#everything is muddy and idk how to fix it

[whump-captain]

No. 20 - It’s been a long day

Going into shock | Fetal position | Prisoner trade

[Image ID: A greyscale digital drawing showing a man cowering in a corner, raising his hand to shied his face. His expression is terrified and he’s cradling his arm, which is covered in blue and yellow bruises. His curly hair is in disarray and his glasses are cracked. The background is empty apart from a white rectangular frame. End ID.]

#whumptober2022 #no.20 #fetal position #oc #art #whump art #oc whump #captain's stuff #captain's ocs #kintsugi #ehhhhhhhh im not happy with this #everything is muddy and idk how to fix it #needs a focus point i guess? but who knows how to add it #and what is composition even #ehhhhhhh #i went thru my art folder and compared it to last year's whumptober stuff tho #im beating my brain w/ a stick forcing it to admit i improved and im steadily becoming a better artist

[yourmidnightlover]

undeserving

pairing: bucky barnes x reader

summary: your self destructive tendencies have won this round, leading to you making a pivotal decision to end your relationship with bucky.

warnings: intense depression and self hatred, low self esteem/self worth, ANGST LMAOOO, no happy ending :(

a/n: short and not so sweet. idk why i was wanting to write something so sad lol. on a brighter note... i'm currently working on the next chapter to timeless :)

you didn't deserve the love you were being shown.

your pulse racing, tears clouding your vision as the music drowned out all of your senses that remained. he enveloped you entirely, made you want to be better.

he deserved so much. so much more than what you could give him.

he had come back from literal hell on the other side, and the world, ever so cruel, gave him you. a sick sense of humor it's got, truly.

you're weighed down by the simple tasks of everyday life. getting out of bed, brushing your teeth, showering... everything is a battle.

there was an urge, an unbridling urge, to want to be everything he deserved and more. but something in your godforsaken brain wasn't clicking.

the chemical imbalance in your brain has ruined your path. now, it was muddy and cloudy and there was no clear answer of what to do or say or ask in order to fix it.

but when you see him, his strength, you simply feel pitiful. how could someone battle his inner demons everyday and win, conquering them as he has battles from his past, be with someone who let menial tasks ruin their day?

so, as he stood in his tux, awaiting your arrival so he could finally ask you to dance, you approached him with baited breath.

"may i have this dance, doll?" he held his hand out, an uncharacteristic smile gracing his lips, the one that only showed when you were near.

you couldn't trust your voice. instead, you placed your hand in his, relishing in the fire that sparked from his touch, savoring it as if it were the last time. because it was.

you rested your head on his chest, swaying to the music as your free hand grasped his shoulder, tethering yourself to the ground so you wouldn't float away like you desperately wanted.

maybe you should've bribed the dj, made him put this song on a loop. a promise of calm and serenity before you wrecked your entire world.

maybe it was your self destructive tendencies that made this decision.

maybe it was reality sinking in, that the an who was holding you like you were the most beautiful thing to exist should be holding someone who truly was beautiful... and unbroken.

as the song came to a close, you pulled back with tears in your eyes. you could see his face contorting as he tried to piece together why you were so distraught.

"'doll..." his hands grasped your waist tenderly, gently squeezing as if he, too, was trying to ensure that he wouldn't float away.

"i-i can't," you choked on a sob, not wanting to cause a scene in the middle of the beautiful event. "i'll always love you, james," you let your hands hold his face one last time, leaning forward to press a kiss to his nose. "but i can't be with you anymore." your voice was cracking as the tears were streaming down your face, breaking down the stoic barrier you had tried to keep plastered up through the night.

you couldn't look in his eyes again. they would tell a story you were too afraid to hear. they would whisper that you were being a coward, too scared to not amount to the expectations you had set for yourself. they would whisper that you should listen to bucky when he told you how wonderful you are.

eventually, they would convince you to stay.

but staying would mean you were dragging him down with you. you refused to be that kind of burden to him.

later, when he retreated to his room, bucky would find a letter you had written him. one detailing the shortcomings you believed you had, how he deserved more and better than someone so tormented by their own mind.

how you were so undeserving of his love.

#bucky barnes angst #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fluff #bucky x reader #james bucky barnes #marvel #sargeant barnes #angst #bucky angst #bucky imagine #bucky fanfic #bucky barnes oneshot

[prince-kallisto]

So I’m not sure if any of y’all remember, but I said I would do a wheel generator challenge of drawing every single TWST character, including side event characters. I made this challenge because I love all the characters but have actually never drawn most of them! That, and I want to learn how to paint…I have some questions below the cut ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡ Anyway, the first one picked was Kalim!! ☀️

Btw the next victim is Papa Clover! Yes, Trey’s mom and dad do actually make a full appearance in the manga! And with Papa Clover…it’s very easy to see where Trey got his good looks from -v-

Anyway, HOW DO YOU PAINT 🧎🧎🧎 Or more specifically, do any artists out there have good resources or advice on painting skin tones?? It feels like no matter the skin tone, I always mix the wrong tones and I don’t realize until it’s too late, and trying to fix it makes everything muddy ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡ I’m very aware that Kalim’s skin tone does not look like this, but everytime I try to fix it, it got worse! (c" ತ,_ತ) It doesn’t help that I accidentally used thinner paper, so the paper was not very happy with all my frantic layering.

Idk I just never painted much before, so I’m really lost with how skin works…I’d appreciate any advice with skin tone or how gouache and paint work in general 😭 For future paintings, I’ve learned I need to let gouache dry before going into the next layer…because I made a huge mess. Haha I sound so negative, but I’m want to stop avoiding paints so I can learn! 🧎

I’m just negative because this painting was a rollercoaster. I tend to plan my composition a lot, but then the background elements were added impulsively! And since I didn’t plan at all it was a huge mess and clumsily tried to repair it multiple times 🧎 The background was initially very different but I had to cover it up. I think Kalim really does have a villains heart after all ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡

#twst kalim al asim #twst kalim #twst #my art #KallistoPost

[barbiegirldream]

ouch yeah the difference between comics and movies is what created the rift on how civil war is perceived by the audience. like in the comics it was very blatant commentary since if i remember correctly the talking points were fascist and the main target were mutants for simply being born like that and it was deeply fucked up to put them on any kind of register/list because again nazi rhetoric obvious even to a complete idiot. but the movies had a lot of problems to transfer this idea, mainly i think because of:

a) no mutants, already bad plot change since the mutants were literally the main point of it all, beings simply wanting to exist in peace because they were born like that. they changed it into superheroes being the main target but the thing is with mutants it was literal blatant fascism but here the waters were muddied because none of the avengers were born like that, which brings to point

b) the avengers and mcu as a whole were trying really hard to be realistic and gritty and when you go full realism, yeah country sovereignity and oversight of powerful organisations are common and expected. when the writers tried to make it based on our reality they wrote themselves into a corner, because yeah no shit the avengers would be fucking hated to hell and back if they were real, they do whatever the fuck they want with zero oversight and no respect for any law of any country. when in the comics mutants were treated horribly even as babies then the discrimination is very in your face and no sane person would agree but when a team of random people have the power of several nukes combined in a story that hopelessly clings to realism? no sane person would say "yeah sure leave them unchecked, i trust this group of strange unstable people to never do anything bad or destructive"

have no idea if my ideas make sense im sorry i might be blabering but this was the thing that has been bothering me for a while like yeah obviously comics address real life issues all the time through smart storytelling but the mcu movies are simply not smart enough for that they just fuck everything up . idk how to explain it better but the comics have a type of suspension of disbelief (destroyed towns being magically fixed, conflicts being solved in a few issues, etc.) like old cartoon shows where after the episodic disaster the town is back to normal. but mcu really wanted to copy reality and the laws of it 1:1 ratio and it became a huge mess

exactly but also civil war the movie was a mess. cause t'challa was only on tony's side to catch bucky. peter didn't know what the fuck they were fighting for just that iron man wanted him to help contain captain america. tony grabbed him last minute cause he saw spider-man catch a car with his bare hands and figured yeah that'll be useful. a lot of tony's support hinged on being able to leverage the Winter Soldier against people. cause I feel like a lot of people forget in Civil War that most people involved were not interested in the Accords. Like yes Steve opposed them but he more opposed keeping Bucky locked up.

Natasha swapped sides half way through cause she also didn't give a fuck and she's an international super spy she was Neva signing something that would allow the government to track her actions. Black Widow the movie kinda proved this.

Once T'challa realized that Bucky was not at fault he helped him and gave shelter to Steve. In the end Steve had all his friends by his side ready to back him up and fight to the death for him. And Tony had Rhodey and Pepper... right back where he started but Steve was still in his corner.

AND after Far From Home/No Way Home I think it's safe to say if Peter was ever asked to actually sign the accords he'd have been right there with Steve punching Tony in the face.

So I think it's safe to say the narrative of the MCU Civil War ultimately shows you that Steve is the good guy in the right but since the law branded him a fugitive all these cop brained people who only ever say acab cause they saw it trending are on Tony's side

(ALSO Civil War as a movie completely disproves the premise of Endgame and I think Steve got the worst ending out of any character including those who fucking died.)

#long post

[vazelbeak]

Seeing Stars rewrite

Notes: Scrap M&M plot. Make them stay behind to handle Loonas job as a receptionist bc Loona can track Ocatvia so she, Blitzo, and Stolas are useful as a group of 3. When Stolas shows up and is panicking, Loona takes video of it finding it funny and Moxxie tells her to cut it out but she doesn't listen to him. Let Blitzo mention replacing her bc Millie and Moxxie tell him to but Loona is rightfully upset Blitzo says this because he doesn't understand why shes so upset with being told to just act nicer. This can be because clients that show up are actually incredibly rude and when they get home it turns out Loona is doing a far better job than the M&Ms think. These are people who just died and a surprising amount of clients refuse to understand they have to be able to pay and that IMP doesn't take hits on other demons in hell. Or bc Blitzo isnt specifying enough what be nice means because its vague.

When Blitzo and Stolas are cut off from Loons despite the strain to their relationship Stolas asks whats wrong because Blitzo seems more upset than he was when they last interacted. Blitzo says "i just don't get what Loona's problem is." And when Stolas hears this he doesn't understand, but he says "she should know you only mean the best for her right?" And blitzo says "sometimes she feels like more trouble than she worth." We then cut to Loona who while looking for Octavia passes by a animal shelter. She has a brief flashback of being being brought in one of them for the first times. But shakes it off. She doesnt have Octavia's sinstigram [why would she]. But she is able to ask around because people think she's pretty. And gets more of an idea where Octavia went since the scent is pretty muddied with everything going on between cars spilled alcohol and piss on the sidewalks. She almost wishes Blitzo didn't adopt her because this wouldn't be her job or problem

Back at the sitcom plot we see Blitzo getting ready like prior. Cut stolas flirting. Just make him tell Blitzo to act like when he used to in the circus. The small teleprompter bit works alright though imo maybe he actually pulls it off believably Cut back to Loona and while shes looking around for Octavia and orders food from a stand (hotdog one likely but idk whats calis thing) and a stray dog steals it from her. This prompts a flashback to when she was in the pound and the hellhounds she was kept with stole food from her until she had enough and actually fought with them resulting in the bite that left a mark on her ear. Potentially if there's time show this was an adoption day and this means a bunch of families saw her do this. Meaning she was put in the back of the shelter. Cut back to Blitzo. The pug peed on the couch and hes considering giving the dog away and like normal this is when we get the flashback from Blitzo. Painting the rest of the picture. Loona hasn't been adopted inawhile and the lady who worked there tells Blitzo shes "more trouble than shes worth. Nobody knows whats wrong with her and always gives her back. You'll probably be the same." He really feels bad for her over this. And because the pug is meant to parallel how many times shes scared away clients despite Blitzo telling her not to he actually goes off script. Saying "No. No I-...look you guys seem nice but...I can't just give up on my daught- dog like that. Adopting means you sign up for whatever comes in the package. We don't always anticipate every issue but be it scaring people or...peeing on the couch, its my responsibility to try to find out whats wrong and fix it. What kind of a dad am I if I give up on someone the moment the need me?" The audience is cued to "aww" and while Stolas is moved we see someone in the background recording this. The live episode is over and Blitzo is praised for his improvised acting because "we thought you were gonna ruin the entire script but to make a touching speech about looking out for family and comparing your pet to a child? We are SO going to get greenlit for another season!" And this is when blitzo uses this moment to slip away with Stolas. We have Loona finally find Octavia. Its when Via starts talking abt her dad that Loona opens up a video on a youtube knockoff. (Doomtube?) and sees Blitzo's speech because shes wasnt initially interested in listening to Octavia and sees Blitzos speech was recorded by an audience member she watches out of curiosity before she goes back to listening to Octavia by the time she says "he probably doesn't even know I'm gone" and Loona has a light bulb moment. She pulls out the video she took of Stolas freaking out over her being missing and says "this guy doesn't even know you're gone?" (It is a key note Stolas should mention "i need you to drop everything i dont care about Stella right now I need to find my daughter!") Which makes Octavias eyes start watering because here it is shes seeing exactly what she wanted to see. Stolas caring about her more than he hates Stella. when Loona says her thing about how Blitzo and Stolas arent perfect but try she pulls out her lighter with the note of Blitzo saying he loves her.

