figure and walks in, turning off the water.

“Flamer?” He whispers, smiling at your flaming body.

“Soldier?” You stare at him with a wounded expression.

He reaches for your cheek and you pull away.

He reaches for you again. “How could they keep you from me?”

You close your eyes and lean your head into his hand.

You're hot to the touch but he doesn't care especially as he watches the fire die down, his hand no longer engulfed by your tender flames.

-

After much talking, he got you out of the bathroom and comfortable on the bed as he explained it all, more or less dancing around the reason they pulled him out of his prison.

“Does anybody want to explain why the fuck there's ash in the bathroom?” Billy asks.

“I'll pay you back once we're done.”

The man with a plan rolls his eyes. 

[aristaspark]

Idk if someone has asked you this yet but whatever. You’re probably the biggest Kenlynn shipper I’ve met, so I wanted to ask what your opinions on other ships are? Like Darilynn or Benji? What if one or both becomes canon in season 3?

Omg you've mentionned the two ships I can't stand 😂😂

I've kind of already explained my stance on Dinostar/Darilynn: I was open to the idea of them happening after season 1 aired, but season 2 made me really dislike them, but I think that was intentional on the writers' part. Darius confession was as horrifying to watch as a car crash for both Brooklynn and the audience, and to me it's obvious Brooklynn only ever loved Darius as a best friend. And I think even Darius at the end of the first season realized that his "feelings" for Brooklynn weren't what he thought they were. To me, he simply liked having someone with him so much that he confused that with love, but really he was simply lonely. Also think it would be fifty shades of messed up considering that he's Kenji's adopted brother and witnessed every step of their relationship unfold, like, to me they're brothers (even Kenji reaffirmed that fact) and it will never not be weird to date your brother's ex, especially when your relationship with her was as impactful and lasting as Kenji's relationship with Brooklynn. The only way I can be okay with them becoming canon is if the writers actually commit to it and don't get cold feet. Meaning Kenji better say f*ck you two, it was nice being friends while it lasted but don't ever speak to me again 🤷‍♀️, because there's no way either of their relationships would survive this, and how Kenji feels about Brooklynn doesn't change that. (Also worth mentionning that them managing to make a relationship work with all the guilt Darius carries and his link to Brooklynn's biggest trauma is extremely unrealistic on it's own).

Benji (I'm going to be brutally honest, sorry 😅): Oh boy, oh boy, don't get me started on what is, to me, the biggest mistery of shipping to have ever seen the light of day 😭. I truly don't get why so many people ship them and I never will. One of the storyboarders recently came out and more or less confirmed that the crew was as baffled as I was that the fandom shipped them and I felt so relieved because it was truly baffling to me to see so many people claim that they were set up. To me it was clear that the thought of Benji had never even crossed the writer's minds. I made a post a long time ago, it was at the time of season 4, or 5, on why I *hated* that ship and unfortunately still do, especially with how the fandom reacted to Kenlynn. But since it's been a long time, I can summarize it here, but I'll still post the link because it was much more detailed and my opinion hasn't changed. The fandom went as far as to harrass the creators of the show, invoking a moral issue with the age gap btw Kenji and Brooklynn while most of them shipped Kenji and Ben, which just proves to me that they literally didn't care and only looked for any reason to hate on a ship they disliked. Because while we were given the ages of the campers (not even their birthdays, meaning that we don't know the exact age gaps btw the characters, so for example Ben could be a month older than Brook for all we know), not knowing that info and looking at the first seasons of the show, everyone would guess that Ben is the youngest. He behaves like a kid, especially in the first season, and it's clear that that was what the writers had in mind when they wrote him. He had his mom give Dave and Roxy a list of things that made him unconfortable, he was scared of everything, he drew with colored crayons right as Kenji called it an activity made for children (the way he drew himself tells you everything you need to know about how he perceives himself, aka a little boy), he's the most emotionally immature, and I could go on. His entire story arc was about growing up. And the worst part is that, to me, his immaturity is the most apparent when he's with Kenji. The way he clings onto Kenji everytime he's scared like a kid would cling to one of his parents will never be romantic to me and I find it horrifying when people edit it in a romantic light. Even worse, Kenji is the ONLY camper to make fun of Ben for behaving like a kid, and he does it countless times, almost coming off as a bully at times. The bottom line is that Kenji viewed Ben as a kid, which made them (as a ship) truly disgusting to me, like, I could never get past it, even with the time jump, sorry if this is harsh 😭. Just imagining Kenji being attracted to Ben in season 1, which is the season where the fandom decided to make them a thing with the infamous gyrosphere pairs, will never not give me the creeps. About them being canon, there's no chance of that happening so I don't really have thoughts on that. There was nothing btw them back in jwcc (as the crew confirmed) and there's still nothing in jwct. They're friends, and I think that's a beautiful thing.

(the link of my initial post 😅)

I'm going to speak about the ships I do like because here I just sound like the biggest hater 😂

Yasammy: While I wasn't the biggest fan of how Sammy didn't respect Yasmina's bondaries, especially in season 1 (my personnality is very similar to Yasmina's and I know I would have despised Sammy for forcing me out of my comfort zone without trying to understand me 😭), their evolution was sweet and the way they care about each other is adorable so I ended up liking them and was happy when they became canon. I especially like them in jwct because I like how...real they are? If that makes sense?

Benrius: I'm not shipping them per say but I really like them, in both shows. I think their personnalities compliment each other and Darius always had that soft spot for Ben, which I think is adorable. Season 3 Benrius is really peak (Darius being the only one to sense that something is wrong with Ben, him going back to look for Ben when he left, their fight...). And of course, jwct season 1.

[un-bearablysweet]

Ben 10 Omniverse isn't a terrible show, but it often misses its mark for the sake of comedy. And it's not even good comedy either; it's the same old "Lol. Ben's so lazy, ignorant, and irresponsible. It's a wonder how he keeps the Omnitrix at all! LMFAO" And it's like, okay, we get it. Everyone thinks Ben is a moron, but if Ben's a moron, what does that make the people who lose to him? 🤨

One of the times Omniverse misses the mark on what could have been a legendary episode akin to Adventures Time's "The Hall of Egress." It is the episode Universe v. Tennyson.

The episode about Ben going to trial for recreating the universe. Besides seeing Alien X fight, the episode doesn't make any sense. And I entirely blame writers. They did not think of the logistics of how a trial of this sort of magnitude would actually go. I wouldn't be surprised if the trial was just an excuse to see the celestialsapiens in action.

