#this is basically just a new spin on the whole 'liking villains the right way' enchilada

[rosemallowss]

some thoughts

Obviously, people have probably analyzed the hell out of this poem already, or it's incredibly obvious, but I just cannot get over the parallels between Bill Cipher and Stanley here so here are my ramblings for myself when I originally read the poem.

As we learn more of Bill's backstory, the hatred he has for Stan goes deeper, not just because Bill is upset that a "lower life form" has defeated him, but because he's deeply envious that the both of them "always dragged his family down", "couldn't outrun life's regrets", and yet only one of them got a happy ending: reunited with a family who loves him despite his mistakes, able to reverse one of his own deepest regrets, ie. pushing Ford through the portal after just getting him back. Bill likely always dragged his family down with his ability to see the third dimension, as the book and website implies that no one in Euclydia were exactly fond of his abilities, nor did they take him seriously, and they tried to quell his power. (He's basically like Viktor from The Umbrella Academy, but I digress I have not seen the new season). "One mistake, disowned, denied", their paths differ here, but Stan's mistake- ruining Ford's school project accidentally, and Bill's- massacring an entire dimension in the process of attempting to get them all to see what he sees.

We know Stanley's whole life of hiding and changing his identity. Bill goes to "reinvent, retry, reload" throughout dimensions.

"A girdle, eyepatch, fathers fez, / 'I'm a new man!' so he says,": With new info from the website, we can also guess that Bill's top hat, where he keeps the molecules of Euclydia in, once belonged to his father. They both "couldn't outrun life's regrets," and both are con mans in their own right of course, Bill is sketchy and makes deals to manipulate people. He’s a new man once he takes his dad’s top hat!

"When you've lost track of your lies / When the poison starts to rise / When the walls are closing in / When its clear you cannot win / When your actions make it worse / When they see you as a curse," sheesh, Bill is really projecting here. Even his lies are lies. It's funny how Bill really sees himself in both of the Stan twins. With Stanley he seems to project what he hates most about himself onto him in terms of mistakes, failures, and permanently altering his and his loved ones' lives forever, again showing why he despises Stan the most. Despite all of that, Stan got the life that Bill couldn't get back. With Ford, they both have a genetic abnormality, and level of genius and personality that no one else could relate to, making them both outcasts.

"You think you left the past behind / But trust me / I'm still on your mind." By the way, if Bill was still in his mind while his memories were getting erased, and Stan is getting those memories back, that implies that Bill can reform whole again, right? But anyway, these last few lines don't seem to apply to Stan as much as it does to Bill. His dead universe is always on his mind no matter what. Bill's story is so fascinating to me. He's been my favorite villain since I was eleven, so to expand upon him feels awesome. Book of Bill coming out has made me feel like a giddy little kid again who was screaming when she found out that there was a secret flashing of an image once the GF intro ended.

Stanley Pines, the conman clown,

Always dragged his family down.

One mistake, disowned, denied,

Only thing to do was hide.

One way out: the open road.

Reinvent, retry, reload.

A girdle, eyepatch, fathers fez,

"I'm a new man!" so he says

Couldn't outrun life's regrets,

Just kept placing bigger bets.

Changed his haircut, switched hotels-

Truth is just whatever sells.

When you've lost track of your lies,

When the poison starts to rise,

When the walls are closing in,

When its clear you cannot win,

When your actions make it worse,

When they see you as a curse,

Give the wheel one last spin,

Take your chips and go all in,

And Lucky Stan- the roll's on black,

He got his life and family back.

His big break, it finally came,

Redemption from a life of shame.

You really think you won the day.

You packed your bags and sailed away.

You think you left the past behind.

But trust me

I'm still on your mind.

[knight-says-nanana]

Alrighty the sequel to this let’s go

✨Inventing a backstory and character analysis for Gotham 2014 Harvey with all his 5 minutes of screentime and optional comic lore✨

Or, GTV Harvey Dent’s Biography

The issue with a lot of Harvey’s comic backstories is they don’t fit into the little we do see of him in Gotham. The show is an AU where Bruce is 12 and villains exist anyway and it’s just inherently very far off, so we have to take liberties

I’m using the method of picking up his presented tv and comic character traits, and then building up a backstory that would get us to those points

Here we go-

Canon information:

Starting off with canon information, he’s 26

“Occupation: Assistant District Attorney”

That is absolutely insane. Even if he went as fast as physically possible through law school and graduated at 24? He would have graduated at 24. How does one go from student to assistant district attorney in two years?? Youngest irl has been 31.

The only answer I’ve been able to scrounge up is a timeline from the DC Continuity Project with the answer that bad dads are a powerful motivator if you’re a nerd in Gotham City.

It’s. Fine. This works, Ed is a forensics specialist for the GCPD at the same age, we just have to suspend disbelief sometimes, whatever.

The shitty parent backstory does make for good motivation to get through school and into a successful job as fast as he did. But how were they shitty? Why were they shitty?

He is shown to care a lot about youth, he spends his spare time convincing kids that it’s worth at least trying to get through life. Hes very intent on doing the right thing and the merit of persistence.

In canon he is also very fond of his double sided coin trick, it’s like- his favorite way of tricking people into having a good day.

Picking apart snippets from comic backstories:

Picking up with the coin- There’s no negative association. He likes it. So the one backstory with his dad being physically abusive with the whole coin game thing wouldn’t work. Also he really doesn’t seem like a guy who accidently killed his brother. At all. I’m not even sure the brother thing exists in his usual backstories.

But! In some timelines he does have a brother. We can work with this, we can build on it

A favored older brother would mean he’s probably gonna be stuck trying to catch up forever. It would add to his insane overachievement speed at the very least.

It’s usually made a point that Harvey was basically abandoned when his accident happened. He was horrifying to look at and no one other than Bruce showed up for him. So for this his family would have to be the sort not to bother checking in if their son got acid thrown at his face, even if said acid throwing never occurs in canon. And this is a universe where he never had Bruce there to be his friend.

I just think it’s important to maintain that Harvey is abandonment issues central. People did not choose/want him often.

It’s also typically canon that Harvey himself has bpd, and things like that are genetic. It would be interesting if he got it from his mom. From what I can tell a few of his backstories involve her being very critical of him, but not consistently. Mushing them all into one, it kinda reads as mood swings.

And you know what? A LOT of rouges backstories are centered on physical abuse. Which. Yeah that happens sure but if we’re making all this up then I’d like to spin it around to emotional abuse instead. To spice things up.

Something new for Gotham 2014 specifically:

His parents don’t have the best marriage. His brother was born before things started falling apart, so they both make an effort not to let the drama impact the kid’s life. Harvey? Not so much.

I say Harvey was a whoops baby. Debatable if his dad is actually his dad. It would provide cause for his father to be dismissive/neglectful in favor of focusing on his older brother.

His mom doesn’t ignore him like his dad does, but she does blame him for her marriage falling apart. So her being more involved isn’t exactly the best thing. Now, bpd does NOT inherently make someone abusive and I need that to be clear here, but when an abusive person has bpd it isn’t pretty. The idea of her flip flopping in how she treats Harvey is one worth considering.

And it’s not their fault he didnt get much attention as a child. No, no you see accidents don’t have much going for them to begin with. His brother has a future, so it’s just so much more important that they focus on making that a good one, you know? It’s so reasonable.

So when he’s older and in school it’s just a consistent barrage of trying as hard as possible and collecting all the achievements he can, only to gain no reaction. Of course, they did help fund his college tuition, but that’s only because appearances are a very fickle thing and really they just can’t have Harvey making them look bad.

He succeeds, becomes assistant DA at a record age, it doesn’t change anything. But the salary is high and he’s able to move out, so things do improve for him in a way.

Additional:

He’s so passionate about encouraging kids because he didn’t get that. He is, by and large, a success story. An example. Yes this could absolutely tie into his mild obsession with chances and probability and fairness why do you ask-

I’m sure there gaping holes here that im forgetting to fill but I’m way too tired to deal with that. But the way we know the Gotham public/press latches onto Harvey is something that rots my brain when applied to this.

He’s liked because of his career and his looks, and those are both impermanent. Any support is contingent on what he has to offer, never who he inherently is. He’s nicknamed Apollo and it’s so fitting because in the same way as mythological figures turned into figureheads, no one actually cares about him.

Gotham tv why didn’t you give us the acid attack Gotham why would you leave us hanging there. A universe like this where Bruce isn’t there for him when that happens?? Oh my g o d. Gotham why. Gotham. Gotham come back to me.

[mettywiththenotes]

Once upon a time I expected the story to deconstruct the roles of heroes and villains in the way that these are just people given titles that society defines them by for the rest of their lives, and I think, in a way, the story does do that a little with Tomura and Izuku

Tomura is shown in light tones, almost angelic, and is called "a hero for the villains" at the end of his character. Which I feel is a change from what he's been known as since the manga introduced him: a villain. He's always just been a villain, no matter his circumstances, because that's what the story pushes and that's what the heroes repeatedly call him. But "a hero for the villains" turns it on its head because its the first time the story (not the heroes, notably) suggests that maybe he's been a hero this entire time, just in a different way, giving a spin to the term "anyone can be a hero"

Izuku is shown in dark tones multiple times, depicted as villainous, almost demonic, in appearance. Which isn't a new thing per se, but it shows a hero can still be a hero even if they look like a villain sometimes. Izuku's incredible anger and recklessness complete this look for him because it is terrifying to be up against someone who will not allow their body's limitations to keep them from their goal. Visibly breaking yourself while still dragging yourself to fight is "scary", "dangerous", "violent", all words commonly associated with villains, too. His rogue arc costume is the first to display this (the visible neglect, the blood and mud, making him look unapproachable) as well as his black whip form (allowing a quirk to dig beneath his skin, in order to move himself around like a puppet, to give him claws and sharp teeth, combined with his wild expressions. The way it looks as if it is infecting him (no wonder Hori called it Carnage)). And it's no coincidence that both have the exact same dialogue upon others seeing them: "I'd never guess you were a hero."

You could also argue, depending on your perspective, that Izuku is sort of a villain for the villains. The villain's villain. Because he couldn't get through to Dabi in war arc (even though he's the Hero Hopeful MC who got through to Dabi's brother and struck a chord in his father so he should be able to get involved and do it, right?), he couldn't connect with Toga (he basically just made things worse by refusing to understand why she thinks the way she does), he kinda sorta killed Tomura (even tho it was an accident, but remember that shortly before this happened Tomura was suggested as a hero for the first time in the story), and he broke Spinner's heart by doing this

Of course, these things aren't inherently villainous. But they aren't marks of a hero, either. They don't usually kill the people they are trying to save, or struggle to even contemplate connecting with the opposing side, especially towards the end of a story

This isn't me saying Izuku was "the real villain" and Tomura wasn't "the real hero" either. I'm trying to say that these are just people who have found themselves on opposing sides, forever given a title that is meant to define them, and yet the story manages to show how their titles of Hero and Villain aren't what they are defined by. It's their actions, which in many ways, can be both bad and good. By mixing it up a little (Izuku being a hero but looking villainous, unable to connect with other villains) (Tomura being a villain but looking quite heroic, able to connect with those who have been ignored by their peers/society), I think it shows that, similarly to "anyone can be a hero", anyone can also be "a villain" too

Because everyone in the entire world is capable of good and bad that can impact the wrong and/or right people

On the whole, it's a human way to show them, and even though Tomura wasn't physically saved, I think the story at least succeeds in showing that human side

[violet-moonstone]

ideas for Httyd 2, THW, and spin offs

no energy for full sentences rn

second movie is basically the same but with better characterization for the side characters (we need RTTE level dynamics, plz)

this one would be tough but: third movie includes RTTE characters and explanations for why they weren't in the second movie while also introducing them in a way that is understandable for new audiences. What I would give to see Heather, Dagur, Viggo, (and maybe even Gustav) in a movie! Imagine how good Dagur would look with movie-level animation!!

either Drago comes back as the villain (not really dead - and I'm pretty sure this was the plan for the unfinished httyd comic (fire tides) that we never got (what a tragedy)) OR we get another villain whose thing is literally anything other than mind controlling dragons because jfc that's the strategy of all the movie villains, even the Red Death - just give us a regular dragon hunter, or rival dragon riders who use their abilities for evil (like being actual Vikings who attack other villages but they use their dragons as weapons)

third movie ending option 1: it ends not with all the dragons leaving, but with hiccup vowing to make the archipelago a safe place for dragons and even venturing out further than the archipelago to see what other creatures are out there (this would be super cool for Zephyr and Nuffink to do to! and I want to see them training their own dragon!) - this could be a great way to lead into other non-httyd series set in semi-historical fantasy worlds with other mythical creatures

third movie ending option 2: the dragons do leave but after a MUCH longer time frame. I'm good with the whole "there were dragons when I was a boy" thing but to do it after dragons have been part of viking society for less than a decade and just because they nearly lost to one villain just doesn't feel earned at all IMO.

Also I'm sorry, idgaf about the light fury tbh. I would have preferred if toothless found a small group of night furies instead of just one who becomes his soulmate or whatever. I hate that movies make romance the ultimate goal even for a goddamn dragon.

