#yeah by now the whole 'the heroes could actually go bad!' thing has been done to death

[fire-fira]

Blue Devil #13

I actually appreciate Rojek and Smitty here because they're making a good point that generally doesn't get brought up in comics much-- at least not outright.

Of course, the fact that it's being used here (almost comedically) to emphasize how thoroughly freaking possessed Dan is almost sands down how on-point their commentary is, but it's still a good point.

[oddyseye]

Mutiny.

Odysseus and Eurylochus have such a complicated relationship and everyone always dumbs it down to wrong one thing or another. It’s complicated. It’s layered. It’s tragic. And it’s way more than just an argument over cows. Mutiny isn’t just about hunger or leadership — it’s about loyalty, exhaustion, and two men who want the same thing but can’t see eye-to-eye on how to get there. Eurylochus doesn’t really trust the guy anymore. He’s fed up with Odysseus being this godly figure that can do no wrong, while the crew is dying left and right. Every time he calls Odysseus “Ody”, it’s like this little jab. He’s trying to strip away the whole kingly aura that Odysseus has due to this lack of trust after Scylla. Eurylochus still has a sense of duty and respect for him as the leader, but you can feel the frustration in his voice. He’s just done with the whole “heroic” persona Odysseus has created for himself. Like, Eury is the guy who sees the crew as actual people. He’s the approachable one — the “buddy” that the crew can rely on when things go wrong, while Odysseus is their king, the champion of Athena, and the guy who’s supposed to lead them to glory. But Eurylochus is done waiting for that glory. You can tell from how he keeps saying, “We’re never gonna get home,” that he’s already checked out emotionally. He doesn’t have faith in their survival anymore. To him, they’re already doomed, and he’s not just going to let them starve to death when there’s a solution right in front of him. The cows. Yeah, the cows are the tipping point. Eurylochus sees the cows as a desperate measure, and while everyone else is still hung up on the gods, Eurylochus is just like, “Look, we’re not making it home. At least if we eat these cows, we’ll die full.” And sure, everyone seems blind to the fact that killing Helios’ cows is basically a suicide mission, but that’s because they’re still stuck in this idea of “respect the gods, and they’ll reward you.” Eurylochus, though? He’s not playing that game anymore. He knows they’re screwed, so at least with the cows, he can take control of the situation. Maybe if they’re gonna die, they can go out on their own terms, at least with their bellies full.

Now, Odysseus. This guy is like the living embodiment of stubbornness. You can see he is a student of Athena in that aspect lol. He can’t see it. He can’t admit they’re already beyond saving, and he’s too proud to make the hard call. Maybe it’s the godly influence talking, or maybe it’s just Odysseus being too obsessed with his own destiny, but he refuses to see that he doomed them. He wanted to hold onto the last shred of hope — that somehow, they’d make it out. But Eurylochus sees past that. He’s not naive. He’s not going to just keep playing the hero's game. His frustration with Odysseus has been building for a while, and it finally erupts when Odysseus sacrifices six men for his own pride and stubbornness. The key to this whole confrontation is that Eurylochus isn’t just questioning Odysseus’ decisions. He’s questioning his humanity. There’s this raw edge to Eurylochus’ anger. He can’t understand how someone who claims to be a hero could so coldly lead the crew into situations where they keep dying. And at the same time, Odysseus doesn’t have the capacity to understand Eurylochus’ perspective.

As the mutiny shows, he’s not leading the crew as a man anymore. And that’s the core of the tension between these two.

The part where Eurylochus directly challenges Odysseus is when the mutiny finally feels real. Eurylochus’ words cut deep.

“You miss your wife so bad, you'd trade the lives of your own crew?!’’

That’s an accusation, a personal attack. He’s accusing Odysseus of putting his own desires above the lives of his men, of wanting to go home so badly that he's willing to make reckless decisions. Eurylochus knows exactly what’s going on. Odysseus is so obsessed with the idea of getting home, so attached to the end of the journey, that he forgets the responsibility he has to his crew. He’s willing to sacrifice them in the pursuit of that dream.

Eurylochus is the one with enough clarity to call out the emperor’s new clothes. He’s not just upset about the deaths of their comrades. He’s angry because he sees Odysseus as a man who is no longer a leader but a symbol — and symbols don’t save people. They don’t keep the crew alive. Up until now, Odysseus has been their guide, their protector, and their hope. But in that one instant, he becomes just another man — just a man who’s lost his way, and more importantly, someone who has lost the trust of his men. This moment is about more than just the confrontation. It’s about the growing realization that Odysseus isn’t the infallible hero they thought he was. It’s Eurylochus realizing that following Odysseus blindly is no longer an option because the man they’re following doesn’t have a clue how to get them out of the mess they are in.

At the end of it all, Eurylochus and Odysseus are no longer two men working together for a common goal. They’re two men at odds, and Eury's willing to go to extreme lengths — betrayal, mutiny, anything — to take control of the situation. This mutiny is his last stand, his way of saying, "I’m not going to die because of your stubbornness. I’m taking matters into my own hands."

It’s heartbreaking, too, because Eurylochus isn’t doing this out of spite. He’s doing it because, in his mind, it's the only way to ensure that at least some of them will survive.Eurylochus wouldn’t have gone that far if he didn’t care. It’s so easy to say he’s just turning on Odysseus, but this is a guy who, for years, followed Odysseus into every battle, every insane godly encounter, every impossible situation. They were in this together — not just captain and crew, but real partners. How do you reconcile the fact that the person you once followed into battle — the person you trusted with your life — is now the reason your crew is dying, one by one?

The whole dynamic between Eurylochus and Odysseus is like this tragic love story in its own right. They weren’t just captain and subordinate. They loved each other, in a way, and when that love got tangled up with responsibility, fate, and the unrelenting pressure of survival, it destroyed them. Don't bash me btw this is not a ship post, I just said think their relationship reminds me of a certain couple but this isn't what I came here to talk about.

This wasn’t about “sides.” It wasn’t about who was right or wrong — it was about two men who tried to make it, who had fought side by side for years, and then found themselves unable to reconcile the two parts of themselves that were pulling them in opposite directions. And that’s where the real sadness is: Eurylochus and Odysseus were so close — so damn close — and it all fell apart because neither of them could face the truth of how broken they both were.

It’s the most tragic thing.

[smilesrobotlover]

Ok that’s it. I’m just gonna scream about echoes of wisdom:

First off, this game is amazing. Like I’m so impressed with it and had a blast with it. I’m very impressed with how fun the gameplay was. I was nervous that it wasn’t gonna be fun, but no it was actually tons of fun! It’s not perfect ofc. I wish you didn’t have to sit and scroll through hundreds of echoes, I wish they separated monsters and objects to make each one easier to grab, and the amount of times I pressed the sword button instead of the echo button was insane. Fighting enemies is also a pain since it takes so long, and I wished I could just directly fight them, and it’s super easy to soft lock yourself as well. But all those negatives don’t outweigh the positives, because regardless of those flaws, it was still VERY fun to play through. Once you get powerful monsters, fighting is kinda fun to watch. I loved placing like, 7 fire octos against one ice octo and just watch it get destroyed. I loved setting things on fire, I loved climbing on trees, and overall I just, loved finding ways to solve puzzles. Thinking outside the box was a lot of fun in this game. Now, in some places like the Faron temple, it wasn’t fun BUT, still. I loved it

And the story, omg. This is the first Zelda game that I’ve played since becoming a fan that has a new link and Zelda in a new Hyrule, and it was so refreshing to see! I’ve seen the same ones for years now since joining the fandom and I love seeing new ones! I love how Zelda doesn’t know Link at all, that he’s just some swordsman who saved her. I just love what they did with Link in general. He wasn’t reduced to a damsel in distress, he had his own adventure, we just didn’t see it. He was competent and was fighting In the rift before Null captured him. Fighting along side him was SO fun and the final dungeon was very unique and fun to go through. I also loved fighting as him in the very beginning. They gave him an interesting backstory and I almost wish we got to see his adventure! But oh well, this game is about Zelda anyways :)

And Zelda is fun too, I love all the characters that know her. They were all so competent and didn’t actually sit around like a bunch of idiots. I wish Zelda wasn’t a silent protagonist though, but idk how else they would’ve done it. Oh well.

And I didn’t like Tri in the beginning but they really grew on me towards the end. They were very bland but some personality came out as we progressed further into the story, and I laughed out loud at some of the things they said lol.

But let me talk about my fav part of the game: Null.

I cant tell you how much I love the concept of Null. The idea of some creature that is the embodiment of nothingness that has been there since before the creation of the world is SO FREAKING COOL. It’s nice having a story where Ganon isn’t the big bad, it’s this ancient being that is powerful and very dangerous. Far more dangerous than Demise. And it doesn’t contradict the established lore? Like this makes a lot of sense that Null was imprisoned in the world, but was creating rifts because they wanted to go back to nothingness. It’s spooky to think that they were there the whole time, just trying to escape.

Though it does make me wonder about the timeline. My guess is that this game takes place before or after botw/totk with hebra mountain existing and things generally being in the same spot (except death mountain, but volcanoes move anyways right?). And no one knows what the Triforce actually is, which is also very interesting. It’s an ancient power that’s not well known which is very cool, and I LOVED seeing it again! Having them discover the primal energy being the Triforce was so freaking cool, and the legend of the princess (or priestess) and the hero defeating evil was cool, but it does make me wonder where it is in time.

But yeah, all in all, I loved this game. It was incredible and so much fun with amazing characters and great lore that expanded on the universe. Very very neat.

