#two episodes in and I already have all the feels

[semperama]

One more thing though. So let's say this episode was supposed to just be about Athena's grief, and the rest of the fallout will be in the next two episodes. Well, unfortunately, they did a bad job of handling Athena's grief too.

Don't get me wrong, Angela Bassett was AMAZING. She did a perfect job with what she was given. Her breakdown with Hen was heartwrenching, and the scene at the end with his casket was the closest I got to crying, all on the power of her acting.

But as far as the character of Athena goes, I think the writing only failed her.

First of all, and most importantly, the subplot of the mom with the dead kid was not the mirror to Athena's grief that it should have been. Athena was not in denial that Bobby's dead. She wasn't avoiding planning the burial and funeral because she was in denial. She was avoiding it because those are hard things to do, things that no one who has lost someone wants to do. So did investigating this case help her avoid that? Yeah, but it did it in a way that was confusing to the audience, because it made you wonder if Athena, and we the audience by extension, SHOULD be doubting whether Bobby is dead. But then that emotional thread didn't play out and just left Athena's inherent cynicism reaffirmed. Miracles aren't real. The end. How did that show us anything about Athena's grief? How was that narratively satisfying?

Second of all, they did several things that didn't make sense for Athena as a character. The biggest one, I already mentioned: she was avoiding her kids' calls. I don't for one second believe that Athena would leave her children alone in their own grief. May and Harry saw Bobby as a father, and it would be one thing for her to be acting withdrawn or stoic, but to IGNORE their calls is cruel in a way I don't think Athena would be.

Also, while I did enjoy the scene where Athena gets angry with Chim, the fact that this is her only interaction with him in the episode is I think another disservice to her. The fact that she barely interacted with the rest of the 118 is a disservice to her. This was an important chance to show that Bobby was not the only glue holding Athena to the 118, but instead they drove a wedge between them. Maybe they will address this in the next two episodes, but even in the short term, in a season that has far too frequently had Athena off doing her own cop thing, to further isolate her when it really counts just makes you wonder what they even plan to do with her if Bobby is really gone.

And this is without even getting into what it says about the 118 that THEY aren't shown to be surrounding Athena. Anyone who has lost anyone knows that that's just not how it works. Families huddle together when someone dies. The episode made it seem like Athena was alone, and they could have justified it with writing that shows how grief can make a person feel alone, but they didn't do that. She literally just WAS alone in a way that doesn't make sense for her character or for any of the other characters either.

[funfactbuck]

for the record, i do still think he’s alive and will continue to think so until the finale. but what i just can’t move past in all of this is that it’s now two episodes in a row where i feel cheated out of being able to actually grieve if this really is the end for bobby. all i keep feeling left with is confusion about what i’m seeing play out. if he’s really dead, there should have never been any question about it - a show that has never killed off a main character killing off basically THE main character should tackle this storyline with the care and gravity it deserves. and even if he’s not dead, they’re clearly trying to make it seem like he is so then…why aren’t they selling it better? all the ambiguity was already making it difficult to emotionally connect with this but on top of that, not spending this entire episode just showing everyone mourning together was an astonishing misstep and frankly, insulting to both bobby’s character and to the spirit of this entire show. i cry at everything and i’m not sure my eyes have ever been drier than they were watching this ep. and however this pans out, that’s unforgivable to me.

[prapaiwife]

Ssaeng vs fan

It's telling in this episode they showed us two different fans interactions with Kin! One with one fan just basically praising him for being such an amazing actor and even implying that he's going to win the best new actor award! This was just a simple wholesome interaction and most of all kin was happily conversing and comfortable with his fan. And then with the other interaction with the ssaeng it was just so uncomfortable. The way she spoke to him as if she chose her words carefully to literally see if she can get anything out of him any information. She didn't really care nor see that she put him in an uncomfortable situation and position. But kin being so nice he tried to keep the conversation light but she continually made it dark. Kin himself obviously being in the industry he's had both of these interactions on both hands. So he immediately felt the difference he had with the first fan in the store compared to when she came in. Cuz he was already getting these weird signs that something is very off with him hearing cameras flashing. And him also just remembering her face from the beginning that pretty much was ingrained in his mind! So the fact that he could sense from her energy that it was completely off says a lot.

But it also says a lot that they showed us those two different interactions so people can know what is acceptable and whaf isn't at all. Seeing your favorite person your idol in person and letting them know how much they have made such a positive influence in your life is great. There's no harm going up to them to simply just praise him for what they do for what they love. But to have this a very kind of demanding demeanor tourism with just completely turn them off completely from you. And you put them in an uncomfortable position say you love them but you talk to them as if you own them as if they are old to tell you every single part of their life their business. That is not normal and that is not acceptable there's not always going to be people like Kin who was very empathetic and very understanding. Like he was with her till the end to even chop the charges against her! he knew that everything she did was off the rails and not acceptable. But he also heard her out.. and her praying at her heart to him about how she just wanted that one-on-one moment the one that they're having right now. But the lengths that she took to get this moment the way she made her favorite person that she loves so much uncomfortable and traumatized because this behavior is traumatizing.

She recognized that in the last moment when she says that he's not looking at her the way that he would normally look at his fans. And they should click to her in a moment because this is not a normal fan interaction! But because she is his fan that's what sticks to Kin the most that's the only way he could honestly probably look at this. But then again I don't think it's him coddling her behavior. Is that that he had to basically stoop Domino for her to not feel so I guess you can say disconnected from him because he reaches out to her and touches her hand. But when you're handling people like that who are not in the right mind at all mentally you have to be careful.

[laniemae]

Actively sobbing right now from the end of tetro pink

God, I don’t even know what to say how much this series has meant so much to be over the past 9 months. I first discovered Tetro on r/fanganronpa and knew about it since [student one] as I was seeing the uploads posted there. When Yanagi’s interview dropped, the report cards for the students were posted and I remember it really hooking me in. It was so interesting seeing how it wasn’t presented like a regular character bio and instead like an offical report detailing these students being interviewed and I was invested immediately. I went to go check out the channel properly at this time and being a milgram fan, was instantly hooked with the audio drama format. Tetro was unlike any fangan I had seen with how unique of a start it had and how it utilised the audio drama format, I remember being so blown away by how realistic the dialogue was for a bit I thought it was improv.

Tetro danganronpa pink had already got me hooked but when [Confession game] dropped it really sunk me in. I remember being so blown away by that episode, so much heavy information being revealed about these students and in chapter 1, and the ripple effects it left on the cast immediately after. At that time I showed my two irl friends tetro who are already big danganronpa/fanganronpa fans and they loved it too, that was also when I joined the server for the first time.

It’s been an experience like I haven’t witnessed before in fiction with the format of the weekly tetro Friday uploads keeping me hooked and speculating. And seeing it grow from a niche fangan I found on Reddit with ~500 subs to what is becoming a recognisable fangan with 5k+ subs and the fandom growing so much, it’s like a living, breathing entity.

I have to say, I can’t give enough of my thanks to von and the team for tetro. To admit, I was going through an incredibly tough period of my life when I found tetro, it was like a miracle, I could actually start feeling better again. From that, tetro isn’t just a cool series I like it’s something that’s actively improved my life for the better and I have no idea where I’d be if I never came across it like that.

Once again, thank you vonbabbit, thank you tetro team, and thank you for all the kind people in the fandom I’ve been able to yap with, cry with, crash out with, and speculate and analyse with. I can’t thank all of you enough for this, I truly love all of you for everyone you’ve done.

[mikuni14]

My Stubborn - Ep 1-2

"I will slap you, Jun. WITH MY LIPS" 😆😆😆 Yeah, ok, just inject it directly into my veins, I live for something like that 😂🤡

Oh god, I am that simple and my taste is that simple, who am I kidding. I watched these two episodes and had a blast. It really doesn't take much for me to be happy.

I really like the main couple. They're entertaining, fun, interesting, have great scenes, good dialogue, fantastic chemistry and they're not boring

It's been ages since I last saw this type of seme: extremely possessive, strong, super hot, funny, manipulative, finding the weirdest and stupidest excuses just to keep his uke by his side and within his hands and mouth reach, keeping him away from potential rivals, and on top of that being a world-class asshole. I'm in love

I love the character of uke, who is lovely and sweet, genuinely liked by everyone and at least I know why, but who doesn't let anyone walk all over him. Yes, he is naive and gullible in contacts with someone like Sorn, but apart from that he fights with him, argues, is not polite and submissive, talks back to him. Because of this, their relationship is full of life, emotions and tension. And I don't feel worried about the lack of balance in this relationship. Don't get me wrong - it's not an equal relationship for many reasons, but at least I don't have to worry about Jun. Besides, Jun already influences Sorn's behavior and actions and takes up most of his thoughts 😉 so it's not one-sided, Sorn is also affected and emotional about Jun

their fights are so entertaining

Sorn looks like a hot mix of Yin and Gun (from Love Area), and Jun looks like a cute mix of Fiat and Fourth. Both perfectly capture the classic seme and uke characters, I think this is very good casting

cheating, being promiscuous - it's been a long time since we've seen that in BL

I like the relationships between all the characters, how they take care of each other, how the older ones take care of the younger ones. No one annoys me!

