#which sucks because i have both lol. and he doesn't understand why i'm not always hanging out with people when i have the chance

[smile-files]

i need to work on my resume and email the financial office :( i don't wanna

[cartierre]

AGORA HILLS | ln4

SOCIAL MEDIA!AU lando norris x fem!russell!reader

side note: i'm depressed and the f1 season is starting soon again so here we go. side note pt2: this is kinda short and the ending feels rushed but oh well

♡ liked by landonorris, danielricciardo and 14,293 others

tagged: landonorris

y/n_russell permanent shenanigans

view all 475 comments

user1 oh that's not-

user2 oh she didn't- yes she did

user3 y/n getting a lando norris tramp stamp was not on my 2023 bingo card ⤷ user4 i don't think it was ever on anyone's bingo card

landonorris mine ⤷ y/n_russell yours 🤞

user5 i can't decide if it's cringe or a major slay

georgerussell63 i don't know if i should strangle you or norris ⤷ y/n_russell maybe neither of us?

♡ liked by landonorris, oscarpiastri and 13,293 others

tagged: yourfriend, yourotherfriend, landonorris

y/n_russell pizza boy always knows how to capture my heart

view all 361 comments

user6 lando and y/n being in their hot couple era was not on my 2024 bingo card ⤷ user7 no couple does it like y/n and lando

user8 i'm a bit concerned about their recent behaviour, ngl

landonorris i'm a professional pizza boy off season ⤷ y/n_russell earning some extra money to spoil your girl? ⤷ user9 so you admit you use lando for his money? ⤷ y/n_russell sorry your partner apparently doesn't know how to treat you. i'd be bitter as well if i were you

user10 y/n being totally unhinged is my favourite type of media ⤷ user11 george being the emotionally older sibling and y/n being the unbothered younger sibling makes so much sense

♡ liked by landonorris, georgerussell63 and 16,938 others

tagged: landonorris, georgerussell63

y/n_russell to clear some things up: obviously george isn't always happy with how lando and i present our relationship (online or not) but that doesn't mean he hates lando?! i'm his little sister, it's natural he doesn't always enjoy what lando and i do. nonetheless, lando and george have been friends for ages! this was literally them on our shared holiday in '23! carmen and i were third-wheeling the whole time lol. george can sometimes be a little cold but that's just how he processes things, it doesn't mean he's not supportive of my relationship with lando. please respect that.

comments have been disabled for this post

♡ liked by landonorris, georgerussell63, danielricciardo and 16,292 others

y/n_russell accurate representation of how i felt after watching george and lando's "drama" on drive to survive. now i understand why y'all blew this whole situation up.

view all 364 comments

user12 now she knows how we all felt watching that episode

user13 me when i watch dts in general

user14 me when i hear the dutch national anthem yet again

user15 me when i think of charles not winning wdc because ferrari literally sucks

landonorris me when i realise y/n won't attend every race ⤷ y/n_russell um excuse me i'm a working gyal

user16 me when life

♡ liked by landonorris, georgerussell63, mclaren and 17,293 others

tagged: mclaren, mercedesamgf1

y/n_russell maybe i should become lando's and george's pr manager when it means getting flowers from their teams

view all 437 comments

user17 no cuz that is so cute that they sent her flowers cuz she solved the whole lando-george drama

user18 that's why they both are my favourite teams

mclaren the contract is ready to be signed! ⤷ mercedesamgf1 not if she choses us first! after all, blood is thicker than water

user19 not mclaren and mercedes fighting over y/n

user20 i wonder which flowers are from who

[malaierba]

But you know, on the topic of long lived races and short lived races in dungeon meshi

The Namari + Toshiro duo is great because not only does it take out both of their silly sides, they work really really well together, and a common gag in the manga is that they're often on the same wavelength,

That is, they're often thinking the same thing; They have a couple scenes where Toshiro will say something and Namari will know immediately what he means before he's even finished, they share looks all the time and you can tell there's some sort of communication happening.

I'm inclined to believe that its partly bcs of their personalities. Namari is very sociable and gregarious, obviously very very good at teamwork; Toshiro's observant and empathetic, he tries to figure out the dynamic of whichever group he's in so he can insert himself in it with minimal friction.

But I also want to believe that, man, they just have chemistry. They've got that je ne sais quoi that lets them be so, and sorry to be cringe, so besties with each other lol.

Could very well be that they're each other's (platonic) types! Toshiro does have a couple of extroverted, strongwilled female figures in his life (Hien, Maizuru, Tade to a lesser extent although they both seem to have a good opinion of each other) while Namari ends up befriending Kiki and Kaka very quickly, who are funnily similar to Toshiro. Or, could be that, PLUS just. Honest to god chemistry. Meeting someone unlike yourself but with whom you vibe very easily, you're guessing their thoughts, you coordinate with a look, etc.

Where I'm going with this is, would that type of chemistry be in part a result of their developmental stage? And, will it be lost as Toshiro's aging surpasses Namari?

I mean, that's a common issue, isn't it? It's explored through Marcille's trauma, Otta "serial dater of half-foot women extraordinaire" recognises that they're more mature than long-lived ages give them credit for, but things eventually fall apart and a common reading why is that they out-mature Otta, etc.

I guess I've kind of been thinking o(-< Namari looks like she's in her 20s to us. Toshiro is 26. They've been working together for four years, so I guess they could maintain their dynamic a couple more years? At least until Toshiro has to make a Big Adult Decision, which at the latest will probably happen once he turns 30.

I LOVE the idea that maybe Toshiro will be 70 and whenever he meets Namari they're still being the best cooperative duo you've ever seen, reactions to nonesense in-sync etc. Very fun, right?

But I also look at the other possibility, from Namari's perspective too. Toshiro goes back to Wa and that's already a big change in their dynamic. They won't have the same environment anymore, the same influences, let alone a way to react to anything similarly.

It must be a particularly wistful feeling for long-lived races to have a memory of when you knew someone and they were so... like you. And then time passes, barely for you, but to you it feels like they're changing so fast. And I'm sure Toshiro will always be friendly with Namari, but wouldn't it be weird? For something, anything at all to happen, and for them to exchange a look a realise that they are not sure if they're on the same page anymore.

I kind of like to think about this from Namari's perspective (because she's my favourite girl) because she seems to have such a developed understanding of other race's maturity. She's probably the least condescending dwarf we see, as in, sure she's bad at guessing the age of other races, but she doesn't seem to assume maturity/immaturity solely on the fact that they have different lifespans.

Something about already being at that point of acceptance, or perhaps of understanding of reality makes her POV that little bit more blue. She already knew that was likely going to happen. Still kind of sucks to see it happen, right?

[verosikastrikerstellaexcuser]

I'm just gonna say this, Blitzika and Blitzarolli are way better ships that stolitz ever will be.

With fizz, they knew each-other as kids and had a very strong bond to the point that Blitz had a crush on him and was ready to give him a love letter, and the reason for for their falling out was due an accidental fire that tore them apart for 15 years.

Verosika clearly loved blitz for who he was, not what he was, the only downside was that blitz was still fresh from dealing with the trauma of the fire that both maimed fizz, scarred him, and killed his mother. Tbh I really wish she knew about that because it might've helped her understand why he is the way he is even if if doesn't justify his behavior.

Stolas on the other hand has done nothing but constantly belittle and sexually harass blitz to the point where I feel blitz has every right to turn him down. Honestly at this point, I just want stolas to go through a more lethal situation than he delt with in western energy.

Yep 100%. The other 2 Blitz is arguably the one in the wrong - though well, I'd say that if anything the way those close to Fizz handled the accident, i.e not letting Blitz see him again are most at fault. Their relationship is one big tragedy which makes for delicious drama lol. Everything about it is interesting and enjoyable tbh and Fizz is just such a great character that seeing him interact with Blitz is always a treat.

