#;;This blog we ignore that scene from Hollow

[overleftdown]

farleigh analysis PART 3, because i might as well do the entire movie at this point. i'm locked in. this is going to cover the early-saltburn summer era. AKA, oliver's once in a lifetime, hand job on a haybale, golden big boy summer. everything after venetia and oliver's sex scene is in another post on my blog. this one is pretty short.

[0:34:42] (they're watching superbad. teehee.)

farleigh looks borderline revolted in the background of this shot, which is so funny to me. superbad is, in my opinion, notoriously rude. the comedy is hollow, childish, homophobic, etc. even seth rogan admits that the movie is tone deaf and aged horribly. that's neither here nor there, though. all i'm saying is that i can't imagine farleigh would enjoy the movie as a queer person.

[0:35:19] elsbeth: is that right, he had to put his fingers down his mother's throat to make her sick? farleigh: yeah. felix: farleigh, that's private stuff! farleigh: well, you told us. felix: in confidence!

when elsbeth initially asks the question, she's looking directly at farleigh. yet, when felix confronts farleigh about discussing private matters, farleigh responds with "well, you told us." meaning the family, i assume. felix had no issue with elsbeth and pamela discussing oliver's home life until farleigh was very moderately involved. it's odd to me. and yes, felix is the one that told them. moral superiority, or something. having someone to blame, even when you enabled their gossiping in the first place.

[0:35:34] elsbeth: we should give him the most wonderful time! farleigh: good luck, he doesn't smile much. elsbeth: farleigh seems to think he's ghastly. why are you friends with him, darling?

really, you can tell that elsbeth likes farleigh. she respects his opinion to a certain extent. i also talked about the tutor scene in part 2, and how i consider the "style over substance" debate a metaphorical parallel to farleigh over oliver. here, farleigh once again points out the style of oliver's social interactions: he doesn't smile much. when you look at this from a social and... neurotypical perspective, lacking a smile during conversation can mean a lot of negative things. farleigh seems to have a dedicated focus on arbitrary social expectations, largely because he has to.

[0:35:33] farleigh: and here he is now! we were just talking about you. elsbeth: don't be silly! farleigh, you just make up the most awful things. of course we weren't!

once again, in traditional catton fashion, farleigh is scolded for saying doing something that contrasts the cattons saviorism. obviously oliver knew they were talking about them. i can't blame elsbeth for attempting to backtrack, but "farleigh, you just make up the most awful things" is a weirdly unnecessary throat punch. she's stepping on farleigh to appear taller, if you will. at 0:36:34, when elsbeth asks oliver to sit by her, farleigh looks so exceptionally irritated. he rolls his eyes, looks back towards his computer, and sighs dramatically. wonderful. he's so sick and tired.

[0:37:20] elsbeth: i've lost so many friends to addiction. so, so many dear, dear friends. it's the root of poor pamela's horrors too, i'm afraid. farleigh: and the only interesting thing about her. elsbeth: farleigh! no, she is rather dull, actually. but she's so beautiful. you have to admit, she's very beautiful.

elsbeth and her obsession with physical appearances. once again, style over substance. and her outrage at farleigh refusing to soften the blow on his statements, before following it with her own (albeit less crude) dig at pamela. style over substance. wouldn't it a little uncanny, a little scary, to be the only person of color in a household that places physical appearance on such a high pedestal? especially a household as ignorant as the cattons. that's just conjecture, though. oliver has the ability to manipulate a space for himself in the family without sacrificing any of the qualities he began with. he never really smiles more, throughout the summer. he never really loses his signature awkwardness, his imposing energy.

[0:40:05] elsbeth: you know we're delighted to have you for however long it is you mean to stay. farleigh: forever...? pamela: oh, no. i think i might have, erm, found somewhere. elsbeth: oh, well done, darling! james: oh, good!

right after james says "good," you can see farleigh turning to look at him. prompting james to drop the hatchet on pamela's prolonged stay at saltburn, i'm assumng. this is what's interesting to me, i think. again, farleigh lacks the drive to play the same game as oliver. farleigh doesn't want to nurture the charitable actions of the cattons. farleigh believes the other guests at saltburn take up the space that he would otherwise fill. just like at oxford, when felix is sitting with someone else, farleigh is discarded. when elsbeth invited oliver to sit next to her, farleigh looks annoyed. the cattons capacity for attention and kindness is depressingly small. farleigh isn't playing chess, he's trying to win by sheer survival of the fittest.

for the next few, brief scene of farleigh and oliver interacting, oliver repeatedly proves that he does his research. i can't get over it, to be honest. neither can farleigh; if looks could kill, oliver would've been dead within 10 minutes of arriving at saltburn. the methods farleigh and oliver uses to remain relevant in the catton catalogue are so wildly different. farleigh, who uses his personality and social skills to keep the cattons entertained and charmed by him. i'm sure he loves to gossip with elsbeth, wine and dines with venetia, and he clearly does everything in his power to stay glued to felix's side throughout the school year. this is someone who has never considered manipulating the cattons; he just wants to be one of them, and he wants it to be easy. can you blame him?

#saltburn 2023 #saltburn #farleigh start #oliver quick #felix catton #elsbeth catton #rararararara #i'm off the henny or something like that #yipee! #movies :P

[a-mag-a-day]

Thoughts about mag56: rant version.

Ok, first at all, i genuinely don't understand how many people on this relisting are—upset? With Jon reaction towards Martin, in one part i can understand on how, even in much later on the series is never fully discussed Jonathan's heated to Martin, some people are ignoring the fact our protagonist aren't exactly on a healthy mindset on this point, our guy is paranoid, is tired and has recently discovered he's into something so much bigger than just Prentiss incident, is volatile, has flaws as everyone on tma, some are forgetting that this show on its core, is broken people.

I don't excuse or something like that his character, but understand that on his situation: is on point, has sense on the narrative.

And before someone's says this, no, im not invalidating your own thoughts on this episode, but this is my personal take.

Set this aside, now /the actual thoughts/

"All I know is, these days I can almost smell the blood coming off them." We can now put Trevor on alignment char, Hunt guy :")

Out of context but before doing my own relistings motivated by this blog, i got my boyfriend started listening to tma and he can't still get away this guy is named Trevor and is a hunter, vampire hunter. . . Sounds familiar with certain saga of games, huh🤔

"The fact that I was able to kill normal people reassures me that the creatures I hunt are real. Do you understand?" you sure that is justified, my fine homeless sir?

"Heroin is calm. It’s a small chunk of peace in a world that’s full of nothing but hard edges[...]" On now, random information about drugs: Heroin is an opioid drug made from morphine, a natural substance taken from the seed pod of the various opium plants, so indeed, one of the normal reactions on the effect is this sense of calm

"Perhaps if my mind hadn’t been so fogged with brown I might have beaten it out, or perhaps if I hadn’t been so dead eager to kill another vampire[...]" Our Hunt guy khows very well something's off, not with the world around, but with this thirst on hunting down, on killing, at least is a realisation.

" After that I spent over a decade in a very serious spiral. I don’t remember much of it[...]" Fuzzy feeling and memory gaps are part of getting out of the hunt? 🤔

First, worm paranoid lady and now we have human disguise to spiders !! Amazings costumes tho

"She was still standing upright, but from the open mouth, I could see that her body was completely hollow, save for a few cobwebs that I could just make out under the streetlights." Okey but guys, TRY TO imagine this scene, is the most raw thing ever.

"But if there’s other stuff around out there… maybe you know more about it than me." Don't worry Trevor, my guy, this guys totally understand and khows very much

"As for the spider person, the only proof of its existence seems to be that I am far too unlucky for it to simply be an old tramp hallucination." Jon my brother you are indeed the clown of luck

MARTIN: I was 17, my mum, she had – she had some problems and I ended up dropping out of school trying to support us. –> I always forgot this fact that Martin lived really an unpleasant family situation, there's in the whole series just hints on his more personal life, but always give me the most sad ideas:(

" [slight laugh] Right, I–I… uh… I believe you. " Man is to broke and tired, he needs to believe anything that resembles to normality.

I get where you're coming from and I get where other people come from. Different people react differently to Jon's outburst and that's perfectly valid, this podcast has dark themes that touch people personally in different ways, especially when it pertains to the characters they love and sympathize with <3

#a mag a day #tma #the magnus archives #episode asks #mod ashes #tma spoilers #mag 56 #serazephyr

[blimbo-buddy]

Uhm... This 2,514 word long ask is what I'm apologizing for. We're having fun. It's so dandy to be part of the Warriors community. Golly gee, I'm so happy to be here. (vibrating)

Well, I can say that this has convinced me to make a blog for this AU because I refuse to allow canon to exist... and maybe because I've been drawing a TurtleBumble PMV. My art ain't the best, but I am a goober who does not care.

Also, congrats on your graduation!!!

A little fun fact: Bumble asking Turtle Tail about daffodils is a reference to, "Open your eyes. They're more precious than daffodils. I need you to open them.", which is seen in Part 1. I'm also a Flower Nerd™, hence why I immediately went, "I CAN REFERENCE THIS SO HARD."

I'm... going into essay territory, BUT- I beg you to bare with me. Or just ignore my ranting and pop down to Was I Wrong?

TW for trauma, abuse, death, xenophobia, and abandonment.

Spoilers for Dawn of the Clans: Thunder Rising.

I need to just... rant for a second because I had the displeasure of rereading The Sun Trail and Thunder Rising this morning. Good gods is the writing horrendous. I have so many qualms with the writing in general, but gods... Dawn of the Clans is really just like a problematic fave if we added in every toxic trait we could source.

I'M SORRY CANON?!

So, I was under the impression that it was Turtle Tail saying: "I'm sorry if I ever hurt you." BUT NO? GET THIS FOLKS: THAT'S BUMBLE REPLYING TO TURTLE TAIL. EXCUSE ME??? EX-FUCKING-CUSE? Okay, canon, fuck you too. We can't even get Turtle Tail apologizing for what she did. Gee, thanks, Erins.

Y'all wanna read this scene in full? Yeah, here we go. (Notice that Turtle Tail is replying.)

Turtle Tail turned away, her tail drooping, as Clear Sky vanished into the ferns. She crouched beside Bumble, avoiding the spreading pool of blood, and began licking her head gently. “I’m here,” she murmured between licks. “I won’t leave you.” Bumble fixed her eyes on Turtle Tail’s face. “I’m sorry if I ever hurt you,” she whispered. “I wish you could have found happiness,” Turtle Tail replied, her voice quivering. “I know you could never have lived wild with us in the hollow, but I was so unhappy to learn how much you were suffering in the Twolegplace.”

You left her, Turtle Tail. You abandoned her. Bumble, even at her death, is apologizing to you. When it's her who deserves all of the apologies. Bumble, sweetie, they- they abandoned you. Gods, that makes it so bittersweet how I wrote it like canon; Turtle Tail never apologized.

Bumble's last canon words are, "I'm sorry if I ever hurt you."

HOOH BOY.

Well, here's at least one slay moment before we get into below. I actually like Turtle Tail saying this in regards to Clear Sky hurting Bumble. (IF WE WEREN'T LISTENING TO GRAY WING MOPING ABOUT EVERYONE HATING CLEAR SKY SAD UWU)

“I do,” she growled, all her neck fur fluffed up. “I believe you could do this. Since I returned to the moor, I’ve heard nothing but horrible stories about the way you treat other cats. You’re power-mad, Clear Sky. You don’t care who you hurt to get what you want. And now... you’re not the cat I came down from the mountains with. You’re...” She switched her tail to and fro. “You’re an apology for a cat.”

I will say that I also (accidentally) stuck to canon in a way because...

“I wanted to give her a warning,” Clear Sky went on. “Nothing too painful, just a little cuff around her kittypet ear. How was I to know she was so weak from hunger that she would faint? But I could see her paws twitching, and I knew she would come around soon. So I left her and headed back to camp.” He paused, wincing. “Then I heard a fox bark, and I ran back. But I was too late. I was going to get help when I heard you all arrive.” “Liar!” Turtle Tail spat out the word, shouldering Gray Wing out of the way to confront Clear Sky. Her back was arched and her pelt bristling with fury

I wish I could say in regards to all of this, "At least you did this much, canon Turtle Tail," but I can't. Erins, this doesn't make me forgive her. She messed up. Confronting Clear Sky doesn't make me go, "Oh, it's okay that you threw away your friend and was extremely xenophobic!"

I want to add that only 4 paragraphs after - one of which Clear Sky snarled, "I won't be spoken to like that!", despite having injured Bumble horribly, then in another went to leave - Turtle Tail has the scene with Bumble. Like???

Imagine calling someone who inflicted deadly wounds on your friend a liar and he goes, ">:0 how dare you??", then you just... turn and walk away??? There's not even a moment where Turtle Tail yells at Clear Sky or anything. Pebble Heart doesn't come over and say, "Turtle Tail, she's not going to make it." It just hops over to her death scene.

I HAVE MORE TO SAY, BUT THAT'S FOR ANOTHER TIME.

(Note: Canon says, "We buried Bumble and came home," so... Good job, you guys, you buried her and let her murderer leave without consequence.)

Gray Wing

Side note before I get into this: Gray Wing, according to the Wiki, died at approx. 30 moons old??? Huh???

What I think is worse about Gray Wing than Clear Sky and Tom is that the narrative makes him the good guy. He is not demonized in any way, unlike the two aforementioned toms. While he didn't cause the blood to spill, he defended the murderer.

He looked at a dying cat and thought to himself, "I'm worried that my brother's deserved reputation will plummet further." He pities himself. He doesn't pity Turtle Tail for losing a friend. He doesn't care that someone is dying. There is a sickening lack of empathy.

Gray Wing should be seen for what he's done. His mistakes are there. He has made mistakes that can't be forgiven. Yet, instead of acknowledging it, we're told that he's right. Turtle Tail doesn't even get a voice in the debate, but she's seen as being on the "right side."

Erins, I am begging you to acknowledge that good people can be WRONG. It's okay to have the good people be wrong! Fatal flaws often are so important, because that flaw can also be their greatest shield.

In my mind, Gray Wing's fatal flaw is that he cannot see the flaws within his family. He blames others when things get out of hand. Deep down, he knows how wrong he is, but he swears to himself that family could never lie to him despite being lied to again and again. This stems from the rough life he led and everything going on.

We never see his father mentioned. Being fatherless doesn't excuse one's actions (this is coming from someone whose biological father is unknown), but is can help to explain them. My personal take is that, shortly after Quiet Rain got pregnant, Gray Wing's father lost his life due to a lack of prey. The death hit Gray Wing in the gut because he didn't expect to lose someone so quickly. Then, losing Fluttering Bird on top of his father made him protective of those he considers family.

Although, he definition of protective is toxic. He thinks protecting is constantly forgiving. He thinks protecting is hating anyone who breaks his happy life apart. He thinks protecting is loving without a second thought.

With all of this talk of Gray Wing, I think it's time we see into his head.

Was I Wrong?

Blame.

Does it truly settle onto his shoulders?

Gray Wing rolls over in his nest. He gathered the moss today and made sure to fluff it, yet it feels as if a thousand burrs are clinging to it. An anxious sigh pours out of his maw as Turtle Tail's furious face comes to mind. His paw gingerly touches where the spit had flown onto. It stings more than when he's left wheezing and straining to breathe.

He screws his eyes shut, hoping that it'll block out the intrusive thoughts beginning to leak into his ears. Instead, it opens the floodgates...

"Is mom going to come home tonight?" Sparrow Fur asks, ducking her head. She prods the plump mouse laying at her paws as a hopeful expression perks up on her face. "Owl Eyes and I were super lucky to catch this and I..." She trails off and glances off to the side.

In her place, Owl Eyes pipes up with, "We thought it would be a good meal to give to her! Since... Since mom's been sad."

Gray Wing's heart sinks into his chest as he looks at the pair. The hope in their eyes is fading with every moment of silence that passes. Pain tightens in his chest. That kittypet's death has left a horrible mark on life. He always wanted her to be out of their life, but...

"I found some!" Pebble Heart suddenly cuts in, a slight smile on his face. It looks as though he got stung by a bee as one cheek is swollen. "Where's mom? I want to give her the honey I found."

Owl Eyes glances up at Gray Wing before sighing. "She's not coming." He bluntly states, his claws digging into the ground. His shoulders hunch over as a whimper pries itself from his lips. "She's not coming because..." He looks up at Gray Wing, an uncharacteristic amount of disdain in his eyes.

Gray Wing stiffens as the claws of panic dig into his pelt. Before he can stammer out a question, the three all share the same heartbroken expression before turning away. His jaw drops and hardens into that position. All he can grasp is that his paws are shaking and the world is whirling.

First it was Turtle Tail being upset, then his kits...

His gut twists uncomfortably as his fur heats. A wheezy cough forces itself out of his lungs. The pain, for once, is a comforting force and it dulls the unwanted questions prowling in his mind. Yet the pain fades away too quickly, like it was only a burr that had been ripped out.

All he was saying is the truth. Clear Sky said that it was a fox. It must have been an odd fox is all. One who treated its prey like a chew toy then ran off...

"When did you get fleas for brains, Gray Wing?" Jagged Peak, who used to stare up at him with admiration, snarls. "He's selfish. Clear Sky isn't an innocent kit you can!-"

Tall Shadow's tail swishes over Jagged Peak's muzzle. "Enough." She meows, her voice growing stony. "Gray Wing, we have much to discuss." With those few words, she bows her head and pads off to the side.

The nest irritates his skin enough to bring him to his paws. It isn't wrong of him to believe his littermate. Clear Sky is his flesh-and-blood. Even if there have been some... issues... with how Clear Sky is doing things, he just needs another chance to be believed.