When they go back down to the ground and Blitzo and Stolas finally find them both, Blitzo hugs Loona promising he'd never get rid of her and he never specified how she could be nicer but hes willing to work with her every step of the way to make sure they're on the same page. Loona doesnt like the hug. But she tolerates it because she saw what he said about her. Stolas apologizes to Octavia saying he should've paid more attention and it wasn't right of him to get so caught up in fighting with Stella he forgot what it was even for. (As in he forgot this was all to look out for Octavia who Stella just wants custody of to make Stolas miserable more than look out for her) (Worth noting i think the M&Ms only get one cut to them if at all and thats a classic Blitzo: im sure they can handle Loona's job how hard can it be? And we cut to them panicking over being yelled at through the phone and not being able to keep track of files early on in episode but I don't think there's a ton of time so prob scrap that its very optional) While Octavia's sad they wont see the star tonight they have a moment of "what whats that sound?" And see fireworks go off that look a lot like the star described earlier. (As in perhaps for goetia like Stolas who cant even dress in modern clothes this is what was actually being described with the star. Demons who visit the human world know what fireworks are. Its just of course stolas wouldn't! He even dresses out of date! And i really doubt he interacts with many other demons to be fully up to date on human advances. I mean even sunglasses were enough of a novelty for him to grab and run off with yet not even wear over his eyes suggesting he thinks theyre meant to push your hair back as opposed to shielding your eyes. We then get one more flash back. Where as Loona is crying in her cage facing away from the door (I don't think youd call it enclosure) she hears footsteps and looks to see Blitzo. Who sits in front of the bars and says something like "Hi I'm Blitzo. Do you have a favorite Balloon animal? Im not very good at it but i can spend all day trying if you want." Its light hearted and funny enough to make her laugh a bit and maybe we get a pull out shot of her coming over to sit by him and talk though we don't hear what they say bc its not really needed. Its also a bit of a subtle connection to how Blitzo didn't care if Loona was considered difficult. He was willing to try. And that's something that set him a part from everyone who gave up on Loona prior. Goes without saying but at the start of the episode their fight shouldn't get physical. Keep it to a verbal thing

#helluva boss rewrite #ill tag this one to keep track of

[morning-jellyfish-in-a-teacup]

This whole week has been a fucking shit show.

At the start of the week, I finally got the grade for the six cylinders I made. Got an 86. Not a terrible grade, but it's not great. I'm only taking studio classes this semester, meaning all my classes are project based rather than quiz/test based. That means I only have 4 or 5 project grades + attendance and participation grades. This translates to less than 10 grades in all my classes. Every grade is super important because I won't have chances to make them up. Specifically for the ceramics class, since it's not an advanced elective, my final grade can't be below an 80 or else I won't get the credits and risk not graduating. My GPA can't drop below a 2.5 or else I risk not graduating. That's something I normally wouldn't be worried about, but I'm only taking 4 classes instead of 5 this semester, so that makes everything weigh even more.

I told my friend about the grade and tried explaining why I'm so stressed about it but it felt like she wasn't really listening to me. I know she was and was just trying to make me feel better about the grade but telling me about how she failed a quiz but isn't worried about it because she has all these other grades to make up for it ... that's not my situation. I don't have that luxury. Again, I have less than 10 grades for the whole semester in each of my classes! I know her intent was just to show "you got an 86, I got a 33, things could always be worse" but fuck dude. That doesn't help.

After this conversation, I started to feel really bad. Just about everything. I felt guilty for being annoyed with my friend, I felt upset with myself for not doing better on the project, I felt really lonely. Things just started to get really bad. Then my friend emailed me journal entries to keep trying to make me feel better. I asked her not to but she'd already sent them. I haven't read them. In July, I got into an exhibit and things - in general - just haven't been the same. Especially with her. I don't feel like I'm close enough to her to read her journal entries even though she sent them. Everything that happened surrounding the show caused a rift between us. I don't know if it's just me, though. I feel this distance between us everytime we're together or talk now, and I don't know how to fix. I tried ignoring it and that made things worse. I've tried talking to her about things that are stressing me out, like the 86, and she doesn't seem to acknowledge what I'm trying to tell her. I haven't directly told her I feel like there's a distance between us because I'm scared if I do, the friendship will really end. So idk what to do

Thursday, I had my first critiques in both of my painting classes. Both of them were terrible. No one really had anything to say about my work or respondes to it in anyway. One class is all about experimentation in art approaches so I put thought into methodology rather than final product. I used watercolor paper and food dye to create markings on the paper. I played around with dry paper and wet and how the dye reacted to the different papers and moved around on the surface. No one said anything about that. The only comments I got were "the colors are kinda muddy and run together a lot" which like ... yeah, maybe, but it was an experimental piece. It was supposed to be more about method than final! And no one responded to it. In the next class .... it was literally just silence. No one said anything about it. My teacher made some comments about stuff we talked about, what improved and what could be pushed further. Everyone else just sat in silence. So that fully drained. I thought critique might be able to give me a small positive after the way everything else had gone, but my energy just dropped. So much so that I ended up skipping my ceramics class, a self destructive choice that will hurt my grade even more (haven't even told my friend that because she'll probably just say it's fine).

Friday, I went to the ceramic building to make up for missing class and spent 5 hours there. Managed to only make 2 bowls beforw running out of clay. 1 is okay, the other just hasn't fallen apart yet. As I was leaving, I got an email about another open call I applied to, same gallery as the place in July. Normally, I would've immeadietly texted my friend to tell her but everything from July just rushed back so I didn't. Messaged my mom about it to let her know the shipping plans so she'd be aware of what's going on. We have more of a business relationship than a close one, so it wasn't an "omg I got into another show" text, it was more of an "this needs to get shipped by this date in order to arrive on time, but I'm not able to come back because of school so could you mail it if I prepare everything else" text. Then I messaged an online friend about it who knew I applied, then the friend I have a complicated relationship with. Wasn't going to tell my friend about getting it, just didn't feel right. Against my better judgement, though, I did end up telling her because I remembered her asking me to tell her next time I got into something. She didn't remember telling me this. She said she's happy for me and all this other stuff, but I can't help doubting it after the July show. That whole experience ... it fucking broke me. May and June were rough for me and everything that happened surrounding the show - with thw exhibit being the focal point of most of it - I just got crushed. Haven't been able to fix things since and the depressive episode I've been in has just been getting worse and worse. I honestly regret telling her. I shouldn't have done that. It just makes the distance between us feel even wider.

So now ... here we are. Saturday afternoon. I cleaned up my apartment a bit and am currently drying a load of laundry and watching Bojack Horseman. Waiting for my mom to arrive so she can give me some medicine that finally arrived and my photo paper that also finally arrived. After that, she's taking me to the art building so I can print one of the pieces that got accepted (the other is a fabric piece). Then she said she'd take me grocery shopping. After that, I'll come back to the apartment and ... idk what. Maybe make something to eat, make some tea, and watch morw Bojack? I don't have any plans or any energy to even do anything right now. I texted my friend a photo of a cute squirrel I saw yesterday but haven't heard anything back. I don't know what to even say to her or how to text like I was literally a week ago. I just don't know what to do about it or if this is even a real issue or one I'm just imagining because of how depressed I've been. Before school, she invited me to be her plus one to a wedding she was invited to. I said okay at the time but now I don't know about it. Honestly, knowing her, she probably doesn't even remember inviting me. She also asked me while drunk so idek if it was a serious invitation. For now, I'm just going to ignore it. I was looking forward to going with her and just spending time together but now ... idfk.

Honestly, my weight and diet isn't really a priority right now. Idk how active I'll be posting about that. If I lose weight, great. If I gain, okay. I lost 25lbs just in July because of how stressed and depressed I was. If that happens again now ... okay.

#tw ana diary #tw ana shit #tw ed diet #low cal restriction #low cal diet #weight loss #tw weighloss #tw body image #anorex14 #tw depressing thoughts #depression diary #tw mental health #mental health #need a friend

[thora-jane]

Twin-Way Mirror (pt vi)

(a/n): Hey everyone. My mental health's getting a little bit better. These past few weeks I've had some depression/anxiety episodes but I think I might be on the better end of it now? I will say that the stories I post may be more spread out over time (I had a lot of this already written before I made the tumblr account, and I haven't had the time/energy to write more of the story. So like...idk thank you for your patience and understanding? anyway, I hope you enjoy this :)

Summary: Thanks to the Weasleys, you start to recover from the attack at the world cup

Word Count: 2,229

Warnings: mentions of blood and injuries, reader has a bit of a ptsd attack, also things get a little bit spicy but nothing nsfw.

TAGS!: @aliiiyyaaah @superblyspeedydragon @bamboozledflamplant

***

Someone was moving you. Everything was spinning. Mudblood. Mood. Blood. Mud and blood filled your mouth, swirling with bile and spit. Spit. Something smelled terrible, you smelled terrible. Reeking.

You felt a hand on your cheek. The pain stabbed across your face like a knife.

You bolted upright.

And screamed.

“Hey, hey hey hey it’s alright,” you heard George’s (or was it Fred’s?) voice through your ragged and panicked breaths, his hand placed gently on your back, “(y/n), we’re safe now, we’ve made it home.”

You finally looked around, you were on the couch in the burrow’s living room.

“Home?” You asked. You looked up, George was rubbing your back and Fred was sitting on the arm of the seat, eyes flitting back and forth between looking at you and down at his hands with what appeared to be shame. You looked back at the rest of the room, where the others had managed to find room standing and watching you, Harry and Ron stone-faced, Ginny with her jaw clenched, Hermione appeared to be on the brink of tears, Mr. Weasley looked awfully serious, and Mrs. Weasely was holding her muddied and bloodied hand to her chest, a damp rag in the hand at her side and fear on her face.

You felt your face gingerly, most of the caked on mud and blood had been smudged off, except for the grime around the large bruised and scarred lump on your face.

“Yeah, home,” George nodded again with a smile, “How are you feeling?”

You held your head in your hands, “Who was that?” You felt your eyes well up as you sat up more and looked down at the rest of your body, you were still covered in mud, and there appeared to be a boot print right in the middle of your shirt.

“Death Eaters,” Harry piped up from the back, “Voldemort’s followers. They stormed the campgrounds and-” He stopped, looking at you, “Sorry, I shouldn’t have…” His voice trailed off, and it took you a second to realize you were crying, the salty tears stinging the wound on your face.

“Oh it’s alright Harry,” you interrupted yourself with a shaky breath, “I don’t mind, keep talking-”

But Mrs. Weasley interrupted you, “Alright everyone, I think it’s best we give her some space. I’ll come back in a bit to help clean you up more, sweetie. Get some rest.”

The others filed out of the room quietly, but Fred and Geroge stayed beside you in silence, after a moment you sighed and bit back a smile. “I don’t suppose I look any better than either of you now, eh?” You chuckled, but it came out more like a twisted sob. George’s arm wrapped around your shoulder as he pulled you into a gentle sideways hug, “I wouldn’t say that. Why, look at Freddy over there, you could hardly believe we shared the same womb! He’s hideous!” He chuckled softly, squeezing your shoulder. You let out a wince at the pressure and he frowned, turning to you, “you’re in pretty bad shape, (y/n), but I doubt it will last. Is there anything we could do to help?

You looked back down at your crusted and soiled shirt, “A change of clothes would be helpful. And cleaning up doesn’t sound like the worst idea either.” you smiled, or at least offered what you could manage of a smile without hurting your face, “I’ll go get my clothes-” You started trying to get off the couch with a long and pained groan. Everything hurt, your stomach, your legs, your hand. And Merlin, you could barely move your wrist without tears pricking at the corner of your eyes.

George seemed to catch on, and he carefully eased you back onto the couch, “I’ll go get you a change of clothes. Stay here, alright?” he stroked the back of your head for a moment before getting up and leaving.

You and Fred sat in silence for a moment before nuding him with your foot, “Oi, I don’t think I’ve seen you this quiet since...well, I can’t remember.”

“(y/n)...I’m so sorry this happened.” He said, looking up at you hesitantly.

“Hey, it’s alright. We’re both here now, yeah?” you shifted in your spot on the couch, leaning forward as you tried to maintain eye contact, but he only looked away again.