They wanted a reason to explain the different art styles and all the retcons. Which in itself is stupid. As the audience, we know why specific changes are made. They didn't need to hand-feed us retconning; it always happens.

But more to the point, the entire trial is a sham. And it pissed me off to no end!

1. Ben was never subpoenaed. Alien or not, you can't part the sky like the Red Sea and drag someone to court. You have to set an official date and time for trial, allow the defense to acquire a lawyer, and build their defense. This is basic shit, and if your excuse is that it's just a kids cartoon, that doesn't excuse bad writing.

I just can't stand when people brush over essential details.

2. Only in certain circumstances can you forcefully take a person to court. And that is if the suspected criminal is considered a danger to the public or a flight risk. And even then, it's an immediate arrest before going to court for a hearing. Ambush arrests are considered a last resort; considering Ben's positions as a plumber and wielder of the Omnitrix, Ben has little to no criminal record.

3. Due process, refering back to my earlier point, the celestial sapiens would have needed to give notice of charges, and Ben would need to be heard in front of an impartial tribunal. The entire universe is not an impartial jury. There's a reason any Rando can't walk into a courtroom and decide whether a person is guilty. What if several people aren't even aware of the trial? That could skewer the vote in favor of the Plaintiff (Celestialsapiens)

If the writers on Omniverse weren't so focused on having a hate boner for the main character, this could have been a great episode. And it is a hate boner because why else would they pick Mr. Baumann as the first witness. This dude had beef with Ben since early childhood before having the Omnitrix. His opinion is beyond biased.

Also, Rook took the first chance to air his petty grievances with Ben in front of the entire universe in a court of law, and that is beyond shitty. Ben being "ignorant of many things" isn't a proven fact; it's a personal opinion. Also, being ignorant is a crime?

And had Ben been sentenced to death or died in the trial by combat, what was the plan afterward? Rook carries Ben's body to his mother and says,

"Sorry, Ms. Tennyson, your minor child didn't have the mental knowledge and fortitude of a 50-year-old veteran; his death was totally justified. "

If Ben is ignorant of many things, it is because he is young and has only just started exploring the universe. Many toddlers should be behind bars if simply being uninformed is a crime. It's like the show constantly forgets that Ben is still young but insists on punishing him for it.

The court case is to decide whether Ben recreated the universe; his lack of knowledge and irresponsibility are not up for debate. Besides, Rook has only known Ben for a few months; I doubt that makes him a sound judge of character.

I wish they had brought different people to the witness stand. They could have made excellent callbacks by bringing characters like

Tetrax- He is literally the guardian of Omnitrix and decided that even at age 10, the Omnitrix was safe in Ben's hands. Also, the fact that Ben restores the planet Petropia can be used to defend Ben's recreation of the universe. 

Reinrassig III- I'm sure the word of Highbreed Supreme would hold more weight in court than Mr. Bauman. A small store owner on a tiny planet in the far corner of the galaxy. 

Queen Cicely of the Lewodan( ep. Con of Rath) - The mother of the Tiffin, you know, the baby Ben jumped down a man's throat to save. Ben broke the law by doing that but still prevented a massive war. 

Magister Hulka- (ep. Basic Training) Hulka is a well-decorated Plumber and was Ben's academy instructor. Ben passed with flying colors despite disobeying orders, saving Hulka's life. He even gave Ben his medal for creativity and effective tactics. His word holds more weight than Rook Blonko's, a literally rookie in the plumber association.

Azmuth- do I even need to say anything?

Maxx and Xylene are more than familiar with the Omnitrix and Ben himself. 

Paradox is literally the number one expert on the subject.

Could you imagine the cross-examination with these characters? 

And even without proper character witnesses, Ben could argue that what is illegal is not always morally right.

What is the actual crime, the crime of caring too much? And if his crime is recreating the universe without prior permission. The celestialspaiens were a hidden society; how would he have gotten permission?  

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

If Ben was the only living thing left after the universe was destroyed, did he really break the law since no one was there to uphold it?

Especially since he created the universe up until the very moment it was destroyed, so no time would have passed at all.  

Ben's other option was leaving that universe for dead, and pulling a Rick and Morty, but he didn't do that cause he's not a sociopath. 

The only angle that makes sense for this trial to happen is if it wasn't to prosecute Ben, but to send a message. The message that Celestialsapiens are not to be trifled with and that any attempts will be met with extreme prejudice and even death by combat.

The Celestialsapiens have recreated the universe multiple times, with even more drastic changes than just a smoothie flavor. I mean, Grandpa Max can't even open his eyes, and Azmuth's voice has changed several times. They literally point that out in the episode, and yet this is the first time a trial has ever been broadcasted to the universe.

In fact, this is the first time any other aliens have seen a celestialsapien save for Alien X. And even he was deemed a myth. So why now? Why the grand fan fair? Why broadcast the trial at all? They never notified the universe before.

 It's because the celestial aliens were afraid for the first time since their conception. Their entire beings were briefly erased from existence and recreated, and they did not like it! Do you honestly believe that they changed anything about themselves after recreating the universe multiple times? Of course not!  

But Ben doing that sent the species into a mental spiral of worry and anguish with the fear of not being completely yourself. The same curse they've placed upon the universe prior without any hint of guilt.

The trial was about establishing dominance to keep Ben from recreating the universe regardless of his reasoning. But also to prevent other aliens from attempting the same thing. That's why the trial was broadcasted through the galaxy. This was just a bunch of dick-swinging, so the celestialsapiens don't have to face any sort of actual accountability. 

[frumfrumfroo]

The Acolyte ship is an evil/evil dynamic, so I would argue it's not meaningfully the same thing as Reylo. But I think they are trying to pander to it a little bit, yes, completely missing the point of what made the ship attractive. He's very violent with her in a way Kylo Ren never was with Rey which I just find really sad. That was never the draw for me personally (and strangulation is a hard line for me, which is why I don't really like Anidala, even if I ship it cosmically).

But the fact that they cast someone very conventionally attractive as the bad guy is really funny. Like we're all shallow airheads who only liked Kylo Ren because he was hot.

Really?? So is it pure visuals or do people think the characters will actually push each other in a positive direction?

I do get a little disgruntled at people's 'that's all reylo is' shitposts about finding the villain hot or finding threatening/strangulation hot or whatever. I realise these are jokes mocking antis for getting so up in arms about very standard bodice ripper tropes which have been hugely popular forever and it's fine, but that's not at all what reylo is to me.

