#where it feels a bit overdone. and this is said as someone who 1) loves character dynamics and 2) loves social games w/ deception

[special-inchrest]

anyway i loved wild life, it might be in my top three for the life series. if you don't like the changing gimmicks that's fine, it might just not be the season for you. it was fun, it was silly, it was nice to have a season where it WASN'T hinging on the social game.

the players are all obviously at a point where they're very good at surviving in minecraft so having a new mechanic and additional danger factor in the form of the wild cards was cool and kept things new. the final wildcard being what it was means that they could put what they previously learned to use but keeping the unpredictable element.

the life series has always had a limited lifespan (a limited amount of lives, if you will) but gimmicks being added wasn't a death knell.

[honeytonedhottie]

taking control of ur wellness (tips and tricks to be ur healthiest most vibrant you)⋆.ೃ࿔*:･✍🏽🌸

you must treat ur body like the temple that it is. love every inch of urself and out of love for urself, take good care of it. in this post we'll explore how to take control of ur wellness and overall take better care of urself from the inside out…💬🎀

THE MAINTENANCE ;

maintaining ur health by taking supplements is something that i do and its made a big difference in my health. because im taking my vitamins and supplements i feel a lot better and i dont get sick often at all.

♡ invest in a cute vitamin box to inspire u to take ur vitamins

i take a daily multivitamin in the morning and at night i take magnesium + D3 because its helped me fix my sleep schedule and just have better quality of sleep. plus its a better alternative to melatonin ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅✍🏽

DISCLAIMER : its crucial for u to do ur own research when it comes to ur health so make sure that u do that before applying anything that u learn on the internet for ur own safety!…💬🎀

♡ chia seed water every morning

make sure that ur not consuming more than 1-2 tbsp of chia seeds a day but i put 2 tablespoons of chia seeds in my water every morning cuz its an amazing source of fiber, and they're rich in omega-3 fatty acids and other vitamins and minerals.

♡ if im experiencing inflammation i'll take some warm water, turmeric and some lemon

♡ chlorophyll water (bonus points if u add a lemon wedge)

chlorophyll is an internal deodorizer! it helps to detoxify the body by binding to and eliminating toxins, heavy metals, and harmful substances. it also helps with skin concerns like acne 💕

♡ dry brushing

dry brushing is something else that i do that has an impact on my health. dry brushing unclogs pores in the exfoliation process. it also helps detoxify your skin by increasing blood circulation and promoting lymph flow/drainage. so not only am i exfoliating for softer more princessy skin, im also promoting my lymph flow and increasing my blood circulation.

THE IMPORTANCE OF HYDRATION ;

i know everyone always talks about how important it is to drink water and its lowkey overdone but its TRUE. water is so SO important. if u have difficulty drinking enough water invest in a cute water bottle with a straw. i say with a straw cuz i feel like personally, im more inclined to drink water if its out of a straw.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT ;

when ur eating, try focusing on how the food ur eating is making you feel. everyones body responds differently to different foods so by noticing how u feel after eating something, you can have a better idea of what u should continue eating and what u should steer clear of. with that being said, lets get into this section. 🗒️

something else that i wanted to yap about in this section is that there is a difference between restricting urself and self control. eating shouldn't be bringing u anxiety and ur allowed to let urself live. so eat to feel satiated and happy, dont eat to the point where you feel sick and like u can barely move.

something that has helped me be more conscious of what im choosing to fuel my body with is the 80-20 rule. choose the healthier option 80% of the time and the 20% of the time eat yummy pastries and cakes 💕

if ur someone who has difficulty eating vegetables, try cooking them in a different way and seasoning them adequately to make them yummy, masking them in different dishes. OR if that doesnt work for u get ur veggies in smoothies. cuz u gotta get in some fruits and vegetables.

im someone who loves to have a fun drink in the mornings and during the day so i've been super obsessed with making my own smoothies. my smoothie formula is super simple and it has never failed me.

(1-2 fruits + collagen powder/protein powder + almond milk + a bit of honey/maple syrup + ice)…💬🎀

some more wellness drinks and juicing recipes →

♡ apple + lemon + kale + honey + water

♡ grapefruit + lemon + kale + water

ALL ABOUT PROBIOTICS ;

probiotics are the good bacteria that live in your gut, working hard to keep your digestive system balanced and healthy. SO if you’re dealing with bloating, fatigue, or even skin issues, it might be time to show your gut some love.

♡ kimchi

♡ greek yogurt

♡ kefir

♡ pickles

♡ kombucha

MOVING YOUR BODY ;

moving ur body is also super duper important, not only for ur physical well being but also for ur mental wellbeing so make sure that ur getting physical activity every single day.

whether thats going to the gym, stretching, playing a sport, going on walks, dancing etc. there are literally SO many ways that u can move ur body and enjoy urself ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅ some things that i like to do to stay active are →

♡ dancing ♡ stretching ♡ jump-roping (my favorite) ♡ walking

the trick to this is using the stair master machine OR if u dont have one in ur gym, u can just go on the treadmill at an incline for like 30 minutes or however long u can, and putting ur hands up to ur head and keeping ur posture straight. aim for at least a 5-10% incline, but you can go higher depending on your fitness level…💬🎀

or ofc u can go on walks with ur pet or ✨hot girl walks✨ and walk while listening to a podcast, literally whatever u prefer.

♡ pilates/workouts that i can follow along with on youtube

a fun way to keep track of the workouts that u consistently do is to make a workout book like i did. that way i can have everything at my fingertips right when i need it 💕🗒️

[a-lost-prince]

i forgot i had wanted to spill my thoughts about murder drones after binging it, but it got late, so i'm doing it now.

honestly i'm kind of mixed with the way it was presented. more under the cut because i don't know how long i'll go!

disclaimer: i really enjoyed the show, and i love it for what it has! i am just someone who likes to criticize what i enjoy and see the potential in stuff. i also know that this is an indie show and it won't be something up to standards of properly budgeted shows on streaming services, etc. that being said, i still feel these sorts of stories can be picked at to see what could have been done better, just with anything else in the world around us. so!

first episode was messy tbh. i went in thinking N was going to be a 'redeemed' murder drone because his coding was wacked up, and then it'd take the rest of the show's runtime for him to come to realization that he wants to just be A Guy and live happily with other drones, but i guess that didn't happen. i could see the potential, and it sort of slipped away after two seconds when his data was recollected and his memories returned. i think most/everyone agrees that ep 1 is messy, (i've heard it get called cringey? i wouldn't really call it that. i would say it's a very on-the-nose episode, and a little too self aware of the characters it is writing, to the point where you can't really feel allowed to enjoy what they're going through. it sort of hurt the moment when Uzi was let outside for the first time.), and the pacing was crumpled together a bit.

one thing the show continually does great is action and fight scenes, though! that's definitely their strongest point, and i did enjoy all the scenes that popped up. ep.8 was of course fantastic, and they really scored the fast, snappy action a fight scene should have!

another positive is that they are definitely aware of their comedy, and jokes don't feel overdone (outside of the first episode). everything has great timing, and even emotional moments have their fun to them, but don't ruin the effect the scene has overall. it's a great balance, honestly, and it's something even i am not good at, so i happily salute this part of the writing!

outside of that, it feels like pacing is a bit of a struggle. this is of course my own perspective on watching, but i found it hard trying to grasp what was going on before a scene went on to the next part. i understood something was happening, but what was it exactly?? i think it took up until episode 5 or so for it to really sink in. it felt like the priorities of the real problem was all over the place until near the end of the season.

trying to understand what was happening to uzi's mom and what caused the solver in the first place sort of felt like it wasn't even made sure of what this point even was until the ending episodes. the air of mystery was neat, but i felt left behind and a little frustrated at times with how jumpy the plot felt per episode. some things happened without explanation or felt like they were happening just for the convenience of that one specific episode, so i couldn't help but feel that was really obvious and i had a hard time immersing myself and going along with the episode's ideas.

looking back, i think they did alright with how the plot was approached. could it have been better with some more foresight? ... uhhh... maybe? i don't actually know how the development of this show went on, so i'm talking blind here.

i think what nagged me the most was the character writing. uzi is the strongest character out of everyone, but then everyone else felt a little basic. this is just from what i saw per episode, not really considering the deeper implications per character. those can exist just fine, but if they aren't really shown then it's hard to see the potential in them! uzi's dad had a lot of this in my opinion, as his story is pretty sad, and we do get a good start of how his dynamic was with uzi versus the rest of the drones hidden away, but that goes away so fast it was hard to appreciate it. then it was just background that didn't impact a lot for the rest of the show.

and now i think is going to be the point that will get me the biggest flack: i feel N wasn't written very well. i always felt like he was having things happen to him, instead of him having any agency towards moving forward. he came along uzi's antics the whole show, and he did have agency here and there, but for the most part he felt like some toy to be punched and tossed around and broken up over and over than actually be a character that drives the story. at the very end he was just kind of getting used over and over to be the one to hurt or have watch his loved ones be harmed in front of him, but then what else doe s he do? i might not remember everything and this is a general statement, but it felt a little off-putting to me just how little it feels he does. i know how isn't entirely useless but i do wish he had some more focus. it felt like we only had uzi's perspective and i would have enjoyed more viewpoints from the other protagonists.

i really can't remember much right now to say anything about the other characters- they all get less and less important outside of uzi and n, and that's... fine? but they felt so important for a while there in the first episodes that when they suddenly drop off you're left wondering what happened.

i liked lizzy. i don't even remember why she was a focus point for a few minutes for those final episodes, but she always had a really fun personality when put up against other characters.

my biggest gripe is unfortunately n if you can't tell. he almost feels like he was made to be catered to being liked by most, then that's it- because when he's hurt, you feel bad, and that makes you invested. but i felt like so much more could happen outside of that initial pull. h was already interesting for possibly being a completely wiped murder drone that uzi could have tried using or integrating into drone society in some way? but that never happened and we went down an entirely different route. needless to say, we were already interested when he first appeared, and we could have had a lot more character from him after that bouncing off point.

oh, and while we're on a similar note, i literally did not understand the mansion backstory. i tried really hard to get it, but i didn't. it's a neat concept to have your history hidden away like that and to see the early ideas of what drones were to humans, but it didn't feel well executed in a way i could remember.

i'm not saying any of this as a hater. i'm saying this because i liked the show and i would have loved to see more from it in each episode. i think it's fine for what it is! i probably would have been very very invested when i was younger and had seen all of this- i can see the appeal where it is.

so, yeah. that's kind of what i have in mind. i'm totally open to talking about my ideas and seeing if i'm right or wrong in points, and what anyone could say on my criticisms. it's not bad to point out the stuff on things you like that aren't perfect.

and, again, i never expected this show to be PERFECT. i just like to point out the things that could have been better, since i'm always thinking like that.

if you made it this far, thanks for reading!

[dreamteamspace]

We hit 400 so here’s a- ✨ DREAM APPRECIATION ESSAY ✨

(by Yours Truly. Much thanks to the one, innocent anon who just wanted to ask a small talk question but hit my serotonin-providing hyperfixation.)

1. Self-esteem

I love the way he’s confident in his abilities when it’s become such a “trend” to either be completely and utterly self-depricating about your own skills out of fear of being labelled an asshole or overconfident nowadays.

At the same time you can still tell he doesn’t want to pull anyone down ever, and will always be really careful with that and take every oppertunity to lift up the people around him. Dream has a very emotional voice that gives him away a lot, so you can really tell he genuinely admires the people around him and he’s never afraid to say that they could totally easily beat him in something if he doesn’t have practice with it.

He tends to be a bit too hard on himself, so his friends always encourage him in his abilities, and that’s just. So nice. He celebrates his victories! He gets so so excited and happy when he wins in the manhunts, and I think celebrating your hard-earned victories isn’t something that should be villanized.

He won, and we should KNOW by now that doesn’t mean he thinks he’s somehow better than everyone. He has a pretty good eye on his abilities, and that allows him to really use them to the max.

2. Morality

He isn’t afraid to change the game! His adhd picks out a Cool New Thing and he just goes, You know what? Why not! His adhd goes “do this thing repeatedly another 3847 times” and he’s like, yeah sure!

Nobody expected him to release a song, but he just went for it! He’s been speedrunning so much, but he isn’t afraid to stream it every day 5 days in a row for hours while his friends bicker in the background.

Dream genuinely does the things he finds fun, but at the same time puts in so much effort to make them good and entertaining to watch and never forgets about his viewers.

He’s kidfriendly because he wants to be! Fame-wise, at this point he could definitly swear more if he wanted to (and he does when in other people’s content who don’t care about swearing), but despite that he doesn’t swear on his main because he wants his content to be accessable for everyone.

Sure, on one hand it could be for clout/money, but consider: Dream doesn’t stream the DSMP because he doesn’t want to take attention away from other people. He participates in the videos of his friends. He lets compilation channels and the like do whatever they want and even monetize his content. He lets his friends stream Road Trip on twitch as much as they want for free.

Dream doesn’t not swear just for his fanbase, but he does it because he has so so much respect for people. No matter how high he goes, he’s always consciously focused on respecting and admiring the people around him.

