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norraexploradora · 24 hours

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The Tragedy of the CX Troopers and the Missed Opportunity to Teach Us All an Important Lesson

A deeper look into how the CX-Troopers were handled in the Bad Batch and the narrative surrounding them that unfortunately got dropped in season 3

I want to start off by applauding the Bad Batch for the brave attempt to tackle dark topics throughout the series and presenting them in a way that is appropriate for families to watch and discuss with their children. Most of series is successful in being just dark enough to raise tension but to also keep things suitable for a child’s first glimpse into the harsh realities of life. However there still a few places that missed the mark.

The one I wish to cover today is the inconsistent narrative surrounding the CX-Troopers. I’m not here to say it was bad writing per se, but if a dark topic is discussed in a family oriented tv series, it is best to commit adequate time to truly flesh it out so the messaging is clear. Subjective is great in a mature series like Andor, but kids lack the life experience required to read between the lines.

And yes, exposition does make dialogue sound clunky at times, but there is a reason why most cartoons in the 80s had the kind of “The more you know” lesson after each episode. The Bad Batch was no different. Tech’s speech in the Crossing and his encouragement to Omega at the end of Retrieval are perfect examples of this.

In my opinion, there was an opportunity for an important lesson to be learned from the CX Troopers that was brought up but left unfinished. These shadow operatives could have been a way to show the viewer how anyone can be “brainwashed” either by force or by clever manipulation.

One operative in season 2 called himself a “Believer” which seems to evoke he was forcibly submerged into a cult-like indoctrination. It’s also why I prefer to use the phrase “coercive persuasion” or “forced persuasion” instead of brainwashing as they are a more accurate description of the process that has been historically implemented by governments, cults, and captors in order to make good people believe in or do horrible things.

Dr. Hemlock’s use of forced persuasion on select clones to turn them into CX-Troopers is a interesting look into the real world and well-documented cases of brainwashing within fascist regimes; especially in wartime settings. It is common and disturbing tactic implemented in moments of great despair and something that deserves more focus within the narrative if it is to be brought up as a major plot point.

Most of the brainwashing aspects in the Bad Batch were rapidly glossed over probably due to time and budget constraints, and not so much by the dark and disturbing imagery. One can easily get the “idea across” without showing it explicitly. (Like Crosshair having his hand chopped off. We didn’t see it but yeah, we get the gist).

I will say however, that despite the mystery surrounding brainwashing in the CX-Program, one of the more poignant moments was Captain Rex telling a caught CX Trooper that he was still their brother and that they would help him. It was a beautiful show of compassion and introduced new plot element; that the soldiers who undergo forced persuasion could possibly be reached or even saved.

It’s not a stretch to believe that the Bad Batch would take this route given the series had built up “we don’t leave our own behind” as one of the main themes. It would also be safe to say that saving fictional heroes from brainwashing gives us hope that real life survivors can recover from such trauma.

It was one of the many reasons fans were led to believe that the mysterious CX-2 operative could have been Tech or Cody. The focus on this particular shadow operative gave rise to speculation that he was different, that there was something coming to shed light or hope that a lost soldier could be found and rescued; something that would make sense of it were a character we already cared greatly about.

Alas, CX-2 was kept a mystery box that gave no insight to the tragic nature of his existence nor gave us a reason to mourn his death. That is why the battle between the Bad Batch and Hemlock’s Batch of secret operatives felt rushed and incomplete to some viewers. There wasn’t proper time for the story to breathe beyond “One Batch is good, the other Batch is bad.”

There were simply too many dropped narratives throughout the final season that reduced the whole CX Trooper plot to a video game-esque final boss battle. Don’t get me wrong, it was an amazing fight, beautifully animated, terrifying, and intense; but nevertheless, it felt hollow because the build-up went nowhere.

At that’s exactly where the narrative around the tragic nature of brainwashing got lost.

It’s important for you to know that I’m not saying the Bad Batch killing these operatives in the final fight was wrong. I’m also not saying that they should have tried to reach out to save these Shadow Operatives in the middle of of a life and death situation. It’s just unfortunate that we were never given a reason to feel anything other than relief that the CX-Troopers were killed.

And yes, this is a show about the Bad Batch and not brainwashed mystery troopers, but I stress, the writing set up these characters and introduced a very dark and disturbing concept to young viewers. With more time and effort spent on the narrative, it could have been an important lesson that applies to real life.