I talked a long time ago about how I'm not really a villain fucker and don't generally like that many etl pairings. Pretty much for the same reasons I don't like rival-shipping and because, like you, I'm not into the violence. It's not a deal breaker for me if there's violence between the ship before they develop a connection, obviously, but I don't find it titillating and don't want to see the violence itself portrayed as sexual. I can't stand hate as sexual tension and etl ships are very prone to that.

I'm here for the B&tB of it all, personally. To me reylo is about hope, healing, and compassion. About two lost and lonely souls truly seeing and recognising each other when no one else did and helping one another become their best, most authentic selves. They free each other from bondage and pain.

If Ben were actually a Sexy Bad Boy or DFP, I wouldn't ship it. Him not being that is the entire reason it appeals to me. If he'd seen her as a rival or resented her in the way people often write in fics, I wouldn't ship it. He never hated her and she stops hating him as soon as she realises he's not a monster, their attraction comes from a place of sympathy and curiosity on both sides not from jealousy or covetousness--that's why they're OTP. This is among the many things tros fucked up.

[marikamlp]

Thoughts on ShaunaHat so far

Spoilers up to S03E06!!!

Before I say anything, I want to point out that I do not hate on anyone shipping them or enjoying their dynamic. I think everyone has their own right to ship whoever they like and I'm glad you guys have content to enjoy!

That being said my issues or, more so, concerns with ShaunaHat are purely narrative. Because what does this relationship mean for the narration? Well, it's definitely a confirmation of Shauna being bi. It has also given us a confirmation of JackieShauna (And I love it, I'm a number one JackieShauna shipper). However, I do feel like writers might just be spirling a bit too much into fanservice. I have recently read an article by Abby Monteil on Them (which I'm linking for anyone interested in reading the whole thing) and the author stated there something I am myself wondering: "How many Shauna-Jackie fics did these writers read before deciding to give Melissa vocal cords?" For me, the relationship between Melissa and Shauna is very random and something no one was expecting because Mel had like one line in season two and was one of the unimportant, randomly spawned extras.

This season some girls that have not been of interest before, seem to be getting bigger roles, especially Mari and Akilah. And I'm not mad about it. Mari's and Akilah's stories are interesting and help shape their character. I'm not even that mad about some of the fan service, it's funny like with Tai and Van's comments in episode 6 and sometimes it's a nice wink to the audience like with Mari and Pit Girl parallels (and I still believe it was a confirmation and a wink to reward the viewers and not a middle finger to the viewers) or even episode 3 Jackie reveal. It's not big things that influence the narrative really but a good way to acknowledge the viewers.

However with Melissa... do we really know anything about her beside the fact that she likes Shauna? And do we even know if she really likes Shauna or if this is some ploy? What are her thoughts on what is happening? Misty said that "Melissa can swing both ways" and honestly, yes, because I don't think there are any clear answers on her views and personality. She only appears in relation to Shauna and she usually says what Shauna wants to hear, instead of having her own voice (which I guess could be a point if she's supposed to be a new Shauna to Shauna's Jackie but it is taking away from the depth of the character). I'm still giving her a chance that there will be a turning point that will explain her actions beyond the idea of her wanting to score Shauna. Melissa barely stands as her own character. She seems to be playing a lady Macbeth role so far, encouraging Shauna and manipulating her actions (notice how she's giving Shuana compliments for being this chaotic and deadly and how she makes Gen vote against Ben first even though Shauna's screaming at other girls isn't doing much). If she does stay in this role, then maybe we will get some development for her. But I can't help but think Melissa was chosen as Shauna's new girlfriend, acolyte and servant because the writers have spent too much time on Reddit, watching edits and reading fanfiction during the hiatus, and they wrote it in to appeal to the viewers.

All in all, I'm not going to make any final opinions until the final of the season airs, but so far I've been getting a feeling that we're getting more of writers trying to appeal to their viewers than real hints and answers for the mysteries happening which is giving a feeling that they... might not know what they're doing. I am glad they are engaging with the fan base, I just hope their original idea for the show and story won't turn into a fanfiction.

[special--interest-collector]

I hated the ending to The Umbrella Academy.

Because I couldn't stop thinking about it, I decided to write my own ending. A Season 4.5 if you will.

None of this will make canon sense. I didn't think this all the way through, and this stemmed from late night ramblings with my partner.

So please, enjoy! Or don't! I already have my ideal futures for each character in my mind. I also disregard the Marigold, and that being the reason for the world ending each time.

-

TW: Mentions of family separation

"There might be another way..."

The Hargreeves siblings all turned to look towards Five. Each of them open to any other idea than having to sacrifice themselves. Allison clung to Claires hand; Klaus leaning against the back of the couch; Luther standing with Victor as they worried about Ben and Jennifer; while Diego and Lila stood at either side of Five.

"Well? What is the other way?" Diego raised a brow to his brother, waiting for an answer. The tension between them still rife from what had been revealed beforehand.

Five began to explain the idea that had occurred to him. It was a long-shot but, in the face of sacrificing themselves to save the world, he thought it might be worth trying. His plan- to split the siblings up in different timelines. Hoping that with them all separated, it would cancel out their destructive power. And with the subway available to him now, Five felt like it was at least worth trying.

The other siblings could only look between each other. None wanting to be the first to break the thoughtful silence. Tension was heavy in the air. It fell upon Luther, the leader of the group when they were still kids, to start the discussion.

"OK, tell us more, Five."

---

All of the siblings sat upon the subway train. Each in their own minds about what was about to transpire. Five, ever the planner, had explained how he was going to deposit them in their most fitting timelines. A favour to each of them before they were separated from each other.

The only sound being the sound of the wheels against the tracks. Lila had insisted on bringing the children and family members to wherever they would go. Claire clung to her mother's arm as they sat side by side.

"Wherever you end up, make the best of the situation. I can't guarantee anything, no matter how much I would love to tell you I could. Time travel has always been unpredictable."

Slowly, the subway train would travel through the timelines. Each sibling departed from the train into the unknown. Until only Five remained, getting off at the last station.

[amultifandom-mess]

That fucking season has me screaming, crying and throwing the fuck up!

(Spoilers ahead for TUA season 4)

Not in the way you think tho.

Fuck! First and foremost, the Five and Lila storyline. Five did not need to fall in love with Lila. It could have been anyone else (or, for all you Five is aroace truthers out there, no love interest at all)!!

There were so many other ways that the multiple Five's and the realisation that the brellies are the problem could have happened. And they choose to go with THAT! THAT FUCKING BULLSHIT!!

