#they just all can’t get the main character screen time they deserve :((

[drakorn]

Rewriting Veilguard Part 1 - The World State

Disclaimer: I don't hate the game, I actually think it's quite great given the development hell Bioware went through in those 10 years. This is more of a hypothetical universe where there was less of that behind the scenes drama. Just a fun writing exercise.

Expanding Veilguard's World State Editor

Like many of us, I was disappointed with the total amount of choices carrying over from past games being only three, one of which dealt with romance, two with decisions made in the Trespasser DLC, and all of them being from Inquisition. This already set the precedent that we shouldn’t really be expecting the game to be as connected to our unique Thedas as we have come to be used to from previous titles—no more uniquely flavoured codex entries, no more small but sweet cameos here and there that make the world itself feel like a larger place that we had helped shape.

Given The Veilguard’s very troubled production history of multiple delays, staff layoffs, and all-around restarts of the entire project, it is honestly a surprise that we even got three choices, so credit where credit is due. They made with what they had. But what if The Veilguard had this vision from the start? What if there wasn’t any of this meddling? What if Bioware simply had more time and control? What if they could truly let us import the World State this game deserved?

Now, for this hypothetical rewritten playthrough, I’m going off from the fact that the Dragon Age Keep will not be used; I actually found it a neat idea to tick my three choices in the character creator, and it would have probably been better had Inquisition done something similar. Why do I think that? Because it means we are not running into any dangers of servers potentially shutting down, leaving us trapped in the canon we happened to have imported last. Converting the Keep into an offline editor was a good idea, but unfortunately not executed nearly enough as, let’s face it, we all expected. So we’re gonna have some fun for Veilguard.

Disclaimer: I’m going to refer to the game’s title as Veilguard from now on, not “the” Veilguard. I really don’t like the change of having a “the” in a series of otherwise one-word, or one-number, titles.

Of course, we have to be realistic about this. It is virtually impossible to implement every single decision from across all three games, and those that can be implanted can’t alter the main plot too much. Certainly, we like to imagine and picture things, but let’s approach this from an actually doable point of view.

Right, so imagine you just finalised your Rook, and then get a screen titled “Past Adventures”. Not just “The Inquisition”. And it would take up the entire screen instead of being shoved somewhere in the corner of the final CC page, which many people missed. I could have missed it too, had I not known beforehand that it was going to be there!

It would say something akin to “You can customise the protagonists and several events from the games Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age II, and Dragon Age: Inquisition. These choices will have both major and minor effects on the plot of Veilguard. If this is your first Dragon Age title, you would be advised to skip this section for now, as you may otherwise risk getting overwhelmed. A default World State has been pre-generated for the game.”

Why did I add this disclaimer? Because it would show us, right from the get-go, that we respect both new and old players. If you’re a new player, feel free to skip this part as it won’t matter to you anyway and, quite frankly, you wouldn’t want to spend an eternity in the character creator doing things you might not even be familiar with. But if you’re a returning player or someone who has read up on recaps and watched countless lore videos, come on right in, we’ve got you covered, don’t worry! We know how much time you spent meticulously crafting your World State for Inquisition, so join us and customise to your heart’s content.

If you choose to not skip ahead (honestly the only time I would click “skip” on that shit is if I was a new player), you will be presented with three tarot cards, one shows the griffon, the Grey Warden symbol, one shows Kirkwall’s heraldry, and one shows the Inquisition’s banner. Here’s your previous three games. And now we get to customise them a little. The little gremlin in me would be quite gleefully rubbing his hands at this prospect.

Past Adventures: The Blight

We open the first slide and are immediately hit with a crimson screen and an ambient reprise of several of Inon Zur’s themes from DAO. I loved this part in the game, when you click to customise your Inquisitor and are immediately hit with “Calling the Inquisition”. Really great stuff for early emotions. Now let’s actually customise things.

The Hero of Ferelden

I do not expect us to actually be able to recreate the Warden in the flesh, but I believe they should be at least brought up in conversation or mentioned in codex entries and letters. Here are the things we get to customise about them specifically:

The Hero: Here, we get to tick the race, gender, class, and background for our Warden. Again, no character creator, just fancy tarot cards. But guess what? That would already be more than enough for what we can do. At least we know the game acknowledges their continued existence.

The Warden’s fate: Did the Hero of Ferelden perform the ultimate sacrifice?

Romance: Who did your Warden romance, if at all?

The Companions

Now that our Warden is set, we jump over to DAO’s companions. Each companion has their own little mini-section. The first few questions will always be “Did you even recruit them? And if so, did they survive? If so, were you on good terms or not?” These questions, depending on the answers, will immediately lock or open the more specific ones. Which are, as follows:

Did the Warden have Morrigan perform the Dark Ritual?

What is Alistair’s ultimate fate?

Was Sten reunited with his sword?

What happened to Loghain?

What happened to Marjorlaine?

The Battle of Ostagar

What happened to the prisoner at Ostagar?

The Arl of Redcliffe

What is Connor’s fate?

Is Isolde alive?

Did you help Bevin and return his sword?

The Urn of Sacred Ashes

What happened to the Urn?

The Nature of the Beast

How was the situation between the Dalish and the werewolves resolved?

A Paragon of Her Kind

What happened to the Anvil of the Void?

Who rules Orzammar?

Did the Warden help Brother Burkel create a Chantry in Orzammar?

Did the Warden prove the Legion of the Dead was connected to a noble house?

Did Orta join the Assembly?

Warden’s Keep

What happened to Sophia and Avernus?

Denerim

Did the Warden complete Slim Couldry’s crime wave?

Who rules Ferelden?

Who killed Urthemiel?

Awakening

What happened to Nathaniel?

What happened to the Architect?

What happened to Vigil’s Keep and Amaranthine?

As you can see, I have not included all the choices, just the ones I think can be carried over in both realistic and interesting manners. Not all of them will heavily feature in the game; in fact, many of them are for flavour and codex entries only, but there is still merit in those. We know there is a whole lot of stuff happening in the South thanks to the letters the Inquisitor regales us with. So let’s put some world-state uniqueness to those letters. But in this rewrite, some of these choices will, in fact, feature in a more substantial manner.

And that’s Dragon Age: Origins done! Moving on to the next one!

Past Adventures: The Tale of the Champion

When we enter this screen, the CC assumes Kirkwall’s orangey-yellow tone and we get a reprisal of the key DA2 themes by Inon Zur, the most prominent one being, of course, Hawke’s family theme. This one is not going to be as big as DAO, but there are a few important factors nevertheless, especially concerning possible deaths and survivals.

The Champion of Kirkwall

Unlike the Hero of Ferelden, Hawke will actually be customisable in this one. Because no matter whether or not they were sent to the Fade or Weisshaupt, there is always the potential for them to still be alive. So, here are the choices regarding Hawke:

The Champion: Here you can customise Hawke’s gender, class, and personality.

Who did Hawke romance, if at all?

The Party

Pretty much every companion’s card, aside from a few, will have the questions “Did you recruit them?”, “Are they still alive?”, and “Were they friend or rival to Hawke?” at the forefront. Most of it is gonna be flavour, but it’s still my flavour, dammit!

What happened to Bethany or Carver?

What happened to Isabela and the Tome of Koslun?

What happened to Fenris and Danarius?

What happened to Merrill, her eluvian, and Clan Sabrae?

What happened to Bartrand?

What happened to Anders when the Chantry exploded?

Did Hawke approve of Anders' actions?

Did Aveline marry Donnic?

The Tale of the Champion

Did Hawke protect the Bone Pit from all its dangers?

What happened to Feynriel?

Did Hawke let Zevran go?

Did Nathaniel survive?

Did Hawke side with the mages or the templars?

Fewer choices are carrying over here compared to DAO, but many of the events that occurred in DA2 are only relevant to Kirkwall’s immediate fate, which is already resolved by the time of DAI. Many of these will be flavour again, but some of them, I’m not going to say which, will definitely have a bigger impact.

Right, we’re done with DA2, let’s move on to the last one!

Past Adventures: The Inquisition

And here we get to the big one, the game that most directly impacts much of DAV’s story. We click on the last page and get the green shades and DAI’s ambience themes, a beautiful reprisal of Trevor Morris’ great hits. I would like to once again reiterate how emotional the CC music made me feel here when I was playing the game. Let us now customise our choices.

The Inquisitor

While the Hero of Ferelden will be a background figure in letters and codex entries, and Hawke more of a minor character with a significant role, the Inquisitor will have a much larger presence. Just how large, you’ll find out soon. But for now, let’s customise them:

The Inquisitor: Here you can customise your Inquisitor’s race, gender, class, and specialisation. Their personality as well, for while it wasn’t as apparent as with Hawke, the Inquisitor does still have a distinct range of dialogue choices. You can still be diplomatic, lighthearted, or even rough.

Who did the Inquisitor romance, if at all?

The Inner Circle

As with the other companion sections, pretty much all slides here will feature the “Did you actually recruit them?”, “Are they still around?”, and “Are you friends or not?” questions. Alongside a few specific ones that will definitely have more of an impact here.

Did Dorian resolve the issue with his father?

What happened to Blackwall?

Did the Iron Bull remain loyal to the Qun?

Did Cassandra rebuild the Seekers of Truth?

Did Cassandra discover the book of secrets and what did she do with it?

What happened to Harmond?

Which path did Cole choose?

What happened to Solas’ friend?

Did Varric track down the red lyrium source?

Did the Inquisitor give Vivienne the heart of a snow wyvern?

How was Cullen’s lyrium dilemma resolved?

How did the Inquisitor help Josephine resolve her family’s fortunes?

Was Leliana hardened or softened?

The Path of the Inquisitor

Did the Inquisitor embrace or denounce their title of Herald of Andraste?

Did the Inquisition side with the mages or the templars?

What was the general principle upon which the Inquisition was founded?

Who rules Orlais?

Who stayed behind in the Fade?

What happened to the Grey Wardens after Adamant Fortress?

What happened to Samson or Calpernia?

Who drank from the Well of Sorrows?

Did the Inquisitor respect the rituals at the Temple of Mythal?

Who became Divine Victoria?

The Inquisition’s Influence

Did the Inquisitor ally with the Hinterland cultists?

Was the rift in Crestwood closed?

Was Caer Bronach captured?

Did the Inquisitor make a deal with Imshael?

Was Suledin Keep captured?

Was Griffon Wing Keep captured?

Was Sutherland’s company formed?

What tone did the Inquisitor’s judgments take?

Jaws of Hakkon

Did the Inquisitor learn Ameridan’s fate?

Was Hakkon slain?

Did the Inquisitor share the truth about Ameridan?

The Descent

Did the Inquisitor stop the earthquakes from destroying the Deep Roads?

Trespasser

What is the ultimate fate of the Inquisition?

What is the Inquisitor’s final goal regarding Solas?

Again, this looks like a lot, and it is, but bear in mind that a lot of these will only have minor impacts on the story in the form of cameos and codex entries. However, there are several major DAI choices that will have significant impact.

For our hypothetical rewrite, I shall not list every single choice I made for my imaginary playthrough. Instead, I shall reveal them as we go along so as not to clutter the space too much. And it’s a bit more fun this way.

And that’s the World State editor finally done! I believe all of these choices are able to feature in some capacity, be it big or small. But no matter if it’s a big world-changing consequence or simple flavour texts and cameos, it will still be our Thedas, our own unique version of it that we helped shape.

Now that the past is dealt with, let’s look at the present. Next time we’ll talk about Rook, the six factions, and why a DAO-style origin story selection would have not only been beneficial but very doable.

Rewriting Veilguard Part 2 - The Shadow Dragons

[door-insurance]

So I played Life is Strange 2 for the first time ever

I didn’t wanna play it for a long time not cause it didn’t have Chloe or max (tbh I got sick of their asses around BtS they’re not even my faves)

By that point I was in college and had lost interest in the whole franchise but also I was very apprehensive of white creatives writing racism with no input from the group they’re portraying, they don’t usually do a good job

Sometimes they make it cartoony, sometimes they trivialize it, sometimes they romanticize it

So years later adulthood kicked my ass and I came back crawling to this franchise for some comfort, I finished True colors annnnd I finally started 2 after hesitating annnnd

^sketched this while playing

SPOILERS

I actually liked it

I liked Sean, the drawing segment he does- he was such a likable main guy, deserved better honestly.

I also liked Daniel, he was very adorable and I never got it when people called him annoying like no shit the 9 year old is gonna act like a 9 year old- just don’t be a jerk to him, I know he can be frustrating but that’s what taking care of a kid is like

And lis had always been about realistic complex characters, y’all can’t handle a traumatized nine year?

I have two younger siblings and two nieces plus I’ve been a bratty younger sibling to two older sisters

Maybe I’m just used to it?? But honestly Daniel wasn’t that bad

The racism portrayal in the first few episodes was not all that cartoony and it actually felt real at times, like I can check for American news rn and find stories similar to what you see in episodes 1-3 (minus the telekinesis)

Although the gas station racist hick spouting trump slogans was a bit on the nose, it’s more of dialogue thing

Some people thought the gas station detainment was egregious but it can happen unfortunately, especially to vulnerable people in rural areas and by someone of a higher systematic advantage

One other thing I did not like was the love interests, I thought Finn and Cassidy were alright characters on their own but why do we need romance in this game where the protagonists are always on the run?