He has genuine respect for creators so much smaller than him, and he has respect for people in his fanbase that are younger than him. He isn’t afraid to go against the norm and STAND for that, either (see the video where he defends his stans).

And he defends his friends so much too! So much so it could almost be a little bit of a flaw sometimes, but I feel like he truly wants to learn from his mistakes. He apologizes for things even when nobody asked him to, and that just shows that he does it out of genuine guilt and fear of hurting someone.

He’s always seemed like someone who is genuinely willing to change to be a better version of himself, who isn’t afraid to challenge what he thinks and what other people think and what the norm thinks in order to improve everything for everyone.

Dream also doesn’t let any of the fame get to his head! As I said before - he’s confident in the things he’s good at, but in a way that doesn’t pull other people down, and he still remains firmly admirable of other people.

And even when OTHER people let fame get to their head (it was a while ago, but there was a video he made about five block jumps, where he added in a clip of a video of another guy doing it complete with credit and link etc. The guy was 100% alright with it at first, but when his video started getting more views because Dream’s video blew up, he started accusing Dream of “stealing” his content (when dozens of other videos of the 5 block jump already existed, and Dream could’ve just put in a clip of himself doing the jump)),,, but he insisted in his reponse that fame gets to people’s heads sometimes, nobody should blame anybody, he genuinely was never upset at him and just said that this just... happens sometimes.

He’s a very forgiving person all around, in part due to being willing to challenge his own norms and give people the benefit of the doubt JUST in case he’s wrong. He lets people enjoy things so long as they aren’t hurting anybody, like allowing people to ship him w people who are also alright with shipping, but at the same time taking a hard stance on, say, how shipping minors is absolutely wrong and should not be done ever (and he’s right).

3. Fandom

He appreciates said fanart and fanworks as well! He thinks dnf fanart is cool and he even appreciates the fanfic part of his fandom, something many ccs wish to ignore or forget it exists altogether (and it IS ofc in their right to do so or be uncomfortable with such content!), but Dream sees the work put into it and how people find connections and friendships through the fandom and appreciates it all the same.

He loves his fandom. So much. But not in the overdone, fake-feeling way I’ve seen other ccs be,,,, he’s just. Quiet and shy and genuine about it but not afraid to defend it.

He’s said before - and I QUOTE - “If you send hate to people or have sent hate to people, in the form of hateful comments or DMs, you aren’t welcome in my fandom. You’re no fan of mine”, which is the HOTTEST take he’s ever uttered and I love that. He really just went and said that. And he’s right. I like that despite how he’s usually more held back and waits things out before taking a stance, he chose this topic to really take a hard stance on and not budge and stick to it.

Pmbata has also said that he believes his fans have his back no matter what!! And that he really loves them a lot!!! And I am!! Emotional!!!!

4. ND/Adhd

He has adhd which is something I relate to personally (I have it as well sdlkfj). He gets excited sometimes!! I love how he shows being fidgety in mc, always pacing and parcouring around,, the way that in manhunts you can SEE when he’s thinking or bouncing back and forth between two options,,, or the way he gets close to people in mc to laugh with them.... He shows so much with his movements by them being quick and daring and calculated (and it’s especially hilarious to watch other people react to it in the video “mc but three people control one player”, where he’s the one moving and Sapnap and George will gasp or go “Dream!!” in surprise when Dream was THIS close to falling off a ledge, but he just laughs sdlkfjsdf).

When he’s not moving around he stands perfectly, perfectly still (which, idk if thats what all adhd ppl have, but I know I have something similar? Like when I’m nervous I’ll sometimes just. Freeze in place. No movement at all). He’s just relatable sdkjf.

There was one Manhunt extra scenes where he,,,,, stims by clapping,,,,,, the lil excited clap in the background,,, I’m gonna cry. I’m so soft for excited Dream that one is such a comfort clip for me!

He also tends to stim by getting under trap doors and then jumping back out of them, or jumping up a block and then walking back down over and over (especially noticable in The Village Went Mad tftsmp episode, where they were all discussing who the murderer could be and he was the only one moving, hopping up the log and then running back down again).

Also it is. Really Soft when he starts rambling and overexplaining something. What’s even better is that George, who is usually present at such moments, will laugh a little at his antics, and Dream will automatically laugh with him.

5. Rp/Uplifting other ccs

Dream wasn’t all THAT into the rp at first, but his server has been so strongly supporting and giving attention to smaller creators that he’s since completely rolled along with it. Being a villain in the RP is a difficult role because you will, inevitable, as much as it is just roleplay and all scripted, always get some amount of dislike from people for it.

Despite that, he’s basicly the main big villain on his own server where he let a bunch of theater kids beat him up in character and imprison him on his OWN SERVER. He wasn’t as into the rp at first, but has obviously been practicing and joins every Tales of the SMP when he can, despite getting zero clout for it.

What Dream also tends to do is find small content creators, see their talent and lift them high. His entire discord server is dedicated to give smaller ccs a place to grow, and when he first found Tubbo, Tommy, Ranboo, etc., they were much much smaller than they are now. He truly wanted to help them make it big.

He’s also added Foolish Shark and Hannah onto the SMP, both much smaller ccs (not tiny, but you get what I mean), allowing them to grow. He doesn’t stream on his OWN SERVER. He let himself get imprisoned to let the good guys win on his OWN. SERVER. He’s willing to play the villain and everything.

An interesting thing though! A lot of people used to/still do clown on Dream a bit for his sometimes uncertain acting,,, but when he’s around people he knows well (Sapnap and George, Tubbo and Tommy) we’ve seen him go ALL OUT. I have the theory Dream might be genuinely afraid to accidentally be mean to someone in character and have them misinterpret it sldkfjsdf,,, so he’s rly careful when he goes into the rp, and sometimes even when he’s in it he goes quiet, especially with other people around.

But also the fact that he needs time to feel comfortable around ppl is,, a mood,,, and adorable,,, sdlfkjsdf-

Apparently he’s also shared his youtube algorithm secrets with Tommy?? Which he had only shared with Sapnap and George before?? Dream took one look at that chaotic kid and immedietly adopted him as his little brother. He literally got up super early to rp the prison visit. Idk about ya’ll but I would die for someone first and get up horribly early for them second-

6. Friends!!

Dream?? Considers so so many people his friends?? And despite having so many friends, he also has his few closest friends (George and Sapnap) whom he would absolutely die for in a heartbeat. He WILL defend them with everything he has and loves them so so much.

He listens to them and really, truly wants them to succeed. He respects them so much and will go OFF about how good they actually are and how talented they are and how important they are to him.

I can’t even COVER everything about how much he is SOULMATES with Gorg. They live in each others heads rent-free. He mentions him all the time. They get!! So happy when they’re around each other!!! Their voices get so soft,,

And I can’t even BEGIN to explain the energy of Sapnap and Dream just moving together permanently. Imagine moving together with your best friend. Like, permanently. Into one house. They’re best friends Your Honor,,,,

Also,, remember the Techno and Dream rivalry? And Dream has recently said that he’s hesitant to make a serious manhunt against Techno because he doesn’t want there to be any feud between them or have them be compared to each other. He said that while he absolutely wanted nothing more than to beat Techno at first, now that he knows him better he just wants to be friends with him. He wants to be FRIENDS. With his, essentially, mc RIVAL. Friendly rival, but still. He doesn’t even wanna fight Techno or have ppl compare them cause he,,, wants to be friends with him,,,,

7. Vulnerability

What I feel like really sets Dream apart from some other ccs for me is that he’s willing to be vulnerable. He will tell George he loves him. He defends his friends. He sounds so, so genuine when he tells his fandom that he loves them.

What’s just really rare to see, especially in male ccs, is that vulnerability. It’s becoming more acceptable as time goes on, but it’s certainly not easy, and a lot of people become and stay long-term fans BECAUSE they can see how genuine he is.

I know Dream looks up to Mr. Beast a lot, for example, but honestly? I think he’s a little better than Mr. Beast. Because he feels more genuine, more bound to what he believes is right. I’m sure Mr. Beast isn’t a bad content creator! But ultimately they have different target audiences and I’m very glad Dream is the way he is.

Less of that insecure masculinity and more willing to be vulnerable, to care about things, to get emotional and to encourage and uplift the people around him.

8. Pure Brainrot

Green boi has nice deep calm soothing voice. Little shy laugh. Wheeze laugh. Gorg live in his head rent-free. He lov friends. He lov block game. He good at block game,,, a little shy but confident,,, big heart,,,, soft voice,,,,, rambles sometimes....

He also Gender. He’s so gender. I don’t know how else to describe it. I want That. Whatever That is. My gender is Dreamwastaken

[princesimonsblog]

I understand people saying love triangles are overdone, but i dont think they are that unrealistic, especially in case of teenagers. When you’re young and you are a teenager, you try different things, meet different people. And as for Simon and Wilhelm, they are endgame for sure and they connection is unique and will bring them back together. But i dont think i would be that unrealistic for Simon to meet someone else in this story, he’s out and confident, but hurt and he will probably try to get his mind off Wille and move on from the whole situation (for a while), which is quite normal for a teenager, so having him meet someone who takes his mind off of it wouldnt be too crazy. Teenagers are impulsive and naive, its how they grow and learn about themselves, with all the mistakes, hurt and love. He will realize his love for wille is just too deep and strong. But how we left season 1, at this moment there is not really any future for him and wille, the ball is in wille’s court… its up to him to turn it around now. Right?

I'm so sorry for the late reply, I had really bad anxiety for the past few days and so I decided to enjoy time with my dad and my sister since he took a day off (and that doesn't happen often).

Anyway, enough about the life talk ;)

I understand where you're coming from, but I don't know if love triangles are that realistic, I've never seen one. I've seen people pining over the same person, but it's never as dramatic as we see on tv, because yeah, like you said, teens like to experiment and meet different people.

But I still think that Simon dating or being interested in dating someone else is unrealistic, as of right now. Remember, he's been in a sex tape that went viral in the world! That's not insignifient! In his shoes, I would take a long time before even being able to start dating again, because everyone would just see me as the boy on the sex tape. And since Wilhelm denied it was him in the video, he is now alone to deal with this.

And I think that people don't realize how much Simon loves Wilhelm. Yeah, he didn't say "I love you too" in ep 6, but it took everything from him to not say it. He wanted to say it, and breaking up with Wilhelm was probably one of the hardest thing he ever had to do. And by implying that Simon will be interested in someone else in S2 is not understanding Simon's feelings at all. Yeah, he is hurt, yeah he broke up with Wilhelm, but that doesn't mean he doesn't love Wille back or love him less than Wilhelm loves him. So yeah, I understand trying to get his mind off Wilhelm for a bit, but going out with someone else to do so? Nope, I don't see Simon doing this at all.

And yeah, I agree, the ball is in Wilhelm's court right now, Simon told him so by saying how Wilhelm needs to figure out what he wants, no matter how long it takes, but I don't think that means, for Simon, to start dating. Beside, dating for him would be extremely hard since, again, he is "the guy in the sex tape".

To be honest, what Wilhelm and Simon have is such a unique bond, and Edvin even said so recently regarding S2, so if there is a new character interested in Simon or Wilhelm (because yeah, that's a possibility, but when talking about a potential love triangle in YR, people always assume it would be between Simon and this new character, which, again, implies that Simon's feelings for Wilhelm are less strong and it's so untrue, which makes me hate the idea of a love triangle even more), I don't think SImon or Wilhelm would be interested in them.

Anyway, thanks your thoughts on this matter!

Also, note to everyone, I won't be talking about this subject anymore, I think I've stated my points enough, and you're all free to think differently, but I believe that speculating too much on how a story would go in the future can take a bad turn and create a lot of disapointments, so yeah.

[wesavegotham]

(hi I'm sorry if this bothers you but I really need to vent)

I have completely given up on dc doing damian justice like he is my favorite character I want to see more of him but not like what's been happening teen titans and such he is such a complex character and has so much potential for good stories but his stories are only about shifting between his father's or mother's side again and again like maybe instead of sending him on another mission to "humble" him maybe dc could actually explore his character how he deals with what happened in the league with him , the vast skills he has at his disposal, his intelligence , his compassion and empathy maybe just going on a journey for himself to find what he wants to do instead of honoring one side of his family

(I'm sorry for this being so long I'm emotional and just want my baby to be really happy and get a win for once🥺)

Teen Titans destroyed so much, Damian's character developement, all his relationships, my goodwill, my trust in DC as a whole...

On some level I get it if Williamson thinks he needs to put Damian through all his previous character developement again because TT threw it all away, he said in an interview that he doesn't just want to "flip a switch", but Teen Titans didn't give a damn about making Damian's descent into darkness believable either and no other storyline deals with the fallout of what happened in TT, so why don't we just flip the freaking switch and give Damian all his developement back right now?

Of course so far we only have Robin #1 to analyse, so there is still some time to prove me wrong, but to me it seems like Williamson wants to focus more on Damian's weaknesses rather than his strengths. And no, I'm not just basing this on how Bruce introduces Damian to new readers on the first few pages.

What kind of character developement arcs does Williamson set up for Damian in Robin #1?