I also like that when something bad happens, it's immediately addressed. Including Sorn's behavior towards Jun, which is noticed, paid attention to, called out. Including by Jun himself

the love scenes and kisses are really well done: they kept the sounds ✨, they are nicely shot, the actors and aescethics make them really sexy. The actors played them in such a way that as a viewer I see and feel the desire between their characters. In addition, Sorn with his hotness, passion and difficulty in holding back his grabby hands and extorting kisses is something I expect in my BLs 😌 What do you mean the characters don't feel the need to constantly touch someone they like? Sorry, not in my romances 😛

I love the smiling making out sessions 💖💖💖

The series may not be top-notch, the acting may not be top-notch, but I really like it so far, I laughed a lot, I had fun. This series has such a charming aura of old-school yaoi, which is obviously very much to my liking 😌

If the main characters in the series aren't like that ☝ I don't want to watch it 🤡

And would you look at this, IQIYI allowed me to watch a BL series in my region, just when I was about to cancel my subscription 🙄

[kabr0ztrousers]

It is March and I am locking my mermaid story for mermay. A group of two mermaids and two mermen hold down and have a curiosity fuck with a human. I'll let you choose the sex and gender of the person and I'd like each mer to be based off a different type of fish.

Kabr0z Writes Episode 115: Oceanography

Find the rest of the Kabr0z Writes Anthology here!

AO3 yet persists

CWs: Double vaginal penetration; oviposition; impregnation; hypnosis; lingering hypnosis; dubcon; noncon; overstimulation; parasitic pregnancy; thalassophobia

A/N: It's a bank holiday weekend in the UK, and I'm spending a lot of it alone, so I'm hoping to put out some bonus episodes and catch up on lost time over the year so far!

That said I've got a few Mer-May stories in the queue (I do appreciate the foolhardiness of the person submitting one on the last day of April) so the bonuses will be on theme and the regular submissions will be the ones near the top of the queue!

Here's hoping typing that sunny optimism hasn't brought the writer's curse upon me!

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You checked your gear, helped Brian check his, the usual. No tears in the BCD, inflates fine, regulators OK, gauges OK, air tastes fine if a little rubbery, you made sure you remembered how to release Brian's weights and he reminded himself of yours. The same battery of checks you'd run twice a day for the last fortnight mapping this reef, but the moment you slip on procedure, that's when shit goes sideways, and if shit goes sideways 20 metres under the sea, that's when people die.

Thankfully the water's warm in the Canaries. You'd hate to be doing this with a drysuit, and hey, tapas at the seaside was your favourite lunch. One dive in the morning, one in the afternoon, then the rest of the day writing reports in the sun with a glass of red wine, feeling the nitrogen bleed from your blood into your popping joints.

This morning's dive is an easy one, a couple of kilometres from a sleepy tourist town. A bit of a scramble to the waterline, but deep in and no exhausting surface swim until you're able to start your descent. Enough air budgeted for 90 minutes each and few boats, if any at all. Hell, the you got the existing maps for this area from a local scuba diving school, supposedly it's a nice spot to take the newbies to get qualified. Almost no dives this time of year, of course. January is the off-season, too cold for the Canarians and right at the start of the school term so there's very little chance of anyone disturbing you.

You slipped into the Atlantic water. Cold, but bearable, and you'd warm up as you went. Masks went on, regulators in, a signal to descend and you both bled the air from your BCDs. You sank like stones, the lead weights on your belts pulling you under the waves as you pinched your noses and equalised your ears. A puff of air through the low pressure hose, a quick shake to distribute it through your floatation, and you were suspended a couple of metres from the bottom. Your gauge read 10m deep. You smiled to yourself, almost wishing you'd saved this one for the afternoon. The maps didn't indicate much dropoff through your route. That 90 minutes of air would probably last you two hours at this depth, but you weren't keen on rewriting a plan on the fly, so you set the bezel on your watch and signaled OK to your buddy.

You followed him, snapping photos of the rocky reef as you tracked it around the coast. The plan was to get to a certain point taking photos, then turn around and track back casting a quadrant every twenty metres or so. It makes it easier to budget time and air doing the time-consuming stuff on the way back so if you have to scrub a dive early you're already on the way back in and can just take note of where you got to and refactor the plan when you revisit. Thankfully that's not happened so far, but again, the sea is always half-trying to end you so you can't get complacent.

You started noticing movement out of the corners of your eye, shadows on the edge of visibility. There wasn't meant to be anyone else here, but it's not impossible there's a party diving off a RIB idling nearby. If they were then you'd probably not see much of them but silhouettes against the infinite blue of the ocean, you don't bother taking a boat out to dive the shallows when they're this accessible. It just doesn't make sense.

Still, those ghosts hung in the oceanic fog, indistinct shapes on the edge of vision. You tapped your tank, getting Brian's attention and pointing out at them. He just shrugged and signaled asking if you wanted to scrub and come back later. You signaled no, keep going. You'd paid for 4 litres of air at 200 bar, and they'd charge you the same whether the tank was half full or totally empty. The worst some tourists would do is spear some of the invasive spiny urchins and frankly, let them. Fewer for you to count on the way back.

On you pressed, grabbing photos of the fauna as you went. You got a particularly nice shot of a cuttlefish you were looking forward to posting to your socials when you got ashore and plugged your camera in. Still you were seeing those shadows. Four of them. Their fins were unusual, you knew some people preferred the whale-style of fixed fins where you'd kick with both legs at the same time, but they're such a nightmare to get on and off you can't imagine four people choosing them. Maybe it's a challenge, or a bet? Yeah, you could see a group doing something like that for a bet. Probably agreed on over a few too many beers the night before.

You reached the turning around point. It only took 35 minutes to get here according to your bezel, and Brian's agreed. Still, plans are plans. You reset your time, 45 minutes to get back. Wiggle room is nice, but safety margins are better.

Brian pointed over your shoulder, you turned around to see them. The four shapes were swimming towards you, far faster than any human can go. They were too sleek, too streamlined, then it hit you. They're free diving. No tanks, no tubes, hell not even a snorkel between them.

Twenty metres out.

How could they be doing that? It's not impossible to free dive ten metres... Pearl divers do it all the time, but normally just hitting the bottom and making their way up, not hanging around in the water column for minutes at a time.

Ten metres.

That's how. At this distance the scales on their tails were much more visible, as were the enlarged eyes, gills and webbed hands. Merfolk.

The first one hit you like a freight train, snapping the quick release of your BCD and wrenching you out of it, the floatation device shooting to the surface like a cork, ripping your regulator out of your mouth as it took your tank with it. The second hit Brian, cutting his weight belt with a sharpened piece of glass, before throwing him upwards to meet your stricken gear.

You looked around, squinting in vein against the salt water that leaked into your mask as the reg hit it, held off the ocean floor by a long-spined merman.

Another merfolk, this one female, pressed her face against yours, invading your mouth with a long barbed tongue as she kissed you, before punching you in the gut.

Your breath left you in a flurry of bubbles before you gasped, filling your lungs with saltwater. You didn't drown. You took another few tentative breaths, feeling your lungs fill and empty. the merman behind you released your weights, using the buckle rather than a knife. The others approached from the shadow and you saw all four together.

The one who had been holding you was spiky and striped, dull red against vibrant white, vicious needles running from his hair down his spine, all the way to the end of his tail, just above his fin.

The other, the one who kissed you was also a dull reddish, but mottled with brown, still spiny, but hers were short, closer to her scaled skin and covering more of her back and arms.

Another mermaid had no spines at all, instead her scales were patterned in complex bands of black and white, giving her a striking appearance

The last merman had greenish blue scales, lined with vibrant orange leading to vivid yellow fins.

One thing united this coterie of merfolk, the hungry looks they all gave you. You looked up at Brian, he was floating on his belly, looking down at you. You motioned for him to go, swim back and get help. It's a bad idea to try to fight merfolk in the water, for the same reason you shouldn't try wrestling a tiger shark, and if they're letting you breathe down here, they're unlikely to kill you.

They would've done that already.

You looked at each one in turn, letting your arms dangle gently either side of you, floating in the water. Your knife had been in your BCD, you knew you weren't armed any more, but they might not.

You felt their gaze on you as you turned this way and that. Getting bolder, the spiny merman swam closer to you, taking you in his arms, kissing you again. All you could taste was salt when his tongue entered your mouth, it was smoother than the spiny lady's, but still forceful. He wasn't letting you mistake who was in charge here. A hand opened your legs, and you felt something cut through the neoprene fabric of your wetsuit, exposing your crotch. You winced, partly at the thought of having a blade that close to your pussy, partly because that's £70 you're never getting back.

The tail of the merman halfway down your throat pushed between your legs, replacing the vandal who'd just opened you. You felt his cock slide from the genital slit in his front, pressing up against you. The prehensile cock slid around your bikini bottoms, crumpling the gusset to the fold between your thigh and your cunt. You murmured as it massaged into you, a thick, slimy lube seeping from it, clinging to your skin, warm after the cold ocean water.