I don’t like to compare lis 1 to 2 but when it comes to the romance the former did a better job as it spent more time establishing it, plus max stayed in the same place for the majority of the game- but you know what? Sean doesn’t have to be in a relationship right? It can be a one off thing, that’s fine

Which brings me to my next point

How old are Cassidy and Finn?

Cause Sean is still 16 and no, being on the road didn’t mentally age him- he’s not “mature” for his age

He is still a kid

So for some reason Dontnod never really specified their ages but some articles described them as teens (they look 30 to me) and they can be around 18 right? Their lives are hard stress ages you- it happens, we can with live that, it’s just a two years difference

But teens or not

why did they animate a whole knocking the boots scene???

Of all the games in the series, the only one that gets a sex scene is the one with the much younger protagonist and his ambiguously aged older looking love interest and I think it’s only with Cassidy you get to do it in the tent

Alex Chen was robbed of a on screen booty call from a beanie wearing lesbian with a sexy radio voice or a buff ass Adonis of a man who was Smokey the bear’s regional manager or something

Anyways I’m gonna move on I’m uncomfortable lmao

*im not hating on people who ship Sean with either Finn or Cassidy, I’m not even tagging your ship names- im just stating my personal preferences on my blog

One last thing I did not like about LiS 2 and it was the one thing that kept me from playing it for years

That one scene from episode 4

So at this point Sean Diaz went through the following:

-lost his father, had to abandoned his loved ones, education and home

-was accused of killing a cop

-had to take care of his little brother on his own while on the run, the same brother with telekinesis and none of them know how to control it

-was harassed, beaten then detained by a racist white man

-had to take refuge in an abandoned cabin with little resources

-the dog that they adopted at the gas station eventually gets mauled

-the one time they found solace at their grandparents house they had to leave abruptly cause the police was hot on their trail

-on their way out they can potentially witness the neighbors kid that they befriended get hit by the police car that’s chasing them

-they find shelter at a nomad campground but oh no they get involved with drug trafficking cause they barely have any other options to make money (unfortunately this happens a lot IRL this isnt egregious)

-Sean now has to deal with the trafficking, making sure that Daniel doesn’t get into any trouble with his powers while fake ass giancarlo esposito is breathing down his neck

-and guess what happens next… Daniel gets robbed into pulling a heist on temu gus fring and it goes badly, Sean can potentially lose a love interest/friend in Finn

-Sean gets hurt, Daniel goes so mad that he blows the whole place up; a shard glass flies into Sean’s eye and he ends up losing it

- Sean wakes up from a coma and learns that his brother is missing and he’s about to be taken to jail

- the one thing that consistently brought him joy during this trip was his art and because of the missing eye he can’t even do it the same anymore cause it hurts now

- Sean has to escape the hospital with a hot wired car, little money and has to drive across two states just to get to his brother

-on the way he dreams of his father, he wants him back he wants his old life back but that’s not gonna happen so he has to move forward

Im not listing all this as examples of bad story telling, a lot of these are real life experiences of homeless people. im just painting a picture of the shit that Sean had went through so far

Cause right after the dream sequence, Dontnod didn’t think all that was enough no you had to see Sean get hate crimed by two lifetime movie, sitcom special of the week racists- be made to either sing or suffer a brutal beating

It added nothing to the plot, it didn’t need a choice system either- it’s a hate crime, you’re not asking Joyce for fucking pancakes or eggs n bacon at the whales diner or hosing down Lisa the fckin plant.

This to me went straight to trauma p*rn category, it’s wheelchair Chloe all over again

I hated it then in LiS 1 and I hated now in LiS 2, this is why I don’t dick ride Dontnod that often

They always had this tendency right before the end they single out a particular character and mentally whip them, they become the writing teams punching bag- they think we didn’t get it the first time that this character is going through it, they just hammer it in with the subtlety of a heart attack and I hate it

“Yeah but it’s there to show Sean’s resolve to find Daniel-“

HE ESCAPED FROM THE HOSPITAL AND THE FEDS, HE HOT WIRED A CAR TO DRIVE ACROSS TWO STATES

He’s starving, dehydrated, suffering from chronic pain

That’s enough

Let the character breathe

You ask why not a lot of people wanna play this game and I’m gonna tell you, as much I enjoyed it myself it’s not an easy game to play- it gets brutal, especially right around the end

I’m not against bleakness or extreme conflict, I’m into that but sometimes that doesn’t translate well to any gaming format- especially a choices matter game that’s meant to be replayed

Some people have asinine reasons not to play LiS 2 like it dealing with racism and those people suck, lis had always dealt with progressive themes like calling out objectification, cyberbullying and sl*tshaming

Racism shouldn’t be the exemption

but misuse of racial trauma and not knowing when it’s appropriate to invoke it is a huge turn off and hella triggering to a lot of non white players and I remember when LiS 2 dropped I’ve seen (mostly white) lis fans at the time proclaiming that not wanting to play it meant that you were racist

Like I said there were probably racists who didn’t wanna touch the games cause of the main characters skin but there were people like me who were apprehensive of the “Let’s go to the mosh pit Shaka brah” people handling racism

This is the same studio that had Ms Grant (one of the few black characters from LiS 1) claim that the white settlers peacefully shared the stolen land with the native Americans

I find that shit harder to believe than the time traveling powers

And they were doing alright in the first episodes they covered stuff like unconscious biases slipping through, dog whistles, polite racism from the grandparents segment, police brutality, racial profiling and being targeted/othered- some of these things I went through when I visited western countries

Then they did the bullshit I feared theyd do…

I really don’t blame myself for being hyper vigilant at the time and honestly I was going through a lot then, even if I wanted to I wouldn’t have touched LiS 2 cause it’s a very heavy tasking game to play

I know I kinda made it seem like I didn’t like this game but I did, its the best one in terms of the choice system

It had more weight to it, seeing Daniel internalizing what you say to him or how you act around him was so cool

Also what the second game has over the first one aside from the choices system is the ending selection- I never liked picking the endings for max, I wanted her to pick the ending or her coding/script to do that

Its definitely more fleshed out technically even though LiS 1 has a special place in my heart it’s always gonna be no. 1- but im also glad that I got to experience the 2nd game for the first time, I liked it

Personal lis ranking

1: Lis 1

2: Lis 2

3: True colors

Discount bin: BtS

My personal fave moments from LiS 2:

- beating up the racist bully and giving him a concussion

-mushroom (rip icon)

- victorias letter

-winning that that bear from that claw machine

-gorillaz song that was not feel good inc

-Brody pointing at a fucked up looking arcadia bay yelling “that’s the past!”- that was hilarious

-Sean paying tribute to Arcadia bay in his sketchbook (this fucking kid man, he’s so sweet he deserves the world- what did he do to make DONTNOD mad at him)

- the wolf animation and the story that plays before every chapter

-this was the worst hate crime in the whole game

[givethemsmut]

Dom Mysterio x Reader

Thank you so much for the love I’ve gotten on this so far. I truly just write for myself so it’s nice to feel validated 🙌🏻

Smut

Friends to Lovers

Angst

I don’t own WWE characters, it’s all for fun

Not edited

Chapter Three | Where it all started…

3 Years Later…

Dom had made it to the big leagues, main events and Monday Night Raw. I couldn’t have been more proud of him until his story line turned my stomach into knots.

His new “Dirty Dom” heel turn had come with a new accessory named Rhea Riley. 

Not even storyline turns into the reality of dating but let’s be real: most of their time was going to be spent together with virtually no time at home. I was stupid enough to think she didn’t want him by the way she gleamed at him.

Every part of me was jealous when he called her Mami and the next day all his merch said it again for the encore. Their tension felt real but I wasn’t sure how much of it I had glorified.

I was visiting Dom for a few days, sharing hotel rooms and going to his live events even though it hurt. That was when I met Randy again, only this time he was divorced and single.

It was a welcomed distraction from every social post and monologue being about his new on screen fling. WWE had been laying it on thick and I had no idea why it was bleeding into their personal lives unlike any other time.

Dom even got scolded for posting a silly photo of us because it ruined the facade. 

I kept it from Dom the whole time I was there visiting because I hurt him enough for a life time. I deserved feeling jealous this time.

Dom rushed towards me, picking me up into his arms and spinning me around. “Did you see it? I fucking flew!” 

My arms wrapped around his neck without thinking, “You won. Congrats.”

Placing me down gently he knew something was wrong when he dragged me back to his dressing room before asking. Boxing me against the door his eyes got dark, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I lied.

“We aren’t leaving until you spill.” He still didn’t give anymore room between us than what was already there.

“I’m late and I’m tired. I’ll just Uber back to the hotel and meet you at the airport?” It was the last stop before we flew home for Raw next Monday. I was honestly excited to get back home and back to my routine. Less of his fake relationship thrown in my face.

Taking shelter in a dressing room, the air was thick and I couldn’t get out my words without admitting I love my best friend. Fighting my zipper Dom leaned again the doorframe to the bedroom.

He licked his lips, “You horny or something? I know we have a pact to not cross those lines again, but hermosa if you need me.” 

“Why do you call her Mami?” I bluntly asked.

“I don’t write my scenes, babe. I have zero control over that. Is that what’s wrong?”

“You called me Mami the first time we had sex,” I whispered. “Every time you said it to her…” I didn’t know how to rationalize it or even speak on it yet.

Dom’s hands skated down my sides and landed on my hips. “What happens baby? What happens when I say Mami?”

Pushing his hands off me I flooded the room, pacing lightly trying to find the words. “A lot. I’m jealous, I’m turned on, I’m confused. I don’t know what to do, Dom.”

Ripping his sweaty shirt off he followed me, dragging my hips back to his. “Dom. We can’t. I can’t.”

Dropping his hands from my body so quickly felt like a diss. “Right. I’ve heard it all before. I was good enough to fuck you the first time tho, right?”

Dom was never cruel and I couldn’t believe it as it unfolded.

“You’re my best friend.” I twisted around to face him before sitting on the couch in his dressing room. 

His hands on the back of the couch he fell into me, his knee between my legs and his mouth so close I felt the hot breath against me. “I fucked you until there was blood on my sheets. I stood by while every asshole fucked you instead of me. Fuck, mi amore, I’m still fucking my hand every night because I need you.”

“I can’t fuck you, Dom.”

His hands shoved its way between my legs and found my wet panties quickly. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t rip your wet panties off?” His hands found the strings of my thong before yanking them down my legs.

“Because you’re gonna hate me and I can’t want you until you know.”

Undoing his belt he twisted me over, on all fours and the wetness practically dropped down my inner thigh. I needed Dom so badly I didn’t care. My mouth muffled by my own forearm I couldn’t talk myself out of letting him anymore.

Shoving himself between my legs I nearly gasped, holding my breath and biting down on my own skin.

“Oh my god, Dom.” His chest caved over my back and begged me to scream. “Ohhh fuck.”

“That’s it, baby. So fucking tight. You needed this, didn’t you? so fucking wet for me.” 

I had lost my mind with him inside me, writhing in ecstasy like he knew my body better than I did when his brutal thrusts hit against my ass hard. “Dom. Dom, slower, slower.”

Taking the hint he slowed down, taking him time and punishing us both with long movements. Every time he filled me I felt myself come all over him.

���Tell me why I’m gonna hate you.”

Luckily I was saved by his team mates, the ones he fought with and was always with. “Dom we gotta do some after shots. You ready?” They all stopped dead in their tracks staring at Dom pounding me from the back. 

“Goddamnit. Get out.”

After being frozen long enough they vacated the locker room they clearly all shared.

Hiding my face on the couch I bite down on my own lips to keep from moaning too loudly. “I’m gonna come. Dominik.”

“Say my name baby. I wanna hear you moan it.” 

I could feel his hands tighten and knew he was close when I grabbed onto his hands. “I’m not on birth control. Dom, you can't.”

I had already had one abortion and couldn’t survive another. 

Making me come he pushed himself inside of me until I felt him jerk against my tightness. “Dom! I’m not on anything. I can’t get pregnant.”

Kissing my shoulder he whispered, “it’s not the worst thing in the world. Rather have a baby with my best friend than anyone else.”

Pushing him off me I panicked. “I can’t have another abortion. You don’t understand.”

Tucking himself back into his undone pants his features wrinkled. “You had an abortion? Who the fuck got you pregnant? When?”

“We were babies, Dom don’t be mad. I couldn’t tell you.” Pulling down my dress and trying so hard to not cry.

“Fucking Blaine? You almost had his kid?”

“Dom.” I said sternly, waiting for him to realize. “It wasn’t Blaine.”

Pushing his hands through his hair he stared at me pissed the fuck off. Everything about my face begged for his pity. “You fucking got pregnant? We had sex one time. How?”