Coercive Persuasion is not a fantasy concept. It is very very real. Sleep deprivation, isolation, abuse, constant interrogation, drugging, shame, and humiliation, are all various means to break down a person’s will and forcibly persuade them into believing anything.

One can simply look to how many people get forced into false confessions by unethical police practices, or those who end up committing atrocities due to cult leader manipulation. A more common and less obvious example is social media outlets designed to spin conspiracy theories; coercing people into believing anything they want, like like the Earth is flat and microchips were put in Covid vaccines. By preying upon people’s anger and fear, these sites cultivate distrust and can lead one to extremist thinking.

This is real world, dark and scary stuff that needs to be handled with serious care and consideration of bringing it into an animated Star Wars series.

So given more time and budget, how could this lesson be shown through the story of the Bad Batch? How could these brainwashed operatives been presented in a way to that is scary but still gives younger audiences a way to sympathize with them?

Shedding more light on a terrifying process would remind us the CX-Troopers are victims and despite their terrifying nature, they still deserve our compassion and empathy. So giving the operatives more of a backstory is a good start.

For Example:

Showing the transformation of at least one of these operatives before the final battle would provide more emotional impact after their demise. Having kids clearly, and not subjectively, understand that under those cool costumes there used to be good men is such an important lesson. It reinforces the narrative that the real villains aren’t these soldiers but the regime that warped their minds and forced them into mindless monsters.

To be clear, this a a family series and I am in no way implying that a clear visual of lengthy torture would be acceptable. There are already hints through Crosshair’s PTSD and that is enough to get the idea across.

My suggestion would have been to place the sniper clone who eventually became CX-2 in the cell next to Crosshair while on Tantis. The viewer gradually sees these two men go back and forth to their cells after these conditioning sessions and the witness bond that forms between them. Crosshair is forced to see CX-2’s identity slip more and more away after each session until he is no longer the person he once was. The sadness and loss of seeing this man lose his identity not only leaves a mark on Crosshair, but by the viewer as well.

The scene of the shadow operative watching Crosshair on Tantiss and the one shadow operative calling him “brother” would have made more sense in retrospect. In addition, having an emotional and clear connection between Crosshair and the man who became CX-2, would have given their epic fight on top of the waterfall more emotional weight. CX-2’s line “You could have been one of us. You made the wrong choice” would be more resonant to the viewer. CX-2 would literally be a sniper shadow operative that Crosshair could have become verses a subjective mystery box.

To further this narrative and Crosshair’s character arc, making the above change to the story could have also opened the door to Crosshair eventually saving this lost brother. Omega’s determination to never give up on Crosshair could have resulted in Crosshair reaching out to CX-2 and eventually getting through to him before the final battle. It would have been so emotional and fulfilling.

And yet…as lovely as that would have been, I realize the above scenario would require at least one additional episode; which the animation team probably didn’t have the luxury or the budget to do. So I’ll offer another solution:

Adding a few minutes here and there during season 2 and the beginning of season 3 dedicated to Hemlock’s treatment to the CX-Troopers and other Clone prisoners would give the viewer a clearer picture into the nature of the CX Program. The result would be that the feeling of triumph wouldn’t be seeing the shadow operatives lying dead on the floor but knowing that the experimentation on the clones at Tantiss by Dr. Hemlock was finally over.

So in conclusion:

It’s a shame that the shadow operatives were left a mystery and simply became foils and metaphors. The fight at the end was nothing more than the Batch having to kill or be killed and it failed to showcase a serious topic with less black and white thinking.

With more time, the writers could have explored the tragedy of forced coercion. Discussing a difficult subject in a manner fit for young audiences could leave them with awareness when they are faced with a similar real world scenario.

The CX-Trooper plot could have also been a good way for a parent to discuss what coercive persuasion does to people; especially in today’s world where social media is rife with bad people luring in youth and manipulating their anger and fear into extremist thinking.

Think about it.

How does someone get so isolated that they fall prey to extremism and they end up committing acts of terrorism? How does one get indoctrinated into a cult and become so brainwashed that they take their own lives or the lives of others at the behest of a cult leader? How would an innocent person sign a confession of a crime they didn’t commit?

These are all good questions that people often ask after horrendous real life events and can regularly be seen on the daily news and social media. Having a fictional metaphor for scary real world issues that children could easily understand would be exactly the kind of thing Star Wars was created for. It was also created to give children and all of us hope.