But I’m giving it a 2/10 cuz Linebeck wasn’t in it

[iknowshocker]

If damon would have actually left bonnie in season 6 and choose Elena would kai have saved her ?

oh anon, this is one of my TVD roman empires.

i'm a firm believer that yeah, kai was absolutely walking over to heal her himself. i swing between thinking a. that was always his plan and he never would have let her die for real and b. he decides halfway across the room that damon doesn't deserve the easy way out and he saves her to spite him. either way, he lost Jo tonight. he's not letting Bonnie go, too.

if i could rewrite it i'd do it something like this:

we'd get to hear the rest of his villain monologue and it would end with him crouching down beside her and being like "you really need better friends bonster - that could have been me if you weren't so easily manipulated"

she's glaring up at him, gasping for air: "f - uck .... o - ff"

and he'd laugh, bite his wrist, and go "is that anyway to talk to the man about to save your life??? nooo, didn't think so" and while she's drinking and clinging to him he'd get that blood sharing rush and start babbling and in my perfect world that's the moment she learns about him helping on her birthday.

"i've done this before you know, without the - the weirdly intense blood thing, bon stop looking at me you're making me lightheaded close your eyes, thanks - yeah, anyway, i've done this before. can't believe i'm playing the hero after nuking the whole coven. the irony is not lost on me, lemme tell you - what? don't squint at me, why would i make that up? i saved you on your birthday bon-,"

and she'd rip away from him and go "jeremy saved me-,"

"jeremy ? hold on, thiS WHOLE TIME YOU THOUGHT IT WAS OKay, okay sure he opened the garage door, but who do you think gave him the power to do it?"

bonnie stares up at him in horror, realizing that a witch being involved actually does make so much more sense. kai would lean in closer to her, she's probably still holding his hand so he's got the other braced by her head and she's too shocked to move away.

"i saved you, bonnie. me."

she's looking up at him, eyes frantically bouncing between his, and whispers: "but why?"

"i already told you," he'd sneer, "i felt bad. i regretted leaving you. you're the one who didn't listen. you're the one who didn't believe me. you trusted your stupid friends, and look what it got you. damon left. he picked elena. you gave up everything for him and-,"

"stop," she'd say, trying to get away. but he'd grab her chin and make her look at him.

"they don't care about you, bonnie. you're just a magical help button to them. they call you because they know you won't say no. and you know the worst part about all this? the part i hope keeps you up at night?" he'd lean in even closer, whispering in her ear: "i would have picked you."

and then he'd leave. straight vanish at vamp speed into the night. and bonnie's laying there, in the wreckage of the wedding, all alone.

she cry's.

it makes no sense...and yet it makes perfect sense. damon lies as much as kai. damon is selfish. of course he'd pick elena. shit, bonnie would probably pick elena. what does that say about her? how has she let them convince her she's not worth picking? no, enough. that ends right now. she'd pull herself together, and she'd start walking home.

she'd go straight to the salvatore house. the doors open so she walks in. everyone is there, regrouping and crying and sitting quietly in shock. no one is looking for her. what did damon even tell them, when he came back without her? why did no one come back for her body?

caroline sees her first. she stands on shaky legs, staring at her wide eyed. "oh my god, bonnie? how - damon said you - he said that kai-,"

ah, so he blamed it on kai. funny, he seems to be doing that an awful lot lately.

"he lied," bonnie says. "he does that. damon. he lies."

caroline would run to her, breathlessly laughing, but bonnie doesn't return the hug.

"stefan!" caroline yells. "stefan, come here!"

he comes vamping in, sees the look in bonnie's eyes, and goes perfectly still. there's a phone in his hand, and quietly he says: "damon, i think i know why elena's not waking up. i'm gonna call you back in a minute."

from there i want them all realizing that bonnie has to be protected from damon. in this situation he's gone full rouge and he's proved he's willing to kill bonnie to get elena back. i don't think there's a world where they go back to prison world status besties after that.

kai, of course, is probably still lurking in town. maybe he went back to portland for a bit but he always comes back...he just can't leave bonnie alone.

[tacagen]

did you know that negaduck from darkwing duck was based off reverse-flash? yeah, that doesnt even BEGIN to describe what's actually been going on between their character histories..

first, negaduck wasnt just inspired by or a reverse-flash parody. he's a literal copy-paste of silver age thawne with a very few changes of origin place from future to parallel universe and identity from some random future guy to main hero's evil twin, because originally eobard was fixated on being a Criminal and not particularly flash's nemesis. back in the day, thawne constantly mentions how much he loves his criminal life. half of his lines are negaduck-worthy purely because the rest is related to being a speedster scientist. my personal favorite as an example:

he passes the speed limit law in central city so that barry couldnt use superspeed without breaking it but thawne still could because he is 'a hardened criminal'. he invents rays that turn everything inflicted evil (something even negaduck has never done (ig solely because megavolt's already done it in the negaduck episode where he accidentally splits darkwing into good dw (posiduck) and bad dw(negaduck, with a black and gray color scheme), and while yellow negaduck is a different character this is basically how the idea of him was born and the writers just decided to keep him in a different form bc the gray one merged back into normal dw at the end which is super funny. imagine coming up with a duck villain and going 'oh this guy actually reminds me a lot of reverse-flash with all that opposite/negative thing. LET'S PAINT HIM IN THOSE COLORS AND GIVE HIM THE SAME PERSONALITY AND SIMILAR ORIGIN THIS TIME'), altho he DOES test the power gem on a cat in jail bird like thawne did with evil rays). he repeatedly tries to get poor former dr alchemy back to crime just because 'crime fun. why cant you see that. im doing it for your own good' and negaduck tried something like that with morgana in feb 14th episode my valentine ghoul (+that brief scene with gos from 2016 comics run where he believes she must be bad deep down inside out of comparsion to nega!gosalyn). negaduck also travels from a whole other world just to fuck around here for fun (there was this bronze age flash issue called flashback where thawne gets lost in the timestream because barry pushed the wrong buttons in his time capsule which is almost exact negaduck's fate in life, the negaverse and everything) and one of another few differences related is that negaduck is shown to be a dictator of his universe's St. Canard who is bored to live somewhere he already has all the power so he travels to another universe to cause problems on purpose.

second. dc's new52. eobard is rewritten again, now he and zoom are kind of one character. but guess what else is new in this version that never happend neither in zoom or professor zoom's lives? thawne is a fucking dictator in his own time. and people tried to fight his rule in flash's name just like friendly four needed darkwing as inspiration to finally fight back for their world.

he gets his own team, acolytes of zoom (i wish i could call them local fearsome 4 but there are 5 of them, making it more of a sinister 6 if you count thawne) which he trains for centuries to fight the flash and betrays later by trying to steal their powers just like negaduck stole f4's in jail bird to become mega-negaduck and if all that wasnt enough, without the mask he straight up looks like negaduck humanization. look at him. this mf is only missing a hat and a cape.

also these sudden black parts in his new speedster suit design? either it is some absolute fucking bonkers of a coincidence or someone on the flash writing team really went 'hey guys you know what would be real funny? lets base new thawne off negaduck. like he was originally based off thawne. i swear no one will notice' and everyone went with that. (i could also mention he has the same dumb motivation for being evil (having shitty childhood/being deep down sad about mistreatment and loneliness) as 2011 dwd comics run negaduck but imo that's too far of a stretch to actually be included)

third. yall know the deal of the first season of cw's the flash? yeah, what if i told you the whole thawne messes with the particle accelerator and causes barry to gain superspeed thing already fucking happend in darkwing duck, episode going nowhere fast?

(the way i lost my mind over this back in the day when i decided to watch dwd just because negaduck reminded me of thawne(i didnt even know he was a direct rip-off, i just went 'oh wait dt universe has this evil fuck that wears the same color scheme as reverse-flash? girl i AM checking the whole thing out just to see if he's anything like thawne'.) and first watched the episode... priceless, still haunts me to this very day. how the hell was that written in 1991. did cw writers just take the idea from dwd too. honestly i cant be sure about anything anymore).

and remember in the duck knight returns (2011 comics run arc) flashbacks there was a super funny thing with negaduck not knowing dw's secret identity and being so proud he cracked the case? remember cw!og!thawne looking for flash's time period and not knowing his identity in 2nd season cameo episode? what the hell was even up with that!!! like guys. guys one of you is the most devoted flash fan from the future and there is NO way none of that kind of information was left a CENTURY after (i mean come on dude couldntve you just asked gideon. she literally had that 2024 newspaper about vanishing and thats at the very least not mentioning she was created by barry) and another is straight up the same fucking person as the hero with the same fucking relatives and enemies. idk take a wild guess??? ((i really wonder if anybody on the wirting team of 2011 dwd run saw not just life, the negaverse and everything but any episode featuring negaduck at all. not only do they ignore the existence of nega!gos in the 'oh he mean bc alone :(' approach, they ignore the very definition of negaduck's character which is literally evil drake mallard. i mean sure hes dumb and may miss obvious clues because of being the same dw just evil but come on, such a comedic situation and never addressed by drake whos literally been in the negaverse and knows they are the same person or by anyone else he coluldve told that? oh well unless drake is also dumb af and thought there never was any drake mallard in the negaverse in the first place and that negaduck is some other guy. which is a real probability i suppose))

also. negaduck's death by being split on billions of evil particles in crisis on infinite darkwings and thawne, being 'exorcised' from nash's body in a form of a negative speed force stream with sparks in 6x15 of cw's the flash.