The hot stream of tears ran down my face. “We didn’t use a condom, Dom. I came so many times. It was my first time too, I didn’t think I would get pregnant. Your mom promised to keep it a secret until I was ready to tell you.”

“My fucking mom kept your secret? We could have been together. You didn’t even bother telling me.”

He exploded with anger, trashing the locker room and shouting profanities. I had never seen Dom so angry before. 

Rhea, his on screen girlfriend, and his team mates came crashing through the door for a second time like they were listening outside the door but Dom didn’t care. He got so close to my face I actually winced. “You fucking got pregnant and decided not to tell me? But you’re worried if I’m fucking Rhea? You fucking got rid of our baby.”

“We were seventeen, Dom! Babies, we couldn’t have a baby. No one gets pregnant the first time they have sex.”

“But we did, didn’t we? Say it. I wanna hear you say it.” His hand clutched around my jaw, holding my gaze and forcing eye contact. “Say it.”

The tears turned into globs and scarred my face when my mouth fell open but no words came out. “Dom. Don’t.”

I flinched at the closeness when he pushed his face even further into mine. Nearly growling the words, “Fucking. Say. It.” 

“I couldn’t be a mom then. I couldn’t be a wife. We were supposed to be the people who got pregnant the first time. I’m sorry I had the abortion but it had to happen.”

His grip on my face let up and Rhea called his name. “Priest has a match, you coming?”

Shaking off our argument I finally exhaled when he followed her lead. “You’re fucking lucky. You made the wrong choice.”

Dropping down to the couch again I sobbed into my hands contemplating every big moment we had. Dom was every first, every big moment. He was my best friend and I kept the worst secret from him. I felt like a monster.

Priest and Finn appeared on the TV set to fight his dad, Rey, and Randy Orton. I watched trying to compose myself as I left the room. Everyone probably heard and I knew my cheeks would flare up red instantly. 

Making my way to the viewing area I stood in the back watching Dom frantically force his way into the match. His attempts were successful when everyone passed out except his father, Rey. Climbing into the ring, he stood in front of his dad holding a mic.

“What’s wrong? Afraid I’ve outlived the legend.” He toyed with his father like a predator. 

His dad waved his hands and Dom attacked him before dragging Finn over his body for a three count winning his stable the fight. “That’s what you get for being a deadbeat dad. Don’t fuck with my family.”

I knew where this came from when everyone backstage scrambled to plan around Dom going off script. None of this was planned and WWE just landed on a gem of a feud. Father and son against each other.

Dom breezed by me, bandana still over his face and sunglasses still on. Whatever we had been through before was about to get worse. There was no going back now. The damage was done.

Reaching out I tried to make him hear me when he put his arm around Rhea, walking away the way he knew would hurt the most. 

That night I went to the airport by myself, not seeing Dom at all. His things were still a mess around the hotel room. We had the same flight home and I dredged it entirely. Our seats were next to each other and I had no idea how we would make a flight over six hours home. 

I hadn’t seen Dom and decided he changed his flight when I boarded the flight by myself. Holding my duffle bag I slipped inside my seat, digging out my head phones and closing out the world. 

Clamping my eyes down I begged for sleep but I knew better. My racing heart wasn’t going to let up more than ever. The seat next to me wrinkled as I scrolled through playlists to find the right song when I glanced over to see Dom stretching out in our first class seats.

Picking any song I turned it up hoping he wouldn’t try to speak to me anyways. It was three hours into our flight when I finally got his attention. 

I had to scoot by him and that wasn’t going to be easy with his long legs spread out and his hat over his face. “Dom,” I nudged him a couple of times before he woke up.

“If you aren’t waking me up to get you pregnant so you can rectify this problem then I don’t want to hear it.” He crossed his arms tighter and didn’t bother to open his eyes. 

Dom wasn’t going to let up anytime soon and I had to deal with that. I just handed him a bomb before we went back home to California where we were both expected to stay with his parents. Now it felt like I had lost both Dom and the family I had.

“Then what happens, Dom? I got pregnant and what? We raise the baby as best friends? You quit the WWE? You pretend we don’t exist because as far as fans are concerned you’re with Rhea? We were young. Neither of us were ready for that kind of responsibility.” I whispered between us unlike him. 

Pushing his headphones down to his neck and sitting straighter up he finally looked at me. “Yes. Whatever we had to do. Our age, our status, my career - none of it mattered in comparison. If you were pregnant I deserved to know. After we fucked, you were a bitch. Fucking every goddamn guy who took you out, sneaking out, avoiding me, acting like nothing happened. I got you pregnant and you didn’t even bother to tell me. Now is there something you want to say?”

“You’re an asshole,” I spat out before pushing my way through his legs to go to the bathroom.

First class bathrooms were bigger, nicer but still an airplane bathroom. The knock was quiet but I ignored it. I needed time to regain composure before I had to face Dom again. Splashing water on my face carefully stepped out of the way when I realized it was Rhea and Dom flirting. 

It stung. Hell, it felt like a knife. 

Grabbing my hand he jerked me back, “just call it even.”

“You got it, Dominik.”

[applebuttercringe]

Arcane finale initial thoughts

This episode was a roller coaster for me.

-She cut her hair off screen? Why? If she is about to commit suicide I don’t see the desire to get a new look beforehand. Usually stuff like big haircuts signifies rebirth is storytelling, a shedding of the past. This is the opposite.

-A whole melancholy Jinx tries to kill herself scene. I’m so tired. Give her a break.

-the song is haunting

-I know that they established that the time travel doesn’t work past 4 seconds, so no saving Isha. But they should have saved Isha.

- I don’t get the Jimx with the flag in the intro. She never really became a leader for Zaun. She briefly called herself it during the prison break out. But that was about saving Aisha. Then she abandoned it entirely for Vander. She really never became a revolutionary. She avoided it.

-They built the hexgates with no off switch? Did Dr doofenshmirtz teach us nothing?

-We never see Caits reaction to Jayce’s….everything?

-How does Jayce know that?

-so Viktor died, he was brought back via mad science that stripped him of his humanity, and then, the exact same thing happened again. Something something two nickels weird that it happened twice.

-Does Maddie know about the sex with Vi?

-Is this the Waarwhik Viktor team up?

-If shutting down the hexgates is a slow but steady process. He probably should have started it earlier instead of having meetings to tell them how long it will take to shut down. Is there a reason he didn’t do this immediately after Viktors mannequin attack.

-Is Loris dead?

-Is Cait never gonna tell Maddie?

-Is Maddie gonna die so it never has to happen?

-The Undercity member of Caits new team is the first to die.

-Very similar imagery to Caits gassing of the Undercity

-Oh damn, they won

-Maddie was a spy, the theories were right

-Cait used the same gun butt jam move on Maddie that she did on Vi.

-Cait won’t die. I don’t believe it.

-MADDIE THAT IS COLD

-Damn Mel

-Are they gonna be saved by Mel’s newly revealed magic powers that came outa nowhere? How did she master them so quickly?

-Jinx incoming

-I guess Ekko convinced her

-Ex Machina

-Dod Sevika convince the Undercity?

-what is with the sense of time this act. I have no idea the time between events. I thought Cait passing out was at least an hour time skip seeing as everything calmed down, but then Vi and the pianist are in the same place and same position as before?

-Is Viktor dead? Oh it was a trick.

-He ain’t in the egg.

-the hex ray from season 1?

-NEW DESIGN SLAYS

-nevermind he looks like a hammerhead shark.

-Cue all the fanfictions where this is resolved with freaky sex

-Is Sevika dead?!

-Cait you just got stabbed, how are you walking?

-With every scene change you can feel the writers struggling to keep track of all the characters. This fight scene is never ending cause we keep needing to pause for an ex machina reveal. It’s Voltron all over again.

-This is reading as Mel will become a new league champion. Mage support. The new design and everything.

-“People deserve to choose their own fates.” Says the guy who fuses Viktor with the Hexcore against his will.

-That was a cool Mel moment

-Is she saving her mom?

-So will Ambessa give up and Viktor is the new main villain?

-How did that kill Ambessa? I’m so tired.

-I can’t tell if 23 more minutes of this is a good or bad thing

-This redemption is sweet but, meh.

- Aw, they are flying like it is the invention of Hextech again.

-More loss for the sisters, cool.

-Oh, it’s the top of the hexgates like it was in the dystopian apocalypse.

-Them losing and the apocalypse happening would at least be an interesting ending.

-Viktor is spirit bending Jayce’s soul like he’s the avatar

-AS IF THEY COULDNT GO HARDER WITH THE CHRISTIAN SYMBOLISM. Jeez

-It’s like Viktor is asleep behind the mask, or dead.

-“what you thought were weaknesses” “your leg, your disease” “there is beauty in imperfection”. Was he supposed to find beauty in dying young Jayce? It wasn’t a random imperfection. It was a disability and debilitating disease caused by Piltover senseless mistreatment of the Undercity. Demonizing Viktor for wanting to cure himself, or make life better, or being able to run is so dumb.

-Yeah Viktor how dare you wanna live.

-Between that and the Silco speech this seasons big moral monologues are really flat yet sanctimonious.

-Viktor is in there. Seeing once again!

-“All I want is my partner back” gay baiting till the end eh Arcane. I’m not complaining about this, I eat it up every time. I am losing chess to this dog.

-AAAH LOVE IS GONNA SAVE HIM

-oh, the mage is Viktor. That���s. Hmmm. It’s fine. Don’t know how I feel about the goatee.

-Do you think they intended this twist from the beginning?

-“In all time lines, in all possibilities, only you can show me this” damn. Diversity win I guess.

-Now kiss lol

-Handing the bracelet back like Viktor gave it back to him in Episode 3 of season 1

- and just like that I’m back

-“We finish this together” 🏳️‍🌈

-They’re writing the fix it fanfic for me

-All the mannequins go to space?

-The hug 🥺

-Caitlyn’s gonna get a dope eyepatch

-Aww, Vis arc is about trying to save people and self sacrifice. You have to move on and live for yourself Vi. You can’t save em all.

-Save her Jinx, get involved and make a positive difference.

-Oh no, don’t kill Jinx. Don’t do it. I saw it in the trailers. No

-If this is a fake out death it is dumb, if this is a real Jinx death that is dumber.

-

Jinx suffered the most out of anyone in the series. She tried to kill herself and was saved by Silco, she tried to killer herself and was saved by Isha, she recovered with Isha, Isha died so she tried to kill herself again, she is saved by Ekko, and finally kills herself as a sacrifice for Vi? Fuck that. This endless pain train was t a recovery, it was just revelling in her pain till her violent death.

-SHES ACTUALLY DEAD

-Oriana, sure

-SINGED GOT TO LIVE. HE GOT A HAPPY ENDING? HE KEEPS THE HEADS OF KIDS HE KILLED IN HIS EXPERIMENTS IN JARS.

-alright. Ultimately fuck this show. It was so good, then it messed it all up. Ultimately this show was just about reveling in Jinx’s pain. I’m too tired to have coherent thoughts but. That was the worst ending they could ever had done. F this

[kaylatoonz]

I’m been seeing a lot of promos for Sonic Movie 3 lately and it’s making me sad.

It feels like they're treating Shadow like the fourth member of Team Sonic all over again. A new generation of fans are probably gonna believe that.😞

At this point, I feel they scuffed Amy’s debut before it even happened either way.

If she’s in the movie she’ll get overshadowed by Shadow and her arc would be rushed or cut down.

If she isn’t in the movie but instead in the next, people will consider the four movies a downgrade compared to “Shadow the Movie”. A crucial part of Amy’s arc would just be cut or completely skipped due to her absence in movie 3.

The fourth movie being “her movie” isn’t even guaranteed they could just cram a bunch of other new characters to make up for being less popular than Shadow.

I want Paramount to prove my concerns wrong, please do! But all I see is them pulling the same bull Sega, Archie, x did back then which affected how people view this character… and not in a good way.

And before anyone makes one of those comments like:

-I should be patient she’s getting the next one.

-It’s part of the SCU plan, “it makes sense” and I shouldn’t question it.

-She doesn’t accomplish much so it doesn’t make a difference if she is not there.

-I don’t know how they would add her.

- they should just give Amy’s moment to [insert human character].

- but Jim Carry was retiring they had to do Shadow’s story!

- they can’t afford to add another CGI character !

- there’s not enough screen time for another character and shadow needs most of it to tell his story!

- edit: it’s an ADAPTATION so don’t expect it to be a one for one retelling of SA2 ( but this doesn’t apply when they want scenes from SA2 to be adapted involving sonic or shadow😤)

-etc

NON of that makes me or other Amy fans that may feel the same way feel any better nor does it reassure us that the films are going in the right direction with this character. We have been told countless times to be patient with a character that should be in the limelight (she part of the main Sonic gang for Pete's sake!). That patience is often met with nothing or the bare minimum compared to what other characters get. And if we do manage to get something good fans throw a fit saying “The character doesn’t deserve it and should have been a different character”.