“No, no (y/n) it’s not alright. I shouldn’t have let you out of my reach. I shouldn’t have let the crowd separate us, I should have forced my way back sooner-” his voice was dead serious, something that you hadn’t thought was possible before now.

“I don’t want you blaming yourself for this,” your voice was a little uneasy, you could feel it as you tried to keep your breathing steady, “Because I’m fine now. We’re home, you heard your brother-”

“No, but (y/n) you’re not fine!” he snapped, standing up and gesturing to your body in one big sweep of his arm, “They were going to kill you! And whose fault would that have been? It wouldn’t have been yours I can tell you that!”

“Freddie,” George’s voice was stern as he returned to the room, a change of clothes in hand, “Go get some things to clean up. What’s done is done and we can only start moving forward. I don’t think either of you are in a state to start pointing fingers,” He walked towards you on the couch as Fred went off to the kitchen, his hands balled into fists.

George knelt down beside you, brushing the hair from your forehead and dabbing at your lingering tears with the edge of his sleeve. “How are you feeling?” he asked, holding his hand under your chin carefully and examining your face.

“A bit banged up, surprisingly,” you quipped. You paused, looking down at the clothes in his hand, “So...should I change?” You looked back up at him, a bit embarrassed by your current lack of mobility.

“Oh! Yeah,” he agreed with a bit of a start, “You can’t quite be up and about right now, huh?” He glanced around the room before snatching the blanket off the back of the couch and holding it up in front of him as a curtain between you two, “I swear on Fred’s life I’m not going to move this until you say you’re done, and I will scream bloody murder if anyone walks in,” He delcared in what you assumed was a mock-stoic voice from the other side of the blanket.

You began to peel off your muddied pants and slide your sore legs into the new pair. It wasn’t until after you had them on that you realized how this unfamiliar stripey pair fit quite loose, “These aren’t mine?” you mumbled to yourself, and from the other side of the blanket you could hear George clear his throat.

“I uh...couldn’t figure out how to open your trunk so I..grabbed a pair of my pajamas. I promise they’re clean. I can get you yours later it was just...short notice and I didn’t want to be a bother-”

“It’s alright,” you assured him as you started to lift your shirt over your head, “At least they're clean- OW!” you felt a screaming pain stab it’s way through your wrist after you had managed to get one arm out of your sleeve.

“Are you ok?” His voice was nervous, and you saw the blanket shift beside your head-

“Oi!” You almost shouted, “Watch the blanket!”

“Sorry! Sorry,” you heard him mumble as the blanket lifted up a little bit, “I guess we’ll call it even from this morning.”

You had managed to carefully wrangle your way out of your shirt and pull one of the sleeves of George’s shirt before it dawned on you, “Oh Merlin, did you see me? Just now?” Your stomach twisted as you shrugged on the second sleeve and looked at the open front of the shirt, “Damn buttons.”

“If it’s any comfort, I only saw your shoulder. And I looked away as soon as I saw-” He stammered out nervously, as you gave the buttons down your front a calculated stare.

“Just...never bring this up again, yeah?” You muttered mostly to yourself before your first attempt at buttoning up your shirt. But your try was unsuccessful, pain twisting the muscles and bone in your wrist as your right hand went to try and help the button through the hole. You let out a faint gasp of pain, and from the other side of the blanket you heard George shift his stance awkwardly.

“Do you need any help?” he piped up from his side.

You paused, sighing as you carefully moved the shirt to cover your front without buttoning it, “If I must. But if you try to pull something then so help me Godric the second I get my wand back you’re dead.” He let the blanket fall to the floor and his hands flew up to his face, squinting through his fingers. It was clear he was trying to lighten the mood as he perched himself on the edge of the couch. You chuckled at his efforts and reached for one of his hands with your good one, placing his fingertips on the buttons of his shirt, “You don’t have to do it with your eyes closed, dimwit.”

George smirked, opening his eyes slightly and making it clear he was staring directly at the buttons he was fastening, “Y’know, I don’t usually do this for folks,” he smiled looking back up at you with a dramatic wink. His eyes stayed latched to yours as he worked his way up the trail of buttons, making a point to not stare at your chest.

“Oh? This isn’t a regular occurrence between you and your roommates? You don’t sit in a circle helping each other tie your ties each morning? You don’t fix Fred’s hair and make sure Lee’s robes are nice and straight?”

George laughed, “Keeping Lee’s robes straight is Fred’s job.”

“Well someone ought to tell him he’s not doing a very good job of it, Lee’s robes wouldn’t stay smooth unless he used a charm,” you sighed, a weak smile lingering on your face.

“Oh! That reminds me,” George reached into his pocket and pulled out your wand, “managed to get it out without a scratch!” He tucked it into your messed-up hair and smiled, “Good as new!” His hand lingered on the side of your face, carefully touching the area around the swollen and bruised gash for just a moment, “You don’t look that bad, really. A little roughed up but give it some soap, water, magic, and time, you’ll be back to your wonderfully-faced self,” his voice was encouraging, but your thoughts had drifted off to elsewhere.

“Oh my god, you took on a Death Eater.” You blurted out, eyes widening, “Are you ok? Did he get you at all? Are you alright?” Your hand reached for his face, there was a scratch just below his cheek bone but other than that and a few smudges of mud he appeared fine,

“I’m alright, (y/n), really,” he patted your hand.

“Oi, I got you out of there too, y’know.” Fred interrupted from the doorway, “Where’s the worry for me?”

“Oh my god, Fred!” Your voice was startled as you scrambled off the couch and stumbled across the floor over to him. He had just barely managed to set down the bowl of water and sponge before you practically collapsed in his arms, “are you alright? What on earth were you two thinking? Running into danger like that? You could have gotten yourselves killed!” You winced at the pain pulsing through your body, but you only hugged Fred tighter. After a second you let out a muffled sob into his chest and you could feel his arms wrap around you, patting your back.

“But it’s alright,” you heard him whisper, “You said it yourself, we’re home,” He placed a kiss on the top of your head, and you could feel another body hug you from behind.

“We’re here, (y/n). Now c’mon, it’s late and you should get some sleep,” You felt George lean down and kiss your cheek before helping you shuffle back to the couch and wipe the last bit of mud from your face.

***

You woke up the next morning feeling sore, but minimal agony in comparison to the night before. As you opened your eyes, you realized you were face-to-chest with one of the twins. You figured the two of you had slept on the couch the night before. As you poked your head out from behind his shoulder, you saw the other twin asleep in the chair. Neither of the boys had changed their clothes from yesterday, and you looked down to see the large gold “G” against a green sweater, with its sleeves wrapped around your waist, pulling you close.

“Mmm, (y/n), are you up?” George murmured, his eyes not opening.

You smiled softly at his warm embrace, “No George, go back to sleep,” you whispered, laying down again with your head against his shoulder.

“Of course, sweetheart,” he nodded, barely awake as he pulled you closer and nuzzled his face into your hair with a sleepy sigh.

#fred and goerge weasley #fred wealsey fic #fred x you #fred x y/n #fred weasly x reader #fred x reader #fred weasley #george x you #george wealsey imagine #george wealsey x reader #george x y/n #george x reader #george weasley

[fraks]

LEVERAGE REDEMPTION 1x15 THE MUDDY WATERS JOB

- i can't believe this is the first part of the finale already. @cminerva and i have been speculating about the finale since the episode titles + descriptions were released. well, since before that, really, but the titles and descriptions gave us so much fodder, oh god. my prediction was that they'd do another first/second david job that would wreck us completely. so. you know.

- i watched all eight eps in a row, the night they were released, but @cminerva only got to watch the first two, so i had be very vague and spoiler-free in the texts i sent her when all i wanted to do was YELL, but once i got to the finale, i couldn't possibly be vague anymore, so i stated typing up my reactions in a notes file. that's gonna be super useful for this post now.

- ok let's do this! harry's daughter sneaking out, interesting start. harry's ex is beautiful. but jesus she REALLY traded down.

- harry delivering their mail. :') and eliot fixing the place up. EVERYONE IS SO AT HOME AT THE BASE. 😍 omg sophie's wearing a shirt that could definitely belong to harry.

- uhhhh wasn't tom baker nate's alias? side-eyeing the writers tbh. miss river song—hardison c'mon. LMAO TEDDY BEAR. harry and soph are so delighted, i love it. fjsjfhskdjfjjdjdjd "MISS SOPHIE DEVEREAUX, FROM ALL THE WAY FROM ACROSS THE POND!" harry your accent is ATROCIOUS. but THEY'RE FLIRTING!!! "stop it!" fjakfbskfjksfj HELP ME I AM DYING HERE. (now we've had him saying her name while she's actually in the room, but in a horrible accent, so like. all i want is one soft "sophie" right to her face. bonus points if they're naked.)

- "i need to give you some dialect lessons." - "i'll take 'em." i'm sure you will, harry. 😏 the only time i was ever this eager to learn things from someone was when i was head over heels in love with them, so. just saying.

- nooooooooo. sophie can't leave. SHE CANNOT. ugh parker's reaction is everything. she loves sophie so much and has been fighting to keep her with them since 1x01. and i don't think sophie has realised how much it really means to parker to have her there.

- i also live for harry's reaction. he's so crushed because he thought they had something. not the something he wants, but a friendship, at least. and she just talks so casually about leaving them all behind it crushes him. you can actually SEE his heart breaking.

- and then later he sends parker off with eliot and specifically assigns sophie and himself to a task, TOGETHER. i'm guessing he either hopes he can change her mind or, failing that, he wants to spend what little time they have with her before she goes.

- but first, harry's daughter shows up. lmao because she used the tracking app harry tried to sneak onto her phone to track HIM. :') i like breanna's nerd girlfriend, but if they'd made becky a few years older, breanna would currently be falling all over herself trying to impress HER instead. (yes, this was originally on my wishlist for s2. also yes, i am okay with not getting it.)

- "he never did business with really bad people like—" - "...like i did?" CALLED IT. @cminerva and i figured the strain in their relationship would have been harry's work, and not just the many hours of it, but more that he defended so many evil people. "i get it." oh maaaan it KILLS him to know his daughter thinks so badly of him. because he IS a good man, at his core.

- "what, was the monopoly man busy?" gjajfjskfjekd PARKER!!!

- lmao harry defends ethan so eagerly, sophie's little smirk makes me think SHE thinks harry and ethan might have been an item. before he drops the bombshell of ethan being married to harry's ex, that is.

- breanna going on strike is... idk, i'm torn. it's obviously mostly played for laughs, giving harry and sophie the task of hacking (😂), but also, the last time they weren't sure what to do, they voted, and the majority won. there was never any talk of strikes? it feels kind of weird and ooc to me that breanna just says no and basically abandons them, especially after harry's asked for help. and her attitude about the whole thing... not helping.

- but lmao harry planning to learn hacking from the binders. what a NERD. a clueless, naïve nerd, but a nerd nonetheless.

- "how hard can it be, hacking?" oh sophie, sweetie.

- lmfao "stupid little lawyer man." - "breanna!" - "i did something wrong..." you think, harry? 😂

- omg when eliot and parker come back to the base and ask what happened, sophie says "we (!) tried our hand at hacking", but harry points to himself while she says it. this is one of the many, many reasons why i love this character: he's so absolutely willing to own up to his mistakes—not just the big, obvious ones they're all trying to redeem him from, but just the small ones, too, and i think that's mostly noah's acting choices, i doubt any of that is scripted. it's making me very emotional because it's obvious noah loves this character, too. and the WAY he takes the blame for the things he did wrong just reinforces my headcanon of anxiety disorder harry who has had therapy.

- you REALLY left harry for this dude, grace? really? i mean i know looks don't mean anything in the long run, but jeeeeesus. this dude doesn't even come across as a good guy.

- lmfao parker carding harry i cannot. "oh look, he's human." i love her.

- that red top on sophie looks amazing. my wishlist for s2 had her in another red dress, but i'll take this, too. red on sophie is just... [chef's kiss]

- OUCH. that ethan guy is a piece of work. "i believe in being civil." okay two things. a) i like that harry doesn't, idk, hate his ex and that he didn't make it hard for her to leave and find someone else, someone even he considered "better", cause even back then, he KNEW what he was doing was wrong. b) but also, this "being civil" thing i think might just have been another symptom of his attitude of "never picking a side". it's a really easy way to make sure nothing ever touches you, that no one can ever blame you. if he HAD fought for his ex and made it hard for her to leave him, she could have thrown that back in his face. by staying "neutral" (or as he calls it "civil", cause lbr, there is no true "neutral" in a breakup like that), he made sure none of the immediate blame could fall on him. SHE left him. SHE asked for a divorce. stuff like that. but he knows now that it was precisely that, his INaction, that put the final nail in the coffin of his marriage. which ties in very nicely with what he says to sophie in that one scene in jackal job.