Who is Damian?

It's what the hallucination of Alfred asks Damian and the manga Damian reads before that moment is very on the nose with its "you have to find your own way and stop only following your mentors/parents" message.

That is probably also why Williamson thought it was necessary to have Damian arrogantly announce to all the fighters who he is related to and thus the best, and why Damian suffered a pretty embarrassing defeat at the hands of Flatline. More on that later.

Damian defining himself through his family and the question who he is on his own is a running theme with Damian, you had it in Batman and Robin 2009 and 2011 when Damian ended up rejecting Talia/the league of assassins and chose to be Robin and part of the batfamily, he even died in attempt to convince Bruce that he was a hero; you had it in Robin: Son of Batman when Damian said he was a Wayne first and an al Ghul second, but also realized that he had found a second family with Goliath and Maya and that being Robin was his redemption; you had it a bit in Super Sons when Jon told Damian that doing good is not just Bruce winning against Talia, it's Damian's choice and thus his win. You even had it in Teen Titans, just that now he was rejecting everything about Batman and leaned more on the side the league of assassins while yelling about how this was "his own way" for some reason.

Because it's a running theme with Damian I guess I can't really fault Williamson for trying to give us his own two cents on the topic, but I don't think one can fault me either for wishing we could finally see something new and different being explored that is not about what side he's on. It's hard to care about the answer, no matter what it is, because chances are the next writer is not going to care about the new answer and will try to answer this question again. I would rather see Damian have some fun as a hero and Robin in peace for once instead of constantly seeing him ask himself who he is and if he's a hero or not. Even a running theme of a character can get tiring if it's overdone.

The second arc this first issue set up for Damian is about him not understanding that losing is normal and necessary.

Bruce talks about how Damian doesn't understand how losing and facing challenges made Bruce what he is today and that topic comes back around in Damian's fight against Flatline.

Her whole thing is that she contrasts Damian because she learned from people that lost while he "only learned from people that never truly tasted defeat" and she proves her way of thinking superior by easily deafeating and killing Damian.

I personally feel like this is a very forced and stupid arc for Damian that doesn't fit what Damian has been going through these past few years. Damian knows quite well that Bruce loses, his whole tantrum in Teen Titans was about him feeling like Bruce's way of doing things was not achieving anything, like they were losing the war against crime. Damian was desillusioned with Bruce. And in my personal opinion Bruce doesn't exactly look like a winner right now, Bruce lost Wayne Enterprises, Wayne Manor and the family fortune, Alfred died, Damian left him, the citizens of Gotham turned against Batman too...I don't really know what Bruce is talking about here when he says "Damian only saw me today. The end results" as if Damian only sees how great Bruce is and doesn't know that Bruce did suffer a lot of defeats. Bruce sucks a lot right now, why are we acting like he's good at what he's doing? And even if Bruce wins eventually, he doesn't win every fight and I think Damian has been around him long enough to know that.

Plus, Damian has lost a ton these past few years, if Damian was capable of learning humility through losing I think he would have already got there at this point.

When I read Damian's and Flatline's fight I felt less like Flatline was a foil created to deal with a problem Damian's character actually has right now and more like Damian was forced into this position and into this arc to act as a foil to Williamson's concept for his own creation.

Connected to this idea that Damian needs to accept that losing is okay and necessary is the idea that Damian is going to be humbled in this book. Humility wasn't really talked about in Robin #1 so I understand why some people were confused as to why that word has been used a lot in discussions about this first issue.

My reason for connecting Damian's defeat with the fear that Williamson will try to humble Damian doesn't exactly come from the comic alone, but from what he has said in interviews:

"Williamson: Well, selfishly for me, I enjoy throwing Damian in different situations where he has to interact with people. And it might be situations where he isn't his normal situation, where he's such a competent person, but I think there are ways of throwing him into situations that might humble him or where he might clash with people."

After seeing Damian either get villainized or be the butt of the joke for several years hearing that Damian will be getting thrown into situations designed to highlight his weaknesses is not exactly making me feel excited. I know that other people find it funny when Damian gets humiliated and beaten down, but I don't. I've been seriously missing respect for Damian in DC's writing and the line where I stopped finding stuff like this funny has been crossed long ago. I have no idea what Williamson talks about when he says that we're usually seeing Damian in situations where he's competent. I would like to know what comics he's talking about because I would really love to read them.

Maybe Williamson will pull it off and make me like Damian's character arc later on but I'm not convinced by the seeds he has sown yet.

So far I'm seeing an arc I've already read through too many times, another one that feels like it's trying to solve a problem the character doesn't have (if anything the character suffers from having almost no wins in recent years) and one that will give me the opposite of what I want to see.

Someone put it quite well when they said to me that it feels like every writer thinks they need to put Damian down a notch because of his arrogance, but we've reached a point where he has been taken down so much that it makes him look stupid.

[a-shakespearean-in-paris]

Hi! I found your Dragon Age fanfictions on Ao3 and love them and sometimes check your blog too but don't have tumblr. What is this whole controversy about being 30 and liking Cullen being wrong? I feel like I'm missing something. Anyway, I'm 32, married, expecting twins and never felt too old for Bioware games. WTF

Hi there, thank you for the support, it means a lot! And congrats! :D

Well, to make a long story somewhat short, recently a video circulated on tumblr from TikTok, one of those “what your favorite X says about you” videos that’s pretty common on the platform, if a bit overdone. This one was a “What your Favorite Dragon Age romance says about you.” Some jokes I’ll admit I found somewhat funny, others just made no sense. (Someone explain how liking Isabela gives you “mommy issues,” I still don’t get that.)

However, what was most egregious to many, myself included, was what this person said about Cullen romancers. According to this person, all Cullen fans are “thirty year old white moms” who are “creepy,” and “Cullen won’t save our failing marriage,” and we need to “go back to making our kids chicken nuggets.”

So, various bloggers broke down what was wrong with this, other than the fact that’s it’s just plain not correct about Cullen fans (Hi there everyone, in case you didn’t know, I’m very Polynesian and a huge Cullen fan, also not a mom yet, though I would like to be one someday. :) )But the breakdown of why these statements are problematic is as follows (under the cut for length):

1. The comments were ageist. The TikToker wielded “thirty year old white mom” like it’s some sort of insult.  There is literally nothing wrong with enjoying a game at thirty, literally nothing wrong with being a mom and enjoying a game. I have news for everyone: when you have kids your life or personality outside of being a Mom doesn’t end. To this end, the comments came across as gatekeep-y.

2. The comments were also misogynistic. A woman in the kitchen joke… in 2020. Not only that, but related to the above, it implies that women can’t have hobbies outside of being a mom when they turn a certain age, and do you see the same thing being said about men and their sports teams, or fantasy football? I don’t know why it’s viewed as cringey to be a part of fandom when you’re an adult woman but dudes can still collect their Star Wars memorabilia into their thirties and beyond. Especially when:

3. Dragon Age is rated mature, and it’s always had the M rating even when it was just Origins. This is a game for adult audiences. If you’re engaging with the media online, I am going to assume you’re an adult. Not only that, this is an eleven year old franchise. People who played the games in 2009 can still enjoy them even if some of them have had kids during this eleven year period.

4. Related to that: most, if not all the developers, I’d imagine, are probably over 30. Should they stop making the games for us and make their kids chicken nuggets instead? Is this why we don’t have DA4?!

5. Cullen’s exact age is unclear from canon, he was probably around 18 in Origins, but there’s no way he’s not under thirty come Inquisition. A thirty-year-old crushing on another thirty year old is creepy because…?

6. I haven’t seen others mention this, but it’s something I gathered. To me, the video subtly implied the TikToker’s view that women need to settle down by the time their thirty with kids, which is pretty heteronormative IMO. I’m just not here for that you’re thirty you need settle down BS. I’m 26 and I get crap for being single, which is a whole other pile of BS I won’t get into here. I would like to someday, but there is nothing wrong with being 30 or above and single with no kids. No one has to “settle down” if they don’t want to, there’s no age where you have to “grow up” and stop engaging with things you enjoy.

Being involved in a few different fandoms I don’t see all the discourse but I did happen to see this, and as I said earlier I do not think the person who made the video meant any real harm. I understand the intent was to joke, but people can harm others under the guise of “jokes” all the time. I can tell you in my life, people have “joked” with me about needing to put on a grass skirt and dance the hula, and not understood why I’ve been offended because they just meant to be funny. Casual racism isn’t funny and neither is casual misogyny or ageism.

It was also discouraging to see people on the tik toker’s video laughing at the Cullen joke for being true, as apparently we need to “find a better romance.” And this lead me to say something in a post which I’ll repeat here, as this video managed to trudge up the same old discourse I’ve seen periodically on tumblr about Cullen since I’ve been here in 2017, and mind you, I started writing/tumblr THREE YEARS after Inquisition’s release: that all his fans are boring, basic, idiot women who just like him because he’s traditionally handsome and we just ignore his flaws in favor of his looks, and also he’s just the basic white guy in a slew of “more interesting” romances. Heck, early in this blog’s creation, I could see discourse within Cullen fandom about the “right” way to portray him. (I won’t get into this right now though, it’s a whole other kettle of fish, and this is a pretty nuanced topic in an already nuanced topic.) Speaking for myself, I actually don’t gravitate towards pretty boys. Cullen won me over with his mature romance route. And I like his arc in Inquisition and think it’s a good redemption-esque arc considering this franchise has a lot of characters to develop— but that’s another story as well.

Anyway, I digress. To me the post was less about Cullen and more about “older women” in fandom and how to some find older women here creepy. (and I’m sorry but if you think 30 is “old” I have to laugh.) Also, I have a secret for you: “older” women built fandom spaces as we know it, and we owe a lot of debt to those who paved the way for us to enjoy content, from the early days of the Star Trek fandom, and even before with fan zines.

Fandom is for everyone, and can we stop trying to box people who like A, B or C into certain categories, because your choices in a fictional game don’t speak for who you are in real life.

[writingwithcolor]

Including diversity where there may be little

Including diversity where there may be little: Black Radium Girls as example

post-scriptvm asked: [ask clipped for length]

I have an interest in the ‘Radium Girls’, groups of women who worked at studios in America from the late 1910s onwards painting radium onto clock faces, and later took their companies to court for the horrible impacts the radium had on their body. 

I want to make a musical, just for fun. I’ve decided to use a fictionalized version of events, with composite characters based on multiple different women, rather than one of the real-life groups and the actual women from them. It will be mostly set in New Jersey, in the roaring 20s. 

Neither of the two real-life groups I know of had any Black women in them, and I can’t see any Black women in any of the big group photos of the dial factories’ employees. But I know there’s a lot of Black history and culture in that time and place bc of the great migration and stuff, so I feel like if I’m not going to use the real life ladies, I should probably take the opportunity to also make some of them Black, bc making a whole cast of white ladies in the name of potentially wrong ‘historical accuracy’ seems like a bad thing.

My question is, should I? [ask clipped for length]

I wouldn’t be surprised if there were African American radium girls. Speculating People of Color/Women of Color’s involvement is far more realistic than portraying everyone as white. Go for it! 

Perhaps look into what other races were predominantly in the New Jersey area for inspiration, too.

Hidden History

This section features just a few examples of PoC in lesser known historical settings.

The histories of People of Color are highly and actively erased. Women of Color especially get their stories left to footnotes in the textbooks. You hear about certain amazing women again and again, but there’s so many others that don’t get their time of day.

Hidden Figures (book and movie) is a prime example of that erasure and lesser known history. To summarize: It’s “the powerful story of four African-American female mathematicians at NASA who helped achieve some of the greatest moments in our space program.”

Here’s another example:

Photo of female firefights on Pearl Harbor, 1941. Identities unknown

It would be nice to know more about these women, and i’ve seen inquiries from people requesting info from anyone who may know. This struggle to find details is a prime example of that erasure in itself.

Enemies in Love: A German POW, a Black Nurse, and an Unlikely Romance by Alexis Clark

The book pictured above is the true story of a Black nurse and German Prisoner of War who fall in love during World War II. They face many hardships (disowning from his family, racism, and shunning from towns) but stay together for their whole lives, marry, and have children (One of their sons highly informed the writing of the book!)

This book discusses the discrimination the Black soldiers and nurses faced. They struggled to even be allowed to serve their country, and were treated worse than POWs.

Video: The Unlikely Romance of a Black Nurse & German P.O.W. in WW II 

Research

Research “[RACE] + Firsts” and find many more examples of little unknown bits of history where they’ve been involved. 

First doesn’t mean it came without limitations, discrimination or hardships. But they happened, and many sooner than you’d think.

Explore beyond what you know about whitewashed history and learn the true stories of People of Color.

Making it “realistic”

People will question how “realistic” it is to feature a Black women in this position for the time period, unfortunately. It doesn’t hurt to provide an explanation until we get to a place where diversity isn’t interrogated when it shows up.

Giving her backstory. 

You can briefly explain the journey to the job, such as shortages due to a war. Take a look at those real world firsts for inspiration. 

Especially take a look at the specific region of the story. What firsts were there? Any government power influences? How did PoC break barriers to make the strides they did?