Then Verosika and Blitz makes me go SO nuts. Verosika needs to heal and honestly let go but just can't I feel like and Blitz did so much wrong. You completely get why he did what he did and you still feel like he deserves to be happy even despite it, but God it was still shitty what he did, truly. They're so interesting and you root for both sides, you want both sides to be happy and reconcile even though Blitz is more in the wrong. Truly I love them.

Both of those ships tug on your heart strings, feel interesting, they're just so good!

Then you've got St*litz. Blitz is blamed blamed blamed and the writing keeps ramping up how it writes him to be an asshole to make St*las seem better. Every 5 minutes we have a poor poor wittle St*las scene. Its so obvious that they can't stop pushing the ship at us instead of letting it be more "natural" if that makes sense. We constantly have to be TOLD everything about it, instead of just... getting to see them interact. Whenever they do interact outside of sex its uncomfortable and usually Blitz is harassed. Its such an uncomfortable train wreck of victim blaming towards Blitz. The two hardly seem to have any chemistry or anything in common outside of sexual chemistry at times. Though, then again, its only that Blitz is good at pleasing St*las - not that St*las does anything back for him. Which makes sense when you remember to Blitz sex with St*las is a job that he didn't want but had to take... God. It fucking sucks. Its just such a shitty ship.

I'm really supposed to like that ship more than the tragic family destroying circus accident history Blitz and Fizz have together? I'm supposed to care more about St*las than I am VEROSIKA FUCKING MAYDAY? Not a chance!

[lunabug2004]

I watched The Eclipse (the series) and OMG I'm in Love?!?! ⚠️ SPOILERS ⚠️

Ya'll I watched The Eclipse the series over the last few days and... omg. I have so much to say so buckle up. Obv there will be spoilers! I also wanna mention that this will be full of very biased takes because I absolutely fell in love with Akk soooo imma be defending him.

Now that that's out of the way, first, can we talk about the couples? FirstKhao's chemistry?! I know I'm late to the game but man they blew me out of the water!!! They were so cute and wholesome (dw I've seen the OF edits, ik they're not always this way lol) and Akk and Ayan just pulled me all the way in! They both deserve the world and I will not hear otherwise! Now, the side couple, KanThua, were not my cuppa tea. I love Neo, I haven't seen anything with Louis in it but he's a good actor from what I've seen, and they look cute together, but they just didn't snatch me up unfortunately.

That leads me into the second topic, the plot (this is where it gets long, strap in). I believe this is the main reason the side didn't snatch me. They were definitely given the short end of the stick (this is before I found out that I hate Thua with a passion but we'll get to that). I would've loved so much more buildup than what we got from them. Thua's storyline just felt kinda off to me. We saw his stepdad say one or two messed up things to him, which ya eff him for that, but every other time he was pretty nice??? Maybe I'm just missing something but idk. Also the whole "Bruce Wayne" thing was eh to me. Kinda cute, kinda weird.

Now, Akk and Ayan's storyline???? Sign me uppppp! I love everything about it! I love that they are so there for eachother and literally picked eachother up off the ground mentally so many times. They need eachother and you can absolutely feel it. Then, also their individual storylines are just amazing. My poor babies. Ayan and dealing with his uncle's death and witnessing the terrible things at the school and getting bullied by the teachers and his declining mental health. Akk dealing with the manipulation of the teachers and his need to prove himself and his need to put everyone above himself and his declining mental health and ugh... sorry I could talk about Akk for ages, ya'll know how I get with my babies lol. All this to say I definitely came not knowing what to expect but stayed for Akk & Ayan.

The general storyline is... a doozy. The whole curse thing was so interesting and then it just... wasn't. But at the same time it was??? Idk it's so hard to place how I feel about this part of the plot. I don't understand the whole thing with Teacher Chadock's confession and that somehow affecting what was going on? Like sir, you still manipulated kids (specifically Akk) into doing awful things, I don't think all that happened is an excuse for that at all? Yes, it sucks and never shoulda happened but like... why act like that towards the students this whole time? And he didn't seem to show much, if any, remorse for his behavior either so... idk.

Now... let's get into ep 11 and Thua's whole thing. I will never ever ever forgive the character of Thua for what he did. I don't care how right he was (which he mostly wasn't), I don't care if he was speaking some facts, you don't ever out somebody like that!!! Esp as a character who we know has faced such bad discrimination and bullying for the same effing thing!!! It makes absolutely no sense and there are no excuses! The fear in Akk's eyes... ugh I wanted to punch Thua so bad ngl. The way that he also isn't even right about Akk 'creating the curse' and doesn't mention that he himself continued it after Akk saw the error of his ways and stopped. He made himself out to be squeaky clean when he honestly had the most blood on his hands after this whole thing. When he was cheering the episode before about finding the "one responsible for the curse" IT WAS HIM! AKK HAD STOPPED AT THAT POINT SO IT WAS ALL HIM! He also wasn't telling the truth when he said Aye was covering for Akk using their love as a cover! At first Ayan wanted Akk to tell everyone what he did... but then he saw what a fragile state of mind Akk was in and decided to try a different approach. Thua should've gone to Akk and Aye himself, he had no right to say anything he said without knowing the full story!!! THEN HE JUST IS FORGIVEN!!! NOO! I know that it's because of the cuts they had to make that we don't get to see the characters forgive him and whatnot but I don't care. He. did. not. deserve. to. be. forgiven. No one is changing my mind!

I could go on forever tbh so let's move onto the third topic... the pacing. I know this is the main complaint for this show and rightfully so. I really really wish they would've gotten the 14 episodes they were hoping for instead of the 12 they got. The pacing is just out of wack. The first half-ish is beautiful.... then it drags (slightly).... then it's rushed. Just disappointing, but not anyone's fault. The crew apparently thought they were working with 14 eps, we can't blame them, and we definitely cannot blame the actors.

Fourth, and final, topic: the acting!!! Uuuugh, ya'll! I'd seen Khao in a couple things and First in Not Me, but this is by far the best I've seen of them! They showed all the emotions and omg these dudes are professional criers, how are they both so good at it?! Btw, I see people talk about Khao's acting more than First's I feel like (could just be what I see idk), but First snatched me up! He killed every single scene, give me chills multiple times (Khao too obv) and showed Akk's character development flawlessly! All the supporting actors were obviously amazing too (special shoutout to my boy AJ cuz I love the twins)!

Anyways, if you sat through this half-rant, half-review, congrats! I honestly love this show and it's for sure going to be one I rewatch all the time and try to dig deeper into Akk's mind every time lol. Also if you read all of this and I didn't touch on something you wanted or you're just curious about my thoughts on anything (seriously anything at all), feel free to comment or repost or send me an ask, I don't mind!

[bobbinalong]

I’m really confused.

You posted that Damijons make Damian out to be mean, abrasive and ‘feral’ but you tweeted today or a couple days ago that Damian is genuinely horrible to Jon, so much so that Clark should keep Damian, a child, he understands is very traumatized, away from Jon.

You also preferenced it by saying that you love Damian so you know that your statement was inherently anti-Damian…? So you dislike Damian? You don’t have to like Damian but you can’t say one thing and then the other. Is it bad to say that Damian is mean and abrasive? Or is Damian so mean and abrasive that he should be kept away from Jon? Which is it?

Also, your mutuals were agreeing with you. People who also often kind of allude to the idea that Damian feels nothing for Jon and they lack chemistry. Why insinuate Damian is emotionless when Super Sons literally has multiple Damian focused plot points where Jon gets harmed and Damian freaks out; proving he cares for him.

So do you really think Damian should be seperated from Jon, like they shouldn’t be friends?

The important part of the tweet you're referencing is the "IN SUPER SONS" one. It's also important to note that I made this complaint five issues into my re-read, so it was more of a flippant observation, not yet a proper critique of the run or Tomasi's writing.

As far a actual critique goes, at no point has that been about Damian as a character or Jon and Damian's friendship as a whole, because I love both of those when they're written well, it has always, ALWAYS been about how Tomasi writes them in these books.