fourth! yall did watch ducktales 2017 reboot, right? specifically the duck knight returns episode? they introduce a whole new version of negaduck there! and guess what. jim starling, an old darkwing duck (in-universe 90s tv series) actor obsessed with his role, goes fucking nuts because there is a new darkwing duck actor in a new movie and he didnt even know. because he feels forgotten. because no one remembers neither him nor original series (objectievely not true bc obviously launchpad and drake but to jim they just dont count bc reasons. he seems to count only children but calls lp his fan when anthagonizes drake for taking even that from him in the end). because he was replaced and no one even bothered to tell him. he causes a fire on the set, almost kills drake but does have a change of heart at the end after launchpad's speech about what darkwing duck stands for and seemingly sacrifices himself to save drake and lp from the explosion. then they have the worst idea they could have in relation to jim's character ever: for drake to be a real life darkwing duck to honor jim's sacrifice. so naturally he hears that from the sewers or wherever he was hiding to see their reactions(look i am. 100% sure that this is what happened bc that makes so much more sense than jim getting brain damage or whatever from that explosion and waking up to choose violence again for no other reason). he gets hit with the being replacable and forgotten thing once again and renders back to negaduck tendencies, for all we know for good this time as his darkwing suit changes to the yellow-red one. yk who else went on a rampage because he felt forgotten and replaced? you guessed it! the return of barry allen, a 90s classic where thawne goes to 21st century for the first time, thinks he's barry (original-ish flash) because dissociation from trauma of seeing himself being killed by his hero and acts exactly like starling, having the same issues as motivation aka him/barry being forgotten and replaced by wally. he implies wally taking on the flash mantle is most disrespectful to barry. he rants about how he's the only flash and threatens to destroy not only the flash family but the whole central city for forgetting that. he and wally have a conflict of legacy similar to jim and drake's conflict in dt17. he is The starling blueprint only a lot more mentally ill. also we've heard something like the duck knight returns in running scared (this one is less reminiscent of jim but still features some things that werent in the return of barry allen). it's a rebirth arc that introduces another new origin of reverse-flash. now, he's been hyperfixated on barry allen his whole life (on a whole new level i mean) and there was the first meeting in 25th century where they Connected like thawne always believed they would. that day ended up in a fight and thawne's imprisonment because he set up casualties to get attention and praise for being the flash of 25th century but unlike all other versions this thawne has a change of heart after the fight, too. he promises to 'fix everything' including himself, he even goes to therapy afterwards. then he goes to the 21st century to tell barry how much he accomplished since they last met and then sees barry saying to wally one meaningful phrase he said to thawne that perfect day. like it wasnt something special only barry and eobard shared. like the day they met never happened. like he forgot thawne ever existed. like he was replaced as barry's speedster partner/friend/whatever he thought they were after that day by wally. and that shatters thawne so much he runs back to 25th and just decides to become the reverse-flash and make barry suffer until he gives him attention and recognition he deserved. frank angones, i am inside your walls. you CANT deny you based your versions of dw and nd off flash comics and thawne particularly. and more, you legit made reverse!eobarry au and put it in dt in duck forms. i have been losing my mind about it for 3 years now. i am exposing you and there is nothing you can do to escape that.

fifth(ish). yeah, and btw about friendly four from life, the negaverse and everything. did you think they actually escaped being mirrored in the flash? ha. i present to you reverse-rogues from the 25th century aka the renegades, carefully created by zoom and thawne himself, thinking it would somehow be funny.

cant believe hunter once saw it on tv put 2 and 2 together and went 'eobard my dude we need to go full negaverse with the 25th century. we need a friendly four to your negaduck. i swear it'll be Hilarious'. god the only thing they lack at this point is nega!gosalyn (i mean. hunter actually did try something like that with inertia, saving him from the museum and trying to teach him how to torture flashfam into improving them but thad was more of a nega!honker and reverted hunter to disabled powerless state just because. love that kid)

and that's all i have so far, if anyone here also into both yellow-red mfs with no life feel free to comment or even add more because there sure is or at least will be more and no one has the power to stop it.

[sparklinpixiedust]

Bullied

So I've been re thinking the whole " gwen was gonna let Kevin get beat up" post I made from the Kevin 11 episode and I think I realise why she didn't see why Ben saving Kevin was so important.

Now I know she wanted the watch thing to be secret sure that's one reason, but another is well, I don't think she truly understood what was going to happen to Kevin.

See Ben's been bullied for a long time, he knows what being ganged up and being helpless feels like. He had an idea what Kevin was feeling and knew that however that ended , it wouldn't be good for him.

That's literally how the show began, with ben trying to save someone from getting bullied ( unfortunately he got bullied himself)

Him being bullied was a strong driving force for wanting to be a hero and help. Regardless of ben having the watch or not, he still would've jumped in to save Kevin at the time.

Kevin too has a weird desire to be a hero, in his own twisted way.

I made a post a while back on why Kevin never considered himself a true bad guy, and he even made a few references throughout uaf by calling himself " nuanced" ,or " just had a rough childhood" rather than outright evil.

@ossy-serenity even added to that post with some really good points too.

Kevin was never a " bad guy" . He was a hero in his own story, in his own way by fighting against his bullies and enemies.

According to the rooters arc, Kevin was moved to help the rooters because he was told he could be a "hero" , the good guy.

Okay okay, I'm getting a little off track here , but my point is both Ben and Kevin had these strong desires to help, even if it was in different ways. Bullying made ben want to help others and Kevin want to help himself.

Gwen on the other hand never really had these strong feelings of heroism.Like she knew what was good and bad, she knew what was to be done and what side she should be on.

But she's never been shown to have this strong desire to be a hero.

Why? Because she's never been bullied.

I don't think she's ever been put in a situation where she's been ganged up on or felt truly helpless.

So thats why she wasn't too into the idea of helping Kevin. To her it obviously looked bad but since she's never been in that situation it's likely easy to brush it off as " oh a fight, okay then. Just a another day in the hood i guess"

And that's probably why it was easy for her to just leave the team and go off to college. Or even in the future , Ben's still the hero and Kevin is in charge of null void so in a way he is sort of contributing to being a hero by keeping the rooters in check.

Gwen on the other hand is working on a thesis. Which doesn't really sound too heroic to me.

She was never bullied as a kid , I mean with her know it all attitude, tough personality and karate ,its hard to imagine anyone really messing with her and actually getting away.

Sure she had enemies later on like charmcaster and aliens coming after her, but it's like, it was never really personal personal you know?

Being picked on and humiliated and not being able to do anything about it is different than being attacked by an evil alien.

The former is personal. It attacks you as a person, it belittles you. The latter is well , typical hero stuff you know? Like yeah their beating you up and trying to kill you , but it's usually because you're in the way of whatever they want rather than them showing up just to degrade you.

So long story short, Gwen has never been bullied , she doesn't truly understand the depth of being a hero because she's never really been the victim, unlike Ben and Kevin.

[jac-is-procrastinating-again]

Guys. We need to talk about THAT KISS and Jane Austen.

No, we do - bear with me.

"If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more." (Mr Knightley, hero of Emma by Jane Austen)

So. That Kiss. It's SOOOO messed up, yeah? And Az's expression in the lift veers all over the place, and it's really complex. But WTAF is going on there?

I just had a bit of an epiphany that i thought you might like to share.

So; consider the context.

Aziraphale knows Crowley loves him, yeah? He can FEEL when things are loved (like Tadfield). He considers himself C's partner for life (see that glorious little eyebrow raise when Shax tells him he's not C's type). But he kinda knows that C hasn't quantified it yet, so he does all the things he can to make C think about him as a romantic partner.

He dresses up with some care and puts himself in danger (see how pretty he looks in the French Revolution), then basically arranges himself in a ray of sunlight in picturesque chains till C turns up because he knows how happy it makes C to rescue him (and by the joy on his little face, that's a two way street).

He does nice things for him (where do you think C got the book with all the pics including Alpha Centauri from in S1? He doesn't read books).

He's got all these jolly japes and escapades that he initiates either to bring C joy or to get his attention or whatever. And every damn time C just fails to even consider that there's anything to it other than some sort of accidental humour.

Az doesn't stop there. He does the touchy-feely thing (you almost expect him to say "La, sir!" and hit him with a fan coquettishly) (off topic, I would give actual genuine money to see a C17th genderswapped Az try this). He does every damn thing he can think of to get C to really *see* him...

BUT

HIS DATING MANUAL IS JANE AUSTEN

Bless his angelic cotton socks.

Now in some ways this works quite well. Often the protag's journey in JA culminates in the realisation that though they thought they were unworthy of love, that they actually aren't. Then they get together and it's a whole happy ending.

To Az, this would be absolutely spot on - it would speak to his very heart, yeah?? The "bad" demon who isn't bad would end up with the "good" angel, all's well with the world. They often cock up the first attempt at a proposal, so the fact that it didn't work at the end of S1 is fine because Az is trying to trigger a proposal in S2 with the ball and helping the girls like Emma tries to help Harriet in JA (only thankfully, with better results thanks to a legion of demons).

Az LOVES C, and he knows C loves him but kinda hasn't realised what that means, and he's going all out to find actual romantic love.

BUT let's face it, Az is a total innocent. He'd never read erotica in a month of Sundays, just in case that counts as impure thoughts or something. so the SUM TOTAL of what he knows about how love works, what love is AND CAN BE.... is what's in Jane Austen.

You know what ISN'T in any Jane Austen novel??

Kisses. Yep, you read that right - according to JSTOR (website where academic researchers post stuff) there are ZERO kisses in JA.

There is maybe possibly the implication that someone was kissing before the scene begins in one book, and in Emma there is a shocking and outrageous moment when Mr Elton grabs her hand when proposing (at the time this would have been physically so overfamiliar as to be almost indecent.)