OR scrap the third movie altogether, make the second movie the last one, and take some stuff from RoB/DoB and RTTE to make a plot for the second movie.

extra note: apparently dreamworks bought the rights adapt to another Cressida Cowell series called the Wizards of Once in like 2017 and I'm crossing my fingers hoping it will a) actually get made, and b) come somewhere close to the magic of HTTYD 1 and not be a let down.

[5sosfanfictioncatalogue]

Porn With Plot Masterlist

All Yours - @daydadahlias​ (cornflowerblue (daydadahlias)) luke/calum E, 16k

Summary: Calum can’t just put on a sheer black shirt and a skirt and expect Luke’s heart to keep beating in even time.

But it seems that he absolutely can and—worse than that—he did.

A Sanctified Starling - (ao3) - plushyluke luke/ashton E, 10k

Summary: Ashton didn’t know why humans were so fascinated by stories of things that could kill them. If it posed impending doom, humans spread it around. Then again, it was more than likely a trait passed down from the hunter-gatherer years.

“Regardless of if it’s a legend, you still need to be careful in unwatched areas. Murderers come in all forms.”

The cold bastard locked eyes with Ashton.

“Very true, Michael. How thoughtful of you to look after our Nobleman. Sometimes danger could be lurking right beneath your nose.”

(or Ashton is a grumpy old vampire who agrees to go on an adventure with his nemesis, where the run into the prettiest of undead discoveries)

Ash is on the floor (ao3) - tinyglitterrose ot4 M, 4k

Summary: “Are you hard?”, Luke asked bluntly and immediately he had the attention of three australians.

Play it cool, just play if off, Ashton thought to himself, as if he was not panicking right now.

“No? What the fuck, Luke?”, he tried to sound arrogant and even rolled his eyes at the blonde, but the other man wasn’t having it.

“No, no, you’re hard, I saw that”, then he giggled, “You have a boner, Ashy, I saw it”

Ashton shook his head violently, but Calum interrupted him before he could object again: “Do you really?”

— basically an Ashton centered foursome with plot.

Bottom Boy Baptism (ao3) - plushyluke luke/ashton, mentioned michael/calum E, 5k

Summary: "Dear Lord, he had always thought fondly of Luke’s religious persistence, but getting off on it brought a whole new wave of heat through his body. He blamed his alcoholic upbringing for the villainous thoughts of Luke."

or

Ashton and Luke have been sneaking around since they got together.

Court Five - takemymoneycth luke/ashton, michael/calum E, 21k

Summary: A story in which a young college tennis player maybe likes his new coach a little too much.

Enlightened (ao3) - Lostideas luke/ashton M, 9k

Summary: After The Great Disaster, Luke's world is not the same. The only thing bringing him joy now are his mid-night ventures with Michael. But suddenly Michael shows up to his window with something forbidden; something dangerous. And in the adventure that follows, Luke discoveres way more than he thought he would.

Fucking Jerks (ao3) - orphan_account ot4 E, 37k

Summary: “Okay, who cums first loses, and owes a blowjob to the winner. Correct?” Calum raises his brows: “A blowjob now, huh?” “Well, a dish fit for a king,” Michael replies.

Or: Ashton bids a Jerketition and who is Michael to refuse…? (Includes the winner+loser spin off)

Gay For Pay (ao3) - Bibsibi luke/ashton M, 10k

Summary: “You're not gonna prostitute yourself to me, Ashton.”

“Have you never heard of gay for pay?”

Or

Luke and Ashton are roomates and broke.

Life-Size Luke (ao3) - plushyluke luke/ashton E, 15k

Summary: ashton is a sex store employee when the new adult, collector dolls hit the shelves. he’s had enough of these “lukey dolls,” when one night everything changes, and his life becomes lukalicious.

New - @daydadahlias​ (cornflowerblue (daydadahlias)) luke/ashton E, 10k

Summary: Luke doesn’t remember whose idea it was to chain him to the fucking ceiling but he’s decided he’s going to get their name and send them a goddamn fruit basket, because he has never seen Ashton look at him like this before, and he has that crew member to thank.

Silver Ecstasy (ao3) - lonik michael/ashton E, 4k

Summary: “Can I just,” Ashton starts. He’s never asked for this before. It always seemed weird, to want something in his mouth with no intention of getting anyone off. It seems almost counterintuitive to what he’s been taught. But the thought of it, of having something in his mouth of Michael’s that he doesn’t have to work to maintain, makes Ashton's head spin. Michael, though, will always give Ashton what he needs.

Snow in Love (ao3) - plushyluke luke/ashton, michael/calum E, 7k

Summary: "in that cold instant, ashton put his hands back on the steering wheel. watching him back out of the parking space was torment. luke felt like there was a beast inside of him, clawing and desperate to be set free. aching to get ashton alone. to spend a second with him uninterrupted."

or ashton takes the 5sos boys on a snowy vacation, and luke is disappointed that it wasn't an opportunity to hook up.

Take Notes - @daydadahlias​​ (cornflowerblue (daydadahlias)) luke/calum E, 78k

Summary: Or, the one where Calum wants someone to teach him about sex and Luke happens to be an education major.

talk to me, baby (ao3) - kaleidoscopeminds luke/calum E, 17k

Summary: “Is that why you’ve been looking at me all night?” Luke asks, reaching out and brushing a finger over one of the rips in Calum’s jersey. “Trying to get me alone to sell your services?”

Calum looks delighted that Luke has called him out and it makes Luke smile again.

“Not at all,” Calum says, taking a swig from his drink. “But I was trying to get you alone to offer some other services for free. Interested?”

Luke laughs. “Is that an innuendo?”

“Absolutely, but I can be less subtle.” Calum sips his beer, eyeing Luke. “Wanna fuck?”

The Only Thing That Works For Me (ao3) - flowercrownmikey michael/luke T, 9k

Summary: Ignore Ash and Cal, getting hard on stage wasn't the worst thing that could've happened. Besides, your dick didn't exactly look small so that's a silver lining? -Mikey.

That's how it had started. Just a little note taped onto the wall of his bunk complimenting the size of his dick. A true love story, really.

OR/ Michael and Luke send each other dirty notes but are completely platonic in person (...at first.)

Tie That Binds - @ashtcnirwin​ (elivigar) luke/ashton E, 98k

Summary: In which Luke wants to explore miscellaneous kinks and Ashton strikes him as a good candidate to do said exploring with with.

Tropical Vibes (ao3) - orphan_account calum/ashton M, 2k

Summary: Cashton love each other and travel to Hawaii together.

twink boy bottom erotica. (ao3) - badomensbaby luke/calum E, 13k

Summary: in which luke agrees to be calum’s model for his photography project.

will we talk? (ao3) - strxngersagain michael/luke E, 4k

Summary: Michael tries not to make a habit out of having one night stands.

Sure, he’s had his share of a few no-strings-attached hookups in his otherwise relatively uneventful dating history. But he’s found over the years that it usually just tends to make him feel worse, waking up in the morning to an empty bed at worst, or an awkward conversation and a hasty exit at best. So, Michael has set his sights on not sleeping with anyone until he’s known them for at least 48 hours, at minimum.

So far, it’s gone pretty well.

Until he meets Luke, that is. 

you got me by my neck (ao3) - orphan_account luke/calum M, 29k

Summary: Hearing the blonde say, point blank, they’re not in a relationship forces Calum to confront the emotions that he’s been wanting to hide. That he wants to be in a relationship, because Luke is the person he wants to be together forever with, because Luke is the reason he gets out of bed in the morning, because Luke is the inspiration for all of Calum’s dumbass songs that people like for some reason. It’s always been Luke, and Calum couldn’t have picked a worse time and place to realize this.

In the middle of a random Friday afternoon at some place called Tootsie’s Burger Joint.

Or the one where the band is back in Sydney trying to write more music for their new album, and being back home ignites feelings Calum thought never would have existed.

[youranemicvampire]

Thoughts and opinions on The Little Mermaid (2023) with SPOILERS.

First of all, i'm so happy to be able to watch it. I've been waiting for it since 2019. And the casting announcement was the reason i became a fan of Chloe x Halle

The casting is perfect! I'm really a sucker for a good casting so....

Halle Bailey is everything Ariel. TBH, it feels like she's not acting that hard coz her expressions and voice are naturally Ariel. She's born to be a Disney princess. I could not imagine another person playing this role. From her face, features, physique, height and voice. She's a whole package.

Jonah Hauer-King is indeed charming. When his casting got announced, i never doubted him coz from his looks, he also has this Disney and Princely face. And i even like his version of Prince Eric better than the animated one.

Melissa McCarthy is great. She is actually terrifying lol but my complaint is that her make-up is lacking and then i found out that a straight person made it. I don't see the Drag in her face. It should have been better. Way better. They should have hired a queer make-up artist or someone in the Drag scene.

I know we all hate Awkwafina, but she actually has this annoying bird voice that is right for the role.

It's my first time to see Jessica Alexander act and whew! I think i might have a new crush. And she's bisexual??? I stan!

I don't have that much say for the other casts, but they are all great and visually amazing.

I expected a lot of changes, but i think it's good that they only changed the things that are necessary. It felt more genuine.

It's not that dark! It was just the right level of darkness for the scenes that are meant to be dark. The day scenes are actually colorful.

I saw a take about the sea creatures not being animated and expressive enough, but i think it's more of the CGI limitations, not the movie itself.

Having said that, Flounder could've been better. Still cute tho.

Halle and Jonah's chemistry is amazing. I'm a hetero-hater, but i was gushing in the theatre. Ariel and Eric are the best Disney live-action couple 💯 And Jalle's friendship offscreen is cute and wholesome.

I'm also a big musical fan so this live-action is special to me because they actually casted a singer and not just a basic one. What i hated about other Disney live-actions is the autotune. It's so annoying.

One of the minor issues i have is that i wished they didn't release too many stills and clips. I was kinda pissed on the "Under the sea" part coz i already saw the majority of it on social media. I wanted to be surprised because that scene was so fun and magical.

They should definitely have a sequel, a prequel, and a mermaid sisters spin-off. It would be a waste to only see them once especially Halle and Jonah's chemistry. The sisters are also too beautiful not to have their own stories coz from how they look, they have really different identities.

People complain too much on animal designs, but ignore the mermaid tails of Ariel and her sisters.

I'm also proud of Halle's acting coz i watched her on Grown.ish and her acting skills and confidence really improved by miles. Even when she lost her voice, she was very expressive. She didn't even have to try that much.

For me, this is the 2nd best Disney live-action so far. My first is still Maleficent.

Idk if I still need to say this, but the soundtrack is on-repeat after I watched. I actually want to rewatch the whole thing with subs coz i can't understand the British accent. lol

Halle Bailey needs to be in more musicals. I just can't get enough. Jessica Alexander should also be in more villain roles. Sapphic villain specifically 🥵

I also liked how Ariel and Prince Eric were longing for each other's world you know. It's a story about freedom really, not wanting to be boxed, and wanting to explore no matter how dangerous it is. It's such a queer allegory. And it's special knowing the original version of Hans Christian Andersen.

[rockybloo]

Thinking of writing a fanfic crossover where Jack and Nana end up in Decking city after a magical accident (Still fleshing out the details of how said accident worked).

If comfortable answering:

I'm curious about how you think Nana and Jack would react to such a such a big change in a new place like that, in a general sense. Especially if there's a bigger issue bringing them here and they realize they have to solve it to go home.

Thank you, and lovely day either way ପ(๑•ᴗ•๑)ଓ ♡

A fanfic of Jack and Nana would make me screech because they are the most ship ever for me and I'd be overjoyed. 😭💚❤️ The concept of anyone considering taking time out of their day and writing a fic about my OCs in general makes me happy.

and WOW my brain waves are powerful because I was literally thinking of an old Beanstalked plot point that basically dealt with the idea of how the main team get yeeted from Lore to Earth and have to figure out how to get back and how to tie it to Glitter and Guilt for a funny little crossover arc.

I won't go into detail about the ACTUAL events that cause it to potentially happen (bc I dunno if I'll do it...I mean I probably will but as a separate oneshot from the main storylines of both stories) BUT I can def answer how Jack and Nana would respond to a similar situation.

This will be a long one so buckle in

First thing to know is that Lore and Earth are two separate planets in the same solar system. Both are waaay closer than either think.

Lore occupants know about Earth, specifically they know it as "The World without Magic/Happy Endings/Fairy Tales/etc." It's kinda of mythicized.

Earth has no idea Lore is a thing because Lore has magic rings (kinda like Saturn's but cooler I dare say) that spin around it and make it invisible.

Bloopers are a glitch in reality in Lore where things from Earth often pop up there. Often old or lost objects.

Jack works part time for Baba, who tends to have a whole bunch of bloopers in his shop, which means he has very mild knowledge of Earth. Not a whole lot but if he winded up there-he would know "Oh! This is Earth!" and he'd be able to point out some stuff and name it. So he would know a car when he sees one-it's just a matter of actually being aware of how one works.

Hazel and Kettle have a TON of bloopers they hoard in their bedroom which serves as the attic for the inn Miss Castor is the keeper of. Specifically, they have the super fun bloopers like retro game consoles and comic books. Chances are, they even have some Sweetheart merch but are under the belief that she is merely fictional character.