So in the end, the lesson should have been that people who fall victim to brainwashing aren’t weak or gullible. They have been put through extreme duress and put through unethical means of isolation and manipulation.

And if there is hope for even one of the CX-Troopers to be saved, we as a society should have empathy and try to reach out to those in our own lives who have been a victim of coercive persuasion before writing them off.

Disclaimer:

One thing I’ve learned in life is that platforms like Twitter are not places for deep discussions and good faith arguments. You have a set number of letters to get your ideas across and interpreting the meaning or tone always leads to misunderstandings.

That is why I’m coming to to Tumblr to discuss my deep dives into season 3 of the Bad Batch. I am the type of person who doesn’t like angry, confrontational sparring over ideas.

My goal is to shed light on a different perspective; not to make anyone agree with me, but just to understand that we can all watch the same show and interpret things differently due to our own life experiences. By explaining my viewpoints, I’m showing you into my thought process. You are certainly free to disagree but I’m not trying to change your feelings on the matter, nor do I wish for anyone to forcibly change mine.

We can all exist in the same space and I encourage anyone who has a different view to write an analysis of their own instead of arguing in anyone’s comment section. Be kind and respectful and most of all, remember this is fiction and subjective interpretation. There are so many things to be really angry about in the world and Star Wars is the least of our worries.

Cheers and as always, May the Force be with you!

#tbb #tbb crosshair #the bad batch #tbb tech #the bad batch crosshair #bad batch spoilers #bad batch season 3 #badbatch #clone force 99 #bad batch tech #cx 2 #cx troopers

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danieyells · 2 days

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Thank you for sharing the tdb affinity lines! I know I won't be naturally getting any of these for ten years (if the games even still around by then) lol.

I was wondering if you could share any interesting lines of Taiga's? No pressure tho! It's just after seeing some of his lines from other people, he seems to have a bigger role in the story and I'm curious if any of his lines give any more clues to the situation on hand. Also would be interesting to see if he genuinely starts caring for mc besides wanting to like. Eat her for lunch lol.

It's no problem! And yeah that's part of why I wanna share them--getting the units to high enough affinity is a pain and to even see any of the home screen dialogues you need an SR or SSR, which means good luck with the gacha buckaroo.

YES TAIGA MY BELOVED. he's my favorite behind maybe Towa. Chances are if you've seen the one line you've seen the only one referring to that, although there is one more that may be related? But it might be general. As for caring for the PC, this is a joseimuke so. The characters will always love you more and more with time. And Taiga most certainly does haha doesn't prevent the hunger from rising up though. friendly reminder to feed your Taiga!

No affinity required:

"...Who're you? Don't pop up out of nowhere like that. Wouldn't want me to shoot you by mistake, would you?"

"What are you again? A middle school student? A transfer student? Got it, an honor student! Gyahaha! I'm never gonna remember that!"

"Playing with these morons is exhausting... Lulu gets all mad if I win too much..."

"That smells amazing... Shit, where's it coming from?"

please feed your taiga.

if you have messages:

"Huh? You got a letter. If it's for me just reply for me, yeah?"

Affinity 1:

"It's too early for your bleating. Shut your trap unless you wanna get abducted."

once again, welcome to sinostra's house of human trafficking--

Affinity 2:

"That dealer sucks. He's been here the longest? Why should I give a shit? Fire him."

Affinity 3:

"You wanna know what kinda meat this is? Anomaly meat. What else would it be? ...Who the fuck're you again?"

he recognizes you enough to ask 'again'! progress! also I guess he almost exclusively eats anomaly meat.

Affinity 4:

"Oops. I lost all the money Lulu gave me. Better make a run for it before he notices."

Affinity 5:

"I'm bored... Hey, you over there. Come play five finger filet with me. Gimme your left hand."

five finger fillet also called the knife game is when you put your hand on a table and stab the gaps between your fingers with a knife in a sequence! Obviously stabbing the hand being played with means you lose. Taiga's chibi plays it when he's idle!

Affinity 6:

"They nabbed one of ours? You guys aren't toddlers. Deal with it yourselves."

it's fascinating that there's such a faction divide within Sinostra that members of Taiga's side get abducted by Romeo's, and probably vice versa. And I bet Taiga doesn't care about any of this. Or at the very least it's not that serious to him.

Affinity 7:

"Gambling and shoot-outs are pretty much the same thing. Morons who panic mess up and get dead. Gyahaha!"