Clear Sky must be hurting. It takes time to heal wounds and forgiveness makes them heal faster.

Gray Wing steps out of his den, letting the biting winds blow against his fur. He focuses his gaze onto the starry night sky as a soft sigh parts from his lips.

Clear Sky has lost many cats. He too lost a father and sister back in the mountains. On their journey, he lost his mate and unborn kits. Then, when he came here, he lost another mate and kits... It's been a struggle for Thunder, his only remaining kit, and him to connection.

"Every cat suffers, Gray Wing." Wind Runner's chiding voice rings in his ears. She had hissed those words softly before stalking away in silence. At the time, he stared after her in confusion, but now he can hear his own mind add onto her sentence.

Suffering isn't an excuse to be evil.

He digs his claws into the ground, his heart aching deeply. What would Quiet Rain say if she learned of everything Clear Sky has done? Surely, she would understand, right? Clear Sky... It's another world here. The logic of the forest is different than the mountains.

Drawing back her lips, Turtle Tail yowls, "Excuses! All you're good for is excuses!"

"I don't make excuses." He mutters, but he can hear his tone faltering as he watches ugly gray clouds begin to cover the pale full moon. Squeezing his eyes shut, he forces his head down. "Clear Sky is a good cat. He isn't... He isn't clouded with evil."

Gray Wing says, yet his brother abandoned his son. He abandoned Thunder. There are many monsters in the forest, but...

His mouth grows dry as every word he said about Clear Sky rings in his mind. He never gives those excuses or help to others.

Not even to a cat seeking - no, begging for - their aid.

Yet to Clear Sky, he keeps giving and giving despite his brother only being capable of taking.

Though... Could he have really been so wrong...? He has always thought of himself as wise, but does reality disagree with him?

A wise cat would have probably realized by now that Turtle Tail was suffering. Her eyes, despite the hate burning within them, were glossy and despairing. If he stayed a moment longer, he is sure she would have torn his pelt off.

She wasn't the cat I fell in love with.

He cringes at the sneering thought haunting his brain. His ears flatten and he swiftly shakes his head, trying to shoo it away. No, she is. It's just... She has hit a rough patch...

"If that kittypet died some..." The words die in his throat as his eyes snap open. He stares down at his trembling paws. Life drains from his body. Everything shrinks around him, pulling him away from the warmth of his pelt.

"Or is it because it's better for you if Bumble is dead?" Turtle Tail's words echo in his ears.

Every little sound surrounding him makes him want to scream. The cicadas are too noisy. The crickets are annoying. The breathing of the cats in the camp is overwhelming. No. He doesn't want to hear it.

It's not what he wanted.

He just wanted to give Turtle Tail the love she deserved. He does love her! He loves... He loves Turtle Tail, alright? That's all there is to it. She's very precious to him. Her kits are his kits now.

For a cat who says he loves her, an instructive voice in his head starts with a sneer, You never asked if she's okay. You never asked at all. Not a single time.

First off: I would 100% follow an au blog following this, Second off: Thanks anon!, Third off: Holy shit wait how did I not catch that bit about the daffodils, anon you genius

Dotc is the poorest excuse of an arc I've ever had the misfourtune of learning about. You're right, that line where it's BUMBLE apologizing to TURTLETAIL and not the other way around sucks ass, I don't know which writer thought that was a good idea to write in after what TurtleTail did. You stuck to canon in a way with the ClearSky bit, yes, but the thing is is that we aren't seeing this through GreyWing's pov and thus we don't get those bullshit little moments where GreyWing is like "Oh no people won't like my brother now :( oh.. boohoo". So the scene is not at all infuriating to read, unlike the canon scene, this version's narrative does not try to pity ClearSky in any way. The writers really did not know what to do with TurtleTail, they completely fucked up her writing and make her unlikable all of a sudden, destroying her friendship with Bumble for… no reason. I don't want to extend this bit too much so I'll just end this part off with this: Yeah GreyWing is such a piece of shit.

So already off to a great start, gotta love seeing that asswipe not being able to relax himself and his mind. As much as I hate GreyWing, it's good to see that the story and writing isn't anti-adoption just as the canon books are, the text acknowledges the three cats as his children instead of pulling a "Tom is our REAL father and not GreyWing despite the latter looking after us all of our lives. GreyWing will NEVER be our father because we aren't biologically related and that matters apparently.". I love how the text "All he was saying is the truth. Clear Sky said that it was a fox. It must have been an odd fox is all. One who treated its prey like a chew toy then ran off…" comes across as it directly telling us what GreyWing is thinking about. But even then, both the text and GreyWing struggle to find truth in those words that ClearSky had stated, unlike the canon where GreyWing blindly believes him and doesn't second guess. Some of the bits also make us acknowledge GreyWing's fatal flaw in his character, that he's too much of a spineless coward to even doubt ClearSky because he believes that their biological familial relationship is most important if that makes sense. All characters in the series believe that blood relations is everything which then leads into the anti-adoption messages (See how TurtleTail's three kids suddenly do a 180 on how they feel about Tom when they learn he is their biological father). But this is a fault of the writers. GreyWing is spineless and can't/doesn't want to admit that his brother is a monster, over and over again, to the point where it ends up getting people killed.

"Suffering isn't an excuse to be evil." this is something that feels as though this is directly talking to us, the readers. To criticize those who believe that those who have suffered one way or another is some kind of excuse to - in ClearSky's case - start wars that kill plenty of cats, humilate and mock the injured, and attack a defenseless, starving kittypet. GreyWing is foolish to think that anybody would try to even attempt to understand ClearSky, with all of the pain he's caused, GreyWing needs to learn this somehow. That is his flaw. He silently denies to himself that he is trying to make excuses for ClearSky because his mind truly believes that this cat - a cat who's responsible for the death of many cats- isn't "clouded by evil". GreyWing needs to realize the truth. And he finally does. What's also a flaw in him is that he now only realizes that ClearSky is awful because of one cat who he is related to, Thunder. As if the plentiful array of deaths of the innocent wasn't proof enough, GreyWing only seems to care about it when he is affected in some kind of way. He realizes ClearSky is horrible, yes, but the way he goes about realizing this yet again shows us that he only cares about something bad if it affects him in some way. The text implies towards this, and it's great and relieving to read. Though for GreyWing, it's a step in the right direction as he realizes his fault of making up excuse after excuse for his war-mongering brother and only his brother, not anybody else. God, and the line that mocks GreyWing's title of "GreyWing the Wise" is so fucking clever and brilliant, "A wise cat would have probably realized by now that Turtle Tail was suffering." Goddamn and then it feels like right after that, GreyWing is trying to pull some kind of guilt attempt in his mind with the "She wasn't the cat I fell in love with.", as if she has changed in a negative way, yet again, another flaw with him. Everything GreyWing has ever excused and defended is like it all hits him hard like he's being struck by a train and it causes distress in him. "It's not what he wanted." like he is talking to himself in third person, but if he did not want that to happen, then why didn't he step in and defend Bumble, why did he let the poor kittpet be escorted out and back to a place of abuse? Because GreyWing is spineless and selfish. The instructive voice in his head is right, if he loved TurtleTail, then why did he never ask if she was okay. Perhaps, he doesn't love her.

This is such an interesting entry in this entire line of stories, we get a perspective of the worst main character in the series, and the text knows this too. It criticizes him and his thoughts, pointing out his fatal personality flaws and his urge to immediately defend his horrible brother, because he believes that their blood relation is everything, that he NEEDS to defend his biological brother. This is cowardly and the text knows it. GreyWing is still able to brush off even TurtleTail's feelings when Bumble had died, only ever caring about how ClearSky felt. It's like we are reading canon GreyWing, except this time, and thankfully this time, the text does not support him, it is against him. Once again Anon, you've done something really great and interesting here, I've said this plenty of times and I'll say it plenty more.

#blimbo rambles #ask #sorry if there's grammatical errors I'm a little tired #abuse tw #abuse mention #once again if you need anything else tagged just let me know

[animefreak1145]

Adler and The Lip Thing ™

I don’t know if no one else has noticed this, but two days ago I really had an epiphany.

Each time Adler is concentrated on something—acutely focused and requires an action—he presses his lips as he does it.

Credit: @collinnmckinley

Dad move. This is where it’s the most prominent and I believe the most memorable one since we all seem to simp for Dadler and his moves.

Credit: @hollow-epitaph

Ah yes. When he jabbed a needle in our eye(you’re a horrible doctor, you’re supposed to let the eye rest but than you expect us to aim and shoot). You could barely see it, but I caught the twitch of his lips and looked at the gif multiple times to see—that yes, he is pressing his lips as I am panicking about a huge sharp object stabbing into my orbs and wondering what the heck is going on.

And than I thought of other moments he does it.

Credit: @hollow-epitaph

You can barely tell due to it being dark, but he does it again right before he jumps. A little automatic bodily action to prepare him for what he’s about to do when jumping off a moving train. It’s cute.

@hollow-epitaph

Aim down your sights, sir!

Credit: @queennymeria

This isn’t really anything. I just like how his lips move here. A quick press, a little smack as if savoring the hot, dry rich taste of the cigarette. You can savor our lips too, sir. And I always wonder each time I see this gif/scene what Adler and Bell were talking about. Like why are you looking at me like that? Are we just in companionable silence? And he just happens to do that with his lips when he’s looking RIGHT at you? As if staring into your soul.

What are you doing to me, Russell Adler?

Maybe he was concentrated and focused solely on Bell for whatever reason. Let’s ignore it’s probably cause Bell is coming out of it from drugs.

Credit: @queennymeria

This one and the next one are my favorite. Because no, he doesn’t seem to do The Lip Thing™️ only when concentrated. He also does it in approval. (He also nods in approval here and only does it one other time to you back when you get Volkov). He only does this here and one other time from what I remember/noticed.

Credit: @collinnmckinley

I lied. He nods in approval to you and does the lip thing here too. A double Wammy. So he nods to Bell in approval three times(maybe one more or another time but I don’t remember, feel free to add if you guys know). Leave me alone, I have a thing when he praises us or approves in any type of way.

The reason I was able to recognize all this is cause my Abuela(may she Rest In Peace) always did the same thing. A little tick you would say, each time she would grab or measure something. The most hilarious one was when she cuts—each time she does the cutting motion she relaxes her lips only to tighten it again with each cut.

Anyways, thank you for coming to my Ted Rant Talk.

@salvija @smokeywhalee @darlingor @adlerboi @efingart @quizzyisdone @zulema117-blog @ms-adler

Update: I missed one

Credit: @bi-ta

Definitely seems focused here as he’s looking through files/reports. The pressing of lips here can be seen as a thoughtful frown in a way, which matches the standard thinking pose one does when you have a hand on your chin. I have determined I shall analyze every little thing he does I guess.

There’s plenty of others I’m sure I’ve missed. Haven’t been able to play multiplayer due to lack of internet so if he does this in the lobbies as @hollow-epitaph has come to me about, I have no idea how to access them to possibly show them off in gif format. Also because I don’t know how. ;v;

Feel free for any of the COD:BOCW to add to the thread!

#I like his lips okay #the amount of time I spent on this is concerning #I was just going through a bunch of gifs #and watching his lips to see where else he did this #I should be writing instead #but I’m too worried about his Lip Thing I guess #Russell Adler The Lip Thing™️ #Russell Adler The Lip Thing #The Lip Thing Rant #I also like his nods #they can be slight #but they’re there #I just like it #russell adler #call of duty #black ops cold war #cod #cod bell #cod cold war #call of duty cold war #bell #call of duty black ops cold war #cod rants #Russell Adler rants #The Lip Thing™️ #Adler X Bell I guess? #Maybe #or Adler x Me #Adler x Me #Adler c Bell

[wordsnstuff]

20 Mistakes To Avoid in Enemies To Lovers

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Weak Conflict

There should always be a strong, compelling source of tension between two people who are considered enemies. Even if their rivalry stems from external sources, such as bad blood between families or competing for a number one spot, there should always be a concrete reason why they hate each other.

Not Explaining Forgiveness

When one of these conflicts subsides, or a tense moment resolves, it should be justified. Tension and emotions shouldn’t disappear because you’re trying to stuff romantic moments in here and there. If one of your characters crosses a line and the other character chooses to forgive them, there needs to be a clear and understandable reason. It doesn’t always have to sit well with the reader. Your character can make a blatantly stupid decision, but it needs to serve the plot. 

No Tension To Be Found

If your characters have to verbally or physically assault each other to demonstrate the tension between them, you’re doing it wrong. If they have to kiss for the reader to see that they like each other, you’re doing it wrong. Tension is in the little things. It’s in the instances that most people would overlook, but your characters zero-in on because the subtext is too thick to gloss over. Tension is the most important plot device in enemies-to-lovers stories, so it requires a lot of time and attention to minute details. 

Conflict Solved Too Easily

If the rivalry between your characters is one misstep after another, with immediate forgiveness following, the tension won’t build correctly. You’re working your way up to a boiling over moment. A moment where everything comes out and then, once resolved, makes way for the romantic feelings to enter. If the conflicts don’t slowly build on each other, that boiling moment will come out of nowhere and be less satisfying to read. Don’t let your characters off that easily. Enemies aren’t constantly letting things slide. 

Characters Changing For One Another

People don’t need to be exactly the same to see attractive qualities in one another. It’s true that relationships shift your perspective and that it occasionally results in outward changes in behavior, but one or both characters shouldn’t mold their personality around their partner. 

Stupid Potion

If one of your characters has to become oblivious or avoid critical thought to maintain a relationship with that character, you haven’t made the two characters compatible enough. This is especially true when one or both of your character’s identity revolves around a higher intelligence. They should have enough in common that there doesn’t have to be a giant shift in one or both personalities to work as a couple. 

The Relationship Brings Them Down

The thing about enemies to lovers stories is that the happy endings are usually an indication of the author’s view of what is and is not forgivable in a potential partner. The acceptance of someone’s past mistakes, current flaws, and future struggles. When a love story ends with a couple that repeatedly lower each other or hurt each other, that sends a bad message, and that is your responsibility to avoid. It doesn’t need a happy ending, but it should never have a destructive one. 

Writing Abuse Instead of Rivalry

There is a big difference between writing two equals who have a rivalry slowly falling in love and putting aside their differences, and writing an abusive, predatory love interest who repeatedly hurts, manipulates, and gaslights the main character. Just because you can imagine the character forgiving them doesn’t mean they’re a good partner. Cheating, physical abuse, isolation, passive aggression, and manipulation are not character flaws. They’re not “mistakes” that the character needs to forgive in order to save their relationship. It’s abuse, and when you write a story between an abuser and a victim that has a happy ending, that has consequences. 

Revealing Feelings In A Cliché Way

This is very subjective, however, there are also a plethora of tropes to choose from and an infinite amount of alterations you can apply to make them your own. The objective, however, is to build up to it in a way that creates a satisfying payoff, and an interesting moment that serves all of the work you’ve done to build to it. There’s nothing worse than reading chapters and chapters of build up, anticipating a big moment where sparks fly, and then having all of that tension result in a sad sputter of mediocrity.

Instant Trust

Trust is difficult to build between two people, especially when they have a complicated past. Trust is earned, no matter who you are or what you’ve been through, it’s always a process. It’s never inherent. When two characters have a history of betrayal or hurt, trust is going to be even harder to develop between them, and that process is an opportunity for more tension, character development, conflict, and eventually a satisfying resolution. Trust development is a major plot device, and I recommend you take advantage of it. It’s also a huge opportunity for building romantic tension amongst the angst of trials and tribulations. 

Why Do They Hate Each Other, Though?

There’s a thin line between love and hate, and that line is infatuation; obsession. So, what put the two of them on the bad side of that line? This reason is the main conflict. The overarching plot begins with the point where that rivalry either begins or is challenged after a long while of stagnation, and it ends with the two characters crossing over that line into love. You need to make that beginning point very clear.

Rivalry Shouldn’t Just Dissolve

There needs to be a transitionary period that is tense and awkward with scattered moments that make the effort worth it to both of them. There should be a “Well, we hated each other last week and then they did some really sweet things and now I’m not so sure. Maybe we’re starting to become friends now? I feel really excited when I see them, so I must not hate them anymore, right?” period. 

Complete Opposites

Yes, opposites can attract. Yes, completely different people can fit together very well and have a happy relationship, but this is a cliché and is, in most cases, poorly thought out with little to no originality. 

Love With No Reason

Just like your characters need a reason to hate each other, they need a reason to love each other. There has to be something that makes them work. Not just a common hobby or characteristic or exterior aspect they share, but something that makes them fit together. If they love each other because... they can, your reader will feel like they’re watching two stupid, lonely people tolerate each other’s flaws in the interest of sex or companionship for 100 pages. 

No Actual Conflict Resolution

Relationships are built through conflict resolution. Communication, empathy, effort, and understanding between two people who work to make each other happy. Hollow forgiveness is not apart of that process, and if that’s all there is, you’re not developing a realistic relationship between compatible people, you’re depicting a toxic relationship that, in the case of these origins, can be abusive. 

Underusing Sexual Tension

Sexual tension is great. It’s easy to develop, it has a satisfying payoff, and it doesn’t take up a lot of space on the pages. It doesn’t have to result in x-rated material, especially if you’re writing for a young adult audience, but it’s simple and effective. 

No Awkward Transition Period

A large chunk of the plot should be awkward and uncomfortable to watch. The transition should be organic and make sense for your characters, but all organic movement contains struggle. Nobody goes from hating each other to loving each other overnight, and relationships are complicated and require hard work. Show this.