They pulled that shit from their ass as a poor excuse to add drama! There are better ways to add drama without making Lila a cheater and making Five a home wrecker!!

Not even kidding, at the start of the season, I was all "Oh my god, I'm genuinely in love with Five. I actually love him!" Like I was down bad for this fictional fucking character... And then episode 5 happened and I fucking 180'd!! I was fully like "FUCK HIM" With my middle finger up and shit every time that mf came on screen.

I genuinely cannot even stand the sight of the character I once loved with my whole heart.

Five was the reason I fell in love with this show. Shallow, I'm aware but can't fight the truth. And I still do LIKE the show to some capacity, don't get me wrong. I just won't ever watch it again unless it's to analyse/criticize it. And I sure as shit do not LOVE it anymore.

Not even just Five's involvement. But having Diego and Lila in a loveless marriage AT ALL was just a shitty ass decision. They aren't the healthiest, sure BUT LOVELESS IS A STRETCH AND THEY REALLY WENT OUT OF THEIR WAY TO REACH FOR IT!

Fuck the writers, honestly.

I'm sure there's more I can say about that storyline but I'll leave it at that.

Now for the others!

* Luther should have grieved Sloane more. Sure, it's been six years and he still loves her clearly but.. well yeah

* Allison was forgiven too quickly. Again, six years. But no one had talked to her (outside of Klaus) for the entirety of those six years. Surely there was still some level of resentment for anger. She betrayed them for fucks sake! AND SA'd LUTHER!!

* In the end, Abigail's storyline made no sense. So Reginald brought her back to life and because the brellies (her creation, via the marigolds) keep destroying the world, she decides to help them end it, but this time completely?? I mean sure it was to reset the universe COMPLETELY this time... This one isn't actually a complaint. I like how they did this but it could have been dragged out across more episodes and explained a bit better

* My theory from season 1 that the "something that was meant to end" (when the Handler was talking to Fuckface) was right!! I said it was the brellies and I was RIGHT!!

* Ben and Jennifer were really cute but I don't love that they merged and became that monster at the end. Could have just had them turn into a kugelblitz dupe or smth!! That's what I thought was gonna happen honestly

* RAY WOULD SURE AS SHIT NOT WALK OUT ON ALLISON!

* I hate that Klaus just got his powers back, hasn't even had them for a day and just went back to his junkie life just cause it's a pattern!! PATTERNS CAN BE BROKEN!! KLAUS DID NOT NEED TO , BASICALLY, FORCE IT TO HAPPEN

* Was it just me or was the special effects in this season just so shit?? Like the vomit looked so fake. Compared to Klaus's barf in season 2, this shit looks so obviously fake. Same with some of the blood in some scenes.

* Speaking of bloody scenes, WHERE WERE THE FIGHT SCENES?? INSTEAD OF ASSASSINATING FIVE'S FUCKING CHARACTER THEY COULD HAVE HAD HIM ASSASSINATING A GROUP OF VIOLENT KEEPERS OR SOMETHING!!

I'm sure there's more I could add to this but I'll just leave it here. I'll add more to the comments if I think of it. Or you guys can, no biggie.

[rapunziedameron]

sorry you had to see that poll nym 😭 people are so weird about the sequels still

Ten years (nearly) after they started and five after they ended, and people are less normal about them still than I, resident "very not normal about the sequels" nerd.

A lot of the reasonings I saw for "why it hates women", too, just have me even more bewildered and frustrated. I feel like so much of this fandom's misogyny has completely clouded its perception of what the films actually were. And that's not to say the sequels are entirely flawless, though I feel this is an obvious statement that needn't be stated because no piece of media is without flaw, but this is the piss on the poor website, but I feel like a lot of the fandom's sexism just winds up skewering what the sequels really are- and it's a three movie narrative centered around Leia and Rey.

Oh yeah, bells and whistles of the tragedies of Han and Luke and Ben, but ultimately it comes down to Leia and Rey; it's a story of finding Leia's brother to bring him back to her. It's a story of trying (and failing, but trying again) to bring her son back to her. It's about people fighting in Leia's name. The Last Jedi novelization has D'Acy speaking her name with reverence, and Leia striding through the hanger is enough to immediately cease the division that rose up between the Resistance and Holdo's crew. It is in Leia's name that the galaxy pulls together to overthrow tyranny; it is Leia's legacy that Poe and Rey find themselves trying to carry, respectively. It's closure Leia deserved, with Vader, that Rey finds for herself by defeating Palpatine and rejecting his bloodline to choose her own family.

No, Leia doesn't have a big presence in the sequels; but she does drive them. She inspires everyone in the films, and it's a desire to do her and her legacy right that motivates nearly every other character. Leia is the symbol of the Resistance, of the Light, of hope in the films, and she can't even see it herself! But everyone else does.

So, quite. Leia is in a coma for most of The Last Jedi (oh no! The horror! She's now disabled! how completely sexist, as we know disabled women don't exist!), but she drives so much of it narratively.

And this concept that "some of the women antagonists are cruel, so it hates women" is absolutely mind-boggling to me? Of course Phasma is horrible, she's a fascist. And I don't take Holdo as a girlboss we're supposed to 100% believe is a perfect angel who does no wrong, when she represents so much of the elitism that the movie is so critical towards (she stands regally above the rest of the Resistance in fancy clothes that, if not in color, then certainly in trim lines more with the rich quality we see on Canto Bight; she immediately reduces Poe to a hotshot flyboy and nothing more, Finn to an ex-stormtrooper, and can't be bothered to even remember who Rose is, despite the fact that Rose is from Holdo's ship, and her focus is on bringing the New Republic back, which is a return to the status quo, which the film also pretty explicitly goes "no!" to). I don't think her self-sacrifice, or Leia using it as a teaching moment for Poe, negates those traits in the slightest. Holdo is - narratively - an antagonist:

a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary.

She was designed, specifically, to be a hardass that Poe and, we the audience, would not trust (according to the Art of the Last Jedi). The fact that two female antagonists (and one outright villain) is used as some sort of "gotcha!" that the films are somehow sexist doesn't sit right with me - it veers entirely too closely to the concept that women are somehow inherently pure creatures, and the thought that they might be anything but is sexist. Two white women antagonists embody prejudice? It's the end of feminism, cos white racist (and ableist, looking at you "bedpan duty" comment of Amilyn's from the novelization!) women is completely a myth right?