- "probably doesn't hurt that because of me, you don't have to pay alimony or child support." YOU LITTLE TWAT. harry has made a LOT of mistakes in his life, but i don't believe for a second that he would've minded paying alimony, let alone child support. i mean, he's a lawyer, for god's sake. if he'd wanted a pre-nup that would've kept him from paying alimony, he probably could've had one. and we KNOW he's loaded. and especially now, he no longer cares about the money. i mean, he's been living in a room in a slightly run-down old theatre with four housemates, basically, instead of staying at his presumably huge and fancy own apartment or house.

- another "sophie". i want harry to say her name all the time thanks. 😭

- EVERYONE EATING TOGETHER AGAIN! lol i can no longer watch these guys (or any other fictional characters) eat chinese food without thinking about the audio commentary for the original show. 😍

- oooh good plan, parker. you go to the platform and take eliot and breanna with you. it'll give harry and sophie some time alone. 😏

- "the security of my family" u g h harry listen. your daughter is your family, OBVIOUSLY. but your ex is not. if anything, this TEAM is your family now. this is what @cminerva i were afraid of, that by making harry's ex's husband a bad guy / mark, the writers would open the door for harry to go back to his ex. and i'm 100% against that, and not only because i ship h/s. that's not even my main reason, actually, though i will admit it plays a big role. no, the main reason is that harry is a different person now. and going back to his ex would throw him back into a life that he once had but left, even just by NOT acting when she left him. and if he's back in that situation again, well. it's very easy to fall back into old patterns once you're back in a familiar environment, isn't it? i'm not saying his ex would drive him to doing bad things, or that she did that when he first went crooked. no, that was HIS choice. but thanks to harry and now ethan, she's always had a certain standard of living that she no doubt wants to keep, and harry would fall over backwards trying to make that happen, and lbr, these guys don't exactly make money from conning bad guys. as far as we know, the original team still lives off their one big score from nigerian job, personally. hardison probably makes sure leverage international has some income for bases and clothes and props and whatnot, but personally, i doubt these guys would take so much as a penny from a mark if that penny could instead go towards helping people. so harry has not had any official income since the beginning of the season. he probably has assets that generate income for him, but the money he got from being a lawyer was probably his main source. and he'd want to make his ex happy, so he'd probably slip back into doing bad things, and i DO NOT WANT THAT FOR HIM. my little baby thief who's been working so, so hard on his redemption.

- SOPHIE WITH A PONYTAIL. i was so looking forward to this and it's just as hot as i expected. what is even hotter than i expected is that PINSTRIPE VEST SHE'S WEARING.

- "why would you be covered in oil?" ghskfhsifhkehfkejf 😂 it only just occurred to me that these bits are 4th wall breaks, in a way. i just hadn't realised because they're DONE SO WELL. (i ususally hate 4th wall breaks.)

- "oil happens." gjskfbksfnksbfjefbjdnfjeke I CANNOT.

- lol i have absolutely no notes about this upcoming h/s scene from the first time i watched the ep, so i'm guessing i was too overwhelmed.

- "i thought i might find you here." SHE LOOKS SO GOOD. and she knows where his ex lives, which i assume is where they used to live together.

- "when i lost grace, i reconciled myself to the fact that i lost her to a better man. a decent man. maybe i didn't deserve her." OUCH. and exactly what i suspected. there's no way that this wonderful, wonderful man doesn't have anxiety over all the bad things he's done.

- "is that it? have you been seeking redemption for grace and becky?" GOT IT IN ONE, SOPH.

- "if you can't use the law as a guideline to show you what's morally right and wrong, then what do you have?" a) leverage asking the TOUGHEST questions since 2008. b) he's not wrong. c) i don't think i can imagine HOW hard it must be for him, this whole redemption process. i mean, he knows he did the wrong things. but how does he know that? because it FELT wrong. and because he saw other people's pain. and then because the crew has been telling him. but the law, the thing he's spent his entire life on, tells him the exact opposite. so all this time, all these months now that he's been with the leverage team, there has always been a part of him that has told him what he's doing NOW is wrong. because it's against the law. and i think a part of him is always going to be struggling with that if he stays with the team.

- "mr. wilson, i think you need to recalibrate your entire thinking about morality. life isn't always as clear-cut as we'd like. life's complicated." THIS IS IT. THIS IS THE DEFINING QUOTE. OF THIS ENTIRE SHOW.

- "how did you recalibrate your thinking about morality?" - "well. there is honour amongst thieves. i started there." i am SOBBING. i know this episode and this entire season really is about harry, but my GOD. sophie has grown SO much, since nigerian job obviously but also since the end of leverage 1.0 and even since the beginning of 2.0—so, so much. talking about harry and his arc comes to me fairly easily, but talking about sophie is just. hard. she means so much to me. i might come back to this in another post. i do want to talk more about her arc in this entire season.

- on a more shallow note, JEEEEESUS gina is gorgeous. and idk if that was a coincidence or ~filming magic, but it's overcast in this scene EXCEPT for the moment when sophie says "there's honour amongst thieves". it's not a lot, but you can tell that the sun comes peeking out for that one second and hits her face and she just GLOWS. JFC.

- also i know it probably doesn't mean anything, but when sophie leaves, the way harry turns and looks back at what i assume is his old house (i.e. his ex and his old life), then turns back to sophie and looks at her and then walks after her DOES THINGS TO ME. it could be such a beautiful metaphor for the way he's being torn in half.

- awwwwman, the kids talking about sophie leaving. "she's gotta find out who she is." !!!!!! I JUST!!!!! i think i've got something about this in my "yell at @cminerva" notes for the next ep, so i'll just. stop for now. but i have all the feelings anyone has ever had about this.

- nooooo i think harry just got all dressed up to meet his ex. GDI WRITERS WHAT ARE YOU DOING.

- yeaaaah they've just tanked the ot3. i am UPSET. "i've always admired you and hardison's relationship." AS IF YOU'RE NOT PART OF THAT RELATIONSHIP YOU DUMMY.

- "i think the reason hardison and i work so well is because he's the first person who saw me. i mean, he really knew me." is such a sweet thing to say, parker.

- awwww but. that was an eliot+parker scene that would be SUPER cute family vibes if it weren't for that bitter anti-ot3 aftertaste...

- LMFAO SOPHIE IS HAVING ELIOT'S BABY 😂 i know at least one (1) person who will appreciate this tidbit. i love how sophie just like, goes with the "sweetheart". you can almost SEE her thought process. "ah, eliot's not alone. guess i'm having his baby!" and lmfao breanna "baby?" dhakhfksbdjejd

- harry doing actual lawyering in court? HOT AF. i don't have a secret thing for lawyers or the law, but watching someone—anyone—be super competent is always crazy attractive. (yes, this show makes me sweat a lot.)

- lmfao "how did you meet the missus? was it romantic?" what this episode DESPERATELY needs here is a flashback to the first time eliot saw sophie, playing lady macbeth in chicago back in nigerian job, and a shot of his horrified face.

- ugh harry don't run after grace. if this were any other show, or fanfic, grace would now ask harry about that gorgeous woman in the red dress. "oh grow up, harry. what did you think was going to happen? i was going to leave him and come running back to you?" wow maybe it was harry who deserved better all along. yes, it was naïve and frankly wrong of him to assume or even hope for this. but it was a GENUINE hope, a genuine wish, and i can't blame him for that. if he really HAS been trying to find redemption so his ex would come back to him (which i don't think he has—maybe that was part of it for him, but he's been wanting to be better for himself, too, and above all, for his daughter), it's going to be even harder going forward, knowing that outcome he hoped for isn't going to happen.

- "where's harry? all his stuff is gone, he cleaned out his room." oh shit they're doing it THEY'RE REALLY GOING THERE THIS IS FIRST DAVID ALL OVER AGAIN, ONLY IN REVERSE. oh jesus christ i did not expect this.

- PARKER+SOPHIE CUDDLE I CAN'T. 😭 I LOVE THESE PEOPLE SO MUCH. "you always knew that this was gonna be my last tour. i'm just not the same person i used to be. i need to go and figure out who the person is that i'm going to be." I AM A WRECK THANKS.

- and so is eliot ugh. these people threw him a baby shower like, YESTERDAY. leverage redemption really not pulling ANY punches, are they?

- oh fuck. OH FUCK. "well, let's just say that i've decided to recalibrate my entire way of thinking about morality." OH FUUUCK.

#leverage #leverage redemption #the muddy waters job #harry wilson #sophie devereaux #tv: leverage #ship: harry x sophie #liveblogging #redemption spoilers #leverage redemption spoilers #leverage spoilers #spoilers

[itsclydebitches]

Another thing about how rwby views trauma survivors reacting to their abuse or unfortunate background is that it frames the solution to healing is by serving in armed forces. Weiss and Blake joined Beacon to escape their abuser. Ren and Nora joined Beacon after the loss of their families. Winter joined the military to escape Jacques and I'm assuming will become the new Atlas general after Ironwood's death. The Huntsmen Academies are all framed as these safe havens (literally with Mistral) for anyone who can carry a weapon, meanwhile anyone who can't or doesn't want to join, or joins a group outside of the institution is depicted as bad.

To say that this is all muddied would be a huge understatement because even if we put aside the complicated message of, "Overcome your abuse by learning to punch back," at this point the combined huntsmen-military is no longer presented as a means of escape. Rather, between the rewriting of Winter's history – she has apparently been manipulated by Ironwood this whole time rather than choosing the military as a means of escaping her abuser – as well as the military aligned huntsmen – FNKI aren't heroes like RWBYJNOR anymore, willingly protecting their home, they're children who have been forced into this conflict – there's now this major divide between fighters-on-their-own and fighters-as-part-of-the-institution. We could even read this as extending to the huntsmen academies themselves, given that one has fallen, one was destroyed, and the other lost its figurehead. They used to be presented as havens for struggling individuals... now, not so much. The plot's message is not that heroes win by banding together through established structures that were designed to help those coming from bad circumstances (note how aware Ozpin is of these backstories: Qrow's bandit tribe, Blake's White Fang history, looking into Ruby's defense of the store, etc.), but rather you win by rag-tag individuals making decisions based on friendship.

Yet simultaneously, that divide is by no means neat and tidy (since plenty of stories have that latter message). As we've discussed elsewhere, RWBYJNOR is ingrained in these structures despite the story rejecting them. They got their initial training at Beacon (how many fans have argued that they learned enough there? That they're basically full-fledged huntsmen already? So, that school was pretty important, yeah?). They worked with Ironwood for months. They're using the prestige of their licenses to get people to listen to them. They're hijacking military equipment to give the world orders to prepare for an attack. Ruby became a general in all but title in that moment, in the same way that Weiss became the Remnant equivalent of a cop when she tried to arrest her father. Volumes 6-8 suddenly wanted to send an anti-military message without considering the context of their story (what does a military mean in a world where unambiguously evil monsters attack, as opposed to a world where these "monsters" are minorities?) and they failed to separate the heroes from the structures they so passionately reject. You cannot have the group stand in opposition to Ironwood and everything he represents while also encouraging the audience to oohh and ahhh at Jaune whipping out his huntsmen license to lead a group of civilians to safety. The supposed cruelty of the former and supposed heroism of the latter are meant to exist simultaneously, despite the contradiction. We went from the message that huntsmen academies, including Atlas', are a haven from abuse, poverty, etc. but now, suddenly, certain types of escapes are no longer morally sound. So just ignore how many of the heroes took the "wrong" path.