So Jack is vaguely aware of Sweetheart. SPECIFICALLY as "The pink hero my little siblings thinks is cool".

Merch of villains is a whole lot more locked down with most being illegal save for what is made for the Decking City Park of Heroes AKA the Disney World/Universal Studios of Decking City entirely focusing on it's homegrown hero culture.

So Bitterbat is def not someone Jack is aware of.

When it comes to Nana, she doesn't really dabble much in bloopers or even learning about Earth. Unless it's from Jack's ramblings or mini adventures, she tends to limit herself to Lore and its shenanigans. She spent most her life living in a forest and is just now branching out to learn more about Briar Patch and Lore as a whole thanks to Jack making her realize "Oh hey the outside world is kinda fun".

She's taking baby steps and Earth is a very big jump she ain't trynna make yet.

So when it comes to them getting yeeted to Earth, SPECIFICALLY Decking City, Nana is def more reliant on Jack when it comes to knowledge. Where ever he is going, she is gonna be right there, hugging onto one of his arms for dear life because neither wants to lose the other.

Decking City is very interesting with how it's the least mundane setting for Jack and Nana to wind up in, which works perfectly because they come from a fantasy world. They will ironically feel a lot more comfortable when they see a giant monster attacking or some hero versus villain battle going on than dealing with crossing the street with a buncha traffic or even walking through a grocery store aka over stimulant central.

The biggest problem would be adapting to their temporary stay. Decking City is loud and busy and both would be overwhelmed quite easily from just the sights and sounds alone. A city is vastly more imposing than a kingdom when it comes to its buildings and even then, Jack and Nana spend most their time in Briar Patch which is a small humble town.

Nana would have the worse time because her keen Lupine hearing means every car honk, screech of tires, Kaiju alert siren, civilian yelling at another civilian, would lead to the biggest headache.

Protecting the other and making sure they're safe is their main priority. They care deeply about each other and seeing the constant look of discomfort on Nana's face and how nervous she is is enough to break Jack's heart. And the second anyone so much as breathes in the slightest bit of irritation at Jack seeming to not know where or what he's doing, under the belief he's a tourist, would lead to Nana snarling with her full set of chompers on display.

That's enough to cause anyone in the proximity to steer clear of them...or at least treat Jack very nicely because it's very obvious the two are traveling together.

ULTIMATELY, both would want some safe place so they can gather their thoughts, which are currently being scrambled by the city sights and sounds, calm down and figure out what they need to do to get back home.

Whatever they need to do, they are def willing to accomplish because they are used to being in some slice of hell situations. They've always figured their way out of them. Back on Lore, the gang adventures a bunch and have encountered a lot. Some of which I cannot share for spoilers but just know they are no strangers to dealing with the unknown.

It's just a big matter of figuring out exactly what unknown they are dealing with this time.

[thatone-churro]

honestly, what i think warriors needs the most right now is a total reset. like, world-wise.

it’s no secret that most of the clans (ThunderClan especially) have become heavily bloated - for lack of a better word - because the Erins introduce specific, named cats and then have to follow up on them and their family because of the way the arcs occur in rapid succession. that wasn’t so much of a problem in the first two or three arcs, but it certainly is now. and god knows these family trees are enough to drive anyone up the wall. and don’t get me started on how frequently characters and their personalities are drastically altered for no good reason other than to fill a narrative role. which is, fairly obviously, a big no-no for spinning a coherent narrative that relies on previous installments, if it even has to rely on them.

obviously, these aren’t the only issues the modern series has, but it’s certainly become a big one, and it’s probably caused a few other narrative issues, given that we pretty much know EVERY cat in EVERY clan, at this point.

which is why i say the world of warriors needs an absolute reset. perhaps not wiping the slate clean entirely, they’ve gone too far for that by now, but we know everyone. we’ve seen everything these past few generations have to offer. we can’t pull any twists without retcons (not that the Erins are above that, either) because we’ve seen those that would be villains already and everyone else that’s stood against them.

what i REALLY wish would happen to solve this problem (i say as if i’m invested in the actual stories at this point, but i’m saying this more from a writer/storytelling perspective) is a timeskip. a massive one. that’s what this series really needs.

the arcs happen too close together, is one of my biggest pet peeves. if a timeskip is gonna happen, it needs to be LONG. everyone we know in the current arcs/generations needs to be gone, save for maybe one or two of the younger ones as the eldest elders, but they can’t keep relying on the current cast. there needs to be a fresh slate.

new leaders and a new cast with new motives and beliefs (so they can stop butchering the current ones). basically the butchering of personalities and entire characters and retconning entire character arcs and pre-established backstories could so easily be avoided if they just. used entirely new characters.

new family trees. for the love of god, let those monstrosities of the current bloodlines rest. if the timeskip is long enough, they wouldn’t have to worry about them; they could forge relationships (familial and otherwise) from scratch. there could be room for a few references to new characters being descended from older ones, but the connection should end at that; there should be a gap of those missing generations in the family tree, no one should be able to draw an exact line back to that character/bloodline. this is honestly one of the easiest, if not only, possible coherent solutions to this issue at this point.

aside from solving some prominent issues, a long timeskip presents one of the more interesting opportunities for the series: show how the clans have changed over time. sure, there’s change happening in the current arcs, but again, everything’s so close that not a lot really is changing. if the skip is executed properly (read: they make it long enough), they can show not only how general beliefs have changed through the generations, but the actual clans and their capabilities. think of your favorite warriors rewrites (i know you have one) and all the cool little things they add to the clans: crafting, cooking, their own language; all of it could realistically be included in the series if a timeskip simply went far enough and implied that the clans developed these areas as time went on. it could pave a whole new direction for the series. and for the better.

it wouldn’t have the charm and engagement that the first arc had when the world was introduced, but it has the opportunity to be the next best thing. a complete refresh, yet a continuation of the same series.

the only way for this to work (assuming all the previous points were met) is to ABSOLUTELY NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, CREATE ANY SORT OF “PREQUEL”-ESQUE CONTENT. that means no super editions that tell a pre-established character’s backstory, no novella or whatever that bridges generations or covers these changes, nothing! the skip should be made and the entire series should move FORWARD from that point. to go backward would be to muck it all up and ruin the whole premise.

again, i really don’t keep up with the current story in-depth, but as someone who’s working on a long, multi-arc story of her own, this is my take on how to really “save” (or save as much as it can) the series or put it back on the right track. we know this won’t be what happens, but i really wish it was. it would fix so much. i wish it had been implemented already; that would save a lot of us so much suffering.

anyway, that’s my bi-yearly warrior cats essay. do with it what you will.

[rebelsofshield]

Would you have done something completely different with the Sequel Trilogy?

Thank you for the question anon! I love these.

I'm not sure if you are asking me whether I'd do a completely different story for the Sequel Trilogy or if I would have made changes to the films we got. Frankly, I don't know if I would have changed a whole lot about the basic premise of the trilogy. I love all of the characters and I think its metatextual themes about myth and legacy are doing some interesting things when they appear. But, there are quite a few small changes I would make to The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi and some very large changes I'd make to The Rise of Skywalker.

The First Order vs. Resistance / New Republic conflict is maybe the trilogy's original sin that causes a lot of the problems that follow. I think the idea of having the First Order be a group of neo-fascists that are obsessed with restoring an authoritarian government that few directly experienced is a smart idea and the natural step for a trilogy spanning conflict. It also feels incredibly relevant to today's current political struggles. I think the issues start to show up when they are established as this uber powerful galaxy conquering group instead of a very dangerous and underestimated faction of extremists. On a purely aesthetic level it would help differentiate them from the Empire but it also would put a fun spin on the original trilogy's formula rather than directly copying it. I do also like the general idea that The New Republic is generally dismissive of The First Order as a danger to the galaxy and that Leia had to take things into her own hands to get things done. But! I would've liked to see this explained a bit more clearly in The Force Awakens. If you aren't reading the supplementary material, the exact political make up of the galaxy at the start of the film isn't clearly established and I wouldn't blame you if you missed it entirely.

Nix Starkiller base. I think that in general the criticisms that The Force Awakens is a retread of A New Hope are a bit exaggerated, but the annoyance of having yet another Death Star is where I start to feel that there is some merit. It's unnecessary. It would be just as, if not more affecting, if The First Order had some well planned attack that they were able to pull off right under the New Republic's nose. A fascist government that's able to overthrow a better funded democratic government through tactics and corruption is a way scarier threat than another planet exploding ball.

Make the Knights of Ren more prevalent. I like the current canon of them being their own, self motivated faction of Dark Sider, but the original understanding that they were other disaffected disciples of Luke's makes much more sense and feels more dramatically interesting to me. I would have liked to see them as a more consistent presence in the series. It also would have been a fun payoff if part of the reason that Kylo ends up aiding the fight against Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker is because the rest of the Knights are seduced away from his leadership.

Give Chewbacca something to do. We needed his hug with Leia in The Force Awakens. We needed a grief arc for him in The Last Jedi. We needed to have him find some sort of future or purpose in The Rise of Skywalker. This is one of the most beloved Star Wars characters of all time, but his role for most of the trilogy is minimal despite the clear emotional trauma at its center.

Finn needs his stormtrooper rebellion arc. I actually don't hate the general shape of Finn's story in The Last Jedi as much as most people, but I do think that The Force Awakens sets up a story about his connection to other First Order infantry in a way that is never properly followed up on. I'd love to lean into that further and actually make that a story that is followed up on. Also make him and Poe boyfriends.

No Rey Palpatine. I'm actually not opposed to Sidious being the final villain of the trilogy. I think the First Order being a facet of his resurgence to power makes a lot of sense and I'm even down for the idea that Snoke was a being that was wittingly or unwittingly under Palpatine's control the whole time. But Rey Palpatine is a no go for me. The end thrust of the story where she assumes the Skywalker name could be done without making her the literal progeny of Sidious. Sidious could still want to use her as a powerful Force user without her being his granddaughter. You could keep most of the struggles she has with purpose and legacy in The Rise of Skywalker without having to bubble the full saga down into a war between bloodlines.

No clean cut redemption for Kylo Ren. Star Wars is a series about forgiveness and second chances and I am ultimately fine with Kylo making his steps back towards the light by the end of the trilogy, but I just don't buy him becoming a swashbuckling hero at the end of The Rise of Skywalker and I absolutely don't buy any romantic/sexual relationship with Rey. The most interesting scenario would have been to have Kylo work against Palpatine originally as a way to secure his own power and as an extension of his "burn it all down" ideology from The Last Jedi, but gradually begin to work towards more moments of direct aide for the heroes and more moments of direct selflessness. I'm torn on whether he should live or die at the end of the trilogy, but leave him with work to do is the way to go. So much of the series was about him choosing the dark at every opportunity offered to him, I think seeing him finally choose the light at the end would be powerful, but it shouldn't be an easy path at all.

Anakin Force Ghost.

[wasteofart]

Alright I gave in and watched the Teen Wolf Movie and since I posted about the series on here before I’m not going to type out my feelings. Read not just for obvious spoilers but a recap of the entire movie.

There are so many things that are straight up bad, I don’t know who did the visual effects here but that’s not what I’m going to be talking about here. Right off the bat, yes I loved seeing these characters on screen again, loved having some new content but, oh boy. Sometimes things are better off if you leave them the way they were. First of all, I get why some people (Dylan, Arden and probably more) did not want to be part of this. I would be lying if I said I don’t miss those characters because they added a lot to the team and the story. Stiles’ ideas were what got them through most of the shit in the early seasons and that’s also why the later seasons weren’t as catchy I guess. But it’s their choice and if they want to leave that behind I respect that. With Kira, it feels like they tried to write the story of Liam’s (girl-?)friend for her but idk man. If they did they had to change a lot. Also it would’ve been hella weird for Scott to have 3 ex girlfriends running around in one place. For the rest of the characters Scott, yes, we needed him. He’s the main character. Makes sense he’s back. Lydia, same as Scott. She’s part of the pack and we need people that aren’t werewolves. Malia, alright she fits it. She’s a little different, a little reckless. I was never really a fan of her back then but I don’t dislike her, she can be fun. However making her Parrish’s love interest seems odd. Parrish, makes sense that he still works in Beacon Hills so of course he’s back. Sherif Stilinski, same as Parrish. He lives there, he’s still in contact with the others and thanks to his job he’s involved in the crimes. Chris, even in the later seasons it was weird for me that he still talks to the others. Basically his whole family died and I don’t know if I would’ve stayed there to be invested in this whole chaos after that. But since he’s also in the last seasons it makes sense he’s in the movie as well. Melissa, same as the other adults, she works and lives in Beacon Hills. And she’s Scott’s mom so of course she’s involved in his shit. Derek, ok so, I don’t know who he fucked and then ditched because how does he have a child with no wife? Like I get it people part ways but this just seems off. Also I don’t know what being a father did to him but he seems like a dumbass in most scenes. Like, completely out of context and character. Eli, it feels weird that he even exists. He’s a fun guy, typical gen z if I may call him that and I guess we needed some young blood as well as someone for a possible spin off. Wouldn’t be teen wolf without any teens. Liam, we started off strong and towards the end he seemed to have disappeared. What happened? Coach, a classic. He’s the same as always. Not a single complaint about this man. Deaton, he’s only there for mythical input. He’s still doing his job at the clinic and Scott’s still in contact with him so yeah, he can be in the movie. Mason, took me a while to realize it was him. But hey, he got a job and he’s doing great. Sucks for him to get involved in this shit again. What happened to Corey? Allison, I will talk about this later but for the story it makes sense for her to be back Jackson, we all love his chaotic nonsense but why the hell didn’t he do anything in the movie? He just talked. No claws, no fangs, nothing? I’m disappointed Peter, do we hate him? Do we love him? Who knows. Tbh I was sick of him being the villain for no reason throughout the series but in the movie he was pretty useless. Why didn’t he die in the end? Wouldn’t be the first time we see him crispy Adrian Harris, ok hear me out. I’m all for bringing back people from former seasons but who is this man. He looked nothing like he did back then and besides the scar around his neck nothing linked to the past. Does he have a motive besides being mad about being killed last time? How did he know about the nogitsune? Or where to find it? It doesn’t make sense. Victoria Argent, she’s back as an illusion so it’s fine. No complaints. Conrad Fenris, I forgot this man existed and they only used him for what? To show they brought Harris to Eichenhouse? Not sure if they’re hinting at a sequel or whatever but idk. Could’ve gone without him. But since the actor is Tyler Posey’s dad I can see past that. Now to the actual story... A lot of people called this movie a fix fic for what they “messed up” in season 3. Which, I get to some points. Kiling Allison was a big decision back then but they had their reasons. It felt sort of reaslistic that kids who fight evil sometimes don’t make it out alive so even though I was sad about her death, it made sense. And for this movie, I didn’t hate the idea of bringing someone back who died previously. They did it multiple times with Peter so. Also I watch Supernatural so nothing ever stays dead. So the movie starts with Liam and his coworker/friend/girlfriend working at an asian restaurant when a hooded person comes in and demands the nogitsune.