And people put so much more importance on Kylo than the films even do. They're so quick to write Rey off as nothing more than a mere victim, or like her arc is completely sullied by her having compassion for the villainous character - and the double standard is so completely obvious when Luke is praised for the same thing. But Rey dares to do the selfish, complicated thing - she develops feelings for the man she's supposed to hate! Who has hurt her friends! That's too much nuance, and the idea that Rey might have all the power here is too much for this fandom to comprehend, so we have to reduce her to a hapless little victim. So niave, and helpless but to exist as a mere prop for the white man.....

When in actuality, Ren serves as a prop for Rey's development. He makes her worse, highlights her flaws, and pushes her out of her comfort zone. The throne room is entirely the cause of (most) of Rey's insecurities in The Rise of Skywalker, and why she thinks she needs to earn her place in this story. She doesn't put up with any man's shit - she knocks Luke fucking Skywalker on his ass for lying to her, and when Ren makes it clear he isn't going to change, she kicks him out of her life. Rey has all the agency and uses it repeatedly, but it makes her a complicated character with nuance (an extremely traumatized mercurial one at that!) and that's unacceptable. So it's easier to pretend that she was done dirty, and existed solely for Ren's redemption (which is BULLSHIT because it was a last minute addition to the Rise of Skywalker).

There certainly are some complaints you could make (Rose's reduced screentime), but so much of what I see criticism about "sexism in the sequels" is simply at odds with what is actually present in the films themselves. Tell me again how the trilogy with more women than the first six films combined, which featured our first woman X-Wing pilot (because they'd been cut out of the original trilogy!) and had our Yoda figure be a dazzling, charming and flirtatious pirate queen, and so many other fantastic fucking background/recurring ladies (blows a kiss to Tallie, to Paige, to Kaydel, to all the other Resistance ladies my brain is blanking on atm!), for having ex-stormtrooper Jannah join Finn in helping topple the system that stole their childhoods from them, for letting a woman be covered head to toe and outwardly cold hearted but having a soft heart still as this trilogy's resident love interest scoundrel (Zorii).

The sequel trilogy loves women. It just loves messy, complicated women. Women that are sometimes wrong, who make mistakes, or are sometimes just outright pieces of shit.

So if you think women shouldn't be any of those things then, yeah. I guess it hates the idea that women should be perfect angels. But if you think that means it hates women outright, then I think you need to sit back and wonder what that says about you.

But I doubt the fandom is capable of that, when you had people claiming it was sexist that Leia trains Rey back in 2019.

[sammysdewysensitiveeyes]

Okay, I went ahead and watched the first Descendants movie:

I am no longer the right age demographic for these movies, but I'm sure young teenage me would have eaten these right up, and also wrote fanfiction with OC children of my favorite Disney characters. I'd have the daughter of Fflewddur Fflam starting a garage band with the son of Taran and Eilonwy because they won't let her play a harp in the school marching band. (I hate the Disney version of Black Cauldron, but I'd jump at the chance to write their OC kids.)

It's basically High School Musical with Disney characters. It's cute and silly, and campy.

I feel like the movie basically works because it leans into the camp factor and doesn't take itself too seriously. The Evil Queen from Snow White doesn't have a name, she is literally just called "Evil Queen" or EQ, but she does have a daughter named Evie. That's the kind of movie this is. (I'll choose to believe that she does actually have a name, but she's so proud of her role as the Evil Queen that she insists everyone call her that.)

How many villains got exiled to the island and how many kids did they have?! Enough to apparently fill a small town full of extras and back-up dancers.

The concept really does get creepy if you think about it too long. How bad does someone have to be to get sent over there? Wanting to seal away Maleficent, who is genuinely dangerous, is understandable, but apparently there's at least one Cinderella stepsister over there, so being mean to your stepsister is also punishable by banishment. And then they all start having kids over there, and the good guys are like, "Well, that's unfortunate. Anyway."

Love all the poor and downtrodden villain kids with their cool leather anime-character outfits. They all look like they just stepped out of a Kingdom Hearts game.

"What's going on with Jane's hair?" Snow White, you petty bitch, you are talking about a teenage girl. I don't mind the Disney villains becoming wacky, incompetent sitcom versions of themselves, but I can't stand Snow White the reporter coming off as snotty and elitist. She is one of the nicest Disney princesses, she would be like, "Wow, that gown is gorgeous! Whoever 'Evie' is, she is very talented and I hope to see more of her work!"

It's generally a bit weird that the children of some of the kindest Disney princesses (who went through a lot of suffering themselves) are set up as the snobby prep kids, but I know we needed some rich snobs for the cool outcast villain kids to clash with. At least Ben is nice.

Will I watch the rest of the movies? Maybe if I'm really bored or morbidly curious. Like I said, I am way out of the right age demographic for these, and have no patience for the high school nonsense, but I can see how this would be absolute catnip for younger fans. Next-gen high school AU with plenty of room to create your own Disney OC's? Yes.

[dani-luminae]

Also I forgot to ask but: choose violence: 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 14, 16 and 21.

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

Uh probably either that one post about Chloe being as awful as Chad. Alternatively, this one take I saw that was like "Audrey cheated on Ben first because she kissed Chad before Ben ever said the relationship was over!"

Honey, if "just sang a love song to a girl who's not his girlfriend" wasn't a clear indication that the relationship was solidly over, I don't know what is.

4. what was the last straw that made you finally block that annoying person?

Well if we're talking about that one person who was posting pictures of me (as a minor!) in the Descendants tag, that last straw was when they were outright ableist, so...

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

"Starboy" from Wish. Ignoring that he was supposed to literally be her grandfather returned to earth!!!!!!!!! People really can't stand that Asha could be her own protagonist without a romance. Besides, you want a romance? Dahlia's right there! Simon is right there and there's plenty of tropes that can be applied to his "magically controlled to hurt my friends" situation!

9. worst part of canon

Everything about Beast's character in Descendants. Folks he's literally the last person who should have been an option for the "oh he just decided to drag all the villains back from the dead and imprison them" idea. He's the one prince who had a character arc about not being cruel and unkind!

If I had to chose I would pick Prince Florian for that b*llshit. We know nothing about him as an actual character with personality and given how many people love to go the whole "eew he kissed a fourteen year old!!!!! WTF" route...

10. worst part of fanon

Wish rewrites that are literally just "the movie but Starboy exists and he and Asha have a romance! Also ignore how Asha's conveniently lightwashed"

I keep seeing a Wish rewrite reposted to Pinterest from Instagram called "Alicia and the Kingdom of Starlight"

WHO TF IS ALICIA?

That's not a rewrite at that point. That's just a plain OC.