And this is Az's playbook, bless him.

So how does that alter thing?

As far as he's concerned, grabbing C for a dance is the most forward thing he could have done--just look at his face in the moments before, and the whole thing about how his whole hand is intertwined with C, whereas he barely touches the fingertips of the others when dancing (JA etiquette again).

Crowley on the other hand, has been hanging out next to a striptease club in the 70s, and in all sorts of clubs. He's probably a bit Az-centric to have bothered with any shaggery but he has an interested mind and I can absolutely see him reading erotica and chuckling at the lengths humans will go to in search of pleasure. But it wouldn't occur to him that love and sex are that linked, probably, or if it did, only for humans.

So when he gets a talking to by Nina and Maggie, you see Crowley.exe stop working as he starts realising that the whole concept of ROMANTIC LOVE might be applicable to the feeling between himself and Az...

He's absolutely flabbergasted. And then thoughtful. Then a little bit quiet and tentative and it's all set up to be the most beautiful, tender exploration of what could exist between them.... (yeah, thanks for that, Neil).

Then in comes the Metatron like a wrecking ball, and deftly fucks them up.

His proposal is designed to split them apart (which it does) and because he gets in first, that leaves Crowley desperate. He knows that his chance has been lost, so he grabs Az in one horrible, desperate, brutal kiss.

And Az DOESN'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT KISSES.

Az is thinking in terms of a picnic on Box Hill (he tentatively suggests a future picnic when he gives C the holy water in the 70s actually). He thinks it will be a series of lengthy but delicate conversations about how C was perhaps a little too emphatic last time. He's ticked the boxes; there's been the dance, there's been "la sir" and all that malarkey.

He's a little vague on what a proposal actually is if it isn't in a letter (another of JA's irritating habits is to skate over the vital moment) but he thinks that maybe with a little careful curation, he can bring them to this point of happy understanding.

And then, what he gets is THAT KISS.

he doesn't have a fucking clue what it is or what it means, guys, not at first, and he's so SO shocked

He knows how much C loves him; he was expecting/ wanting gentle togetherness (unspecified)but what he got was angry desperation and he doesn't know what to do with that.

Remember in S1 when Crowley goes nose to nose with him in the not-kiss ("I AM NOT NICE!!")? Look at his face when Sister Mary turns up and they don't immediately move. He isn't at all frightened - he does his coy face. Then he spends the next five minutes straightening his clothes, apparently unmoved, and as if he actually rather enjoyed it.

This time he does look scared. He trusts C implicitly but the emotional intensity of the kiss just overloads him totally and so he automatically goes into "i forgive you" mode and it all goes downhill from there. The hand to his lips is part "WTAF was that???" and maybe a little realisation that if it hadn't shocked him so much he might have been open to doing something of the sort again. But he's absolutely floored.

The slightly heartbreaking addition to this is that they both hang around so they can sort it out after the initial shock, but Metatron is wise to that and whisks Az away before he can catch his breath.

Crowley knows how badly he messed up, and he's probably a bit freaked out as well. But when we see Az in the lift, trying not to cry and looking stunned, there's a moment where he suddenly looks deliriously happy. For my money, that's where he realises that the bits Jane Austen left out were probably along these lines, and that Crowley just left out the niceties and cut to the chase (and isn't that so like Crowley??)

And then he has that look of incredulous euphoria he tries to hide from Metatron, as he realises that Crowley wants to kiss him. And that (perhaps in a gentler, kinder way) that he wants to be kissed with that much passion again.

He's just had his whole life handed to him on a plate and simultaneously taken away in the same moment. Yeah, there's stuff he has to do and complications along the way, but God help us when these two get back together. If their love doesn't save the actual universe, I'm gonna be really surprised.

There's a great line at the end of Princess Bride that keeps running through my brain. "“Since the invention of the kiss there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind.”

How do you one-up that? Not with THAT kiss, certainly, it was nothing of the sort. The NEXT one though... oh my God. It'll be so good that we're starting to melt now from three years in the past.

I guess we'll find out in a couple of years time in any case- but for now, that's what I'm choosing to look forward to.

:)

[cosmic-navel-gazin]

How about MacReady for the blorbo bingo?

" Stupid sexy 1980's Kurt Russell !!! "

🤠❄️🥶🥃♞🧨🔥 🩸

The FREE SPACE is for his stupid comically large cowboy hat (affectionate)!

He has it all:

I love his floofy hair, the beard, I love his drunk ass, I love the weary tired eyes! I understand The Thing's gender envy, I wanna be him too! would assimilate if given the chance

I love his beloved J&B bottle, it's what keeping him from going mad

I love that he's kinda an unusual hero, he's a bit of a cold bastard and how ironically that's great for the situation they're all in! If they need someone to quickly, no hesitations, just burn a former friend and colleague for everyone's safety, he's the guy for it^^ (Look at his exchange with Gary about Bennings, Gary is struck with horror and grief for the loss of a good friend and MacReady is like: "brb Gary, gotta go burn the rest of him"). I wish I could make rapid tough decisions like him, if it were me in Antarctica I would've been a complete utter nervous wreck of a person like, a mix between Gary, Blair and Fuchs, even if I miraculously survived the whole ordeal I would've never been able to sleep again

he look great in freezing temperatures and bi lighting

I love you "Then Clark was human, huh? Which makes you a murderer"

The way Mac grabs Windows by the scruff like a cat

I love you "First goddamn week of winter." can't get shit in Antarctica, he's just so done and tired you really get the sense that shit was bad enough without an alien life form to deal with

I love you "Nobody trusts anybody now. And we're all very tired" - UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE FUCKING CENTURY, he's such a sad dog here

I love you "Windows! Blast him!"-face

I love the way he clutches his lil dynamite sticks

I love his plastic left hand responsible for the blood test jumpscare (I wonder if it's the same plastic hand in John Carpenter's Starman (1984) ). *rant on jumpscares ensues* The Thing has a couple of jumpscares that are well used, scarce and spread throughout (another thing that makes them great is that they're not cheap, they're not just there to shake you up for no reason and then movies continues as normal (maybe not the one with Fuchs but I forgive the movie this one because it's a good fucking movie)). But almost all of them are the beginning of something horrible about to happen, they signal that SHIT'S ABOUT TO HIT THE FAN SON! The Blood Test jumpscare is an example:

I love how he's responsible for the first kill in the movie and not the titular Thing? Love it. RIP Chess Wizard, gone but never forgotten.

Actually that moment is great not only as early characterization for him (a bit of a bastard who does not take well to losing), but also as great foreshadowing. MacReady thinks he has everything figured out and is going to win against the Chess Wizard, only to just say basically fuck it and destroy it when the computer calls checkmate... it's the exact same response he has during his big showdown with Thing at the end, he thinks he's got the upper hand, Thing pulls a fast one on him, he says : "Yeah fuck you too!" and blows everything up. Things didn't go my way? I'm blowing it up then, I love it. And I just love how the Thing and MacReady are playing this little chess game with each other, both willing to discard pieces (the lads of outpost 31) to get the other.

Love how in spite of MacReady being "THE FLAMETHROWER GUY" of the group he's not just that, under all that amazing hair there's a huge beautiful brain! He's actually the one who comes up with the incredible Blood Test and I love him for that it's and incredible scene!

I'm sure I could go on and on, I just love him

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

So my thoughts on the matchups that are probably coming for Death Battle are;

Bardock vs. Omni-Man: Nolan legit gets a second matchup before anyone else in Invincible does. Still, this is a very requested match-up and I know a lot of people who didn't want Omni-Man Vs. Homelander wanted THIS instead. Outcome wise, its actually quite tight from what people are saying so a close fight could be exciting.

Bowser vs. Eggman: OH YEAH BIG VILLAIN time. Given how both sides got fucked in their previous battles (Eggman vs. Wily was a cop-out with Metal Sonic and Ganondorf vs. Bowser was a battle people hate the outcome of) hopefully this battle gives both sides more respect, especially since their villainy has been more focused on their cinematic debuts. Plus Eggman says "I HAVE COME TO MAKE AN ANNOUNCMENT." 10/10 there.

Light vs. Columbo: Not terribly into both franchises so don't have strong opinions here on how the fight will go. Still be interesting to see Tsurugi's spirit animal in a battle.

Kratos vs. Asura: What's the point of the Championship Bracket if the runner up still gets in? I know Kratos and Asura were runners up twice but still doesn't leave a good taste in my mouth. Maybe its a expection due to the whole going independent thing.

Ben 10 vs. Green Lanturn Rematch: Easily the most disliked outcome of them all. While a rematch WON'T change the outcome as DC is so busted there is no way Ben can match up to what Hal has done, hopefully the rematch would make things more respectable for the Ben 10 side, show off more aliens, and don't do a "Time eh?" which is still used for memes for bad outcomes.

Yang vs. Tifa Rematch: This rematch WILL have a different outcome as I'm 100% sure the reason Yang won last time was because Rooster Teeth told Death Battle to make her win, but since they are no more they cannot do that anymore. Especially as now people can see how Final Fantasy stuff outclasses anything from RWBY.

Master Chief Vs. Doomguy Rematch: Do it in 3D. That is the best way to make this better. I know why the OG was in 2D at the time but now we have different styles it would be criminal to not go 3D for this fight. I don't know if the outcome will change but since we have had new Halo and Doom games since the last match, that could change things.

And that's that. Of course the rematches will be voted on if we get the funds in but seeing how fast the money is coming in, it will be reached. So who do you think will win the rematch vote? Let us know your thoughts on the matches announced.