They try to run but the person catches up and takes the jar in which they keep the nogitsune? Seems pretty reckless if you ask me to keep it in a jar. The person then “makes an arrangement” with it and sets it free in the form of a firefly.  

The next scene shows us Scott working together with Deaton and the fire department to save a little girl as well as a dog from the ruins of a collapsed building. Which makes me wonder why Deaton works with them in the first place. But we see that Scott has his powers and uses them to save people. Back at the animal shelter/clinic Scott sees Allison or think he sees her before she vanishes. 

Maybe I missed the point where he mentions that he has been seeing her for a while now or maybe this was the first time, however Chris shows up and tells them he’s been seeing her for years. They both seem to have heard the same word “Bardo” which Deaton quickly explains means a state between life and death. They they figure out that Allison must be stuck between life and death and decide to go back to Beacon Hills to find a way to help her. And of course, Christ somehow has the sword that killed her 15 years ago. 

The next scene shows Lydia in her new life, she seems to be a business woman doing very important business. But during a meeting one of her coworkers/ clients whatever asks who Allison is because every word in her presentation paper says Allison. She is shocked and rushes to her office where she begins to sketch and skribble on loose pieces of paper, the way she used to do back in earlier seasons.

Back in Beacon Hills, we see a teenage boy break into the “Hale Auto” shop to steal Stiles’ old jeep. He drives away with it but is seen by Parrish who is on duty and watches the road. 

Next we see Mason who is also a cop and was on the phone, heading towards Sherif Stilinski to tell him about Parrish wanting to talk to their “consultant”. They’re in the middle of the forest but their surroundings are burnt to the ground. Turns out Derek is working with the police and Parrish snitches on the boy who turns out to be Derek’s son. However that happened because the whole movie doesn’t explain where that kid comes from. 

However they talk about the other fires that have occoured before and that this wasn’t gasoline. They eventually tell Derek his son has stolen the Jeep again even though Derek hates it. We then see his son drive up to a red light to impress a girl but before he can leave, Derek, the Sherif and Parrish have caught up with him and Derek slashed his tire. In the meantime Scott and Lydia meet at the spot where they fought the Nogitsune back in S3, the spot where Allison has died. We get a bunch of flashbacks of her dying in Scott’s arms while he stares at the old ruins. Lydia arrives and they have a small moment before she shows him the sketches she has drawn earlier. Somehow she knows exactly what they need to save her namely a handful of dirt from that exact spot. So they go on to smash the ground to grab a handful of dirt. Which was weirdly intense for them to simply pick up some dirt.

Either way they pack up and head to (I assume?) Melissa’s house where they meet Chris to discuss their next steps. Jackson shows up, has some funny lines, grabs pizza and rearranges Lydia’s sketches to form an image of the nemeton. I know I’ve made posts about this stupid tree before but I feel like the creators of this show and movie repurpose old elements too easily. You expect a new crazy thing and it’s the same old tree. It’s fine if it makes sense but it’s getting old. Same with Peter being the villain. But I have to say I liked the way the showed it this time unlike the same drawing of the same tree they used in the series.

For the next scene we see a small family house and a car pull into the drive way. Derek and his son Eli enter the kitchen and Derek is mad about his son’s behaviour. They argue and in the end we find out that Eli, although he is a born werewolf to the Hale family genes, has trouble transforming and even healing. I’ve seen a post pointing out all the little ridiculous details about the kitchen like the wine and protein powder or the flowers in front of the house and I must say Derek really is a housewife. Even though I couldn’t stand all the new characters from S5 and S6, Eli is pretty funny and has some great lines throughout the movie.  

Back at the Hale Auto shop, Parrish arrives after they dropped off the Jeep. As he walks in, a coyote enters the shop and transforms into a very naked Malia. At this point I was already disappointed in the writing because I knew what was going to happen. In the series we had the thing between Lydia and Parrish which already seemed off but as it turns out 15 years later, he and Malia have a non exclusive thing going. He seems to be more interested in her but she doesn’t want the commitment. 

After they’ve done the do and got dressed Malia receives a text from Lydia, telling her they need to talk urgently. In the next scene Derek tries to bond with Eli, offering to practice with him for the upcomming lacrosse game but as it turns out Eli escaped through the window of his bedroom.

We see a short scene of Deaton and Chris in a garage where Deaton hold a silver bullet and says he needs answers. Next we see Lydia and Scott pull up in their car to where they meet Malia. They greet each other and Scott and Malia have a bit of a weird moment which makes sense considering their past. However if this was real, everyone would act like this because they’ve all dated each other. Anyway, they head out into the woods to find the nemeton.

Back to Deaton and Chris, Deaton asks a bunch of weird questions and riddles before they start a fight and Deaton eventually throws mountain ash on Chris. He then stumbles backwards and from his mouth a firefly appears and flies away. Which leads to the question how the fuck this firefly got inside him or how long it has been possessing him. Also what was the point of this? Was Chris evil during the previous scenes? Doesn’t make much sense to me.  

In the woods, Lydia, Scott and Malia come across Eli who just so happens to know where the nemeton is. Again, this tree has been in the picture since S3 how has no one ever remembered where this thing is located? They eventually find the tree and send Eli home before they start their little ritual with the dirt and the sword. They all claim to have no idea what they’re doing but who came up with this idea in the first place? Either way the sword gets sucked into the tree and they decide to leave, thinking nothing has happened. If I ever see a sword get sucked into a tree I would think at least something has happened, right? Or is that just me. Through some magic light Allison appears completely naked and unconscious and they all turn back around to go pick her up and get her to the car.

They drive her to the hospital where they meet Melissa. They put her in a room, wondering if it’s really her or not. In the meantime, a whole swearm of those fireflies get to the nemeton and enter it. The sword reappears as well as the nogitsune we’ve known from S3.

There’s a cut and we switch to the school where Coach pep talks a bunch of lacrosse players as well as Eli who is walking behind everyone else. The Sherif appears and talks to him, telling him not to steal the jeep while Derek is off to tell the coach to let his son play in the game even though he sucks.

At the hospital Lydia, Malia, Scott and Melissa discuss what’s happening with Allison while she manages to sneak out of her room, steal some clothes and tries to escape the hospital. They chase after her and I have to say, for someone who has been dead for 15 years it’s pretty impressive that she was able to fight off several security guards, a were-coyote and an alpha. Even for someone with her training, she’s still human. But hey, power balance isn’t one of teen wolf’s strenghts. There’s a short fight where Scott tries to tell her who he is but she doesn’t remember, she is only looking for Derek Hale. Which I find odd. Why does she only remember Derek and not the others?

She injures Scott with a pair of scissors and watches him heal therefor she knows he is one of the monsters. She breaks free and manages to escape after meeting her father and not recognizing him either. Once again, why does she remember no one except Derek? At the police station, Sherif tells Mason, Parrish and another deputy to do their jobs basically before they all leave. A single deputy is left at the station and when he hears a weird noise he goes to investigate only to find the nogitsune in one of the cells. He tells him the deputy is a kitsune as well and goes on to kill him to steal “his nine tails”. I didn’t really get this scene or what the point of it was besides the nogitsune getting more powerful and leaving behind a body for the others to find.  Outside the hospital, Scott, Chris, Deaton, Malia and Melissa talk about how Allison might not be herself and that she didn’t recognize either of them. They come to the conclusion that she only remembers being a hunter and is now a threat to every werewolf, especially Derek. Allison arrives at the basement of, what I assume is, the Argent household and goes straight to picking up some weapons. While in there, the nogitsune appears and uses the form of her dead mother to convince her to kill the others, starting with the betas. Also she drops the F bomb in that scene, which was fine but I could’ve thought of better uses. 

Lydia and Jackson arrive at the police station where they find the dead body of the deputy. 

Derek carries his son through the locker room at the school because he has injured his foot after playing for like a minute at the game. Eli is disappointed but Dereks tries to cheer him up by telling him how great he is. At least he’s being a good dad. Allison shows up and attacks them while Derek tells Eli to run away. They fight and he realizes who she is before she shoots him with an arrow, nearly killing him before Liam and his girlfriend (who happens to be a kitsune) show up to save him. Scott and Malia arrive as well and Allison decides to leave. Derek is basically bleeding to death but keeps talking about Eli and how he can’t run or transform. 

Once again, we see the sherif and the deputies at the scene of a forest fire and they still have no idea what caused the fires but they conclude it’s not a regular arsonist. The mood shifts and a bunch of oni appear and attack the deputies. 

A short cut of a scene with Derek, Scott and Malia in the car, talking about them having to find Eli because he can’t transform nor heal on his own, making him an easy target for Allison. 

Back with the deputies, we see Mason wandering around, randomly shooting through the fog while the oni appear. They attack and kill one of the random deputies before they get to Sherif Stilinski, Mason and Parrish. They try to fight them but eventually get turned into smoke and disappear. 

Back at the Hale house, Derek is on the couch, surrounded by Melissa, Malia, Chris, Scott and Deaton who takes care of his wound. He says the healing works faster with fire which is when Peter appears out of nowhere with a blowtorch. Typical Peter behavior even if it’s more than weird. He then proceids to burn the wolfsbane out of Derek’s wound to save him. After that Scott heads out after receiving some encouraging words from his mother.

Eli apparently decided to take the car to flee and is now trying to pump some gas when Allison shows up, crashing her car into his at the Hale Auto shop. He stumbles and hurries inside with his ankle still injured.  

Liam and his girlfriend arrive at the Police station where they meet Lydia and Jackson. They tell them about the dead deputy and Liam’s girlfriend explains he was a kitsune as well. 

the adults at the Hale house talk about how Allison might be an illusion and Peter confronts Chris about it but he assures him that this isn’t his daughter and he will not be guided by emotion. 

Eli is still trying to get away from Allison and hides inside the shop, waiting for his moment to attack her. But he is still injured and she quickly takes over, ready to kill him.

To his luck, Scott arrives and distracts her but that results in him getting shot by her arrow instead. The two werewolves get out and Scott manages to get Eli to heal his wounds and injured ankle by triggering his healing. Yes, Scott is still the Alpha™ and just growls at him to get him to heal 15 years of trauma. Either way it works and they can now run into the forest where Scott tells him to keep going alone because he needs to confront her. 

At the police station, the four of them discover that the hooded person who stole the jar is the same person to set the forest on fire. Lydia and Jackson decide to find the person who set the fires while Liam and his girlfriend go leave to find Scott. 

Liam stumbles onto a road and almost gets run over by the Sherif who then takes him in while Melissa, Peter and Chris decide to follow his tracks into the woods.

Scott and Allison still fight while he tries to talk some sense into her. 

The Sherif and Eli arrive back at the Hale house where Derek has healed completely and is relieved to see his son alive. One thing I love about this movie is Derek being a Good Dad™

However their little moment gets interrupted by a bunch of Oni showing up once again. 

Liam and his girlfriend break down in their car and get attacked by the Oni as well before they both get taken down and turn into smoke. 

At the Hale house, they all try to fight but don’t stand a chance against the Oni. Derek gets stabbed in front of his son who then runs and hides in the basement with Malia. 

Eli goes ahead to fight the Oni but also gets taken down and just like the others disappears into smoke. Only Malia survives by pulling down the curtains of the windows and letting sunlight in, making the Oni disappear. 

Scott and Allison have been fighting the entire time and she has cornered him at the edge of a cliff. He still tries to convince her he’s the good guy and eventually stabs himself with her knife to prove she can trust him. 