14. that one thing you see in fics all the time

I don't... read fics enough to really answer this. I read my own fics, my mutuals fics (you and @descendantofthesparrow) and that's... about it.

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

Is "Starboy" still an option?

21. part of canon you think is overhyped

The Isle of the Lost. I think there's so much more potential to be shown in Auradon instead with the Isle kids adjusting to freedom instead of D2 trying constantly to go "oh but remember you were an Isle kid!!!! That'll never change!!!!!" (and then D3 forgets it altogether).

Also Wonderland. What was the fucking point with Wonderland. They couldn't afford the sets for the Isle of the Lost and Auradon Prep again so they just had to change course?

[rhaenizziettie]

Legacies 1x03 Rewatch

Haven't even made it past the Previously On ... and I'm already rolling my eyes at Alaric's speech to Hope. Like how did the writers think yes, let's sprinkle this all in so heavy handed but next season, when it's his blood daughter doing all that and more, let's have him sit silently and coddle her and force her murder victims to be nice. The character assassination -

I can't be the only one who does not give a fuck about the flashbacks over the season. Like not a single one is memorable except the Ben/Jen ones. I forget they exist and I really don't care.

My chain spell potential. Wasted.

No but why is Lizzie actually so nice to Penelope in the beginning?? Like last episode, she's willing to go along with Penelope's ideas and this episode, of all the people in the room, she's the one to say why Penelope's absent? I know Josie said she used to have a crush on Penelope but GIRL GET UP.

"If it pleases the court." Is this and 4x12 foreshadowing Lawyer!Lizzie? Because if so, I'm down for it.

"If anyone should take the blame, it's Josie." "WhAt?" I mean, look. Did Lizzie need to point it out? No. Bitch move. But it literally is because of Josie. How is she gonna stand there and pretend like it wasn't.

"I promise I'm not gonna betray you by being friends with Hope (who I made you believe hated you and did some fucked up things to you)." The very next morning:

"You only play by the grown-up rules when you don't need something from me." Get him again Hope!

"Baby, I'm a loser, yeah, yeah, yeah." as Lizzie stares at Hope's ass. I can read between the lines.

"Litter, weeds, graffiti." And then they immediately forget about weeds. Like they split into two groups and not a soul went to weed??

"I love trash. As of this moment." "Your sister's kind of a dumpster fire." HOPE. I SEE YOU. I SEE RIGHT THROUGH YOU.

"Daddy's girls." Said the pot to the kettle.

"You run, I run. Period." BRING RAFAEL BACK TO ME ALREADY. THE JOKE ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE.

"She hates me, doesn't she?" "I don't want him to hate me." Tethered.

As much as I hated it, I miss Kaleb's stance on supernatural-human relations. I hate that it just went away. It made him into a villain-like character, but damn it, it was interesting. Why did Legacies let all their interesting plots go in favor of "immortal man dies again" "the girl who grieved grieves again" "girl who ran runs again"??? I would have rather seen Kaleb start a small sect of students who believed in his idea that supernaturals were better than humans than listen to Josie whine about how she wants to leave again because people don't like that she murdered them for a season and a half.

No because fuck MG and Connor for that one. I will never understand the absurd Lizzie hate in S1. It reads like a bad fanfic where they layer on the abuse to set the tone but it also is wildly unrealistic and not based on anything.

PEDRO! (Side note: Had a dream last night where J*lie appeared to tell me there was a spin off about Pedro coming and I just told her everything she did wrong)

Enough time has passed. Emma and Alaric should've ended up together.

Call him a bitch, Lizzie. You know you want to.

"Hope and Josie are all sisters in solidarity." Baby, just say your crush is picking trash with someone else.

"But as I was walking home, I did the work and I dug deep." I want to give you a hug.

"She has a point." This is gonna be a real controversial opinion here but I think Emma was more of a mother figure to Lizzie than Caroline was.

"People disappoint." "When I let my guard down, people disappoint." How did I not see what they were setting up from the beginning.

Lizzie sacrificing herself for all of Mystic Falls who had done nothing but treat her like shit really get glossed over

"We've known each other over a decade and anytime you get the chance, you poke." Maybe because you've been spreading rumors about her and bullying her since you were eleven?? She heard that shit??? God, I can't stand Josie's fake innocent act.

"I can heal it." BUT YOU CAN'T HEAL THAT BEAUTY OF A SHOE HOPE.

"Sir, we've already taken your money twice." Landon's so soft.

"I just think that that's making me a little bit nauseous." It's called jealousy.

"MG has the impulse control of a pre-schooler." That's such a nasty thing to say about your "best friend" who has diagnosed ADHD?? Open a fucking book.

"He also always goes for the wrong girls." Yeah, you're gonna tell me that wasn't a shot at Lizzie? The one girl MG goes for repeatedly??

"Lizzie has dibs" and mind you Lizzie just arbitrarily decided to try and crush on him

"She always has dibs." So is it canon that Lizzie called dibs on Penelope then?

"Lizzie's sensitive." IF I SPEAK -

"That's why she's extra testy lately." No I'm pretty sure that's because in the last 48 hours, she's been assaulted several times, you've been lying to and gaslighting her, and her father's been a giant hypocrite. But sure. She's not there to defend herself, so keep going.

Jeremy really just showed up once and never again, huh?

Josie feels it when Lizzie is attacked by monsters but not when she uses black magic?

Dana and Penelope would have been best friends and she should've been in the Dana x Josie AU.

"I had to ask the honorable -" Blah blah blah. I'm really finding it hard to fall for the nice guy act this time around knowing what he does at the end.

Standing there silently while Kaleb talks all sort of misogynistic shit on Lizzie. Ooh if I could reach through a screen -

"She didn't. I did." ... okay?

No because Rafael losing Cassie and Hope losing Landon at the same time would have hit hard. And what if I just rewrite Legacies myself? Like damn.

I love that they just leave Lizzie on the floor. Like not a soul even holding her hand as she whimpers in pain. Wow.

Alaric jumps in front of Hope like she wouldn't just wake up a Tribrid if the gargoyle had got her. You're telling me this man was ready to die if his research was wrong just so she could stay human?? I'm not buying it.

"Me being the evil one in this scenario?" and I know she was flashing back to eleven years old hearing Josie make all the witches laugh at her for being a villain

"These secrets are gonna tear us apart." If only she knew.

"In their minds, we're the villains because we won't give them what they want. We don't even know why they want it." Oh the Dark!Josie foreshadowing.

Me, trying to listen while also trying to jam out to Raign.