And then on top of all of that we have Rhodes. RWBY is pushing the individualism message hard nowadays – that a group of friends is better than a general and his soldiers just ignore that Ruby is their leader and they all follow her orders – yet it's Rhodes' individuality that is criticized in Cinder's flashback. He, as a single person, tries to take on the complex situation of helping an abused child and he failed. The fandom's reaction to his efforts is pretty telling because most kept falling back on structural solutions: "Why didn't he just call CPS? Why didn't he get her admitted early like Ruby? Why didn't he approach some superior to fix all this?" Most fans seemed to grudgingly acknowledge that kidnapping Cinder and raising this traumatized kid on the road while hunting grimm was... not the best idea, so they turned to the very things they've rejected in Ruby's part of the story: laws that people have to follow, schools with an hierarchy that can serve as support, someone above you whose orders you follow and whose seniority can help you in a tough situation. In Cinder's flashback people wanted Remnant to have structural solutions because, clearly, leaving one flawed man to fix this situation on his own didn't turn out so well. They (and the writers) just don't want Ruby to have to obey those same structures because Ruby is the title hero they've grown to love over eight years. We feel like we know Ruby and we assume that if Ruby is in charge she'd totally make the best decision. But Rhodes? He's a stranger, someone we see for less than ten minutes, so his flaws are far easier to home in on. Few are willing to acknowledge that Ruby is Rhodes on a much larger scale, trying things because she wants to help, but ultimately doing far more harm because she's incredibly inexperienced and is just running on her own, individual ideas, not any of the structures in place that are meant to deal with such crises. Rhodes' "Idk what else to do, so I guess I'll teach a tortured kid how to defend herself and hope for the best" is Ruby's "Idk what else to do, so I guess I'll drop Atlas on Mantle, leave with the Relics, move everyone to Vacuo, and hope for the best." The primary difference is that while Rhodes is punished through his death and the narrative makes it clear that this was the wrong choice (Cinder murders everyone and becomes a villain), whereas Ruby's screwups are continually framed as heroic. And that's because the show can't make up its mind about this structural vs. individual approach. Do huntsmen need to be held responsible for their actions, or do they need complete freedom to do the right thing with the belief that anything that goes wrong was completely out of their hands (Yangs' take)? Well, that depends entirely on which huntsmen we're talking about. RWBY's idea that some people are intrinsically good and others intrinsically bad means that the writing – and the fandom – can demand rogue huntsmen be held accountable while simultaneously cheering the group running away from arrest; curse Clover for following orders while simultaneously gushing over how loyal the group is to Ruby; condemn lies that Ozpin gives while simultaneously justifying the ones Ruby gives, etc. RWBY has no clear message, just the insistence that whatever our heroes does is good. The path they've taken, learning to fight to escape horrific situation is a good thing. The path Rhodes laid out, teaching Cinder to fight to escape a horrific situation, is a bad thing. It comes down to the characters, not the situation.

Finally, yeah, there's a complete lack of acknowledgment that either option – structural or individual – alienates those who don't know how to fight. This is seen most clearly in Whitley who asks why he'd want to be a huntsmen when he can afford an army, yet when armies are painted as unquestionably bad, the story won't admit that this leaves Whitley stranded. He had no way to escape his abuse like Winter and Weiss did. He had no way to defend himself when Weiss shoved a weapon in his face. The story never had to grapple with where it's left characters who can't fight and who shouldn't make the evil choice of relying on soldiers because Whitley unexpectedly got on Weiss' good side and gained her protection. It doesn't matter anymore because Whitley is a Good Guy now who the group will take care of. But if he'd continued to disagree? Gone to his room instead of calling Klein? If, in the future, he does something that annoys his sisters and they decide to ignore him like they did before? Well, Whitley is screwed. In a world besieged by grimm – with attacks growing with each volume – he wanted to rely on an army to help solve these problems. But then that was said to be wrong, the general died, and the army, far as we can tell, was left behind to die as well. So what's left? Rely on the huntsmen. Just hope that there are enough (there aren't), that you get a good one (not a Lionheart, or a Raven, or a Cardin, or a Dudley, or...), and that the good ones care enough to bother protecting you. Even if the story hadn't gone out of its way to show how terribly flawed individual huntsmen are – from Lionheart's devastating betrayal to Qrow teaming up with Tyrian – from a practical perspective it's just not enough. Volume 8 showed without a doubt that in a war like this, one built on a witch's ability to summon endless grimm, an army is necessary. Salem would have been into Atlas in a second without those soldiers holding her forces back. Yang, Jaune, and Ren wouldn't have gotten to the whale without that army. Yet the story never acknowledges this, instead pretending like the few individuals we see – the limited numbers the characters keep admitting are horrendously limited – could have somehow saved the day without that assistance. Everything we're seeing nowadays – which characters can use these institutions to escape abuse, which can lie to help the war, which should rely on structures as opposed to their own ideas and physical power – is a mess of inconsistent, often contradictory messages.

#rwby #rwde #mymetas #abuse tw

[cajunquandary]

New Year’s and Supernatural 600 Follower Challenge

Come one, come all! To those of you who have been here-- why? (But THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU.) To those of you just tuning in, welcome to my corner of the Internet. You are welcome and you are valid, no matter your labels. We’re all family here. This challenge is all-inclusive and hate-free. After a year like 2020, we could all use a little pick-me-up. 

Are you a writer, gif-maker, art enthusiast, musical magician, candlestick maker or Misha Collins?? Then check it out--I’m doing a thing! Below you will find some rules and prompts, but most of all, have fun.

Must be following me (it is a follower celebration after all)

Please list your warnings and tag them when you post. 

Add a “Keep Reading” if your post is over 500 words. 

You can pair this challenge with anything else, and I don’t mind if your entry is part of an established series! 

No word limit. Have more of a headcanon? Okay. Have a 500k word novel? Okay. 

You may write or create whatever you wish, but due to personal limitations, I will only read:

Reader inserts/ofc paired with Sam, Dean, Castiel, Benny Lafitte, or Gadreel

Ships: Sabriel, Sastiel, Destiel, DeanBenny, Saileen, Megstiel, anyone with Donna <3

Non-pairings and vintage Winchesters or Castiel are okay. (Tell me about a thing that happened when they were growing up)

Threesomes and moresomes are good as well

Things that make me squick: degradation, a/b/o, wincest, underage.

Things that make me happy: Winchester sandwiches, crack fics, dark fics, Destiel, sex pollen, and MOTW. 

“Overused” tropes are welcomed and encouraged! (Looking at you, @thinkinghardhardlythinking) Remember, they are popular for a reason--people like to read them. Lay your weary insecurities to rest my wayward peeps. 

This can be as fluffy, smutty, angsty, cracky or as dark as you want it to be (please tag for trigger warnings!)

It doesn’t have to be a fic. It can be any kind of art! Digital, Traditional, Musical, Video, etc.

WRITE AND CREATE WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY. Even if it’s not my jam, you are valid and welcome here! ALL entries will be reblogged and included on the masterlist.

Send an ask with the following: 

Your new year’s resolutions (if you want to share)

Choose one situation and one song OR lyric from the lists below. Up to two people per prompt.

Inspired by a few things? Why settle? You can send multiple requests. Please send a new ask with each new selection. 

Tag #cajunsuper600challenge within the first five tags. If I haven’t reblogged it within 3 days, submit it to me and/or shoot me a message!

To be a part of the Challenge Masterlist, please post and tag me on or before Mardi Gras! (Tuesday, February 16, 2021)

Situations:

Singing in the Shower @anaelsbrunette

Fixing up the Car @utopia-winchester​

Wrestling Match

Drag Race

Kicked out of a Library @ilysm-mybabybrother

Learning to Drive @katelynw93​ @gia-25​

Supply Run

Movie Night @scoobydean

Game Night @mercurialkitty

Patching up after a hunt @msmarvelouswinchester

Fishing @wonder-cole​

Monster of the Week @carryonmywaywardcaptain

First Encounter @chevyharvelle​ @writethelifeyouwant​

Awkward Coffee @thinkinghardhardlythinking

Handcuffs

(and)

Songs:

Ramble On- Led Zeppelin

Back in Black- ACDC

Tuesday’s Gone- Lynyrd Skynyrd @graciehams

The Chain- Fleetwood Mac @scoobydean

Born on the Bayou- Credence Clearwater @wonder-cole​

Heaven and Hell- Black Sabbath

When the Levee Breaks- Led Zeppelin @writethelifeyouwant​

Houses of the Holy- Led Zeppelin

The Unforgiven- Metallica

Dream On- Aerosmith

**Bonus: 11. House of the Rising Sun- The Animals (@wonder-cole, you devious heathen I love you) @anaelsbrunette

(or)

Lyrics:

“Hold the day/ Oh we pray/ To make it through the night”

“Even the fires on the road/ Trying to get away/ And all the stars seem on a roll/ Out of control today”

“I wear this crown of thorns/ Upon my liar's chair/ Full of broken thoughts/ I cannot repair” @ilysm-mybabybrother

“Blastin' out to Johnny Cash/ Headin' for the highway/ Baby, we ain't ever comin' back”

“I saw the light in the sunrise/ Sittin' back in a 40 on the muddy riverside/ Gettin' baptized in holy water and 'shine”

“There'll be no value in the strength of walls that I have grown/ There'll be no comfort in the shade of the shadows thrown/ But I'd be yours if you'd be mine” @thinkinghardhardlythinking

“I wrestled long with my youth/ We tried so hard to live in the truth/ But do not tell me all is fine/ When I lose my head, I lose my spine”

“I can’t drown my demons/ They know how to swim” @carryonmywaywardcaptain @msmarvelouswinchester

“I stand on the ash of all I've ever loved/ Memories of a broken heart/ Now I'm alone in the dark.” @chevyharvelle

“Weep not for roads untraveled/ Weep not for sights unseen/ May your love never end and if you need a friend,/ There's a seat here alongside me” @mercurialkitty​ @katelynw93​

(NO Pressure Tagging)

WAYWARD PEEPS:

@carryonmywaywardcaptain @manawhaat @supernatural-jackles @jensen-jarpad @wheresthekillswitch @bummblebeeblue @nothin-after-79-blog @docharleythegeekqueen @fangirl-writing-fiction @inmysparetime0 @impala-dreamer @arryn-nyxx @idk-life01 @attorneyl @deathtonormalcy56 @xwing-baby @wonder-cole @itsangelpie @thinkinghardhardlythinking

ANGST BABES:

@trexrambling @abbessolute @emptywithout

ALL ABOUT THAT DEAN:

@akshi8278 @will-winchester

Others Who May Be Interested:

If you are tagged here then you are either a favorite writer/artist of mine or were recently prominent in my tags or both :) *please let me know if you would like to be removed*

@idksupernatural @jellydeans @roonyxx​ @jay-and-dean​ @wanderingcas​ @idabbleincrazy​ @icecream-and-gadreel @thatmotleygirl @starrynightdeancas @that-one-gay-girl @on-a-bender @tearsofgrace @galaxycastiel @chaoticdean @the-chief-moosekateer @chevyharvelle @scoobydean @winchester-reload @moosewinchester @writethelifeyouwant @antifacas @caughtaghostsomehow @amionthetumbler @sloth-with-y-yo-a-ti-cas @rowdyhooliganism @katelynw93 @anaelsbrunette @castiel-left-his-mark-on-me @friedchickenangelwings @baconcheeseburger @seffersonjtarship @deanwinchesterswitch @heller-jensen @rainbowscas @myeyesarenotblue @i-do-know-and-idc @joined-at-the-everything @deanacasa @mercurialkitty @deanwanddamons @ilovebeingintroverted @fandommaniacx @lunaravenwillow @luci-in-trenchcoats @negans-lucille-tblr @smol-and-grumpy @graciehams @stusbunker @tlakhtwritesdestiel @waywardjoy @waywardbaby @wayward-and-worn @fangirlonamission @ughcas @herstarburststories @crashdevlin @thoughtslikeaminefield @mummybear @msmarvelouswinchester @atc74 @cockslut-padalecki @kittenofdoomage @there-must-be-a-lock @thecleverdame @katymacsupernatural @valleydean @thefriendlypigeon @impalaimagining @lizleeships @mariekoukie6661 @sunforgrace @gabester-sketch 

#cajunsuper600challenge #writing challenge #art challenge #supernatural #writing prompts #art prompts #spn family #tfw3.0

[beann-e]

um wow , idk what to say i’m a bit flustered but i hope i say it right. I was only gone for a couple of days and this is what I come back to. 😮 Tysm guys I love you all thank you for taking the time out of your scrolls to even follow me >:’) So, I decided to follow through on my haikyu x police force idea and here it is a sneak peek! I hope you enjoy !

May 1 , 2021

-recording take one

" I am under oath to tell you that everything being said here today will be used to further the investigation against yourself. That being said If you choose to answer a question or provide a statement I will have no choice but to write it down to be processed and turned into someone of higher authority than me is that clear "

" i'd say that's a bit — well stupid to me saying yes when your the highest fish on the food chain no? "

" what else can I say except lucky you that everything you say won't be passed around and relayed much less having your words twisted by those listening "

" cute "

" i'd say same goes to you if you weren't chained up in front of me right now — I might've just asked you out on a date "

" i'm free friday at 10 — though it's in the morning so I pose the question— Would you like to sneak me from my court case baby I promise i’ll make it up to you "

" mm i'll think about it seeing as though i'm the one escorting you to your new cell anyways we might just have to have a uh a talk inside hmm"

" what no balls ? "

" sadly none —or at least physically seeing as though i'm a woman "

" I never would've guessed if it wasn't for the way that suit hugs your curves — your pretty full out huh you must be fun "

" i've gotten that before though people tend to say i’m a bit more fun elsewhere "

" aw you wound me you didn’t tell me I had competition babe “

" of course not your first in line in my eyes, it sucks that the ring on my finger says differently though "

" isn't that sweet I might just have to take you up on your offer "

" oh? didn't think you'd be so excited ,much less interested on being the first one on my list to be put in jail but, I guess i'll try my best to speed your trial up for you if that's what you want "

The rooms silence was heavy as the camera panned the room. Your fingers silently being clawed into the table as it drained all your anger from you.