This is how Damian acts towards Jon (again, in Super Sons) before Clark says he wants them to spend more time together, not including moments where Jon gave as good as he got, but even in those, Damian is pretty consistently portrayed as the instigator and Jon as the one retaliating.

He is acting horribly and even after this occasionally like he doesn't care for or respect Jon as a person and Clark knowing where this behaviour comes from doesn't mean he should want his kid exposed to someone who regularly insults and disrespects him.

Again, though, none of this is because of who Damian is as a character but because of how Tomasi perceives and writes him. His Damian's smart and he likes to banter and Tomasi sucks at writing smart kids and friendly banter, at least in the Super Sons books, so Damian being a little catty or mean, which is in line with is character in my opinion and would be fine, turns into him throwing Jon off of buildings. That's not frenemy behaviour, that's just a general disregard for Jon's well-being.

I've also at no point denied there were sweet moments in these books; there are and plenty of them, but that just means it bugs me even more when Tomasi goes back to having Damian slap Jon around. Again, it's inconsistent and I don't like it. Which I also said on Twitter but that may have been after you sent this ask:

Both Jon and Damian are characterized very inconsistently throughout Super Sons and Adventures of the Super Sons (I haven't reached Challenge on my re-read yet, so for now it's excluded from this criticism). Damian deeply cares for Jon in one issue, says he'll protect him, has fun with him, gets mad when anyone else hurts him but he keeps going back to slapping him around, verbally and physically, and this is never portrayed as any kind of internal struggle, there's no "I care for this kid I don't want to care for so I'm lashing out at him" (which frankly, at this point in his development, isn't even a conflict he should have but at least it would be something), it's just. He's good friends with Jon in one issue and thinks it's funny to have a statue of his dad beat him up in the next and I don't particularly enjoy that.

Super Sons is just not all that, man, I'm sorry.

Tomasi writes Damian well in the parts of Batman and Robin (2011) I've read (had to stop because I was getting too emotional lol), but that might be because that one's co-written by Patrick Gleason, who wrote the Damian book (Robin: Son of Batman), as far as I'm concerned. Robin (2021) I liked, too, and I hear the current Batman and Robin is delivering some good Damian, too, as is his new Black Label book. So yeah, I like Damian. I just don't like how Tomasi writes him in Super Sons specifically.

As for the Jon and Damian friendship, it's very well written in Superman: Son of Kal-El, they're fun in Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons, the Dynomutt - Super Sons issue in the DC Meets Hanna-Barbera book is neat, as are Trick or Treat and Back to School, they're adorable in that one Holiday Special and I like Tomasi's Superman & Robin Special, once again weirdly pointing toward this being a Super Sons specific issue. So yeah, I like their friendship. I just don't like how Tomasi writes it in Super Sons specifically.

And going all the way back to your first point, yeah, certain DMJNs/Super Sons fans DO portray Damian as a horrible feral demon. Probably because all they've read are the Super Sons books, which, I think I've made that clear, are not the best books to get a solid grasp on Damian. That critique was about how fandom (and not just the Super Sons fandom, either, the Batfandom, too) perceives and portrays him and I think I've done a decent job at not falling into that same trap with my fanart, so I'm not sure why you bring that up.

I don't think Damian is some horrible irredeemable character from hell. Never have. I adore him. Here's some proof.

Which I know is entirely unnecessary, I just felt like sharing some fanart at the end of this.

As for my mutuals, I don't speak for them, but both of the people agreeing with that particular tweet have previously talked about liking Damian and his dynamic with Jon, their critique, just as mine, seems to be usually aimed at the way Tomasi depicts him and them in Super Sons, where, again Damian does often seem like he doesn't care for Jon. Except for when he cares a lot. Which, again, isn't his fault, since he's lines on paper and Tomasi's the one making him act this way. Which brings me back to the inconsistency being what bugs me most, so I'm just talking in circles now.

Anyway, I don't know what you were trying to accomplish with this message, anon. If it was to rob me of half an hour to explain myself unnecessarily, congrats, I guess.

[raelle-writing]

DFF is such great show and I enjoy the portrayal of the characters and the plot. Although I am not much into JinPhee ship (even though their scene was hot) - meaning I won't actively search fics of them;-D. But I absolutely don't understand the hate this ship gets. Or Jin character gets? Like, did I miss something? Why there is so much hate towards this pairing? I don't get it. Or do they dislike Jin character so much?

So I think there are 3 main reasons that people hate PheeJin and specifically Jin as much as they do, and I'll see if I can explain it coherently below lmao

First is cultural differences.

I've noticed that by and large a lot of the hatred directed at Jin comes from international fans being extremely harsh, and I think it's partially because they don't understand some of the nuance of Thai culture. Which to be fair, why would they?

One aspect is that they get angry that Jin lied to the police without taking into account that the police are corrupt - both in the narrative and also in Thailand in general.

Another is they get mad at Jin for recording Non - which to be fair, really does suck lmao. But they make it about Jin recording Non instead of reporting the assault happening, without taking into consideration that the age of consent in Thailand is 15, which means that what happened with Non and Keng isn't technically statuatory rape. Still bad and awful and Non was coerced and assaulted, don't get me wrong - but that makes it slightly less clear cut IMO when it comes to the question of Jin seeing Non "cheating."

You can even see within the show that the reactions to that video are by and large slut-shaming and not "omg that kid was assaulted."

So to recap: Taking the video = bad. But I think people get a bit too self-righteous about the reasons why Jin took it.

Second is purity/cancel culture.

I'm sure it hasn't escaped your notice that in the internet age, if you make one mistake you're a terrible, irredeemable person and should be canceled forever. I think that's playing a part in this. All of the characters make mistakes, and because of that they're all irredeemable pieces of shit who deserve to die. Except for Non who is just a victim and has never done anything wrong (sarcasm).

In seriousness, I think that's part of it. And the fact that Non is SO sympathetic it kind of overrides people's sympathies for the other characters. I'm not 100% sure why people hate Jin the most out of everyone else considering he's the one who has tried to help Non the most out of the friend group... I guess they just have higher standards for people who try to help? Idk. Either way it seems to me that they expect Jin to be a perfectly-well-adjusted little hero who always does what's right and never makes mistakes. Instead of what he really is: a kid.

And last is fan favorites/shipping.

A big part of the reason that PheeJin shippers are getting so much hate is because TaCode shippers and PheeNon shippers have decided their ship is The Ship of the series, and think that Phee is just using Jin for revenge and anyone who genuinely ships PJ is fucked up, etc.

It's just ship war bullshit waged by largely Barcode stans, but it's certainly tiresome.

To be clear, I have nothing against PheeNon. I am of the opinion that Phee and Non were a cute high school romance that wouldn't have lasted because they had conflicting styles of showing affection and love (I'll write a post about it someday lol) but that doesn't mean I hate the ship. I thought they were very cute and it was fun to see TaCode on screen since I wrote MacauChay in my KPTS days ahahaha I just like the spice and fire of PheeJin better, and Jin is my favorite character.

I just wish that PheeNon shippers would live and let live instead of acting like they're waging some moral war. They were even crying in BOC's comment section on IG today after they posted the PheeJin poster for episode 9 saying "nooooo Phee is there for revenge he can't really have feelings for Jin!" It's exhausting... 🫠

General disclaimer: if you don't like Jin or like PheeNon better I'm not saying any of the above things applies to you. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, I'm just dissecting some of the over-the-top hate I've seen/experienced in fandom spaces lately.

[familyvideostevie]

hiiii:))) i’d like to request: SEASHELL: let's look for beautiful things on the beach! send me a line from a book, song, or movie/tv show and a character

“i’d trade all I’ve got in my name for you instead of this pain” (from give me a minute by (my gf) lizzy mcalpine) x either steve, remus or james you’re free to decide<3<3

thank you so much for blessing my eyeballs with your writing<3

thank you so much! this lyric is quite sad, as the song is about a breakup, but i've tried to make this end happy because i can't leave it at angst lol. so here's resolving a fight with james!