//Okay, so working my way down this list...

//I really liked Omni-Man VS Homelander; it is one of my top episodes, at least of that season, but I do agree that this was not a fair fight even slightly. It was more relevant at the time, but it's true that Bardock does have quite a fair few more similarities. For Homelander, you could boil their connections down to how they're both secretly evil superhero's that both parody Superman. But for Bardock, both of them are of alien origin (One is a Saiyan, while the other is a Viltrumite, both races who are known in their respective universes for being battle-hungry, near unstoppable savages), who are the blood father's of their series' respective hero's (Goku and Mark), and have complicated relationships with their families. Both of them also, despite their proven dedication to their race, betrayed their own kind (Nolan's time on Earth and with his family lead to a personal crisis, where he eventually questioned and rebelled against his mission and the Viltrumites, and Bardock, after a series of visions about the Saiyan's annihilation, rebelled against Frieza and unsuccessfully tried to save his planet), and both have been portrayed as both a hero and a villain. So the connections do run deeper with them, and it should be a good fight regardless.

//I already said what I needed to say about Eggman VS Bowser; I'm VERY pumped for it, not just because it's been a long time coming, but because like you said, Bowser and Eggman have both been kind of misused and mishandled by Death Battle in the past, so they both really need this.

//I have no stake in Light VS Columbo. I don't think it's gonna happen, and more than that, I don't know HOW it's gonna happen because neither character has shown any feats of strength before, so it'll be a battle of wits more than anything. From what little I do know about though, I think if Columbo could gather sufficient evidence without revealing his suspicions too early, thereby avoiding becoming a target for the Death Note, he could get the upper hand and win.

//Kratos VS Asura WILL happen soon, I guarantee it. But I doubt it'll happen in this season since it was on the ballot. Maybe in two seasons time we'll finally get it, especially since it is still an insanely popular matchup.

//And as for what I think will be the rematch episode that was teased, it could be any number of things, but I think out of all the previous episodes, it will be Ben 10 VS Green Lanturn that gets rerun. Given that it's still the most controversial episode of the original series, and Goku and Superman got a third episode to iron out the creases of their previous blunders, it's only natural that they get the same treatment. But Yang VS Tifa is for sure one that could get it as well; but I'm not sure if Death Battle will be running any more RWBY episodes.

//Speaking of which, I do predict that depending on how many episodes there are for this next season, I suspect that we might be getting Ruby Rose VS Maka Albarn at some point; maybe for Episode 100. I'd still like to see it, despite everything.

-Mod

[ckret2]

Ive only read one fic that dives deeply into bill being from flatland (flat dreams, though its popular enough, you probably heard about it from someone). And while i love it, im realy intrigued by your ideas cause its taking things in a widly opposite direction

Not only have I heard about it—multiple times!—I've also already had a couple of folks comment on my posts in a way that makes it clear they're assuming my headcanons are inspired by/based on Flat Dreams, rather than simply based on Flatland.

This is the first time someone's said they're intrigued because it's different from Flat Dreams. I feel like there's probably gonna be a lot of people measuring up my headcanons against the other fic they all know and there's not much I can do about that, so I appreciate hearing something positive!

At the moment I haven't read past chapter 2—through absolutely no fault of the author's own, it's pretty irritating to have credit for one's own writing & ideas be given to somebody else who had nothing to do with it, and it's put me off from reading the fic for now—but I have gone out of my way to get as thoroughly spoiled for the fic as I can just to make sure I'm not, y'know, accidentally retreading the exact same plot as the most well-known backstory fic in the fandom.

And yeah, by the sound of it, I just decided to veer off in a completely different direction from Flat Dreams right from the outset.

Between Bill's monologue during Weirdmageddon and "EDWIN ABBOT ABBOT HAS A DECENT IDEA" it makes perfectly logical sense to go "Flatland exactly as it is can be treated as 100% canon to Gravity Falls -> Bill is an extremely weird guy from an extremely repressive & controlling world -> Bill was trying to undo his society's oppression, went way too far, and became the villain," and get a narratively compelling backstory that fits perfectly with canon and does exactly what everyone kinda expects Bill to have done based on what we know.

However, it also happens to be a narrative that personally rubs me the wrong way. I don't think it's bad, and I still enjoy stories that use it—but it bothers me enough that I don't want to write it myself.

Conversational detour time! I've been in Transformers fandom for about 20 years, and—to oversimplify a complicated and protracted series of narrative reboots—over time, the writers of the franchise decided to give the evil villainous Decepticon army more narrative depth by stating that their home planet used to be extremely corrupt, oppressive, and controlling (you can safely compare it to 1984, Flatland, and a whole bevy of other dystopias), and the Decepticons rose up as a rebellion against the oppressive government—but then went too far, turned evil, devastated their planet, started conquering and slaughtering the rest of the galaxy, etc. etc.

The problem with this is the Decepticons are the antagonists' faction, which means the heroes are usually the surviving legacy of the corrupt oppressive government—and so for a long while you got stories with unintentional implications like "are the oppressive government and the underprivileged minorities fighting back against the government actually equally bad?" or "maybe if we let the most painfully oppressed people in society exercise any political power, their first instinct will be to oppress other people" or "sure, cops are bad and nobody wants a police state, but maybe the best solution is to find the nicest cops and put them in charge."

I say this as somebody who loves Transformers dearly, and Transformers does take some stabs at grappling with these moral issues. I don't even necessarily think it's always a bad idea to write a "faction fighting for a Good Cause goes too far and becomes worse than the thing they're fighting" story.

But several years of grimacing at the same bunch of Unfortunate Implications made me personally lean away from writing any story ideas that could be summed up as "—and attempting to fight systematic oppression made him evil."

So right from the get-go I was always going to avoid the most straightforward "Bill became a villain over the course of fighting Flatland's oppression" backstory—and trying to come up with something entirely different that still fits his claim that he "liberated" his "flat-minded" world pretty much guaranteed I wouldn't write a backstory that had much in common with Flat Dreams.

And from everything else I currently know about Flat Dreams, it seems like on most big plot points, I just sorta decided before I knew anything about the fic besides "it's Bill in Flatland" that I would do something different. "Bill gives me hella only child vibes, and that might make a good contrast to how the main cast all have siblings to help emotionally balance them." "I think I'd rather characterize his home world as less like a dystopian Victorian England and more like vaguely-modern vaguely-Western society—something that's easier for the audience see echoes of our world in than a satire a century removed from its context." "Bill doesn't strike me as someone who's good at making or maintaining friends, so with the possible exception of the Flatlander-looking guys I bet his Henchmaniacs are an ever-shifting gang of shallow brief friendships, so he's probably only known most of them a few years." "In the main fic and in Bill's backstory, as much as possible I want to introduce and play with new ideas rather than have major plot points depend upon plot devices we've already seen used in canon (for instance, ruling out Globnar as the source of Bill's power)."

I dunno what this says, except that two writers can take the exact same source materials and decide to construct a narrative with the exact same overall arc about the exact same character guided by the exact same canon quotes/details, and still come up with two wildly different stories depending upon the writers' individual tastes, priorities, and interests.

so uh tl;dr: yep I've heard of Flat Dreams; I respect its position in the fandom but haven't read it yet; based on what I know about it, I think I'm just interested in telling another story than Flat Dreams' author, and that's neither better nor worse but it is different. (And I really appreciate hearing "I'm interested in seeing something different"!)

[rphelperblog]

Cress Book Quote Rp Meme

book three in the LC series by Marissa Meyer- feel free to edit quotes or change pronouns for rp purposes

“I promise, I will not let you die without being kissed.”

“Don’t tell me it took you two whole days to realize that you are in love with me. I must be losing my touch.”

“You can help me pick out a tiara when we’re done saving the world.”

“Right. I’m sure that poor etiquette is the number one reason for most failed revolutions.”

"I know you can hear me. I'm sorry my friend is such a wing nut. You can just ignore him."

"Do you think it was destiny that brought us together?"

"It starts with kidnapping the groom."

"The sky is gorgeous, intense blue color."

“Have you given any thought to your wedding vows?”

“Delete anything that has to do with love, respect, or joy, and I’ll sign on the dotted line.”

“I believe it is the mark of a great leader to question the decisions that came before him.”

“It turns out you are worth a lot of money on the black market.”

"Do you ever think before you speak?"

“Maybe great, epic romances don't just happen. We have to make them ourselves.”

“Wow, when you research, you really research, don't you?”

“So I’m going there, and I’m going to start a revolution.”

“If you honestly believe that then you really don't recognize true value when you see it.”

"Oh. Um. In a constellation, the brightest star is called the alpha. I thought maybe you meant that she's…like…your brightest star.

“Maybe there isn’t such a thing as fate. Maybe it’s just the opportunities we’re given, and what we do with them. I’m beginning to think that maybe great, epic romances don’t just happen. We have to make them ourselves.”

“You know, when I was a kid, I was tricked into thinking that princesses wore tiaras and hosted tea parties. Now that I've met a real princess, I must say, I'm kind of disappointed.”

"Is she blushing? She sounds like she's blushing."

"That is the best idea ever. Count me in.”

"Can we get back to these soldiers that are being rounded up, please?"

“Could you describe all those threats again because I feel like I missed something.”

"Very wanted criminal of me too.”

"Are you having a mental breakdown right now?”

"Maybe there's a little bit of a hero in me after all. But… really. Only a little.”

“Yeah, hold that thought while I go disable the speaker system.”

“Oh, for all the stars."

“Never underestimate the stealth of a criminal mastermind.”

"I prefer damsel in distress,"

“You’re not looking.”