Catalogue Characters

There are enough stories out there with cardboard characters and self-insert protagonists, especially in romance. Make your protagonists unique and individual. Make your characters diverse and interesting to read about. Readers should have a bit of wiggle room for imagination, but that doesn’t mean they should be filling in the blanks like your characters are Mad Libs. Don’t close your eyes and point at character archetypes to form your cast. It’s obvious and lazy. 

Stagnant Tone

The tone of these stories often falls flat because in the interest of building tension, writers ignore purposeful tone shifting, scene-to-scene. Change it up, make it potent, and make a lasting impact during important moments. Suspense and anticipation shouldn’t just build during the climax and resolution. 

Bad Pacing

When your readers spend hours reading a story that promises a romantic payoff, they expect to see some of it. I think that a three act structure is really effective with this type of arc, with the first third being devoted to building rival tensions, the middle third being the shift from rivals to friends, and the last third building that romantic tension and ending with a happy resolution. 

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[aspoonofsugar]

Alright, it's the same anon from last time. So, I'm gonna try to address the things in order. I don't really mess with the whole "deserve" or "earn" redemption things because it can get messy if the word is misused, in a sense. Basically, I wasn't trying to argue if Cinder deserved redemption or not.I don’t know a lot about Save the Cat moments, so I decided to search it up and do a little research. From what I can tell, those moments are usually meant for the protags. (Heads up, very large ask)

Cinder obviously started out as an antag during the first few volumes, but it seems like Cinder changed to a villain protag at the start of Volume 6. Right, I’m trying to say that Cinder did have a Save the Cat moment at the start of Volume 6, when she became a villain protag.

Framed as an adult is something I also don’t know about so I read a lot of Hamliet and your posts about Cinder. Cinder is mentor coded to to the Mers, but if we are really saying that mentorships are kind coded to adults, couldn’t I argue that Watts, Raven, and Salem in a sense are her mentors? The only mentorship that is somewhat healthy is Raven’s and that’s because Cinder is given the opportunity to rebel. Great post about this on OneWomanCitadel's blog about this.

Furthermore, Hazel and Tyrian actually seem to be more coded as parental figures torwards Emerald and Mercury. In Emerald’s case, she needed a figure to actually care for her and show her to not be so dependent on Cinder. And Tyrian took more of a unhealthy/abusive relationship torwards Mercury, given all the scenes with him. That’s why I believe Cinder is more child coded than adult coded. (I have an insane crack theory about Cinder’s age but that’s too far lol)

It’s possible that one could argue Cinder being child coded is why the CEM fell apart (I have seperate theories about CEM but I’m keeping that to myself for now.) but to me, it’s mainly because they all project their problems on each other. Even though it seems like everyone cares about everyone in CEM (Maybe I’m reaching a bit here, but you can ignore this if you don’t agree.) it wouldn’t have worked out because of their problems that need to be healed.

And considering the point of the story…I don’t really know what you mean by that? Could you clarify? I’m gonna try to interpret what you mean by that but feel free to correct me. I’d say Vol. 8 was the halfway point to the end of RWBY. I’m of the mind that Cinder will defect at the end of the Vacuo Arc and probably start her redemption arc after she obtains the Crown of Choice and saved by Ruby and Jaune on top of Beacon Tower. Midnight allusions, stuck in Midnight, I think you get this gist.

Hi!

I am gonna break your ask in two because, if I don’t, it is gonna be difficult to answer properly :)

Ok, so this is a long answer to this post about my theory that Cinder will die in the end.

Before replying, let me clarify again that... it is just a theory. Not only that, but it is also a very future oriented one. So it might not come true and I might very well discard it at the end of next volume depending on what happens. Moreover, if Cinder survives in a way that I find satisfying, I will be happy about it. If she survives in a way that imo cheapens the story I will be pissed and the same can be said if she dies in a meaningless and hollow way.

Once this is established, let me try to answer some of your doubts.

THE POINT WE ARE IN THE STORY

I meant 2 things.

1) Imo we are 1/2 - 3/4 through the story. I think we are gonna have volume 9, then 3 volumes set in Vacuo and maybe 1 more volume set in Vale. Still, considering the current pace of the series and how many things they manage to usually cover in a single volume we might just have vol 10-11 set in Vacuo and volume 12 set in Vale.

In short, considering the number of characters and how many subplots we have, I do not think there is gonna be much time for a long redemption arc for Cinder. I think her arc is more or less going to go this way:

-she hits rock bottom in the Vacuo arc (Em + Merc confronts her + she has to face the truth about Salem and realizes what her Grimm arm is truly about)

-she is saved towards the end by Ruby (maybe Jaune)

-her being saved by her enemies + Em and Merc’s influence + the truth about Salem lead to her redemptive act in the finale

-her redemption results in her death foiling both Penny and Pyrrha

Basically, the later the redemption starts in the story, the harsher it is going to be. It is easier to have a character work on their inner change while there are still many things going on because they still have many challenges and many chances to struggle. If a character only starts to work toward a 180 degree change toward the end of the story, then the stakes are bound to be higher. Especially if it is such a central character like Cinder.

2) Cinder herself is not close to redemption in her personal arc and by the end of volume 8 she has actively refused to change. She is challenged throughout all Atlas and Mistral, but in the end she chooses to cut off all her bonds and to go back to her previous persona instead of honestly accepting her vulnerability. Not only that, but this choice has very negative consequences for others. She betrays her comrades and kills Penny aka a character very dear to both the viewers and to the protagonists. Her actions are bound to bring bad consequences for her too in the future.

In short, we are probably 3/4 in the story and Cinder has just reinforced all her negative choices and traits. She is far away from even starting to positively change. She is bound to hit rock bottom as a consequence of this. Does it mean she has to die? No. I actually think she will be saved from her spiral. Though, then she will have to show she has changed. The most likely option is for her to make a selfless choice and, given the way RWBY treats death, Cinder killing both Penny and Pyrrha and the symbolic nature of the Maidens (see the meta above), I think a redemptive death is probable.

SAVING CATS AND KICKING DOGS

Save the Cat is just another way to call a Pet the Dog moment.

In short, it is just a moment where you humanize a villain to make them more likable. It is basically a redeeming trait the character has. That said, it is not that a Save the Cat moment = redemption or that none means no redemption.

Anyway, RWBY has been given many of its villains Save the Cat moments. Like, Hazel, Emerald and Mercury all have those.

Let’s see Em and Merc’s.

1)

Emerald: It’s almost sad.

This is Em’s. She clearly shows regret and guilt over what is happening at Beacon. This moment makes the viewers understand Emerald is not without conscience and that she is not inherently cruel. She shows doubt over her actions hence she has potential for changing.

2)

Mercury: Emerald get up, we need to go... Emerald!

Rather than a single moment, Merc’s whole relationship with Em is his redeeming trait. So, Em is basically Merc’s Morality Pet. He clearly adores her and it is in this specific relationship that lies potential for change.

Well, Cinder completely lacks such a moment/element. She is highly sympathetic and human, but she never displays guilt over hurting others and does not selflessly care for another person. Obviously her feelings for Em and Merc are more complex than what she likes to think. Still, she does not treat them well or selflessly. She abuses and mistreats them. She leaves them behind and gives their presence in her life as a given.

Moreover, Cinder is given several moments when she displays gratuitous cruelty. Even more than necessary for her personal objectives.

For example, she does not really need to kill Pyrrha. She has already won, Pyrrha’s aura is broken and she can’t move. She could have simply gone away, but she chooses to completely burn her down.

In the Battle of Heaven she impales Weiss not because she thinks she is a threath to her, but to hurt Jaune.

In volume 6 she kills a woman whose only fault was to offer her help.

In volume 8, not only does she deeply hurt the protagonists and kills Penny, but she also betrays her comrades.

These actions can be called Kick the Dog and they are meant to cement the villanious nature of a character.

In short, general viewers are gonna be more open and forgive more easily a character that shows positive traits, rather than one who routinely displays cruelty to everyone else. Cinder is currently more in the second category, rather than the first.

CHILDREN AND ADULTS

Child-coding is about how you frame a character. It has not necessarily to do with age, but more to do about a character role in a story.

For example, Shigaraki Tomura in BNHA is a young adult, but he is framed as a child who needs to grow. He has an evil mentor who abuses him. He has child-like understanding of many things and his story parallels the MC who is a teenagers. He also has no mentee, but peers he bonds with.

In coming of age stories, usually child-coded characters have more chances of surviving and of growing positively. This is because they are more open to change, like kids.

That said, this is not always the case because there are actually different kinds of child-coding. This means you can code a character as a child for different reasons.

Some examples.

1) You initially code a character as a child, but as the story goes on the character grows and he loses said coding.

See, this is what happens with Snk main cast. They start as kids, but as the story goes on they become adults who have to protect kids. So, they are not more kids by the end. This means they must grow up in the end and the protagonist, who refuses to do so, dies in the end as a consequence. Him being initially child coded does not save him.

2) Penny is child-coded, but she still dies. This happens because her story is both a coming of age story and a tragedy. So, by the end she grows, but also dies. It is powerful, but very sad.

3) You child-code an adult to actually show they are refusing to grow/can’t grow and this is framed as a negative thing.

This third case is partially what is happening with Cinder.

To be more specific, Cinder is coded as an adult when she is introduced. This coding is consistent when it comes to her relationship with Em and Merc (and with the protagonists too... like... Cinder is not RWBY’s generation). However, as the story goes on, the framing changes and we discover she is deep down Salem’s bratty teenage daughter.

This is used to illustrate the cycle of abuse. She is abused by Salem and abuses Emerald and Mercury in return.

So, Cinder is not a child in the story in the same way that RWBY, JNR, Penny, Pyrrha, Oscar, Emerald and Mercury are. She is an adult with child-like traits and because of these child-like traits she struggles to improve her situation.

Also, a note about Cinder’s relationship with Emerald and Mercury. There is no doubt that she is their authority figure. Like, they are not peers or siblings. Cinder specifically frames herself as their guardian. This is how the story presents their relationship as well.

Roman: Oh, look! She sent the kids again! This is turning out just like the divorce!

Here, the joke is that Cinder is the mother to Roman’s father. Obviously, Roman is not the father, but the point of the line is that he sees himself and Cinder as adults and Em and Merc as kids.

Raven uses a similar language:

Raven: Two children you’ve tricked into following you.

Again, Raven does not refer to Cinder as a child. She talks to her as you would to an equal, while she treats Mercury and Em as kids.

The hierarchy of the trio is shown also by their body language at Beacon:

During their meetings, Merc and Em are constantly shown on the floor, while Cinder sits on the bed. This is not by chance. It is a figurative way to show they are not equals.

In general, Cinder herself treats them as kids when she is in a good mood:

Mercury: You should be able to take her no problem.

Cinder: It's not about overpowering the enemy. It's about taking away what power they have. And we will, in time.

Mercury: I hate waiting.

Cinder: Don't worry, Mercury. We have a fun weekend ahead of us.

And as minions when she is angry:

Cinder: Both of you, get out. I’ll let you know when you’re needed next.

This is not a relationship among peers or even siblings.

Mercury and Emerald themselves have clearly tied their respective parental issues to Cinder:

Emerald: I just... Cinder was the only family I ever had. She cared about me, taught me things... But without her here, I don't know if what we're doing--

Mercury: Wake up, already...Cinder doesn't care about you! She doesn't care about either of us!

Emerald: You don't know what you're talking about!

Mercury: You're in denial. And if you're gonna start having a crisis of identity or some crap... keep me out of it.

Mercury: I'm sorry you didn't have a mommy that loved you, but I had a father who hated me!

Emerald mentions care and learning things. They are concepts linked to a parent/mentor. Mercury specifically says Cinder cares about neither of them, compares Emerald’s relationship with Cinder to a mother-daughter one and then brings out his father.

If right now, it seems that the lines in this hiearachy are not as solid as before, it is simply because Em and Merc, like the protagonists are growing. RWBY is a story where kids inspire adults, so you have Ruby inspiring Qrow and Weiss inspiring Winter. Em and Merc will probably do the same for Cinder. This does not change the role Cinder has had in their life and does not turn her into a child.

Even the example of Watts, Hazel and Tyrian all foiling a member of CEM actually shows that the framing around Em and Merc and the one around Cinder are different.

Hazel and Tyrian, as you said, are framed as parental figures to EM. Watts is not framed as a parental figure, but as Cinder’s colleague that calls her out. They are equals. Cinder is not submissive to Watts, like Merc is to Tyrian and does not depend on him, like Em with Hazel.

In short, Cinder is framed as a child only when it comes to Salem, but this is like saying that Qrow must be read as a child because Ozpin is his mentor. It does not really hold up. What is true, though, is that both Qrow and Cinder (and Winter) are adults/mentors with childish traits rooted in their childhood issues and that they will face them/overcome them thanks to the kids they once mentored.

Anyway, this last point is kind of a tangent, but I love CEM’s relationship and I think it is essential to grasp the familial nature of it to understand their characters. Em and Merc are literally Cinder’s child selves. They are the found family that she needs, but because she is still stuck in her childhood she is unable to truly take care of them and help them as she could. This is tragic because clearly she could heal through healing them, but she can’t see it and spirals more and more.

In short, these are just better explanations of what child-coding and save the cat mean. That said, it is not that lacking any of them means certain death for the character. Similarly, having them does not necessarily mean a character will survive. However, in coming of ages stories, like RWBY is, it is common to give Save the Cats moments to a villain you wanna redeem/save and to have child-coded characters survive, while some (not all) adult characters die.

I will answer your other answers later on.

#rwby #iressent #asksfullofsugar

[carryonmywaywardwriters]

Knot In Love - Alpha!Dean x Omega! Reader

A/N: Part Fourteen is back. Again, where it’s a daily thing? I am not tagging anyone new. 3pm is the magical time, usually. As always, feedback is incredible. And, I hope you all enjoy one of my favorites <3

PSA: I am NOT a minor friendly blog. If you are below 18, please come back when you’re older. I don’t want to lose my blog because you were too eager to grow up. If I discover you, I WILL block.

Series Masterlist

Series Warnings: Forced mating. Knotting. Alpha/Omega dynamics. Witchcraft (more based on real craft than Hollywood). Angst. Etc. Read at your own discretion.

Word Count: Roughly 3,000

“You look tired,” Dean was still too chipper. It was throwing you off in the worst way. Doesn't he feel it?

“And you actually look chipper,” You grumbled back, trying to hold up the grudge. It was nearly impossible with the toothy grin you received. “Let me chug this coffee and I'll be good to go.”

You'd gone hunting in the dark for two separate places to dispose of the candles before you'd been able to take a shower and crawl into your own bed. You'd only gotten a hunter's night of sleep in the end. Leaving you further baffled by the boys' stamina.

“You're okay...right?” Suddenly serious, Dean brushed his finger against the healed skin. Drawing forth a small shiver as he inspected you. “I should have asked last night. But, you were out grounding yourself, or whatever, when I tried to find you. Kid said it was to help calm you down or something. Real important, anyway.” So, that's what Jack came up with. You mentally made note to thank him.

“I don't want to lie to you, Dean.” Your eyes closed as you forced yourself to resist leaning into his touch. Body still craving his. Demanding that he reaffirm the bond you were trying to dissolve. A step back was managed, losing the contact in the process. “Don't make me, okay?”

“How bad was it?” His lips pushed out as he demanded that you give it to him straight. No more bullshit.

The worst pain you'd ever felt had been at his hands. You'd be damned if you threw that in his face. Not when he was on the up.

“It doesn't matter.” You forced the words out. It really didn't. Able to resist him in the moment. The mark was still there. Though you told yourself it looked and felt lighter. That spells took time when they involved something that complex. The thought soothed you. “It's over.”

The finality in your tone made something inside of his chest clench. As if he knew that you weren't just talking about what you'd gone through. Dean rubbed his hand over his own mark, then. Watching as you retreated behind a smile filled with secrets. Guilt eating away at his insides once the high of finding Cas had worn down.

“I didn't think,” He spoke up as you turned to walk away. Every piece of him demanded that he explain. “Not until I was in there. Then, I told myself that you didn't have time to feel it.”

“Most people wouldn't have,” You allowed, hoping that would be the end of it as you hunted down the sugar. It wasn't.

“Most people wouldn't have felt their mate's leg injury across state lines, Y/N,” Dean pointed out, desperately. Remembering the way you'd clung to him afterward. Why isn't she doing that now? “Nothing's ever been ordinary in my life. So, why would this be any different? I should have known better.” You didn't even turn to look at him. Didn't say a word. The lack of action more telling than anything you could have said. “I'm sorry.” His voice cracked a bit, then. He'd ignored it until he'd rested alone in his bed. His mind trailing over every detail of the day. Right to the stained gauze across your throat. “I'm so fucking sorry, 'mega.”

“You did what you had to, Dean.” The words were like acid in your throat. “You freed all of those souls.” You turned then, letting him look in your eyes. His pain was palpable. “We all do what we have to do in the end.” There was an aloofness in as you spoke. Enough to make his skin crawl. “When the bond's gone, it won't matter.” A sad smile crossed your lips, then. His blood chilled at that. You'd known. He'd never mentioned it to you. Not once after you'd brought it up. Yet there you were. Talking about the end as if it was a forgone conclusion. “We won't hurt each other, anymore.”

“You mean I won't hurt you,” His face tightened. Looking every bit the pain ridden warrior as he turned his head away. Wondering just how long you'd known he'd planned on breaking away from you. “Sam tell you, or Jody?”