He wasn't giving you any more foreplay than that. His tip slid in as another merman slid behind you, cock already producing that thick slime, poised to enter your cunt alongside his spiky fellow.

You tried to protest, sonorous laughter came from the merfolk, each a slightly different call. The women swam up to you, their laughing turning to singing. the sound filled your mind. Your thoughts fled from the bright harmonies, the trilling vibratos scouring your reluctance from you. You started to suck on the tongue in your mouth, arching your back to help the bluish-green merman as his cock stretched you.

Even underwater, you could moan. The songs of the mermaids either side of you crooned to you, encouraging you to rock your hips, to gyrate on the cocks within you, feeling them ooze and pulse, until the pleasure ws too much for you.

Your body seized, cunt squeezing the rods together, feeling every ridge in both of them as you pulsed against them. You watched as the one in front of you tensed in unison with you, his face twisting into a snarl of primal desire before his cock pulsed inside you. Hot spunk washed into you, carried by more of the thick, lubricating slime, sticking to your insides as you heard the man behind you growl. You yipped as his jagged teeth bit into your ear, before sighing when he too started pumping hot sludge into you, thick and sticky. You stayed locked together, you riding the waves of your orgasm, them pumping you full of merman spunk, before they slid themselves out of you.

You hung in the water column, blissed out, hardly moving. The black and white mermaid stopped singing, pulling you horizontal and lining herself up with you. You hadn't learned much about merfolk before coming out here, they're much more common in the Mediterranean and Caribbean, with some in the North Sea, so it didn't seem much point. As a result, you didn't know about the ovipositor sheltered within her slit until she'd already hilted herself in you.

The spiny mermaid held your head in both hands, her wide, inhuman eyes locked with yours as her lilting voice kept you stupid and compliant, a drooling mess for the striped one to thrust into, stirring up the spunk with her ridged pseudopenis as she had her way.

Every ridge was heaven. Every thrust made your eyes cross, just a little more. Your tongue hung out as your hands kneaded your tits. Your whines and moans begged her not to stop, to keep going, to keep fucking you harder and harder.

The ovipositor pressed hard into you, the end touching your cervix before it started to spurt jets of tiny, grainy eggs into you. You felt them filling your womb, mingling with the sexual fluids left inside you by the mermen. Pump after pump flowed into you, before she pulled out, resuming her song.

The last one took her place at your gaping, clenching cunt. Her already-erect ovipositor sliding deep into you. You whimpered as her ridges tormented your overstimulated body, twitching and squirming against her, hearing her gasp, feeling her shudder. She fucked you hard and fast, not interested in your pleasure, even as she brought you screaming over the edge. Your writhing body and pulsing, clenching cunt pushed her to bury herself in you. A moment passed, then she too filled you with eggs, tiny spheres filling you, mingling with the others, each one a nymph-to-be, each one finding a sperm to partner with, bulging your womb with a fertile mixture. Pump after pump filled you, the jelly-like spawn going semi-hard within your body. None of it would come out until it was ready.

The foursome returned you to the surface, slipping your BCD back on, snapping the clips back together. Your hand reached for the control, filling the device with air, keeping you afloat.

You're not sure how long you stayed there, coughing up saltwater as you started breathing air again. An ambulance boat picked you up, and a Spanish paramedic gently told you that you'd need to return to these waters to give birth to the thousands of young within you.

Maybe it's the mermaid song, still flowing through the corridors of your mind, but that doesn't seem so bad

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Well, that one went long. Hope you all enjoyed it!

Like I said, this one jumped the queue a bit for Mer-May, but I'm planning on the regular episode for tonight as well, so for the person anxiously waiting for their (very) specific fanfic, don't worry, I'm still more or less on schedule for it! In fact, this was in front of you anyway, so rejoice!

I'm only queue jumping for Mer-May submissions on these bonus episodes, on days I feel like I can manage writing 2 episodes. Bashing out 2000+ words is tough at the best of times, doing that then trying to do another episode? I might strain something!

[a-most-beloved-fool]

Tell us more about your hate for Dr. Mora...?

Yes!

The thing with Dr. Mora is that the people who wrote him weren't actually properly aware of what they were writing. What they intended to write was a nuanced father-figure who gets to reconcile with his formerly no-contact son. What they actually wrote was... a bit different.

I've talked about him on here before, so I'm going to go ahead and link that post here, because I think there was good discussion (and it's a bit shorter), but if you want the long answer, it's below the cut!

From even before Mora's first appearance in The Alternate, we know that Odo feels a great deal of resentment towards him as a direct result of how Odo was treated when he was in Dr. Mora's lab. He is mentioned more than once before he ever appears on screen, and always in negative or neutral ways (such as Odo speaking about the 'Cardassian neck trick' that he clearly didn't enjoy performing).

When he does first arrive on station, Odo is very obviously uncomfortable with him. He does not want to spend time with Mora - in fact, he explicitly states that he does not see Mora as a father-figure, and that he does not trust him.

Now, the plot of this episode features a gas which caused Odo, when in his rest-cycle, to unknowingly turn into a seemingly-mindless monstrous creature. Seemingly mindless, I say, because the creature does have enough of a mind to remember his resentment of Mora and repeatedly target him. I, personally, am of the opinion that That Level of resentment does not come from nothing and can't be easily dismissed.

During this episode, Mora is the first to realize that the creature is Odo. He pulls Odo aside and informs him of this. I'm just going to leave a section of the episode summary from Memory Alpha here, because I think it says it better than I can:

Odo proposes that the gas from the planet they were on affected him somehow, but Dr. Mora suggests Odo may have been responsible for unsolved crimes in the past. He then says that now that they know the truth, none of the station staff will trust Odo, and advises Odo to return to the scientific center with him, stating he has experience with Odo.

To me, that reads as a wildly abusive interaction. That is Mora trying to manipulate Odo by distancing him from his friends and casting doubts on Odo's ability to do his job (which Odo takes great pride and comfort in). He takes the two things most important to Odo - his connection to his coworkers, and his career, and dismisses both of them as false, somehow. It's deliberate, and it's cruel. The phrase, "he has experience with Odo," especially gets on my nerves. That is not a wording that would be used by a man who sees Odo as his son or as a sentient being. That's how you talk about a feral animal or a science experiment. Frankly, I think Mora does see Odo as a science experiment. He's curious about Odo's interests only to the point that he thinks it's curious that Odo can have any interests or preferences at all. He doesn't actually respect Odo as a person - he only sees him as something to study.

There's a very small amount of conversation between them at the very end of the episode where Mora says that he never knew how Odo felt about their time at the lab, and Odo agrees to let Mora be a small part of his life going forward, which is supposed to be a start down the road to reconciliation, but it doesn't feel earned. It's cheap and, honestly, a little insulting.

Already, I do not like this man, but the episode The Begotten is where things really go downhill. This episode is supposed to show a proper reconciliation between Odo and Mora. It tries to iron out all of the resentment that Odo still holds about how he was treated at the lab.

It fails, utterly.

This episode starts when Quark acquires an ill changeling infant. Odo is the one to recognize the changeling for what it is, and takes it upon himself to try to teach the changeling about the world and how to shapeshift - made more difficult by the fact that Odo is still stuck in his Humanoid form.

Sisko suggests that Odo get the help of Dr. Mora, citing the fact that Mora had worked with a baby changeling before. Odo flatly refuses. Mora shows up anyways, entirely uninvited, and Odo does not want Mora anywhere near the infant - and certainly not without supervision. We know that Mora's methods for 'training' Odo involved pain and discomfort, and Odo is opposed to allowing the same methods to be used on the infant. He wants to take his time, and let the infant grow and learn at its own pace. But the changeling is slow to learn, and Starfleet is impatient, and, eventually, Odo is coerced into using pain to force the infant to change its shape. This works, and both Odo and Mora are delighted. Both acknowledge the utility of the other's method - Mora says that Odo was correct to build a connection with the infant, because it clearly likes him, while Odo says that the pain was also necessary.

This is supposed to be read as a good thing. The use of electricity and other pain-inducing methods is, I believe, supposed to be read as a 'necessary evil' - like requiring a child to eat their greens or take a bath when they don't want to. It claims that Dr. Mora just wanted what was best for Odo, and that he loves Odo. It even goes so far as to imply that Odo is being cruel to Mora, by keeping him at a distance and not forgiving him for the past.

In my opinion, that is an absolute load of hogwash. What I see is not a parent who tried their hardest but was flawed. I see a man who tortured a child, and now refuses to understand why the child may resent that. Part of the issue is just that it's a really shitty analogy. There is no world in which tossing a child into a Pain Machine is the same as requiring a child to comply with a set bedtime. It's abuse, straight up. I cannot see that as anything other than Mora deliberately causing actual pain to a literal infant. Frankly I do not care that it "got a result"

Now, it's true that, with Odo, Mora did not initially know he was working with a sentient being. But firstly, that excuse doesn't apply to the new changeling child, and secondly, he never once truly apologizes. Throughout, he maintains that what he did was justified because it got results. Even when he acknowledges that Odo's method of building a connection with the child helped, he still believes that the pain he caused was necessary, and that Odo's resentment of him is nothing more than an overreaction.