At the police station, Jackson is tired of sitting around and he and Lydia decide to head out to the woods to investigate the fires when Malia and Parrish show up and tell them everyone else has been taken by the Oni. Also loved this little moment of Jackson with the shrug.

After that we see the best shot of the movie: the full body sniff. Peter crawling on the floor, pointing out a huge ass puddle of blood that everyone saw even without werewolf senses.

At the burnsite, Lydia and Jackson search for clues. While Malia and Parrish go off to “kill” the Oni with silver. I don’t know how they suddenly came to this conclusion and never though of this before but ok. 

Scott and Allison make their way through the woods while Scott points out her regrets and her mask starts to crumble when he mentions their motto “We protect those who cannot protect themselves”. 

Back at the burnside, Lydia and Jackson figure out what the trees that burnt down create mountain ash and the person who did it used the fires to do exactly that. I don’t remember if it was ever mentioned in the series where mountain ash came from but cudos to Lydia for knowing it either way. 

Malia and Parrish have another moment and kiss while they pick out weapons to kill the Oni while Scott and Allison arrive at what looks like a basement. We later learn it’s a room inside the stadium. Scott is still very badly injured and close to dying while Allison has visions of the nogitsune/ her mother telling her to keep kililng them even though she’s having doubts.

Next we see Eli waking up, tied to a wooden post. Around him are all the others who have been kidnapped by the oni, they’re all tied up as well. He tells Derek he managed to heal but they are now trapped, that’s when the Oni show up once again. Also.. this set. It’s supposed to look creepy but to be honest it looks cheap. And the strings, I’m not even calling them ropes, they used to tie up the people look like they fall apart at the slightest pull.

Scott finally wakes up and talks to Allison and tells her she died in his arms and if she wants to know more about the past she has to save him from dying.

 Back in the Oni world, they try to break free but Deaton kindly reminds them the strings are so powerful and can’t hold them back while the Oni approach them with their swords. Liam then notices the sounds around them which then lead us to the lacrosse field and the match that is happening at the same moment. 

The scene switches and we see the lacrosse stadium and the teams running onto the field as well as the coach doing his usual thing.

Meanwhile Melissa, Chris and Peter have stumbled through the woods and came to the conclusion that Allison must have gotten Scott and that their destination is also the lacrosse stadium.

Jackson and Lydia are driving in their car while she is on the phone with Parrish who is still with Malia picking out weapons. Lydia suggests that the one who set the fires this time might also be the one to set the fire who killed Dereks family 20 years ago. Which, to me seems a little far fetched but ok. And she goes on to say that this person was supposed to be dead. 

Speaking of, the next shot shows us the hooded person who leaves a trail of mountain ash around the base of the stadium which then magically merges together. So it’s not just regular mountain ash, this one moves on its own. But with this scene, and others later, I never get why bystanders don’t find these people suspiscious or say anything. You see a hooded dude pour out some shit from a container and you decide to ignore it? Ok  I guess.

Back in the basement, Scott pulls out his wallet and shows Allison the picture they took together 15 years ago which then helps her remember their past. We see a bunch of flashbacks from their time together, a dozen scenes of them being lovey and cute. And he talks about them and their friends. Once again, he tells her she needs to save him by burning the wolfsbane out of his wound in order to hear about the rest.

The nogitsune arrives at the Oni scene and climbs up the stairs to the others, once again talking in riddles. He first turns to Derek and then to Eli to which Derek says to not be afraid. Eli, the gen z that he is, responds with some witty comment for which I actually love him. 10/10 humor. The nogitsune talks about him not being a wolf just yet and scratches his cheek only for Derek to growl at him. 

Next we see Scott almost passed out, seemingly waking up from Derek’s howling when Allison approaches him with a road flare thingy. The same they already used back in S3 during the Motel California episode. She uses the flame to burn out his wound and yet again we see flashbacks, this time from said episode and this is what bothers me. They use these flashbacks to show the emotions and memories but they never show a single frame of Stiles. (I assume it’s because of copy right regarding Dylan but it feels out of place. He was so important for Scott and they fucked this up in the later seasons as well) 

The fire triggers his healing and he screams in pain which can be heard by the other werewolves in the Oni world. Like before, it helps Eli to heal the wound the nogitsune gave him and Derek is all star-eyed, happy dad for his pup to become a big wolf. And Eli, once again, delivers the hilarious line of “how am I supposed to see my own eyes”. The nogitsune gets mad and goes for Eli again. 

In the meantime the lacrosse game has been going and it doesn’t look great for Coach and his team. Scott discovers they’re right by the field and Allison says she needs to find his father because he is also in danger and that she might remember Scott before she leaves. 

In the Oni world, the nogitsune decides to yeet Eli and throws him through a portal that has him landing in the middle of the lacrosse field where he immediately gets run over by the players.

Scott follows Allison out and stops her to tell her to be careful because no one knows it’s really her. He’s being the simp he is and tells her he still loves her. Which fits him tbh but after so many years and other girlfriends it feels a little out of place. But she was his first love and died in his arms so he may be excused.

She leaves and Scott gets a look of the field and realizes Eli is walking around all disoriented while being yelled at by the coach. 

Jackson and Lydia arrive at the stadium and discover the mountain ash and that it can’t be broken, figuring out that whatever is supposed to take place is happening right now. Jackson tried to break the seal but it merges back together right before the hooded person steps around a corner. And this is something that bothered me for ages, the inconsistency of these magical things in the series. Sometimes they could break it sometimes it was impossible. One time a wind blow let them through, the other time Scott had to fight for his life to get through.

Scott catches up with Eli and he explains him where everyone is and that they’re trapped. Scott walks around with a massive blood stain on his shirt but no one seems to notice. They head out of the stadium but get stopped by the mountain ash barrier which Scott runs into head first.

The hooded person reveils his face and Lydia immediately recognizes him as their old chemistry teacher while Jackson has no idea. Classic Jackson, we love them for that. Adrian Harris then responds with “I was your chemistry teacher, Jackson. You fucking imbecile.” Loved the second use of the F bomb. He then shoots Jackson with something? and demands Lydia to scream. 

Eli and Scott rush to the coach to ask him for help to get all the people out the stadium without panic. They all figure out that the only way to do that is to play lacrosse and win the game so they change into the jerseys and play. 

Jackson is on the ground and Harris has Lydia grabbed by her arm, showing her the Oni World and her friends suffering. Again I’m not judging the CGI here but damn. Whoever did this really let it slack. 

We switch over to the Oni world where the others are still trapped. Derek, Deaton and Sherif talk about how Derek hasn’t transformed into a wolf since the one time when Eli was little. He got so scared that Derek never dared to do that again which also might be the reason for him to take so long to discover his own powers. 

On the field, they’re still playing lacrosse and Scott shoots the ball miles from the goal, all the way up to the score board where Allison just happens to be standing, smiling at him. 

Harris still pressures Lydia into screaming. Telling her that her heartbreak pain is especially appealing to a nogitsune that’s when she reveals why she and Stiles broke up. Namely because she kept having visions of him dying in a car crash. I understand the reasoning and her motif to save Stiles but really? Breaking up with him was the only solution she could think of after everything they’ve been through? 

Peter walks up to Allison at the railing and straig up smashes her head against it knocking it out. No word spoken. We switch back to Scott and Eli on the field, stll playing for the win while the other team’s coach questions Scott even being on the team because he looks 30. Which tbh is hard to tell from so far away with all the gear on. Anyway, Coach replies and tells him that’s Greenberg. 10/10 

In the Oni world they can hear the game above them and Derek is happy Dad once again that his son is actually playing. They keep playing, Eli makes the shot and they win. Everyone cheers and people start leaving the stadium. 

At the top rank, Peter is holding his claws to Allison’s throat when Melissa and Chris show up. Chris throws a blade at Peter who catches is and infects himself with the wolfsbane before letting go of Allison.

Chris and Allison hug and they’re happy to be back together even if she still doesn’t know for sure who she is. Tha’s when smoke appears and Allison grabs her bow and just straight up walks into it and disappears. Which is dumb. Just dumb.

She, Eli and Scott land in the Oni world and realize they’re now trapped as well while Malia and Parrish arrive at the Stadium. Whatever the fuck took them so long.  

Right in front of Scott, Allison and Eli some Oni appear and they go in for a fight, now knowing how to kill them. They do a weirdly choreographed partner fight but it gets the job done.

Malia and Parrish sit by the mountain ash barrier and he trie to burn  through it while there are literally people standing behind him and watching him turn into a hellhound. 

The fight in the Oni world oes on but they need to wait for Parrish and the silver bullets. However I always thought they were also killing the werewolves with silver, shouldn’t Allison’s weapon be silver? 

Lydia, Jackson and Harris are still watching from the outside and when Allison is about to get hit, she goes on to scream. 

The shock waves pushes back the Oni and gives Scott and Allison a moment to recover while she is having major flashbacks of their friendship which makes her remember everything. Once again, not a single frame of Stiles in sight.

The nogitsune holds Eli at, well, claw-point and Scott offers his life in return of the others. Offering to sacrifice himself and dying in Allison’s arms in order to save everyone else. Allison refuses at first but then goes on to shoot him with not one but THREE arrows in the heart before he falls down. Also somehow he put on a clean shirt after the game that is now also covered in blood.

The Oni that threatened Peter, Melissa and Chris disappear, showing the game of the nogitsune is over.

The nogitsune thinks he has won because Scott is about to die but the arrows go up in flames instead and he heals his wounds. 

Thanks to Liam’s girlfriend and her fox fire, he is saved and Allison manages to shoot the nogitsune right in the head with her arrow. Don’t know when or how they came up with this plan or if she did that all by herself but it felt like an easy fix.

The nogitsune is mad again and the Oni reappear along with Melissa, Peter and Chris who all start fighting and killing them thanks to their silver weapons. 

Lydia and Jackson are still watching everything with Harrison while Jackson pulls a knife out of his boot and attacks him. Don’t know what he cut exactly but this was the only time we got to see Jackson’s kanima eyes. However they manage to knock Harris out and Lydia clumsily reaches for his gun and takes it away.

The nogitsune vanishes for a moment which gives Eli the chance to free his dad with their combined power. Derek once again being a super dad. They bond over being werewolves and being Hales and break the ropes together ♥ before they go on to free everyone else super fucking easily.

Parrish and Malia are there too now somehow and hand out silver bullets to everyone who has a gun so they can kick the Oni’s asses. Also Sherif shoots one right in the face.

The nogitsune stumbles back towards them, super mad and you can see him spitting everywhere while he’s talking. He talks about the gift Scott gave him and rips off the bandages around his head to reveal his transforming face. But he just looks really fucking ugly.

Scott and the others wolf out and he, Derek and Eli go to attack him but are transported into another place. Each one finds themselves in a room matching their eye color. Scott in red, Derek blue and Eli yellow. They can hear each other but the nogitsune starts to attack them. 

They figure they can break the illusion by finding each other and eventually manage to fight off the nogitsune and break out of these rooms together. This whole scene seemed kinda pointless and while it was visually pleasing it did nothing for the plot in my eyes.

Once they’re back in the Oni world, they hold onto the nogitsune so Parrish can come and kill him off. But apparently he couldn’t do that on his own so he yeets Scott off the nemeton after telling him he’s the alpha and Eli is part of his pack now before he tells Parrish to Blaze it™. Actually he says “Light this fucker up” so we have F bomb number 3. 

Parris doesn’t hesitate at all and burns the nogitsune AND Derek to a crisp while everyone else just stands there shoked to the max including Derek’s own son. And for a brief moment we see his eyes glow red one last time before they basically explode and only Parrish is left behind.

Everyone is shocked and sad and speechless and Eli is breaking down and once again we see this monstrosity of a fucked up perspective. 

Allison walks up tp Scott to take his hand as if they hadn’t just watched their friend die. The oni masks drop to the ground, disappear and they are all back on the lacrosse field. We hear soothing music and people hug and help each other up. Lydia and Jackson come over to the field while Scott and Allison share a kiss. 

They pull away and look over to Eli who just lost the only fucking family he had since his mother is non-exsistend. And this is the worst moment in the movie for me. This kid lost his dad after everything and they’re treating it like nothing. They might be used to losing Derek, or thinking he is dead, but for this kid his world is ending. However Scott walks up to him to hug him because that makes it so much better. 

The camera zooms out and we see the empty stadium.

The next scene show’s Derek’s funeral service in their home. Everyone’s there even the Coach who didn’t even know Derek existed until the beginning of the movie. Scott stands at the front and starts giving a speach about how Derek has saved his life in so many ways and how he made him and Eli brothers. He makes an important point about found family and how much they all mean to each other. At this point we’re all crying. 

Eli walks out with tears in his eyes and the Sherif follows him out in the hallway. He hands him the keys to the jeep and Eli mentions once again that Derek hated it which leaves us wondering why Derek hated Stiles jeep so much. The Sherif goes on about how Derek kept fixing that jeep after Stiles left it even though it was so beyond repair and how Derek always managed to get up after a defeat and kept going just like that. We see a bunch of flashbacks of Derek getting punched, tortured, beaten and so on while the Sherif tells Eli to just keep it going. 