Use the web, but also go beyond. Seek books, historians, artwork. Search those “footnotes” for that one sentence mention. (That’s actually how the writer of Enemies in Love found their story. Just a quick sentence and a search for the story began. It helped that she was a journalist!)

Relationships with Peers: 

“I will cut off this right arm of mine before I will ever work or demand the ballot for the Negro and not the woman.” - Susan B. Anthony

White women weren’t, historically, welcoming to Black women. For example, white sufferists insisted Black women march in the back of the protests for, allegedly, both their rights.  You’ll need to decide how your Black woman is treated in this situation. 

You might face the following from peers, superiors, or others:

Hesitation to work or interact with her

Curiosity and intrigue (The “Other”

Unsure of how to approach or be friends with her  

Microaggressions

Blatant racism 

Your musical doesn’t seem like it is meant to focus too heavily on the hardships. It begs a mention, but just how much is up to you.

Call the Midwife, period racism example

Call the Midwife (BBC) is set in East End London, Late 1950s, early 1960s. The show features a Black midwife named Lucille Anderson. There’s a shortage on nurses so Caribbean nurses were being called in to support the growing population. 

Call the Midwife is from a midwife, Jennifer Worth’s, memoir, so it’s based on history.

Check out this short clip: Nurse Lucille Anderson - Call the Midwife 

Lucille on Call the Midwife (Take notes!)

The show handles racism and microaggressions very well. It’s not overdone.

Lucille is accepted by her peers and is especially close to one of the girls.

There’s an episode where she actively faces blame and discrimination during a case. It’s a major story line of the episode. 

She does face occasional micro-aggressions where she is othered, but it is not every single time she is on screen and not every episode. 

Her peers talk to her about her experiences and in the case where she had an aggressive family member to deal with, they tried to protect her by reassigning her from the family. Lucille asks to handle it her way and they respect her decision.

Lucille can mostly perform her job and have peace, and is treated kindly by patients.

She has a personality, a romantic life, family & friendships.

It’s about 90% allowing her to exist, 10% navigating racism/microaggressions. That’s a comfortable, realist balance for such a story and setting. 

If you want to check out how they handled these issues for yourself, the show is on Netflix as of this post (2020). She’s introduced in Season 7. (I highly recommend watching this show from the beginning. I cry like every episode, and the diversity of several ethnic backgrounds picks up a lot mid season!)

I’ll kick you three scenarios for your Black radium girl:

Peer Acceptance, Initial Hesitation 

awkward friendliness & initial hesitation, perhaps more fear of the unknown vs. hostility

Upon having interactions and talking to her, they become comfortable and accept her. It could take just one simple conversation. Perhaps they’re more used to listening to Black music or have Black staff who work for them, but haven’t had an equal one-on-one experience with WoC without a power dynamic or service involved. Now, with a Black fellow radium girl thrown in a similar situation as them, they could develop kinship.

This might not describe every one of the woman at all. Others might be just fine with her with no awkwardness.

Types of racism experienced: 

some micro-aggressions (likely ignorance from peers)

no major racism experienced

Most Peer Acceptance, Racism From Some Peers

Most peers have no problem with her, even if they have their initial awkwardness. 1-2 more aggressive racists who don’t want her there. 

Sometimes everyone else gets along, but there’s that 1 bully and their minion, and they feed off each other. If the BS isn’t tolerated by the other girls, it could shut them up to make peace or at least behave themselves. It’s likely someone like this would remain hatefully stubborn, but would grimace from the corner if outnumbered.

In the case you create a situation where someone is hostile to the Black girl but learns better: real apologies and efforts should be made if this occurs. It also doesn’t excuse their past behavior. Read our posts on redemption arcs for more info. We’re not fans, personally.

In an intense racial situation, it would be nice if the girls (with sense) protected and defended her instead of standing idly by. They’re strong enough to rise up against the agencies who poisoned them, so they can fight for their fellow radium sisters if one’s being targeted. 

Types of racism experienced: 

several micro-aggressions

maybe 1 major incident 

Peer Acceptance, Racism from Other People

Radium girl acceptance within, but experiences racism from others she interacts with on/off the job. 

The Call the Midwife example fits this one. Lucille’s peers are comfortable with her. It’s some of the ladies she care for and/or their families that may have negative things to say or show hesitance. 

I’ll repeat what I said above: it’d be nice if the girls protected and defended her and didn’t stand by idly. Solidarity is important for establishing kinship and trust when it comes to white - woc friendships. 

Types of racism experienced: 

could vary from some to several micro-aggressions 

maybe 1 major incident

Balancing race issues in the musical 

Give the intersections of your Black girl’s situation proper attention. You can achieve this without overdoing it or making her whole arc about facing racism.

Perhaps the Black radium girl(s) has a song to express major woes, like segregation and poor treatment, or experiencing dismay over even less of a fighting chance in this fight for their rights.

If anyone does know anything but radium girls of color, please share! 

–Mod Colette

[swiftlythebest]

In Defense of Lake Meriwether

All right, strap in folks, we’re discussing an unpopular opinion! Lake Meriwether is not a bad character and she goes through some realistic growth. Additionally, she and Felix are shown good development and I ship it. Yikes, lots of unpopular opinions in so few sentences. 

Sidenote before I delve into everything: there is certainly a danger in media made for children and young adults being looked at through the lens of someone not in that target audience. I am 26, meaning the way I’m going to consume media differs from that of a teenager, especially considering that we’re apparently in different generations (which is weird, but that’s a whole other story). All of that is to say that I am an adult talking about a piece of media made for teenagers by older adults. It’s complicated, and I am in no way claiming that what I have to say is universally correct.

This whole whatever it is ended up being really long, so I’ll put it under a cut. Also, I know a lot of people probably won’t want to read it.

Sense of Identity

First of all, let’s keep in mind that Lake is 15/16. I have no idea how old people reading this post are, but if you’re older than 16, and out of high school, try to remember how you were at that age. Your brain hasn’t fully developed and much of your sense of self comes from interactions with your family and peers, not so much the world at large. That’s certainly altered by the widespread reach of social media, but someone that age is still navigating identity and their place in the world with limited experience. We can’t expect a girl who has grown up in a privileged bubble to be a bastion of morality. We can’t hold her to the same standard we would a full-fledged adult. She acts like a typical 15/16 year old who is insecure and trying to hide it while living in the shadow of her best friend. 

And hey, it’s true, Lake is primarily known as Mia’s best friend. Mia is described by Felix as the hottest girl in their grade and loved by everyone. Mia has the affection of the cute new boy, as well as the popular jock that Lake initially likes. I’m glad they don’t fall into the trap of making that friendship toxic and unbalanced, which is so often the case. I think within their friendship, they are very much equals who love and value each other. But to the public, Mia is more liked than Lake, and she is definitely at least somewhat aware of that. Lake is not Summer Roberts or Lydia Martin in the sense that she is not viewed as a highly desired person in the same way those other two characters are; she is viewed that way by the nerdy love interest, but not the student population as a whole. There are definitely parallels to be made with Summer and Lydia (Summer especially when you consider the intense similarities between Lake’s speech about public couples being scrutinized and Summer’s incredibly similar speech to Seth in Season 1), but that’s not one of them.

Lake’s mom sucks. It’s clear that Lake has grown up in a household where her every move was judged and she was made to see more flaws in herself than she had. Think about how that must have affected her psyche and pressured her into believing that who she was to the public was what truly mattered. That’s ingrained in her. We see that almost immediately with her being obsessed with Creek Secrets and trying to make herself more appealing to Andrew at the party. I’m not sure she knows who she actually is, just who she’s been molded to be. She wants approval and in the beginning, it’s clear she really only gets that from Mia and Felix, albeit, the latter is from afar.

Importance of Friendship

Once she and Mia begin to hang out with Victor and Felix, she begins to shift. We do see it even before when she confronts Andrew at the Battle of the Bands, showing us that she at least in some way knows her worth, but I’m not sure how much at that point. Victor and Felix add a new dynamic to her friendship with Mia and give her more people to genuinely think she’s great and make that known to her. While she’s still clearly insecure, we can see that start to chip away. When she impresses them with her excuses, something she’s likely only done to Mia so far, you can see how their approval makes her light up. And Felix’s compliment is quite possibly the first step towards her developing feelings for him.

DJ F Bomb on the Track

So we’ve now arrived to the Felix of it all. I want to say that I absolutely love Felix. I think he’s funny and sweet and a great friend; he was my favorite right off the bat and that opinion was only reinforced as the series progressed. Our first introduction to Felix is outside of whatever image he has at school and with his peers. We are told about his status as an outcast by him a few scenes after we’ve gotten to know him, so we already have formed our opinion of him beyond his public image. We know he’s quirky and anxious, but it comes across as endearing; the audience doesn’t know that his unique personality is not the main thing working against him. To Lake, and a vast majority of his peers, he’s Lonestone, an awkward and weird boy who doesn’t fit in and has a truly unfortunate nickname and reputation. We don’t have five years of taunting to affect how we view him. The audience view of Felix versus his peers’ view is important to distinguish when talking about why Lake is so hesitant.

Felix initially comes on too strong. He recognizes that in Episode 7 and, with the help of Pilar, he learns to back off a bit. The angler fish speech is sweet, but was I the only one a little put off by how obsessive it sounded? He’s saying someone should sacrifice everything for the one they love, which is a lovely sentiment in a fairytale, but a bit much when you’re 16. His growth isn’t as explicit as hers, but he still does have to soften his approach in order to really make it work.  And I want to be clear that while Felix is definitely a better person than Lake, I’d caution to say he’s a better character, in the sense of complexity and growth. I like him more, as I think pretty much everyone does, but Lake is a layered character with logical development, which shouldn’t be overlooked because you may not like her as a person. 

It’s supposed to be Felix for her. We as an audience, as well as Felix, know it when she says the same thing he said about DJs in episode 3. She catches on a couple of episodes later after they steal the cake, but she’s clearly in denial. Lake likes Felix. And she seems to like him more and more as the season progresses. But he doesn’t fit into that perfect image she has spent so long cultivating and trying to maintain, so she’s having to come to terms with that throughout their relationship. When she shoots him down for the dance after seeing his apartment, you know she doesn’t want to. It’s clearly killing her to say it, but she’s not there yet. And Felix knows his worth so he ends it, which also clearly kills her.

She told him upfront that no one could know, and she repeats it a lot. He can walk away if he’s not comfortable with that, and we do see him almost do that in episode 8, until she tells Mia. He’s right to want to revisit that part of their relationship around the dance, and especially after baring his soul to her at his apartment. He’s right to break it off when, after such an emotional afternoon for them, she still won’t be seen with him. He’s right to accept an invitation from another girl. His reaction is completely valid. 

She doesn’t expect to be jealous at the dance because she thinks it’s the natural progression of things. Kieran is the kind of boy she always saw herself with: a popular jock. And then he’s boring. He talks about working out and fantasy football and it’s boring. She can’t be herself with him. Then there’s Felix, at the dance with another girl who seems to make much more sense paired with him. He’s wearing a goofy ruffled shirt and joking about the smell of his hair and telling Lake he just wants her to be happy. I think she needed to see that what she thought she wanted she actually didn’t, and also that the boy she liked genuinely cared about her as a person, not just an object of desire. He makes her happy, something I’m not sure she had fully admitted to herself until that moment. And yeah, the big public declaration of love is a huge cliche and overdone and all that, but it works so very well in visual media.

Conclusion?

Look, all of this mess is to say that Lake is not a bad person, nor is she a bad character. We all latched onto Felix pretty quickly, so naturally, our standards for him were going to be sky-high. But in a show of tropes, this relationship was obvious from the start. Lake felt authentic, like a scared teenage girl navigating her self-esteem, public image, overbearing mother, and falling for someone unexpected all at the same time. She grows and develops, learning to go for what truly makes her happy, not what she thinks should make her happy. 

TL;DR: Lake is a complex, realistic portrayal of an insecure teenage girl with an overbearing mother, who spends a lot of time in her best friend’s shadow. She’s in denial of her true feelings for Felix for a while, going so far as to sabotage something she knows is good and right in order to continue to feel secure. By the last episode, she has grown and learned enough to understand her own autonomy when it comes to her happiness. We should all cut her a little bit of slack and let the immature 16-year-old be immature and 16, while learning how to be just a bit more mature.

[ruffboijuliaburnsides]

voiceless Jaskier AU (part 6)

I EMERGE! With... uh, angst. I’m so sorry. It’s getting better, I swear to god it is

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 7) (Part 8) (Part 9) (Part 10) Now on AO3

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

The road to Mahakam was not particularly long, but it seemed slow. By the third day on the road, Jaskier was confident that Geralt was traveling slower intentionally, and he wasn’t sure how to take it. It was probably concern, that mother hen instinct that Geralt absolutely had and denied at every turn. Jaskier’d seen it, the man was… well, all right, he was very bad at nurturing, but he also tried, and that was the important part.