--

You aren't going to cry. You chant this to yourself silently because if you cry then it will all be over and James will hug you and say you can talk about it later but you need to talk about it now.

"I think it's true," you say. You clutch the cuffs of your -- his -- sweatshirt and cross your arms. "I haven't been there for her. And you don't spend time with your friends like you used to."

James takes off his glasses and runs a hand down his face. He's standing on the other side of his kitchen island. "But we do see them. A lot, and you know it. Your friends, too."

The night started out nicely. You'd been out to dinner with some friends of yours you haven't seen in a bit. But once you got there, eager to catch up and show them how happy you are, you realized it was an intervention. They wanted to tell you -- kindly, from a place of love -- that you've disappeared into your relationship and they don't feel like you're accessible to them, no matter how much they like James and how good he is to you.

It took you coming back to his apartment and finding him on the couch for you to sort it out, but you think you agree with them. You really do spend all of your time with James -- which isn't a bad thing, not necessarily. You two are just a bit wrapped up in each other, and it's made you into a girl you swore you'd never be: a bad friend at the expense of your own relationship.

"That's not the point, James," you sigh. This is going to sound cruel no matter how you spin it and he'll be hurt, but it needs to be said. "We spend too much time together. We've created our own world and we need to...go outside sometimes."

As you predicted, he looks as though you've punched him. "Less time?" he croaks. "You want to spend less time together? You can see how that's not what a bloke wants to hear, right?"

"The boys clearly haven't said the same thing to you --"

"No, they bloody well have not!" He shouts. You shrink back a little but he doesn't notice, too caught up in his own hurt for the moment. "Because they know I'm happy when I'm with you. I don't understand why you can't see that I'd give everything else up if it meant I could be with you."

You take a steadying breath. "Don't yell, please," you say, as calmly as you can. He looks sorry immedietly, but you keep going. "And while that's lovely and romantic, it's not realistic, and I don't expect that of you. I want us both to have lives. We need that, outside of this. It only makes this more special."

He sits down heavily at the kitchen counter. "I'm -- fuck." He tips his head back, black curls a riot as always, and exhales sharply. "Could you come here, please?"

You cross the kitchen and stand in front of him. He gently reaches for your hands, uncrossing your arms and twining your fingers together as he looks you in the eye.

"I'm sorry for yelling," he says, softly. "I'm not mad at you. I think I'm mad that...you're right?" He sucks on his teeth. "You are the best thing that's ever happened to me and I think that if I stop holding on so tight you'll disappear."

It makes sense. You feel the same, but you know it's not true. "But I won't," you tell him. He nods.

"I know," he agrees. "I know. I do. And I think this is worth discussing more so we can figure out how to deal with it. But you look like you're going to cry and I can't stand that I've done it --"

"I was just a bit overwhelmed --"

"So I'd like to spoon, please," he continues over you. "Is that alright?" You step fully into his space and flop against him, your arms tangled between you.

"That's fine with me," you mumble into his collar. You'll figure this out -- you always do.

join the celebration!

[solarmorrigan]

God I want to eat part 8 with a spoon!! It’s exactly what I want from a hurt/comfort fic, little bumps along the way that make the happy ending more believable.

I can totally see where Eddie was going, but also exactly how he fucked everything up. Doing that as a surprise would suck, especially so close to Steve’s confession that that’s what he considered their first date to be. He’s too focused on being the perfect boyfriend without communicating with Steve on what they both was their relationship to be now, and obviously that doesn’t work!!

And Steve!! The way you write him is so perfect, the way he drops everything the second they aren’t alone until he can’t anymore made me tear up. I could tell he was trying so hard to enjoy the date and I honestly think if Eddie had told him before the date, where they were going, I think it could have actually been good. And the line that Steve says about what he’d have had if Eddie had just looked at him,, ohhh that hurt so good

Robin is going to have a very hard time forgiving this, I fear. She already gave Eddie a second chance and I think she’ll take this disaster of a date as him just spitting all over it. Because she saw how happy Steve was after the first time they went to the diner and now she’s going to see how much this date at the diner hurt him. If she was ready to kill Eddie after the first fight, she’s not going to let him off so easy this time

I’m so happy that my messages aren’t bothering you and that my questions are actually relevant! Sometimes, I worry that I’m reading too far into the fics that I read lol 💖💖

Hello! I'm sorry I wasn't able to respond before now, I kept "waiting for the mental energy" so I could give a satisfactory response, but other things kept getting in the way and now I'm very late, BUT ANYWAY

I am glad you enjoyed!

Once I set up the silly little "three date rule" joke, I knew I wanted Steve to have his blow-up after the second one, but I couldn't figure out why, if the first date had gone so well, he would be pushed to lose his temper after the second. And after a while (and babbling at a very patient friend), I came to the conclusion that you did - Eddie's still trying too hard to be what he thinks Steve wants, because he doesn't fully understand yet what's at the core of why Steve's so hurt

But that's not entirely his fault, because Steve won't talk about it

And I thought it was a little funny, because I got at least one person asking if Steve wasn't being kind of an asshole for blowing up at Eddie when Eddie really is trying - and yes! Steve's reaction is a little outsized given the situation, but he's not reacting just to the date, he's reacting to the whole thing in a way he hasn't been able to yet, because that's what happens when you bottle shit up

He'd been worried up to that point about being the one who's an asshole if he let any negative emotions through (which is why I thought the question was kind of funny), so he just... didn't. He put on a mask for everyone because that's what he's always done and that's what he knows how to do, but in the process he mostly just hurt himself and hurt Eddie a bit, too

Honestly, Steve is just so much fun to write. I love bouncing him off of other characters because his reactions have the potential to be so malleable

And we will get to Robin's reaction! Just not quite yet 👀

[beevean]

Frontiers is bad and boring to play but I take it over Forces anytime of the day, first the gameplay plays the game for you half of the time why is Classic Sonic here? Other then Sonic Team being desperate? Why did Tails forget he could fly? INFINITE was wasted and his theme song is embarrassing. Why bother using Chaos if he wasn't even going to be a boss level? Sonic is tortured ? Okay sorry but atleast Frontiers had a better ost.

why is Classic Sonic here? Other then Sonic Team being desperate?

Most likely because 1) Forces was meant to be one of the 2 games for the 25th anniversary, even if they both slid forward one year, 2) precisely to connect Forces and Mania, 3) to piggyback on the success of Generations. Do you want to call it pandering? Feel free to call it pandering, by 2016 fans weren't as eager to play as Classic again, true. But then we can also call pandering the relentless references to the Adventure era in Frontiers, both in simple "hey this reminds me of X" and in general plot beats - now that game very much wants to win the Adventure crowd back more than Forces wanted to appeal to the Classic fans.

Why did Tails forget he could fly?

Do you mean when Sonic (Sonic the fucking Hedgehog) was getting his entire shit beaten out by a terrifying creature not even his Miles Electric could understand, plus clones of formidable enemies that included Shadow?

I don't know, I get the flak against "Sonic help me", but I don't blame Tails for not knowing what to do in that situation.

INFINITE was wasted and his theme song is embarrassing.

Opinion discarded. Infinite's theme slaps absolute ass and if you don't agree AND AFTER ALL THIS TIMEEEEEEE YOU'RE BACK FOR MOOOOOOOOOOOOORE

I agree that something happened to Infinite during development, as everything in the main game hinted at him being a fully artificial creature and not a rando still sore that he was beaten by Shadow lol. But dude was cool in my book. I really like that stage where he creates all sorts of creepy illusions to stop Operation Big Wave :P he could have had more screentime, but he chewed that little screentime we had just fine. better than the end, anyway and always.

Why bother using Chaos if he wasn't even going to be a boss level?

The game was most likely rushed, which sucks, no doubt about that. But somehow, only Forces gets treated like a piece of shit for being rushed, when Frontiers doesn't get nearly the same amount of disappointment for being pretty much a test game (and we know it was rushed because of the last two islands that are pieces cut from Kronos Island and for the weird way Sonic's corruption was handled). Hell, by this point, even '06 is getting apologism even though until recently it was the king of rushed games, and much worse about it than the previous examples.