All I’m asking if you have those kinds of opinions or comments keep them to yourself or take it somewhere else. I don’t want to hear it. I’ve heard these comments too many times and make me feel worse. And I feel brushed off even if it’s not the commenter’s intent.

And also keep in mind If the tables were turned you would feel very differently about never seeing your favorite character’s moment shine on the big screen.

So just let me rant and get things off my chest. I’m not trying to hurt anyone’s excitement for the movie I’m just trying to voice out my concerns, hoping for change with the treatment of this character in other media. If I do happen to affect your excitement for the film you’re free to block or scroll past me (sorry for that).

[delinquentluvr]

Knuckle Bine, Hakoware, & The Importance of An Informative Power System.

I think a lot of people would agree with me if I said that Hunter x Hunter is a great manga. I also think a lot of people would agree if I said a large part of that is because of its stellar character writing. Togashi is really intentional with the way his characters speak, the actions they take, and how their personalities/beliefs influence the way they fight. In a manga where so much fighting is happening, it's super necessary. The decisions a character makes leading up to them throwing hands are just as important as who they're throwing hands against, why they're throwing hands, etc. Of course, these things are all portrayed through the way the main cast (Gon, Killua, and Kurapika mostly) develops their nen abilities alongside their continual character development, but my all-time favorite example of this is Knuckle Bine. He's in an arc that is perfectly set-up to portray morality through fighting, and all of his limited screen-time is used to show what he believes and why he believes it. So. Knuckle's entire character is this: He is a heart-of-gold delinquent. He comes off as a brute but is actually very kind behind that (paper thin) mask. He is driven by his emotions, but these emotions are very noble. He leads with his fists, yes, but not with anger.

Knuckle Bine (despite what everything on the surface might tell you... his intimidating looks, his insulting speech, his punch-first-think-latter attitude) is a pacifist and a good guy. He fights because he wants to understand others, and make sure no one gets judged unfairly. He’s explicitly stated his reasoning for being a beast hunter is so he can make sure that creatures that we can’t explain aren’t just destroyd because they’re “dangerous”. He wants a conversation; he wants the most peaceful solution. Hakoware is a really fucking good representation of these beliefs.

A friend of mine said that nen abilities are a manifestation of the restrictions one places on oneself, which is definitely true, but I also want to add that they're also a reflection of what you believe to be true about the world around you. Knuckle believes that everyone deserves a chance to explain themselves. Knuckle believes that fighting with another is a way to understand them. Fighting, to him, is a way to communicate. When he fights and loses to Youpi what saves him, Morel, and Meleoron is the fact that his beliefs were shown to Youpi through his determination.

The fact that Knuckle's goal is communication-- through fighting, yes, but not with the intention to kill (explicitly the exact opposite of that actually)-- is what forms the basis of Hakoware. And it's also what allows Hakoware to be so powerful. Hakoware activates when Knuckle lands a hit on his opponent, initiating his "conversation". It doesn't hurt, because Knuckle is lending his aura to his opponent. Pacifism proven upfront. Now, the opponent will accumulate a 10% "debt" based on the amount of aura Knuckle's lent, adding it every ten seconds. If the debt equals or exceeds the opponent’s total aura capacity (which will naturally go down over the fight as the opponent uses their own nen abilities), they go into "Bankruptcy" and become unable to use Nen for 30 days. Hakoware remains active until the opponent pays off the debt by attacking Knuckle with enough aura. These return punches also won't hurt Knuckle, because they're simply passing back the aura that is owed. Pretty neat, right? I'm sure you can see where I'm going. So, let's go back to the idea of nen abilities being restrictions on the self and reflections of your own worldview. Knuckle's Self-Imposed Restrictions

Hakoware only works if he's confident enough in his own ability to have a conversation. The ability wouldn't be useful if Knuckle couldn't logically think or understand his opponent during his fights.

Knuckle's Worldview

The 30-day nen lockdown is a direct representation of his character. It's an incredibly powerful ability, but it has no limits on who it can be used on in the way Kurapika's nen is. Why? Because Knuckle's conviction, his dedication to peace and understanding, is strong enough that it is baked into his ability.

Knuckle wouldn't use Hakoware on someone if it was not absolutely necessary. He wouldn't strip them of the ability to defend themselves unless the situation absolutely called for it. And even then, if he did win, we know that Knuckle is not the type of man to use that advantage to stamp his enemies down.

It's incredible that the ability can inform so much about his personality. It's incredible that his personality can make you understand the reasoning behind his ability's structure and use-cases. Good fucking manga.

[therossgarden]

Hi, again. 👋

I found the post you were talking about. The stan's account was deactivated, but yeesh. 😬 Nice replies to them, btw.

The stan that bashed on me said I was being misogynistic, even though I'm a black woman who just wanted to see another black character get their chance to shine.

Hell, it's not just the shows and movies (I think this all started with Endgame). It's also the Steve Rogers musical too. I don't know if you know about it, but Disney made the musical real, and it really did Sam and Bucky dirty.

Sam isn't even in it. Maybe he was mentioned once, but the musical showed an image of Sam as Captain America. As for Bucky, his scene from CA:TFA, where he saved pre-serum Steve, was given to Peggy instead. Bucky was mentioned once, and the musical tried to justify Steve's ending from Endgame. All for this ship.

And, frankly, I don't hate Peggy, I'm just more annoyed that other characters get shoved aside as well as this great dynamic that Steve and Bucky had, while she and her ship with Steve has been getting propped up more and more. But, seeing some of your and the others' posts, I get why you guys don't like her.

Girl, don’t get me started on the abomination that was Rogers the musical. It could have been glorious, it had so much potential, but once again Bucky’s role in Steve’s story was given to Peggy, and Sam wasn’t even there!

I feel like Marvel feels the need to tone down Stucky or their friendship overall because it was just too powerful. We all remember the hashtag that begged Marvel to make Stucky Canon, #givecaptainamericaaboyfriend. They just couldn’t let it happen, not to a main and important character like Steve, god forbid. And so ever since civil war Stucky has always had little to no scenes together no matter how well established it was in previous projects. All their scenes and dynamic were given to Peggy, their friendship was toned down, Steve’s whole ending happened. It just feels like Stucky is so menacing to Marvel that the only way to stop us is by destroying Steve, Bucky and their relationship.

I mean, Steve is given no justice in his ending and in all the other projects he appeared in. Bucky went from a victim and prisoner of war to someone who must make amends for things that were beyond his control. And the depth of their friendship was toned down and reduced every time Peggy was involved. And then they wonder why many people in the fandom dislike Peggy or why the whole Rogers the musical initiative flopped the second it went beyond Hawkeye.

Like, even if you don’t ship Stucky you can tell that they care for each other, and you can tell there was a shift after people actually wanted Marvel to take action and do something about this dynamic. Steve can’t get even one episode as his own character because Peggy must be there. Bucky had more luck, but still… and let’s not even talk about Sam, his only appearance was as a zombie!

In another post of mine I ranted about how bothered I was that Peggy was inserted in the 1602 storyline, and i haven’t changed my mind. It would have been so nice to give Steve one episode about himself, about his dynamic with his best friend and about the relationship with himself and his fellow avengers. But no, Peggy must be there too, and for no good reason as well.

I feel like Marvel trying to erase pre-existing relationships to have Peggy shine only results in fans turning their back on Marvel and hiding in fanfiction or whatever piece of media that can actually bring justice to the characters. Once someone on Tumblr said “you gave us the characters, but once you mess them up they’re not yours anymore. You don’t understand and respect them, therefore you don’t deserve them.” and I couldn’t agree more, which is why I am currently reading and writing fanfiction rather than buying into everything marvel gives us.

Peggy was the love interest with more screen time even before what if and all that jazz, she had her own show! And I fear that the day Marvel will realize that pushing a reimagined Nazi turned Mary Sue into every single what if episode where she can fit instead of enhancing the characters that are actually relevant in-universe it will be too late.

Sorry about the rant, I get carried away when it’s about my boys lol

[heyclickadee]

A couple things:

1. The thing is, I actually don’t really think we’re done with the bad batch, for a variety of reasons. There’s too much unresolved, for one thing, and “end of this chapter with these characters” is not how anyone says, “We’re never touching this again.” I really do think we’re getting an immediate follow up with more of a focus on Rex and Echo, but that the rest of the bad batch will still pop in from time to time, giving all of them a chance to round out the last little bit of their stories and character arcs—because they are all just a little bit undercooked. (For example: Crosshair doesn’t even get lines after Tantiss, and the last thing he says about himself takes him from implicitly to explicitly suicidal. The hug is beautiful and cements his place as part of the family, but we never get a moment where he forgives himself or no longer believes that he deserves to die. His redemption arc is magnificent, but it needs that last little push to feel fully resolved).

And, for another variety of reasons, I actually do still think we’ll be getting Tech back in one way or another. So much of what is left unresolved in TBB forms a chalk outline around a Tech-shaped void, for one. The writers aren’t committed enough to have come up with a decent reason for why he had to go in the first place—stakes does not cut it and is actively undermined by never treating it like a character death—for another. They were, at the very least, not committed enough to actually kill him. Tech is the only character in a show that loves making us watch who doesn’t die on screen, and the only one who’s “death” moves nothing forward and is never treated like an actual death. And we have no definitive proof he actually died, for another. (Even if he was CX-2—CX-2 got “killed” two other times on screen and popped up five minutes later each time like a daisy. If you do that you’re going to have to burn the body and scatter the ashes for me to think he’s dead, impalement or no. Besides, you can’t definitively kill a main character via subtext. You still have to be clear and direct.) And Tech has too many callback lines and potential survival foreshadowing for someone to never tug on them at some point, for another. You’d have to kill me to keep me from doing something with, “Better late than dead.” Basically, tl:dr, I think Tech will come back someday, whether they have plans or not.

Because I can’t really get on board with the idea that The Bad Batch was just always badly written. I can’t agree with that. It was never perfect, of course, but it was always remarkably well written and thematically consistent for 46 straight episodes and then tripped on the chalk of the finish line. Besides, I’ve never seen bad writing that was perfectly set up amazing writing if all they did was one simple thing—ie, follow through with what they set up. It’s not that the ending is bad, it’s that it’s bad in this particularly insane way. If it was just normal bad, I’d have dropped The Bad Batch like a rock by now and done my best to forget I’d ever watched it. But because it’s bad like this—basically, a non-ending that resolves nothing but Hunter’s Cut Lawquane arc, Rampart (which was good, actually), and the problem of Hemlock continuing to draw breath (which was just the last major obstacle in Hunter’s Cut Lawquane arc, so it’s not even a separate thing) and answers NO questions—I’m obsessed.

And I can’t get behind the idea that The Bad Batch ending is like this and that we got shorted a Tech return because they got shorted a season. I’ve seen many serialized animated shows that got shorted a season or more, and what every one of them did was cut out everything they could in the middle so that they could get to the resolution they wanted, squash the originally planned last season’s arcs into the actual last season—not leave those arcs undone and the resolution out. The only way them being shorter a season works as an explanation for all of this is if the creative team found out season three was the last at the same time we did. And even then, the solution there would have been to take out five minutes of fight scene and replace it with five minutes of resolving everything in the short and stupid but still THERE way.

For example: Give Wrecker and Crosshair one line each after Tantiss that tells us what they’re going to do. Unmask CX-2 as Tech after spearing him (or don’t spear him) and add one line where Hunter says he’s recovering and that it’ll be a long road, but they won’t give up on him. Or! If you don’t want to bring Tech back in the short and stupid but there way, add a line to the epilogue where Hunter tells Omega, “I see Tech when I look at you sometimes. I don’t want to lose you the way we lost him,” which seems like a no brainer, or, “Tech would have been so proud of you,” which is absolutely a no-brainer if you actually want to close things out for Tech. Tech would still be gone, but at least it’d be resolved, and that’s all short, simple stuff you could add to the very last episode to make it feel finished. If you’re shorted a season or even a few episodes, you cut everything that doesn’t matter, you do whatever you can to get your story resolved—unless you have somewhere else to put it. Which, given how open Star Wars canon is and how heavily it relies on recontextualization, is a very real possibility here.

What I think may have happened here is that The Bad Batch ended up being the first part of a longer story that had to be artificially cut in half. Whether it was always planned that way, whether it was something that unexpectedly happened partway through the production of season three, or a secret third option (the creative team set things up to to be resolved in three seasons but always wanted to do a longer version, but the longer version (in the form of another show) didn’t get greenlit until they’d already written most of season three, so all the payoff got schlorped over to that follow up show while the payoff stayed in this one, leaving us, the audience, with this incredibly unsatisfying mess of a finale in the meantime while whoever is in charge of announcing shit at Lucasfilm doesn’t see the problem). Put a pin in CX-2, slap something that looks like a happy ending on the rest, resolve nothing, do it all in the next thing.

(Slight sidebar: If it turns out that the reason we didn’t get Tech back is because something went horrifically wrong during the writer’s strike—basically, the finale got hit with extreme budget cuts and the script patched by AI—I think we’d still get Tech back. Tech in the first two seasons was something of a writer blorbo, and no one is leaving their blorbo dead over that. That’s a good way for them to bring back their blorbo and have that blorbo murder the hell out of a thinly disguised CEO insert.)