"I had the kitchen make these. Your favorite. Brownies." "Someone else's baked goods?" Oh Hope was throwing shots and I didn't even know yet.

Also Lizzie's favorite isn't brownies. It's key lime pie. She says so later in the season. Get it to-fucking-gether, MG.

No because Dana running into the Salvatore School to deface it, finding out about the supernatural, and turning THAT into a plot would have hit so good.

[nellie-elizabeth]

Grey's Anatomy: Hit the Floor (21x09)

Guess which romances in this episode I don't give a shit about? All of them!

Cons:

I don't even want to belabor the point because I'm just repeating myself, but in short? Jo and Link suck and don't work as a romance, and Link was seriously getting on my nerves in this episode. He's weird about the women he dates, he gets too intense about them. This is what ruined the Amelia/Link thing too, except that theirs was a relationship I did enjoy, and this one with Jo is bad and also is supposed to be endgame unless one of the actors wants to leave the show before the other one. I hated the implication that Jo had "never had a stable adult relationship before" because like... I know this show took a giant crap all over Alex Karev on his way out the door, but you cannot say their relationship wasn't a stable and adult relationship before that. Yeesh.

Teddy actually didn't bother me on her own this episode, like, she was being a jerk to Ben but Ben was being super incompetent so her being kind of snappish worked for me. But Owen continues to suck so fucking bad. I almost had to laugh at the moment when he admits to the random patient lady from his past that he has feelings for her. Like, Owen, keep your shit together, my dude.

Lucas and Simone? Nothing bad here, but just boring as usual. Blue and Amnesia Girlfriend From Past? Somehow both boring and aggravating. If I can't have Jules and Mika then I'd like some Jules/Blue or, you know, in my wildest dreams we kick Lucas to the curb and get some Blue/Simone because I like their vibes best...

Lucas's plot thread this week was about having a trauma response to being in a shooting, and he and Amelia have this conversation about the Shepherd family's specific trauma about this scenario... it bothered me that they didn't bring up the hospital shooting, because Bailey was actually involved in a shooting too and surely that could have been a point of connection? Oh well. The moment when Lucas says he's "not a feelings person" after he needs to take a break was really funny to me, because like... oh, you're not a feelings person? Whiniest, most cow-eyed character of the interns? Always angsting about something or other? KWAN is the "not a feelings person," he's the one with the reputation for being stoic. Jules too. Lucas is way too feelings-y, that's like his whole thing. I really don't give a crap about this character.

Pros:

Okay, despite being very grumpy about Link and Jo, I did think Jo's comedic dismay about the very youthful OBGYN doctor having to do her exam was pretty funny, as was Link shutting down his chitchat at the end. That was a cute little bit. And I liked Bailey being there to support Jo, and talking some sense into Link. She's the best.

I kind of like that Ben isn't doing a super good job fitting back into the hospital, I think it's interesting. He's trying to take initiative and fix problems where he sees them, but Teddy's got a bigger picture view of what's going on, and she's trying to remind him that he's still got work to do to earn his position here. It's a tension where I can actually see both sides of the argument and I'm kind of looking forward to where it goes from here.

I also thought it was interesting how the shooter from last year's mid-season finale was handled. This isn't a mass-shooter situation where somebody went on a rampage, this was a person committing a desperate crime out of desperate need, and I appreciate that the episode sort of sat in the nuance of that. You have Jules who has decided to turn inward after losing Mika, get a wake-up call in the form of the shooter's girlfriend, who talks about how her boyfriend has turned inward after a series of misfortunes and doesn't seem to think he can reach out for help.

Another major patient story-line is the teenager whose mother was a Winston one-night stand. Winston and Amelia have to grapple with potential complications of the surgery as it seems the teenager might have lost the use of her legs. They're able to fix the issue, but there's tension between them leading up to it. I like Amelia and Winston's complicated friendship. They have this family tie through Maggie but it's obviously quite fraught, and they butt heads professionally too. I'd like to see them get more scenes together moving forward. Especially if they ever circle back to that Amelia/Monica thing they started to tease, because it would be funny for Winston to be awkward about that...

It's a little hard looking over my thoughts on this episode and confronting the fact that the things I'm excited about are potential story-lines that might take off or become more prominent.... and the "cons" section is just full of every major romance arc the show has going for it. I think Meredith and Mr. Boring are due to come back next week, so I'll have another romance to gripe about then! Woohoo.

6/10

[tacky-jack-with-a-hat]

Well... you have any headcanon about Florida or California by the way?

Oh buddy those are my blorbos...

So you know how Cali canonically has abandonment issues. So does Florida. And I'm not just talking about Spain.

(This became more of an analysis than a hc)

• Some IRL context: the reason people are leaving California in simplest terms is bc the wealthiest celebrities are driving up the costs of living, housing and transportation. But then the people who leave California go to places like Florida and drive up the cost of living and housing. So now families that have lived in Florida for generations are splitting up or leaving Florida the same way people are leaving California for the exact same reasons.

• California is politically and socially aware but not self aware in the slightest.

• Florida however, is either in denial or doesn't want to be perceived as the new California so he doesn't acknowledge that the families he watched grow are now leaving. The only thing he will let out is the bitterness towards tourists who don't actually want to stay with him or the snowbirds that take up homes when they aren't even there most of the year.

• This creates a weird situation between Florida and Cali. On one hand Florida hates him for driving away his locals but on the other hand, California is going through the same shit he is but he can't tell him without thinking he'll be seen just as pathetically needy as California.

• It also forces Florida to sit with the uncomfortable thought of if the same thing is happening in places the Floridians are moving to. Who else is lonely bc there people are being replaced? Does this make him a clone of California? What will happen to the poorest people when there's no more dominos left to fall?

• All he can do is try to distance himself from Cali and pretend it's not happening.

We see him do this in "California joins the table", when Florida gets uncomfortable as Cali describes things in his state that can also clearly apply to Florida (e.g orange and palm trees, disney ect). Florida immediately gets defensive and insults California throughout the episode. It also should be said Ben is a character in his own universe and Florida is canonically upset they moved to Los Angeles.

• On the other side of this: California wants a friend desperately. He only ever sees Austin briefly and he knows that the second closest thing he has to friendship is Florida. But he sabotages himself by convincing that Florida isn't capable of understanding loneliness because he's surrounded by tourists and knows how to call the states. In fact Cali doesn't think any state is capable of understanding how he feels.

• He also makes fun of Florida bc he thinks the peninsula state has tougher skin and is just used to everyone making fun of him anyway but all it does is make Florida want to distance himself further.