Your shoe tapping against the floor with a slight grimace appearing on your face when you heard the buttons on the camera in front of you being pressed.

" what no slick comment ? " A heartfelt laugh moved to fill the once silent room as you watched small hands wrap around the camera and fix it to where it showed nothing but your upset face—fingertips slamming down one by one on the table

" don't you have a fucking job to do glasses "

" aw what happened no more flirty y/n ? "

"your an asshole— I don’t know why I expected much in the first place seeing as though you were trained under him "

" such a foul mouth — you do know this is going on your transcripts right ? " the eyes in front of you narrowing on you the voice only coming out in mock care for your situation " you wouldn't want the jury — much less the judge reading this when their deciding your sentence right ? "

Your fingers glided over the table and into a fist in front of you as your head went to look down at the table

" you've grown submissive so fast "

" I find it hard to believe you don't like that kind of thing fucking pervert "

" aw you wound me — but if I had to supply you with an answer to your question— I can imagine your dying to know since you've been flirting with a married woman this whole time "

" married? "

" I know your observant y/n you have to be " the next words making you breathe heavily " I mean the way you noticed your s/o was cheating before they could even notice themselves is just wow"

The click of the door being heard as a deep voice made its way in the room " Kiyoko your not allowed in here "

" I have just as much right to be in here as anyone else — "

" but I could’ve sworn I just said you don't — so again why the hell are you in here ? "

The room turning cold with the woman in front of you straightening herself up not wanting to go back and forth with the male in front of her but, at the same time not wanting to come across as small, being seen as a woman down here was hard much less having your own husband be relatively close to the one in charge " I came down here to test out inmate 4890 psyche"

" did anyone give you that kind of permission? that kind of clearance ? to even get down here in the first place ? "

" I mean their hidden underground so i'd say their the main event down here "

" you can't just come down here to see it whenever you see fit "

" but I was interested in the way it's mind works "

" what the hell am I an attraction at sea world? "

" your whatever the fuck I want you to be " your once strong eyes were met with brown ones that held your gaze almost testing you— daring you.

You seeing the hate swirl with annoyance meeting to radiate off of him. His face made up in a snarl as he finally turned his whole body to you.

Arms crossed across his chest eyes now lazily focused on you causing a chill to move through your spine. Youd never wanted to grow submissive to anyone and you never had not in all your years of living so why were you now?

Kiyokos eyes moving from between you to the male in front of her and back. Her body already telling you she knew something was off by the way you'd just been playful with her until you felt the energy shift by someone elses approach showing how easily your personality could changed.

Something was off and she was interested

" if necessary I can always stay and play mediato— "

" your ok " he smiled widely " we're fine together — down here "

your body shifted in the seat wrists being pulled back and down to the table by the chain in front of you when you heard his claim.

" y/n ' s good with that — their fine ive known them a long time I can speak for them — we’ve done this before countless times this isn't their first crime maybe one of this stature yes but "

" mhmm " the woman in front of you shook her head lightly before leaving the room your heart clenching tightly when you heard the door click closed

" I just wanna do my job and then i'll get out ok y/n " the fake sympathy in his voice shining through as he put down his clipboard on the table before standing behind the chair at the table across from you

" god " his voice was heavy as he spoke " it's like you get hotter and hotter everytime we see each other " his body moving around the small rectangular table " it's such a shame "

Your body tensing when you felt him nearing you only to keep going past you.

Body letting out a breath you didn't even know you were holding only to restore another one when you heard the click of the camera turning off and powering down.

Your eyes darting around the room to watch him out of the corner of them reaching up to turn off the corner camera that showed the police force what was happening in the room

Not that they would care seeing as though he was chief he could do anything he wanted to you and not have to tell anyone in his unit. It didn't help that you were a world renowned criminal now you'd fully fucked this up for yourself

" crazy how your fucked yourself over " his words only confirming the thought in your head " you were only into petty crimes before so I could barely get my hands on you i'd always have to pass you over to everyone else because no one of my status ever needed to intervene — though I would've loved to— just to feel the way your face would drop anytime I entered the room or to even feel the shift in your attitude like I felt earlier— holy fuck is that powerful and now look at you "

He laughed at your body that sat slumped in your chair trying to cover your face with the cuffs on the table " pathetically sitting in a room bawling your eyes out in front of me "

His words only feeling closer now as his breath hit your ear.

Heat from his mouth moving to your neck instantly causing you to scoot away only for him to grab the back of your neck " have you no respect for yourself "

You gritted your teeth together at his hold on you " I said have you no respect for yourself "

You bit at your lip trying to decide what to say you always wanted to spit a comeback at the male but right now was definitely not the time with his heavy hand on your neck moving slowly into your hair to grip tighter

"ah every single time we do this — it's almost even more pathetic than the droplets I keep seeing falling and landing on my perfect fucking table that I bought with company’s money— fuck their gonna cut my paycheck "

His hand tightening as he spoke again " one more time asshole " his voice held all the rudeness to it " have you no respect for yourself "

" y-"

The action was quick as he slammed your head hard into the table in front of you. your vision blurring before he sighed blood dripping from your forehead and leaking out of your nose onto your lips as it trembled slightly

" ugh I hate when this happens with you —- you always bleed so fucking easily " he huffed " I ask you something you answer learn something about respect for once in your life and maybe you'll take better care of yourself "

He scoffed " your so fucking pretty and yet you do things like this — you slut yourself out in my business and then turn around and get arrested god your such a fucking ditz "

your head being brought to meet the table once again as you whimpered tears mixing with your blood brain muddied and shut down by his actions

" i'm so tired — so so tired of sweeping everything you do under the rug— I mean you act like I can’t fucking see you y/n i run the whole fucking thing I don’t— I don’t understand you your just fucking stupid so so so stupid it just blinds me and throws me for a loop sometimes "

His voice was low almost as if he only wanted you to feel the weight of his words " and then you never even say fucking sorry " he pushed your head down again " i'm the fucking cleanup crew ,, the shitty bodyguard when you drag yourself in some mess ,, the contact list when you need a plug ,, the boss when you need a job i'm fucking tired y/n "

" I know I know and i'm— im so sorry really please i'm sorry "

you braced yourself for another push as he backed away the heavy hand leaving your neck as he peered down at your head that was still hovering over the table

" what the fuck do you want another bash ?What are you doing "

" no — no please no”

" then bring your head up — god you seriously take your role on as the youngest dont you " he sighed as he moved his hands to pinch at the bridge of his nose. Your eyes darting to the camera kiyoko left and feeling hope enter your body thinking of how she would see the whole scene that’s played out with the male in front of you

" your not staying here "

" what—what "

" you can't — I dont want you here— i’m outta this your not my responsibility anymore your 19 now so I don’t know what to say except get it to fucking gether — you stay here your never gonna go to jail you'd just stay in a confined room for moths — fuck i’m always getting dragged in this shit "

" how — what do I do — what am I gonna do "

" the hell do you mean ? what am I gonna do ? as if the shits not obvious your gonna do fucking nothing while everyone else does all the work for you again "

your voice grew quiet as he scoffed " that's what I thought god — one day i'm gonna get fired "

your eyes darted to the camera and back down " for what exactly "

his eyebrows creased as he stared at you eyes moving all around your face before he spoke ignoring your question " you got yourself in some real bad shit this time y/n "

" but it wasn't even my fau— "

" you don't say shit — you know it wasn't suppose to go down like that and when one goes down we go down together you swore it— that’s how you got our trust don’t fuck yourself over again or you’ll be down in hell by yourself "

" like what ? "

" don't fuck with me y/n "

he moved to grab his clipboard your body lifting when he walked off and forgot about the camera only to drop the clipboard to the floor with a loud clang and start using his shoe to tear the papers apart

" wh-what are you doing " your voice came out soft as your eyebrows creased

His body moving over to the table and throwing the camera youd just put all your hope into someone seeing what you went through being thrown to the ground and stepped on harshly with the heel of his shoes.

Though it wasn't broken broken it was unsalvageable and couldn't be fixed your eyes going wide unable to process anything before he walked to the door and opened it his hand coming up to cup around his mouth

" THEIR ATTACKING " he screamed your body trembling at the way the table shook along with it " calling all units anyone in the vicinity the inmate I am locked up with is having a tantrum of some kind and I do not think I can handle it alone "

Your heart broke as you watched the male in front of you turn back to look at you holding nothing but hate in his eyes " I ask that you help me remove the inmate and get them out of our station immediately "

Several people running in cleaning up the scene and taking pictures before someone uncuffed you and dragged you towards the tall male by the door.

" Chief where do you want em "

" I want em on the next bus to tokyo "

Your head swirling " wh— "

" everyone exit while I talk to the inmate quickly alerting them of their next adventure " everyone moving silently to follow his demands his eyes going directly to yours as everyone raced down the hallway and away from you two

" your going to tokyo — I can't fucking do this — "

" but what would I do there's no one "

" go see bokutou — at this point you've pissed me off I can't do much else for you just — go ask for a new life really " his voice came out in a short laugh at his ending words

" boku— "

" y/n I said i'm pissed off and done with you — you keep interfering with my job and honestly this murder charge was the last strike for me— your of age now I can’t get you outta this shit— so if you could just get a new identity and get the hell away from me id seriously appreciate it "

" daichi I "

" you don't say anything "

" your my — your my brother we’re suppose to be there for each other and you "

" i'm not your anything as of right now you prick " his voice was sharp and held meaning as he snapped at uou " not your brother — your friend — your back up call when you get into weird shit I — I wanted to be a nice police officer and move my way up to chief I wanted to have kids a — a family y/n " he scoffdd " not a shitty sibling who keeps using my job against me and has me pulling strings that shouldn't even exists "

" but "

" you see how I keep cutting you off it's because I don't want to hear you y/n — you annoy the fuck out of me so seriously " he moved his shoulder to glide through the doorframe and past you "just go do what you criminal assholes do and get a new identity and the fuck away from me as soon as possible I want nothing to do with you "

" sooooo thats how you ended up with me " the air in the new room shifted from confusing to happiness as the dual colored male in front of you screamed " THATS AWESOME YOU HAVE SUCH A BADASS BACK STORY "

He jumped up and covered his face dramatically before he spoke "twas a dark night when y/n changed their ways and gave birth to a criminal — a murdering criminal who came to the one and the only — bokuto koutaro the amazingily cool , strong , funny , king of connections — thus creating a beautiful friendship and a dark and powerful villian story "

He smiled at your beat and battered face youd received from your brother a day ago before he spoke again his hair drooping slightly " too much ? "

#haikyuu #haikyuu!! #haikyu x reader #haikyuu daichi #daichi headcanon #daichi angst #daichi x y/n #daichi sawamura #daichi x you #bokutoxreader #bokutou #bokuto #koutarou x you #haikyuu koutarou #hq koutarou #koutarou x reader #koutarou angst #haikyuu kiyoko #hq kiyoko #kiyoko x y/n #kiyoko x reader #kiyoko shimizu #kiyoko scenario

[puckinghell]

idk if your still doing blurbs, their so good btw, but ❝ don’t you dare touch him/her. ❞ with carter hart or nate mac

Normally you love walking your dog, because it means going outside, getting some gentle exercise and watching her living her best life, but it’s a lot less fun when it’s raining this much.

“We might as well just step into the shower,” you grumble as you grab Kitty’s leash. She’s bouncing up and down with excitement, completely unaware of the terrible weather that is waiting for her outside. If she knew, she would probably just run back to the couch.

For such a big dog, she’s stupidly scared of everything, and that includes water of any kind.

Unfortunately you don’t have much of a choice. Dogs need to go outside and you already tried to put it off, having your morning cup of coffee first. But it’s 8am now and Kitty isn’t waiting anymore, her nervous pitter patter making it hard to enjoy your coffee.

The park is close to your apartment. It’s pretty much empty, which isn’t surprising considering the fact that it’s so early in the morning and the weather is this horrific. Big rain droplets are already soaking through your – supposedly water proof – coat, and you’ve stepped in too many puddles to keep your feet dry. You’re pretty sure you’re gonna have to lock Kitty in the bathroom when you get back to save your furniture from being ruined.

Maybe it’s the rain, or the time of day, that has you a little dazed. You’re paying attention, but apparently not enough, because later all you can remember is this:

There’s a movement to your right. Kitty jumps, wags her tail in excitement and pulls. The leash slips from your hands. And suddenly she’s gone, standing by a person who is definitely on the floor.

Oh fuck.