And if that’s what we’re looking at—well, okay. I can see wanting to give certain things (especially a Tech return) more time. If this is what’s happening I actually think it will be more satisfying in the long run, from a story perspective, anyway. I’ll be able to live with that.

That said….

2. If that’s the case—if what we’re looking at is a story artificially split in half one way or another and we are getting a Tech return and the rest of the resolution eventually in an immediate follow up, something that will ultimately work really well in the long run—that doesn’t mean I think it works now. Right now, it’s awful, from every angle. We don’t know for sure that anything else is coming, it makes for a deeply unsatisfying story right now because the “ending” we have is all we have to go on, and it’s unnecessarily stressful for most everyone but especially the autistic fans who relate to Tech.

And the thing is, if Tech were neurotypical? I don’t think we’d really be question the idea that he could still come back eventually. He’s a clear writer favorite to the point that they basically gave him the entirety of season two, except the two Crosshair episodes, great lines and moments in other character’s episodes, and they apparently liked using him so much that either CX-2 was Tech or they physically couldn’t stop themselves from writing and animating Tech in a season he wasn’t in. Killing off one of the writer faves and the fan favorite in order to bring them back later is something that happens. But it’s something that hits differently when that writer and fan favorite is also the only canonically autistic character in the franchise.

Which. Is I think where we run into a problem. You see, I never really got the impression that the creative team ever thought of Tech as The Autistic One. Does that mean I think the didn’t write him as autistic? Of course not—they absolutely did, and did so intentionally. What I mean is that that wasn’t the sum total or even the primary way in which they thought of him, otherwise I think we would have ended up with a terrible Sheldon-Cooper-esque. Instead, the Tech they wrote, and the Tech we got, is just a guy. A really amazing guy who’s noticeably different and autistic AF, but treated like any other character. And on the one hand, great! I know people have a lot of different ideas about this, but I personally want writers to deal with autistic characters that way—to just write us like we’re people. And if what they’re doing is bringing Tech back later and on a longer timeframe than what we expected—also great. It means that all the ambiguity, hinting, and complete and total lack of processing or closure makes sense, because that’s how you write a fakeout death. That’s textbook how you write a fakeout death. But—but—

The flip-side of just treating Tech like any other character and, perhaps, playing a long game with “killing” him off and bringing him back later like someone would do with a fan favorite, if that’s what they’re doing, is that you end up in the situation that we’re in right now. The interim situation where it feels like Tech’s sacrifice was never given the weight it needed to feel final or meaningful, where we’re given no closure and no opportunity to let go, where we DON’T know if anything is coming next even if we do get hints, where Tech got dropped, where nothing makes sense, and where the autistic fans in the audience who relate to Tech feel like Star Wars kicked them in the face and told them that they don’t belong here.

So.

I want this to be a long game, and I do think this could, one, be a situation where they team is having to work around some kind of corporate shenanigans to play that long game, and; two, could end up being a fantastic story that I love even more than the version I wanted.

But even if I’m right and that is the case, I also hate that this is where we’re at in the here and now, that it’s hurt people as badly as it has, and think that they should never do anything like this again, because the game stopped being fun a long time ago.

tl;dr: I don’t think we’re done yet, I think this is part of a longer story, I think we’ll get Tech back at some point whether it was planned or not, but I also hhhaaaaaatte the current situation and think it’s been mishandled.

[mostofthingsmostofthetime]

My thoughts on The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes movie

I don’t know if I liked it as much as the original films (maybe Mockingjay 1 & 2 as they are pretty emotionally draining), but I still enjoyed it.

I think where it fell a little flat for me is 1. The beginning was a bit slow (tbh I only really started getting interested when Lucy Gray stuck that snake down that girl’s dress & even then I enjoyed the story more when the setting changed from the Capitol to the district) 2. I knew Snow would survive 3. I’d already been spoiled online for a lot of stuff that happens & 4. while I know the director did his best to make Snow as “likeable” as he could for as long as possible, even before he started getting “a little too comfortable” with killing & snitching I didn’t find him as sympathetic as Katniss or Peeta (but that is probably again down to the fact that I know what he goes onto do & there’s no real way around that), this made engaging with him difficult for me.

The world is fascinating. Getting to see all the new locations we never had access to before as well as old locations now in a totally different light (for example district 12 which, while still clearly suffering, seemed like such a bustling industrial town compared to how it is in Katniss’s time). It might have a much more retro aesthetic but there's also just a more vibrant, natural, wild & lawless atmosphere to this movie compared to the others in the franchise. The whole scope of the film just felt more cinematic then I remember the others being yet also weirdly intimate. Maybe because it was one contained story & we knew the main character’s fate from the start. I also loved the title cards signifying the start of each section of the story like from the books & wished they'd done something similar for the other films. It just added a certain flair to the whole thing. Almost gave it the vibe of a tragic play.

The costuming was great. The bright red of the academy uniforms.  Flickerman’s snazzy suits. Snow’s dapper black & white outfit. Both peace keeper uniforms (despite one of them giving very ‘1930’s Germany’ vibes) looked great. Grandma might have been a bigot, but at least she was well dressed. Everything Dr Gaul wore (except the top that looked like a used tampon, lol) was exquisite. The main ladies of fashion, Tigris & Lucy Gray slayed. Our Future Capitol stylist looked like some regal yet exotic bird & Miss Survivor was giving Bohemian, country girl realness the entire time she was on screen. Even the extras were serving (like that random couple Snow walked past on his way to the reaping ceremony).

The music was amazing. Every song that played was fantastic (shout out to Olivia for her end credit contribution). The lyrics & instrumentation were beautiful & my god does Rachel Zegler have pipes! Anyone who says the singing scenes are cringy is just stupid like I’m sorry you can’t appreciate art. Also, the words ‘ballad’ & ‘songbirds’ are literally in the title. Plus, Lucy Gray is from the poorest district, so what exactly do those people want her to do in her free time? She can’t exactly hop on an X-box for a few hours. Not too mention that (as the offspring of someone who’s musically inclined) I can tell you, it’s completely realistic for a musician to use their craft to help them deal with trauma & Lucy Gray clearly had more than her fair share of that.

The Grandma'am helped to paint a sadly very realistic background for Snow. As who among us hasn’t met at least one delusional old person who thinks that their/their group’s suffering (regardless of the severity of it or the reason behind their former/newer status in society) means that no one else are deserving of even the tiniest shred of humanity & there are some people who are unlucky enough to not only be related to these people but be raised by them.

Hunter schafer as Tigris is clearly the superior Snow when it comes to things like empathy & overall mental stability but I do kind of wish they’d been more for her to do. Credit where credit is due though her & Tom did actually look like they could be related & I did buy their familial bond (which makes her appearance in Mockingjay so much sadder in hindsight).

Peter Dinklage as Casca Highbottom was a bit of a mix for me just due to his purpose as a character & the limit of film as a form of media. Like sure the audience know that Snow’s going to become an irredeemable monster in the end but without a window into his mind it really does just seem like the Dean is just out to get him & even when we find out why it seems kind of unfair. Like sure his dad sucked but haven’t the Games shown that blaming children for violence caused by others is unjust (& like ok he hates Coriolanus & probably the grandma but Tigris hadn’t done anything to deserve living in poverty, as she can’t control who she’s related to)? Plus, it felt like he could have at least tried taking Snow under his wing at some point to try to hinder Dr Gual’s influence. Saying all of that, though, Peter Dinklage is great at playing an addict with depression & the idea that some drunken rambling could lead to such long-lasting suffering is terrifying. Also its pretty realistic that living with that kind of guilt & in such a cruel environment for that long would make most people jaded & bitter, even if they did have good intentions.

Omg we finally get a Mayor family on screen & they’re assholes! Madge would be so disappointed 😭. It was interesting to see how harsh & overall “boot licky” the mayor & his family seemed compared to decades later, which makes sense as the war wasn’t that long ago for them so the dad probably felt more incentive to align himself with the Capitol as well as not feeling very connected to the district people as 12’s decline probably didn’t fully set in until they really started running low on coal & Snow became president (oh I just know he wanted to blow that district off the map 😆). I also wouldn’t put it past Billy to come up with some sob story of how he really does love Mayfair but wicked Lucy Gray is somehow preventing them from being together. Still no excuse to try to send her to her death twice in one week, though. Definitely not a girl’s girl.

Ok, so a liar. Cheat. Drunk & someone who hits women. Is there anything good about Billy Taupe? Also, trying to get your ex back, while your current girlfriend is literally standing right next to you? Dude, have some god damn back bone! You made a choice, now stick to it. Also, fumbling Lucy Gray, for a girl like that? What’s it like having no brains or taste? Well, too bad, coz you’re stuck with her forever now, lol.

Viola Davies, the actress that you are. What else is there to say? Dr Gaul is almost comic book levels of insane. Like she is how the Right see women in STEM, on crack! I don’t know what she did to get into character, but whatever it was, it worked.

Jason Schwartzman as Lucretius Flickerman is a very interesting addition to the story despite playing such a small & seemingly insignificant role. He is strange in how unthreatening he is while also extremely blasé about the abhorrent violence he witnesses that it’s as funny as it is disturbing. Making him come across as  more human yet harsher than his son, who at least pretends to care about the tributes (in a very Capitol way, obviously but still). There’s also a polish & confidence to Tucci’s performance that I think Schwartzman did a great job of avoiding copying (despite knowing what audiences were probably expecting) because not only are their characters in entirely different stages of their careers but the whole ethos of the Hunger Games is different in Snow’s youth than it is in Katniss’s. Caesar is a well established presenter & during his time, the games have always been a success (minus the year with the tundra) that the entire Capitol is invested in & seemingly in support of. On the other hand Lucretius had the unique task of not only coming into a job like this with zero experience (I mean imagine going from announcing the weather to presenting the fucking hunger games) but also there were no vibes to try to emulate let alone guidelines to follow because he truly was the first person to do this. On top of that, the "event" his presenting has been panned for years as both boring & unethical. Schwartzman brought a slightly awkward, experimental, yet try hard vibe (like a comedian who's desperate to get a laugh) that I think worked wonderfully for the character.

Tom Blyth's performance was great & he was visually perfect for a young Snow (the power of a good wig! Who knew lol). Even having the cool, analytical stare of Donald Sutherland, down pat. While his appearance was very Eminem during his peacekeeping days, his realisation in the cabin and subsequent breakdown in the woods were crazy. There was so much tension between him & Rachel in that scene that for a second, it literally felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. I could almost hear the record scratch for both of them, & all that building paranoia finally coming to a sudden crescendo in the way that it did? Pure cinema!

Josh Rivera, as Sejanus, was honestly a mix for me. Obviously, I agree with his morals, but his way of going about it did seem a little dumb. However I do think it’s pretty realistic that a teenager, especially a rich one, would be rather naive. Also I’ve heard that he’s smarter in the book & I think at times my frustration with him is more just down to the fact that I’m seeing him from Snow’s point of view. Meaning scenes that would be portrayed as noble in any other film instead come across as almost painfully inconvenient because the focus is always on how they affect Snow rather than the actual victims of the situation. Lastly, sorry, Snowjanus shippers, I just don’t see it (especially on Snow’s end), but whatever floats your boat.

Rachel Zegler played Lucy Gray with the perfect mix of natural charm & emotional vulnerability with clear pride in her culture & a refusal to let the world around her change who she is. Yet there was also an air of mystery & a subtle resilience to her that makes her potentially surviving out in the woods for years without being detected actually believable (though I don’t buy the theory that she went on to become president Coin). Definitely the highlight of the movie for me.

PS. I'd love to know what you think of my review in the comments/tags & am open to criticism (as long as it's respectful) just remember that I'm only talking about the movie so please don't reference anything spersific to the book.