Affinity 8:

"None of you morons have any flair for the table. Lulu needs to raise the minimum bet already."

isn't it your casino too. . .can't

Affinity 9:

"You're a real smooth talker, huh? Don't remember anything you said though. Ciao!"

your seduction attempt didn't fail because of a bad roll, it failed because taiga failed a perception check lmao. . . .

Affinity 10:

"Can't sleep? Sit over there. I'll deal the cards."

He'll play with you until you fall asleep. . .or maybe he'll sit around making ASMR card shuffling noises until you doze off.

Affinity 11:

"...I'm not gonna play today. I'm sleeping. I don't care if the place is burning down— don't wake me up."

fun fact, he's making this face when he says this lol

Affinity 12:

"What's that guy's name again? You know, the one who's gonna become a judge or a cop or something. ...Whatever, I'll just forget it again."

at least he was interested in knowing for a second! maybe he'll give him a nickname.

Affinity 13:

"I spy, with my little eye, a tasty-looking kitty-cat.... Come over here so I can pat you. ...Nah, changed my mind. Scram."

maybe it's just my interpretation but I like to think he's hungry and he saw you and he mindlessly tried to lure you closer because he wanted to eat you, then came to his senses and told you to go away so he wouldn't do something stupid like trying to eat a human. . . .

Affinity 14:

"I'm starving... You, get my usual. It's breakfast time."

i wonder what his usual is.

Affinity 15:

"How does Lulu always have so much energy this early in the morning? It it 'cause of all that expensive water he drinks?"

Affinity 16:

"Stop talking. I don't care."

Affinity 17:

"You going to bed already? Aren't you a good little kitty-cat. Whatever, do what you want."

he'd rather you stay up with him but he's not attached enough to try and make you stay up. . .yet.

Affinity 18:

"You want a surefire way to win at the table? Doesn't exist. You just gotta keep playing."

Affinity 19:

"Hey, go warm up my bed for me. What do you mean how? Get in there, dumbass."

either you're gonna get fucked or you're gonna get disappointed when he really just wanted a warm spot that smells nice to lie in and he makes you leave after he gets in bed. Or maybe he'll let you sleep in the bed with him and use you as a little body pillow!

I'd also like to add that the expression he's using is called "using the "adult" face "adult" so uh. leaning more towards you're gonna get fucked here.

Affinity 20:

"Where you going, kitty-cat? Class? You don't need to go there. I got something more fun in mind for us."

the expression used here is once again simply labelled "adult" so. . . . No going to class and no going to sleep.

Affinity 21:

"That's it, kitty-cat. I feel like my luck'll change if you're around."

Affinity 22:

"I'm starving... This isn't enough... I want more... More..."

they've gotta stop letting him go so long without eating because he clearly loses his mind if he doesn't eat enough meat.

Affinity 23:

"I'm the only one who sees how fucked we are. But he won't believe me. So just let it all burn down—I don't give a shit anymore."

if Taiga sees the future or knows the future because of timeline/loop shit, then that Taiga doesn't seem to actively care much about being Captain or doing his job makes sense. He knows that if nothing changes everything's going to fall apart anyway so there's no point in trying. We don't really know what his stigma does either--in fact, his "good luck" could be that he can see and react to future events, so he knows things like what cards will be drawn and such. But he's getting tired of everything always going so bad no mater what he does in response to what he sees. And Romeo(? it doesn't say who he's telling about how bad things are getting) isn't helping to make changes. . .so he's just giving up. But now you're here, maybe you're different somehow. Maybe somehow you're an outlier in this timeline. Maybe injuring you was on purpose to change something in the future he saw. Maybe that's why he's telling you about the spy. . . .of course this is all speculation. Until we learn what his stigma does or what he means by 'ditch this future' then. . .all speculation. But there is a wickhive post that someone can see the future. And the more I think about it the more I wonder if it's Taiga. (also because i'm sure someone will point this out, the wording 'let it all burn down' is specific to the English dialogue, so it's not a callback to the pre-prequel sequence where the school is on fire.)

Affinity 24:

"If you don't like pain then quit flailing around. I'm getting a taste of you, so close your eyes and shut up."

welcome back to the torture chair! You're probably getting cut like a piece of good meat before he just sinks his teeth into you! Your hands and legs are bound and he's not going to let you get away without eating at least a little of your flesh, so suck it up. That or scream and hope somebody comes to rescue you. . .but the desire to eat the pc never goes away. Most likely because he just wants to eat fresh meat in general and the more he likes someone and the more they hang around him the more he wants to eat them. . .although I assume he unlearned it and now you're here and he just can't help himself. . .if they did consume demons to become ghouls, I bet you're the only thing short of maybe Romeo that'll taste anywhere near as good as that demon did.