The episode seems to agree with him. The episode, in fact, seems to think that Odo should be the one apologizing to Mora for not forgiving him sooner! Everything we've seen of how Odo interacts with Mora suggests that Odo was traumatized by him (and I do mean literally traumatized, not just the way the word is now used in pop-culture), and somehow the episode appears more concerned with the fact that Mora is hurt that he's not allowed a place in Odo's life. Odo's discomfort around Mora and around letting Mora near the child is seen as irrational.

Mora never actually acknowledges faults in how he treated Odo. He apologizes that Odo felt hurt, but never actually accepts that he caused it, and when pressed, deflects blame onto the Cardassians and deadlines. This is mirrored in the episode by Starfleet and Sisko giving Odo deadlines re: the infant's development. Odo only turns to using pain on the child because he's running out of time - and then he does use pain, and the infant responds, and Odo decides that Using Pain On Children Is Good. This was written as a spot for Odo to relate to what Mora went through and to sympathize with him, with understanding paving the road for reconciliation, but it just. it pisses me off. This is just the fucking cycle of violence, illustrated in full-color.

(I also disagree with how they wrote Sisko in the episode, tbh. That man adores babies. You cannot convince me that he could hear the word "baby" and not immediately do everything in his power to protect the changeling baby from Starfleet pressure. Like, c'mon.)

So, while the episode sees a 'reconciliation', I see a man who was abused by his father-figure slowly get coerced into using the exact same methods, and then decide that they were correct and justified after all. It reads like a horror story, to me. The message seems to be, "you should forgive your abusers if they're your parent," with a side of, "corporeal punishment is fine and often good, actually," and a little dash of, "it's cruel to go no-contact with your parent, because you owe them for raising you. it doesn't matter what they did to earn that treatment - you're overreacting."

Obviously, I don't believe this is what the writers tried to write. But it sure is what it looks like to me! And I know that I'm not the only one who reads the episode this way.

To be clear, I don't hate Mora because I think he's an abusive 'father' - though I do, certainly, think that - I hate Mora because the writers were entirely unwilling to acknowledge that he's abusive in any real capacity. They wrote an abuser who was actively abusing, on screen, and pretended he was just a normal loving father who screwed up a little, and who didn't deserve how poorly he was being treated. They could have done fantastic things with him! Instead they blindly wrote... that.

[jammatown919]

The more I think about it the more I feel like it actually makes sense for Yaz and Sammy to get back together relatively early into season four. Like, obviously it will depend on how long it takes the two groups to reunite, but I don't see that taking an obscenely long time either.

I just don't see a point in the show waiting on it for very long. They've already had five episodes apart, and we've seen a brief scene of Sammy visibly reflecting on what happened even if we didn't get to hear her thoughts. I feel like we could use an episode or two of them talking with the people they're currently with about how they feel and getting some advice on how to proceed (specifically Yaz talking to Brooklynn, which can easily happen on the helicopter), but that's kind of it?

I don't really think it would be worth it narratively to spend more episodes on them fighting when they were arguing for most of their screentime together in season three. MAYBE one more argument that kickstarts the process of making up, either through them realizing this isn't the way or someone stepping into advise them, but I don't think it would be worth it to draw out the conflict much more. The active arguing has already done what it needed to do, narratively. It got them to snap out the things they've been needing to say and haven't, and it got them to step back and give each other space to consider that and carry out their separate decisions about Brooklynn.

I also don't see much of a point in them spending significant time ignoring or avoiding each other, nor do I think they would when we've already seen how much they both want to talk what with Yaz asking for Sammy twice and Sammy watching longingly as Yaz leaves for Malta. Sammy probably won't initiate because she wants Yaz to, but with how much they both seem to want to reach out and talk, I don't think she would shut down a good faith attempt to apologize.

Obviously, they need to have a talk and come to a real understanding before they just run right back into each other's arms. But I really don't think this has to take a very long time. With this probably being the last season, I don't see the show waiting more than a few episodes to give us the Nublar Six all together again, especially because there are so many things that need to be worked out between them. And honestly they could see each other again as soon as episode one because I will be AMAZED if that helicopter doesn't crash-land in the sanctuary rather than making it inside the Biosyn facilities. There could be other distractions from talking given where they are, but like I said, they both actively want to talk, so they would probably be trying anyway until they get their opportunity.

I really think there's a solid chance they start trying to fix things in the first few episodes, or not much long after. And they could be fully back together by mid-season or even the end of episode four or so.

[phoebeegreen3]

Capri Persson (F1) — No Victory

🏎 SUMMARY: What if the best driver of recent years isn't actually him? What if the best driver is actually hiding something else? Would he still be the best? Or just a simple fraud? 📓 GENRE: secret identity / rivals to lovers / he felt first, she felt harder / soulmates / slow burn 📬 PARTS: book one (two parts) / CP9, book two (one part) 🏆 CAPRIPERSSON.MASTERLIST

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. November 2022

Breathe, four seconds.

Hold, four seconds.

Exhale, four seconds.

Endure, four seconds.

Repeat.

I closed my eyes, feeling the process run through my entire system. The white noise blasting in my headphones helped drown out any nervousness. The breathing and focus forced me not to think about anything else. I couldn't afford to think about anything else and ruin it.

I had to be fast. I had to prove I had what it took. I had to beat Max Verstappen for the first time in my life. And that would be enough to establish myself as the best driver. That would be enough to restore my confidence.

I knew this track. The weekend had been brilliant—I knew exactly what I had to do. I had a strategy. I just had to let it happen.

I couldn't lose.

I didn't want to win. I'm going to win.

When I heard a knock on the door, I knew it was time. I opened my eyes, took off my headphones, and grabbed my helmet, the number 9 displayed prominently. It was time to show the world that Capri Persson was truly a winner and not just a joke. This was my moment. This was everything I had fought for all these years.

Maybe I could even take off my helmet to celebrate.

I had to do it.

Don't fail.

FORMULA 1: DRIVE TO SURVIVE

SEASON 5, EPISODE 10 ❝ NO VICTORY ❞

Will Buxton, F1 Journalist:

"I don't recall a season like this for two rivals such as Max Verstappen and Capri Persson. And even less so for teams like Red Bull and AlphaTauri. It's definitely something we see once every fifty years, and it's happening right now.

The 2022 Formula 1 season started off strong for both rivals—exquisite race weekends where it was just the two of them. It was either Persson or Verstappen, AlphaTauri or Red Bull Racing. No one else mattered.

It was a tough season, especially since it marked Sebastian Vettel's final year in F1, but what these two delivered managed to distract everyone from everything else going on around them.

Max had already been champion in 2021. At the time, Capri was still paying his dues in the paddock after a rookie season in 2020, even though his achievements proved he could be the next champion. But Max was never going to allow that.

2021 had been a difficult year for Persson. He was no longer a rookie—he had to prove himself beyond just that title, which had surprised everyone since his pre-season debut in 2020. And while not everyone agreed, Capri had delivered a performance comparable only to Vettel's or Schumacher's in their golden eras. He knew what he was there for—he knew he was going to win, to rise, and that was his sole focus. It had been tough, but there was no doubt that Capri Persson's rise had been phenomenal, even driving an AlphaTauri.

And let's not forget how shocking his entry into F1 was—not just because of his talent but also because of his attitude. Perhaps what should have truly frightened everyone was that a rookie, in his very first steps, was already calling drivers like Carlos Sainz Jr., Daniel Ricciardo, and even Kevin Magnussen 'mediocre.' No one saw that coming. But the real concern was what he was capable of doing behind the wheel of an AlphaTauri—because if he could achieve all of this in a midfield car, what would he do with a much faster one? And why was he still with the team after two years? What was keeping him there?

To be honest, the AT01 was not a car that matched Capri Persson's level. But after that, AlphaTauri understood they needed much better cars to suit their star driver—something that became evident with the AT03, the first car from the team built to comply with the major technical regulation changes introduced in 2022.

But that wouldn't last long.

After winning the 2021 championship, Max Verstappen entered the new season with more confidence than ever. Everything he had worked for paid off that year, even with Persson breathing down his neck. But it still wasn't enough. Capri needed something more to reach Max's level, and that became clear as the 2022 season unfolded.

Pre-season testing was a preview—just like in 2020—of what the rest of the season would look like. And that meant the start of one of the most anticipated rivalries in Formula 1 in recent years. Silent yet calculated, the Persson-Verstappen showdown didn't fully take shape until 2022, paving the way for what I would personally call one of the best seasons of the last twenty years.

Bahrain was extraordinary—that first race where everyone tries to show their commitment for the rest of the season. But if we compare it to what followed, nothing from that race reflected what was to come.