“Kitty!” you call, but she doesn’t listen to you. She usually doesn’t, to be fair, but it’s normally not as bad as now. You run towards the person: when coming closer, it’s very obviously a guy, now sitting up on the pavement.

And he’s petting your dog.

“I’m so sorry,” you exclaim, leaning down next to him. “Are you okay?” You yank on Kitty’s collar, pulling her away from him. “Don’t you dare touch him, Kitty, you’ve done enough damage!”

“Her name is Kitty?” the guy asks curiously, and to your surprise he’s smiling. He doesn’t even look annoyed, which means he’s maybe a psychopath, considering the fact that he tripped over your dog and is now laying on a wet, muddy park trail.

“Yes, and she’s very sorry.”

He laughs. “It’s fine. I’m alive.” He starts crawling up and it’s only when you’re both standing that you realize that he’s really attractive.

Like, stupidly, make-you-forget-how-to-talk attractive. And he’s grinning down at your dog with kind eyes, scratching at her head.

“You might wanna, uhm, go home and change?” You awkwardly motion towards his now wet and muddy clothes. Running clothes.

Was this idiot was going for a jog in this weather?

“Why, you don’t think this look suits me?” His smile is a little lopsided and a little sharp, his eyes fixed on you.

And if you didn’t know any better, you’d swear he’s flirting with you.

To be fair, you think anything would suit this guy. But you can’t very well say that.

“It’s… eclectic?” you decide on, and he laughs brightly.

“Cool. That’s exactly what I hoped pretty girls would say to me when I bought these clothes.”

You’re stunned: he’s definitely flirting with you, which is maybe the most ridiculous encounter you’ve ever had. But he’s also really hot, so it’s also an encounter you’re gonna tell your friends about later.

Then you remember something else.

“Oh! Let me give you my number, I’ll totally pay for your dry cleaning. My name is Y/N, by the way. So you know whose name to put on the bill.” You laugh a little awkwardly, trying to get your phone out of your pocket with wet hands. It’s not as easy as it looks, and when you look up, you’re pretty sure he’s laughing at you.

“Nice to meet you, Y/N,” he says. “I’m Carter. And I’m sure my washing machine can handle this just fine, but thank you.”

“Oh, right.” Stupid offer. Of course he owns a washing machine. Not everyone lives in dingy flats with laundry mats that look like they’ve been murder scenes, after all. “Well, sorry, again. I’ll have a very stern talk with Kitty when we’re home.”

You go to step back, pretty sure he’ll want to go home and get out of those wet clothes, when he holds up a hand, stopping you.

“Hey,” he protests, “I didn’t say I didn’t want your number.”

“Oh. But you said…”

“I said I didn’t need you to pay for my dry cleaning.” Carter raises an eyebrow. “I might want your number for other reasons.”

You’re pretty sure you’re blushing so much you’ve turned the color of tomatoes. And with the rain surely turning your hair into a wet mop, you really don’t get why this guy is interested.

But you’re not about to turn an opportunity like this down.

“Like to see Kitty again,” Carter adds with a grin, and your dog wags her tail in response.

Traitor.

But after all, she did turn your morning into the start of a romantic comedy movie, and you go home with your number in Carter’s phone and a text from him waiting on yours, so you can’t be that mad at her.

In fact, when he calls you later, you slip her an extra treat as a thank you.

#no more requests please! #carter hart #regular blurb #blurb

[mokutone]

,, i dont,, know jackshit about naruto,, but,,,,,,, your watercolor pieces are so good??? like???????? SO GOOD?????

Here's the obligatory ask (since I started trying to use watercolors): are you aware of any tips for that particular medium? Like, are the brushes and watercolor quality really important or is that just my imagination? Also, how 2 mix colors and not die-

LMAO thanks!! I’m glad you think so!

I do have a lot of tips for watercolor, but I’ll start with the material questions. I would say that the quality of the tools can be fairly important, but like, it’s not make or break.

Supplies Information:

Disclaimer: None of this is necessary! You can make great art with any material available to you. All materials have different strengths and weaknesses, but you can create things that bring joy with the most rudimentary of supplies. 

I tend mostly to use liquid watercolors because I find them easier to control and manage (and I just...like working out of little bottles of liquid with eyedroppers. It’s my ink bias), but they have significant drawbacks. Archival speaking? light will bleed all the color out of what I have created eventually! They aren’t built to last. That doesn’t worry me much because I tend to stack all my drawings up and shove them in a drawer when I’m done, but it’s something to keep in mind. I find them easy to mix and manage in the pallet, and easy to reactivate if they dry out 

The brands I use are Dr. PH Martin’s Concentrated/Radiant Watercolor, and Ecoline Watercolor. Between the two, I would recommend Ecoline because they are cheaper, have more consistent texture, and have more in the bottle. Honestly, if the art store near me wasn’t on a huge sale, I never woulda gotten the PH Martins, they’re expensive as hell and just incredibly teeny glass bottles.

BUT, if you want to use watercolor that comes in tubes (which will last longer, give you more options for artistic expression—because the texture ranges from paste to watery, you have all that range to experiment with—and which most watercolor artists prefer in general) there’s a lot more options. The highest quality for the cheapest price I’ve found are the Turner’s watercolor tubes? I don’t always love the texture when I’m wetting the paint because I am picky, but the color is incredibly vibrant, and the prices are incredibly affordable compared to like, schminke or cotman haha. I used these in school and had a great time with them.

Brushes I know a lot less about, like almost nothing honestly, I wish I could give you some concrete advice on brushes but what it really comes down to for me is like, if you like the way it feels in your hand, if you like the way it makes a mark, it’s good. all it exists to do is facilitate You making a mark on the paper with some artistic medium, as long as you are satisfied with it, that’s good. 

If you want brush recommendations though, I’ve been told that Princeton’s watercolor brushes (i have a couple from the Heritage and Velvetouch series) are good synthetic brushes for...moderate prices. Brushes are expensive. Usually people recommend you have a #2 and #4 Round, and a smaller detail brush, but again, really, like all things art it all comes down to your preferences, and your needs. 

Actual Painting Tips:

Take care of yourself! Treat yourself kindly, forgive yourself for making mistakes. I’m dead serious. It’s impossible to avoid making mistakes, and in watercolor the mistakes are really hard to fix, and usually impossible without the use of gouache or something else opaque, so at some point it’s going to become an exercise in forgiving yourself for making those mistakes, like drawing in pen with no under-sketch.  On a good day, I find this therapeutic. On a bad day, it’s maddening. It’s okay not to make art on a bad day. When it comes to something you do because you enjoy it, and want to continue enjoying it, it’s important not to force yourself to do anything you don’t want to, and to take breaks when you feel yourself getting frustrated.

Paint from Lightest color value to Darkest. If you’re going to paint a character with a bit of a rim-light from some golden sunlight, paint that light light yellow first, top to bottom, and then work your way to the darker colors.

If you’re painting on a tilted surface (I’m guilty of keeping my sketchpad or paper block on my knees) paint from top to bottom. The weight of the water will pull the paint down, so you want to work with gravity, not against it! 

Limit yourself. Let yourself only work with one color for a day or so, then only two colors, then only three. When you put yourself in a corner where you don’t have a lot of options, you’ll often find you surprise yourself with what you come up with. Usually, I pick three colors, put them down on my pallet, and leave them there for a week or so, mostly just painting from those colors. It helps me develop a familiarity with how those colors work together, and how they work when I mix them. 

Mixing Colors:

another thing I should say about the Dr.PH Martin’s watercolors is that they don’t always mix well. I tried to get a skin tone for Kakashi once out of pink, green, and a little bit of brown, and in the mixture you could see all of the colors that went into it, and it gave a very strange look. I liked it as a color, but it definitely looked weird.

The paint that you use will have properties specific to itself, and you will get more familiar with those properties as you work it. It may mix smoothly on the pallet, it may not, and both of those can be good if you’re willing to work with them. 

Because of watercolor’s properties, there’s three main ways to mix it:

One: Mixing in the palette. What it says on the tin—you mix the paint, you put it on the paper. I do this one the most, it just takes a lot of familiarity with your paints to get used to the balances that create the colors you want, just lots and lots of playing around.

Two: Mixing dry. This isn’t really “mixing” per se, but it does the same job, Watercolor is a transparent medium, and one that reactivates when wet, so if you put one color over another, it’s about the same as mixing.

Three: Semi-wet mixing. The combination of the two! You can get some weird effects out of this. I use it sparingly, but I love to use it when I do.

The most useful physical tool for me (just me personally) in mixing is a pallet i have, and while it’s fairly cheap and should last like, idk forever, there are other ways to get a similar effect without it, as long as you give yourself space to mix.

it looks like this, it’s a porcelain pallet (so the cleanup is incredibly easy, unlike my plastic one, which unfortunately wants to hold my color a little) and i use it almost daily. The circular wells are for where you put the bulk of the color you will be using, and the rectangular wells are for mixing either with water, to get more translucent colors, or with other colors. The limited wells but excess of mixing space puts pressure on me not to use too many colors, but to mix them constantly. (but also has enough divided space that I don’t feel anxious about everything getting muddied. i am very particular.)

It’s heavy though, and while its therefore good for sitting on my desk and not getting knocked off by my cat or me, it’s not easily portable, especially as it’s uncovered if that's something that is important to you. Blick’s probably has them, as does...I imagine any other art retailer? They’re fairly popular. Usually around 6-8$ but again, none of these tools are necessary, they are just what suit me personally. I hope this helps! If I have the energy for it, at some point I’ll post some basic watercolor exercises to help with control and technical skill. You can get very good with any medium just by raw continuous practice, but my teacher last year had us do a lot of exercises that not only gave me a much greater comfort and confidence with watercolor, but that were also just...incredibly meditative to do.

#it wouldnt be basil mokutone if i didnt turn literally every advice post into an excuse to tell people to treat themselves kindly #something something you are your greatest tool and just as you shouldnt leave your brushes in the water you also shouldnt overwork yourself #i got a lot of my supplies very cheap cause the art store near me was closing so lots of it was extremely discounted so i'm very lucky haha #changeside #watercolor #advice #i genuinely hope this helps folks hahaha i dont wanna come off as like idk presumptuous or preachy #long post /

[empathyfought]

a couple of things now that tfatws has ended.  it had very good moments throughout the show, but i think the pacing + less episodes + amount of plotlines got a bit messy.  some parts weren’t written well, but at the same time i recognize this is fiction, it’s not gonna be perfect, and that for what it’s worth, there was at least some effort made regarding some pretty important issues (which is kinda sad but it is what it is i guess fjksdjkhfasdjk).  anyway, long-ish post under the read more!

sam wilson continually shows just how empathetic and compassionate he is.  in the face of danger, he refuses to fight.  he wants to talk.  he’s not always a ‘punch first, ask later’ kind of guy because he recognizes that not every fight is always about bloodshed.

at the end of the day, he understood karli’s movement, understood her and the flag smashers’ motives.  karli’s death felt far too rushed, but the entire ending felt rushed, so i can’t even complain about it just being one thing.  anyway.  it’s why he brings her body along, why he has to explain to this white man why the hell her fight mattered at the end of the day.  she was treading into terribly dangerous territory, but she was also a misguided, displaced teenager, who had to face unfair life-threatening consequences (herself and her entire found family) upon the return of the blipped, none of which was her, or any of the flag smashers’ fault.

although they stooped low and started to get innocent people killed, it can’t be completely ignored of the hypocrisy that is written into the show and the entirety of the mcu where heroes also will kill or have to sacrifice other lives that aren’t always their own for the sake of the greater good.  it’s a lot of grey area that isn’t explored, mostly because ya know, it’s superheroes, so i’m not expecting much on that front.  like i said, it’s fiction, and though we can point out the irony within some of the writing and motives, holding the show / writers too accountable / at too high standards won’t necessarily change anything because there’s a highly likely chance they don’t think that deep when they write everything, lol.

i think it’s pretty impressive that they showed sam finally go completely vocal against the senator and other foreign leaders.  they didn’t need to incorporate that scene, but it was pretty well written from what i can remember, and i’m glad they finally had him call them out to hold them accountable.  on live television, at that, because unless revealed to the mass public by a figure of ‘justice’ and ‘safety,’ the regular joe isn’t going to exactly enact visible change, especially at a large scale.

aside from that, however, it’s kind of weird that instead of getting a public apology and compensation for isaiah, sam had them only erect a statue in a museum?  this is where it kinda gets muddy and feels ironic again.  the whole thing just feels like a half-assed attempt at reconciliation.  i loved the writing between them as characters, and it was very well acted (i really applaud carl lumbly for his fantastic acting), but in terms of the actual written intention behind it, it just feels very reminiscent of real life where we erect statues of ‘heroes’ as if that changes anything.  it is important that he isn’t forgotten for the suffering he went through, but it’s exactly because of what isaiah was put through that i don’t think a statue in a museum fixes all the wrongdoings the government and military enacted against him.  i think i’m gonna have to kinda retcon this bit sfkmsdj

although sam and bucky worked with jw at the end, i think it’s kinda weird that they just let walker go like that, and though sam can understand walker’s grief, it doesn’t excuse how far he descended into his madness.  he still sees walker as a man too attached to the name, the role of some ‘face’ for america.  safe to say, the next time he meets US agent, he isn’t gonna be too pleased.  jw had a shitty ‘redemption’ arc if that’s what i have to call it.

disappointed i didn’t get a crumb of riley content so i guess i gotta write up my interpretation of riley’s character and influence/history with sam.

also a really big shame we didn’t get much torres content?  he’s supposed to be the next falcon, and it just feels weird that he got like, literally no screentime by the end of the season.  sam wouldn’t have just given him the wings and said “alright buddy off you go bye!”  fdsnjadjhjkasdf he’d probably help him out. sam & torres content pls.

and of course, sharon was done a complete disservice.  her entire character is just… not right.  idk what marvel writers were thinking, but they don’t think half the time, so i can’t say i’m too surprised sdnjshjak

anyway, that’s all i’ve got for now.  thx for coming to my tedtalk.  i will be writing out my post-tfatws verse and whatnot which will obviously be open for plotting.  it’ll likely also end up becoming my default verse because... that’s my captain america!!