The other option was that he didn’t want to go to Mahakam, or didn’t want to go with Jaskier, and that sat less easy with him. Was it that he felt like finding words for Jaskier that weren’t spoken seemed like giving up? Jaskier could understand that; he felt like that himself, in a way, and though he was trying to see it as a boon it was not lost on him that learning another language, especially one so alien to his experience, would take time. Time that they could’ve spent trying to get his voice back, if that was something so easily done. If it wasn’t easily done, well, it might be worth spending this time first, so he wouldn’t destroy himself through his forced silence.

But also… the reticence Geralt was showing in their travel could come from Geralt not wanting to be caught up in this. Jaskier wouldn’t blame him. He didn’t even sign up for a bard, not really, but at least before Jaskier could largely take care of himself. Now he’s just a voiceless nothing, draining on Geralt’s always-limited resources, not even pulling his own weight as much as Roach did.

Jaskier took a deep breath, from his perch on Roach’s back (at Geralt’s insistence), and then let it out slowly.

Geralt turned back to frown at him, because of course he did. “Need to stop?” he asked, and Jaskier wanted to kiss him and kick him in equal measure. Jaskier pulled out his tablet and scribbled, his letters large and a little wobbly thanks to Roach’s gait.

Fine, keep walking.

Geralt didn’t seem to fully believe it, but turned forward and back to leading. It would be okay. Geralt would take him to Mahakam, and whether he stayed or not, Jaskier could learn a hand sign speech and find someone to translate for him. There had to be those in Mahakam who could hear but knew this hand speech who’d like to leave, like a reason to leave, that working as a translator would grant them. If Geralt wanted to leave him behind, he’d be all right. He could manage.

He always had.

**

We’re going really slow.

Jaskier held the tablet out as Geralt chewed his dinner (rabbit, not rations, thankfully). Deciding to broach the subject had taken a while, but ultimately he just wanted to get where they were going. Once they were there, he could start learning, and have something to do with his evenings by practicing.

(Once they were there, maybe the noise and the people and the purpose would make the world stop feeling distant and unreal, like it was mist he could disperse with a wave of his hand, if he could bring himself to go to the effort of moving it.)

Geralt seemed a bit taken aback by the comment, and looked between Jaskier and the tablet a couple of times, that little crease appearing between his eyebrows that meant he was confused. (Jaskier wanted to kiss it until it turned into the thin-lipped, surprisingly frownless expression of exasperation. When had it gotten so hard to box up these feelings and put them aside?)

“You’re hurt,” Geralt said, and it was a declaration, sure, but Jaskier knew him. Knew what it meant. I thought you were hurt and reacted how I thought I should, but now I’m not sure anymore. The giant idiot. Jaskier rolled his eyes and reached over to gently smack Geralt upside the head with the tablet. The confusion deepened, and was joined by irritation. “What the hell, Jaskier?” he asked, more sharply than Jaskier thought his light love-tap warranted, but it was better than the just-this-side-of-too-gentle that he’d been getting. Nice as it was to be looked after tenderly, from Geralt it felt wrong, after a point.

Can’t talk, he wrote in the wax, the letters carved almost awkwardly deep in his rush. Not injured. Nothing healing. Can go faster.

“Hm,” is the only response Geralt gave as he read the words, frown firmly in place, and Jaskier could scream from the frustration of not being able to say what he meant and shout at Geralt for being overprotective and making him feel more broken than he felt already. He got up abruptly and all but stalked a few feet away to get on the other side of Roach and actually do it. He pressed his forehead to the mare’s side, grateful for her patience, took a deep breath, and just screamed.

If anyone could’ve heard anything but a sharp exhalation of breath, it would’ve been loud and long and absolutely feral.

It didn’t help as much as he’d hoped; his throat felt raw and strained in a way that probably meant he’d overdone it despite Yennefer’s magical healing, and the lack of sound made the catharsis feel hollow and empty.

Like a pie with no filling.

A few more deep breaths, trying to get air back into his empty aching lungs, and he went back around to sit down again, picking up his tablet. Geralt looked concerned, openly concerned, not just hidden in specific grumpy frowns, and Jaskier pretended he didn’t see.

I’d like a bath if we can afford to stop, he wrote, taking the time to write it completely, not leaving out unnecessary words or working quickly. And then, after handing it to Geralt, Jaskier left it with him, his bedroll already laid out, waiting for him.

Geralt waited a long time, and Jaskier had actually nearly fallen asleep, before he climbed in to curl around Jaskier as usual.

Jaskier sighed in relief that he’d come, muscles unspooling, and drifted off to sleep bitter that he was so comforted by the warmth of the witcher at his back.

**

Jaskier got his bath.

The water was still being warmed when Geralt strode back into their room to grab his swords.

“Found a job in the next village,” he said gruffly, strapping them on.

Jaskier scrambled across the room to grab his tablets, carving into it as quickly as he could, turning it back toward Geralt.

He didn’t look.

“Has to be tonight. Sprit only shows up on the new moon,” Geralt continued, and Jaskier tried to catch his attention with his tablet more insistently.

He didn’t look.

“Should be back in a day at most. If it’s two, don’t panic.” And then he strode out - not cruelly, not angrily, just in a rush. Trying to get to the neighboring village and its nighttime, new moon monster.

Jaskier was left in the room, holding his tablet in his lap as what just happened sank in. As his complete lack of being able to communicate, in any way, was taken and shoved back in his face like an old sock someone never wanted to see again.

Geralt. Didn’t. Look.

The girl who prepared his bath started to leave, and he gestured wildly to get her attention, then turned back to his tablet to scribble on the side he hadn’t written to Geralt on.

Is room and food paid up? Go ask please? The girl squinted at the words, carefully sounding them out with her mouth, and Jaskier was just glad she could make them out at all, to be honest.

“I’ll ask,” she said helpfully, and ran off. Jaskier undressed anyway, even though she could theoretically return any moment, and got in the tub, not bothering with salts or oils. There was a sharp knock and Jaskier tried to ask who it was, but-- oh. The girl opened his door and stuck her head in, carefully. “Miss says the room is paid for three days, but food was not included,” she said in the cadence of someone who was repeating something precisely. He smiled tightly, both in gratitude and because he didn’t have any coin to tip her with, because Geralt of Rivia set off with his coin purse firmly affixed to his belt, and Jaskier could feel his stomach sour already with the stress of it.

He sat in the tub for too long, everything feeling wrong, his heart feeling like it had been torn out and chopped up and stitched back into him in chunks. He had a room. He had no food. No way to pay for food. And Geralt had been right there and–

He sank into his bath water, holding his breath until he couldn’t anymore, surfaced and gasped until he could breathe again, then submerged again.

On his tablet, an unread message, carved too quickly into the wax, read, Everything paid for??

**

He’d write a letter, he decided. He’d write Geralt a letter about how upset he was by the fact that the witcher left him, without any way to buy his own food, and it was quite rude not to look at his message asking about it. He managed to look sad enough at the innkeeper downstairs that the man parted with a few sheets of parchment meant for his books, with promise of repayment once Geralt was back.

He started the letter quite sensibly, and reasonably. Laying out the facts and why it upset him. He only had his writing to communicate. If he’d been able to speak, he could have shouted and protested. If he’d been able to speak, he could have simply sung for his supper, which he couldn’t do anymore.

He made it about half a page before his handwriting was getting looser and larger as he scribbled, his words that had been so trapped in him spilling over and onto the page.

He ran out of paper quickly, and with a silent fuck that no one would hear, he reached into his bag, pulling out his journal, ripping a chunk of pages out from the back without thinking about the possibilities or repercussions. They were small. They were meant to be used with his usual cramped handwriting, and a few of the pages in fact included a few lines in faint pencil. Nevertheless, he starts letting his looser, angerier, cooped-up-in-his-throat words bleed out over the pages in ink.

I didn’t ask for this.

You fucking abandoned me.

I don’t want pity.

You can’t just fucking LEAVE.

I know I’m broken stop trying to convince me I’m not.

Fuck you fuck you fuck YOU.

It was like yelling, so fucking, not-quite, deliciously like yelling, and when he finally ran out of things to write, he made sure to spread them across the surfaces of the room. The bed, the little table, the floor. It wasn’t yelling, but he let an exhausted little breath out anyway, cathartic energy already drained.

He left enough room on the bed to climb into the far side, and all but collapsed into sleep.

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 7) (Part 8) (Part 9) (Part 10) Now on AO3

[gwennavierre]

I don't have a computer yet, but wanted to start writing a little fic where Plagg overindulges and gets... chatty.

I don't know how to do a cut in the mobile app, so sorry!

If you like this and want another chapter, please let me know!

__________

Notices: season 3 spoilers, alcohol consumption (by kwami, not kid)

Delicate combinations

Chapter 1

______

'Would you like some cheese with that whine?'

Adrien glared at the smirking kwami and stopped his tangent on how frustrating it was to be in love with a girl who didn't like him back. It wasn't her lack of feelings for him that was the main issue (though it was high up there...), but how difficult it was for him to let go of his feelings for her to pursue someone else. He enjoyed spending time with Kagami, and tried really hard to feel happy at the thought of possibly k-kissing her... but.. Adrien sighed. Plagg was right, he was whining and that wasn't doing anything but making him feel worse.

"Sorry, Plagg. I know you're tired of hearing this. I am too, to be honest. At least you're not stuck inside my head with my thoughts, right?" he grinned as Plagg sighed and heavily rolled his eyes.

'I need more cheese for this, Adrien. I'm wasting away, using all my energy to listen to you mope. In fact, I could go for some actual wine as well. It's been a while since I paired my cheese with a nice wine...' he tapped his.. chin? with his stubby arm while he pondered to himself about the delightful combination of good vin and fomage...

"I'll see what I can do, Plagg. Wait here!" The blonde was out the door the next moment, leaving Plagg to start drooling in anticipation.

When Adrien came back, he was holding a glass bottle under his shirt and doing his best impression of a spy in an overrated action movie. Plagg raised his eyebrows as his chosen turned and closed the bedroom door, badly humming a theme from one of those movies.

Turning to face Plagg, he pulled the bottle from its hiding place with a proud flourish. "Ta-daaaaa!" He rubbed his chin with one hand while turning the bottle in the other, reading the label.

"It's the first one I saw and one of the chefs almost caught me, so I don't know what kind I grabbed. I'm not really a fan of wine, either, so... I hope this is okay?"

Plagg hid the bit of emotion that almost showed on his face. Adrien might be an idiot, but he was one of the best humans he had ever had. He flitted to his cheese cupboard and chose the best piece to go with the bottle.

"I forgot to grab a glass.. want me to go get you on-...?"

Plagg had already forced out the cork and was somehow tilting the heavy glass bottle into his mouth. Adrien may not like wine, but he definitely knew that was not how one was supposed to drink such a fancy one... ah well. His kwami looked delighted as he went back and forth with the cheese and the wine, no doubt enjoying the (supposedly) delicate balance of flavors.

Smiling softly to himself, Adrien flopped onto his bed and pulled out some reading he wanted to catch up on. He hadn't realized how sleepy he was until he was woken up an hour later by Plagg... who had apparently been poking his nose while making "beep" sounds to bring him back to consciousness.

'Beeeeep' *poke* 'beeeeep' *poke* 'BEEEEEEPP!' *aggressive poke*

"Ow! Plagg, what the hell?" Adrien groggily sat up and covered his bruised nose with his hand.

'Finally! I've been soooo boorrrred, Adrien. You fell asleep and I had nooooo one to talk to except your pictures of Ladybug, and apparently she's not very talkative right now..' Plagg glared at one of the aforementioned pictures, thoroughly offended at its lack of engaging discourse over the past hour.

"Plagg... are you... are you drunk?"

'What? No, I'm Plagg. You lidderulllly jus' said it. Why would you think I'm Drunk? What kinda name is that, anyway??' the kwami wobbled a bit, even while floating in air, and gave a crooked smile.

Adrien stared blankly at him and slowly blinked. "Right. You weren't supposed to drink the WHOLE BOTTLE, you know!"

'How was I supposa know that, huh? You left it on the table for me. You didna say I had to limmmmmit myself.' Plagg sniffed in indignation and held his wobbly head up high and seeing the humorless Ladybug staring out at him again from her place on the wall. Plagg narrowed his eyes and floated towards it, seemingly tripping on himself a few times.

'And YOU!' he angrily pointed his stubby arm at the picture. 'You are NO help ADDDAALL, with your buggy liddle face making my cat go all loopy dovey goggly eyes.'

Adrien rubbed the last bit of sleep from his eyes as he watched his kwami yell at a poster. This... was starting to be very entertaining, if also a bit embarrassing. Poor Plagg was all he had to talk to about his love for the polka dotted heroine, after all. He was bound to get frustrated with it eventually...

Adrien tuned back in to Plagg's lecturing of the Ladybug poster.

'...an.. an he won't... stop... talking about you an I know you ca't stop talking 'bout him either, and you're both soo... sooo... UGH.' Plagg was pulling at his face in frustration.

Adrien frowned.

"Plagg, what do you mean she 'can't stop talking about me either'?"

'Wha? Oh. Yeah. Badylug. She's todally obsessed with you. More than you are with her, 'ccording to Sugarcube... '

Adrien felt his face heat up, even as confusion clouded his brain..