Affinity 25(max):

"You're not getting away from me, kitten. You're here till death do us part, whether you like it or not."

oh and also you're married. y'know in case you wanted to do that. or even if you didn't. you don't have a choice in the matter.

Spring:

"(Yawn) Man, why am I so tired today... Someone spike my food?"

"What? Cherry blossoms? Is it that time of year already? Man, that snuck up on me."

"Fuck it, I'm taking a nap. Come over here and be my pillow."

"What's with that vacant look on your face? You need more excitement in your life? Come over here, I'll play with you."

Summer:

"Too hot... Hey, I want my breakfast on ice. They got tons of it over on Jin's turf, go nab some."

hey uh why do you remember Jin by name. like i know Jin's short enough of a name to not need a nickname but also you remember not only Jin but where he lives and how cold it is? Then again you started in the same year, maybe Taiga remembers all the third years since he's known them for two years?

"Why don't we make a giant pool in Sinostra? It's so hot here. I'll put up the cash... Wait no, I used it all yesterday."

YOU COULD HAVE A NICE POOL IF YOU WERE MORE RESPONSIBLE WITH YOUR MONEY.

"Quiz time—where's Lulu going all dolled up on a stinking hot day like this? Answer— he's cheating on me! Gyahaha!"

THEY ARE FEEDING MY SHIP WHAT DO YOU MEAN TAIGA JOKES THAT THEY'RE DATING. they have such awful married couple who hate each other but also love each other energy.

"Shower? I don't wanna... Shut up and strip me already then."

man he has no fucks to give that you'd be taking his clothes off and seeing him naked huh. . . .

Autumn:

"Good weather for sports? You get a lot more exercise fighting to the death. Gyahaha!"

how frequently do you think he fights to the death. . .probably a lot less than he used to. poor baby needs his deadly enrichment. Also the fact that he finds the idea of fighting to the death fun explains why he smiles when he takes damage in combat lol

"That looks tasty. Gimme a bite."

so given one of the most common autumn foods in japan is like sweet potatoes(and also the pc probably doesn't eat raw anomaly meat) I assume this means he does eat normal food, just prefers to eat raw meat especially from anomalies? Either way, i am once again remind you to feed your Taiga.

"We're going out. I've been eating more lately and these guys are too slow. Gonna go stock up."

you've been eating more lately? because it's autumn? what are you, a bear about to go into hibernation?? also he's taking you grocery shopping i guess. or anomaly hunting. . . .

"Watch your back. Way easier to jump people when it gets dark so early. Gyahaha!"

i'd like to think he stuck his gun under your chin and snuck up behind you from in the dark here lol

Winter:

"You trying to pull my covers off? Wanna die?"

my boy does NOT like being cold. Or getting up in the morning. So winter mornings? just leave him in bed.

"I wanna go nab some food from Harry's place, but it's too cold for that shit..."

"Oh, I got an idea. I just gotta use someone as a punching bag to warm up. Hey you guys, stand over there."

Taiga beating the shit out of his own men because the exercise will keep him warm. . .why do people side with you again?

"I don't like the cold... Come on, come be my hot water bottle! Let me cuddle up to you!"

Getting all tangled up with Taiga under his blankets while he shivers because Sinostra is in a desert and deserts in the winter can be FUCKING COLD especially at night. It gets cold and he's just the whiniest little meow-meow. Until he gets hungry.

His birthday:

"Huh? Whose birthday? Mine? Gyahaha! Totally forgot about it! Grazie!"

it's okay Taiga, I forget my birthday too most of the time.

Your birthday:

"Is it your birthday today? That little twerp told me. Okay, you can take one thing from my room."

Ritsu fuckin doxed you? is that legal? Doesn't Taiga's room have like a pile of coins in it. . .is one coin 'one thing' or is 'the pile of coins' one thing. . .then again the background is AI generated so. not really sensible and doesn't say much about him sadly. considering taiga's described as spending his money wastefully I assume he buys a lot of random things he doesn't need or use--then again he probably spends most of it on gambling. But considering he's offering you anything out of his room, I assume there's a lot of nice stuff in there.

New Years:

"You gonna go skipping off to a shrine together just to get your fortune told? That's dumb. Here, let me guess what it'll say—you'll have an okay year."