“We are experiencing a level-one security breach and all elevators have been temporarily shut down. Please enjoy a hot cup of tea while we wait for clearance.”

“Oh, yeah, she’s great. I mean, half the people in the world want to kill her and the other half want to chain her to a throne on the moon, which is just what she’s always wanted. So she’s fantastic.”

“You know, if it was a bad kiss, you can just say so.”

“Everyone is trying to impress everyone else. Trying to make themselves out to be smarter or more confident than they actually are.”

I hate to break this to you, but I am sweaty and itchy and haven't brush my teeth in two days. This just isn't a good time for romance.”

“I like to maintain an air of mystery.”

“That’s not at all what I … Wait. Did you think it was a bad kiss?”

“We were going to die, you know.”

“Because the palace walls have been bleeding for years, and no one else sees it.”

“Don't try to push your swoony psychodrama on me.”

“It would be like those epic love affairs that exploded into existence and burned white hot for all eternity. The type of love that time and distance and death couldn't seperate”

“All right, damsel. Send over those coordinates.”

"I think I am in love with you."

“Maybe there isn’t such a thing as fate. Maybe it’s just the opportunities we’re given, and what we do with them.”

“We are obviously soul mates. Now please, stand up.”

“You’ve probably told lots of girls you loved them.”

“Well, yeah, but I would have reconsidered if I’d known you were going to hold it against me.”

“It was kind of nice to know that they were both wrong."

“For my next trick, I will win a staring contest with the moron in orange sunglasses.”

“Good. Because I need you. And those are not words that I throw around every day.”

“Although. . . somehow, I always pictured the princess . . . I don't know. In a dress.”

“She was a girl. A living girl, smart and sweet and awkward and unusual, and she was worth far more than they could ever realize.”

“I serve my princess. No one else.”

“I am not happy with this turn of events."

“Well, it’s annoying and we’re running out of time. Come on.”

"You'd rather take your chances with her?"

“Then stop going comatose on me!”

“He’s just gone inside to be heroic. I’m sure he’ll be glad to know you’re here. I believe he’s under the impression that you’re out in space somewhere.”

“It always came back to love. More than freedom, more than acceptance—love. True love, like they sang about in the second era. The kind that filled up a person's soul. The kind that lent itself to dramatic gestures and sacrifices. The kind that was irresistible and all-encompassing.”

“I just needed some time to figure out who I was … am.”

"Because if I'd ruined that for you, I was going to feel like such a cad.”

“I can’t let anyone else die,”

“What do you suggest? You clearly know all about this political revolution stuff, so please enlighten me, O wrinkled one.”

“The only way through this is to fight.”

“She deserved it, the snake. After keeping my little golden bird locked up in her cage for so long.”

“I just think I’m not the best person to demonstrate all the goodness humanity has to offer. I don’t want you to be too disappointed when you realize that.”

“That you’re lonely, and I’m irresistible?”

“He did, in fact, look like a romance hero, all muscles and edges and chiseled bone structure. He also looked miserable.”

“Our country was built on a foundation of equality and togetherness, not prejudice and hatred.”

“When Rapunzel saw the prince, she fell over him and began to weep, and her tears dropped into his eyes”

No more secrets. I don't know if I can survive any more big reveals from you, so if you have anything else to tell me, out with it. Right now."

this is sweet, but aren’t I the first guy you’ve ever met? Come on, up you go.”

“She would have freedom, and friendships, and purpose. And she would be with him.”

“Because if there was one thing she knew about heroes, it was that they could not resist a damsel in distress. And she was nothing if not in distress.”

“Love. It always came back to love. More than freedom, more than acceptance—love. True love, like they sang about in the second era. The kind that filled up a person’s soul. The kind that lent itself to dramatic gestures and sacrifices. The kind that was irresistible and all-encompassing.”

I'm almost afraid to ask, Your Majesty."

“As it turned out, being human was every bit as much fun as she'd always thought it would be.”

[scarlettaagni]

wait wait wait

Did Psyphon lose his job by listening to Ben in the final episode of UA? (in your rewrite)

How? Why?

I mean, Psyphon only listens to Vilgax.

ok, I can have a little sympathy for him (he thinks it was his fault)

That means that now he is on his account and maybe he has time to think about many things. Character growth?

Which gives us way to OV.

Are you going to rewrite some episodes here too?

large chunks of my rewrites, for any franchise, really, not just Ben 10, come from witnessing the source material or watching someone else point out it absolutely bungling something so bad you just have to take it into your own hands

In the actual UA finale, Dagon's essence is sucked into the machine Psyphon was introduced just to run and he's about to bestow it onto Lucubrax. Ben and trio are there and rather than really doing anything, Ben is just like "Psyphon, don't! If you do that, Vilgax will be all-powerful!"

and Psyphon to his credit is like "Um? Yeah? I... know?? That's kind of the POINT?" and does it anyways

and every single time I thought about it, I slammed both of my fists onto the desk like "MAYBE HE WOULDN'T HAVE DONE IT IF YOU ACTUALLY MADE A GOOD ARGUMENT, BEN! ARGUE ON HIS OWN TERMS!"

Like there were so many convincing things you could have said. If even lying is on the table, why not say things like "that's not really Vilgax, it's Dagon tricking you"/"he's been corrupted by Dagon, it's not really him" or "that level of power will kill Vilgax!", "he'll level the whole planet with YOU on it!". Like there were so many things that would make sense to Psyphon to make him at least hesitate but instead they went with "no, don't do the thing! it will cause something you want to happen!" then he calls them stupid like they deserve and does it anyways

so I took the fixed version of that interaction and put it in my rewrite

Basically cutting out the Lucubrax stuff, Psyphon is there to transfer Dagon's energy through the cracked seal to a restored Vilgax, who absorbed Dagon's heart and wields Ascalon, Dagon instead sucks Vilgax into the seal through him (and they fuse, as a way of getting rid of competition, as punishment for trying to steal his power, and to reclaim his heart) so Psyphon panics and retreats when the heroes close in. So he may or may not think he just vaporized or helped vaporize his boss, but Dagongax sends him messages of Vilgax telling him to break the seal to free him

whatever's going on with the heroes is still happening so probably the teamwork of Dagon-controlled Gwen and fully-autonomous-but-desperate Psyphon break the seal and he bittersweetly watches as something vaguely resembling Vilgax but not responding to the name wreaking havoc as it walks away

so there, Ben confronts Psyphon and tries to enlist his help and that's where they have their little debate. That thing is objectively not Vilgax anymore, if it completes its goal, he'll effectively be dead forever, and it's unclear if this is something Vilgax would really want. Psyphon is still trying to defend them both, but as Ben points out, the look on his face says it all: he's been having doubts for a long time after the initial seal incident and just choosing to believe Vilgax is still himself. So, now Ben and co (probably along with George and some Esoterica and Forever Knights not yet dead) need his help to undo what he helped cause.

[Dagongax lasering the horizon in the distance behind Psyphon] Psyphon: ... Do I have time to think it over...? Ben: Forget it. [group begins to move] Psyphon: No, wait! ... What do I have to do?

so basically Psyphon is pretty important, at least when it comes to defusing the two. Dagon is made up of power, Vilgax is not, and they're fused. So if Psyphon can lay a hand on Dagongax, he can separate the two, and shoot a beam of Dagon energy to Ascalon like a lightning rod. Sure, the fusion means Dagongax is half-mortal but it's also protecting him from Ascalon's effects.

Dagongax knows this, so as it heads to the ocean to raise R'yleh and bring Dagon's dimension into this world or vice versa, it summons the worldwide Esoterica army to guard itself and stop Psyphon from getting close. with some cover, he gets to Dagongax, absorbs Dagon and almost melts, but sends the charge out as planned and both he and a restored-to-original-form Vilgax falls like, several miles out of the sky. Psyphon even lets Vilgax land on him to cushion the blow:

(also the defusing is the reason they both have Dagon beam eyes from this point onwards. Vilgax figures that out sooner than Psyphon)

they're fairly gone for the rest of the finale, likely until Ben's defeated Dagon (since the Dagon strike to Ascalon possibly killed George like in the canon finale) then after, Psyphon ensures Vilgax's safe return to their ship. And there's like a a very awkward tension where Psyphon kinda tries to act like it's back to business as usual but Vilgax is stewing.

s'yeah, he beckons him closer, tells him his services are no longer required, gives him 10 minutes to gather his things before he kicks him out of the ship onto Earth. Psyphon tries arguing but when he wastes a minute doing that, he rushes to get his essentials, and then he's on his own on Earth. He lived on Vilgax's ship so he's homeless and also has no money, alien or otherwise. He has nowhere else to go bc although Earth fuckin' sucks, he's kinda wanted dead everywhere else for being Vilgax's wingman and doesn't even have a ship or the resources for one to go and see.

Listening to Ben got him fired because he technically cost his boss his sole objective, to save him. he was SO loyal... he betrayed him. Greek tragedy shit.

This is the beginning of what I call Psyphon's Unemployment Arc which is a replacement for what he does during OV era

less of actual episodes rewrites, more of a big rework. Psyphon deliberately avoids the trio and Ben, any and all plot hooks and plot points but no longer actively does crime since it's not his job anymore. Basically anytime he's onscreen it's against his will, and as a gag, he has cameos in hypothetical episodes by grace of Ben always getting punched into a building Psyphon happens to be in. Like literally flashes or blurs of his figure as Ben is sent flying through several walls or sometimes a dedicated shot where he walks in to see what's up and then immediately backs out. Not to say he won't get into fights, because sometimes he's so pissed at the trio he'll just throw hands on sight for bothering him. Will slam his door in the face of the trio asking for his unique help on something, and fellow villains trying to rehash Negative 10 alike.