The scene switches and we see the Eli driving the Jeep through the woods and over a bridge with some soothing and happy music in the background. 

The scene changes and we see Scott and Allison at the dog shelter before the camera switches over to Deaton and Eli who adopted a dog. Allison tells Scott she feels wistful about having lost so much time but Scott isn’t worried about the past because he knows he’s having a future with Eli and with Allison. 

They kiss again and we see a police car driving down the street at night.  Inside there’s Harris and a deputy. Which is already weird because why would any normal person transport a criminal at night? They stop in front of a big iron fence and we see there’s another car behind them. Harris asks what’s going on when two men get out of the car behind them and continue to grab him and pull him out of the deputy car. Another man gets out of the car, this time it’s Conrad Fenris, the director of Eichenhouse, while they drag Harris to he back of the other car. He complains about the others being crazy and about the kids being werewolves to which Fenris replies they’ve heard plenty of stories about teenage werewolves and there’s always a new one. This whole scene feels unnecessary unless they’re trying to promote a second movie which I hope will not be coming.

The last scene shows the cliff over Beacon Hills and Eli walking up to the edge during a full moon with glowing eyes and we hear a lion-king-line “Remember who you are” in Derek’s voice.

I’m sure they’re trying to promote him as the new teen wolf, the new kid. To be fair they made him likable and relatable enough that kids like him and I’m sure he will do great but do we really need another teen wolf series? As much as I love the characters, spin offs usually ruin the source material as seen with this movie.

So that’s the movie. It honestly felt like binging 3 seasons of the show in one day. A lot of shit happening any only after going over everything a second time to make this post I actually understood half the shit that was happening. Most of the scenes felt rather rushed and even though I get there’s not much time in a movie to show actual growth I was hoping for less “easy” fixes. This is a problem that happened often during the show that always bothered me. They got Derek to fix everything in 5 minutes, Scott had magical alpha powers and could suddenly do impossible things. Sometimes this feels like lazy writing and the rushed explanations or even the lack of explanations felt exactly like that. 

However I enjoyed seeing these beloved characters in their new lives even though we didn’t get to see much about what they actually do and even if I’m still sad that some characters didn’t make a comeback I think they came up with a pretty decent storyline. At first I was sceptical about bringing Allison back but it fit. But just like the later seasons of the show, I watched this because I love the characters and the cast not the great writing. 

I don’t agree with a lot of choices they made (killing Derek, giving Derek a son, Malia and Parrish being a thing) most of it seemed wrong in a way but I can accept their choices and the movie was still somewhat enjoyable even though I continuously switched between “I hate this”, “I love this” and “What the fuck”. 

Solid 7.5/10 thanks to the many funny lines from Jackson, Coach and Eli 

[wyrmfedgrave]

Pics:

1. Godzilla way too close!

2. King Kong up close!

3. King Kong's full body exposure!!

4. Godzilla's truly impressive bod!!

5. Mothra's amazing looking wing span!

6. Ghidorah, the best Kaiju/Titan villain around!!

7. "Western" Hollow Earth map.

8. "Eastern" Hollow Earth map.

Note: A little from the middle of the maps is missing... There's still mystery out there! Or, should that be IN there?

1906: The Earth (is) Not Hollow.

Intro: Our modern Monarch Monster Verse is an American multi-media shared universe & franchise.

The series on TV & the big screen feature a mix of new & classic Kaiju/Titans. Basically, a monstrous MCU.

The whole series concists of:

1. "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" a 2023 Apple TV spin-off that jumps between the 1950s & the aftermath of Godzilla's reboot.

Explains how the U.S. military tried to kill Godzilla - in 1952! This led the 1st Kaiju to stay dormant until 2014.

2. "Kong", premiered in 2017 but takes place during 1973.

A Monarch team searches for giants in a newly discovered island.

And, a scientist looks for proof on the Hollow Earth Theory.

But, an encounter with the last 'king' of Skull Island turns into a fight for survival.

(I blame Samuel L. Jackson!)

3. 2014's "Godzilla" has 2 titanic insectoids waking up to mate!

Luckily, Godzilla's hunting them down - being the apex predator & all...

Meanwhile, a somber Bryan Cranston (& son) look into the atomic accident that killed his wife.

(Hello! And, released the insectoids!!)

4. 2019's "Godzilla, King of the Monsters" shows what happens when eco-terrorists allow the other Titans to awake!

Worse, the other Titans don't dare to challenge Ghidorah, who wants to terraform our planet!!

Godzilla's the only Titan willing to put up a fight...

5. 2021's "Godzilla vs King Kong" actually occurs in 2024!

A corporation manipulates Godzilla & Kong into fighting themselves.

Millie Bobby Brown works to uncover why - inside the Apex Corporation.

Meanwhile, scientists send Kong into the Hollow Earth - searching for a new power source.

Together, Kong & Godzilla are forced to fight against Mecha-zilla, who's being guided by Ghidorah's mind!!!

April, 2024's "Godzilla X King Kong" timescape is as yet unknown. Though, 2024 feels right.

Kong & Godzilla team up again.

(They're really milking the two Titan's "friendship.")

This time they're fighting Scar King, a new threat who might just be the true king of the Hollow Earth...

(Sounds like fun.)

[emperorren]

unreliable narrator anon - yes, and your interpretation is perfectly valid and accurate. however, the takeaway from the rest of the fandom seems to be, once again that Ben is completely innocent of any wrong doing. it’s mind boggling that his moral ambiguity is not only stripped by one side of the fandom where he’s perceived as pure evil - but what isn’t talked about enough is the other side of the fandom that thinks he’s completely good with pure intentions. He’s not. He’s a grey character

the takeaway from the rest of the fandom seems to be, once again that Ben is completely innocent of any wrong doing (…) what isn’t talked about enough is the other side of the fandom that thinks he’s completely good with pure intentions 

And why should we talk about it? 

if there’s a side of the fandom you don’t agree with, acknowledge it and move on. They want to woobify Kylo into an unproblematic character? It’s their fucking business. As someone who has been around since 2015 and has discussed and (respectfully) disagreed with a lot of reylo takes, I have approximately 0% interest in making sure that fellow reylos acknowledge Kylo’s crimes correctly. Mostly because I know the majority of this fandom and how it thinks, and I’ve read the millions of words spent to analyze every subtle shade of grey in Kylo’s character since 2015.

I actually think we should talk more about how and why, every time there’s some new canon detail that paints Ben in a more sympathetic light than before and Reylos understandably latch on it because it confirms our theories (and we wouldn’t be so smug about it if people hadn’t been pestering us with terrible kylo ren takes for 4 years), some of you IMMEDIATELY spin it into “the reylos think Kylo did nothing wrong and is a purely innocent character with no moral ambiguity oh MY GOD THEY’RE JUST AS BASIC AS THE ANTIS”. You do realize this assumption is terribly dishonest towards a fandom that has done NOTHING but relentlessly defend the beauty and validity of moral ambiguity and grayness not only in Kylo but in Rey, in Finn and in ALL the characters, do you.

We’re the last people who need to be lectured on Kylo’s complexity. Bad apples and niche discourse are irrelevant, I’m talking about the main lines of thinking in the fandom, and trust me, they’re not in danger of turning into black/white, blind woobification. We’re just currently more focused on his redeeming qualities, because we’re near the end of the journey. You may find some of the discourse surrounding him insufferable or dissonant with your interpretation, but that doesn’t mean that its proponents have suddenly forgotten (or never figured in the first place) that Kylo has done villainous things and is morally complex. It just means they’re at a point of the conversation where it doesn’t need to be acknowledged anymore.

Considering our fandom history, we deserve to be cut some slack when we rejoice at the fact that Lucasfilm is making Ben more and more explicitly blameless in a lot of the circumstances that were used as evidence for his /irredeemability/. We’re talking about the canon story here, and while moral complexity is good, this particular narrative is actually kinda simplistic from a moral perspective. Endgame-wise, the ways in which he’s good matter more than the way in which he’s (been) bad. The fewer crimes can be held against Ben in the canon story, the higher the chances that he’ll not only redeem himself, but also live happily ever after. It’s as simple as that.

[popatochisssp]

Is there a story for the mahou au?

Not a fully fleshed-out one, at least in terms of a published (or planned to be published) multi-chapter fic, or anything, but there's a pretty solid plot to it and a few stray scenes and drabbles I've written, mostly self-indulgent sona/skeleton content but y'know lol

Basically, things go like this…

Here's Ebott City. It's chilling. 'Damn, that is a sweet city,' you might say--wrong!

Jasper and Pyre show up out of nowhere at the Hero Association one day because they (but mostly Pyre) are being recruited by a suspicious evil organization and the only way to escape assimilation is to join the other team instead.

There's systems in place for this kinda thing at least, protocol for bad guys who want a redemption arc, but maybe don't want to serve a jail sentence for all the crimes and property damage and whatnot--glorified community service, paying the city back by being a hero (with garnished wages) under the supervision of an established and trustworthy existing hero.

So as a villain, you need somebody to vouch for you, who'll be held accountable if you're a liar or try to weasel out of your debt to society early.

No problem for Pyre, who's been Papyrus' rival for forever, and Papyrus has only been trying to convince Pyre to change his ways since their very first grand battle, so he's totally hyped to be his sponsor.

It's a bit of a problem for Jasper, who is really not on great terms with any of the heroes, and there's a rule about only taking on one liability at a time so the least of all the evils (Papyrus) is not an option. He ends up with Sky as the second least evil, and he's a brutal taskmaster who refuses to let Jasper skip out on hero training or cut corners or run away from his fears and commitments and responsibilities.

He…may try to literally run, at least once, in the middle of the night, when the 'oh god what am i doing here, i can't be a hero, i can't hack it' hits and nobody will try to stop him because everybody's asleep…except justice never sleeps, and Sky had a feeling he was gonna pull something like this and a midnight ass-kicking is a clear enough message to Jasper that he's gotta see this one through (or else).

So that's them for awhile, going about business as usual and mostly spinning their wheels on this villain conspiracy thing, having random encounters with bad guys who are suddenly coordinating with each other and doing things that don't make sense, old faces and new ones and nobody can figure out what's going on or why--just that it's probably bad.

The worse things get, the more involved Papy gets with hero business until he can longer hide it from his brother, who is understandably not happy. Slate was under the impression that Papy was in nursing school and going out to study groups with friends, but he's back with the Hero Association? Again? Without him? Uncool, he doesn't appreciate being played for a chump, and after what happened to them (to their whole team) how can he still want to do this?

Alas, Papy's a do-gooder through and through and couldn't stand sitting on the sidelines, so he doesn't regret going back. He does regret lying about it, that was poorly done, but he just didn't think Slate would understand--and he was right, he doesn't!

But the disagreement between the veteran heroes is put on hold when Ell shows up out of the blue, claiming he has information about the Villains' Cabal that they ought to be very interested in. They don't know what to make of him at first and question his credibility--especially when he says he wants them to help him extract a known villain from the ranks in exchange for his info--but when he name-drops King, Slate and Papy are suddenly paying quite a lot of attention and insisting to see what he's found.

Ell is the first real lead they've gotten since all of this started happening (much bigger than the tiny clues and mysterious messages they've been receiving from Nobody) and he has loads of evidence: bank records, news clippings, photos--and stars above, it's true, there he is, that's King and his brother Brick, Slate and Papy's former teammates behind this all, and Ell still isn't quite able to say what they're planning but the fact it's them means it's big and it's bad.

So alright then, all hands on deck for this one, all petty squabbles and disagreements left at the door until business is handled.

They plan a raid on one of the Cabal's facilities, intending to infiltrate and access the computer systems directly where Ell will have a much better chance of finding more specifics about The Big Evil Plan. It's just an outpost, should be an easy enough mission, main crew will cause a distraction while a smaller team slips off to get the goods.

Except nobody was expecting the Big Bad and his even bigger right-hand man to actually be there, and that throws a pretty nasty wrench in things.

Everyone gets a harrowingly serious smackdown and they make it out in one piece only because they were allowed to escape--one last favor from King to his former teammates.

So they regroup.

Ell got distracted in the middle of his hacking when Merc showed up and he gave chase, ultimately leading to badly corrupted data when a failsafe activated and he was away from the terminal and unable to counteract it in time. And it was a waste anyway, because Merc didn't want to be saved, he wanted King to accomplish his goal which--between the usable data and King's own villain monologuing words--they finally know.

He's found an ancient artifact with unfathomable power beyond mortal ken, and he's going to use it to steal away the mahou magic from everyone in the world, absorbing it all into himself instead.

So that's not good! One kind of mahou powers in one person with bad intentions is enough to cause some serious trouble, but for one person to have all of them? They can't let that happen, it'll be a disaster!

But the data they retrieved is corrupted, even with Ell's best efforts to find something useful on it, he's only able to recover the when and the how: the details of the artifact and the dark ritual that's going to be performed, and when, specifically, it's all going to go down.

But where? King has dozens of compounds scattered all around the globe, maybe even hundreds, and they have no way of knowing which it will be and to get there in time to stop anything.

…And that's about when Nemo pays them a visit, in person this time, since it's nearly the eleventh hour and his usual anonymous cryptic hints weren't going to cut it with so much on the line.