"Ladybug barely tolerates me, Plagg. She's not obsessed with me... she likes someone else, after all..." he couldn't control the sad sigh that escaped his lips.

Plagg narrowed his eyes in Adrien's general direction (he wasn't sure which Adrien was the real one, so focused somewhere between the two). He had had ENOUGH. Boi was gonna have a 'come to kwami' moment, right here, right now.

'Adriennnnn... you are the best black cat I've evver had..' he allowed his words to sink in and bring a smile to Adrien's face.. 'you're also the most infuriating and dense one I've had!' welp, so much for that smile... may as well get this over with..

'YOU are the one badylug likes, you freaking idiot. She's obsessed with you, has pictures of you all over her walls!'

"... what do you mean? Why would she keep turning me down then?"

'Not pictures of Chat NOIR, you idiot. Pictures of YOU. ABRIEN UNDRESSED. Um.. Adrien Agreste. Heh. I'm star'ing to sound like her... an.. an Sugarcube hasta... hasta put up with her moaning abou' YOU, 'cause you don't even know she likes you cuz you.. you're stuck on Badylug!!' Plagg hadn't actually slipped up on her name that time. He had started liking it and was now saying 'Badylug' intentionally. He tried to focus his eyes on the two shocked looking Adrien's sitting on the bed. Was this.. okay? Should he have told him so much? Could he have survived anymore pointless pining if he HADN'T said anything? Glancing at the empty bottle of wine, he knew the answer to that. He was doing this for all of them. Adrien, Badylug, Sugarcube, and himself.

Besides, it's not like he's telling him her identity or anything... he should be happy knowing his love loves him back, right?

Adrien blinked several times. Ladybug... liked him? Liked Adrien? No.. was obsessed with him?? Had pictures of him on her walls??

He cursed gravity for not allowing him to float up to his ceiling on a cloud of bliss.

Ladybug... loved him. And he loved Ladybug.

Wait. Ladybug loved him but he had no idea who she was. Was he ignoring her advances the way she ignored his as Chat??

"Plagg! Who is she??"

'Nuh uh, I'm not 'sposed to tell ya.'

"I know that, but.. Plagg, if she loves Adrien and doesn't give Chat a chance because of that, and what if I'm doing the same thing to her??"

'Gee. I wonder.' Plagg's sarcasm shot at Adrien, who gasped.

"Tha- that's why you've been so annoyed! You know who she is! Her kwami knows who I am, too, right?" Plagg nodded.

"So.. you two have been watching and listening to us fall apart over our love for each other and didn't think to mention any of this before NOW?"

Plagg glanced sideways at Posterbug and stage whispered 'maybe this wasn't such a good idea afferall, Badylug...' Posterbug winked at him. Yep. He had most definitely overdone it with the wine.

Boldly ignoring Adrien's rant, Plagg phased into a cupboard and curled up for a nap. Adrien will calm down, eventually. Then maybe he can stop moping about Ladybug and start paying attention to a certain girl in his class who smells like cinnamon and freshly baked bread. Plagg sighed and tuned out Adrien's attempts to open the cupboard. Plagg was no longer bored, but definitely needed a nap.

[strangeinternetwasteland]

Dina- Chapter 1

Left. Right. Left. Duck. Counter. Attack. Breathe. It was the same with every training since her recovery from her injury. The only thing that Dina disliked more than not being able to spar and work on her martial arts was the predictability of her sparring partner, Tenten. Tenten was strong, and one of the few people who could challenge her.  Lately, though it seemed as if Tenten was patronizing her instead of building her up. 

Dina was gifted with martial arts from a young age. She’d advanced quickly in the ranks and by the age of ten, she was already mastering adult lessons. This lead to a plateau in learning which led to the desire of Dina to move and settle in Konoha. She had heard of Kakashi Hatake. His martial art skills were impeccable, and from what else Dina had heard, he wasn’t bad looking either. She wanted to spar with him to see if the rumors of his greatness were true. 

For months, she had trained and sparred with anyone she could. Until she had met Tenten. Tenten had been valuable as a partner. Every time the pair sparred it was different, and Tenten pushed Dina harder and farther. That was until three months ago.

Dina had been participating in a martial arts contest with the top athletes from all of the villages. It was during her final showdown with her opponent when she injured her leg. It was the swift kick she aimed toward her foe when she felt the pop of her muscle. The excruciating pain that followed and the stunned silence of the stadium were all she could hear. The commotion afterward of being rushed to the Village hospital blurred together.

The utter defeat and frustration  Dina felt when she was told she’d torn her adductor muscle. The news that she’d be down for at least six weeks, which to many didn’t seem as much time for recovery for a tear. The tears that burned at her cheeks after the news only fueled her desire to try to recover faster.

For two weeks, her group of friends worked tirelessly to ensure her recovery. She was determined to not be a burden to any of them. She had felt useless, and like a responsibility to them all. It was the second week into recovery when Lorelie decided that perhaps Dina could not only use some cheering up but maybe a nice chat from someone she respects. A knock at the door snapped Dina to attention.

“I’ll get it!” Lorelie called from the kitchen. Dina heard Lorelie’s footsteps from the kitchen to the front door of the apartment. Dina heard a deep male voice she didn’t recognize. She slowly sat up on the bed where she was resting to greet the stranger in her home.

“Dina, I thought because you were feeling so down about your injury that you’d like to talk to someone about how you’re feeling and who had been through this before,” Lorelie said as she walked into her room. “Would you prefer the living room or your room here?”

“I don’t need to talk to anyone. I need to get better faster.” Dina replied snippily. 

Lorelie hummed, “I think you’ll want to talk to this one.” 

With a huff of frustration, Dina said, “Fine. Whatever you want.” Lorelie left the room promptly. When she re-emerged in the room she had Kakashi Hatake in tow. The Kakashi Hatake, at up close she could tell the rumors of his beauty weren’t fallacies. 

“Dina, this here is-” Lorelie started.

“Kakashi Hatake.” Dina finished for her. 

“I thought you’d like to talk to him about recovery from an injury. He’s a great martial artist like you and has been exactly where you are now.” Lorelie explained. “I’ll leave you two it, but if there’s anything I can do for you, Kakashi, please let me know.” Lorelie continued. She walked out the door closing it enough to give the two privacy.

The two talked for hours about how painful it is to recover, not physically but mentally. They both spoke of their triumphs and trials to get where they were today. He talked openly about how he thought he didn’t need anyone’s help. How selfish he was and how it impacted him. Dina listened with interest and heeded his advice. They exchanged numbers, in case Dina needed to talk more. 

“Dina, please take care of yourself. I look forward to the day that I can spar with you at your full potential.”Kakashi’s parting words to Dina just before he left. Dina, as did most people in her group of friends, wondered how Lorelie seemed to know everyone in the village after the exchange. This thought didn’t last long since she was invigorated to get better and hopefully it was speedy.

When Dina was at the doctor’s office for a follow-up appointment four weeks after the initial injury, the doctor’s deemed another two weeks of rest was needed. The displeasure that Dina faced was great, but she did think of the words Kakashi had said to her before. Hoping it would help with the last two weeks of recovery seem less dreadful. 

She had called up Kakashi to update him on the situation. While he was sad to hear that she would need more time to recover, he was glad she was hopeful for the future and that it didn’t seem it would dampen her outlook on the end results. 

She had told Alex all about the interaction with Kakashi almost every day she could. The words he spoke and the way he looked.

“It seems to me, that you Dina, maybe, a bit infatuated with Kakashi. How could you not be though? He’s very nice to look at.” Alex teased Dina.  This made Dina blush,  but she couldn’t help but know, Alex was right in this matter. 

Her final follow up appointment was met with much hope and excitement as Dina would allow. If she got the all-clear she could continue getting better. She had thought of nothing but getting better, Alex’s words, and Kakashi’s voice during these last two weeks. The way he talked gently to her, the empathy he felt, the way his arms could easily hold her. She shook those intruding thoughts from her mind as she entered the doctor’s office.

After an hour of entering the office, she bounded out and ran straight to Tenten at the dojo. Every day after that for the last month like clockwork, Dina and Tenten had sparred.

Today had been met with resistance and frustration from the very stary for Dina.“Tenten, why aren’t you even trying to push me?” Dina yelled in frustration. “I just want to get better. I want to be better than I was before the injury.”

This elicited a deep chuckle from a pair of on-lookers who every so often came to watch. Dina looked up to see Gai and Kakashi. A blush formed on Dina’s face. She could no longer deny he wasn’t handsome.

“My former youthful student!” Gai yelled at Tenten. Tenten groaned at this. Gai always loved to challenge her and today was probably no exception, Dina thought.

“Hello! Gai- Sensei! Hello Kakashi-Sensei!” Tenten replied, and Dina waved. Tenten pulled Dina along as she walked to the two.

“Looks like your training is coming along nicely, Dina!” Gai exclaimed with boundless enthusiasm. 

“Yes, I think I could be pushed a bit farther, and it seems to me that Tenten doesn’t feel the same sentiments. She’s holding back.” Dina spoke.

“Dina, I’ve been training with you for so long, you’re not where you once were before.” Tenten countered.

It was the act of Dina rolling her eyes and making an exasperated huff at Tenten. that made Kakashi laugh again. 

“Dina, if it were alright with you, I’d love to spar with you to be an impartial judge?” Kakashi offered

Tenten took this chance for a break.

“Yes, please, that would be great,” Tenten replied for Dina. Tenten took Gai’s arm and brought him to sit down while they watched Dina and Kakashi get ready to fight. Tenten knew that Dina may have a slight crush on Kakashi. Whenever he’d come to watch she could see Dina’s body stiffen or push herself harder than when he wasn’t present.

“Let’s make this interesting, shall we?” Kakashi spoke suddenly.

“Okay? Interesting how?” Dina said confused.

“Lets...Make a bet.” Kakashi thought for a bit. “Winner gets to decide what the loser does?” He winked at Dina.

Dina relaxed her body and dropped her arms. Everything inside Dina stopped when her brain finally comprehended that Kakashi actually winked at her. She felt her face get hot with a blush of embarrassment and excitement.

“Can I just give up now? I know I won’t win.”  Dina teased half-joking, half-serious.

With a hearty chuckle and easy grin, Kakashi said, “Come on, I’ll take it easy on you.”

There was one thing that Dina learned since the first meeting with Kakashi. Kakashi didn’t flirt, and he didn’t really even date from what she gathered from the rumors that were spoken about him. 

The sound of his laugh and the teasing look in his eyes made it difficult to focus on the match that was about to happen. Dina tried hard to look anywhere but at Kakashi’s face.

Getting back into a fighting stance, Dina tried to gather her racing thoughts and focus. She noticed Kakashi ball his hands reading them for a punch, and her body adjusted for the incoming attack. They both nodded at one another to signal they were ready to begin the match.

In an instant Dina found herself staring up at the ceiling. “What-” she looked around confusedly. She glanced down and found a frowning Kakashi kneeling beside her. His large warm hand placed on the inside of her thigh, which seemed very intimate for this man.

“Are you okay? Did I hurt your leg?” He questioned cautiously.

Dina shook her head. “No, I was distracted was all. I’m good. Let’s go again.” She said to him. 

Tenten rushed over to Dina with a frantic look on her face. 

“I think it’s time to call it a day,” Kakashi slowly stood with a hint of unease in his voice.

“Dina, you alright? Kakashi came in with a leg sweep, I’ve never seen you go down so quickly.” Spoke tenten quickly.

Kakashi extended his arm down to Dina to help her stand up, which she happily accepted while blushing furiously.

“I’m fine, but I think Kakashi-sensei is correct. I think I may have overdone it for today.” Dina suggested. Tenten didn’t miss how red Dina’s face was but decided against mentioning it for now. 

“Alright. ” Tenten said in agreement after a moment of watching Dina stand feeling the tension in the air. Tenten went to gather her things up giving the two a bit of privacy. 

“I am sorry, Dina,” Kakashi said.

“No worries, honestly. I did just push myself a bit too much today, but I guess that means I lost the bet.” Dina said sheepishly, hoping that whatever her punishment for losing the bet was not too terrible.

Another chuckle slipped past Kakashi’s lips, he quipped, “I think I’ll have to make you spar me again in the future.”

That simple promise of sparring again with Kakashi made Dina’s heart pound in her chest. There was no denying that she wasn’t looking forward to the next time they met. As she finished gathering her items to head home she heard her phone chirp in her pocket. 

Looking down she saw a message from Kakashi that read “Tomorrow, I’ll show you what real training looks like.” Yeah, she definitely was looking forward to what was to come.

[stormkrigeren]

reviewing WW84 and planning a fic

moooooorrrrrnnnnnniiinnnnngggggg lads!

I just woke up after watching ww84 last night. was a bit hard to focus as i was sort of babysitting at the time, but I managed to take a decent amount of notes.