He'd like to crawl into a hole and die or just lay underneath a window in an abandoned house he's squatting in and live like a houseplant watching Youtube streamers for the rest of his lifespan but just cause he physically can do that, doesn't mean he won't go stir-crazy doing it. So he uses an ID mask (taken from Kevin, reprogrammed with a different human disguise) to go out and do things that occupy his time.

First Psyphon takes up interests he already has, volunteering at mechanics or dojos, then moves onto improving himself via picking up new skills. Another gag being you see him/his disguised form doing something new every single time. Ben gets punched into a kitchen where Psyphon's learning to make pierogis. Ben falls through a seamstress storefront where Psyphon is sewing. Ben downs a chunk of forest where Psyphon is birdwatching. You get the deal.

I also think since a weakness of his is magic, so he decides to learn some for himself, and goes to Friedkin. He's so fucking pissed Gwen is there. She'll get fucking pissed when she realizes he's there. They're both the class suck-ups. He seethes the entire hour he shares a hall with her. He hates her the least out of the trio but is just so mad someone he knows is there. He already hates being around humans but some he hates more than others. It's like the Michael Morningstar episode but Psyphon is literally there just to learn, for real. They have a magic fight just cause Gwen started it after confronting him about his true identity.

He would like "witch" or "sorcerer", but insists on being called "warlock", since it means oathbreaker. Because Psyphon realizing he betrayed Vilgax's trust messed him up.

Sometimes he's just too tired to throw a fit so he just banters with the trio and they get a better inkling of him actually being a person with depth and garner some real pity for him. Soon after his firing, Ben pissed him off by asking if he was gonna be good now since he's not working for Vilgax, to which Psyphon reminds him it's Ben's fault for that and why would he ever want to work for him. Every so often they present slight opportunities to actually make the switch to good but he's EXTREMELY open about wanting his job back.

He's still planning on getting Vilgax to rehire him, but realistically expects it to take a while. Vilgax stripped his permissions away so he can't order the bioids around, but if he ever catches a fight between Vilgax and Ben, he does scavenge the ones Ben wrecks and fixes them up himself. Then eventually gives them paint jobs and pulls off some heists (cause no money) to build himself a ship and go off to do what Vilgax does: conquer worlds. Like probably announces this, interrupting a Ben and Vilgax fight to give them a heads up. The deal he proposes is that he won't fight Vilgax for any territory, but if he rehires him, all of Psyphon's worlds will be Vilgax's. He thought he was being enticing, but he just pisses Vilgax off who goes "I don't neED YOUR CHARITY". The heroes are disappointed he turned down their chances at redemption and he's just like "have you listened to anything I've ever said ever"

if they were ever holding out hope that his declines were secretly gearing up for a heel-face turn they were being the delusional ones because he was always up-front about his intentions for the present, and the future

and the world conquering thing is probably what he does till 10K future time, when Vilgax gets resurrected from his then-long ago death and the offer still holds. Psyphon's effectively been running Vilgax's empire for him in his stead (having already merged their lots), and now that he's back... well, that old betrayal was such a long time ago, wasn't it?

last note: subtle character arc! from OS onwards, Psyphon starts out not knowing really anything about humans, to absorbing info from checking their internet UAF-era, and eventually dropping casual slang into his previously very formal speech in OV-era.

Goes from saying shit like "well, this is a pleasant dilemma we've found ourselves in" to looking Ben dead in the eyes and going "dude this sucks"

Not that he ever stops speaking the way he does, just sprinkling in slang often enough that it absolutely blindsides the trio

[transhawks]

For the sake of helping me understand, what exactly are you expecting to get out of Hawks supposedly having a break down or apologizing? It would add absolutely nothing to his character, bestie believe it or not, Hawks having a break down in the middle of a war in front of All For One is such a bad narrative drive that I don’t even know how Hori would accomplish it and stay true to his character. So 🤷‍♀️ I mean sure, go ahead believe what you want to believe, but Hawks apologizing would not work for the narrative

Bro.

Bro.

All For One is about to hitchhike on a Black Bird or Gale Force Taxi. His Uber has arrived. Bye!!! He has an appointment with Tomura's body to get to, even if trying to kill blonde twinks is a hobby.

So yeah uhh where does that leave Keigo?

Idk with two landmines - his narrative foiling with Dabi and the whole Endeavor thing or he goes and deals with Toga and Twice, who are trying gto specifically kill him. Now uhh the narrative is not going to let Twice or Toga do that. Sorry but it's too late. Toga isn't going to kill anyone in this story l, she's going to be redeemed in the like next 30ish chapters. She is not killing Keigo.

Neither is Twice btw.

Now,

1. Better people than I have broken down how Hawks's fixation is harmful, and hints at something very dark. A breakdown could like mean Hawks poses a threat to Touya, prompting Enji to get off his ass and prove he loves his son already.

2. Stop thinking like a powerscaler and more like a person who realizes the overarching theme of this manga is to connect to others even if they don't think they deserve the chance. Keigo was written to fail with Jin. He was written to be the example of a hero not doing and saying the right thing and this his plot assigned villain is dead. Do you think there are not narrative consequences for that? We've been teaspoon fed for years signs of him cracking, additionally, do you genuinely think Toga can get her redemption if Keigo is justified by the plot in what he did to her friend? No.

The solution to this war is in what was not done in the very beginning - talking. It was not done. Keigo held Jin at knifepoint and told him to do as he said or else. Like I said, you can't tell someone you love them at knifepoint, which is why Toga failed with Izuku, and why Keigo failed to convince Jin he actually gave a fuck about him. Trust comes actual trust and that requires vulnerability on both sides.

Hawks's breakdown is him finally letting those walls down that stopped him from really connecting with Jin. It won't bring Jin back, but this is a hopeful shounen with a happy ending damn it, and there's no way to make this world a better place if people don't wish to change.

Listen... In a manga about giving people more chances, if we have Enji redeeming himself at the end of this and showing his son that he loves him, if we can have Deku reaching that little boy who was told he can only destroy, or Ochako telling the little girl who was made a monster for just wanting to love and be loved in turn, we can have Keigo Takami realizing that helping others doesn't mean you have to give up parts of yourself to do so.

Anyway, I'm just done with this topic when it will likely be resolved within the next six weeks.

[twilightknight17]

Today on P3R we are accumulating many small play sessions together that were done in-between anniversary prep and entirely too much minecraft. X’’’D

So let’s roll!

Where last we left our intrepid heroes, Minato’s boyfriend passed out in the middle of the bridge and was carried like a damsel back to the dorm to rest. And canon has no proof that that didn’t happen, so there. :P But anyway, for some reason we all go to school the next day as usual, and Mitsuru arrives at the end of the day to tell us that Ryoji is awake. So it’s time for a meeting.

We’ve got some questions about Nyx.

I’d like to point out that he says “we” and includes himself as part of life/humanity.

So everyone is going to become like the Lost: listless, unable to care for themselves. And if everyone is like that, with no one left to take care of them, everyone will just waste away. Which is horrifying.

SEES, of course, wants to believe that there’s some kind of mistake. Something that they can do to avert it. But Ryoji says everything has already been decided.

So, how long do we have before the Fall arrives, then?

Well, then we can fight! We beat all those other Shadows; this is just an even bigger one!

(We’ve fought Time before, actually. Half of Linear Time, to be specific. But I guess we don’t remember that.)

The Appriser would normally be born as just another Shadow, but because of the experiments, the fight with Aigis, and everything after, Ryoji exists instead.

Please don’t make that face when saying that.

Dearest. Darling. Beloved. You are giving me war flashbacks to a man who won’t be a problem for like eight more years. Even if you’re not technically making a whole fake reality. X’’’’D

He says “technically” he’s the same as Nyx, so he can’t be killed. He’s a Concept, not a person. But he’s just human enough now that Minato specifically would be able to kill him.

You hear that? NEVER.

(I will, probably, just to see the bad ending. But that doesn’t count.)

Ryoji says we just don’t understand the terror of certain death, so he’s going to come back on New Years Eve, the next full moon, for our formal decision whether to give up our memories or not. After that, he’ll lose his physical form. But it’s fine and we shouldn’t worry because he’d just disappear when Nyx arrives anyway.

And then he leaves. Which… don’t. Stay here with us. Please.

No one is okay after that talk.

And then it just dumps me back downstairs for my normal evening activity?

At least I can pet Koromaru.

I guess we’ll go on the computer and watch ninja videos.

.

Yesterday was a terrible day, but we must still go to school today. And after school, we’re gonna go vibe at the mall.

...or not. There are more and more Lost every day. And we have no way to make them better anymore.

I’ll go find Elizabeth. I’ve got a quest to turn in, anyway.

……oh. Uh. Okay. Yeah. Let’s go.

You know… it seems very lonely, being a Velvet attendant. They’re too human to be confined to that room all the time. Elizabeth, especially. She’s a free spirit if I’ve ever seen one. I can assume they have each other, of course, but… I dunno. Seeing Elizabeth get so much happiness out of experiencing new things with Minato is bittersweet.

…

…look. I love my boyfriend very much, but I got the worst news on the planet last night. I think I deserve to make out with a supernatural girl who could bench-press four of me. Just this once.

I spent some time alone with Elizabeth. But like I said, just this once.

I understand. I will still bring you silly gifts, though.

Exactly!

I guess now that all of that is done, I should bother to go to my student council meeting.