Everything changed in Saudi Arabia—a brilliant Grand Prix for the season's two stars. This was where we first saw them closing in on each other. Persson reached Verstappen's level, and Verstappen fought with everything he had to shake him off—but it wasn't possible. Persson was right there, relentlessly chasing him. And two laps before the end, the podium was his. It was a spectacular start for Capri Persson.

Out of the 23 races that season, Max Verstappen won 10, and Capri Persson won another 10, leaving one victory each for Vettel and Hamilton. Their tie was what set the stage for the Abu Dhabi finale.

The tension had been there from the start. But the real question was—who didn't have tension with Capri Persson? Nobody liked the fact that he refused to take off his helmet, didn't give interviews, and avoided events involving the rest of the drivers. Persson was living a dream that many on the grid wished for—just showing up, racing, and winning. And the fact that the FIA had allowed it didn't sit well with anyone."

Christian Horner, Team Principal, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing:

"It was... terrible."

'Would you describe how you experienced it? What was it like?'

"Uff, I don't think I ever want to relive that. Let's just leave it where it belongs... I don't remember experiencing a race the way I lived through Abu Dhabi 2022. Simply put... It never happened."

Will Buxton, F1 Journalist:

"By that point, there was no doubt that Christian could already see it. If Capri Persson won Abu Dhabi... it could mean the end for Red Bull. It was that simple. It also wouldn't be healthy for either team to have their two best drivers not just tied but igniting a rivalry with no foreseeable end.

Everyone expected it—Capri Persson winning Abu Dhabi. It would have been unprecedented. It would have been something revolutionary. And I'd even go as far as to say that Christian Horner himself saw it coming. His expression changed completely when Turn 16 of the final lap arrived.

'What happened?'

Abu Dhabi would determine the tie that Max Verstappen and Capri Persson had carried up to that point—that was clear. But at the same time, Abu Dhabi would place one at the top of the championship and the other far below, crashing hard from the fall. The 57 laps leading up to the final one were unbelievable. Neither was willing to give up their position once they overtook the other, but at the same time, they overtook each other repeatedly—57 times. Fifty-seven! The rest of the drivers seemed like mere decorations. Checo Pérez and Pierre Gasly did a magnificent job, considering how little their teams seemed to care about them. All of Red Bull was focused on Max Verstappen, while all of AlphaTauri had its eyes on Capri Persson. It could have even been dangerous, but it was a competitive spectacle. You could feel the chills and tension in the garages.

One lap was led by Red Bull, the next by AlphaTauri. The wheel-to-wheel battles were so intense that entire teams stood up, feeling just how badly things could go. No one ever mentioned the danger between these two drivers because both seemed committed to pushing the limit, fully prepared to accept the consequences. Otherwise, there would have been an uproar when Persson boxed Verstappen in on one of the mid-race corners. But no one said a word because both were playing right on the edge between legal and illegal, and both Christian and Franz knew it perfectly well.

Becoming champion was the least of their concerns. Finishing as runner-up, however, was a completely different story. Neither of them would ever allow themselves to be second place, and that was the real issue. Winning didn't matter—it was about not losing to the other.

The race was one of the most-watched in the last fifteen years. By lap 58, everyone understood what the season had been for both drivers, as it had been fully reflected in the previous 57 laps. Lap 58 marked a before and after in both careers. They seemed perfectly synchronized in their battle, making contact, pulling apart but never separating. Until Max took turn 14 too aggressively, leaving an open path for Capri Persson. That must have earned Horner a few muttered curses, but just when they thought it was all over, with Persson barely ahead for a second, Capri completely lost control of his car on the final turn of the final lap.

The AT03 crashed straight into the barrier, and before anyone expected it, flames started to rise. Capri got out in time—the fire in the car was the least of the worries. What truly mattered was coming to terms with losing a victory that should have been his. How would Capri Persson take it personally?

No one ever knew, and probably no one ever will.

Max became a two-time world champion, but that wasn't really the focus of attention. The world fixated on a headline that was released that very morning, perfectly capturing everyone's reaction to what had arguably been one of the greatest season finales in recent history.

The article was titled 'Capri Persson: No Victory'—and it set the stage for the rest of his story."

«PREVIOUS: The Ghost

»NEXT: Part I

[filmbyjy]

hi hi hi !! I read your jaywon poly relationship drabble and it was so cute!!! I was wondering if you could maybe do a jayke one if you haven't already? (no rush!!)

-🩷

💬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐚𝐲𝐤𝐞?

𓂃🖊 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖?

it all started when you and jay had met when you were younger. it was the typical, two families being friends and hence their kids are friends. you were very well acquainted with jay. he knew practically everything about you and watched you grow up.

you both often stayed over at each other's houses whenever anyone of your parents couldn't take care for the day. in a way, the both of you were kinda like siblings but neither of you thought of each other as siblings.

"he's my best friend!"

"she's my best friend!"

the duo that everyone in school envied. everyone at one point thought you two were dating. at one point in time of course because that's how close you two were. since you two knew each other that long, you knew about jay's passion.

"you should become an idol."

"i'm not sure about that. i mean, i can't dance or sing."

"you can always start somewhere. how about this, you and i? dance classes together?"

which was how it went down. eventually, jay gets street casted. you were extremely happy for him. texting him whenever he could read it and making sure to keep the friendship alive. however, it was hard. he had to enter a huge survival show and he was cut off from being able to really communicate on the phone.

you could only manage to talk to him for about 5 minutes and only if they were able to call their parents. it was sad. you were only able to watch your best friend through a screen. the way his happiness was in a way slowing tearing down due to the stress of missions.

there was also always a positive side to this. you were watching your best friend slowly win against other trainees. beating them in some of the missions and you were proud.

"did you watch the episode?"

"mhm, i saw that you did really well."

"thanks."

"i also saw that jake was also doing extremely well."

there was a slight groan from the other side of the call.

"enough with jake, angel. you're on a call with me and we haven't seen each other in months."

"not my fault jake is good looking."

"am i not good looking."

"jay, i've told you countless of times. you're soooo good looking." he chuckles.

"means a lot to me, angel. i really miss you."

"i miss you too."

you two in fact were not dating by this time. why? simply because the both of you were too afraid to ruin whatever you had. jay had confided jake about everything that happened between the both of you. he even showed photos of you to him. jake thought you were mesmerizing. however, this was a complete break of the bro code. how could he start to have feelings for you when jay already had feelings for you.

which was why jake hid it. he can't let jay know. it would be crazy. jay however, found out quite quickly. jake acted out of his own comfort zone. jay wasn't mad in fact he knew it was crazy but he devised a plan. a plan to let you choose. to have two boyfriends or just one. he was crazy but both jay and jake were crazy for you.

"you two what?" you say as jay blurts it out on the call.

"well, since we're both in the final line up. i think we both deserve a prize. we both like you." jay says.

"you two like me." you say whilst looking between the both of them on facetime.

"mhm. look, you don't have to choose one. you can choose to like us both and we promise to love you a lot." jake says.

"won't it be weird?"

"not at all. me and jake have already talked about it. the possibilities and everything else." jay explains.

"you two are insane but i like insane."

which was exactly how you ended up with two boys

𓂃🖊 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖?

lord. they are the best boyfriends ever

since they are rich. i'd like to assume they'd both bring you to a fancy restaurant once in a while for a special occasion.

jay: he's more of a laid back + stereotypical date vibes. example, like beach dates or picnic dates

jake: definitely more of the spontaneous but not too spontaneous as he is afraid of heights and scary things in general

i do think the both of them would love picnic dates

imagine jay pulling out a wine glass and the sandwich he made while jake brings out some ramen that he made

that's haven

for fancier dates, i'd like to imagine them both in suits and them asking you to wear a nice dress they both bought for you🥲

𓂃🖊 𝚊𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘��?

i solely believe that jay is quite the cuddly one. he's like a baby in a way. he may seem like he's playing it off and being cool and shit

but really, he's a soft baby (i might cry thinking about it)

jake...i used to believe he wouldn't keep his hands off you but i'm starting to believe that he gives off the 'husband who just came home from work'. that vibes

you don't know what that means? well, it essentially just means he is like a husband who respects your space and makes sure you're okay

he leaves the affection to jay because you two have been friends for a very long time hence he believes you're more comfortable with jay

put them together and i'd like to imagine jake just watching jay giving kisses and you just giggling and fighting your way out of his grasp

you'd run to jake and he would your forehead

god, that's so cute

𓂃🖊 𝚜𝚕𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖?

since they shared a room before, you didn't have any problems. just climb into either one of their beds or 'force' them to share the beds together with you.

however, now that they live on different floors you'd have to choose time and time which floor to crash on.

jay likes to spoon you from the back as you sleep. his arms wrapping around your waist as you're asleep

jake likes to hold you close. letting you to hug him while you sleep because he wants to keep you close and protected.

when it comes to sleeping together in one bed, you have to pray the bed is a king size bc how are you going to fit in bed with two grown men.

i feel like if you're also in the same bed as them, it would be like jay spooning you from the back and jake hugging you from the front

most efficient way to honestly sleep together with them

they also don't mind because jay would maybe wake up first and make breakfast while you and jake just sleep in

𓂃🖊 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚜?

don't get me started, i feel like i could talk about jay and jake's love languages all day long but i wouldn't want to bore you guys

jay is the definition of husband. he cooks, he cleans (for you and not jake bc jake should do it by himself. jk, our jay is a sweetie)

he is the type to just kiss you before he leaves work and then come back home to wrap his arms around your waist in a back hug after coming home (LORD SAVE ME)

i do believe jay is an acts of service man. like that man will do things for you without a word. of course, words of affirmation. he always does that. he has such a sexy brain and i want to kiss him for that

now jake, he is boyfriend coded. no wait, like you know the vibes of childhood best friends to lovers typa thing? yeah that type of affection

please tell me some of you guys play love and deepspace. jake is so caleb coded. good lord, someone please make an au of jake as caleb PLEASE

jake protects and attacks. he will always kiss your forehead. i wanna cry thinking about that.

okay, okay. jake's love languages. definitely physical affection. he has his arm around you any chance he can. i'd say quality time, he loves to see you too. those two are the biggest love language that i feel like jake would probably be.

overall though, i feel like when it comes to the both of them they'd probably also give gifts. like imagine them coming back from a tour spot, they'd probably buy something for you.

then maybe go out with you to some fancy restaurant to eat bc let's face it. you have the two most richest members of enha as your boyfriend.