[vamos-chilli]

My god people are so miserable in your tags, trying to find a problem everywhere . And btw haven’t you guys wondered that the vibe was maybe just a bit “off” because Carlos was just probably disappointed that he didn’t win that’s it, no need to insult or blame Charles when he did nothing. He won his race beautifully, so no need to be bitter. Some Carlos fans are being really annoying lately sorry

im ngl i dont even think the vibe was weird charles went to celebrate w whoever was collecting the constructors trophy i can’t remember and both of them gave carlos a spray before carlos went to spray max and they chatted before they left the podium like it wasn’t weird to me

but the main thing is people are always going to be like this in fandom . it’s a form of parasocialism in believing that we as viewers can understand the inner workings of our idols from ‘knowing them’ through the screen and coming to ‘recognise’ what we see as behavioural markers . happens all the time that’s why we end up with prominent shipping and rpf cultures in a lot of fanbases bc of our interpretation of how people interact with one another .

it can become obsessive for people, the majority of fandoms i’ve been in have been centred around real people and the subject of ‘truthing’ comes up a lot- the strict determination of a trait or personality of a person based on a second hand perspective of them, where the f in rpf is made redundant and people start to genuinely believe their headcanons of a person are applicable to their real life person . larry stylinson is knocking at the door .

because of parasocial and truthing behaviours peoples perception of drivers becomes tilted on what will best fit the subconscious narrative they are building- lando for instance i believe doesn’t deserve the mass hatred of mischaracterising as an awful person he’s been getting this season. nothing has changed between this season and the last except for the number of wins under his belt .

last year people felt the same hostility towards max . a few years ago it was lewis . its the relationship to our drivers as a competitor that’s changed . and those that pose a bigger threat receive the harsher penalties to their character .

it’s not an issue with carlos fans . it’s not an issue with lando fans or max fans or charles fans or anyone . it’s an issue of parasocialism that’s prevalent in every fandom for every character ever . we see it more for these drivers because they are top 5 drivers and they have larger fan bases . none of us are the big bad .

sometimes it feels like us vs them and i’ll tell you first i felt that way at the start of the season because genuinely i was being flooded with carlos hate in my asks and people posting the most insane negatively parasocial conspiracy theories about carlos having paid out the media to talk about him as if he didn’t just win a grand prix 2 weeks after surgery and be one of the most valuable drivers on the market for 2025 (i still get heated about that bc it was just plain disrespectful) . and yeah it did feel like it was carlos fans vs the lecfosi . because sometimes we let it be .

we build these insanely negative parasocial relationships with drivers and it consumes us. i’ve had to block ferrari fans for constantly posting carlos negativity and no doubt charles fans have had to block some carlos fans for constant driver negativity. lando fans will have gotten death threats over a race result even though that’s an insane thing to do and so have oscar fans .

everyone is annoying all the time we all annoy each other with our parasocial truthing of drivers personalities and the only way it’s actually going to change is if

1) we all take a step back to analyse our own behaviours and how we engage with negative parasocial behaviour

2) we stop making call out posts of ‘x drivers fans are so annoying’ because all it’s doing is reinforcing the narrative we want to build

[makethatelevenrings]

First Failure // D. Grayson x gn!reader

Requested? Yes!

Warnings: blood, gun violence, canon typical violence, reader has thoughts that could be viewed as suicidal, self hatred, ANGST

Summary: The prequel to First Christmas, or, how Dick saved you.

This is part of the Assassin!verse that you can read here

The roof was solid under your feet, but it still felt like the world was shifting and sliding out from under you. Nightwing stood in front of you, his brow furrowed at your words.

“I failed the mission,” you repeated. One month out of the cages and your handlers were getting twitchy. They were recalling you for reprogramming and extra training and sending a new agent to take over your case. This would be your last chance. To do what, exactly, you weren’t sure.

You realized you were slipping four days earlier when your neighbor, a friendly guy named Dick Grayson, invited you over to join him and his little sister, Stephanie, for dinner and to watch a movie. The plot seemed so contrived and random, but you found yourself seated on the couch with your knees pulled up to your chest and your eyes fixed on the screen. The Princess Bride, they told you it was titled. By the end of the movie, Steph was fast asleep in between you and Dick, and you were horribly confused.

“Why would he go through all that trouble to save her? I mean, he practically died. She can’t be worth it that much.”

You could see him staring at you out of the corner of your eye so you rested your chin on your forearms and tilted your head towards him. The light of the TV flickered over his handsome face, those kind eyes and smile that seemed to be glued onto his face. He studied you and in that second, you felt for a brief moment that this was the life you were supposed to always have. 

In all of the movies Dick had shown you, the main character always seemed to win in the end. Did your life feel like winning? Spending your days pacing the length of your cage until they let you out to train or study targets or sharpen your skills before being placed back into that cage with a measly bowl of watery soup? That was winning?

“What do you mean you failed the mission?” Nightwing asked. He stepped closer to you, his escrima sticks hanging loosely in his hands. You took an involuntary step back and he raised his hands to signal peace before he slid his weapons back into their holsters.

“You. You were my mission. I thought that was obvious.”

He huffed out a low laugh. “Yeah, I figured from the amount of times you tried to kill me. But you’re still here. Aren’t you going to keep trying?”

The black fabric of your balaclava and hood hid most of your face from view, but your eyes still peeked out from behind your mask. Tightening your hands into fists, you suddenly relaxed them and shook your head.

“I…I’ve been compromised,” you admitted. “I don’t know what’s going to happen to me, but I wanted you to know so you could be prepared.”

“Why?” The question was bordered with anger and maybe a tinge of sadness. “You’ve been trying to kill me for a month. Why tell me this?”

“Because they told me you were my target. That meant you did something to deserve death. But I have seen the way you take care of this city, these people, and I cannot conceive of a single reason as to why you should die by my hand.”

He faltered, his lips pursing, and you wished for just a moment that you could see underneath his mask and know the man that hid behind it. Was he as kind out of the suit as much as he was inside of it?

“Let me help you,” he finally said. “I know people. I can get you to safety, get you away from whoever is giving you orders, and I can get you your life back.”

A miserable moan escaped you. “There’s nothing for me to go back to, don’t you understand? This is all I know, this is all I’ll ever know.”

“You won’t survive.” His words reminded you of a quote from that movie Dick showed you. A small smile lifted your mask slightly and you shrugged.

“Nonsense. You only say that because no one ever has.”

“Please. Let me help you.” He said it so softly, with such desperation, that you wished you could take his outstretched hand and let him whisk you off into a new world. But that could never work.

“I can’t be saved, Nightwing. I can’t be redeemed.”

A glint of metal reflecting off of the numerous lights of Bludhaven caught your eye. Shit. They must have sent someone already to eliminate the threat.

Nightwing hadn’t appeared to notice the sniper rifle which meant he didn’t react when you hurtled yourself towards him and twisted your body to stand in between man and machine. A startled gasp escaped you as the bullet entered the fleshy part of your abdomen and you immediately fell to your knees as your body absorbed the shock. Fuck, you had been shot before but it hurt like a bitch everytime. Fucking hell, fucking damnit. You needed to move. Needed to get out of the line of fire.

Lying flat on the ground, you tried to shake off the ringing in your ears, but it seemed like your body was just intent on betraying you. Something grabbed your arm and you whirled around, aiming a knife for whoever touched you, but they quickly pulled away. You stumbled to your feet and clamped a hand down over your stomach before stumbling towards the edge of the roof. Inhaling deeply, you turned to look back at Nightwing one last time before you let yourself tip over the edge into the safety of your zip cord.

You practically fell into your apartment once you crawled to your fire escape. Briefly, you wondered what Dick was doing, but you brushed that thought away. By dawn, you would be dead or in a truck being transported to be tortured into submission by your handlers. There wasn’t time to think about the people you would leave behind.

Russet streaks and fingerprints marked the walls as you stumbled towards the bathroom. Your head was fuzzy from blood loss and black spots crowded in on the edges of your vision. Everything smelled and tasted vaguely of iron and your hand was soaked with your own blood.

Your knees gave out mere feet from the bathroom and you crawled on all fours to the cabinet that held your first aid kit. The sopping viscous liquid that coated your hand made it damn near impossible to open the wooden door and you nearly cried out in success when you were able to nudge it open.

“Pliers, pliers, pliers,” you chanted as you threw the massive bag down and began to sift through it. The adrenaline had worn off about now and fiery hot pain licked up through your side and into your lungs. Every breath felt like an elephant was sitting on your chest and your temples pounded with each thready heartbeat. You needed to get this damn bullet out and then you could pack the wound and apply pressure.

Was this all even worth it? What would happen if you succeeded in patching yourself up? You would just be sent back to kill again. The blood on your hands now was freshly painted by the same people who had sent you to do the same thing to others time and time again. If Nightwing was innocent, who’s to say your other victims weren’t unjustly murdered?

That’s who you were. An assassin. A machine. You were a gun loaded and pointed by your handlers. You were simply a weapon.

They wouldn’t cry if you bled out on this bathroom floor. They would simply toss your body into an unmarked grave and drive off to find some other child to snatch in the night and train into their perfect little soldier.

“Damnit,” you hissed under your breath as you fumbled with the zipper on the bag holding gauze patches. In a fit of rage, you threw the kit into the bedroom and watched as the various bags and first aid supplies scattered across your room before falling to the ground with a muted thud. Your chest heaved with wild, strained breaths and then you were sobbing. Shit, you were weeping.

The cries wracked your already weak body and you let yourself slip down until your cheek was pressed against the pool of blood that had gathered underneath you on the shoddily tiled floor. You pulled your knees up to your chest as best as you could, the fetal position they called it, and waited for the reaper to claim you.

A banging noise faintly registered in your mind, but you were too tired to consider who it was they sent after you. Perhaps they would be kind enough to toss a dandelion on your grave. You wondered for a moment what your headstone would read if you were graced with one.

Agent 2327. Failure. Killer.

“Hey, hey.” Someone was speaking. A hand slapped your cheek and you tried to open your eyes, but heavy weights were pulling you under. First things first, to the death, you recalled the quote from the movie. No. To the pain.

Everything was a fuzzy, blissful feeling. It was like waking up from the best dream, but then you realized with a start that you shouldn’t be waking up at all. You let your eyes adjust to the dim lighting in whatever room you were in and tried to take in your surroundings. A popcorn ceiling, a Black Canary poster on the wall…where the hell were you?

“You’re awake.”

You let your head fall to the side and met kind blue eyes. Dick Grayson sat beside you in a chair that didn’t look terribly comfortable, but he didn’t appear to be in any discomfort as he leaned in closer to you. It was then that you noticed the familiar black and blue uniform that you had been tailing for a month clinging to his body.

“You…” The words failed you and he offered you a small smile.

“Yeah, me.”

Why did he save you? You had been hunting him down and trying to kill him for the past month. Was this some kind of sick ploy for him to extract information from you? You knew he worked with Batman occasionally in Gotham. Was he going to turn you over to him?

But that wasn’t Nightwing. That wasn’t the hero you had watched over the past month. That wasn’t the man who snagged kittens out of trees, took down trafficking rings, and faced enhanced threats that tried to destroy his city. That wasn’t the Dick Grayson you had met either. Dick was kind, welcoming, and always made an effort to be…well, neighborly.

You had a choice to make here, but it looked fairly obvious what path you should take.

“Please help me,” you whispered. He leaned closer, his arm stretching out over your head and his thumb stroking along your temple. His eyes were hard and you missed the warmth that usually effused from them. Shutting your eyes, you waited to hear him reject you. To inform you of what he would do with you now that you were defenseless and broken before him. Would he send you to Arkham?

“You’re safe now,” Dick assured you. “I’m going to help you, I promise. You’re safe. You’ll never have to go back there.”

And for the first time in a long time, you truly believed that you were safe.

Tag List: @someoneimsure​ @perpetual-fangirl900​ @visagebrise​ @cursedandromedablack​ @alexxavicry​ @the-wayward-daughter​ @raging-trash-of-mind​ @bunny-kawa​ @khaylin27​

[oscconfessions]

Hi. It’s the “Dora & Bracelety should have rejoined” person. I’m back.

Before I start ranting I just want to clarify that I do NOT hate Pencil or Liy. I actually really enjoyed Liy in TPOT 11 & Pencil in TPOT 13. I love all of the EXITors and think that they’re all super cool characters.

That being said, yeah it should have been Dora and Bracelety.

First off, Pencil was probably the worst choice for rejoining. Please don’t SWAT team my house Pencil fans, I love Pencil, but she’s already competing in BFDIA. Not to mention, she was in a huge chunk of BFDI. She doesn’t really need anymore screen time. Especially since the rejoin was filled with characters with explored potential and barely any screen time. The rejoin was such a good chance to be able to explore those characters.

I do know that the reason a lot of people wanted Pencil to join was so that she could have an arc with Book and Ice Cube. But you know who ALSO could have had a Book and Ice Cube arc? Bracelety. Imagine Bracelety finally being able to have a face-to-face conversation with Ice Cube. Imagine Bracelety befriending her and Book and causing an alliance between the two teams. Or maybe they have negative interactions and Bracelety actually ends up resenting Ice Cube. I’m not the biggest Bracelety fan so I’m not sure what would fit her character the best, but I do think that it would have been more interesting than a Freesmart arc. I love Freesmart, but imagine what they could have done with Bracelety…

As for Liy, I’m sorry, but she’s kinda boring, at least in TPOT 13. In the EXIT, she was a really entertaining character. She bounced off of Match and Stapy well, and it was fun seeing her being adventurous. But now that she’s in TPOT, it’s different. Now, she can’t really be an adventurous character anymore because now there IS no adventure. Now, she’s just another contestant. Like, yeah I liked her, but nothing she did really stuck out to me. I can’t remember a single thing she did in TPOT 13. The only thing I can remember off the top of my head was that she helped Pen & Bottle stop the giant David??? But any other character in the team could have done that and nothing would have changed. Heck, you could have just straight up removed her from the episode, and nothing would have changed. She was sort of bland this episode. Sorry Liy fans.