Either you're equally uncharitable with rushed games that sacrificed content (so I'm not talking about game breaking glitches), or you cut them all some slack.

Sonic is tortured ? Okay sorry

Sloppy translation. And while Sonic looks chipper after being freed, and we can argue all day if that's IC or not, you can guess from things like him beating Zavok with his bare fists or the veiled death threat he gives Infinite that deep down he's actually pretty angry.

Now, Sonic being rescued by his corruption in Frontiers in a minute, undoing all of his hard work in rescuing his friends, and him being just as chipper after Sage, the girl he had just befriended, died in space, is not sloppy translation, it's the game getting rushed to hell (although I don't know why Flynn blames time constraints when it comes to Sonic not sparing a thought about Sage lol).

atleast Frontiers had a better ost.

I like both ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and Frontiers' cyberspace themes are clearly inspired by the Avatar themes in Forces.

[bcbdrums]

Given the fact that we were talking about our perceptions of certain kinds of ships in regards to Stein and how they suit or do not suit his character, how do you feel about smut/the relationship dynamics within Stein x character smut fics?

All righty then...! Here comes a very long rambling of my headcanons about Stein, his two primary relationships, and his relationship with those deeper intimacies. This takes some turns before it gets to the main point but well, I love talking about this man. Extremely long post under the cut.

Also - there are two blogs I tag at the very end of this post - you two feel free to ignore all my ramblings, just know I praise you both at the end and I still re-read your Soul Eater stories VERY regularly.

I'm truthfully still trying to reorganize my thoughts on this specific topic because 1) I have listened to many a headcanon from others on the subject and I always try to give validity to their thoughts even when they differ from mine, and 2) I've also read tons of smut fic with Stein out of sheer desperation for...well, Stein fic. (Come on Stein fandom where you at? Write me some gen fic too, lol)

I have not read too many fics of him with Marie cuz those always contain manga spoilers so I'm skipping those for now until I finish reading (exactly halfway through!). So what I've read is mostly Stein/Spirit smuts and just a couple with Marie, and I want to say….almost zero?? I think zero of those fics (and boy I've read plenty) have "hit the spot" in terms of what I would want for a Stein smut. They're good stories, in some cases great stories, well-written and thoughtfully conceived, but they're not fitting my headcanons and interpretations of who I see onscreen (and who I see in the manga so far).

All that said now… Some of my own relevant headcanons for him, and then I'll get more into fic of others.

I go back and forth toying with the idea that Stein experimented with intimacy just a little as a teen. He's not immune to puberty and hormones; he's human whether he likes it or not, which isn't to say mind over matter doesn't work for him. (Clearly it does, in staving off madness among other things.) But he's a scientist. He's curious. And I can see him justifying an experiment or two in his teen years. But they would in fact be just that, experiments. It's still a big maybe. I can't say for certain he would, it's the sort of thing like…if all the dots line up just right, he'd attempt it. If not, he wouldn't. And it would only be with those two people: Marie and/or Spirit. He doesn't trust anyone else enough. (Yes, I'm on board with the popular fanon that Marie was one of his other weapon partners after Spirit.)

Another teen headcanon... I can also easily see a sort of angsty distraction possibility for him. When he loses Spirit to Kami, I can see him getting into a "romantic" relationship with Marie as sheer distraction, and even misguided retaliation. Spirit "cheated" on him with another meister and abandoned him, so why shouldn't he do the same with another weapon? Which sucks for Marie but well she's not healthy about relationships any more than Stein or Spirit are. But this is just another sort of maybe-thought; another situation where all the dots would have to line up just right for him to go for it. But I can see it, no question, just like the prior thought.

As for Stein as an adult, at the point we see him in the show… While I think relationally he and Spirit have the most interesting dynamic to explore, the one he shows more openness toward is Marie. It's clear that he cares for her. And he doesn't fully understand that either. Now I don't think he wants to get into bed with her, or marry her, or anything traditional to a romance. But I also don't think Marie is going anywhere. Thinking post-anime now…. Unless he gives her a sign that there is nothing between them, I think she's staying put. But sadly for her, I think there is something between them... Sadly because, Stein doesn't know what it is, and it's not "love" the way that Marie wants it. It's just something he's unfamiliar with. Meanwhile she's devoted to him, poor woman.

Now, end of the anime… Let's talk about this…. Marie helps him back to sanity with her healing wavelength. But…then he's just "okay"? No he isn't. Look at that man. His dark circles are darker, his eyes are more haunted. That man has been living off madness and cigarettes for weeks. When is the last time he ate anything? Showered? Legitimately got any sleep?? How he's even standing up let alone fighting Medusa is beyond me, and then he performs freaking major surgery and then waltzes into the death room afterward like he's fine. Because...that's who Stein is.

Stein will fight until he is incapable of fighting anymore, to serve those he loves. Yes I said loves. And it is agonizing how much he strives to show his love for others, and it's something he doesn't even realize he has within him. He thinks he can't understand love? It's because he feels it so deeply and passionately it's beyond definition. Part of this however I'm also certain is motivated from his deep desire for purpose as an adult. The manga shows that aspect of his character even more-so than the anime (in what I've read so far). That man is desperate for purpose and to belong somewhere, with someone. He can't escape his human nature even if he doesn't understand it, can't define it, and even though it drives him crazy all on its own…

So bringing this back to Marie… End of the anime. I don't think Marie is leaving. She's gonna stay, help nurse Stein back to health and sanity despite his pretending he's fine (or perhaps even sheer ignorance of his condition), and Stein…is gonna be confused the whole dang time about his feelings for Marie. He knows he feels something but he has no idea what it is or how to process it. But "love" in the romantic sense he doesn't possibly consider, because well...his conceptions of that sort of thing aren't based in anything healthy (see: Spirit's relationships).

So yeah… She's not leaving. He won't reject her attentions because he does care about her, just not in a way he understands and also not in the way she wants. And as she starts to realize that he has some kind of feeling for her, I think she'd turn up the romance and she'd make a move on him. OR…she'd play the extremely...long...patient game, and wait for him to make a move on her, when it's within his comfort zone. And let me be clear… This man still does not know what love is in this traditional sense, does not understand love. He knows what physical attraction and hormones are and darn him he can't shake those either, but as an adult he wouldn't act impulsively on them nor would he confuse them with love. Stein is the ultimate master of mind over matter. If he were to sleep with her, it would be a choice; a decision he makes consciously and deliberately. I see this within the realms of possibility. But if he chooses it himself, if he's the one who makes that decision simply out of his wanting to…it would be a long, long time that that woman is waiting for him. But I do think it possible. The question is simply, how long will she wait. And she's also the type to try to stir things up (see: her behavior toward Joe in the manga). So who knows when they may end up in bed together... These dots are more complicated to align than those of his teenage years. And if Marie made the move first...I think he'd accept it. Because, see again, his wanting to belong with someone, and he knows he feels something different with Marie.

As for Spirit, well... Stein sees that Spirit likes women. And Stein sees that Spirit can't commit. I think Stein "loves" Spirit more than he loves Marie. First love, young love... Spirit is the relationship of his life, even though that's yet another thing he cannot possibly understand. I think that while part of him, the mad obsessive part, and the curious part, does want to be close to Spirit in the intimate way…it's not out of a healthy desire or even typical motivations. It would come from a desire to possess, from his deeply human but inexplicable yearning to be closer to the one he loves even though it's not the right type of love for that type of intimacy. Not really sure Spirit would be all-in if Stein were to make the move... I think Spirit would take persuading. It's another circumstance where all the dots have to line up just right, and in this case probably more while caught up in madness than in sanity. Because as previously mentioned… In his right mind, Stein knows that Spirit likes women and more importantly that Spirit cannot commit. And he's ironically smart enough to know not to attempt a traditional human romance with someone who cannot commit. I don't think Stein would himself attempt intimacy with Spirit in his right mind at all, unless something happened to make him utterly desperate not to lose the man... Another instance of, all those dots have to connect.