“Let's be honest, Dean... You'll feel a little safer not being attached to a witch.” His jaw worked, then. You wouldn't give away your source. “That way, if I need put down? You can safely pull the trigger.” His breath stopped at the acidic words. “I didn't need anyone to tell me. It's been there since the night you found out what I was.”

“You really think that I could kill you?” There was that rare vulnerability there in his eyes. Shining bright as he wondered just how evil the world had begun to see him. How awful he had to be to inspire something so dark to fester in his own mate's mind.

“I think you'd do whatever you needed to save the world, Dean.” Even with the straight forward words, you couldn't stand the hurt that he was feeling. You reached up, rubbing his cheek with your hand. His skin was smooth from the fresh shave as he leaned in. Offering the only comfort you safely could. “Being with someone- something- that you can't completely trust? Makes it damn hard to do that.” You pressed a kiss to his other cheek before stepping back. Just as he turned to meet your touch with his own lips. “Chin up. You have your win, Winchester. It's going to get better. Mate or none.”

“I'm going to make it right, Y/N.” His words rang hollow. There were too many pieces inside of him that despised the idea. You'd recognized it before, but it was crystal clear in that moment. He was fighting his inner beast. And losing. “I'll snap the bond without all that fancy doctor crap. Make sure you get your second chance, down the road.”

“Don't worry about it, Dean.” The way you said the words sent an ominous shiver through him. “It'll be taken care of. For now? We have some zombies to hunt.” With that, you left the kitchen to go load up your bag. Making him wonder just what was going through that head of yours when he realized that he couldn't get a grip on what you were feeling.

–

“All right,” Dean led the charge down the hallway, carrying his suit in hand. The drive was over and he was done thinking for the day about anything other than what was surrounding him. “This is supposed to be the best room in the joint.”

“That doesn't say much,” You muttered, looking around. Jack smiled a bit beside you. The angel didn't seem too amused, though. Sending you another unreadable look over his shoulder.

“Oh, ho!” Your mate was a little too excited at the scene before you as the light switched on. “The Wild Bill suite.”

“I think I'm going to be sick,” Your eyes peered into the room. Nose curling in disgust.

Horns decorated the wall, but that wasn't all. Not even close. A cardboard cowboy stood tall, near a set of saloon doors. Staking claim to the room. He could have it as far as you were concerned.

The walls were covered with wanted posters and just about everything else that could be considered “cowboy”. Including an assortment of dead animals. You didn't need a closer inspection to know that they were real. Dean was chuckling in glee as he looked around; happier than a kid at Christmas.

“Wow,” Sam seemed to mirror your thoughts. Unimpressed with the décor.

“Pretty cool, right?” Instantly, the older Winchester found all the old images. Inspecting them with a sense of joy that you couldn't quite bring yourself to find. “Dude! Check it out.” The last phrase repeated another two times. You were quickly discovering that your mate was an old western dweeb. “Clay Allison.” He turned your way, beaming all the while, “Gun fighter extraordinary, right?” Then he was right back to those pictures, “And, uh.” His fingers pointed out another man with a hooked mustache and a small, square goatee, “Curly Bill Brocius.” He looked nothing like the cowboys you'd expected to see. “Which,” The enthusiasm was contagious, “now, now, now,” the pointed finger waved dramatically. “Little fun fact, here- was killed by Wyatt Earp, himself.” All eyes watched Dean. A mixture of confusion, disbelief, and mild entertainment filled the room. “Not kidding.” Another laugh left him as he walked. “Johnny Ringo, Billy The Kid...Oh, look!”

“He really likes cowboys,” Jack finally spoke. Watching the man he'd idolized act like a fool. He wasn't quite sure how to take the sudden switch in Dean. That much was obvious. You'd be lying if you said that you did, either.

“Hey, big guy,” Dean spoke to an image as if it could talk back. “How you doin'? That's...” His voice lowered as he kept talking to himself. Going a mile a minute. “What's going on Calamity Jane?”

“Yes.” Castiel answered his adopted child. “Yes, he does.” His voice was so dead panned that it almost sounded pained.

Another laugh emitted, making it a record in your presence, “Doc Holliday!” He whipped around, that damned grin on his face growing even bigger. You bit back a laugh, trying to look fascinated. “Hey-o!” A snort made its way out of your nose, but he didn't hear it.

“He's worse than me in a metaphysical shop,” You muttered, earning a twitch of the lips from Sam. Castiel didn't seem to find that amusing, either.

“This is awesome.” Dean spun in a little circle, taking in the room once again. “All right,” He got down to business. Kind of. “I say quick shower, steak dinner, and then tomorrow we hit up the cemetery.” His footsteps were brisk as he moved past the group of loved ones, all of which were still staring at him. No one moving a muscle right away.

“Sounds like a plan,” Sam managed as his brother hit the saloon doors. He sent a little grin your way, happy at his brother's glee, before turning to follow. Jack and Castiel simply turned to each other. Before they could speak, it continued.

“Oh, yes!” Dean grunted out loudly. “Stirrup hangers!” You winced at the thought. Didn't need to see it to imagine what he was excited about.

“You can have the couch,” Jack stated, monotone compared to the older Winchester. His comments were slightly lower, but still present. “I don't sleep very much.”

“I don't sleep at all.” Castiel turned to Jack, then. Both men then began looking around the room, again. Awkwardness hanging in the air.

“Okay...well, I'll just take the couch if no one else is willing.” You slid over to the red, offending furniture. “Split it with anyone who needs a catnap, or whatever. We can make this work.”

“Aren't you going to sleep with Dean?” The angel's voice sounded almost accusing. He didn't like you. Or, at the least, didn't trust you. Being a witch and all of that.

“Look,” Your hand found your hip. “Unless you want this already inconvenient trip to get even more disturbing? Having to listen to Dean get off- repeatedly- in the middle of the night? I think it's best that I sleep out here.” Your eyes fluttered innocently.

The worst part was that you weren't lying. You didn't trust either of your bodies after his temporary fatality. You had little doubt that someone would roll over. Then next thing you know 'P' meets 'V' in front of the entire family. No way in hell you were chancing that one.

“Yeah, no....” Jack trailed off, shaking his head. Shuddering at the very idea.

“You bring up a fair point,” Castiel allowed, cringing a bit at the thought as your mate and Sam discussed having a hat in the back room.

“I thought so,” With that, your bag was dropped on it before your body followed. Castiel's eyes landed on your mark as you bent down to make work of your shoes so that you could nab the shower first. Anything to chase away the bit of car sickness you'd felt. “If you wanna know something, feel free to ask.”

Jack turned to his father figure, then, “Cas?”

“Nothing. I just was lost in my thoughts.” You didn't buy it for a second. However, you weren't about to start a disagreement with Dean's win- the very thing he was discussing in the next room, over. Not then, anyway.

Later that night- or rather, early morning, you were wrapped up on the couch. Shrouded in the darkness. In a sleep light enough that you could still hear Jack asking all the questions he'd missed out on with Castiel gone over Dean's deep snoring in the back. Too much whiskey with dinner had led to the resounding noise.

When they got to Kelly, you told yourself not to listen. To give Jack his privacy. However, it never worked quite like that. Your heart was tugged at the way the angel described the woman. The same woman who's shoes you'd stumbled into. Then, there was a beep on the computer.

“Oh, wow!” Jack's voice pulled you the rest of the way out of your sleep. You blinked awake as he got to his feet. “I'll go tell them!”

“Jack!” Castiel hissed, following after him. You didn't get a chance to fully motivate before you joined the crowd. Opening the saloon doors as Jack poked the sleeping bear- literally- while whispering his name. “Jack, I wouldn't do that!”

The sound of a gun cocking and a deep cry filled the air as the weapon was aimed at the boy, “No!” Jack's hands were instantly in the air. Sam jerked awake in the next bed to see what the hell was going on. “No, no, Dean! It's me! It's me.”

“Dean!” You hissed out, your hand over your heart. The angel didn't look too worried, though. In fact, he looked downright done with life.

Your mate seemed to freeze, then. One eye was open, while the other was still squeezed tight. His mouth agape as he processed what was happening. His head turned to you and Castiel after a moment.

“Ah,” The gun was lowered, “hey.” Sleepy green eyes closed as the weapon made its way to the bedside table. “Who's making me coffee?”

He snuggled back into the bed. Looking more peaceful than any man had the right to be. Much less one that could've killed someone in a single second. Jack was breathing awfully hard when he turned back to you and Castiel, wide eyed. His short life had, no doubt, flashed before his eyes.

Jack was still watching Dean with a wary, shell shocked gaze when the coffee was ready. As if the sniffling, bleary eyed man was still a threat. You weren't much better, yourself. All eyes followed him as he sat onto your “bed” with a groan; rubbing his eyes.

“I told you,” Castiel leaned forward to Jack. “He's an angry sleeper.” You didn't argue that point, sipping at your own coffee. “Like a bear.” He'd let that last bit out as you inhaled, leaving you coughing and snorting up coffee in the process. The sound earning a sleepy glare from your mate before you gathered yourself back together. Clearing your throat with a muffled apology. You'd thought the same thing, yourself.

“Okay,” Sam got back to business, looking at the laptop screen. “So, code three means an officer down.” Your eyes kept drifting over to the man in the background, sipping at his black drink as if it was the only thing that mattered. You tuned out the case, letting your eyes trail over the way his t-shirt pulled over the swells of his bicep. Fucking hormones.

“Like, from a zombie.” The phrase pulled your attention back to Jack and away from your body's craving.

“Or anything else that has teeth.” There was the cranky Dean that had started slipping under your skin. Your lips twisted at the familiarity of it.

“Drink your coffee,” You waved him away, shooting Jack a little wink that made him smile.

“Alright,” Sam pulled attention back to where it belonged. “Change of plans. Jack, Y/N, and I will hit the grave yard. You and Cas hit up the crime scene.” The laptop was shut with more force than you cared to dwell on as Sam got to his feet.

“Works for me.” Dean managed as everyone got to their feet.

As soon as the party broke up? Dean raised his index finger at Cas, halting the angel in his steps. He pointed at his coffee before raising his palm. Cueing the supernatural being to sit until the coffee was gone. To your amazement, it worked. Castiel sat back with a small sigh, while Dean slurped away.

“No man should have all that power,” You muttered with a small laugh. With that, you received a silent middle finger. You only shook your head as you moved to grab your clothes from the bag beside his feet. When you looked back over your shoulder, you found Cas tsking away with a disapproving frown. Initially, you'd thought it to be at you. Then, you followed the gaze properly. Dean's eyes had landed on your ass; coffee still resting against his lips, but going nowhere. “Pervert,” You grumbled, pushing his cheek away. Trying not to focus too strongly on the feeling of his five o'clock shadow before you walked away.

“Dean-” Castiel's scolding as he moved back to his feet only earned a glare, and another point at the coffee. Zero remorse residing in the sleepy alpha. With another drawn out sigh, the angel sat. Waiting for the beast to be tamed by the caffeine...

Forever: @dean-winchesters-bacon @supernaturalginger @lilulo-12 @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce @michaelneedssomemilk @lemondropirwin @fanfictionismydeath @neii3n @surmya1907

Dean/Jensen: @akshi8278 @screechingartisancashbailiff  @woodworthti666 @coldmuffinbanditshoe

#supernatural #spn #supernatural reader insert #spn reader insert #supernatural fanfiction #spn fanfiction #Supernatural angst #spn angst #dean winchester #dean winchester fanfiction #dean winchester angst #dean winchester reader insert #dean fanfiction #dean angst #dean reader insert #alpha dean x omega reader #alpha dean winchester #dean x reader #dean x you #dean x y/n #dean winchester x y/n #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester x you #a/b/o

[princeasimdiya12]

princeasimdiya12, since you've made your dislike of Bakugo clear on your blog (and for valid reasons, I completely agree with you), anon thought you'd like to know some very good news, followed by some very bad news: the very good news is, in the latest Japanese manga chapter, Bakugo finally apologizes to Izuku for his past bullying. The very bad news is, Bakugo stans are actually angry that he apologized, because they think it makes him "too soft". So it's a mixed bag.

Hey anon. Thank you for sharing this news with me and for respecting my reasons for disliking Bakugou.

And I actually did see the latest chapter this morning. While I still have negative feelings for Bakugou, I will say that I'm amazed and relieved that he actually went through with the apology. I liked that he was actually upfront about the abuse and torment he put Izuku through in front of his classmates while also calling him by his first name rather then the insult of a name he gave him so long ago. I also liked that he apologized for belittling the Vestiges of OFA (I remember when he called them weak nobodies in Ch. 257 after Toshinori explained who they were which genuinely disgusted me). So I liked that he brought them up and commended them for their peace keeping efforts.

But while I am grateful that Bakugou did finally apologize to Izuku, I'm now concerned over how he'll behave afterwards.

It's one thing to apologize and own up to his mistakes, but the next step involves making an effort not to commit those same mistakes and to treat the person you hurt better than before.

For Bakugou, this would mean no more yelling at Izuku for petty offenses, trying to inflict physical violence on him (Ch. 253), or shouting hollow death threats at him (Ch. 303). Even if those incidents were done "for the sake of comedy" or "because it's his personality", it would be regressive for Bakugou's character to continue those behaviors if he genuinely feels sorry for hurting Izuku. He can still be grouchy and bitter, but not with the same level of aggression as before.

So again, I'm grateful that Bakugou finally did it. But now I'm curious, and nervous, to see how he'll treat Izuku afterwards. But considering that he actually owned up to his bullying, I think he can accomplish this.

As for those types of Baku stans, I think it's best to just ignore them and enjoy what we can from this scene. We waited seven years and 320+ chapters to get this apology.

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #mha #bnha #bnha spoilers #katsuki bakugou #izuku midoriya #eddy's posts #anon

[ichinoue]

Submitted: I sent this ask to another IH blog but I feel like asking you too. So I was following along a thread on twitter and a anti said when Ichigo laid dead on the ground with a hole in his chest in the Lust arc, that he didn’t say “I can hear her..stand up..I will protect her” before hollowfying. They claim he instead said “I can hear..stand up..I have to protect” using no pronounce directed at Orihime, hence NOT coming back from the dead because he wants to protect her specifically but because of his instincts to protect and he would’ve done it for any of his friends. They also said that Orihime didn’t scream “help me” but instead said “help” which triggered Ichigo’s instincts to protect, making him rise from the dead, hence once again making it clear this was never about Orihime specifically but about Ichigo’s instincts responding when hearing a voice in need (and this voice could’ve been from anyone amongst his friends) and how the hollow would not allow him to die regardless. Basically the English translations are incorrect and the raw version in kanji never used pronounces during these scenes. Is this correct and how would you respond to this?

Man, people will really grasp at straws to make it seem like Ichigo rising up had nothing to do with Orihime lol. The thing is, you don’t need specific “her” pronouns there because of the way the scene is set up---Orihime screaming and crying and Ichigo responding, panels placed side by side to demonstrate exactly what he’s responding to (Answer: Orihime). Take all the words away, and the meaning is still the same: Orihime crying and Ichigo reacting. And even if you leave the words in, if he’s saying “I can hear” what *exactly* is he hearing I wonder?? 🤔(Answer: Orihime crying out to him.) They really need a pronoun to figure that out? Stay in school, kids. (Also, as someone pointed out in the replies, Japanese doesn’t use the same pronouns and sentence structure as English does).

You would have to be...willfully obtuse to need the word “her” to be there in order to comprehend this scene lol. Like, “hmm I wonder what he’s responding to?? Welp, there’s no pronoun there so I guess we can’t know for sure 🤷‍♀️” lmaooo GOD it’s like they actively choose ignorance when it comes to IchiHime moments. A four year-old who can’t even read could figure this out! 

And if their argument is that Ichigo would have done this for any of his friends if they had cried out to him like that...maybe? We can’t know for sure because it didn’t happen. But what we DO know for sure is that Kubo chose Orihime to be the one who cried out to him, he chose Orihime to be the one Ichigo responded to. He could have rearranged the scenes and put ANY of the other nakama in that position, crying out at Ichigo’s corpse...But he chose to give that role to Orihime specifically. Why? Perhaps to demonstrate how special she is to him? After all, she IS the girl he decided Ichigo was going to marry after writing chapter one. Having him rise up from the dead for her would make for a *giant hint* at his underlying feelings for her. A hint that flew right over the heads of the anti-IH fans apparently lmao. The poor things are still out there making arguments against something that’s already happened.

And if Ichigo rose up for all of his friends and not Orihime specifically, then why did he literally attack his friend, and then, *on the very same page* turned to Orihime and chanted the word “protect.” Answer: Because he wanted to protect her, specifically. Not Ishida, the friend he just brutally attacked lmaooo, but Orihime. Whatever shred of his humanity was still intact was determined to protect Orihime. If he had risen up to protect all of his friends, and she wasn’t being set apart here as the special person he rose up for, then he wouldn’t have attacked Ishida. But he did. Point blank, period.

And, immediately after he attacked Ishida, he does this. Turns around to face Orihime while chanting the word “protect.” Again, I don’t know if the “her” pronoun is being used here, but it doesn’t need to be because of the way the panels are set up: Ichigo and Orihime’s faces placed directly next to each other, side by side, while Ichigo’s chanting the word “protect”---and his dialogue is even carried. over. to Orihime’s panel, to demonstrate that he’s speaking to and/or about her. Clearly, whatever mantra Ichigo is chanting here is being aimed at Orihime. That’s just basic reading comprehension, dude.