Valentine's Day:

"Is that for me? Sure I'll take it, but it better be edible."

i was gonna say 'has he never gotten valentine's day chocolates before?' but i remembered that he probably doesn't really remember if he has so. this is probably his general reaction to gifts lol 'is it money and if not can i eat it'

White Day:

"What's that expectant look on your face? Lulu was harping on about mimosas or something before. That what you want?"

of course he doesn't know what white day is lol but he does remember that Romeo had something tasty!

April Fool's Day:

"I'm gonna die soon, you know? And I'm taking Lulu with me. ...Gotcha! Gyahaha!"

wait you didn't remember white day but you remembered april fool's day? maybe someone tried to prank him first lol remember guys, suicide is not an appropriate april fool's prank!

Halloween:

"Trick or treat. Where you gonna put your chips, kitty-cat?"

I think if you're trick or treating then they're supposed to decide if you get the trick or the treat. . .but it seems more like Taiga to give you something that could be a trick or a treat lolol russian roulette is a totally acceptable halloween party game right? of course!

Christmas:

"Come on Santa kitty, tie a ribbon 'round yourself and get over here. Gyahaha!"

at least he knows what gift he wants! unfortunately you don't know what for but based on his expression you may not get eaten. . .depending on your definition--

Idle:

"...This is boring. I'm outta here."

"Are you done yet? I'm hungry over here."

Absent:

"Long time no see! You decide to ditch this future too? Sorry I'm not dead yet."

AND HERE"S THE LINE THAT'S CAUSING SO MUCH SPECULATION. . .what does that even mean Taiga. . .what do you know, what have you seen. . .and can we fix this future instead of leaving it to rot--

UH. YEAH. I THINK I'VE SAID ENOUGH HAHA. . .everything Taiga says is so. . . ./gestures weakly) IT REALLY DOES SEEM LIKE MORE IS HAPPENING THAN YOU REALIZE RIGHT??? The game's still so early on we probably won't learn for a very long time lol. . . . But, yeah. Taiga definitely loves you--and lusts after you. As his affinity goes up, he asks "who are you" a lot less, did you notice? He starts to remember and just say "kitty cat" and "kitten", because that's who you are and he can remember that. So far the only people he remembers are Romeo, Hyde, and Jin it seems. And you.

#taiga hoshibami #tokyo debunker #danie yells at tokyo debunker #tokyo debunker spoilers #datamining cw #I LOVE HIM OKAY. HE'S JUST. A LOT.

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t-5seconds · 2 days

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i'm doing a hunger games simulator of @minas-linkverse ! the game is under the cut, the stats (placements and such) will be in a reblog.

our lineup! i had to cut team C, less because they're not canon and more because they were too many characters. the four swords, oot, and loz1&2 zeldas don't have linkverse designs as far as i know, so they're not here.

HYLIA DIES IMMEDIATELY. great start

interesting team up. everyone seems to be doing okay

NEVERMIND. WORLDS IS A TRIPLE MURDERER. sksw zelda, st zelda and hyrule are all out of the running! both hylia and hylia 2 dead on the first day. and first stole from a child. this concludes the reaping

everything is going fine. sailor is in his natural habitat

EVERYTHING IS GOING BAD. hero tries to kill... his own past self... but tp zelda stops him! so i guess time paradox prevented but first is still going to die in the future. albw zelda dies at the hand of alttp zelda. botw zelda kicks ass, defeating tetra and killing masks. legend kills mini, which admittedly i could see him doing. hilda takes the hylia route of dying all by herself. hoods somehow stalks a wolf without him noticing

ending off day one, feathers has some water. good job buddy. nine people are dead

that was a really deadly day one. worlds is currently in first place, from his triple murder. district 12 has been wiped out

everyone is having a great night, except tetra, who first just killed.

yeah, everyone except tetra had a good night one. four & hoods and botwzelda & ravio are cuddling, which is cute. time for day two!

the triple murderer is defeated! nobody killed him, he just ate some bad berries. also feathers has a sprained ankle now

i guess fangs did notice hoods stalking him! not much happened today. only two people died

now that worlds is dead, first, legend, alttp zelda, tp zelda and botw zelda are tied for first place. district 6 has been wiped out! only ravio lives to represent albw

alttp zelda kills sailor and gets herself into first place! also, four receives another hatchet. he has two now

ravio dies, the last remnant of albw. there were four of them, twice as much as other games had, so their odds were good, but not good enough i suppose. onto day 3

casual interactions. hoods and tp zelda are a fearsome team, i wonder how that happened. also four is doing very poorly even though he has two hatchets

a bad day for mental health, but a good day for staying alive! after two people died in the night, everyone left managed to survive all day.

districts 7 and 8 were wiped out. alttp zelda is now in first place.

first takes after hylia: death by falling. fangs and his zelda have a nice talk

legend kills feathers, cementing him and his zelda as the frontrunners. minish cap zelda questions her sanity again. maybe she's not doing so well.