But ugh, the angst. Spirit abandoned him after five years... Stein is not going to willingly subject himself to possible heartbreak again. Plus, he does not think Spirit has forgiven him for the "experiments." I think he thinks Spirit only hangs around him now as an adult as his handler, despite desperately wanting his friendship again. But I think he figures it's a lost cause so he just takes what is offered and never pursues more.

Okay but before I digress further into my endless thoughts about Stein's and Spirit's relationship (I'll do another post for that maybe), back to the point of your question.

I am really not one for labels, partially because I don't understand them but also because I think the spectrum is just so deep and too much defies definition. But if I were to label him, I guess I'd go with...gray ace with demi leanings…?

The man is driven only by curiosity, about anything and everything. But the level of intimacy we're talking about is more than he ever wants to trust anyone with. It's always gotta be on his terms, and more often than not…his terms would be unhealthy.

So let's talk about what shows up in fanfic, since that was what the original question was about. And once again, I like to lend validity to everyone's interpretation. Just because it isn't mine doesn't mean it's wrong or shouldn't exist. But you did ask about MY thoughts, so that's what I'm sharing here.

Once again, I've barely touched Stein/Marie fic because I'm avoiding manga spoilers. In the one or two I've seen, he comes across as not connecting emotionally in the typical way, but knowing that there is indeed something different about being with her. He knows she cares about him, and he cares in return. But it doesn't come across as anything intimate on his side of it. This isn't a characterization I particularly like, because Stein as an adult... As I said, I think he'd choose that intimacy if and when he wants it. In the stories, it comes across more as him just doing her a favor, just going along. It doesn't sit right. But like I said, that's only two stories. For other Stein/Marie, I reserve opinion for later.

Stein/Spirit... Okay. I've noticed a great many commonalities in the fics I've read. And this isn't a taste or preference thing; like I said I have devoured almost every smut fic just in desperation for any fanfic of them. Would prefer more gen fic less smut personally, but anyway.

Most fics have Stein in the dominant role, Spirit in the submissive role. I understand that interpretation but it's not how I see them. I see them as equals if they were to get into that type of intimacy. There is often a lot of bloodplay, frequently madness on Stein's part, major instances of non-con, pet play, BDSM, sometimes light cannibalism... It all suggests an impersonal and unhealthy relationship most of the time, which again...is not at all how I see them if they were to become a couple. Could such things come about? Unhealthily, possibly. But darn me and my desire for happy endings.

These two men are so broken, that if they were to become a healthy couple...I feel like it would be slow, cautious...extremely hesitant. There is extreme distrust on both sides, and also misconceptions about how the other feels. Which...I will save that analysis for later. Focusing back on smut fic.

I have seen only a few that touch on the give and take in a trusting relationship (all by the same author) that come closest to what I feel is accurate to the characters onscreen as I see them, but still the emphasis is too much on lust. It still isn't hitting the spot for me due to a lack of that relational development... Make no mistake, the stories are great, but I personally am hoping for something much deeper.

In my view, Stein just does not seek out physical intimacy in that way. I don't think he can fully escape the innate human need for touch, but in terms of a drive to get into bed with anyone... I think the occasional human desire for it crops up, and he easily ignores it/packs it away because it's not useful to him. It doesn't bother him. He doesn't think about it.

So this is where that...gray-ace, demi vibe comes into play for my view of him. Talking about Stein here as an adult and in control of himself, not consumed by madness... This is I supposed a bit of a summation of my thoughts.

If he did get into a relationship with anyone (and again I think his only choices are Spirit and Marie), it would not be based on the physical at all. I also don't think he would rush into any relationship. It would be a long process before he trusted the person enough to consider them a romantic partner. And really, we could get away from the word romance entirely... Life-partner is a better word, in Stein's case. If the person wanted physical intimacies, I think he would be responsive to that. The other person would be in the lead, but in no way dominating. It would have to be an equal trust thing or else Stein would nope out hard. Stein would gradually learn what it is he likes physically, and how to give his partner what they want. He can come to enjoy it because this is his life-partner, the one he belongs with, the one who needs him and is part of his purpose. But again...the physical is not something that drives him at all. Not in how I see him portrayed onscreen or in the manga.

So, overall, in my point of view nearly all smut fics miss the mark. Now...the stories I've seen where I think the physical intimacy is nailed don't even get to smut. Those are the stories by @asymmetryestablished (AO3 NothingSoDivine) and their characterizations of Stein and Spirit defy description in any words I have. The other author who nails it is @wispforever (same on AO3) and the closest to physical intimacy they get is dancing, but my gosh still the characterizations are utter perfection. I will be re-reading y'all's Stein/Spirit stories forever.

I hope I did in fact answer your question, but overall, I was delighted to just spill out so many of my thoughts about Stein even if in summary form. Yes this was a summary... Okay. I'm done. Thanks.

[italeean]

Hello ^^ I’m honestly pretty late, but may I partake in the event?

Name— Suzuni or nickname of Suzu

Description— I enjoy writing stories (though I more often than not find myself daydreaming about what I could write instead lol) and artistic activities such as painting/art & ceramics. Ofc I suck at my hobbies 👍👍 (I think so anyway)

I like,, honestly I have no idea. Daydreaming/picturing scenarios in my mind? I do it rlly often lol, so ig I probably like it? As for dislikes, myself— And rudeness and arrogance lol 

I try to surround myself with people who are both playful/teasy but also decently observant (Warning for mental illness mention— I have depression and consequently may make darker comments at times). I also tend to use a lighthearted and casual tone when talking about serious topics relating to myself (e.g., warning again here, self-death)

Oops that got long, sorry about that :’l

I’m a lee, and as for fandom, either Haikyuu! or My Hero Academia if that’s alright ^^

Relationship— romantic because why not lol

Preferably a male character

Anyhow, have a nice day/evening ^^

Hiiii!! Sorry for the inactivity... again 😅 istg this period is driving me bonkers but I'm also having lots of fun!! Anyway, thanks for participating, I hope you'll like who I matched you up with ❤️🍡 *hands you the usual dango to eat while you read*

🔮 So, for my event your pair is... SHINSOU

🔮 Why did I choose him for you?

1. Sneaky, fairly smug and a little mysterious. Perfect ler material if you ask me 😌 2. I see him as a very caring and careful soul, who doesn't bond with everyone but holds extremely close the ones who manage to gain his trust 3. He would be able to understand if you need help or are struggling mentally, and he'd be there 24/7 for you 4. He could use his quirk to induce relaxation and/or make you fall asleep... obviously if you're comfortable with it and give your consent 5. He would totally get involved in your hobbies! I already see you two painting or doing ceramics together 6. You probably have made a "couple sculpture"... like a heart broken in half and each one of you keeps a half in their bedroom 7. He trained with Aizawa. He knows how to be silent. Expect surprise tickle attacks from any direction at any time~ 8. He'd be extremely happy to read your writings and give you a review about them!! He'd probably use tickling to convince you to let him read them hehe 9. Tickles whenever you say that you suck at what you do! He doesn't tolerate when someone talks badly about someone he loves (even when it's you talking badly about yourself) 10. He finds it extremely cute when you space out and daydream, so instead of interrupting you, he would cuddle up to you and hold you in his arms while you imagine any kind of scenario 11. He probably volunteers cat shelter, and sometimes you join him. Seeing how gentle he is with cats made you fall in love with him all over again. 12. When his insomnia hits hard, he comes to your room and you two end up hanging out together all night long. Or if you fall asleep, he just cuddles you and watches over you, as if he could keep bad dreams away.

🔮 Tickle scenario

Everyone liked weekends, but you surely had one more reason to enjoy them. Both you and Shinsou were free from school, which only meant one thing: date!

You always did something different: watching anime, making sculptures, painting, chatting, taking walks... one time you even tried to crochet, but he made a mess and got so grumpy that you decided to drop that activity.