And it’s at this moment, the moment when he turns to Orihime, chanting his need to protect...this is the moment when she realizes that Ichigo is, in fact, doing this for her. How do we know this? Because it’s immediately followed by this page:

This is when it dawns on Orihime that Ichigo reacted to her voice and is doing this for her. Seriously, this page right here debunks their entire argument all on its own. Because if Ichigo rising up had nothing to do with Orihime specifically, Kubo would not have written this page literally acknowledging that it was about Orihime specifically. He acknowledges this via Orihime’s inner monologue. He even included a flashback of Orihime calling out to Ichigo a mere few chapters ago, a flashback from the first page I posted, the page where Ichigo starts to transform as Orihime screams---solidifying even more that it was her voice he was responding to, and then having Orihime take the blame for it...Because it was about her. “Because I said that, Kurosaki-kun is trying to help me.” It’s....literally right there on the page like, lmao. This is so blatant, why do they try so hard to deny it? 

But yeah, antis. Keep telling yourselves that the girl Ichigo rose up from the dead for was never special to him. It’s not like he ended up marrying her in the end or anything, right? 

It really makes me wonder if the reason they think IchiHime “came out of nowhere” is because their reading comprehension was so poor that they missed out on blatant, in-your-face Ichigo-->Orihime hints like this. Or, like I said, that they were so willfully obtuse to the point of ignoring the obvious because “there’s no pronoun!!!!” As they studied the raws, desperate for a way to debunk what’s right in front of their faces, clear as day.

Like Kubo obviously wrote these things to lay the foundation of IchiHime, which we can safely say now that it’s canon, and antis are still out there like “nope, IH had nothing 😤I’m clinging to all of my interpretations even though they’ve already been proven wrong.”

They spent the entire series’ run making arguments like this and twisting obvious IchiHime moments to make them seem less than what they were in order to convince themselves that IchiHime had nothing and would never be canon...and then it did become canon. And instead of just accepting that their arguments and interpretations were wrong, they’re still out there shouting angrily at clouds, trying to prove that all of this IchiHime evidence that led to it becoming canon, doesn’t actually exist. 

Oh well lmao

#IchiHime

[ijoinedtoomanyfandomsilosttrack]

i have decided to live blog my reactions to the new netflix winx saga bc i heard it's apparently bad?? currently all i know abt it was they replaced techna and flora and also theres white-washing and fatphobia?? idk anyway i'm starting with ep 1

thoughts:

its definitely not 'colorful magical girls' like the original cartoon was

"feckin' sheep"

OH ITS DEFINITELY NOT COLORFUL MAGICAL GIRLS WHAT THE HELL THAT WAS A FULL ON SHEEP (?) CORPSE YOOOO I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT???? MAN IM NOT SCARED OF GORE BUT THAT CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD

big scary beast pog?

yeah,,, theres gore in there. rip farmer/shepherd dude

okay i have to give them credit for that pretty dope intro. its not the winx club theme but hey i kinda like it

ooooh this music is dope. time to add it to my spotify playlist

hmmm im assuming redhead girl is bloom?

girl with the plants is definitely flora (or whoever she is now)

blonde is deffo stella or smthin

girl with the headphones is musa i think

who's the dude?? i dont remember the names of the dudes in the original winx

Are they still using Bloom's backstory as like the princess (?) of a kingdom??

wAIT DO THEY STILL HAVE THEIR PETS?? LIKE BLOOM'S BUNNY??

"Wow. You are so lost. I'm impressed by your confidence in the face of complete ignorance. Issue is, you're overcommitted. I mean, you're essentially running." Did I somehow miss some backstory?? What is up with this dude what is going on??

man i dont like the blond dude?? what is going on?? i am confused??

i don't remember bloom's whole backstory but i think the show's still using it??

dude did a full 180

"Sorry, I'd be happy to--" "Mansplain it?" i would've loved this line more if bloom was a bit more petty than smiley

NEVERMIND SHE IS A LITTLE BIT PETTY HDJWKKEJG (edit: nope she's tryna flirt)

oh they have british accents but bloom is american

"Oh how very american of you." HSJDJKFKG

MAGIC RING WITH A PRETTY DESIGN POG

HAJDJFKKEKWJE OKAY SO FAR I REALLY LIKE STELLA???

transformation magic has been lost as they evolved?? thats definitely not foreshadowing for the winx's abilities /s

Hhhhh bloom probably committed arson /hj

Yeah she definitely committed arson (albeit accidentally)

can we get more characters in here? like ik bloom's the protag but please i need more characters

oop all the girls are dorm mates

"Lady of the Flies, don't be sexist" IK THIS WAS A JOKE BUT WHAT THE

OHHHHHHH AISHA POG!! Yeah yeah i remember her, her name back in the cartoon seemed to alternate(?) from Aisha and Layla!! She had the bubble powers!!

BLOOM'S A RAVENCLAW/SLYTHERIN POG

ah yes the classic magic is linked to emotion trope i love that!!

Oh flora's name is terra now okay. Not quite a fan of the name change, but hey

OH HER COUSIN'S NAME IS FLORA JGJFKKGKH

she's so chatty bc of nerves and yeah,, i can relate

headphone girl's eyes turned pinkish purple what?? she used magic??

Terra is me when talking to people

man headphone girl wasn't even talking to me and I got hit with that rsd

Okay i got the confirmation that headphone girl's name is musa alrighty

specialists?? what are those??

i dont like how this riv guy acts

i dont like how all of the guys act so far

yeah no i dislike most of the men who have had lines in the past 12 minutes

OHHHH BLOND DUDE'S NAME IS SKY

wait isn't he supposed to have long hair??

The teacher man is kinda scary

Oh so specialties are like soldiers or smthn

burned ones?? oh??

riv literally left the barrier to smoke?? bruh

the burned ones sounds so scary but man are the hollows from miss peregrines home for peculiar children are scarier

RIP riv this mf is gonna die

eeeeehh gross gore

mmmmm heres the fatphobia

beatrix doesn't give me good vibes

mmmmmm mom of the year award goes to bloom's mom. like ik ik youre worried but you didnt have to call your child a weird loner??? that shit hurts man (am i speaking from personal experience? mayhaps)

oh yay another sky and bloom interaction /s

i am begging this show to make one of the winx gay pleaseee

or bi

please just don't make all of them cishet

(who am i kidding,, they're all gonna end up in cishet relationships)

Are sky and stella exes??

bloom really found out that there aren't any people outside the barrier and dipped from the party even though it might be dangerous. mood

ooh pretty firefly thingies

yeah bloom deffo committed arson

arson pog

she's gonna straight up cause a forest fire

UH OH SHE CANT CONTROL IT

WATER FAIRY AISHA POG

Mmmm i dont like blooms parents

OH CHANGELING BLOOMS A CHANGELING

MMMMM MS DOWLING SUS VOTE HER OUT

I DONT LIKE RIV FUCK THAT GUY

FUCK OUTTA HERE WITH YOUR FATPHOBIA BITCH

yeah get his ass terra gET HIS ASS

Man alfea got that sweet cell signal

stella doesn't want bloom in alfea alrighty

musA IS A MIND FAIRY?? I THOUGHT SHE WAS A MUSIC ONE??

bruh stella i take whatever nice thing i said about you

man i miss my girl techna

give me my tech fairy back

"y'know you don't have to be okay." bitCH YOU CALLED HER A WEIRD LONER AND TOOK HER DOOR

mmmmm okay bloom's mom im giving you one more chance do not fuck it up

weird creepy building ew

oh its where she slept in

oop she gonna get jumped by burned ones

OOP SHE LOST THE RING

yeah fuck this im skipping i hate scenes like these

FUCK THE BURNED ONE TOOK THE RING

yeah sky and stella were exes

yeah no stella you gotta live the consequences of ur actions

Beatrix and riv are a duo that i do not need

terra is tryna reach out aw

oooh musa's an empath

oh okay ms. dowling isnt as sus anymore okay

who the hell is this rosalind character??

lmao watch her be bloom's bio mom

hooded character???? who are you???

OH GOD SHE'S A TRIX (?) like the one with the lightning powers

WAIT BEATRIX

FUCK

me: i've connected the dots

also me: you didn't connect them

FUCK SHES FREEIN THE BURNED ONE DAMNIT

FUCK I CALLED IT

final conclusion: so far i hate like half of all the characters in this show. the literal only people i trust is ms. dowling, terra, aisha, and the kid that riv picked on. everyone else i mildly dislike (stella) or can go fuck themselves (riv)

#b is liveblogging #cursing #i am not putting this in the tags lmaoooo #winx saga spoilers

[whumpqin]

Enough

What’s this? Another chapter? Oh man! (Actually I had written this chapter before the other one, but I needed something in between them for, uh, reasons.)

Link to Masterlist

Taglist:  @faewhump​ @galaxywhump​ @castielamigos-whump-side-blog​ @insanitywishes​  @burtlederp​ @whumpasaurus101​

CW: Non-fatal suicide attempt, Whumpee wanting to die to escape abuse, self harm, fucky thoughts about pain, blood, biting, self-vampirism/drinking one’s own blood, dehydration, starvation, spiders, referenced torture, referenced eye whump, pet whump, explicit vomiting / nausea, monster whumpee, creepy/intimate whumpers, 

Word Count: 2,149

There’s a spider in the basement today. It’s crawling in the corner, weaving a small web to catch some of the small flying gnats that were down here.

Like a magnet on similar sides, Elisha found himself curled into the opposite corner, repelled by the sight of it. Him and spiders… don’t get along, usually. Especially when they were in the same space. Before he would simply avoid their space and they would avoid his. Now, there was no getting out of watching it move about the room, and he could only pray that it wouldn’t come over to his side. He could never bring himself to kill it.

Most of all, he wasn’t sure he could kill it. All of his limbs were so weak from not being able to move around, and even shifting his toes back and forth took almost all of his energy. Even after his legs had mostly healed, and he could draw them up to his knees if he were able to with minimal aches, he couldn’t move. He couldn’t go anywhere.

And God, he ached.

Not a point on his skin was unmarked. Elisha had been beaten, whipped, cut, burned, rubbed raw, and broken in every sense of the word. His bones wept underneath his skin, streaks of  agony that fluttered through his body whenever he thought about moving. His lips cracked and split from the lack of water - despite being given a few gracious drops here and there - and his mouth felt dry. His insides felt like they were hollow, as if nothing was left of him but this shell that his Masters could torture to their greatest desire.

Then there was that spider and all eight of its legs moving on its web and he couldn’t do anything about it.

He couldn’t do anything about anything. Elisha was stuck in this moment of time, a hollow outline of himself, waiting for his Masters to finally tire of him. Maybe they’d be merciful enough to end his suffering, bury him out in the fields where he’d nourish the plants with his marrow. 

He had always wanted to be a tree. Or a bush. Or wheat. Or literally anything that wasn’t what he was now.

Elisha couldn’t stand himself.

His bones ached, his arms and legs he could barely move even if he really wanted to, his missing eye still moved around in its socket, like a ghost of what was there, his mouth was so dry eating sand might have been nourishing, he was so hungry ripping into the stone with his fangs wouldn’t even settle the constant rumble of his belly, and then there was that fucking spider-

Horns scraped against the stone again, bringing about a familiar and faint ache from them. The feeling was satisfying, something he could control, a pain that he could create himself. His Masters had tried to threaten him to stop but even their prying eyes didn’t stay on him forever.

The thought made him smile, a wide grin outstretched to either side of his face that didn’t reach his eyes, where they teared up and ran down. Elisha tasted more blood from his empty eye. Jeremiah would be angry that he sullied his bandage again like that.

It wasn’t enough. It didn’t hurt enough.

He swallowed, drinking in what little tears ran into his mouth. Tasting the copper tang of his own blood mixed with salt. It was incredible.

Elisha was losing his mind. He was well aware of that. But it wasn’t like his Masters were going to help him with that, were they? Aridai might call him cute or quirky again, and Jeremiah might just tell him to stop being weird.

Haha, he should have bitten that woman who called him weird. Maybe then he would have been a normal Cambion.

He still could bite, he supposed.

Elisha’s left eye angled downwards, where his hands splayed open in his lap. The faded tally marks against his pale green skin were evident along his arm, reminding him of all of his rules. Those damned rules, forcing him to be perfect or else suffer horrible consequences.

It’s not hard to hate them.

He bared his fangs at his arm, forcing all of his energy into the limb so that he could raise it to his head. It lifted slowly, presenting the tally marks to himself as he sank his teeth in as hard as he could. Pain blossomed, swirling with his other aches and pains as he gasped from the feeling. Blood welled around the wound and dripped onto his tongue, flooding his senses with its taste.

It was with a sudden surge that Elisha realized he wanted more. More of himself, of his blood, even with the panicked nagging in his brain begging him to stop. His teeth ripped at the skin of the tally mark, sending a jolt of agonizing pain that made his mind go numb to everything else for a moment. Elisha swiped his tongue over the larger mark, relishing in the ability to drink something after what felt like days of nothing. Sparks of scattered pain littered his arm, screaming in agony at his betrayal, but there was something sickeningly desirable at doing this to himself.

Aridai didn’t even need to tell him to do this. Would they be proud of his lack of hesitation, at his resolve?

He soon found it too unbearable to move the arm and let it collapse against his lap. Elisha licked his lips, tasting the dirt and blood and his tears mixing together in an unholy concoction. All of it his own.

He forced his other arm to lift up, bringing his wrist close to his face. Elisha was so tired. He just wanted to see the sun again. A part of him had a feeling he never would.

It was slower this time, as he sank his teeth into his wrist, trying not to blindside himself with pain. Blood welled into his mouth again and Elisha drank, relaxing against the wall as he ripped and tore into himself. He ignored the sickened feeling from his stomach and the woozy, hazy feeling from his head, until his body wouldn’t allow him to. Elisha coughed, spitting up his own blood as he felt his stomach churn, feeling himself go limp at his vision blurred.

Distantly he heard the hatch to the basement open.

Elisha squinted, righting his vision just as boots stepped down, and he caught sight of lighter hair that he knew was blonde as Jeremiah blindly searched for the light switch. He hoped he had arrived too late to do anything.

When the light flicked on, Jeremiah’s neutral expression turned into immediate horror - a widening of the eyes and gaping mouth that Elisha had never seen from him, ever - as he stared at Elisha’s bleeding form. Blood still welled from his wrist, pooling into the dirty ground around him. Elisha looked up to his Sir in misery and elation, completely pleased in how he made himself suffer.

“What the fuck?!” Jeremiah all but shrieked. He dove for Elisha and picked up the arm where he’d bitten off the tally, holding his hand tightly over the wound to get it to stop bleeding. “What the fuck did you- holy shit. ARIDAI!”

Jeremiah had seen his wrist. He shifted forward, tightly wrapping his hand around the bite mark and putting heavy pressure on it. Elisha’s lip curled at the attempt, pulling away from his Sir. Just let him bleed, let it happen. Why was he trying so hard for a stupid pet who couldn’t get anything right?

“Stop, Caleb stop- stay the fuck still,” Jeremiah breathed, but there was no lasting anger behind it.

Quick footsteps and a flash of red noted the presence of Aridai. They stood back several feet or so, staring at the scene unfolding before them with genuine surprise, sleeves folded up and water dripping from their hands like they had just been washing something. Jeremiah craned his head backwards to look at them.

“Fucking help me, Aridai!” he yelled, pulling them out of their stupor.

“What the hell happened?!” Aridai stooped down next to Jeremiah, taking one hand while he took the other. Elisha’s eyebrows furrowed as they ripped off a piece of their own shirt to tightly tie it against his wrist.

“I don’t- I don’t know, I just- I just came down here and-and he was like this,” Jeremiah quickly explained, falling over his words while he inspected Elisha from head to toe, trying to make sure that the bites against his arms were the only things wrong with him.

“Shit. What the hell were you thinking, Caleb?” Aridai demanded, grabbing him by the chin and forcing his head up to look at them.

The motion finally made the dizziness in his head and the churning in his stomach mix together, and Elisha’s chest heaved, unable to stand his own blood coating his throat and stomach. He vomited up a mixture of bile and blood, coating his chest and Aridai’s arm as they pulled back in shock.

“Ugh, the fuck?!” they cursed, flicking their hand and holding it up in disgust. “What the hell did you do, decide to become a fucking vampire?!”

“Aridai, I don’t- I don’t know what to do, we can’t just take him to a hospital, can we?”

“No fucking hospitals, Jer. We handle this ourselves.” Aridai tied the shirt piece tighter against Elisha’s wrist, then wiped their hand on their pants to get rid of the extra blood and other fluids. “Hold his mouth open for me.”

Jeremiah did the same, instead using his belt to tie a makeshift tourniquet to stop too much blood flow. Elisha writhed under his Masters’ touch as they forced his mouth open. Jeremiah curled his fingers enough so that he couldn’t snap his jaws shut and bite, while Aridai practically stuck their fingers down his throat. Elisha gagged, the nausea in his stomach rolling uncomfortably.

“Come on… get that shit outta your system, diamond,” Aridai pressed, curling their index and middle finger to make him gag again. Elisha’s stomach heaved again, as he spat up more blood and bile from his throat. He let out a miserable cry, weak limbs clawing hopelessly at his Masters to get them to stop. “No, stop that. Take your punishment like a good boy and throw that blood back up. Shit’s bad for you.”

Once more he gagged, but this time only bile rose from his stomach. Aridai and Jeremiah let him go, satisfied, and turned their attention towards his wounds.

“We can’t leave him in the basement. Stupid thing would probably die of infection,” Aridai said. “Can’t leave him in the kitchen, he’ll just run. Same thing with the living room.”

“I’m not leaving him in the bathroom.” Jeremiah sighed, glancing up to the basement door. “Guess it’s the bedroom, then. We’ll be able to keep an eye on him through the night. I’ll have to put up some foundations so he doesn’t get loose.”