They doubt him, naturally, even more than they doubted Ell because he's a villain, he's high up in the organization if he really has been entrusted with this information, why should they believe he's not trying to get them in the wrong place at the right time?

Nemo removes his mask, showing his face for the first time in years and admits that he's doing it for his brother.

Only the old guard recognize him and know he's talking about Pitch, but the rest still doubt because that guy doesn't need any protecting.

But 'protecting' isn't what Nemo's trying to do, really…maybe 'rein in' is a better word. Pitch has spent the years since his injury looking for greater, bigger, more dangerous thrills and it's been hard for Nemo to watch, much less participate. Even knowing he's bull-headed and reckless by nature and that'll probably never change, if you could stop your brother from doing one really stupid thing…wouldn't you?

Ell, with his confrontation with Merc still fresh in his mind, decides to trust him. And as the resident stubborn, paranoid, conspiracy nut, most of the rest figure that if he thinks Nemo's on the level, he probably is.

They get ready for the final showdown and hope like hell they didn't put their trust in the wrong guy.

They didn't.

Merc is guarding the compound when they arrive, and he's never far from his benefactor so they know they've got the right place. He's still a hell of an obstacle, so it's good news with bad news, but Ell volunteers to fight/distract him while the others go on.

Pitch is the next layer of security and much more of a problem. Even when they tell him that King's planning to steal away everyone's mahou powers, including his, he doesn't back down--he doesn't need his powers to fight, the only thing he can see resulting from this is people working harder to be formidable with what they've got, shaking up the status quo, and he's very much on board with that.

He's outnumbered but still somehow not outmatched and having the time of his life against so many opponents. Bring it on! Who's next?

And Nemo steps out of the shadows, taking his place in front of him.

It makes the manic grin drop off Pitch's face for sure, making him falter because what… he doesn't… He doesn't want to fight Nemo… But Nemo's not backing down either--Pitch is going to have one opponent until this is all over, and it'll be him.

The rest keep going while they fight, time is running out, the ritual will be getting underway about now.

The heroes bust into the inner-sanctum in time to see Mal and Rus having it out, arguing over the Ancient Artifact which Mal is trying to put into place and Rus is trying to wrest away from him.

Rus has been thinking about this and he doesn't want to do it, he doesn't want to lose his mahou powers, he feels like he's supposed to have them, and even if he didn't, it shouldn't be one person's call to decide that for everybody!

Mal is totally blindsided and at literally the worst possible time, he's pissed…but when King shoves his brother hard and takes the Artifact to just do it himself, he breaks rank too.

It may be horrible timing for Rus' independent streak and it may be fucking up all of Mal's plans, but damn it, he's proud, and nobody pushes his brother around, not without hearing from him!

So the heroes have a couple of new allies (?), and they're going to need them because King is beginning the ritual and his giant brute of a bodyguard isn't going to let anyone get close without a hell of a fight.

Brick doesn't pull any punches, a solemn single-minded enforcer quashing all attempts to slip by him and stop what's happening.

Merc and Ell stumble in together--Ell finally broke through Merc's shell with a lot of 'this isn't you' and 'you don't need his help, you don't need to get rid of this part of you, we can still be heroes, like you always wanted'--but even the added bodies don't help turn the tide.

Brick's too strong, and the Artifact is working, everyone in the room is gradually weakening as their mahou magic is taken and transferred to King.

A last ditch effort, Slate and Papy plead with the massive wall of bone that used to be their friend, begging him to see reason and stop his brother before it's too late, before he destroys himself with this mad quest.

When Brick is unmoved and only signs that King is strong and can handle it, that's when they realize.

King had kept something back from Brick, about this ritual.

A mortal body could only handle so much of a mahou power before burning out. It took too much, it wasn't sustainable, and to take on that power from others too only heightened the risk to the person who held it.

To take all the mahou, from everyone in the world…

It was a death sentence.

If King did this, he'd be dead in a week, no matter how strong he was.

And that's finally enough to give Brick pause, to make him look to King, standing there with the Ancient Artifact, overseeing the ritual that would let him do the thing he'd been crowing about for years, ever since they all got hurt that day. He expects his brother to explain his grand plan again, to boast about how he's being the biggest damn hero in the world and turning a million little burdens into one big one that he'll shoulder by himself, that he's powerful and he can take it and everything will be better.

Except…King is silent.

Because it's true, and he knew, he'd known all along that this would kill him in the end, but it was a necessary sacrifice to him because when he died, the mahou would die with him.

And as Brick realizes this, horror and rage mingling to know that his selfless selfish idiot of a brother was really going to let him help him kill himself, he opens his mouth for the first time anyone can remember.

The sound is cracking and strained, red sparks of magic flying from the jagged crack in his throat and the scowl on his face takes a pained edge, but it doesn't stop him from growling the words.

"fu--uc-k…..tha-a-t."

And then, it's really on.

It's a clash of titans between Brick and King, one larger than life and furious and the other fueled by desperation and with an ever increasing trickle of everyone else's mahou abilities, both refusing to back down.

The weakened, beaten down heroes (and villains [?]) help where they can, and between them all…

They win.

They get the Artifact away from King, and Brick doesn't hesitate to crush it to pieces underfoot, and with its destruction all of the stolen mahou energies burst back, rebounding to where they belong in a flash of light and crackle of magic.

While everyone celebrates and cheers, King is left on his knees in the wreckage of everything he'd spent so long building, his hopes and dreams once again (literally, this time) shattered on the floor.

In disbelief, devastated, all King can do is say that he was going to fix it, he was going to fix everything--how could Brick do this?

But for Brick it's no great mystery. He did what he did for the same reason King was trying to do what he was trying to do.

'because i love you too much to let you be hurt again.'

And that was always King's problem: too much love, too much self-sacrifice, and not enough trust in other people to take care of themselves and do the right thing.

…But Brick is here, helping him up off the floor, and Slate and Papy are right behind him, his old team back together again, tired and battered and relieved just like they always were after a rough fight and it's…

It's too much.

For the first time since King killed Undyne, he finally cries.

"I…JUST……… I WANTED………"

He's not sure anymore.

"I WANTED TO FIX IT…"

"We Still Can."

"keyword 'we'. not just you going off by yourself all half-cocked like usual, ya hotshot. thought you'd have grown outta that by now…"

'never. stupid. always been stupid, always be stupid.'

"heheheh, yeah that sounds right."

"Slate, Don't Be Rude, We Haven't Seen Them In Years, You Can't Be Your Usual Self Until It's Been At Least A Few Hours!"

"oh are we not counting king's monologue? i thought that put us over the edge…"

"No, Monologues Don't Count, They're Necessary Exposition For The……….."

And god damn it, it feels so normal, it feels like nothing ever happened, like it's just the team ribbing and bickering like they always did, and King feels so young, so stupid, so…warm.

Stars, what a mess this all is…

The celebrating heroes all around them start remembering that the guy who started all this is still here, still not knocked out or apprehended, and the sudden increasing trickle of attention and eyes on the group at the center of the room cuts their reunion a little short.

"Go On, You'd Better Get Out Of Here Before Someone Tries To Arrest You!"

"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO…?"

"I Was Thinking Instead, You'd Take a Swing At Slate, And Dodge When I Fire On You Center-Mass After He Goes Down, And Then Grab Brick's Harness And Yell Something About Him Being An Incompetent Buffoon Who Would Pay For Betraying You Or Something. And Then You Run Off To One Of Your Evil Lairs That Our Conspiracy Theorist Hacker Friend Doesn't Know About."

Brick squints and mouths 'incompetent buffoon???' but King is more focused on the important part.

"I… YOU'RE LETTING US GO?"

"not if you're not quick about it, it's gonna get suspicious if you take too much longer." Slate shrugs with a quick wink. "we'll find you later, to talk more. you know i got my ways."

And that's pretty much how it goes down.

Brick and King escape in a flair of dramatic theatrics, and not many of the onlookers buy it, but Slate and Papy are experienced veterans, whatever they're doing they probably know what it is…

Merc and Ell approach the heroes together with matching pleading looks, hoping to get Merc a spot on the team too--and well, he'll have to join on the community service basis, y'know, because of the crimes, but that's not a problem at all! They finally get to be heroes together, after all this time!

Mal and Rus approach a little more tentatively, Rus hopeful and Mal visibly annoyed.

"can i do the community service whatever too???"

"uh…yeah, i guess… what about him?"

"WHAT ABOUT ME? THE OTHER OPTION'S JAIL, RIGHT?"

"yeah."

"THEN I GUESS I'M FUCKING DOING THE COMMUNITY SERVICE WHATEVER!"

Pitch and Nemo are gone for a long time, completely disappeared off the map and nobody really knows what happened to them, never saw the end of their fight or what they did after, but ages after everything goes down, they're back--and they want in on the hero racket too.

Even with a reserve squad lingering around the base, Nemo's always thought the Hero Association's security is lacking, and he can help with that. As for Pitch, he's done some thinking, and he thinks he'd be a damn good coach for newbies with wild, unpredictable powers, y'know since he's so wild and unpredictable himself and always excited for a new challenge.

Well, stars help them all, fine, hope they don't regret this but welcome aboard to you too!

No one ever sees Brick and King again…or at least, nobody who'll admit to having seen them.

Slate and Papy, both officially reinstated heroes again, tend to drop off the radar every now and again and when they come back they always seem to have new and very thoroughly discussed ideas for improvements in hero training, health care, therapy and rehabilitation programs, plus a healthy cash-flow to actually make it happen.

Where the money comes from, it's impossible to say…but it might be the same mysterious benefactor that's funneling money into environmental programs, and social reform, and a dozen other causes all over Ebott, making change in small but measurable, meaningful ways.

A happy ending? Maybe not exactly…but it's not exactly an ending either, just…a new way forward.

A way where people can learn to live with their powers, to accept themselves as they are with the resources to help them when they get in over their heads.

An imperfect solution for an imperfect world, but maybe a little bit better every day.

[sanstropfremir]

4th gen bg haven't gained popularity outside of their own fanbases which is also why it's rare to see like any of them on variety shows but I've been getting the feeling that ggs are still doing pretty well? Like gg always have been more popular but IVE's been doing like insanely well and even itzy and aespa have done leagues better than the 4th gen bgs from the big three. Anyways I'm sure someone already asked but what 4th gen groups do you think people should keep an eye on on or check out?

that's because girl groups have double the intended audience than boy groups lmao. girl groups are marketed to male AND female audiences, but boy groups are only marketed to female audiences, for many obvious heteronormative reasons.

alrighty (cracks knuckles) you want recs? lemme give you some recs:

purple kiss: debuted 2021. had the most perfect first comeback and have a no skip discography. great performers and have really good intro choreographies. bside recs: pretty psycho, cast pearls before swine

billlie: debuted 2021. they got a big boost in popularity thanks to gingamingayo but i'm gonna rec them anyways bc they deserve it. their debut track inexplicably samples christmas music. they did an excellent kick it cover. bside recs: flipp!ng a coin, overlap

pixy: debuted 2021. flop bc their company is tiny but they do a mean horror concept and have some of the best bsides in the game. they're having a comeback right now pls support. bside recs: greedy, the moon, moonlight.

xg: debuted 2022. they're a korean japanese collab group so they don't promote the same way as other groups do. absolute banger of a first single produced by simon from dalmation, and they're going to be releasing another at the end of the month

cignature: debuted 2020. also flops but they make bangers. boyfriend is what caught my attention but i'm a big fan of assa as well. bside recs: villain, hinghing

tan: debuted 2022. formed from a literal survival show and has the MOST second gen energy you will see outside of someone from second gen. which is fitting because one of the members is actually second gen. incredible rnb debut track and the english version is even better. and here's an acapella version for good measure. surely this traffic light cover will cure my mental illness. they're about to have a comeback that's gonna blow my brains out. bside recs: literally just listen to their whole ep it's three and a half songs.

tempest: debuted 2022. the new boy group from yuehua (woodz's agency). super fun debut track and they're very promising performers. i would commit a crime for hanbin (pink hair). bside recs: bad at love, just a little bit

blitzers: debuted 2021. major first year theatre kid energy and i find it so endearing. the debut choreo involved spinning their maknae 360 degrees for no reason. their first comeback was my favourite choreo of 2021. bside recs: hop in, love bottle.

nine.i: debuted 2022. the most insane (figurative) debut choreo i have ever seen. here's me losing my shit about it in the tags, and here's a reaction video they did where they explain all of the move choices. so basically content made for me and me only. also one of their members produced their entire ep. bside recs: beauty inside, wasted youth

tnx: debuted 2022. these boys are FRESH (like debuted a month ago fresh) but i've been keeping an eye on them thanks to this frankly better than it should have been win cover. all those boys made it into the group btw. bside recs: 180sec, burst up.

omega x: debuted 2021. formed entirely from members of disbanded 3rd gen flop groups as a 'second chance' type group. if you want crunch, here's some crunchy. if you want bright, here's some bright. bside recs: younger, action, bounce with me

dkz (formerly dongkiz): debuted 2019. these boys are mega flops that have already gone through a name change AND a lineup change. absolutely banging music and they do mostly bright and fun concepts. see: cupid, crazy night, lupin, blockbuster, fever

a.c.e: debuted 2017. they debuted in hot pants with only a fetish gear company sponsorship and a dream. they. are. singers. who. SING. they're officially on hiatus rn bc 4/5 of them are in the military but you should still support them. see also: take me higher, down, changer, goblin, undercover

onf: debuted 2017. they're also on hiatus because they all enlisted at the same time (minus their japanese member u) but you should still support them because they produce summer bangers. see: sukhumvit swimming, complete, popping, beautiful beautiful, we must love, goosebumps. also one of the greatest bsides of all time

onlyoneof: debuted 2019. blew up a little bit last year for doing a homoerotic pseudo kink choreo with a dick grab. if you like stuff adjacent to western indie/alt music these are the boys for you. see: savannah, dora maar, sage, angel, designer, gaslighting

golden child: debuted 2017. picking up the story mv slack. one of their members can play paganini and if you don't know what that means, it's not an insignificant skill. see: pump it up, wannabe, burn it (also a story mv)

oneus: debuted 2019. it's likely that most people know about oneus already but in case you didnt, you're welcome. extremely strong dance group and with impeccable concepts. also they have the actual best fourth gen dancer yeo hwanwoong. see: luna, bring it on, no diggity, valkyrie. their sibling group is the kband onewe and you should check them out too.

ok that's enough for now, i think.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Facebook algorithm boosts pro-Facebook news

Facebook is a rotten company, rotten from the top down, its founder, board and top execs are sociopaths and monsters, committers of non-hyperbolic, no-fooling crimes against humanity. They lie, they cheat, they steal. They are some of history’s greatest villains. Because Facebook is a terrible company run by terrible people, it periodically erupts in ghastly scandal. Sometimes whistleblowers or reporters reveal historic crimes, including (but not limited to) deliberately helping to foment genocide.