(jay is definitely a spender whilst jake is probably stopping him from buying you things to spoil you)

"i'm buying this for her. love, put it on now and then show me how hot you look in it." - jay probably

"it's $100, you're spoiling her too much. she already has the same dress in a different colour. she doesn't need one more." - jake

𝚒𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗

please sedate me. i want jayke to be both my boyfriends. PLEASE. i give it a 1000/10 FOR BEING BOYFRIENDABLE

a/n: i'm actually appalled by myself. 2 whole years of this ask being in the dungeon💔💔 you're free now my child😭 this was also in a way, just slightly self-indulge bc well you see i like jay and jake.

©️filmbyjy | 2025

[sluckleykinard]

Fuck it Friday. I was tagged by @weewoowings

Here's a teaser for my current WIP that's a bucktommy/tevan 5+1 cuddle sessions (hopefully I'll be able to finish and post it this weekend)

---

When he wakes up, Tommy has no idea of what time it is, but he does know it’s been a lot more than twenty minutes. He finds himself in full cuddling mode with Evan, who has his head now ducked down, fitting perfectly under Tommy’s chin, arms are relaxed, his hands resting on Tommy’s bicep, and he moves softly, curls ticking his nose a little bit when he does. Their legs are more tangled than before, and Tommy just feels so warm and comfortable, even though they all know this couch is anything but comfortable, he just wants to fight his urge to wake up and go back to sleeping, diving deeper into their cocoon. Despite the couch, he feels rested in a way he hasn’t felt in so long after a nap. He hears soft talking not too far from where they are laying, Hen and Chim, and probably Bobby, sitting by the table.

Tommy keeps his eyes closed, trying to will his sleep back in, even though he feels his stomach protesting in hunger. It’s no use, but being awake isn’t uncomfortable either. He allows himself this moment, even though he knows it can’t ever be more than what it is. Friends nap together, he tries to convince himself, remembering an episode of Friends with Ross and Joey doing basically the exact same thing. It’s completely platonic, he tells himself.

“Ow,” he moans when Evan moves his head, hitting his chin while he moves, body stretching as he comes back from dreamland.

“’Orry,” he mumbles, still very much sleepy and not full back yet. “I’m starving,” he adds a while later, not moving to change that situation, neither does Tommy, with his eyes still closed. “How much more ‘till lunch is ready?” Evan asks.

“I think it’s done already,” Tommy tells him. “We’re the late ones.”

“And no one woke us up?” Evan whines, causing Tommy to snort.

“I wanted to,” Chimney pipes in from where they are sitting. “Hen wouldn’t let me.”

“Not my fault you two looked so cute and cozy in your nap cocoon.” The woman tells them, and Tommy can see her shrugging nonchalantly, even though he has his eyes closed. He smiles softly, certain that he’d never have any of that at Harbor.

“I do feel cozy,” Evan agrees, moving even closer as if to prove his point, Tommy doesn’t protest because it is nice and cozy in here. “Can we eat like this? I don’t wanna move.”

-----

tagging @911onem but no pressure, and it goes for anyone who feels like doing it, honestly

[familyagrestefanblog]

I finally got around to watch "The Ruler" and, man, when it comes to Nathaniel and Marc, this episode is simply PHENOMENAL. But it's honestly heartbreaking to see that the show is giving more and more plot lines we longed to see for the love square for over a decade now to side characters. Sure, the comic was a Ladynoir parallel, but it's an outdated one and has now been given to Nathaniel and Marc instead.

It can even be seen in the way Marinette and Adrien have no real reaction to the comic of which the story SHOULD have hit them very close to home because of their hero partner. But they don't. Especially Marinette who the episode wrote as so excited and invested in the story that she wanted to keep a printed test version of it and hang it up in her room.

As nice as the wishful thinking is that she did this because it reminded her of her partnership with Chat Noir, there is nothing in the episode to actually back that up. Marinette is emotionally invested in the story, but there is no real indication that this is anything else but her simply being an invested fan like everyone else.

But not just that. The episode also pretty much goes out of its way to reinforce how dead Ladynoir is by now by giving yet another prime example of how Marinette since season 4 has demanded and 100% established that she'll drag her entire civilian life into her hero work - and fully on Chat's expense bc for her to drag 100% of her life in she had to first forbid him from existing under the mask AT ALL in season 4 & 5 - cause she'll neither humour waiting for him and will just pick another main partner for her in any given battle she likes while still not letting Chat know anything about it. Chat Noir may as well not have shown up here at all, Marinette would have literally not noticed it. She already replaced him as her partner for the battle, she wouldn't have cared for a single second.

It used to be normal that they WAIT for each other, btw. But here in "The Ruler" the episode at least didn't hide that one of the two main reasons for why Chat Noir got immediately screwed over was because Ladybug just completely forgot about him again as leader and "partner" who still acts like she hasnt paid any attention yet in 5 seasons that leaving Chat Noir out of the plan, not waiting, and not informing him of what the plan is before going about executing it increases the likelihood of him getting hurt as well as him becoming reckless when he enters the field because of his insecurities which she has been made well WELL aware of by now. And this wasn't some city destroying akuma, so no excuse here (Same as Werepapas. There was no excuse for not taking your time to avoid risking to kill Adrien, the akuma was a non-threat to the city).

Say however you like that Adrien should be more careful and not act out on his insecurities like this (even though i know exactly that this is a standard you will NEVER apply to Marinette who's causing way more damage by taking her insecurities out on others), but this is on Maribug too. Shes the leader and DEMANDS that Chat Noir always shows up on his own bc she declared caring about the Black Cat Miraculous to not be a job a professional leader should ever be asked of to do.

Those were HER self-serving terms she set on Chat's expense in season 4, so now it still absolutely IS her obligation as leader to consider how things will affect him when he then later enters the battle field. She can't just write his existence off, pick another partner rooted in her civilian life, and already get into the real battle before he arrives when that has continously proven itself to screw him over. That's ABYSMAL leadership.

And if Marinette by now STILL doesn't know yet that this will put Chat in danger, then she's honestly just an awful leader to him, too. How many seasons, incidents, and bonding moments does this girl need to finally pay attention as leader and not forget about him the second she feels guilty about something from her civilian life and wants to solve it by giving her friends Miraculous powers? We've had this 500 times already, this is nothing new.

Again, at least this episode had it come with the appropriate consequences. Brainwashed Chat Noir chases Ladybug and tries cataclysming her, where she then continues writing him off, thinking he'll just not show up again after she got away, which then logically resulted in Chat pushing her into the brainwashing weapon too from which Caprikid then had to save them BOTH from and defeat the akuma by himself.

All of this wouldn't have happened if Ladybug still in any way acted like Chat Noir is her actual PARTNER like the comic said. But this girl will just pick someone else over him on a whim and writes off his entire existence, only to then continue acting surprised when that backfires. She literally does it TWICE in this very episode and it's the main reason for both of their brainwashings. Marinette, STOP WRITING OFF CHAT NOIR'S EXISTENCE!!!

And sure, that may sound like I'm contracting myself when I initially complained about this showcasing that Ladynoir is dead by now, because "clearly" this episode (as well as Daddycop for example or Revelator) acknowledges in its writing that Marinette's treatment of Chat Noir is bad and causes problems.

But here is the thing. Theoretically speaking, yes, that's how it COULD be used, but clearly isn't. Same as Adrinette ( and especially MARINETTE) not reacting to the Ladynoir coded comic story, Marinette is now for the third season in a row not written to acknowledge at any point that her ever-on-going problematic treatment of Chat Noir is something that she should STOP doing because it fundamentally puts him in danger and therefore causes problems.