#ooc. #tfatws spoilers #mfers before personal / fandom blogs rb this PLEASE DO NOT REBLOG PERSONALS / FANDOM BLOGS #PLEASE #my activity is gonna be flooded pls... do not do it

[satansphatass]

Just like old times - Platonic Tommy x Tubbo

Word count: 1800

Trigger warnings: idk maybe homelessness?

Angst/platonic/fluff

Summary: Tubbo comes to see Tommy in exile.

***

It had been too long since Tubbo had seen his best friend, he still felt bad for exiling him but he had to do what was right for his country. It had been rough the first couple of days, he caught himself turning to tell his right hand man about the animals that he had seen, or a joke that someone had told him, only to be met with silence. It was the hardest decision he had ever made - but it was the right choice, or so he hoped.

He was excited, they would be able to listen to their discs and talk, he could tell Tommy all about his new projects!

He hadn't seen Tommy's new house yet so he didn't really know where he was going but he followed the compass that Wilbur had gifted him: it was his most prized possession, it was in his hand at all times - he couldn't be seen without it. He focused on rowing his little wooden boat, going faster and faster, he couldn't wait to see his best friend - it would be just like old times.

He could see the sillhouette of an island in the distance infront of the beautiful setting sun. He glanced down at his compass, it was pointing in the direction of the island - this must be where Tommy lived!

***

Tommy threw his armour down into the pit, the armour he had worked so hard for, had almost died for - gone. The explosion bought him back to the present, he regretfully looked down into the pit; it had definitely been blown to pieces. The hole was covered in dirt and Tommy looked Dream in his mask eyes.

"Well Tommy, I have errands to run - I'll leave you to it, just follow the rules and nobody will get hurt."

Tommy nodded in understanding having heard this little speech almost everyday since his exile. What he didn't understand was why Dream - his friend, had to leave so soon.

"Can't you stay?" He pleaded "I'm so fucking bored!"

"I've told you Tommy," Dream insisted "I'm busy."

He knew not to disagree, it had caused too many arguments.

He watched as Dream walked off into the distance: going to do god knows what. He walked morosely back to ~tnret~ and pulled out his compass, all he wanted was to see Tubbo - just like old times.

***

Tubbo ran up the shore, only stopping to straighten his tie. He didn't once stop to wonder if Tommy even wanted to see him. He saw a tent on the bank and assumed that was where he lived - it was a bit shabby but he was sure that that was just a temporary home from when he first arrived.

He skipped up to it and opened the flap to see a disheveled looking Tommy laying on his bed, staring up at the top of the tent.

He paused.

"Tommy?"

"Go away," he said "I know you're just in my head - Tubbo doesn't want to see me."

Tubbo stared at him, was that really what Tommy thought? Had he gone insane?

"No big man! I'm right here!"

He just rolled onto his side, ignoring the president. Tubbo pushed his legs to the side and sat on the bed, he placed a hand on his back - feeling him tense up under his touch.

"Is that really you?"

"Yeah man - It's me!"

Tommy looked up at him through blurred eyes, and walked off. Tubbo sat there in confusion, was he not happy to see him? He jumped up and followed the taller boy, he was sat on the beach looking longingly into the water.

"What's your deal dude? I thought you would like to see me."

Tommy looked up with an exasperated look on his face,

"You exiled me!"

"It was best for the country!"

"I thought we were friends." he said in a broken voice.

Tubbo sat down next to him, "We are, Your my best pal!"

He pulled him in for a hug, expecting resistance as usual but he slumped right into him. He was cold to the touch and his skin had a pinkish tone to it.

"Why don't we get somewhere warm?"

Tommy nodded and accepted his hand - following him to Logsteadshire. He entered the little blue house that Wilbur had built and sat down at his table, Tubbo sitting opposite him. He looked up to see Tubbo giving him a concerned look.

"Are you okay man? You're looking kinda rough."

"I'm fine." he snapped.

Tubbo gave him a proper look down, his hair was all grown out and covered in filth. His eyes had lost their blue vibrancy and had dark purple bags under them, his clothes were all ripped and filthy. His shoes had floppy soles and his cheeks were sunken in.

"No, you're not. Let's get you fixed up."

He opened up his bag and pulled out his knife ANd FuCKinG sTabBEd HiM jk, he tugged at strands of Tommy's hair and chopped some of the matted parts off, hoping to tidy it up a bit. He then wiped some of the muck off of his face and attempted to stitch up the rips in his clothes - he always carried a needle and thread, it was in his little emergency bag that he carried everywhere - 'you never know what you might need!' he constantly argued.

By the time he was finished, he did look a little better but still not the Tommy he knew. The Tommy he knew had fluffy blond hair that he loved to place flowers in. The Tommy he knew had bright blue eyes that shone in the dark. The Tommy he knew was always happy.

It was starting to get slightly darker now and he could see some mobs off in the distance, just past the barrier of torches that kept them out. He adjusted his sword, just incase.

"Why don't you put on your armour Tommy? There might be some skeletons hidden in the forest, just waiting for someone."

"Don't be so paranoid all the time."

"I'm not! I just don't want you to get hurt!"

This struck something deep in Tommy, if he didn't want him to get hurt then why did he exile him? Why did he send him away with nothing but a few pieces of 'blue'? Why did nobody come to check on him?

The only person who cared was Dream.

“I don’t have any armour.” he said shortly.

"Why not? You've been here for ages now!"

Ages?! How did he not know how long they had been apart? Had he not been counting? Tommy had been marking down the days - the days he spent all alone. It had been 2 months 3 weeks and 5 days. Almost 3 months since he had seen his best friend. He had been counting down the days, he thought that Tubbo would come to see him every week! every day! That's what best friends did, wasn't it? What could be more important than him?

He swallowed his questions and insecurities.

"Dream takes it."

"Why? He has his own - what does he need it for?!"

"He blows it up, so I can't try anything."

Tubbo stared at him astonished.

"That's not right Tommy, I asked him to escort you and that's it! He shouldn't be doing all- all that!"

"It's fine Tubbo," he insisted "Dream's my friend."

"No he's not! He- he's manipulating you!"

Of course he wasn't, Dream was his friend. He had helped him with everything! He owed it all to Dream. He had helped organise the beach party - the beach party that only he had showed up to. He had even helped him and Ghostbur build Logsteadshire!

Dream wasn't manipulative, was he?

"Dream's my friend." He repeated weakly.

"Can't you see Tommy? That's not what a friend does! I've never done that!"

That was true, Tubbo had never taken his stuff. But had he been with him during the hardest time of his life?

No, instead he had exiled him from his home.

"Then why didn't you come to see me?"

He couldn't really answer that question, why hadn't he? Sure, he had been busy with L'manburg - but there were plenty of other people that could've stepped in for him. He had been laughing and having a good time while Tommy was stuck alone, alone with Dream.

He felt rotten.

"I'm sorry man... I was- busy."

"Busy with what?"

He paused, "L'manburg."

"Oh. I see."

The disappointment in his voice was worse than if he had been angry. He felt like he had done something wrong. He hadn't, had he?

It was for L'manburg.

They stayed in silence for a bit longer, the silence that they used to experience without it being awkward.

He felt as if he barely knew the blond boy next to him.

"What do you want to do?" He asked hesitantly.

Tommy paused and suddenly pulled out a disc - chirp, Tubbo's favourite.

"We can listen to it, just like old times!"

Seeing the sudden glow on Tommy's filthy face made him incapable of saying no - he just wanted his best friend back, happy, outgoing and blunt. None of this closed off and quiet bullshit.

He jumped up and ran off outside. Tubbo quickly followed in pursuit, giggling in excitement.

He found Tommy sat at the back of his beat-up tent next to a jukebox. He quickly flopped to the floor - his formal jacket getting a bit muddy.

He dropped the black and red disc into the box and waited for the music to start up. The upbeat tune suddenly filled his ears - he closed his eyes and reminisced over all times they had sat watching the sunset together on that little bench by L'manburg.

He slowly opened his eyes to see the sunset slowly dipping past the horizon, his mouth quirked up in a smile.

It was just like old times.

#tommyinnit #tommy and tubbo #tubbo myct #tubbo #tubbolive #mcytumblr #tommy mcyt

[scrapyardboyfriends]

It all went downhill imo when Iain Macleod left. He wasn't even my favourite producer; Kate Oakes was, but the show's been going downhill since 2018 imo. I'm also not pleased at their recent abuse storylines, particularly the grooming storyline. Idk what it is, but it's like they need to do more research or just be more conscious. There have been grooming storylines in soaps like Hollyoaks and Eastenders and I found those storylines to be less problematic and more organised.

I don’t disagree with you. But Iain had a lot of faults as a producer and Kate had them too.

I feel like Kate was the best at general story pacing. I mean look at Aaron’s abuse story. That was only like four months, which felt like a better length compared to the Paul story which dragged on for a year even if part of that was due to covid. But Kate also had her flare for the dramatics with her Wild Thursday doubles that you’d often have to try and erase from your mind by the following week. I mean...the hitman, the lodge, the scrapyard rant? Haha. Sometimes it was a lot. She was also decent at the big event episodes and I feel like her character interaction levels were okay. She did have a habit of breaking up some big couples that felt like a mistake. Zak and Lisa never truly recovered from the Joanie debacle. And Paddy certainly never recovered after Tess.

Iain was great at the big event episodes for the most part. I mean he gave us ssw 2016. But his day to day stuff was often repetitive and he had terrible pacing problems with his stories. They would drag on forever. And the characters were very isolated in his years.

With the latest team...they just have a lot of issues. I still feel like three producers was not a good idea. I still think a singular vision is a better plan. Unless people really work well together. I think about the only good thing they did was fix some of Iain’s character isolation and making the village feel more villagy but that has been totally ruined by covid this past year. And obviously covid has affected their story pacing but it’s still not good otherwise.

I think the worst part is that they are just overall bad storytellers, particularly in their conclusions. Stories either fizzle out and disappear or they have very lackluster conclusions. And their big event episodes often just feel very forced or unexciting.

With the abuse stories that you mentioned, you’re right, they have been disappointing. I feel like this team has this flare for the melodramatic when it comes to some of these things that should be told in a slightly more straightforward manner and not be so soapy. The Maya story illustrates that problem very well. The big night out stuff was kind of entertaining but was any of it necessary? It just made it so she got away with the worst of it. And then they spent a lot of time focusing on David when they should have been focusing on Jacob. And I don’t feel like they ever truly got through to him in any kind of meaningful scenes. Just one day he was like “okay I guess it wasn’t good??” I don’t know. It was very weird. And then the whole dropping the baby on their doorstep and it being David’s was just truly bizarre because I still just do not see the point. Like I think they’ve done some interesting things with David and Leyla since then with how it all still affects them but that doesn’t mean the initial story ended well at all. Overall it was just a very muddy story and it did not need to be.

With the Paul stuff, it’s been a bit more straight forward which is good. It’s just dragged on too long and been very repetitive and the motivations are sometimes a bit questionable. I hope that this week with the funeral and hopefully Vinny coming out of his denial phase, that maybe they can have some definitive closure on everything for him as they move into perhaps a more recovery phase.

Anyway, as I’ve said, I think it’s definitely time for a new producer because this team has never seemed like they know what they’re doing and I think it’s time the show has some fresh ideas.

#emmerdale complaints corner #current emmerdale