That Saturday, you two decided to go at the cat shelter to do some volunteering. It was a really unusual date, but you loved spending time with each other and a ton of purring furballs. Also, the happy, adoring expression on Shinsou's face was so endearing...

The owners of the shelter were extremely nice with you, and they adored how you spent your free time on "volunteering dates". Obviously they made you work a little, but then they let you play with the kitties as much as you wanted! Actually, they let you play until it was closing time... or else you would've never gone back home.

"Hey baby I'm done with Kai, we can go home." Shinsou called for you after leaving a 5-month-old kitten to sleep, but he got no response. He saw you sitting on a chair, your back was facing him. "Baby didn't you hear me? We got-" "Shh!" You suddenly interrupted him.

He raised an eyebrow and approached you, and he couldn't believe his eyes. The new refugee of the cat shelter, who refused even to approach the sweet owners, was cuddled up on your lap and peacefully asleep. "Would you look at that..." the tall teenager smiled, "seems like this little rascal finally chose someone to trust." He was overjoyed to see that furball finally open up.

"Too bad that this human is already busy with someone else~" He reached out to grab the kitten and put him back in his sleeping pillow, but you swatted his hands away. "You're not ruining this moment..!" You whisper-yelled to not disturb the sleepy little angel, "It took me the whole day to get to this point, now we're staying here." You stated, more assertive than ever.

Your boyfriend raised an eyebrow, clearly amused with your antics, "Oh really? Then it would be a shame if a sudden earthquake disrupted your peace~"

You didn't have time to ask him what he meant. A tingly feeling spread throughout your body, making you almost jump and throw away the poor kitten. "Shinsohohou!! Stahap ihihihihit!!" You did your best to keep your legs still and not wake the little furball, but at the same time you desperately tried to swat Shinsou's hands away from your sides.

"But I'm doing nothing, honey... it's just the earthquake." He mused, close enough to your ear to make it tickle, and then blew a raspberry on your neck for good measure. He had to admit, he was a little surprised by how much you were resisting the impulse to squirm away. In other circumstances, you would've already jumped away and hidden somewhere, maybe curled up in a ball.

"Wow, not so squirmy now that you have the little rascal on your lap, huh?" He asked as his fingers played with both sides of your ribcage as if it was a piano, "I think we should name him Giggles... a fitting name related to a wonderful memory like this one..." He thought out loud with the clear intent to tease.

However, the fun had to come to an end. The owners were closing up and you two had to go back to school. He chuckled evilly and without wasting time, he drilled softly under your arms. This time, you couldn't hold back the squeal, which woke up the cat.

"Ah... you're finally awake, Giggles. Did you have a nice rest on my girlfriend's lap?" The violet-haired guy slowly approached the cat, "Now it's time to go to your actual bed, though. But we'll be back soon, alright?" He picked up the little one and laid him on his sleeping pillow and waited for him to fall asleep, then he looked at you and helped you up.

"Come on, say goodbye to giggles and get ready to go, or else I'll let you alone in Aizawa's clutches if we arrive late to UA." He told you with a smug grin on his face. You quickly got ready, not wanting to be scolded by the strict teacher, said goodbye to the owners and got on your way with your boyfriend.

"So... did you have fun on this date, Giggles 2?" Shinsou asked, laughing at how red your face turned, which made you smack his arm in utter embarrassment.

"Shut up..."

[yellowocaballero]

I loved NewWave and it's nominated for my top reads 2023, BUT THE JASON FICLET??? I thought it was going to be a light read but it hit me full force in the face because I didn't expect to identify so much with Jason! When I read your Jason it was like I was reading myself and I want you to know that I started reading it early at night and finished it at dawn because I constantly had to stop and cry because of how much my heart resonated with his! loved it

HI THANK YOU <3

I'm glad you identified with him! Jason is very much a character who's a little like me too. He's a born writer, and his way of using fiction to put the world in a framework that he can understand is very relatable. It leaves him a little out of touch with the reality of situations, but that's a feature and not a bug.

I can't relate as much to the racial undercurrent in the story, but I don't want to understate it. It has to suck for Jason to feel constantly compared to the blonde haired blue eyed 'perfect sidekick'. She provides something seen as valuable and ideal that Jason never could. Coming from Steph's viewpoint (and considering canon) the idea of her being unattainable perfection is deeply funny, but it's very real to Jason. Adding in Tim - who's identical to Bruce and comes from the same social strata - makes Jason feel like it's every man for himself.

That's what makes his connection with Bruce even more important, though. He's the polar opposite of Bruce in every way, but although Tim and Bruce are similar in a lot of ways, Jason and Bruce have a deep connection and understanding that Tim and Steph don't. They're both dreamers who make the world a stage, their need for justice comes from a place of great pain, and they love in quiet ways.

Jason's a special kid. Like Steph, he has so much value that he doesn't see. Unlike her, he wants more - he's hungry for it, that life with meaning and kindness. He's finally attained something good, and he's scared of losing it. He has so much to offer that he can't see, and the happiness of the story is when he's seen.

New Wave was my way of giving a character who's been routinely fucked over by canon and sidelined by fandom the spotlight. She's special and perfect and loved and recognized and important because...she's none of those things 'in real life'. I wanted to give that to her. Steph's a character I related to when I was her age, and I wanted to give that to myself too.

Jason came from a similar place. I do think canon & fanon are like...overly obsessed with him lmfao. There's a billion 'Jason joins the manor' stories and it's why I almost didn't write the story lol. But he's rarely given the chance to be a kid, one who exists in his own right - to join the Batfam out of his own choice, which is something bizarrely rare in fic. And kids like Jason are the forgotten ones, and it will always be Jason's dream to show the forgotten children that they're as much Robin as he is.

I'm glad it meant something to you ;-;. This story meant a lot to me too, which is why I can go onnnn about it lol. Thanks for reading and enjoying! <3

[dallasurr]

i feel so hurt and upset about Simon he needed to heal too

i can't sleep at night sometimes

I know this is so random but i don't care i feel so hurt by the idea of everyone healing but him dead and bound to be forgetten. .. i want him feel good i want to get him out of there.

I've said this before but as much as I'd like to see the series to its planned end, I'm not that unhappy about not getting season 5. It would be really hard for me to see Amelia get a redemption or her exit when she went on the train as a fully mature adult in her 30s, and did wayyyy worse things than Simon did. Although she was mentally unstable at the time she got on the train, it doesn't seem like she had a history of mental illness before Alrick died.

What Simon did to Grace and Hazel was fucked up, I can wrap my head around his justification for killing Tuba and I'm not the person to debate about this bc I straight up didn't like Tuba. She went out of her way to kidnap and scare Grace and Simon, who would have probably found the exit to the car and went on their way the next day without her interference, and I'm of the opinion that she put both herself and Hazel in danger with her little prank. I know we wouldn't have a story without it, and it doesn't justify her death, but literally from their first interaction she showed Simon she can be hostile and dangerous. And while she warmed up to Grace (according to Grace lol I didn't see much friendly interaction between them at all, just Grace enjoying/admiring the way she interacted with Hazel), Simon always got attitude from her, I can't blame him for not warming up to her.

Simon might have been 18 at the time of his season but let's be honest, both he and Grace were very immature and justifiably so. They only had each other and their delusions for years and years before they became guardians themselves. The train has proven itself to be dangerous, and proved how high the stakes are when he died, but people act like he was a fucking monster for doing what he thought he needed to protect himself, grace and hazel from a perceived threat. He could have been a little more tactful with explaining what happened, or lied about it, but like tbh as a neurodivergent person myself who sees Simon as someone who is on the autism spectrum, I REALLY struggle with lying and deceiving people so I can understand why he just blurted out the truth without any thought.

I do think one of the most irredeemable things he did was dehumanize Grace and trap her in her memories, whether or not he knew it could kill her (I assume he didn't bc the Cat as usual didn't explain shit to him) the way he pushed her over and walks away makes me nauseous.