You can absolutely watch this episode and not acknowledge that Marinette's leadership and her just randomly picking a new main partner for the battle on a whim is the primary reason for why Chat Noir got screwed over again (you know, the way the show always does. If you don't want Marinette to ever be at fault for anything, the writing will make sure that you won't be asked to face that). Season 4-6 writing are indeed writing in the logical consequences of her bad leadership decisions on his expense, but at no point is Marinette HERSELF written to then learn the lesson and stop it. She's right back to her Season 4 bullshit the way she still does it over and over and OVER again. But she NEVER actually learns. Quite the opposite, her problem-causing leadership only gets further cemented as the new status quo and she NEVER does anything about it for the third season in a row! That's why I'm saying it's the primary factor at fault here. Adrichat absolutely isn't blameless, but Maribug's faults and bad leadership decisions have remained unchallenged for over 2 seasons now while Adrien is always blamed and held accountable for anything awful that happens to him under her leadership. It's Maribug's side that is the root of it by now thanks to that development, so it's the one that has to be called out and held accountable to solve the problem for good.

But season 6 too seems to have no interest in finally asking Marinette to improve her leadership system she established fully on Chat's expense. She just keeps going, no matter what.

And that's how we end up with episodes like this where, yes, the Nathaniel and Marc comic is Ladynoir coded, but it's painfully outdated partnership wise and Marinette herself literally acts like Chat Noir is still non-existent in her head and barely means anything to her. She has hero (best) friends she can and will replace him with at any moment and she a devoted boyfriend who will worship and take care of her the way Chat was once set up to do.

Chat Noir is pretty much irrelevant in Marinette's head and life now, the way we already saw it in season 4 & 5, but especially Kwamis Choice. And this being episode 15 (so one of the mid-season finales) really tells you alot about what direction Ladynoir will still continue to go. And its one that was 100% predictable and most importantly AVOIDABLE ever since season God damn 4.

If / when Chrysalis gets her hands on Chat Noir, I honestly don't know how I'm supposed to feel bad for Marinette in this anymore. Maribug losing Chat Noir to the Butterfly is just painfully earned at this point. Just do it already.

[dock57]

What are your favorite songs from the Monkey Wrench ost?

[Man that's a hard one! Its been awhile since I last listened to the Monkey Wrench OST as a whole. So I had to sit down and listen to it again to find my favorites (and least as well). First off, I got to say but Ockeroid made an AWESOME OST for Money Wrench, absolutely adore the work! Its been so long since I heard a soundtrack that is so focused on using clear sounding instruments, particularly the guitar in the MW OST! To be frank, the use of the guitar and majority of the OST having a rock vibe to it all is something I have not seen in awhile in a OST, so its a bit of a refresher. It reminds me a bit of No Straight Roads, a video game that I adore, that had a really sick rock 'n' roll OST as well. The score itself... it does such an amazing job at capturing the overall mood and feeling to the series. I can listen to each track and visualize the part where it takes. As for some favorites, I know the first one I have to mention is well, the overall "Monkey Wrench theme" (Tools in Space) and along with the "Monkey Pit." I mean the theme itself pulled me in for the show, that build up intro and the sick guitar solo that is blasting in my ear- I love the mood it set already, it was already telling me that Monkey Wrench is going to be an adventure based show with a cool story to go along.

I also love "Scrambled Bird" from episode 1, Ghost Egg, which played during the whole scene where Shrike, Beebs, Tyneen and Scratch basically was fighting over for Norbert at the port. I just love the overall beat to this one. Its funky, funny and motivating!

I will be honest with you guys, but episode 2, Lythops Liberation has some of my least favorite tracks- mainly "Lil Guys (Wah Wah!)" and "Lil Campfire Song." These tracks in the actual show, not bad! But alone they are- a bit to suffer through... that "wah wah wah" chorus might drive me a bit nuts after awhile...

As for a favorite from this episode, it would be "Granny 2.0." Just another track with an awesome beat to it. I love the attempt at insisting fear with it, as during the episode, Granny was posing to be quite a damn threat- should have watched more cartoons back in her days though.

Episode 3 OST is just *Chef's Kiss* such a good soundtrack. I am just a sucker for that acoustic guitar and of course every time I hear it, it makes me think of Beebs. Because of that, I got to say that "Hello Stranger" is one of my favorites. I love the overall feeling it gives off, mysterious but, comforting. Damn I just want to listen that guitar being played all day...

I also love "Tales of the Cataclysm." When alone, its such a beautiful track. The piano, the mysterious yet curious feeling it creates, it makes me want to flow down a river of endless space and cosmos. Its such a relaxing track for something that's suppose to appear sinister.

As for Episode 4, Plague Walkers, it also has a soundtrack that I just go 👌Like Perfection~ As for my favorites, I would place "I was Trying to Help" and "Alien Strip Club" next to each other for my favorites for their overall beat. Alien Stripe Club just has a really sick beat to it, that well, could be perfect to get down to. While Trying to Help, I guess it reminds me my favorite scenes in this episode, the moments that felt so well taken care of, which is when Shrike is self-deprecating and when Beebs and Shrike confront each other after being chased by Ajax and Kara. Those interactions are so well done, they hit me, as well as the soundtrack that goes along with them.

My last favorite is "Kin vs. Kin." Its the first episode where we are finally getting some specs to Beebs' lore and this track, I love the combination of the two different personalities mashing together. You have Beebs, the rock, and Ajax, represent by the classical sound of instruments. I especially LOVE that towards the end, around 1:51, you can heard this faint "heart beat" in the distance. Its a beat alone, but I love the feeling it gives- anxiety, stress, the overall feeling of being pressured. Listening to it tells me so much about Beebs, a man with a troubled past, trying to run away from the stress of it, while the past is trying to claw it way back into Beebs' life. It feels like a "time bomb" for him, waiting any minute to go off.

That's it for this ask! If you haven't already, please check out the full OST and give it a listen! Just like the show, the OST is a work of art. A soundtrack really helps make a show memorable, and I wound say that this one does it job's really well!]

[poetry-protest-pornography]

Pit Babe 2 episode 1 yelling:

This is mostly just pulled from my chat with Mia as I watched, with a few additions. I usually break up liveblog posts for length, but I was too excited the vroom vroom show is back.

Onto the yelling!

Three minutes in, and Mama and Papa are back 😂 And they're still weird and very horny about each other. Good for them.

Looks like Charlie goes to the Leo DSN School of Helping Your BF With His Big Emotions. Which is to say "kiss/bang him about it"

They've managed to top season 1's NC scenes five minutes into episode 1. Bravo, team

KIM!

They're holding haaaands 😭

Kim, you're right, you would be number 1, Babe should kiss you in gratitude

I forgot what Charlie's powers were for a second and was like "how is he hearing this?" Lol

MY BOY NORTH! I MISSED HIM!

Of course the bad guy has an evil looking car. Perfect, no notes. It should have red under lighting to really sell it

I appreciate that they're doing the video game thing with the race position over the cars 😂 It's legit helpful but also just the right amount silly

This Willy kid is a dick. (Money on him being a Tony plant)

Alan swooping in to keep Babe from sticking his foot in it with the press, and the. Babe just does it anyway lol. And then North and Charlie double down 😆 I love my no chill sons

Uh oh, Babe is upset, better push him up against something and smooch him

The "Nu* pronoun Alan is using is so cute, and the soft way Jeff is saying "loong" is *adorable*

Jeff powers upgrade? I bet everyone thinks it's because he's pregnant and that boosts his powers

Charlie is trying to get rid of his powers-- or at least Babe's-- I forgot that was talked about last season.

Oh no, this experimental man is having a bad day

And first "Alpha" drop off the season. Idk how they even would've begun to un-omegaverse this show

Oh good, Charlie IS going to bang Babe about his feelings. Flowers and sexy role-play, The CharlieBabe special

Charlie: "he doesn't think my body can handle it"

Babe: "does he know how many times a day we fuck?"

If the living room car is a-rocking, don't come a-knocking

At least we know what the living room car is for!

Uh-oh, losing control of your powers, that's a sign of early pregnancy, for sure

Jeff, we know better than to lie to our partners by now, no?

KENTAAAAAA

You can shoot Dean, Mr Gangster guy he sucks. OH SHIT THEY REALLY SHOT HIM?! Is he actually not in this season?

There are some magical technologies in Thailand. I want a card I can put in the wall that turns all the lights on the way I like them

Not the drinking buddy post it 😭😭😭

SONIC IS HEEEEERE

North is just standing there like "please notice me please notice me please look at me"

Where is my boy's color? Why is Sonic in neutrals? Where are the silly prints?! 😭😭😭 North, kiss this man and give his color back!

Jeff: you playing matchmaker?

Alan: me? Those two are already dating, they just don't know it SO TRUE BESTIE

This conversation where Kim quits but him and Alan are both like "but we're still family tho" is so sweet. I love them a lot (what will X Hunter do when they're back down to the one braincell that Alan usually has? Kim is taking his braincell with him, how will they survive?)