The first that that occurred to me was mild disappointment that Maxwell Lord’s business was failing thanks to someone besides Luthor Sr. (who canonically owned an oil/fuel business in the 90s with a few background military connections, which became a sort of a company of ‘high-technology defense innovation’ after his son took over in 2000). Then I realized that Luthor’s company had only been up for about five years (give or take) in 1984, so it’s understandable that it hadn’t quite built up yet. Still, it’s something to think about.

The scene with the jet is a bit underwhelming, to be honest. First off, why is there a fueled jet on the runway of the Smithsonian? (it could be that it had recently been in/was prepping for an air show, but I’m not sure if the Smithsonian does that? I’d have to check). Secondly, Steve has been dead for about 50 years at this point and logically would have almost no understanding of how aircraft have changed over the years - I would not expect him to be able to get off the runway. There are whole load of other issues with the jet’s speed and fuel range and even the seating arrangement, but oddly enough, Diana’s ability to make the jet invisible seems the most logical (also I love me an invisible jet). But for all y’all yelling about the ‘invisibility’ not being able to avoid the radar, let me grab this nice explanation off of the imbd reviews for the movie: (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7126948/goofs?item=gf5491577)(im so sorry, I couldn’t find the username of the commenter, but it is a very good comment)

“At 1:09 Diana uses her magic to make the plane invisible so it can't be detected by radar. However, radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to detect objects. Invisibility alone would not make an object undetectable by radar. To be undetectable by radar, an object would need to be intangible. However, this is not necessarily true. Radar works by use of radio waves being transmitted and bounced back to the point of transmission at the speed of light. Visible light waves work on the same principle, and are bounced off objects so that we can see them with our eyes. Both radio waves and visible light waves are part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Diana makes the plane invisible by using her powers to somehow allow light waves to pass through it, thus making it appear "transparent". There's no reason to doubt her powers could have had the same effect on radio waves too.”

Also, why did Lord climb into the big blue light of the gov satellite? Does that actually help him link up with the wishers better? (though to be honest, if you saw a big blue light in the middle of the room, you’d want to stand in it too)

And PotUS doesn’t look anything like Reagan, who was PotUS at the time - though that is understandable as most action movies featuring ‘presidents’ don’t include actors that actually look like their real counterparts. Another odd fact would be that although it is extremely dramatized in the movie, desperately wishing for additional nuclear armaments would not have been unreasonable considering the culture and tension of the Cold War period. Everyone was losing their minds, likely including the president.

Personally, I think their could have been more references to Diana’s Amazonian upbringing, though that’s just me. All the parts on Themyscira felt a bit too quickly paced. But then again, Lyyyyyyyyyyndaaaaaaaa Caaaaaaarteeeeeeer!!! (speaking of which, I am very disappointed in the Asteria tag on Ao3 at the moment as there is basically nothing on it)(guess who’s about to change that!) I am literally begging Zack and Patty for more action scenes and less romance.

I am also begging for more info on the supposed ‘language of the gods’ written inside the Dreamstone’s ring! I am a big fictional language buff, and would love to see more of what it actually said/how to read it.

Another personal note is that Diana’s ability to suddenly fly feels... overdone? I dunno, it felt very unnecessary and if anything it took away from the character a tiny bit. Why would an Amazon need the evolutionary advantage of flight? That’s a bit overpowered for a warrior people. I guess it could be explained away by the fact that Diana is literally half-lightning-god, but still... why? It felt a bit last minute and was disappointingly unreferenced in any of the DC movies Diana is in that are set in the ‘present’ (BvS, JL).

Overall, I give it a 7/10. One of those points is for Hans Zimmer and Zack Snyder (who I hope is having a wonderful day), and another one of the points is simply because Lynda Carter was in it (who I also hope is having a wonderful day).

I think I mentioned this earlier, but the Asteria tag on Ao3 is woefully lonely, and I am inspired and in a good mood, so I’ma do a one-shot! Let’s see where this goes, it could turn out terrible, but I want more Asteria fics.

[stark-tony]

Uhm hi I am in desperate need of iron dad and spiderson fics. ASAP Or I might actually die. Pls help

i’m not for sure what type you want but here are some that I’ve read recently

* = incomplete

irondad bingo series* by hailingstars

summary:

pairings: pepperony, happy/may

tags: fluff

warnings: none

heart and nerve and sinew series* by blondsak

summary: 

pairings: none

tags: angst, hurt/comfort, fluff 

warnings: hydra, kidnapping, non-consensual drug use

Up Came the Sun series* by WhimsicalEthnographies

summary:

pairings: pepperony, stucky

tags: fluff, hurt/comfort, angst

warnings: none

irondad bingo 2019 series* by sahiya

summary: 

pairings: happy/may, pepperony, ned/peter

tags: hurt/comfort, angst

warnings: torture

a very, merry unbirthday by ciaconnaa

summary: “What’s all this, huh?” Peter asks. His eyes don’t leave the table as he wanders over to stand by where Tony is sitting, wrapping him in a gentle hug and pushing his head into his chest. Tony smiles before he tugs gently on the sleeve. Peter gets the message and leans down, allowing Tony to kiss his temple in greeting.

“You threw me a birthday party,” Peter accuses, smile going all dopey.

“An unbirthday party,” Morgan corrects. “Like in Alice in Wonderland. For all the ones you missed!”

pairings: pepperony

tags: fluff

warnings: none

The Hoodie™* by coconutknightshade

summary: The one in which Tony overhears Peter telling his roommate that the MIT hoodie he’s wearing is his dads.The one in which Peter never plans to call Tony ‘dad’ to his face but the universe has other plans.

pairings: pepperony, happy/may

tags: fluff

warnings: none

A Parent Apparent* by happyaspie

summary: In which the author indulges herself in some shameless Irondad/Spiderson with fluff, angst and everything in between because she needs more of that in her life. 

OR

Just another one of those, oh so overdone, fanfics where Tony and Peter’s relationship grows into more of a father/son relationship after an accident involving Aunt May (who lives)

pairings: pepperony

tags: fluff, angst, hurt/comfort

warnings: none

oh, darling. by luna_e_stelle

summary: "Peter?“ Tony’s voice wavered with an urgency that cut through the thick haze in Peter’s mind.

There was so much emotion in that one word that Peter wondered how he had ever doubted that Tony loved him. They had never said it out loud, just showed it in a way that spoke louder than words ever could.

–

Peter is taken, and he tries to find his way back home.

pairings: none

tags: angst, hurt/comfort

warnings: torture, kidnapping, non-consensual drug use

Metamorphosis by art_deco_deity

summary: How Peter Parker changed Tony Stark; seen through the eyes of one Pepper Potts.

pairings: pepperony

tags: fluff

warnings: none

Sunlight by ArdenSkyeHolmes221

summary: “Stop pouting and ignoring me. You’re giving me a complex.”

“I am— I’m not pouting,” he sputters, avoiding his father’s gaze.

 “Oooh, but you are ignoring me.”

***

Or the one where Peter struggles reintegrating in his own life after his dad lived five years without him.

pairings: pepperony

tags: fluff, angst

warnings: none

forty miles by peterstank

summary: “I love you,” Peter says. “Father-son styles.” 

Or: the one where Morgan is sick and Tony is in way over his head, so he calls his spiderson for a little bit of help.

pairings: none

tags: fluff, hurt/comfort, angst

warnings: none

A Little Monument of Stones by YellowDistress

summary: Russia’s royal family has been executed. The little prince is presumed dead.

That is until a boy is brought to Stark Manor, alive, thousands of miles away in rural England.

pairings: none

tags: hurt/comfort

warnings: none

How to Repair a Broken Heart* by InfluentialPineapple

summary: The Mechanic has a lot on his plate; Thanos is coming, the Guardians of the Galaxy are marooned, Thaddeus Ross is reaching right down his throat, and a budding super hero deserves his full attention. He’s also dying. No big deal. He can fix it. He can fix anything. 

And he can do it all without even opening that stupid phone.

 Now, where did those notes on Extremis go…?

(06/25/19: expect an update within a week, and I thank you all for your patience!)

pairings: pepper/ happy

tags: angst, hurt/comfort

warnings: torture, suicidal thoughts, alcoholism 

Outsider by PinkEasterEggs

summary: “You know,” his Dad mused when they were halfway through the bread and the ducks were all swimming around them. “I used to come here during the 5 years when you were … gone.”

Peter didn’t know what to say, he’d half expected his Dad to of brought Morgan.

 “I never brought any bread,” Tony sighed. “I just sat on that park bench for hours. I thought about bringing Morgan one year but … i wanted this place to be ours and ours only.”

Peter couldn’t even say how much that meant to him. 

“You’ve changed,” Peter admitted. His Dad had created a whole new life for himself, one that Peter wasn’t really sure where he fit. All of his stuff had been thrown out and the Tower was sold. 

“I know,” Tony sighed, ducking his head down to kiss Peter’s crown. “But i’ll always be your Dad.“ 

Peter tries to find his place in the world after the Avengers defeated Thanos. As much as he knows he’s loved, he can’t shake the feelings of being replaced when he comes into a new world where his father is now married and had another child.

(No Spider-Man Far From Home Spoilers)

 #10: Biological Child

pairings: pepperony

tags: angst

warnings: none

Appendicitis by tommyparkerr

summary: In which Peter doesn’t realize until too late that the flu shouldn’t be this painful, and Tony Stark is right there to both lecture and comfort him (and accidentally call him his kid in the process).

pairings: none

tags: hurt/comfort

warnings: none

Allston Christmas by Gruoch

summary: “You guys didn’t have to do this,” Peter says from where he sits squeezed into the middle seat of the U-Haul, sweat running down his back. The air-conditioning in the truck they’ve rented is broken, and even with the windows rolled down it’s hellishly hot inside. “Really. I could have handled it myself.”

“We wanted to,” Tony replies as he blasts the horn at a minivan with a “Harvard Mom” bumper sticker that is attempting to cut into his lane. “It’s like a little trip down memory lane. It’s nostalgic—it’s gonna be fun. Right, Rhodey?”

“Absolutely,” Rhodey agrees, with all the enthusiasm of a man being lead to the gallows.

pairings: none

tags: fluff, humor

warnings: none

who ya gonna call? by pparker (vaselseok)

summary: He shrieks and stumbles backward on instinct, slipping in the soapy water. His arms flail out in hopes of catching himself, but instead he snags the shower curtain and ends up ripping it free from the rod as he crashes to the ground. A split second later, the metal rod smacks into his nose. 

 “…Ow.”

 Or, Peter thinks he’s being haunted, and Tony’s just trying to get through the week.

pairings: pepperony

tags: fluff, humor

warnings: none

Do Spiderlings Dream of Iron Sheep?* by blondsak

summary: A mission leaves Peter with narcolepsy. Tony may or may not be freaking out.

pairings: none

tags: humor, angst

warnings: none

chocolate chip cookies (alternate words for i love you) by hopeless_hope

summary: Being a superhero, Tony has come to expect a lot of things. He can’t really afford to be surprised by too much; being flexible is just part of the job. Aliens attacking New York? Sure. People threatening to attack his home? Not uncommon. A teenage spider-kid baking cookies in his kitchen at almost three in the morning?

Completely unexpected.

“You know, kid, when I said you’re welcome to anything in the kitchen, this isn’t quite what I was expecting,” Tony says dryly.

-

The evolution of Peter and Tony’s relationship, as told through late night conversations and chocolate chip cookies. aka 5 times Peter baked cookies for himself and Tony and 1 time Tony did the baking.

pairings: none

tags: hurt/comfort, angst

warnings: none

It Hurts to Become by seekrest

summary: “Peter, what is going on with you?”

 Tony sees the look in Peter’s eyes – can recognize the hint of something burrowing behind them. A look of someone who is distracted but is desperately trying to focus. 

Peter looked exhausted, more than usual. Something’s off with the kid, he’d noticed it but now – watching Peter as it seemingly took all of his attention to focus on Morgan – caused something akin to regret to churn in his stomach. 

Something was wrong with Peter.

pairings: michelle/peter

tags: angst

warnings: none

The Chilling Realities Of Hunting And Being Hunted by Buckets_Of_Stars

summary: All Peter and Tony had to do was cross the mountains. That’s it. Just climb a few hills and get to the Convention. They didn’t count on the snow, or the wind, or the fact that neither of them have cell service.

 And they definitely didn’t count on the fact that they would be hunted—stalked—as they sit, freezing and shaking, on the side of the road.

pairings: none

tags: angst, hurt/comfort

warnings: none

For Pete’s Sake! by KitCat992

summary: Maybe he’d feel better if he closed his eyes, just for a second. It was too dark to see anything clearly anyway, and he’d be able to concentrate better without seeing how fast the ground was coming up to meet him. 

A rush of wind sent goosebumps across his skin before two strong hands gripped his shoulders tightly, keeping him upright and from nose-diving straight into the alleyway cement.

Peter snapped his eyes open, blinking a couple times to clear his vision. Everything was blurry. Was that…?

“…ice cream man!?”

pairings: pepperony

tags: hurt/comfort

warnings: none

[totallypathet]

Episode Eight

I have so much to say about this week.