But I certainly don't think he deserved to die for that, and I think the series would have been a lot better if instead of kicking her off the train again (which at this point in the scene felt kind of slapstick i'm ngl), Simon finally broke out of his paranoid and delusional thought patterns and they were able to drag everyone back into the mall car for a heart to heart.

In my head in episodes 9 and 10 he's a lot like Catra in The Portal episodes, but instead of getting 2 more seasons after his fall from grace (lol) to recover and heal and fix his issues, he just got killed instead.

And it sucks because dude was clearly mentally ill and traumatized, and as someone who has mental illness and trauma that can make me act out sometimes too, who also struggles to read the room and understand what people want from me if they don't tell me directly, who ALSO had parents that didn't have my best interests as even a consideration to whatever they could gain from me, it kind of reinforces my anxiety which tells me that I deserve to suffer because of x y z stupid thing I did or said 5, 10, even 20 years ago.

(and before anyone says simon had all the chances to change and grow that grace did, please rewatch the season, he absolutely did not and all of the events that led to grace growing as a person happened when simon wasn't around, yes he was immature in a lot of moments but dude literally did not have a normal adolescence and to expect him to act like a fucking adult all the time after that is ridiculous)

[pixies-and-poets]

In hindsight the Rabbids didn’t actually “steal” the Rayman series. As a kid I thought that but the actual answer is pretty mundane.

Every main Rayman game from Rayman 1 all the way to Rayman Legends has always been developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and Michel Ancel. Ubisoft Montpellier only developed 2 of the Rabbids games. Rayman Raving Rabbids and Rabbids Go Home. That’s only 2 entries in the Rabbids series which is nothing really. Keep in mind Rayman RR was originally Rayman 4 before they scrapped it.

Every other Rabbids game was made by Ubisoft Paris or other divisions of Ubisoft mainly by the studios who made the Just Dance series. Which makes sense cause most Rabbids games were mini game collection that were simple to create.

So what held Rayman up? From what I’ve seen nothing really tho the closest answer is likely that both Michel Ancel and Ubisoft Montpellier we’re busy on Beyond Good and Evil it was announced in 2008 and likely the entire team were focused on that. However if you know development trouble happened which held the studio up for quite some time. It was temporarily shelved which gave Ancel time to make Origins and Legends then he went back to BG&E 2 after Legends in 2017 where it was reintroduced but is now in development hell to this day.

Yep. I was young in an era when a major entry in my favorite game franchises could come out every year, or every other year. As I've gotten older, game dev has gotten more and more complex and lengthy due to a variety of factors. My awareness of that fact lagged behind the reality of it happening, but I am quite aware of it now, largely due to watching a lot of videos, reading a lot of articles and even having some friends at major studios.

I'm a Donkey Kong fan. Why has there been no new DK game in a decade? Has Nintendo totally given up on one of their major franchises? No, the rumors are that they leased it out to a third party studio, changed their minds, and started over in-house as they have a new vision for the DK series that they want to oversee. What's going on with Metroid Prime 4? Who knows. The game industry is such a mess I'm amazed we get any truly great passion projects out of major studios at all.

It's not as simple as "People want thing, make more of thing!" If fans want something, there are devs out there who want to make it too. Maybe even people for whom that series inspired them to get into the industry. But that doesn't mean it's going to end up happening. Still, it's why I think Rayman in the Phantom Show is so great, because the devs (at least a lot of the creative team) really did want to make it.

I feel like the idea that the Rabbids stole Rayman's franchise, and that Rayman died so the Rabbids could live, exists in that knowledge gap before understanding how complex everything is. Maybe it made sense for a time, but it really doesn't hold up to scrutiny now. Things aren't really a zero sum game like that, and so much has happened in the intervening years to contradict this idea.

It is funny, in my stream we were talking about how people don't really harp on this narrative so much anymore, with good reason... Only to have the most stereotypical "RABBIDS SUCK AND RAYMAN DESERVES BETTER" gamer show up like thirty minutes later, lol. Well, people will cling to the stories that help them make sense of the world, I suppose... Even if it makes them unhappy.

[fonulyn]

I've been thinking about Infinite Darkness again, as one does lol, and especially why I'm not super fond of Claire in it. it's been hard to come to terms with that because I started out loving Claire, she's always been one of my favorites, she's fierce and loyal and does anything she has to for what she considers to be the right thing, the fair thing. I love her fierce attitude in re2 remake, and I despite Degeneration's shortcomings as a movie I loved how Claire was portrayed in it, that she'd chosen her own path and she was working tirelessly to make the world a safer place her own way.

which is also why I don't agree with the take that she was sidelined in ID because she didn't get to go in guns blazing, because to me it felt very natural to her almost anti-gun stance in Degeneration, AND because holy shit people a female character does not need to go around waving weapons to be badass?? she does the brainy thing, she figures out the entire conspiracy on her own, but she gets no credit for that feat?? bc she doesn't shoot enough guns?? yeah no. she did great. but I digress.

so, I went into ID loving Claire and came out of it annoyed as hell, feeling like she'd been betrayed and done dirty, but it's so hard to put a finger on why exactly. there's something about how she acts, something about how she specifically interacts with other people, that feels so awkward and so unlike her. she's so needlessly antagonistic, for one.

(and the ramble continues under a cut bc this got long)

and honestly, I think the main issue I have with her is that they dumbed her down. she's not an idiot. and somehow she still apparently assumes that a government agent can just answer all her questions and spill all secrets, and then she gets huffy when he doesn't? I get it that it sucks being dismissed by a friend, but at the same time they're not interacting as friends there, but as representatives of their respective organizations. I can't assume my doctor friend would spill all the info on her patients just because we're friends, exactly like I wouldn't tell her private info about my students. sometimes a person's job does come in the way. and Claire should be clever enough to know that and not just get pissy when she doesn't get what she wants.

and even bigger issue is the ending scene. it starts off so nice, all joking, and then when Leon says that he thought he told Claire not to do anything stupid while clearly in on the joke, Claire suddenly goes all "HEY I'M JOKING"?? yeah Claire, we know, everyone knows, but suddenly she decides to flip a switch and go from joking to angry.

and the "when are you going to stop treating me like a kid" line? it's just blatantly wrong. in re2? they don't even spend that much time together but when they do, they clearly treat each other as equals. in Degeneration? another character dismisses Claire and Leon immediately jumps in to defend her and let them know how capable she is. he and Claire talk about different paths, but in no way is it ever even hinted at that one of the paths would be better or worse than the other. there's never ever been anything but mutual respect between them. and I think it's a huge disservice to both to just dimiss that.

AND the infamous Chip of Destiny™. again, Claire is not stupid. she should know that the conspiracy goes deeper than just Wilson, and just exposing him will drive all the rest of the bad guys deeper underground where they'll be impossible to find. and even more importantly, exposing that information would paint the most ginormous target on her back, she'd be hunted down. and while that might be a risk she's willing to take, she also should respect that it's not something Leon is willing to do to her.

(I'm not saying Leon is blameless in that scene either, he could've spelled it out for her, like he did to Shen May earlier on. he could've at least tried to explain his side. instead he just clams down and makes things worse. I understand his motivations, he thinks he can dismantle the corruption from the inside (erroneously as we know but he's operating with way more limited info than we are) and he doesn't want to put Claire in danger. but damnit boy, open your mouth and say it, if not in that many words then at least some vague version of it!)

so yeah, I think that sums up my biggest issues with Claire in ID. she clearly is bright and can use her brain but then she has a couple of moments where she just. doesn't. for some reason. and how she's so needlessly antagonistic. she's always been ready to throw down if necessary, which I've always loved, but she's never snapped at people like she does at Leon in ID. it's like she's intentionally trying to be mean and I just can't fit that into my perception of Claire, I can't.

with all that said, ID is still one of my favorites of the animated RE movies (yes it's a movie lol), it just bothers me that they did this to her. she deserved better!