Sometimes, the scandals are contemporary: either Facebook blithely announces it’s going to do something terrible, or we learn of some terrible thing underway from leaks or investigations.

Thanks to a history of anticompetitive mergers — Whatsapp, Instagram, Onavo and more — based on fraudulent promises to antitrust regulators, Facebook has grown to nearly three billion users — except FB doesn’t have users, really — it has hostages.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/07/dont-believe-proven-liars-absolute-minimum-standard-prudence-merger-scrutiny

As Facebook’s own internal memos show, the company doesn’t just buy up competitors so users have nowhere to flee to, it also engineers in high “switching costs” to make it more painful to leave the system.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/08/facebooks-secret-war-switching-costs

For example, Facebook’s internal memos show that the manager for its photo products set out to seduce users into entrusting FB with their family photos, because that way quitting Facebook would mean abandoning your memories of your kids, departed grandparents, etc.

Everybody hates Facebook, especially FB users. The point of high switching costs, after all, is to increase the pain of leaving so that FB can dole out more abuse to its users without fearing that they’ll quit the whole enterprise.

FB’s mission is to increase the size of the shit-sandwich they can force you to eat before you walk away. But they’re not mere sadists: shit-sandwiches have a business model: the more hostages they take, the more they can extract from advertisers — their true customers.

The polite term for what FB has is a “two-sided market” (selling advertisers to users and users to advertisers). The technical term is “a monopoly and a monoposony” (a monopsony is a market with a single buyer).

The colloquial term?

“A racket.”

A scam. A bezzle. A blight.

Facebook gouges advertisers on rate cards, then lies about the reach of its ads (like when it lied about the popularity of video, evincing a media-wide “pivot to video” that bankrupted dozens of news- and entertainment-sites).

Facebook didn’t set out to destroy journalism by price-fixing ads, lying to advertisers and media outlets.

FB set out to acquire a monopoly and extract monopoly rents from advertisers and publishers, with a pathological indifference to how these frauds would harm others.

Having shown a willingness to destroy journalists and media outlets to extract a few more billions for its shareholders, Facebook has attracted a lot of enemies in the media.

If you’re a whistleblower with a story to tell, there’s a journalist whose editor will allocate the resources to report your story out in depth. The combination of a rotten company and a lot of pissed off journalists produces a lot of bad ink for the company.

But the fact remains that FB has a vast pool of hostages, billions of them, and it gets to decide what they see, when and how. I used to joke with my human rights activist friends that the best use for Facebook was showing people why and how to leave Facebook.

FB’s response was predictable. As Ryan Mac and Sheera Frenkel write in the New York Times, FB’s Project Amplify is a Zuckerberg-led initiative to systematically promote positive coverage of FB and its founder — including articles that originate with FB itself.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/21/technology/zuckerberg-facebook-project-amplify.html

That is, FB staffers are charged with writing puff pieces about how great the company is, and FB’s algorithm will push these ahead of reporting by actual journalists who present detailed, factual, multi-sourced accounts of the company’s fraudulent and depraved conduct.

Project Amplify marks a pivot from FB’s longstanding policy of issuing insincere apologies for its scandals. Company sources told the reporters that everyone figured out these don’t convince anyone, so the company turned to pushing happy-talk quackspeak instead.

One of the leaders of this project is Alex Schultz, “a 14-year company veteran who was named chief marketing officer last year,” but the major impetus comes from Zuck himself, one of the most hated men on the planet.

Amplify is just one of FB’s strategies for distorting the discourse about itself. In July, it neutered Crowdtangle, an widely used analytics tool that showed that FB’s top posts were unhinged far-right disinformation and conspiracies.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/15/three-wise-zucks-in-a-trenchcoat/#inconvenient-truth

And Facebook has declared all-out legal warfare (accompanied by a disinformation campaign) to kill Adobserver, an NYU project that tracks paid political disinformation on the platform.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/05/comprehensive-sex-ed/#quis-custodiet-ipsos-zuck

By shutting down Crowdtangle and Adobserver, FB hopes to control the academic findings about the company’s role in disinformation, hate, and harassment. The company runs its own research portal where academics are expected to access data about the platform.

But as with the journalists who report on it, FB has heaped abuse on the academics who research it.

Its portal data was bad, leaving PhD and masters’ theses are at risk of retraction. Mid-dissertation researchers have been set back to square one.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/2020-election-misinformation-distortions#facebook-sent-flawed-data-to-misinformation-researchers

In retrospect, Facebook’s decision to game its own algorithm to push pro-company quackspeak seems inevitable. It’s not just that no one believes the company’s apologies anymore (if they ever did) — it’s that the company seems incapable of hiring competent spin doctors.

Take the WSJ’s blockbuster “Facebook Files,” a series of reports detailing the company’s willingness to harm children, commit fraud, and allow millions of favored, powerful people to violate its rules with impunity.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-09-16/facebook-s-promised-to-gain-the-public-s-trust

FB’s response was genuinely pathetic. In a perfunctory blog post, its top flack — the widely despised British politician Nick Clegg, paid millions to front FB on the global stage — vilified the WSJ’s reporting without producing any factual rebuttals.

https://about.fb.com/news/2021/09/what-the-wall-street-journal-got-wrong/

It’s the kind of ham-fisted policy advocacy that Facebook is (in)famous for. Who can forget the absolute shitshow in India over its Internet Basics program, when it bribed telcos to exempt FB and the services it hand-picked from their data-caps?

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/12/facebook-free-basics-india-zuckerberg

This Net-Neutracidal maneuver, falsely billed as a way to bring the internet to poor people (something is absolutely does not do), was the subject of a consultation by India’s telco regulators.

FB pushed deceptive alerts to millions of its Indian users, tricking them into sending a flood of form-letters to the regulator urging it to leave Internet Basics intact.

But whoever drafted the form letter didn’t bother to check whether it addressed any of the questions the regulator was consulting on. That made these millions of letters non-responsive to the consultation, so the regulator ignored them.

FB lost! It’s almost as though people who are good at fighting policy battles don’t want to work for Facebook, and the only talent they can attract are the kinds of opportunistic blunderers that no one takes seriously and everyone hates.

Weird, that.

[utakoi]

So I’m just testing out theories to see if this’ll show up in the tags, sooo... yeah sorta a repost? But not really?

The Hierophant - Could this darling’s yandere fool them easily? Or be manipulated by them?

Y’all this boy is a simp, so yeah you can manipulate him pretty easily.

You can act all nice and lovey dovey towards him and he’ll give in to your demands pretty easily, even if the gestures are obviously forced or have an undertone of manipulation. You can do any little thing that just barely counts as affection and he’ll melt. Clothes? Jewelry? Games? Books? Yes, of course he’ll get you what you asked for, just please please please keep giving him your affection.

And if you call him your hero? He’d pull down the moon right out of the night sky if you asked him to.

Now let’s get this straight: he’d give you whatever materialistic thing you ask for, but if you ask for time outside alone or a simple phone call to your friends or family, he won’t hesitate to say no.

He’s delusional, but he’s not that delusional to the point that he thinks he can trust you to not slip away from him when given the chance.

But hey, least you’ll get that game you’ve been aching to play.

The Fool - How deluded is this yandere when it comes to their darling? Are they self aware on any level?

Very deluded.

If you’re the type of darling who’s ready to scratch at his skin and curse at him until your voice goes hoarse, he’ll just chalk it up to you throwing a tantrum and that it’ll pass once you get used to your new home. He’d even find it quite endearing. You’re so feisty! He loves your fighting spirit. If you need to let out steam, he’s happy to be your punching bag!

If you’re more of the teary-eyed type darling, he’ll convince himself that you’re just crying tears of happiness now that you’re under his care, even if you keep begging him to set you free. God, you’re so pretty when you cry. He can’t help but adore the tears that just roll down your cute cheeks and the way your bottom lip quivers as you try to hold in your whimpers.

Basically, whatever type of reaction his darling has towards him, he’ll twist it into some sort of affection or reason with himself that time will pass and you’ll eventually see just how happy you’ll be by his side.

The Hierophant - Could this darling’s yandere fool them easily? Or be manipulated by them?

No, there’s a 0% chance of this. His darling can pull out all the stops: good morning kisses, voluntary cuddles, ego-stroking compliments, etc etc… This man will see right through it. He’ll act like he doesn’t, though, just to keep the affection going for a little while longer.

He’ll happily receive your kisses and caresses until the day you decide to cash in.

If it’s for materialistic things, then Katsuki may consider it. Sure, he knows lots of your romantic gestures were fake, but at least you put in some effort into making him happy. It’s really just a 50/50 on whether or not you get the item you ask for.

If it was to lower his guard enough to escape or build up enough trust to ask for some time outside, he’ll squash down your hopes and berate you. Before that though, he’ll just smirk and narrow his eyes, staring you down like a hunter does his prey. You’d likely be able to piece together that he knew about your little scheme the entire time, and somehow, the crushing feelings of humiliation and foolishness from being played right from the very beginning is almost as bad as the punishment he has in store for you.

Almost.

The Fool - How deluded is this yandere when it comes to their darling? Are they self aware on any level?

Katsuki’s very aware that what he’s doing to you is messed up. What kind of hero stalks and abducts the love of their life?

But he just can’t help it and honestly, he blames you for his actions.

Why couldn’t you just return his feelings? Why couldn’t you just give him a chance? Why couldn’t you just stop being such a tease? Why couldn’t you just accept your defeat and let him win?

You pushed him to this point, so you’ve just gotta deal with it, darling.

If it makes you feel any better, he does feel some guilt over this whole situation, but it’s overpowered by his absolute need for you.

The Hierophant - Could this darling’s yandere fool them easily? Or be manipulated by them?

We all know Shoto’s not exactly familiar with physical affection, so he’s pretty touch starved. We also know that he’d be loaded once he debuts as a pro, so he has the money to spoil you.

In summary, you can just barely graze him with your finger tips and he’d hand you his credit card.

The affection you give him also builds trust in you. You’re showing him you love him! Hooray! Happy ending! He’s finally got the love of his life! Woo-hoo!

Now let’s say you manipulate him in order to escape.

He’s shattered.

His trust in you would be broken forever. He’ll definitely catch you, there’s no doubt about that. He has the hero resources to help him out, the public’s good view of him, and the lack of fear to pay some villains to track you down. You have nothing in comparison to him. At most, you’d be able to have a single day of freedom.

Once he finally has you again, he’s just a mix of emotions.

He’s relieved that you’re back in his arms.

He’s angry that you tried to escape.

He’s heartbroken that the affection you gave him was all a ploy.

He’s still hopeful that the “I love you”s, at least just one, were genuine.

You’ll be punished, but just know that Shoto believes that the fraction of pain you feel is just a fraction of what he feels.

The Fool - How deluded is this yandere when it comes to their darling? Are they self aware on any level?

Not deluded, but not completely sane either.

Shoto’s never felt romantic feelings before, so all the intense jealousy and longing for you is making his head spin. He thinks his territorial feelings towards you are justified, as hinted by this ask; you’ve shown that your care for him is genuine, so that means you’re his and he’s yours, simple as that.

However, he also knows that his actions are slightly reminiscent of his father’s, especially when he finally abducts you. Isn’t he kind of forcing you into a marriage, much like Endeavor did to his mom? But you truly love him, right? It’s not the same.

He has to convince remind himself of that.

It’s an inner battle he has from time to time.

But when he has those moments, all he really has to do is wrap you in his arms and suddenly, all he can feel is happiness.