“Alright. You work on that while I dress these. Help me get him upstairs. He’s- goddammit he’s still fucking bleeding,” they hissed, putting pressure on his wrist again. Aridai’s head fell in annoyance and stress as they wrapped their hands tightly around his wound. “Caleb, honey, you’ve gotta stop. That’s enough of this little tantrum of yours.”

Elisha whined, tears flowing freely from his eyes. Everything hurt, and where the hollow once was it had been replaced not by satisfaction, but by discomfort and pain and sickness. His head fell forward in despair, butting into Jeremiah’s before his Sir pulled away in a hiss of pain, cursing as he grabbed Caleb’s horn and pressed his head back up against the wall.

“We need to get him some ice. Ari, what if he, he doesn’t stop bleeding? What are we going to do?” Jeremiah’s voice was just on this side of calm, an odd tense note in his voice. Panic.

“He’s just a pet, Jer. If he dies, he dies, and we’ll get a new one.” Aridai fished for the key in their pocket and tossed it to their partner. Then, their cruel eyes turned towards Caleb. “But we’re not going to let that happen, if we can. There’s still so much fun we can have, isn’t there Caleb?”

He closed his eyelid, breathing hard through his nose. They didn’t repeat themselves, or demand that he give and answer. Instead, Elisha caught their faint, hushed whispers about moving him back upstairs. Talk of blindfolds, muzzles, anything to keep him from seeing upstairs again. Not because they didn’t want him to see it, but because he didn’t deserve it. 

Elisha figured that was right, for the most part. They hadn’t given him permission to look upstairs, yet.

They wouldn’t even give him permission to die.

#whump #whump writing #my writing #whumplr #whump community #suicide attempt tw #nonfatal suicide attempt tw #whumpee wishing they were dead #self harm tw #bad thoughts about pain #(not masochism) #blood tw #biting #self vampirism #drinking blood #dehydration tw #starvation tw #spiders tw #referenced torture tw #referenced eye whump #pet whump #vomiting #nausea #emetophobia warning #monster whumpee #creepy whumper #intimate whumper #Elisha's Story #Elisha/Caleb #Jeremiah

[thequirkdetective]

Investigation 6 (10/7/2020): Hardening – Eijiro Kirishima

This time, we’re going to be tackling a quirk I have been thinking about for a while now; Hardening. This allows Kirishima to “make his entire body [as] hard as a rock”[1]. The quirk is mainly used for defence but does also make Kirishima’s body rough and sharp, which causes his attacks to be more dangerous to opponents. We’ll look at the exact composition of Kirishima’s hardened body, as well as the systems that allow the body parts to both harden and soften.

Firstly, we need to know what Kirishima’s hardened skin is made of, and to do this we need to know how much force it can withstand.

The largest easily measurable force Kirishima withstands is when he is crushed underneath a few robots in the sports festival [1]. It is difficult to tell how many robots of which type(s) he is caught under, but we can do the maths on both types, and see how they compare, starting with the largest robots. These are in fact the same model as the one Deku punched in the entrance exam due to it nearly crushing and killing Uraraka[2] (I’m not sure how UA spun that one in the risk assessment to allow them to make a reappearance). In any case, whatever fate would have befallen Uraraka instead turns its gaze to Kirishima in season 2, but rather than being steamrolled Kirishima instead undergoes the more abrupt and deadly force of a robot in freefall. He survives (unsurprisingly, or this investigation wouldn’t have much data to work with), due to his quirk.

The whole scene plays out with the contestants of the obstacle course race coming across a group of the aforementioned giant robots. Todoroki (no doubt fuelled by chronic daddy issues) freezes the robots and gets through, but makes the decision to freeze them in such positions as to cause them to fall over. Ignoring the rather worrying possibility of Todoroki deliberately killing the entire student body of UA (get mad in the notes), only two people are caught underneath the ensuing pile: Kirishima and Tetsutetsu. The actual moment of impact isn’t shown, but a few seconds afterwards, an unnamed student declares that they see someone trapped in the rubble, and Kirishima bursts upwards in a shower of metal and testosterone, followed closely by Tetsutetsu.

This shows, in the most basic interpretation, that quirked-up Kirishima is harder than a UA robot, since if he were less hard he would be immediately crushed. Sadly, material science is a little more nuanced than that. The exact definition of ‘hardness’ is difficult to pin down, and the stresses would not be equal across Kirishima’s whole body. This blog doesn’t have access to laboratory grade material simulation software (yet), so we can’t see the exact forces involved in a student-robot collision. We can, however, estimate the rough pressures Kirishima’s body withstood after being mercilessly crushed by Todoroki.

There are no viable references for discerning the height of the robots in season 2, so let’s go back to their first appearance in the entrance exam [2]. The scene where Deku punches on of the robots in the face gives us a nice tall building in the background, which we know from earlier is about 15 storeys high (50m or 164ft). Deku jumps upwards until he is level with the robot, and gives the robot a good whack. It topples backwards, his bones shatter, and he is accepted into UA, all due to his incredible feat of self-sacrifice for his love interest. However, in the many, many different shots between the jump and the impact, the height of both the boy and the robot’s head varies from level with the roof to well above any of the surrounding buildings. This is in part due to camera angles and fisheye effects, but whatever the reason it is difficult to say for certain how tall the robot is. Let’s approximate between the two extremes, and say it’s around 55m tall (180ft). The area of the base of the robot is, you guessed it, difficult to get a proper estimate of. This is mostly due to it being framed close-up or surrounded by clouds of ice and dust. Taking this into account, along with the fact that I have strayed way too deep down this rabbit hole, allows us to approximate the robot’s base size as the same as the surrounding buildings’, since it is shown in front of one and nearly blocks it from view. This means the robot is around 15m x 15m x 55m (49ft x 49ft x 180ft). Piling on another wild guesstimate of average density gives us a robot with a mass of ~4000 tonnes (~4400 tons). Now, we can use a bit of physics to figure out the force the robot exerts on Kirishima.

We now need to use what is fast becoming the most useful equation in these investigations: F = ma. We now know m, but we have yet to find a. Fortunately, it has an equation: ΔV/t, or the change in velocity over time. Unfortunately, since the robot topples sideways, we cannot use simple acceleration due to gravity. We have to get velocity in a slightly more roundabout way.

The velocity can be found with two equations, using the principle of conservation of energy (we’re ignoring air resistance, as is traditional in physics). In the process of falling, the robot’s gravitational potential energy gets converted into kinetic energy, and so if we know the amount of energy converted, we can find out the resultant speed. Gravitational potential energy is given by , or mass x gravitational field strength x change in height, all relative to the centre of mass. Pairing this with the kinetic energy equation ( ½mv2, or ½ x mass x velocity squared), and using conservation of energy, we see , so . Rearrange, and voilà: sqrt(2gΔh) (a very nice equation that serendipitously does not contain mass). The robot has a large, heavy base, so lets say the centre of mass starts 20m (66ft) up. Then, the robot falls and the centre of mass ends ~5m (16ft) from the ground. Now we know is 15m (49ft), and is, at least around sea level, 9.8m/s2. Therefore, if a 0-point robot toppled over, it would hit the ground with an average speed of 17m/s (38mph).

Now we can work out , if we approximate the distance it took for the robot to stop. It fell onto soil and kicked up quite a dust cloud, so lets say it embedded 1m down. Assuming uniform deceleration across the 1m of distance, comes to 144.5m/s2, and is a whopping 5.78×108 N, spread over ~750m2 (8073ft2), giving 770667 Pa (112 PSI), or 7.5x atmospheric pressure.

The smaller robots seem to be no more than 10m tall, so the force of their fall is only 10m/s (22mph). This means the force is a measly 50N, and the pressure 0.5Pa (7×10−5 PSI). Now, finally, we can find out what these numbers mean in terms of Kirishima’s quirk.

The pressure would be spread over ~1m2 of Kirishima, meaning the force on him is anywhere from 0.5N to 770667N depending on the type of the robot. The issue with this calculation is that it assumes the fall of both robots is distributed evenly between the ground and Kirishima, so the forces would actually be more in the range of 50N-770667N, the equivalent of balancing a weight on your head with a mass of 5-80000kg (11-176370lbs). A force of 770667N is about the force a house exerts on its foundations, but the shock needs to be taken into account. It’s the difference between having a house resting on concrete, and dropping half the house from 10m onto the same concrete. From this example it becomes rather clear which one does more damage.

Due to this, as well as the sheer magnitude of the resultant forces, we can rule out Kirishima being crushed by the largest robots. Such a robot would flatten almost anything in its path, including Kirishima, no matter what his quirk made his body into. This also explains his quick escape; he was underneath a small robot and only had to dig through a metre (3ft) or so of robot wiring and metal panels.

Kirishima’s quirk is continually compared to rock [1], which to me says silicates. Silicates are the predominant compounds in the earth’s crust, and are mostly responsible for giving rocks their hardness (sorry geologists and material scientists, but I do have to end this somewhere). The question now, as with many other investigations, is where the silicates originate. Many health food such as spinach, soy, and bananas contain high amounts of silicon dioxide, also known as silica or quartz. However, a much more efficient way to increase silica intake is sand. Sand is mostly silicon dioxide, and is also fairly easy to ingest, making it very useful for such purposes as turning into rock at will. We’ll figure out which one Kirishima employs later on.

In the Shie Hassaikai raid, Kirishima’s quirk is shown to deflect a quirk-destroying bullet[3]. These bullets are hollow, and do not cause nearly as much damage as a standard metal bullet so it may not be the case that Kirishima is fully bulletproof. This does make sense; granite shatters easily upon contact with a bullet and the quirk-destroying bullets did not give Mirio an injury comparable to a bullet wound. The ‘bullets’ instead act more like flying syringes. However, Kirishima does also defend against a rapid succession of punches from Kendo Rappa[4] using his quirk. This is again feasible, since it is akin to Rappa successively punching a brick or granite wall. Therefore, Kirishima’s hardened body is made of some silicate, most likely akin to quartz – the primary compound in both granite and sand, with trace amounts present in food.

This means that Kirishima’s body can in some way store silica, and then reconstruct it onto or into the surface of the skin. Silica is notoriously insoluble, only trace amounts dissolving in water or acids, and the main viable solvents for dissolving it being hydrofluoric acid or hot alkaline solutions. It’s the same story  for pure silicon. However, if Kirishima’s body were to absorb silicon as an ion (a common way to absorb minerals) then the compound could be made soluble in some interesting ways.

Detergents are used to make oil and grease soluble in water, by having a hydrophobic end that binds to dirt, and a hydrophilic end that is attracted to water. The detergent molecules then surround dirt particles and make them hydrophilic, forcing them into suspension (not technically solution). A similar mechanism could be used to lift silicate ions into suspension in Kirishima’s bloodstream. These would collect in Kirishima’s cells. Then, all it takes is the degradation of the ‘detergent’ molecules to force the silicates out of suspension, where they then crystallise. This essentially turns the inside of Kirishima’s cells into rock, if given a few tweaks.

The first main problem is that the silicate ions would not necessarily create silica unless they were introduced to oxygen ions. This can be fixed by the other chemical required – one to denature the detergent molecules. The whole process involves ionised molecules that bind to silicon ions and bring them into suspension in Kirishima’s blood. They travel to his cells, and collect there. The activation of the quirk is in fact the release of a specialised chemical which breaks down the ionised molecules, releasing the silicon ions. This chemical could then also contains oxygen ions which bond to the silicon, creating silica within Kirishima’s skin cells. Then, when the quirk is deactivated, the silica is broken down and more ionised molecules are released to bring the silicon back into suspension.

The only remaining problem with this system is movement. Turning all of Kirishima’s skin into rock would lock up his joints and prevent him from moving his limbs. The solution to this is leaving some of the skin cells at points of motion un-hardened, allowing certain areas of skin to stretch and flex whilst still gaining some defensive advantages. This does leave Kirishima with a few relative weak points at his shoulders, elbows, knees, and hands, but overall, this mechanism fulfils the brief almost to the letter: turning his body into rock. It also means that it simply strengthens his skin, and does not create a new layer of rock. This has the added benefit of transferring any damage to his hardened form onto his normal body, for example a large chunk of rock being blasted off would leave a large chunk of his flesh missing once the quirk was deactivated.

Finally, we need to establish the source of the silicate ions. It is most likely diet, but is eating silicon-rich foods enough to provide the amount of silicate required? 

Kirishima’s quirk manifested when he was quite young [4] , let’s say 3 years old since he can’t remember the event very clearly. At this point just his hand and arm could harden. The amount of silicate required can be calculated by the surface area of the affected area multiplied by the thickness of Kirishima’s skin.

The average surface area of a man’s hand is ~0.1m2 (1sq. ft). Kirishima is a toddler at this point, so a 0.1m2 area would cover his upper arm too, as shown. Skin is around 1mm thick on average, so the volume of silicate required for the first manifestation of his quirk is ~0.26g (0.009oz) of silica, the same amount as present in 40 bananas. This is a very feasible amount of silica to have ingested in three years, and if Kirishima made a habit of eating silica rich foods he could have enough silicon ions to harden his whole body in 10-15 years, depending on the thickness of the hardened skin. This matches with the anime, because his quirk was not very strong and could not activate across his entire body when he was in middle school [4] . In fact, the quirk could even manifest throughout most of Kirishima’s cells, leaving a few un-hardened for movement, and the amount of silica needed would still be plausible to intake over such a time period provided his body’s ability to absorb it.

Another fun effect that corroborates with the source material is silicon-rich foods like spinach being prone to wearing teeth down, possibly leading to the strange, sharp teeth Kirishima possesses. Most likely he has them filed due to their continual wearing.

In summary, Kirishima’s body can absorb silicon ions, using detergent-like ionised molecules to force the ions into suspension. Then, the silicon is carried through the bloodstream to Kirishima’s cells. When his quirk is activated, a molecule, most likely some kind of enzyme, is released that destroys the ions responsible for keeping the silicon atoms in suspension. This causes them to react with the oxygen ions present in the cells and enzyme, creating silicate crystals within Kirishima’s cells. Some muscle cells are left without crystals in order to preserve movement, and some skin cells are kept softened for the same purposes. When the quirk is deactivated, more ionic molecules are released which bring the silicate back into suspension, softening the cells again.

[1] Season 2 Episode 16: In Their Own Quirky Ways

[2] Season 1 Episode 4: Start Line

[3] Season 4 Episode 68: Let’s Go, Gutsy Red Riot

[4] Season 4 Episode 72: Red Riot

 If you liked this investigation and want to have a say in the next one, then make sure to send a recommendation for which quirk I should investigate!

#bnha #boku no hero academia #mha #my hero academia #kirishima eijirou #eijirou kirishima #tw: gore #gore mention #quirk investigation #bnha analysis

[dragon-kazansky]

A rose in London - Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 10 - Concerned

When the carriage came to a stop you hurried over to it, happy to see Sherlock was alright. When you had found out he hand't returned home, and no one could find him, you panicked. You had made your way over to Baker Street where Inspector Lestrade tried to tell you the details. You were more concerned about Sherlock's well being than the murder that took place, but made some mental notes anyway.

When message was received that Holmes had been found, you demanded to be taken to him. Lestrade took you to the crime scene where Sherlock would be taken.

When he climbed out of the carriage you couldn't help yourself and pulled him into a hug. Sherlock was not expecting that, but he welcomed it all the same. He returned the gesture.

It was a nice feeling to be held by you.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was?" You pulled away to look up at him. "No one knew where you were, I was going out of my mind." You spoke so quickly. Sherlock was touched you were so worried, but he needed you to calm down. He took your face into his hands and looked at you.

"I'm fine. A little hiccup happened, but I'm alive."

You took a deep breath and reached for his hands, holding them in your own.

"Where were you? Where did you go?" You still looked so worried.

"I had to get information."

"I should have gone with you."

"No. It was safer for you at home."

You gave a sigh and let go of his hands, turning away. You felt a little angry at his insistence on protecting you from whoever he had gone to see. You had an inkling of an idea, which made your heart sink in your chest, but it hurt more that wouldn't tell you anything. You stepped away from him.

"We have a crime scene to look at." You muttered.

Sherlock watched as you began to walk away from him. He closed his eyes for a moment, angry with himself he had upset you. He hoped when things calmed down, and he could guarantee you were safe, he would tell you everything.

"We've checked everything, sir. No sign of a break in." The pair of you were taken to the scene of the crime. You chose to ignore Sherlock's presence as you looked around. "The butler didn't hear a thing. So, body in the bathtub. His eyes were wide open and the only thing missing was-"

You had stood next to Clark to hear the details, but Sherlock's knocking on the wall was disturbing the brief. You both turned around to see what he was doing.

"-his ring, sir." The officer finished.

Sherlock came to stand by your side, hurt when you turned away from him again and moved to put distance between the pair of you. He turned his attention to the tub. He touched the inside and rubbed his fingers.

"Why did you drain the water?"

"Out of common decency." The officer by the window said.

"Crime is common. Logic is rare. The decent thing to do is catch the killer, not provide comfort for the corpse." Sherlock sprayed something up in the air. He then sat down and examined the situation.

He began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" You asked, unimpressed with his attitude.

"What is that?" He pointed to something beside him, ignoring your question. Two could play at this game, apparently. You glared at him from where you stood.

"Jasmine bath salt, sir." The window officer picked it up and smelt it.

"Superb. Probably comes from a larger container. Either be in the pantry, high up where it's warm and dry, or in a linen cupboard with a vent. And constable you could do worse than to check the ground near the rear window for any sign of footprints not your own. Data, data, data, I cannot make bricks without clay." He looked at you.