Also, Kim is 1000% right, but I need him to visit often so he can do this with NorthSonic:

Alan, you are too young and child free (for now!) to worry about being an empty nester

Pete and his giant bouquet are here

Do they only have one picture of Way? @hotasfahrenheit decided this is the only picture of Way/Nut to ever been taken, and I think she's correct

Jeff can't take the skill erasing drugs, Charlie; they're not safe for the baby

It's okay, Babe, the zombies are going to be in a university bothering your friends, not in this lab

They have said "special alpha" so many times. Omegaverse erasure who?

Not!Way is about to have the weirdest first day of work in history

Pavel is so pretty, and Nut in those glasses is just so unfair. UGHHHH

PETE YOU CAN'T JUST TOUCH PEOPLE TO READ THEIR MINDS, THAT'S AN HR VIOLATION

I feel like I'm gonna flip flop on they're Chris is a different person, a clone, a robot, or Way with amnesia every episode

Related: I need The Prettiest Count to come out yesterday, I need Nut to have the twelve boyfriends he deserves

Kenta does not deserve to have to deal with Tony again. He looks terrified and it makes me v sad (that insanely tight T-shirt that is clinging to his tits is making me a lot less sad. If they hadn't planned away to Tony I would've missed him, I was struggling to look anywhere else 😆)

Ep 2 preview and Babe is already being a dick. Why is Babe already being a dick? Does the new mechanic have mind control powers and is influencing him, because that would be annoying. Alpha powers of Fuck Your Relationship Up

[kathrahender]

Why I hated Rise of the Titans, and how I would have fixed it

Everyone hated the movie in this fandom, but I want to give my own reasons why I didn't like it.

1.-Steve's character. If his development was already bad in 3 Below and Wizards, in Rise of The Titans it was 10 times worse. The writers made him pregnant for some reason I still cannot understand, and instead of making him important to the plot they just reduced him to be the comedy relief. And they failed miserably, because everytime he appeared he made me cringe instead of laugh.

2. Claire's character. In s02e13 of Trollhunters, she opened a portal -with the help of her friends- from the Trollmarket to the woods. And then, her hair turned a little white and she almost fainted. But in Rise of The Titans, she opened a bigger portal to another continent, without the help of anyone, and the only thing that happened was that she felt dizzy for an instant— without having more consequences in her body. Even if she was stronger than in Trollhunters, there's no way opening that portal didn't cause secondary effects.

3. The team selection. Of all the teams they could have chosen, they just had to choose the worst of them. They made Nomura and Aaarrrgghh go with Douxie when they knew trolls were vulnerable to the sunlight and could die. Well, at least they should have known it. Because they wouldn't have chosen those teams if they remembered trolls turn into stone when exposed to the sunlight.

4. The adults. Jim is the leader of the team, so I'm gonna suppose he was the one who chose the teams. And my question is: Why the adults just accepted it? Why didn't they say "No, these teams won't guarantee our victory"? Why they just did what Jim told them to do, instead of thinking about what they really should do? They are supposed to be the adults of the team (Strickler, Barbara, Aaarrrgghh, Blinky, Nomura), and yet, they just put the weight of the world in teenagers' shoulders (especially in Jim). They should have been there to actually support the teenagers, act like the adults they are, and help the teenagers to make the decisions instead of just following their orders.

5. What happened after the time-travel. I understand that Jim wanted to date Claire and wanted Strickler to redeem as soon as possible, but the way it was done felt so rushed. Instead of forcing those two things since the beginning -Strickler being with Barbara and Jim being with Claire-, the writers should have made it feel more natural.

6. Toby being the Trollhunter. Even after all these years, I still hate this. Jim would have never put Trollhunters' weight in Toby's shoulders. "He wanted to protect Toby!". Well, I think that giving him the amulet and made him fight Bular, Gunmar and other enemies is not the best way of protecting him. "Jim would have gotten the amulet back eventually!" Yet, what made special the show for me is Jim being the trollhunter, and it wouldn't feel the same with him not being the only trollhunter. Besides, what happened with the whole "Only Jim can be the trollhunter" of s02e11 Unbecoming? "The world would have been destroyed with Draal being the trollhunter!" I think the lesson to Jim for that episode was "Only you can be the trollhunter. Don't let anyone else be it" not "Draal being the trollhunter will doom the world". Merlin might be manipulative, but I'll decide to agree with him on this. Only Jim can be the trollhunter for me. And I can't accept discussions in the comments, sure, but this is just my opinion. As well as I'm not forcing anyone to think like me, don't force me to change my mind.

And I also wanted to talk about how I would have fixed these things:

1.-Steve's character. First, delete the mpreg plot completely. It seemed like a way of saying "I hate these character" from the writers, and I would have respected Steve not making him pregnant. Secondly, he wouldn't have been an idiot like in 3 Below and Wizards. He would have fought in the battle, alongside Aja, and would have supported Jim before he used the Krohnisfere, showing that he matured as a person.

2. Claire's character. The only thing I would change about her in the movie is the consequences of opening a portal to another continent. I would have made her faint, or maybe turn her whole hair white, like in one of the storyboards.

3. The team selection.

➟ Amulet Team (the team to fix the amulet): Krel, Eli and Stuart. This team is the same as canon because it's the only redeemable team.

➟ Camelot team: Strickler, Nomura, Barbara, Claire and Jim. In the canon, this team needed a witch/wizard, and I included Nomura too because she would have been safer there than with Douxie.

➟ Hong Kong team: Aaarrrgghh, Blinky and Toby. Not only because they work well together, but because Toby wasn't very useful in the original team he was and because Aaarrrgghh and Blinky are also safer.

➟ Earth Titan team: Douxie, Zoe, Aja and Steve. Zoe is included here because she could have been a great supportive character in the movie, and Aja and Steve because they work well together and none of them would have turned into stone with the sunlight.

4. The adults. As I said before, I hated how they seemed to put the weight of the world in Jim, Claire, Toby, Aja and Krel shoulders (Of course, they are supposed to be the protagonists of the movie, but come on. They are teenagers, despite everything they went through they need help to make their decisions), so I would have fixed that making the adults actually support the teenagers, and be more involved in the last fight against Bellroc (also I would have made them convince Jim that the election for the different teams is not right).

5. What happened after the time-travel. I wouldn’t have included anything after the time-travel. Maybe I would have kept the scene where Jim and Toby hug, but as they get closer to the canal, I would have ended the movie there to let the viewers imagine what happens next. I also wouldn’t have included Jim talking to Strickler to push the Stricklake, or him joining the tryouts to lay the groundwork for dating Claire. Like Aja said, some things are meant to happen. And if they are meant to happen, it’s better to let them unfold naturally.

6. Toby being the Trollhunter. Don't show it. Yep, that's all. I wouldn't have shown the amulet calling Toby's name.

[rlnacore]

I wanna preface this by saying this isn't anti-bonezo it's moreso anti tvd writers room.

So recently I've been falling back down the TVD rabbithole and i've been rewatching episodes and reading takes online. Then I saw that recently Kat and Ian were on panel, where they spoke a bit about the unexplored romantic potential between Bonnie and Damon. Interestingly enough, Kat addressed the systematic racism problem in the industry and how that translated to the storylines and romances she was given on the show. She kinda hinted at the fact that Enzo only became a romantic interest for Bonnie because he wasn't as popular as Damon was.

And to be totally honest, hearing that and kinda reflecting on my personal feelings towards Bonnie and Enzo's relationship (which can really just be summed up to indifference or even frustration) it finally made me realise why i can't enjoy their romance.

For me, the entire existence of Bonenzo is just a manifestation of the deep-rooted racism in the TVD writers room. The sole purpose of their relationship was to absolve Julie Plec, Caroline Dries and all other anti-black higher ups from any accusations of mistreatment towards Bonnie's character and Kat. I know that for me personally, the odds of me becoming fond of their relationship is slim to none, because shipping them would feel like condoning the producers' behaviour (that sounds very dramatic but I'm sure you understand my point).

They took a shoehorn/convenience character who was a watered down hybrid of two other significant characters (Damon & Klaus - both of who's actors expressed a desire to have a romantic storyline with Bonnie) and who had already pursued the male leads' mother and Caroline (to no avail), then threw him into a rushed, underdeveloped romance with Bonnie, only to reveal that it started out as a kidnapping situation and that he'd been slowly killing her the entire time (unintentionally because duh).

Regardless of my fondness towards Michael and Kat, knowing that they have a strong friendship to this day and that they enjoyed getting to work together on that relationship, or that "at least we got to see Bonnie happy", I cannot bring myself to enjoy it because it should've never happened in the first place!

And considering the way their story ended I can't say I feel like I missed out because in the end they still couldn't let Bonnie have this "happiness" for long.

So moral of the story, I don't HATE bonenzo nor do I judge other people for shipping them. They had ok chemistry and i actually kinda liked Enzo (probably more to do with Michael though) - I just don't believe that for a character like Bonnie, he was ever TRULY going to be her epic romance...

Oh and screw you to whichever producer (I'm looking at you Julie) tried to tell us that Bonnie never finds love again after he dies and only has flings for the rest of her life until she meets enzo in the afterlife.