There were two main reasons I saw for why people voted for Liy. That:

Her elimination was unfair

She had a lot of potential because of her backstory.

And that’s alright. On their own, those are good reasons to vote for a character. On their own. I say that because, those two points also apply to almost ALL of the other EXITors. (And let’s be real, if Liy rejected being a part of Death PACT Yet Again, then it’s likely unlikely that her backstory would ever come up again.) One of those EXITors, of course, being Dora.

Dora had an unfair elimination. She also had a lot of potential. Just like Liy. But unlike Liy, she has a more distinct personality. They’re both adventurous, yes, but I think it’s safe to say that Dora is just more entertaining as a character, and her actions are more memorable. Remember when she cracked an entire jawbreaker opened? Dora just impacts the story in more ways than Liy, and, honestly, would have been a fun addition to TPOT.

But, of course, these characters didn’t get in. Oh well. But honestly, I’m not as upset as I used to be. I think that TPOT could do really great things with Pencil and Liy. I’m interested to see how the Freesmart arc unfolds, and how Pencil interacts with the rest of her team. Maybe JnJ can finally give Freesmart the fitting conclusion they deserve. I’m interested to see exactly what Liy can accomplish. Maybe she can prove me wrong, and end up being an incredibly memorable and engaging character. It’s all about staying on the bright side. Yeah, Dora and Bracelety could have been better picks, but I think we just gotta deal with it, and look for the positives. Ultimately, there’s no point in complaining. Oh yeah also thank you for reading this whole thing idk uhhh thank you ig.

.

[whitegownsandflowercrowns]

I’ve Never Watched Breaking Bad Before, Here Are My Thoughts (2x01-2x04)

I know that this fandom is split into team “Walt was always like that” and team “the circumstances of the show made Walt like that” and I’m not even halfway through Season 2 yet but I fall firmly into the former category. There’s just something about the way he interacts with the main cast now that tells you he’s been itching to act like this for years, and being Heisenberg has finally given him the excuse to drop the pathetic act

That scene in 2x01 between Skyler and Walt was very difficult to watch, I knew it wasn’t going to get worse thanks to spoilers but I was tense all the same. And yeah, he’s a great character, but that turned me against Walt as a person for what I’m led to believe will be the rest of the show.

I’m still going back and forth on how I feel about Hank

Flynn is very quickly rising in the list of my favorites. He’s a smart, sweet kid who deserved a lot better than what he’s got so far.

Is Skyler just going to be pregnant like…the whole show or something

Also I feel worse and worse for Jesse every time he pops up on screen. I was rooting for him to hit Walt when he finally did.

Hector Salamanca is a supportive uncle who won’t tell on Jesse? I have no choice but to stan

I honestly thought Tuco was going to last a lot longer than he did. But if he was what TV Tropes would call the “Disc-One Final Boss” then I’m a little scared to see what’s in store for Walt and Jesse…

Again, Skyler can do practically no wrong

This show just keeps getting better and better and more addictive. I can’t wait to see more!

[starbuckaroo]

I think I would be happier w bucktommy all these episodes down the line if Tommy still interacted with or asked after Eddie. I know there’s a lot the show doesn’t put onscreen so there’s no reason why it couldn’t have plausibly happened or couldn’t still happen (and I hope it does), but Tommy was Eddie’s friend first! They hung out a lot!

And yet, since he got together with Buck, we haven’t gotten to see them interact.

Granted, there hasn’t been a lot of screen time for Tommy and that’s fine, it’s a short season w very little room to breathe. This isn’t some sort of angry anti bucktommy tirade. But it does make me just a tad uncomfortable the way things are at this moment. Bc it’s not a stretch to theorize that maybe Tommy was hoping things Eddie might go somewhere and when they didn’t, he tried with Buck. I don’t think that’s supported by the text, but it’s also not negated, either. Idk. It’s not a huge deal at the moment, just a little snag?

Listen I am a buck fan but I am an eddie fan!!!!!!! And I am so so sad for eddie this season it’s been rly fucking rough on him! Not like buck needs to change anything (except not be a jealous freak and lash out physically if he can’t use his words), like I said I’m here for bucktommy I think they’re great. But like. Where’s the awkward “hey how do we hang out now that you two make out sometimes” or whatever?? We deserve to see that tbh! It’s a more common issue in queer circles, that ppl have to slip in and out of romantic/platonic interactions when people partner up or break up. It’s also the first time either of them have dated anyone within the LAFD and so it’s the first time this could ever have even come up!

Idk man. Just I keep thinking about how happy eddie seemed when he was hanging out w Tommy and maybe it’s just bc that ep was meant to be from Buck’s pov but i don’t know what’s worse, thinking it WAS real and now he doesn’t get to have that friendship anymore or that it WASNT real and he was never actually having that good of a time.

MY REAL POINT is that anyone who WAS or IS a buddie shipper or anyone who likes Eddie at all has to acknowledge how important buck and eddie are to each other, right? Which means that in any relationship that either of them ever have, if they want it to be serious and have long term potential, they actually need to integrate their partner with their best friend.

Maybe this is too weird for some ppl? It’s always seemed like a given, like if there’s someone new and important in my life, I def want my best friend to meet them and like them bc I want us all to be able to spend time together! I don’t want to feel split between them all the time! And esp with Tommy already having connections with most of the 118/main cast, and particularly Eddie, it would make sense for us to see them interacting!

Idk. I’m probably wanting too much from my network tv show lol I just. I will literally never take bucktommy seriously as a pairing if they don’t manage to address the Eddie of it all. And not in a “address the fact that buck loves him” contrived jealousy nonsense. I mean address the fact that their lives are bound together! And it predates anyone that either of them will ever date! Plus imagine the character growth it would take for Buck to send Tommy to Thursday basketball with like a plate of cookies and orange slices or something but not show up himself. Be like “have fun with the boys, slap Eddie’s ass for me” or whatever 😂 I would believe Buck was finally on his way to being ready for a long term adult relationship if they managed that, is all I’m saying

[talltoontales]

// Kung Fu Panda 4 Rewrite \\

PROMPT: Kung Fu Panda 4 felt a little lacking, wanted to try my hand at maybe making it better.

PROMPT BY: Me (ToonMan)

STARTED WRITING: 03/29/2024

Alright, Ground Rules:

Jack Black’s cover of “One More Time” by Britany Spears is amazing, and I will not argue otherwise.

This rewrite is coming from my enjoyment of the series, not just bashing a “bad movie” for the sake of bashing. So, if you’re just here to hate, you’re in the wrong place.

I’m not a professional writer. I only started writing semi-consistently this year. So, take this rewrite with a massive grain of salt.

To make this whole process easier on me, no world-shattering changes.

Zhen’s still gonna be chosen to be Po’s successor

No Furious Five for most of the movie

No killing or reviving characters that don’t originally die or return.

We good? Good. Now, let’s get this party started!

/////

So, the opening fight doesn’t need to change much, save for one thing. Tigress fights alongside Po. Seeing that she’s the only member of the Furious Five to get any development in these movies and has the most chemistry with Po, it makes sense. The two beat…whoever Po fought in the intro (I think it was a stingray that could fly) and have a short dialog after explaining that Tigress, along with the rest of The Five, have moved on from being warriors and transitioned into being teachers/masters of their respective styles.

SIDE NOTE #1: I know that Po and The Five are already masters, but in my head, master sounds like a better term for “teacher” than sensei.

I like this better than having The Five be “on a mission” or whatever excuse was used to keep them from helping Po in this movie. Also, seeing that the main lesson Po needs to learn by the end is to move on from being a warrior, having The Five, his long-time heroes, retire around him helps get that ball rolling.

Po is honestly excited for Tigress and offers to support her however she needs it, just like he does with the rest of The Five. However, Tigress uses this moment to, not so subtly, ask if Po has any plans on doing the same. Po gives a vague, jokey answer before the two walk off into the title screen.

\\\\\

Back in the Valley of Peace, everybody’s celebrating Po at his dads’ noodle shop, but the celebration is interrupted by Shifu summoning Po to the Jade Place.

SIDE NOTE #2: Let me just take this moment to say that while their scenes in the movie do basically nothing for the plot, Ping and Li deserve a short or web series or something. They were seriously a joy to watch every time they were on screen together. #CoParentingGoals

First major change is why Po needs to become a master:

“As the world moves on, so must we. As to stand still is to be left and lost to time.”

Right now, Po is at the top of his game. He’s mastered Kung Fu, led and kinda trained The Five, found inner peace, beaten General Kai, and mastered Ki. However, there will come a day when Po faces a foe he cannot beat, a foe that can challenge Po in a way that he can’t adapt to, as Tai Lung did to Shifu or Kai to Master Ooguay.

Those who become Masters don’t do so because they’re past their prime; they do so because they know the world in which they thrived is coming to an end, and in the new world that follows, their wisdom becomes more needed than their fists. To lose such wisdom could be detrimental to the next generation of heroes. Of course, Po denies that he has any real wisdom to give (aside from food), only seeing his value as the Dragon Warrior. However, Shifu has never been a patient man.

The next day, Po is just messing around the palace when four warriors (No Mr. Beast Pig) attack him. During the fight, Po mocks his would-be assassins by pointing out all their errors. Shifu then stops the fight, explaining that this was a test to prove that Po is more than ready to be a master and to introduce Shifu’s candidates for the new Dragon Warrior.

Still firmly in denial, Po and Shifu go through the Peach Tree Scene the exact same way. The only difference being that when Po notices Zhen breaking in, he thinks she’s another candidate who was late or something.

A broad change I’d make that I can’t really put in writing is just to put a pinch more focus on the fight scene. KFP4 had the most out of the series at seven, but they all felt like an afterthought.

To make Zhen a bit more unique, she’s more of a “fight your surroundings” kind of fighter. She’s never standing still, never uses the same weapon more than twice, and never really fights head-on. Po can claim that she’s not fighting fair, which she’ll laugh at before he locks in and captures her. This fight being short is expected because Po is a Kung Fu legend and should have no problem taking down a random thief.

SIDE NOTE #3: Totally a personal opinion, but did bother anyone else that they named the fox Zhen? Not that the name was bad or anything, but we already have Lord Shen and those names are waaaay too similar…You know what, here’s another change. Zhen is now Vox.

Fast-forward a bit, and the two are now traveling together. Po explains how the Staff of Wisdom can’t be stolen; it must be given, and Po shows Vox genuine kindness and generosity. Vox thinks it’s some kind of long con but accepts it anyway.

The Friendly Bunny goes about the same as it did with Vox being the loot goblin she is, but I don’t want this to be an actual fight. It’s more like Po trying to keep the situation under control. Keep Vox from stealing, protect Vox, protect the helmsman, protect the bunnies, and keep the entire restaurant from falling over.

Instead of getting knocked out of the restaurant like a fool, Po uses his weight to force the patrons away from the exit, and with a mighty leap, Po exits the Friendly Bunny with Vox, the Helmsman, and the bunnies and lands on the boat like a boss. While sailing to Juniper City, Po talks about his dads, but Vox doesn’t share her backstory. Instead, mentioning how the Bunnies were safer at the restaurant.

Introducing the Chameleon and Entering Juniper City goes about the same except that Po and Vox get caught because Vox keeps casually stealing, which she does undetected, but the police only notice when Po is trying to return the stolen goods.

In the Thieves’ Den, Vox isn’t hated, but the vibe is still the same. Everyone casually messing with/ stealing from/ hurting everyone else. They find Han, who says something to the effect of “never thought I’d be seeing you again,” gives them a map of the chameleon’s temple and the scene goes on as usual from there.

/////

Alright, time for a BIG change: The Chameleon’s Motivation/ Plan/ New Name

Every other villain in the Kung Fu Panda movies has an actual name, and if I had the power, Chameleon would be named Tai Zhi for reasons that are probably obvious now but will be explained later.

Tai Zhi’s new backstory is that she was bullied, and all she could do was hide, just camouflage, no shapeshifting yet. Until one day, she learned about Kung Fu. Tai Zhi would find a master, they’d train her for a little bit, then they’d sense how evil she was and kick her out before she could learn anything actually dangerous. She then found a dark master in hopes their similar moral alignment would convince him to train her. Instead, he was the first master who refused her outright, verbally destroying her before threatening her to leave.

Tai Zhi then turned to sorcery for her claim to power but could never let go of Kung Fu. So, she found a way to open a door to the spirit realm, but there was a catch. Equivalent exchange, she’d kidnap citizens of Juniper City and sacrifice them to the spirit realm and get a D+ spirit at best in return. To get around this, she’d need the Staff of Wisdom, and she could get anyone she wanted, no matter how strong.

SIDE NOTE #4: Tai Zhi isn’t collecting the money from the mob bosses for any particular reason. It’s just a power flex. I assume she needed the gold and stuff for her cages, but they never made that clear in the original move. Plus, why would she buy the metal when she can just steal it.