You just shook your head silently.

The room was emptied as everyone went to off to look in those places that had been listed. You remained for your own benefit, not giving Sherlock the idea you would give up because he upset you.

Sherlock gave another spray and watched as he thin dust was sucked into the crack between the panels on the wall.

Interested, you walked over to him. Putting your feelings aside, you looked at him for answers.

Sherlock gave a few more sprays before knocking against the panels. The sound was different between the two he knocked against. One was hollow on the other side. Sherlock looked you in the eye as he touched the wood and a door opened.

You rolled your eyes.

He pushed the door open and looked at you again.

You pushed past him and walked inside first. Sherlock followed after checking no one had come back.

The room wasn't very big, but there was a lot of stuff in it. On the far side was table littered with artefacts, it was sitting under a painted illustrated of two people with wings, sitting in front of a blue and gold pyramid. Blue velvet curtains were hanging open over the illustration and on either side of the curtains were symbols you did not recognise.

A shiver ran up your spine.

It reminded you of the book Ratheram had shown Sherlock. The one which contained spells in it, supposedly.

You let Sherlock examine the room, knowing you would only miss something if you tried yourself. You didn't need to feel humiliated as well today.

Sherlock knelt down by the table and picked up many things, slipping them into his inside coat pocket. His name was called from behind. He quickly hid a small book with a feather in it into his coat and stood up.

For his sake you wouldn't say anything.

Two officers, Clark being one of them, came into the little room.

"Was it in the cupboard or the pantry?"

"The pantry, sir. I don't know what to make of this." Sherlock walked past them. You followed him silently. "Excellent work."

You still refused to believe that Black Magic was real. There was no doubt in your mind that Blackwood had done this, after all, Rotheram was his father. It was only a matter of time before Lord Blackwood came for him, but there was no way this was done with magic.

You were sure Sherlock knew the same.

The only problem was proving how he did everything. That, and Blackwood was still out there somewhere.

Sherlock, once back outside, offered to help you into the carriage. You chose not accept his help and climbed in on your own. You didn't meet his gaze as he sat across from you, requesting to be taken to your address.

"Are you going to be upset with me all day?"

You didn't answer. You kept your gaze focused outside.

"I'm sorry for worrying you. I was drugged." He said nonchalantly.

You snapped you gaze to him instantly, "drugged?"

Sherlock was happy you were looking at him again. He nodded.

"By Irene Adler. I wasn't going to tell you because I want to protect you. This case is far more dangerous than I originally thought.  I don't think John would ever forgive me if something happened you on my own accord."

"You're protecting me for John's sake?"

"Yes."

"I see..." You lowered your gaze to your hands resting in your lap. He was doing all of this for John. Of course he was. He was worried John would be upset further if he found out Sherlock wouldn't let you tag along with him.

"I didn't want to say anything because Miss. Adler cannot be trusted." His gaze remained on you.

"I can look after myself, you know." You still refused to meet his gaze. "I don't need protecting all the time. I want to join you on this case because I'm interested. I want to learn from you and... you're my friend."

Sherlock smiled.

"Ah, you consider me a friend? Good. You're my friend too."

Finally you looked up and smiled at him.

"I was worried about you. I feared something had happened. I was so happy when I heard you were fine. Just... Sherlock, please know you can trust me. I want to be useful to you."

"You already are."

You smiled softly.

"Shall I come round first thing in the morning?"

"Please do. I'll have a cup of tea waiting for you."

The pair of you just smiled at one another.

When the carriage reached your house you let Sherlock help you out. He walked you to your door.

"Let me know if something comes up." You told him.

"You'll be the first person I come to." He winked.

You leaned up and placed a kiss to his cheek.

"Be careful, Sherlock."

He nodded and watched you disappear inside your home. He turned back around and climbed back into the carriage, a goofy grin on his face. He promised to never upset you like that again. He didn't think his heart could take it.

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@awyr @fandombeehive @charmed-asylum  @sigynbandraoi-blog  @procrastinatingmurder @madshelily @phantomofhogwarts @photography-to-all

#a rose in london #sherlock holmes #sherlock holmes x reader #chapter 10 #robert downey jr

[500wordtheology]

Detour: The Good Place Conclusion

    Please forgive me, I’m about to break protocol. Normally this blog is dedicated to theological topics and I strive to keep each post at around 500 words. Today’s post will certainly be theology related, but it is extremely unlikely I will be able to keep it brief. Should you want to skip this post, feel free to click here to advance to the next blog entry.

    The TV show “The Good Place” has now concluded. If you haven’t seen it, close this window and go watch the first season. It’s great. Possibly one of my favorite single seasons of any TV show ever. Genius creative work, and brilliant comedy and heart.

    I cannot say the same for the final season, and especially the final two episodes. That is what this blog post is about, and in case it wasn’t obvious:

    COMPLETE SPOILERS FOR “THE GOOD PLACE” AHEAD.

    I will not recap the show’s four seasons here, nor even the episodes being discussed. This is written for those who have already seen them. Instead let’s jump into exactly how, unfortunately, the conclusion of the show failed both morally and creatively.

    Please understand I do not write this as some stuffy critic. I lived the life of a stuffy critic in my younger days, and while it is a lovely boost to the ego, it is empty and dumb. I’ve learned that much at least. The reason for my critique here is because we as human beings need to KNOW this stuff. We need to not be tricked into shallow thought.

Where It All Falls Apart

    The Good Place made a number of mistakes with the final two episodes. Let’s discuss the errors and try to make clear where things went awry (and how/why they were hand-waved away).

    The penultimate episode, “Patty,” introduced the idea that an undisclosed amount of time in Paradise would cause you to become a boring, intellectually-stunted zombie. Apparently even the greatest thinkers who ever lived who managed to get into the Good Place only ever wanted milkshakes and orgasms, and instantly abandoned all big questions about the Universe for simple Hedonism. (And yes, it’s very true that Hedonism is empty and meaningless.)

    This outcome makes very little sense, and I am unsure if it was a result of running out of episodes (which would be a shame, because the early bits of the final season were often dull and it would have been far better spending more time exploring these later concepts instead of cheap laughs at the expense of stereotypical, hollow characters introduced and then thrown away) or if it was simply bad and unimaginative writing. Considering the fantastic writing of Seasons 1 and 2, and sometimes 3, this is extremely puzzling. At any rate, it shows a serious lack of creativity.

    Here is an important truth that was almost totally avoided in these final episodes: The question “Why?” does not disappear simply because you can conjure up a Coke and some sunglasses any time you want. Those questions remain. They might even move more to the forefront of the mind. Why are things the way they are? Unanswered, unexplored. Not just unexplored by the writers, but unexplored by the characters like Patty who were set up to have been in the Good Place for an undetermined amount of time (but “long”).

    This is the ultimate problem with exploring Philosophy without also exploring Theology alongside. Interviews with the creator of the show consistently have him bringing up things like Buddhism or Hinduism, but strangely absent are Monotheistic religions. Why is this? For starters, I expect it is because many of the loudest voices in the modern Western world do not care for such concepts. They don’t like what it entails. If we are not in charge of our own ultimate destiny, which is the case when God exists and has made you with a purpose of his intention, our ego gets a slap in the face.

    And it should, because that is what our ego deserves when it is out of order, but that is another post.

    Anyway, it is possible this choice was made to avoid ruffling feathers of media and the societal elite. It is easier to play it safe, even for a show that tackled some very large concepts like morality.

    It is also possibly because studying such religions requires a great amount of work. Heaven, in Christianity, is not a fluffy cloud where you get everything you ever wanted (like margaritas and monkeys in go-karts), where you sit and play a harp (or guitar) all day and also, hey look, your childhood dog is there. That is a foolish, childish caricature of Heaven, but unfortunately has become widely accepted as true simply because people refuse to go study further. So mistruths are believed due to ignorance. Cartoonish ideas are thought to be accurate, because non-cartoonish ideas are hard and sometimes extremely uncomfortable.

    It’s more than a shame.

    Not only is Heaven infinitely better than such a stupid caricature, but it isn’t even the final destination! New Earth and bodily resurrection comes after. However that is Christianity, and The Good Place makes its own version of heaven instead. A cartoonish one. Fine. But even ignoring that, the problem The Good Place’s ending faces is in the mantra “Death makes life meaningful.”

    Here’s the kicker: That’s not untrue. And because it is not untrue, we can quickly and easily get extremely confused. In fact, go read some reviews of the final episode from a number of popular websites and you’ll find they herald this truth. Because in our earthly life, it is right to say death makes this part of our existence precious.

    The problem, and it is a HUGE one, is they then transpose the earthly lesson onto eternity. Ignorantly (and forgive me for this is not an insult but a statement of why they claim it, they simply don’t KNOW and I realize even saying such a thing is unpopular) they claim that eternity would be “like this life but longer.” And yes, if that was eternity they might have a point. However even within the universe The Good Place has created that is not accurate! We are shown concepts like The Time Knife, and IHOP, and Janet, and the Judge. These things alone make eternity not simply Earth-life-but-forever. And here arises a major problem, because the writers suddenly go from thinking reasonably large to thinking utterly small, right at the end when thinking big is so important.

    Creativity is boundless. The Good Place was certainly not short on creativity! At least… up until the end. At the end what you had was creative bankruptcy. A nihilistic conclusion that there is no real meaning - except this conclusion gussied up with terms like “peace” and “love” before folks walked off to their annihilation. It is, in fact, the gussying up that I have the biggest problem with. It is a flat-out lie, paraded as some virtue.

    This is detestable. Tricking the viewer into believing such ridiculousness as “if you’re ready to die, you should do it and your suicide is a good thing. The best thing, even. The only way to be happy forever.”

    I am sorry, but this is not only trash, it is dangerous trash. I hope I do not need to go into detail as to why.

Retirement for All

    Let me jump slightly sideways for a second and point out something extremely telling: The “solution” that everyone got on board with at the end of it all was The Eternal Shriek.

    Think about that for a second. That is what their solution was. The thing that in Season 1 and 2 seemed (rightfully) so horrific.

    Now immediately one might say “Oh, no, that is not the same at all! The Eternal Shriek was a forced thing, the pretty gate in the forest was a willful decision.” 

    Really? 

    WAS it?

    This is the response the writers want you to have, and it is one, again, of shallow thinking. This is the trick of the pretty forest scene and the constant throwing around words like “peace” and “calm” and “love” at the end. What we learn from the show is that the Forest Gate ends up being everyone’s ONLY ultimate option. Tahani, after mastering demonic/angelic architecture, will be left with the same ending. She will “be ready” but only because she has no choice but to eventually be ready. It is no longer a choice, but, as Eleanor says in the show itself in Season 2 “It’s a crappy deal, but it’s the only one we get.” Even after all they’ve learned (and have the potential to learn, let’s never forget that aspect) they play God (but far worse, because they are not God) and give humanity the *same deal* they say is crappy and lament how it is the only deal they got.

    You might also say “Oh, no, the Eternal Shriek had all that awful stuff like having your soul scooped out with flaming ladles.” Yeah? What of it? You’re not conscious anymore (otherwise Michael wouldn’t have lamented “no more me” when he had his existential crisis) so the desecration of your esense and the atoms of your body are as meaningless to you as if someone dumps your cremated ashes in the forest vs. in the ocean. Or, yes, even in a rubbish bin.

    Note the throw-away joke of the creature Derek has become. In his final speech (before getting rebooted again against his will) he mentions the heat death of the Universe. Let’s not ignore that. We are left by the writers (manipulated, really) with warm fuzzy feelings as one of Eleanor’s golden particle-thingies lands on a person who then does something decent instead of cruel. But what is not shown (because it would harp on our buzz) is that man will die. Michael will die. They will be annihilated and then, eventually, all humans will die, the earth will die, the universe will die, Derek will die, Janet will die, the Good Place will die, the Judge will die, and the final pretty gold sparkle will no fall on some new person to help them improve, but instead cease to Be entirely and have absolutely no meaning at all. It will all amount to exactly the same in the end as if the Bad Place guys ran things.

    To use the pretty analogy of the show, “The wave will still be water and return to the ocean,” but then the ocean will disappear entirely for no reason or purpose and even the wave and water will be worth nothing. (They don’t note this second half, because that second half doesn’t make you feel good. Yet it lurks there, undiscussed and ready to pounce and surprise.)

    This is the stark, awful truth of a purposeless universe and existence. It is an awful thing, but it is the truth if that is the worldview we’re exploring. (A reminder this is not the truth of God, though. God loves you, and you do not exist for no reason. A necessary reminder because when we start to really dig in and explore nihilism it gets “real dark real fast.” We need to hold onto the Light at such times.)

    At any rate, what then seems to separate the Eternal Shriek from the Forest Door is only that the last fleeting moments are located in a peaceful looking (though ultimately doomed) place. The results end up being identical. The final option of The Good Place ends up being the worst-possible-option of The Bad Place: Annihilation. This is the “solution” the writers came up with. The one they themselves made fun of in previous episodes (rightfully so, because it is terrible.)

    And yes, it is that big and important. The *foundation* of ideas is precicely where they either stand firm or topple and crush everyone around them. We must dig deep when it comes to what we think and believe.

Selfishness and “Love”

    Here I will break and tackle another awful, awful thing these final episodes support: Complete selfishness as somehow compatible with Love.

    Jason is not all that bright. But generally he seems to have a good heart, particularly for those he cares about. Yet after completing a single perfect round of a video game, he chooses to leave the not-a-woman he loves forever. To abandon her, because he just doesn’t feel like sticking around anymore.

    What?

    But okay. It’s Jason. I was willing to suspend some disbelief for the sake of the character, who is a few crayons short of a box.

    Then Chidi does the same thing.

    WHAT?

    This is utterly absurd. Here the writers want to write what they want to write, rather than be honest. It is one of my biggest convictions that an author must be honest. He or she may nudge things in certain directions, but if the author of a story ever forces a character to do something against their character, that is not only poor writing but completely dishonest. It is the lowest form of storytelling to do such a thing. And we find it here.

    Chidi, by his own admission, has a sense of calm and peace. Chidi is just fine. Yet he knows his choice to kill himself (annihilate, really, because we need to be crystal clear on that) will hurt Eleanor deeply. It will cause her extreme pain. He still chooses it.

    My friends, that is not love. That is also not Chidi.

    Love sacrifices for the beloved. And in this case, Chidi wouldn’t even be sacrificing much if he stayed, because we’ve already established he is at peace and internally calm. So rather than maintain this feeling, or even work to be better IF other feelings arose in the future, he checks out on Eleanor. Quits on her. Deserts her. (Leaving her a hedonistic even if hilarious calendar, no less. Fun joke but morally what the fork.)

    Loving relationships in our modern age have taken a severe hit. One reason may be that we think this is how you should treat someone you love. “Me first” has become the battle cry of the age. 

    No, my friends. Love first. Always.

    I anxiously await Heaven and New Earth. But also I love my wife, family, and friends. If I must stay here to support them, I will. Even if “there and then” is better, it doesn’t matter. I love them. I will remain for them. (I will even eat kale and exercise if it means I get to remain here to support them a little longer than if I only ate bacon and browsed Twitter from bed all day.)

    Beyond that, I will remain because God has me here for a purpose. But since The Good Place did not deal with such topics, resorting instead to vague concepts of “helping people is good, so totally do it” and the like, I will even abandon this particular train of thought for this discussion. Even if it was ONLY my wife, family, and friends, they are worth it. Love is big enough to cause me to keep going for them.

    Yes, Eleanor was noble in letting Chidi go. But Chidi was completely ignoble for going when he knew, without a doubt, she wanted him to remain. That she was not ready.

    I think this may be one reason after thousands of years (or whatever a Bearimy is, they keep it vague on purpose and that is very clever of them) Chidi and Elenor are still calling each other “boyfriend and girlfriend.” They REFUSE to commit. Why? Because a husband does not walk out on the wife he loves and we know it. We all know it. Deep inside we know that is not what a husband is meant to do. That would make Chidi a horrific husband. But walk out on a girlfriend? Eh. Sure. Not great, but okay. The world says that’s not so serious. Walk away, dude, no one will care.

    Sorry, Good Place writers, I care. I care deeply.

Why?

    Here is where we get to the meat of it. WHY do I care? (Especially as a number of people point out to me “it’s just a TV show.”)

    I care because I have SEEN what real love brings with it. Bliss. Not hedonistic happiness, but JOY. Ecstasy beyond frivolous ideas like orgasms. Delight beyond mere milkshakes and talking pandas. Glory. Perfection. Eternal Good with no end.

    It is better, and it is worth striving for.

    What happens when we accept and perpetuate ideas like “It is totally fine to abandon people you love as long as it is in your own best interest” is that it degradates our concept of love itself. Love becomes lesser and watered down. This is the same with divorce. Divorce is never easy. Sometimes it is necessary. But it SHOULD never be easy. And honestly? It SHOULD never be necessary. It’s because of our sin that the necessity arises. Here we see the problem not with eternity, but with eternity WITH sin still permitted. Yes, eternity breaks when we are simply “us” but “forever.” (Even if it is slightly-better-than-on-earth “us.”)

    Going back to the idea of love, when we chip away at love and redefine it to mean something lesser we open the doors wide for awful things like what Chidi did and what Jason did. Selfish things. And newsflash, for anyone who didn’t already know, WE WANT TO BE SELFISH. It is in us. We desire to look out for number one, and always have number one be us. This is why the great command is “Love God, and Love your neighbor as yourself.” Because we already know how to love ourselves. Loving ourselves is “I don’t feel like being here in paradise with you anymore, bye.” We are called to do better than that.