ALTTP ZELDA KILLS LEGEND? they were on the same team, but i guess she didn't like having competition for first place! hoods and fangs kill tp zelda, despite having both previously teamed up with her- and she was on fangs' team! four kills botw zelda! mc zelda stops questioning her sanity for long enough to murder engie! what a day! a lot of people just died, and it was 50% betrayals! 75% if you count four backstabbing botw zelda!

these five are the only people left alive. when those four were hunting for "other tributes" they were just looking for alttp zelda. but they never took her alive

seven people died. districts 1, 2, 5 and 9 were wiped out. everyone is tied at one kill. there is nobody in the lead and no full teams left.

mc zelda and fangs are friends! that's nice. nobody dies in the night

fangs betrays mc zelda immediately! but she survives. no casualties today, so let's move on to the next night.

mc zelda and fangs are now friends again! make up your minds

OH OKAY. hoods and mc zelda are down! it's just fangs vs four now.

they're tied for kills. it all comes down to this... the final battle

...that was a fast final battle.

congratulations to four! i'll reblog this post with the placements and stats.

#don't check the reblogs if you don't want to be spoiled on the outcome of the game. the stats will give it away #linkverse #hunger games simulator

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sonoyoung · 2 days

Text

— Out of reach

roommate!dino x gn!reader | fluff + fake relationship + oblivious x oblivious(?) | 4.6k

a/n. long one, i spent a bit on this. I hope it's well received i don't really have anything to say i think it's cute lol, also very obviously obsessed with dino's smile.

“Please guys, you’re just being annoying now” you had invited your friends over for dinner to finally celebrate your new living space, you had been planning it since you had acquired the place. It was a nice spacious apartment in the city centre perfect for your busy life mainly centred in the area so you weren’t too bothered by the fact that you would have to share the space with a roommate – it was more than enough for two people. However, a warning on the gender of said neighbour would have saved you a lot of embarrassing moments from your first week.

He was a nice guy, Chan, pretty mindful of your presence and reserved enough so you could live freely. For that same reason you barely ever talked in the 5 months you had been sharing said living space, at first it didn’t bother you since you were occupied with settling in but recently it’s just felt awkward.

First instance, last week you had just got back from work and ordered takeout slightly more than you would usually, just in case he hadn’t eaten. Your first thought was that it would be the perfect excuse to actually have a genuine conversation. So as soon as you entered and saw him in the kitchen you let him know he was more than welcome to take a box of noodles, what you didn’t expect was that he would thank you, grab him box and retrieve to his room before you could even take a seat.

It felt even more confusing since he’d have no problem talking to you at the end of the day, it would be a short conversation just summarizing your separate days and by the end you’d be ready to go to your respective rooms. As convenient it was that you didn’t need to make conversation constantly just because you bumped into each other in the corridor, a huge part of you actually wanted to know him, you didn’t just want to be neighbours, with anyone else it would have been a different story, but something about Chan just had you interested.

Back to your friends on the living room floor filling the usual quiet space with so much laughter just from the joys of teasing your 21-year-old inexperienced self.

“No seriously, let’s go to the club right now. It’s that easy y/n, you don’t have to stay clueless to the pleasures of life” Joshua stated, getting up on his feet in unison with his words, you just watched him giggle as he struggled to find his balance thanks to the wide range of alcohol they had brought along with them, all very quickly consumed.

“I’m fine, sit down please before you hurt yourself” reaching out your hand for him to hold on to as he found his seat back on the carpet, beside you Wonwoo took the opportunity to pat your head reassuring you that you were not a lost cause.

As much as you wanted to deny it, all their nagging was getting to you, you knew they were all just playing around because you were easy to pick on but you needed to make it stop and you weren’t going to go to the club to get some chlamydia’d dick, a simple white lie should be enough, after all you hadn’t seen each other much in 5 months, a lot can happen in 5 months.