...Atlus really didn’t write this link in a way that accounted for it taking all year. X’’’’D

Apparently the teachers want the offending student expelled when they find him, which Odagiri is having second thoughts about. Removing the “bad” kids isn’t going to make everyone else more “good”. So I think he’s finally getting the stick out of his ass. XD

All week, all your teammates want to do is go over the information you got on the third. So there’s dialogue to go over every bit of detail about what Nyx is and why and how this is happening.

Don’t call him an it, senpai, what the fuck.

All the kids at school, meanwhile, are gossiping about how Ryoji’s parents got transferred again, so he’s had to move away. And how mysterious it was that he managed to fit in so well in only a month.

Minato? You doing okay?

...me too, buddy. Don’t worry, we’re gonna spend all day on Sunday playing our MMO.

Maya’s happy to talk again, and has some news! She’s got a crush!

In her homeroom.

Look, I’m not the sort of person who gives a damn about fictional relationship options. Legit I do not care. Date the homeroom teacher if you want. But I just wanna know what she sees in Minato. I guess he doesn’t do half the stupid shit Akira does, but he’s constantly hanging out with weirdos and small children and spends his evenings eating too many burgers. Not that she’d know that, because he doesn’t interact with his teachers regularly at all. It’s not like Kawakami where we had a proper link and we actually knew each other.

She doesn’t know we’re talking right now! If she was confessing to “Tatsuya”, that would make more sense narratively.

Siiiiiiiiiigh.

Also, Mitsuru’s biggest fan wants me to drop off her present for her.

I just said “no”. XD

After a full week of agonizing, we are calling another meeting to decide what we’re doing.

We better all agree, or we’re going to have a problem in a minute.

No one is comfortable with having to confront the possibility that we’re all going to die, but Junpei is the one who finally cracks. He’s on the “anger” stage; he’s been making angry comments about Ryoji all week, and is angry now because he can’t actually do anything. Even if he wants to forget, Minato’s the only one whose decision actually matters in the end.

Yukari tries to make a joke to break the tension, and he fully snaps, yelling at her and all of us and Minato especially.

He says it’s Minato’s fault.

(Kudos to Junpei's VA for the performance of the week here)

Anyway.

He’s not THAT THING. He’s our FRIEND. Do not call him an it! We’re all scared, but Minato couldn’t have fixed this!

Junpei calms down and apologizes for yelling and for snapping at Yukari. He knows it’s not anyone’s fault. He knows we’re all scared. But… I’m glad he got all that out there. Bottling it up would have made it worse. Better now than when we’re about to fight Nyx.

Meeting adjourned.

At least Fuuka is worried about Ryoji.

...he sounded less like he was crying when he explained this time. But… I hope he’s okay alone.

None of us should be alone right now.

[tuiyla]

Buffy s3 quick thoughts

Alright I simply must write out Buffy s3 thoughts before we go any further. Up to 3x08 right now.

The double Slayer of it all

This is something I for sure wanna do another post about and who knows how my feelings for about Faith evolve but I just wanna note that the double Slayer thing is super interesting and thus far they're not doing enough with the concept. Sure, Kendra and Faith are both foils to Buffy and they form a spectrum where Kendra was more reserved and organized but also more mechanical and less her own person than Buffy. And Faith is wilder, a loner, troubled kid who's overall more willing to dive in head first and embrace darker aspects which is dangerous no matter how cool she looks doing it. Compared to just one of them, Buffy might seem inadequate from certain aspects but compared to both she's balanced. And the show certainly does still treat her as the one true Slayer which is where my problems come in.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say we'll see a LOT more of the Buffy and Faith parallels and comparisons so I'm not going to lament the lack of that just yet. I do however feel like the existence of another Slayer should be treated more seriously in-universe. Not only should another Slayer be a constant reminder that Buffy died and came back but it should reshuffle her whole identity, hitherto shaped by being the Chosen One. She's now part of the Chosen Two and on the second second Slayer at that and it barely registers as an existential crisis? Couldn't be me. I'll elaborate on this later (if you'd like?) but yeah I just wish the show tapped into the enormous potential of this more. Also the Council?? And the Watchers?? Should not be as chill about this. But maybe there are upcoming things that prove they aren't.

And then there's how quickly Kendra as a Black woman was discarded and not really mourned at all beyond being a footnote in Buffy's really bad no good terrible day. She was a plot device to get the shitty day to be even shittier and replaced with Faith, a Slayer with a much larger role very quickly. And I just think that's not a great look for the show in terms of race. And the 1998 and "different time" card doesn't really fly. It is what it is.

The Scooby Gang and friendships/relationships

Okay first of all I think there's only been a Scooby reference once so far so I hope the fandom didn't stick with this term for two decades because of that one-off line. Second, and I don't even know why I'm getting started on this when I know I won't elaborate properly but they way people are way too quick to be harsh on Buffy bothers me. There are instances when I think she should get what the hell hero moments but my good 3x02 was painful to watch. I'm cutting Willow some slack because generally she's the best friend you could have and handles things way more maturely than the others do, all the while being adorable. But s3 is when I stop resisting being pissed off by Xander. Overall the series does seem aware when he's being an ass but not enough for my tastes and the vibe of 3x02 was way too "both sides were wrong" for my taste when really Buffy was way more justified in her hurt than any other character. I did appreciate Cordy standing up for her, but I also often feel like Cordy deserves better friends - certainly a better boyfriend - and frankly a show that threats her better. God only knows if that show will be Angel or not.

And not only friendships but the romance drama. Sure, it's expected but I can hardly believe anyone actually liked the Willow and Xander thing. Oz is alright but he's also kinda flat as a character and even being a werewolf doesn't give him much colour. Like I said, Cordy has always deserved better than Xander and though I feel like they'll inevitably get back together, I wish they wouldn't. Swear I had more thoughts on romances but they're largely frustrating so I'll leave it at that.

3x07 is always cursed

Actually I'm not done talking about Faith because I really need to talk about the lackluster writing of 3x07. I'm not mad that conflict is arising between Buffy and Faith, I'm mad that it's done poorly. Like I said it's such a rich potential for a juicy juicy dynamic and not only are they not utilizing it, they half-assed their big break of trust moment. Mrs. Post was way underdeveloped, along with Faith's ch actually. Because if only we spent more effort on establishing Faith as someone who's hard to trust and has issues and easily retreats into hurt and isolation I'd be a'ight it hurts to see but I get that she'd be sus of Buffy from now on. But we didn't. There were no real Faith focused moments between her introductory ep and 3x07. She gets offended when the Gang holds the Angel intervention without her but the baddie Watcher barely has to do anything to get Faith to act all stupid about it. The whole Xander scene and then immediately wanting to attack Angel, it just came out of nowhere and honestly made me feel like I missed a scene. It's not completely unreasonable for a Slayer to want to kill a vampire as notorious as Angel. After all, Kendra also left Angel for dead and that was before he went back to being Angelus. But this was just so... convoluted when it really didn't have to be.

This could have been the start of a really compelling arc that hurts me, personally, as someone who's ready to be baited by Fuffy - and for all I know, it might turn out to be delicious. But the initial conflict was so poorly executed and half-assed, and after the Angelus twist of season 2 I'm expecting better. If you can deliver that much of a gut punch with Buffy's bf you can do it with her gf, too. I dare BTVS to break my heart over Fuffy but ONLY if they do it right. Do it, you cowards, write me a tragedy.

And that was Buffy corner with tuiyla! Stay tuned for when we jump back in time and catch up on seasons 1 and 2.

[myrandomscribbling]

Cut for Moira MacTaggert rant, no one needs to see this.

"What about when Moira imprisoned her son? Huh? Huh? She was always awful!"

At the time, that was an act of desperation. And the purely pragmatic alternative would have been to run a chunk of iron through the brain of his current host to prevent him from killing anyone else. Was it right? No. It was awful. But it didn't make her a villain. Back then, before the retcon, it was her trying to save her son who was a murderous parasite the only way she thought she could.

Plus, I consider that the beginning of a progressively worse portrayal of the character, so I can award no points for that, anyway. It was problematic, but came from the same general time period as things like the Avengers wishing Carol Danvers well as she was whisked away by her r*pist. (That she even works with the Avengers at all shows that they've swept that under the rug, they should really have done the same for Moira in my opinion if they weren't going to outright retcon it). That people understandably view it as her being an abusive mother doesn't let the writers that decided that for her off the hook.

"What about her brainwashing Magnus?"

Yeah, definitely on solid ground with that one. "Let's portray Moira as brainwashing a Holocaust survival" was not a good look on the writers if they were trying to keep her vaguely sympathetic, and it's pretty clear they were. But it was still an act of desperation as opposed to murdering a baby she was afraid of or attempting to commit genocide.

Or changing an abuse survivor retroactively into the Abuser, Actually. Again, I put that on the writers.

If you think I didn't complain about those both at the time, you have another think coming. I haven't been comfortable with the direction the writers decided to take Moira in for a very long time, Moira X is just an awful culmination of those events. I think the whole thing was a terrible wast, horribly contrived, and that they should have just left her, with all her faults and crimes, dead rather than quadruple down on them.

Magnus has attempted to commit genocide and is a mass murderer, but he's generally presented as a hero now. Apocalypse and Sinister are both eugenicists and just generally terrible people. Charles has often not acquitted himself well, though the worst of it it looks like they've lightly retconned or tried to have him make up for. Don't get me started with Hank. But I'm supposed to think that Moira is just the worst of the worst? Come on.

Standard disclaimer: Yes, I get that those events in the past did her no favors, but the way they've geometrically doubled down over the last few years leaves even more of a bad taste in my mouth.