Let's start at the beginning. Normally I like a mini challenge, but honestly what was that. Genuinely that was just tough to watch. It wasn't fun and lighthearted like the reading challenge or the puppet challenge. It was like watching Trinity and Peppermint anchor their morning tv show, or having sex with Santino Rice...awkward. But seriously it was just an ad for FabFitFun, and not even a good one bc I still don't know what they do.

The main challenge was a tried and tested; they did it in AS2, it worked, it makes sense to revisit it. I'd be interested to know how much choice the queens got in picking their products though. Anyway, let's get into the breakdown!

1. Crystal Methyd

Crystal Methyd is indeed number 1 this week! Honestly, I think she should have won, but I'm not mad about it, Heidi was great too. I just thought Crystal's advert was so perfect! Her product was so unique and so on brand for Crystal, and the advert itself was pure Crystal Methyd. I got all of her personality, her humour, her style... I'm not gonna lie, I was worried when I saw the bits of her shooting the commercial, but the outcome was so much better than I imagined!

And her loooooook I was living!! It was so stunning. All the little details like the fingers on the gloves, the dust, the contacts, the walk, it was all so perfect. And it stood out! There was a row of black gowns on that runway and she managed to stand out, that's a fucking star. And the judges are finally catching onto her! Every week I just get prouder and prouder of Crystal and I just want her to succeed so much.

2. Gigi Goode

Gigi... I have very mixed feelings. I still feel bitter about her win last week, and it makes me not want to root for her. Which is such a shame, because she's so incredibly talented. It's almost like her edit is too perfect and it's ruining her. It was kind of nice to see her stumble a little bit, I'm not gonna lie. Her ad was uncomfortable, at the very least. She missed all the comedy marks, she was really stiff, and she was so focused on staying pretty. We've seen her do comedy already and do really well, I don't know what went wrong this week.

I also am starting to get a bit bored of Gigi's runways. This week and last week they were both beautiful looks, but they were also really kind of predictable and literal. This week, the Dior silhouette is overdone for me, and it was just a bit basic.

To be honest, I think Gigi should have lipsynced this week. I far prefer queens who do too much and have to drop it back a little bit than queens who don't even try. I think it probably should have been Gigi vs Widow, and Widow probably would have gone (not that I wanted her to).

3. Heidi N Closet

I was so happy for Heidi this week!! She has a bit of a rocky start, but as soon as she loosened up, and had fun with it, it was incredible! She was really funny, and really personable. That moment where she was crying into the tub and just ad-libbing to it, I loved it!

And her looooooook! Heidi was snatched this week! That dress was so beautiful, it was cut so perfectly, it looked gorgeous on her. It had some gorgeous statement details, but it still looked simple enough to be elegant. The only thing this week was that there was something about the wig or the tiara, something on her head didn't work somehow. But overall stunning, she deserved that win, and I really hope she uses this as a springboard into next week!

4. Jackie Cox

Jackie did so well this week! I love her 60s references, I totally got her ad; it was clever, it was funny, and it was goofy! Everything I wanted from Jackie Cox.

Her runway was really pretty, but also kind of forgettable. She looked beautiful, I love that she told a story, but I dont know, I just kind of wanted...something.

5. Jaida Essence Hall

Jaida absolutely killed this week! The only reason I pit her second to Crystal is that I liked Crystal's look just a little bit more. But Jaida was so funny this week!! She had a few rocky moments in her filming as well, but the end product was just incredible. I love that she got silly with it as well! I think think that's what was missing from Gigi - Jaida was beautiful, but she was also goofy and funny! She really does have everything.

As always, she was gorgeous on the runway, I love her big pageant wigs!

6. Jan

I am devastated about Jan.

I honestly don't know what else to say, she's been overlooked this whole season. It didn't matter what she did, it was never enough. She tried so much and worked so hard and she still just got blocked at every opportunity.

I thought her commercial was really funny! I got it, it was like those weirdly vague facebook ads you get for "miracle products" and you watch them and you still don't really know what the product is. I thought it was funny, I loved the puns, I love that she sang (play to your strengths girl), and I looooved her outfit. Also her wigs are totally unclockable, those are good wigs honey.

Her runway was also beautiful! She brought a little avant garde, she brought details, she brought a story. I loved "I don't" on her veil. The only thing I wish it that she didn't have the bouquet, she didn't need it. Otherwise, spot on look. A really tough ask to lipsync in though, and it looks like she had a bit of a struggle to get it off. I also really enjoyed her lipsync! I wish it had been a double chantay. Jan was one of my top 4 picks from the beginning and it was really hard watching her go.

7. Widow Von Du

Widow had a rough week this week. I'm not sure what happened, I think she just got really in her head about what Roople said to her in the work room, and then Chaka Khan was there and I think she really wanted to do well for her, and it might have all just got to her. Which is really sad, because she is so amazing and it is really tough to watch someone go through that.

I think she knew that her advert wasn't very good. I think she had some jokes, but the delivery wasn't really there, and she didn't look like she was enjoying it, that was the worst bit. It's really sad, but I think she did deserve to be in the bottom.

Her look also was a little bit iffy for me. From the waist up I absolutely adored it, I loved her Rihanna-esque stoned veil, and her makeup was soooo beautiful. I even liked the train, I just didn't love the bottom of the dress? It was too thin somehow. It wasn't cut close enough to look intentional, it just sort of hung. Overall I still liked it though.

And that lipsync...she crushed every second of that. She should be really proud, and I think Chaka was really proud of her too. I really hope she manages to get out of her head next week and just let go a little bit, because she is so talented, and so amazing, she deserves to be there and she deserves the recognition.

I'm going to say one other thing; the question "who should go home tonight" is always a tough bit to watch, and I can't even imagine how tough it is to be standing up there - particularly when everyone says your name. The way Widow handled it this week was so strong, and so professional, and I applaud her for that.

[kinetic-elaboration]

September 25: 1x16 The Galileo Seven

I took a half day off today and had a three hour nap in the afternoon. Now I’m feeling, I think, better?? Perhaps?

Anyway, today’s ep is The Galileo Seven, aka capitalizing on Spock’s popularity time.

Hmm, a vague and undefined phenomenon perfect for scientific study--Spock will love this. (Aka Kirk’s real reason for investigating the quasar. Just a little gift for the bf.)

Yeah Shuttlecraft Galileo! I love the shuttlecrafts; I think they’re adorable.

New Paris Colony.

The Commissioner isn’t wrong, though, like this probably isn’t the time to go on a random exploratory mission. Ah, yes, this weird space anomaly full of unknown dangers--let’s launch our most important officers right into the center of it while we have time sensitive supplies onboard. I mean come on, there’s a plague going on!

Love the shaky movements of the shuttle as it flies through space.

Hmm they’re exploring an unknown weird space thing and something goes wrong? Who could have predicted that? Other than Boma, who’s like ‘this is actually really normal though?’

Kirk’s sigh right before the credits lol.

Uhura taking over for Spock.

Those doors looked awfully, um... not metal when they opened. But I still like the design.

This is a good episode for understanding what ‘logic’ means to Spock. Like people, including people in this ep, talk about it as if it were just being emotionless and not caring about others but it’s a whole philosophy/value system and he adheres to it pretty well.

Shuttlecraft Columbus.

Kirk has such a big headache right now. He hates having someone step on his command toes.

I love this Bones and Spock conversation. “This is your chance for command.” “I am a logical man.”

Those pants really are terrible. Everyone always on about the skirts but no one ever talks shit about those horrendous pants.

Spock gets to show off his legs standing in a V like that though lol.

Philosophy 101: The Trolley Problem.

“My choice [of who to leave behind] will be a logical one.” Stop bullshitting, Spock lol. “Idk man... logic?”

Well his decision just got easier by about 1/3.

It’s Pauna! Oh wait wrong show. Thank God.

Spock is talking about how this spear looks like something Native American but lbr it looks like a Vulcan spear and he should know. He’s the bitch with the ancient weaponry hanging on the walls of his quarters.

Spock could move the body way more efficiently, I mean he’s 3x stronger than these other fools. Look at the way he throws the spear as if it were made of cardboard. Which it is definitely, definitely not lol.

That quadrant name would make a good wifi password.

The commissioner truly has NO purpose here other than to be a human clock.

I understand Spock not wanting to waste time with the ceremonial duties of command or with burying a person while he could be working to save the people who are still alive...but I don’t believe for one moment he doesn’t know elaborate funeral services. The Vulcans love their rituals.

“We have no fuel! What alternatives?” Yeah lol that is pretty bad.

“Sensitive Vulcan ears.”

He literally just said they’re not tribal, Boma, are you not listening at all?

“I’m frequently appalled by the low regard you Earthmen have for life.”

Like Kirk always says, this isn’t a democracy.

Honestly this insubordination kinda seems like xenophobia to me in that I feel like everyone thinks it’s okay to be disrespectful to Spock because he’s an alien, because their human morality and philosophy is inherently right and Spock not following it is deserving of ire, even though he’s in command.

They’re on Spock’s back when he doesn’t seem to respect life enough and when he respects life too much like he cannot win.

Our duties to other life forms.

At least the reboots got Spock’s sass right.

I feel like Spock’s logical and emotionless responses are helpful though because I would be a straight up anxious mess. It just seems so clear to me, all the places where being unemotional is allowing him to act and keep control where a scared and confused person ruled by emotions would not be. I mean they’re all Officers and it’s not like McCoy and Boma are wandering around weeping or anything but still. Not all of Spock’s decisions are right but I’d be soothed by his attitude.

“Luck may be the only tool we have that works” reminds me of “Captain, you almost make me believe in luck.”

Kirk also makes a lot of command decisions here and it’s interesting to compare his style with Spock’s.

Loving the creature design and this is not a sarcastic comment.

“Certain scientific curiosity” about whether the crewman is dead. Sure okay.

See, I was right, he can lift and carry a grown man by himself.

That spear very much hit him lol.

Spock is upset. He lost a crewman. And logic isn’t working like it’s supposed to. I love that “They should have respected us” bit. He is a little arrogant, and for someone who’s spent most of his adult life around aliens, rather set in his idea that rational responses are the only responses.

He’s really having some revelations here. I bet he can’t wait to discuss all this with Jim.

I’ve seen that shot of Scotty just shoving a wrench in the wall and making sparks fly used in memes. Out of context it is quite hilarious.

Ugh, this is such a tightly constructed narrative. Love it.

Yeah, Boma, back off. This is just crossing a line.

“You will have your burial, provided the creatures permit it.”

Poor creatures honestly. These weird aliens keep showing up and bothering them.

This Captain’s chair is pretty wide too but Kirk manages to sit in it and look cool @ cpine.

Noooo you can’t leave them behind!

Uhura posing behind the Captain’s chair and looking at the screen like google earth always taking pictures.

Lol, space normal speed. (You’d think the Commissioner would show up at this point to be like bUt ThE pLaGuE but actually we never see him again.)

Those creatures aren’t even AIMING the spears they’re literally just throwing them parallel.

“Get us off, Scott.”

“Yes.... my first command.” Oh, Spock. I love him.

Love that Scotty’s really, genuinely proud of him. Scotty’s so Unproblematic. He really is just here to do his job and he’s never mean or causing trouble of any sort.

Jim will see the flares because he loves you!!

This poor actress playing the Yeoman has nothing to do. “Oh, it’s hot!”

Really living for Kirk’s face journey as he thinks all hope is lost and then realizes they’re (mostly) okay.

I want to hear what Kirk and McCoy are saying at the beginning of the last scene. I bet they’re talking about Spock.

Everyone gently making fun of Spock but in a ‘we love you buddy way.’ And Kirk using this, their one scene together all ep, to lay on the flirting extra thick. “Mr. Spock, you’re a stubborn man” is really pushing the flirtation meter off the charts.

They’re mocking him for making an impulsive decision but he was totally right AND he was totally logical imo? Like “you reasoned that it was time for an emotional outburst” is certainly one way to put it but another way is “the only possible chance we have of being detected AT ALL is to make a big scene and if it doesn’t work we’ll just die faster than we would have anyway” which is logical, and in fact, I think someone too caught up in their emotions might hesitate to do it. I mean, I’d probably hesitate--I think the emotional response to the situation is to want to stay alive as long as possible, even if you know--logically--that the difference between living another 6 minutes and another 26 minutes is nothing. You’d be better off giving away the chance for 20 extra minutes in exchange for a better chance of not dying at all. That’s logic bitches!

Kirk sees some hope for himself here. “Oh, Spock can follow his heart??? Perhaps... to me??”

I am not a fan of these fake laughter endings. They are so overdone lol. Uhura is literally pointing and laughing in the background. It’s not THAT funny guys.

That said if Beyond had ended with some fake laughter it probably would have improved the film substantially.

And that’s it! An excellently plotted episode, really well done on the level of craft. I really get off on that kind of thing. I know a lot of shows that can write entertaining episodes/seasons/multi-season plots but don’t have any, well, real logic to them and that’s not necessarily the worst but then when you see something that’s really just well made, it... well for me it triggers a very certain satisfaction.

Also this is easily a top 3 Spock episode. Great character stuff.

Next up is the Squire of Gothos, which I think is one of the weaker S1 episodes. Not bad, just not Classic level like almost every other ep.