    Real love is epic, you guys. Real love is flippin ridiculously good. It redefines GOOD itself. We shouldn’t settle for the “this is nice” false love that is tossed around these days as if that is the bar. That is a garbage bar! Raise that puppy to where it belongs!

    When you experience the utter glory of God and his love, it changes everything. The cheap love the world peddles becomes laughable. But not just laughable: sad. After I watched the finale and read review after review online where people heralded this idea of “eternity would be boring without death” I cried. I laid on the floor and cried for a world that doesn’t know God. That thinks this is all there is, or that boredom could ever come about from true paradise. Forgive me, but what shallow thinking that is! What despair, without even knowing it.

    Alas, this is what people are taught. Let us never forget that Story does not just entertain us, it teaches us. It molds us. This is, sadly, the emptiness The Good Place ends up teaching as its last lesson. “Do good, because it’s good (don’t ask why), but then abandon doing good if it means you get what you want.” Hedonistic Nihilism is the conclusion they offer, spit-shined so you don’t think too hard about it or feel too bad. Yes, feel a little bad, they want you to do that. But not bad enough to really think about how the hope and golden particles of light in a peaceful forest are a trick to shy away from ultimate meaninglessness and selfishness behind it.

    This is the final moral of the show, and it is desperately sad. This is the emptiness of Philosophy without God. And when it is sugar-coated like they sugar-coated it, it is a cyanide pill that tastes great and goes down smooth. 

    You know, until it kills you.

#goodplace #the good place #God #theology #philosophy #review

[miraculouscontent]

I can't be the only one who was bothered by the ending of the latest episode. Not the memory wipe thing, that part was obvious. I mean how smug Cat Noir was when he found out he kissed Ladybug. I swear, every time he says he's entitled to ladybug, I just want to punch him in his smug face. There's no way MC Cat Noir would act like this, right?

*deep breath*

I’m sooooo tired of Chat acting like that. I was already lukewarm at the episode (not because it was “bad” or anything; as I stated early, I have a bias against fanservice and memory loss plots), but that ending made me livid.

Chat is so unbearably smug about the whole thing. They just got their memories back and Chat wastes no time in flirting with Ladybug and insisting that they “make a good couple.” Ladybug is clearly annoyed and tells him to stop, but Chat doesn’t even care.

And you know, this honestly isn’t even out-of-character, nor does it take any “mental gymnastics” to understand the mindset here. Chat has been consistently ignorant of Ladybug’s feelings.

“Prime Queen” is easily the best example (though I could’ve thrown “Syren” and “Frozer” in here too). Ladybug keeps insisting that they’re not a couple, but Chat eggs on the idea that they might be. He continuously stays oblivious to the fact that Ladybug is uncomfortable with the personal questions that Nadja is asking, to the point where Ladybug has to drag him out and Chat still doesn’t get what she’s doing. Even after Ladybug makes it clear why she left, Chat brushes her concerns off and acts like they’re TV stars instead of superheroes. He keeps seeing his superhero status as a luxury and not a job.

And, I don’t know, maybe that’s what he sees Ladybug as too: a luxury. He certainly seems to care when Ladybug is about to be eaten alive (”Animan”) or made to not exist (”Timebreaker”), but when she’s implied to have vague problems of her own (”Glaciator”) or has specific emotional problems, Chat disregards it.

In this episode, once he knows that Alya has a picture of them kissing, Chat just stares down Ladybug with a grin, leans forward, touches her face (which is lowkey rude because Ladybug pulled away in discomfort after she realized they were holding hands post-Miraculous Ladybug), and turns her head to a giggling Alya holding up the picture.

Because of course, Alya doesn’t care either. Ladybug said outright that she loved another boy, but Alya either didn’t hear or didn’t care (which she should because that’s a major scoop), instead posting the kiss to the Ladyblog without context.

(By the way, if I may derail for a bit, that is possibly the most stupid thing Alya has ever done. Ladybug isn’t just some superheroine who Alya doesn’t know on some level. Ladybug trusted Alya with the fox miraculous three times, yet Alya risks throwing that all out the window just to get some views on her blog. Ladybug said that she loved someone else and I simply do not believe that neither Alya nor Nino heard that. Even if they didn’t, no one knows if Ladybug has a boyfriend and that picture would put a giant thorn into everything if she did.)

And Chat just... stares in delight, completely unaware of Ladybug’s feelings and even using the opportunity to brag about how they’re completely meant to be (while Ladybug glares at him, I might add).

Ladybug basically said, “I’m not in love with you,” and Chat responded, “Yes you are.”

That’s not right. That’s not respect. That’s ignoring Ladybug’s feelings for what he wants to see.

Speaking of which, I said before that Chat doesn’t care when he’s loitering around battles because Miraculous Ladybug fixes it, but this scene really proves it.

When Ladybug points out that it’s Chat who got them in trouble in the first place, Chat laughs. He thinks it’s funny. He doesn’t take her seriously because any “trouble” that happens is easily remedied by Ladybug’s powers.

And in that respect, yeah, Chat sacrificing himself can really only benefit him. He’s not needed for Miraculous Ladybug, he looks like a perfect self-sacrificing sweetheart to Ladybug, and all is fixed by the end of it anyway. There are no consequences for him throwing himself into danger when is it blatantly not necessary or there’s a much better and much more obvious solution (”Zombiezou” and “Chameleon”).

So, it makes sense, totally, but that does not mean it puts him in a good light.

Not that it would surprise anyone, but I might as well admit it right now: when I saw that kiss, I felt nothing. It was a completely hollow feeling.

These amnesiac characters spent maybe a half hour together before deciding that they’re in love enough to kiss, and… honestly, I get that. They’re emotional teenagers, they’re isolated, and they’re forced to work together to escape. They saw things that made them believe that they were a couple and it made them much more open and convinced of the idea. Aside from their kwami, they only have each other, and the desperation and want to survive keeps them as a duo.

But they don’t know anyone else. They don’t know their parents. They don’t know their own lives. Ladybug can’t remember the stuff Chat has done to her that made her uncomfortable and annoyed.

They only know each other in the vaguest possible sense because any more than that might not lead to a kiss in the end.

Adding onto the kiss specifically, if all the two know is what they’ve seen during the episode, those aren’t grounds for Chat to kiss Ladybug; it’s more the other way around.

They both know that Marinette has pictures of Adrien in her phone, but they were confirmed to not be a couple (or at least not had their identities revealed yet) by Fu. Adrien saw the video where Ladybug yelled loudly about her and Chat not being a couple, yet once Fu explained that they haven’t revealed each other’s identities, he must’ve brushed off any thought of why Ladybug was so adamant about them not being a couple before getting her memory wiped.

It didn’t matter if he could’ve hurt Ladybug as Chat at some point. It didn’t matter what their feelings for each other were pre-Oblivio. All that mattered is that they were “in love” now and Chat wanted his kiss.

He asked permission, certainly, which is much better than Chat’s standard behavior, but I would much rather them reassuring each other that they’d find a way to fall in love again instead of kissing.

The kiss isn’t anything except for a tool to embarrass Marinette. That kiss will only lessen the effect of a potential true non-amnesia kiss at the end of the series. I talked about it with “Gigantitan,” but showing the audience something they wanted to see yet having it be a lie is just a way to lessen the impact when the real moment happens.

To some degree, I get why this episode exists. It’s almost right in the middle of Season 3, which is around the halfway point if the show is stopping at Season 5.

It’s basically the writers going, “Here’s how things would go without the love square,” and also, “We know there’s still a lot of time until an identity reveal, so we’ll release this to tide people over.

But if they need an episode full of fanservice to tide people over, that’s a blatant sign that they know they’re stalling without substance.

A memory loss episode is the easiest way to appease the fanbase, and I can understand why the fanbase would be appeased. The majority of salt typically agrees that almost all of Season 3 is either garbage or lackluster.

So, naturally, when an episode that has shipping value comes out, right when expectations are at their lowest, of course there would be a reaction.

But I didn’t feel anything. I knew where they were going with the constant teases. The second Chat asked for Ladybug’s permission, I knew that something was going to happen. I knew Chat was going to go nuts and ignore Ladybug’s feelings yet again.

That’s just what Chat does. That’s what he’s done consistently, and I can’t support the supposed dynamic between them when it’s not as balanced as Chat thinks it is. I can’t support the canon love square in any capacity when Chat behaves that way and never learns.

And, to refer back to the anon, no, MC Chat Noir would never act like that. He would’ve shaped up by “Prime Queen” and been upset at Alya for taking a photo of something so personal and without context. Even if he had been thrilled that he and Ladybug had kissed, that moment should be private and between only them; it wasn’t for anyone else to see.

But… ugh, it’s not like I planned to write any sort of fanfic, but I honestly am not sure if I could even have the love square be canon to MC stuff, even if it’s different. I’ll give it a few more episodes or wait until the end of the season, but as someone who’s had personal experiences with being confessed to (and who’s had people assume emotions and disregard anything said otherwise), Chat’s behavior makes me so uncomfortable…

#((TL;DR: I'm officially jumping this ship's ship.)) #category: salt #category: long post #word count: over 1000 #episode: Oblivio #relationship: love square #character: Chat Noir #other: ask and answer

[glitchrpgmain]

                      WELCOME TO THE UNDERWORLD.

congratulations MARIE ! you have been accepted into underworldfm. the role of PERIDOT will be portrayed by NADEZDHA CORVINUS. LINDSEY MORGAN is now taken. please submit your blog within the next 24 hours & be sure to follow the guidelines outlined in our checklist.

we can say with confidence that we both absolutely fell in love with nadezdha when we first read through her app. the way you detailed her inner struggle, her conflict, the moral crossroads she is stuck at due to the experiences that shaped her -- it’s amazing! we really love the detail you put into her and you have shaped her into such a strong but hesitant character at the same time! we’re excited to see her interact with the rest of the crew!

IC.

character. i’m applying for peridot! 

name. nadezhda aleksandrovna corvin(us).

age. 499 years old (and very excited to celebrate her half-millenium soon enough).

gender & pronouns. cis female, she/her pronouns.

BIO.

i. 

you were born at dawn. ominous, considering your species — but that was never how your father saw it. his first-born child, entering the world at dawn. to him, it held a different meaning. the dawn of a new era, the next generation. maybe it wasn’t the most creative metaphor, but it surely stuck. not to add that of all things, your name also meant hope. 

                          ( really, dad, what is it with these tropes? )

you were, to vampires, essentially the crown princess — and you were surely raised as proudly as one. descended from the originals themselves, arrogance was practically in your blood. power, beauty, riches, all were laid at your feet. maybe you were a little debauched every now and then, maybe you were just a little wilder than the rest, maybe you indulged a little too often. who could really blame you for it? you wore a crown, not a set of shackles. 

perhaps this is where your reputation started, in the earlier decades of your life. for others it would be chalked up to reckless youth, but as aleksander’s heir, you should have been taught better. though you’d never say it to his face ( or anyone’s face, for that matter ) in part, you think your father is to blame. 

since you could understand, you were told about the horrors of lycans, how those despicable monsters were trying to destroy everything you held dear, your very legacy. you hated them, truly, wholeheartedly hated them. 

but then again, it’s very easy to hate that which you do not know. 

ii. 

in a way, you were coddled. 

you were taught to hate lycans, to see them as abominations. you were taught how to kill them, too. a direct descendant of the originals might be powerful, but it also made you a target — so knowing how to defend yourself was one of the first things your father made sure you knew. 

          ( you also kind of enjoyed it, the training, the fighting. you rarely took                                       anything seriously in those early decades, except for that )

but for all your flaming hatred, for all the ways you knew how to use your silver blades and drive them home, you had never, actually seen a lycan, much less fought one. pampered, that’s what your father’s advisers called you. scoffing, you turned on your heel and complained to your mother — because that, is definitely not what pampered children did. 

looking back, even centuries later, you feel somewhat embarrassed at that youthful arrogance.

iii.

something had started nagging at you. before, you did not notice the disappointed stares some of the older vampires gave you. the way a lot of them did not take you seriously. the raised eyebrows and whispered comments. you were too caught up in your own hubris to recognize how maybe, just maybe, they did not see you as the golden-crowned heir you thought you were. 

“she has never even seen a lycan,” was one of the most common whispers you managed to overhear. annoyance turned to anger — and when someone thought lesser of you, you could not help but prove them the opposite. 

you convinced your mother to take a trip with you. quality time was your reasoning to her, but that piece of gossip you heard about a lone lycan in the area was most definitely involved in the decision. the death dealers had bigger problems to worry about to bother, but not you. 

this was when you realized they had been right all along. arrogant, pampered, stupid, even — if you were being really honest. 

there were six lycans, not one.

they damn near ripped your throat out.

your mother was left in so many bits and pieces after they finished with her, there was barely enough left to put in a casket for burial.

iv. 

at the age of sixty-seven, you were responsible for your mother’s death. for a human, that is an incredibly generous age to lose a parent at — but for an immortal… well, it was a tragedy to say the least.

you barely spoke the first few months after she was killed. they assumed you were innocent in the whole affair, that this was an ambush by the lycans to strike aleksander where it hurt most, they even praised you for managing to kill four of them by yourself. you let them. 

where you had been so fiercely, wildly alive ( as much alive as any vampire can be, that is ) before, there was now an empty shell. you were to blame for what happened and that was something you could not shake. the others mistook your guilt with a need for vengeance and suggested you join the death dealers. even your father encouraged it, though then again, a man who had just lost his wife might not be in the soundest state of mind. 

you accepted their offer. you hoped that killing those monsters would fill the gaping hole inside your chest. that it would make you feel better to brutalize them in the same way they did your mother.

and for a while, it did.

v. 

death is easy, living is the hard part. 

when you killed one of them, it was always easy. not the actual fight towards that kill, though you quickly learned your way into that as well, but the act of taking a life. you saw them as a stain on this earth, and why should that not be eradicated? your ancestors certainly thought so. 

with another two siblings joining the mix, your father had his attention elsewhere. you started to indulge in life a bit more again, to take the edge off, but never like before. you had learned your lesson there. 

no one knew you well enough to see that smiles never reached your eyes, kisses were rarely genuine, and even blood didn’t satisfy you at times. 

maybe you were still seen as more of a warrior than a future ruler, but there was a bit more respect for you in the coven now. you seemed to have dedicated your life to destroying the monsters that haunted them, the bare start of a legacy that was worthy to follow up your father’s. 

                            ( but nothing is ever that simple, is it? )

vi.

you fucked up again. this time, you managed not to endanger or cause the death of anyone else, but still found yourself in a situation that should have meant the end for you. 

trapped in a lycan nest, where a pack of twenty roamed all around, you found yourself alone, without any silver weapons and enough poisoned bites that you were delirious enough to hallucinate your dead mother — you know it’s bad when you hallucinate your dead mother. 

that was supposed to have been your end and you knew it too. preparing to go out in a blaze of glory worthy of the corvinus line ( nothing less was to be expected, you could not shame your father, even in death ) you found a hand clamped over her mouth, just before you were about to out the smart ass comment that introduced your death scene. always so dramatic.

it was a lycan who had silenced you. captured. a much more anticlimatic death than you had wanted, that was your first thought. 

but instead of taking you over to the other flea-bags to be tortured for the next couple hours, he pointed you towards the exit.

vii. 

your view of lycans has always been very simple: 

they were monsters. 

that’s what your father had always told you. that was what your entire life was built around from the moment you could understand what others were talking about. that was what they affirmed when they killed your mother. they surely did not have feelings, they should not even be capable of mercy. that was what monsters were, that was how they lived. 

so why did one of them save your life?

viii.

in the end, the experience changed you enough that you quit the death dealers. your reasons were simple, because like hell would you tell them about what happened. but the heir putting down her sword to focus on the other facets that came with leadership? that seemed understandable enough. 

                     ( it wasn’t even a full-on lie, you did pick up an interest in politics,                                                                   in history — in the art of being a ruler )

but really, when the monsters you’ve always seen as soulless, capable of nothing except evil, save your life, that’s bound to shift a person’s worldview. confusing was an understatement for your feelings back then. you learned more about lycans, things not always taught by your father or tutors, things that made them seem almost… human. 

scared of what this revelation brought, you hid it in a little corner of your mind, rarely ever a focus, ignored, even. instead, you put your energy into something you had always put off because it was boring. studying. you wanted to stay true to your excuse, that you wanted to become a better heir to your fathers’ empire — and it didn’t turn out to be that awful.

ix. 

you never really knew what the catalyst was to bring back your doubts. 

after your stint as a death dealer and actual starting interest in being a proper first-in-line to the great aleksander corvin, there was a more serious, authoritative air to you. plenty vampires still saw you as the arrogant, reckless youth you were in your first century of life, but you knew better now. 

for the most part, anyway.

so what made you so quiet when the others spoke about those dirty fleabags? why do you flinch when you hear a death dealer discuss their kill of a young lycan pup? what causes that hollow look in your eyes when someone mentions blood traitors, such as your adopted sibling?

did it start when you ended the life of a lycan prisoner before they could torture him to death? was it maybe even kyanite, when they were banished and you lost someone you didn’t even know you had been relying on?

you can no longer fully ignore what you know to be true, it tears you up inside.

x.

you were born at dawn. 

your father saw it as a sign that you would break in the dawn of a new era for your kind, he named you hope for that very reason. the question remains on what that new era will be like. do you hold onto your bloodline, your father, to all that your legacy is supposed to be? or do you cast off the bloodshed, all the centuries of death and destruction at the risk of losing everything?

it seems you have a choice to make.

#uwfmaccepted