• Cali tries to make people think he's smarter than he is so people respect him (fails) but Florida tries to make people think he's dumber than he is so they tolerate him.

• They also have moments where they bond such as them both standing up for the immigrants

• There's also this one moment in Florida man in SoCal that I hope I misinterpreted bc I hate the implications

"Cali: I set a camera up in the bathroom-

Loui: oh you nasty

Florida: I'm in"

FLORIDA WHAT DO YOU THINK IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN?!? I KNOW THAT BEN IS IMPLYING SOMETHING HERE!!! YOU CAN'T HIDE!!!

• I also ship Florida/Beach Cali but I already had a post about that

• Summary: Not like other girls (Cali) vs the popular mean girl mentality (Florida)

Anyway sorry this became more of an analysis than a hc

[icharchivist]

As someone who thought that the Lucius just had a bunch of nicknames, I’m somehow just now realizing he’s three different people??? :(；ﾞﾟ'ωﾟ'):

i'm sorry to make matter worse, but i think you meant Lucilius... because Lucius is another character who's completely unrelated to the bunch.

But yeah there's three Luci- characters whom we nickname the Lucifaces who have the same face (and same voice actor), which makes things confusing for everyone who's not used to it.

The long story short is that they're clones of one another.

Lucio is the Original

On the left is his real appearance, his real name being Helel Ben Sahar. He's one of the two Speakers of Bahamut, the God of this world. He's basically one of the most powerful person in existence. On the right is his newish appearance, and now he uses the name Lucio as he pretends to be a stage actor to infiltrate our crew. The crew knows something is fishy with him and MC saw his powers in action, but very few people knows about his real identity. He flirts with Sandalphon sometimes but Sandalphon can't stand him.

Personalitywise he's defined by the fact he's teasing and mysterious, and overly loyal to God, despite the fact Bahamut has been ignoring him and his calls for the past few thousand years.

Lucilius is his clone.

No one knows the circumstances behind Lucilius's existence. He's an Astral, one of the immortal people of the stars. He himself didn't know he was a clone if not for the fact he was plagued with dreams of Lucio's life, which made him believe God was tormenting him personally. So he developed a God Complex, coming up with plans to destroy the world and take God's place. He was beheaded by Lucifer during one of his apocalypse plans, and thousands of years later, Belial set up a plan to behead Lucifer in order to sew Lucilius's head on Lucifer's body to bring him back to life. Thus the second zombie look. Currently, Lucio has locked him and Belial in an interdimensionnel prison called the Rainbow Dimension in order to stop them from going on rampage, after Sandalphon stopped their last attempt at destroying the world.

Personalitywise he's cold, mean and calculating, the only person he ever liked was Lucifer, and no one else. He hates God more than anything in the world.

(as a side note his Japanese name is Rushifaa which is the actual way to pronounce "Lucifer" i Japanese. GBF!Lucifer is pronounced Rushiferu, a variation on how Lucifer could be pronounced by accentuating the "r" ending)

Lucifer is Lucilius's clone.

In his convoluted plan to take down God, Lucilius created the very first Primal Beasts. One of the very first (the second one after Belial, in fact) was Lucifer, whom he created to be the idealized version of himself. Lucifer was made to oversee evolution itself. he was considered the light of the skies. Because Lucifer was meant to look over evolution, he was able to evolve himself enough past his programing in order to see Lucilius's destructive way and behead him when his apocalypse plan was threatening to destroy it all. He then watched over the skies for thousand of years before being murdered and beheaded. In his last breath he passed down his powers to Sandalphon, his official replacement and the one person Lucifer always yearned for the presence of, and because of that Sandalphon often has dreams of Lucifer's memories. And because of this bond, he hasn't fully moved on to the afterlife, stuck in between worlds, watching over Sandalphon.

Personalitywise he's kind, caring and dutiful, though a little dense. Also he created coffee. God likes him. Literally Bahamut put Lucio and Lucilius on mute but he actually talked with Lucifer recently-ish and values his opinion. Which is kinda hilarious.

So those are 3 drastically different people, but they are clones of one another with various degree of knowing about it. All of them have also very unique relationship to Sandalphon and it's why the real test is "put Sandalphon in a room with them, you'll know who is who in due time"

So those are the three Lucifaces: Lucio, Lucilius, Lucifer. Three different people. Not to confuse with Lucius who has absolutely nothing to do with those guys.

It's easy once you know i swear!

The more you know then?

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 2/5

Book Blurb:

From the author of the viral TikTok sensation, The Pumpkin Spice Cafe, comes the only spicy grumpy x sunshine Christmas romcom you need this year!

Kira North hates Christmas. Which is unfortunate since she just bought a Christmas tree farm in a town that’s too cute for its own good.

Bennett Ellis is on vacation in Dream Harbor taking a break from his life in California. And most importantly, taking a break from his latest run of disastrous dates.

After a run in with Kira in her fields, Ben has no intention of offering to help the grumpy owner set up her tree farm, despite the fact she’s clearly got no idea what she’s doing.

Kira knows she should stop being so stubborn, but her farm is not all cute and cozy like people always show on social media, it’s borderline dangerous with no heating, and she’d rather no one saw it.

But somehow fate finds Ben at Kira’s farm once more, and as Kira watches him swing an ax at the first tree, she finds herself appreciating his strength and questionning why she refused help in the first place..

The Christmas Tree Farm is a spicy romantic mystery with a HEA guaranteed!

Tropes:

Grumpy x Sunshine

Small Town

Forced Proximity

One Bed

Review:

She owns a tree farm but hates Christmas and he's new in town and looking to get over his latest string of bad dates. Kira North hates Christmas and can't stand the too cute town she lives in... yet she owns a Christmas tree farm. Bennett Ellis is new in town to visit his sister and take a break from some bad dates. When Ben runs into Kira, they do not have a great first meeting but they keep running into one another and just can't stop thinking about each other. But can a relationship work between two people who are completely different... and the fact that Ben has an entire life back in California while Kira lives in Dream Harbor? When this was advertised as a steamier Hallmark movie, I was hooked. As a lover of Hallmark movies I can't resist a holiday romance book. I just felt like this book was missing something, some holiday romance magic. I didn't really feel the chemistry between Ben and Kira and it just didn't feel like it really worked for me while I was reading it. I just didn't find myself falling in love with the characters or the romance despite this book having so many elements I would normally love. If you like small town romance with a touch of heat, definitely give this a go though, maybe you'll have a better time with it than I did.

Release Date: October 22,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Harper 360 for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*