\\\\\

Vox finds Po practicing Kung Fu, and Po offers to teach her. Vox doesn’t believe him, but Po reassures her he’s being 100% honest. He teaches her some basic stuff, and she picks it up pretty fast, and when she doesn’t, Po incorporates what he’s seen Vox do into his lesson. This all leads to a short spar where Vox almost beats Po but gets cocky and loses to a good ole’ fashion belly gong.

Vox questions why Po does what he does: He offers a thief a cookie, saves those who want to kill him, and teaches a thief his own moves. Po opens up about how Oogway chosing him to be the Dragon Warrior changed his life for the better. He’s made friends across all of China, found his biological dad and his people, and saved China at least three times—all just because of one moment.

Because of that, Po believes everyone deserves the same chance, no matter who they are. Those words visibly touch Vox as she almost reveals her big secret before the two are kicked out of the Thieves Den. Po and Vox sneak into Tai Zhi’s lair, and things go about the same. Now for how Tai Zhi met Vox…

Vox had been a thief well into her adult years, and a really good one, but she was tired of stealing, tired of watching over her back every second, tired of not being able to walk the city streets without seeing her face on a wanted poster. Vox wanted a new start where no one would know who she was. The problem was that most people in Juniper City were pretty poor, even the mob bosses, and Vox didn’t feel comfortable forcing someone else into poverty. So, the choice was simple: steal from Tai Zhi. Even one gemstone from her temple would set her up for life.

At the same time, Tai Zhi needed to steal the Staff of Wisdom from the Dragon Warrior, but due to all the stories she’d heard during her research, she didn’t want to risk taking him head-on. She needed a thief, and it just so happens that she knows about the best thief in the city. Tai Zhi sets up a fancy trap to bait Vox, who sees it, knows it’s a trap, but falls for it anyway. However, Vox manages to escape without a scratch until the artifact she stole is revealed to be Tai Zhi in disguise.

Tai Zhi marks Vox with a tracking spell, and while Tai Zhi could care less about Vox, there’s a pretty big bounty on her head. Not to mention, she’s stolen from some pretty powerful people who don’t really care about the reward. All Vox had to do was bring the Dragon Warrior to Tai Zhi, and she’d not only lift the curse but also let Vox take whatever she needed to disappear.

SIDE NOTE #5: I’d have Vox always scratching her neck because that’s where Tai Zhi marked her. She’d just play it off as if she had a flea problem.

Now, I don’t hate the “Villain raises a child to betray the hero” thing. It just doesn’t hit the same in the movie. We’re not given enough time to feel Vox and Po bond in the original movie. Also, if you’re like me and are unable to not analyze movies while watching them, you noticed almost immediately the aztech-esq earring Vox wore and figured out the twist.

Plus, I feel like having Vox be a reluctant thief just trying to get out of the game makes it a little easier to explain how she can betray the Tai Zhi in the end.

Now, I obviously cut the amazing Ping and Li scenes so how does Po not fall to his Death? The answer is simple: watch the Po vs Tai Lung fight again.

Seriously, go watch it. I’ll wait.

…

Done? Pretty awesome, right?!

Anyway, we can have Po swing from tree branches while fighting the lizard soldiers until he hits solid ground, or we can re-do KFP2 and have him fall into a river or large body of water. Back at the temple, Tai Zhi and Vox go through with the ceremony, and we’re keeping the bit about the blood moon—it’s honestly the funniest joke in the entire movie! Now, for the big reveal I set up a while back.

/////

Tai Zhi summons Tai Lung from the spirit realm and calls him “Master.” Before he was freed in KFP1, Zhi broke into Chorn-Gom Prison to free Tai Lung in exchange for training. Instead, Tai Lung verbally destroys her, insulted that Zhi would ever believe he needed her help. Maybe even have him almost brute force his way through his restraints just to scare her.

After Tai Lung’s death, Zhi took the “Tai” part of his name to never forget how weak and powerless Tai Lung made her feel. She steals Tai Lung’s skills and proceeds to wail on the guy, maybe even paying homage to the end of the Tai Lung vs Shifu fight, before throwing him into a cage.

Tai Zhi then releases Vox from the tracking spell and gives her a choice:

“Stay by my side and witness my rule or help yourself to however much treasure you can hold, find the farthest, darkest corner of the planet, and pray I overlook you.”

Then we cut back to Po at the bottom of the temple for the Po vs Vox scene. The only change I’d make here is just making the fight longer, showing off how much Vox has learned on this journey as well as how outclassed she is compared to Po.

Vox reveals that she is gonna to run away, and wants Po to come with her to help save as many people as they can. Po refuses but is proud of Vox and her mission, saying that if he can’t beat Tai Zhi, he’ll buy as much time as he can for Vox to escape with her people.

While Po goes Assassin’s Creed on the temple guards, Vox returns to the thieves' den and tries to convince the criminals to do the right thing because “it’s the right thing to do.” When that fails, she reminds them that if Tai Zhi is taken down, they can loot all the treasure stored in her temple.

\\\\\

As the army of thieves goes to war with the temple guards, Vox sneaks in after Po. Inside, Po sneaks around as Tai Zhi fights General Kai, noticing other warriors and Lord Shen. He’s then stopped by Tai Lung, who’s disappointed in Po and remarks how Oogway may have been wrong in the end.

Kai loses and is thrown in a cage as Po makes his dramatic entrance. Tai Zhi gives the staff back and does her “you and I aren’t so different” monolog, which Po acknowledges. There’s a possibility he could have ended up like Tai Zhi if he never became the dragon warrior (Throw in one of his villains laughing in disbelief), so he offers Tai Zhi a chance to be better than the villain she is now, to learn from him.

Tai Zhi then proceeds to mock Lord Shen, General Kai, and Tai Lung about how Po stopped all of them from achieving their goals. The mocks Po, claiming that for all the good he did, for all his adventures, no one in Juniper City and beyond has ever heard about him and that once she’s done with him, Po will become what he was always meant to be, nothing.

-OR-

Have Tai Zhi call Po weak because he needed a master to make him the Dragon Warrior. Just to have the line, “Alone I mastered magic, took over the entire criminal empire of Juniper City, defeated all of your greatest enemy and treasured masters, I am my own master!”

Now, something about the original Po vs Tai Zhi fight bothered me. Across three movies, over and over again, there’s always a moment where Po gets to nerd out over Kung Fu legends and flex his knowledge. He even figured out the Wuxi Finger Hold on his own. Yet, he’s going one on one with the ultimate echo fighter of those same warriors and his knowledge does nothing to help him. Let’s fix that.

Here’s how this fight could have gone: Tai Zhi changes into a warrior, Po does his nerd bit while caught off guard, but he then picks up on the fighting style and proceeds to body Tai Zhi in record time. Rinse and repeat that a few times and then Tai Zhi tries to use Po’s old villains which backfires horribly. Eventually, she runs out of warriors and must repeat, and with transformations getting predictable, Po starts winning the fight. Until…

Tai Zhi's frustrated that she has the forms and skills of at least one hundred kung fu legends, but she can’t beat one dorky panda. In that frustration, she loses control of her shapeshifting and mixes two forms together, catching Po off guard. Tai Zhi then starts using chimera forms to gain the advantage, but before she can deal the finishing blow, Vox swoops in and saves Po.

The two hatch a plan to make Tai Zhi so mad that she loses control long enough for Po to use the Staff of Wisdom to return the stolen skills. The plan starts to work as Tai Zhi turns into that chimera dragon form, but before Po can use his staff, Tai Zhi grabs Vox, forcing Po to save her by making Tai Zhi crash.

In the aftermath, Vox finds Tai Zhi transformed into Po, and we could have a short chase before the real Po saves Vox. Po has Vox find and bring him the staff while he fights himself, which does not go well at all. Tai Zhi traps Po in a cage before Vox can get the staff back to him.

Vox is now the only one who can stop Tai Zhi. Vox tries to fight Tai Zhi head-on like Po but fails miserably. However, Vox notices that the entire temple is fit to collapse. So, Vox sticks to the shadows, taking potshots at Tai Zhi, and every time she transforms, whoever she transforms into tells her their weakness/ tell from their cage. This continues until the temple starts to collapse, and as Tai Zhi tries to escape, Vox fights her head-on again to keep her inside (this is where she’d scream, “You fool! You’ll kill us both!”).

As the dust settles, Po stands up from under the rubble and helps Vox up, noting that he could have escaped earlier but she was doing such a good job and didn’t want to interrupt. The other spirit warriors get from under the rubble and thank Po for freeing them. As Po prepares to open a portal to the spirit realm, let’s say Master Wolf tries to sneak attack Po from behind but gets decked by Tai Lung, transforming back into Tai Zhi.

Tai Lung mocks his wannabe successor by saying; “first lesson, know when to quit.” Tai Lung then steps out of the way, and Po returns all of the skills to the spirit warriors. As they return to the spirit realm, Tai Lung acknowledges Po and what he’s become and also recognizes his “pupil,” referring to Vox. Not wanting to be outshined, though, he takes Tai Zhi with him into the spirit world, finally taking her on as his student, whether she likes it or not.

And the story ends basically the same: Vox and Po return to the Valley of Peace, Po offers to train Vox at the Jade Palace to Shifu’s frustration, and credits.

/////

Wait! One more change…

Shifu meditates under the peach tree with Po joining him shortly after that. Po can’t meditate to save his life, so Shifu questions why he’s here. Po admits that Shifu was right, that it’s time for Po to pass the torch, but also thanks Shifu. Po knows it wasn’t easy for Shifu to train someone like him, but he did, and because of Shifu, Po has never been happier with his life.

I don’t know if this will be the last Kung Fu Panda movie, but if it is, I’d like a nice moment between Shifu and Po and maybe ghost Oogway. Just wrap a nice bow on it.

///// The End \\\\\

And that’s it—that’s the rewrite. Wow! That’s a lot of words (3,573, to be exact). Like I said, I’m not a scriptwriter. I’m just a guy with a little too much time on his hands. Kung Fu Panda 4 was, and still is, a solid movie that I’ll definitely watch again, along with the other three, and so should you.

I had a total blast writing this, and I hope you enjoyed reading it.

[noemilivv]

Hello! I saw you were doing match-ups for Hazbin Hotel and wanted to give it a whirl!

I'm AFAB, and use she/her pronouns. I do have a preference for males, but I wouldn't mind being paired with one of the female characters in the show.

Personality wise... I'm an introvert and do prefer time to myself, but I love hanging out with my friends and family immensely. I hold them very closely to my heart and would do A LOT for them. I'm a music lover and have a preference for rock/alternative music. I'm also a bit of a smart-ass and can't stand bs, lol. I will gently call people out for being hurtful or dumb, or both. I also have a soft spot for animals of all kinds. They literally deserve the world. 😫

My style is more casual and comfy?? Like leggings, sweatpants, fuzzy socks, a nice fitting tank top, with a hoodie or sweater on. I have been wanting to get into more styles like Y2K Grunge and Goth, but haven't found pieces that would fit me. (I'm a bit curvy and have a hard time finding stuff that won't suffocate me)

My main love languages are Quality Time and Acts of Service. I just love the idea of making food together or doing chores while listening to some music. Singing along, either seriously or goofily, lol.

My hobbies are mainly daydreaming, singing and dancing, and listening to music. I used to draw but haven't in YEARS. I have thought about getting back into it, but am kind of apprehensive about it. It just brings back a lot of anxiety.

My interests are as stated above, along with history. I love learning about different eras and about different parts of the world. I also like to talk about philosophies and converse about different perspectives people have and why.

As for name stuff, I won't add my name here, but I do love when the people I'm close to give me nicknames. It makes me feel special and warm and fuzzy. ❤️

Appearance wise... I'm a medium brunette, with gray hairs, that goes past my shoulders, but I have recently been wearing it up with hair clips. I have light blue eyes. I'm 5 foot, 5 inches. I also have a bit of chub, thick thighs, and am a DD. (If I could get a back and shoulder massage, that would be great, lol. And I would also LOVE if my partner buried/laid their face on my chest while we cuddle. It would be the BEST feeling)

Thank you for taking your time if you get to this, and take care of yourself!

i knew right off the bat who i was doing lol, you’re paired with…

Vox !!

Vox loves your introverted-ness, it’s a contrast to his life that’s mostly spent on set or through a screen, his time with you feels so much more real, cause more often than not it’s just you and him, also your comfy style makes him feel very safe and at home haha

Vox also loves your smart-ass self, and it’s fun when he gets to be a smart ass back, you both kinda just go back and forth yk?

Vox will definitely dedicate an episode of his show to talk about at least one of your interests, whether or not you catch on though is debatable…

Despite the fact you’d most likely much rather stay in bed, he’d really want you to pop on his show, not just for the status of saying he has a partner, when he sees you sing and dance around the living room as you sweep the floor he thinks your pretty fucking talented, pretty screen-worthy tbh, and if you can’t do that, at least maybe draw something? He just doesn’t wanna see all your talent go to waste, but he would never force you

Also while cuddling, his screen definitely goes into your chest and yk how the bottom of a laptop heats up a lot after being charged for a long time? Yeah it’s like that, but with his face, on top of your chest