“You guys are actually so funny assuming I’m still the same person I was 5 months ago” your plan was to keep it as vague as possible just enough to get them thinking,

“As if you would have fucked someone without asking for our guidance…” Soonyoung rolled her eyes not buying your attempt and the others followed with agreeing laughs,

“Wait but isn’t her roommate a guy?” Vernon brought up after some thought, you had no plans of dragging Chan into this, but he wouldn’t have to know so it wouldn’t hurt right…?

All their attention was brought on you, and it felt like now or never, you would let them enjoy the lie for a week or two before breaking the news, just enough time for you to catch a breath and he would not have to deal with any of it, it was too perfect to let it go.

“You’re so nosy, please stop with the questions.”

“Shut the fuck up, you’re fucking your roommate?!” Wonwoo exclaimed loud enough for it to echo throughout the apartment, thank goodness he was out late today,

“You shut the fuck up, we don’t need the whole apartment complex knowing” technically you didn’t admit to it they just assumed you were being serious, they were easier to trick than you thought judging from their shocked faces staring at you.

“I thought we were besties how could you not tell me? You should have facetimed me while it was happening! What the actual fuck?” Soonyoung whined shaking you aggressively as if it would change the fact, just as you were about to justify yourself you were interrupted by a familiar face walking into the room. Your first instinct was to turn to your friends hoping they wouldn’t start their greetings with “How was it?”.

“Oh Chan! I thought you were coming in late, sorry about the mess” you smile at him warmly hoping he’ll leave to his room as he usually does, he greets everyone with a small wave and slight bow before bringing his attention to you,

“Yeah, I did it’s 2am y/n” you’re almost taken aback by the small laugh that escapes his lips, it’s not the first time you’ve seen or heard him laugh but something about it being directed at you hits you in a completely different way you almost forget to answer.

“Oh sorry, we’ll wrap up soon I wasn’t paying attention to the time.”

“Take your time I don’t mind, it’s our place after all” the way he said those words combined with the way he was looking at you and maybe the amount of alcohol in your system convinced you he heard everything earlier or that was ready to make it reality. He left the room after that without forgetting a sweet goodnight to everyone in the room his eyes never leaving for longer than a microsecond you in the process.

The scene had the perfect effect on your group, each apologizing for ever doubting you, however it left you questioning every exchange you ever had with him and how you never realized how everything about him was so alluring, you had to kick the kids out.

“I can’t believe you’re kicking us out for dick y/n, you have changed” Joshua shook his head as you stood between the door seeing them out after ordering them an Uber home, you patted his head gently before waving goodbye and closing the door shut, taking a minute to lean on it before heading back to the living room.

Just as you step in your roommate steps out, he looks at the empty room and then at you,

“You really didn’t have to send them out” he sighs in disbelief making his way to the kitchen, you hadn’t thought about how you’d approach the subject, so you just settled on lurking till he brought it up himself,

“They were getting on my nerves” there it was again, a soft chuckle from his direction making you look up at him instinctively just to get a glimpse of his smile – what is going on with you?

You ended up staying there a while with him, maybe it was the fact that you were both slightly intoxicated but neither of you felt an urge to leave the room, you talked, laughed and by the time the sun was rising you had forgotten why you chose to stay instead of sleeping after your company had left. After months of stagnant conversations, you finally had a real one, about your friends, your aspirations and now came the sudden fear that this was a one-time thing and after this night you would just go back to where you were,

“So… absolutely of topic but I need you to act like my boyfriend to those guys for… a week maybe?” seeing him laugh makes you realize you could have probably used a different approach to bring it up but at least it is out there.

“I was actually waiting for you to bring it up, your friend yelling really got me curious” you couldn’t help hiding your face in your hands, he knew this whole time. It somehow felt more embarrassing than randomly begging him to act like your boyfriend, you could tell he was smiling clearly amused by the situation, you could hear his footsteps approach you on the couch, his hands uncovering your hidden frown face to face with his caring smile,

“I’ll help you that’s not a problem, don’t worry” your frown changes into a soft pout showing your gratitude, he lets out a scoff unable to hide his smile “…you’re cute”.

The whole situation had you confused and hearing those from him didn’t help your case nor did the fact that he was so close to you that you could so easily lean into his… maybe you needed to rethink this, if you were to fake a relationship with your roommate you could fall for him and if you did fall for him it would be one sided 9 times out of 10 considering he’s only doing this to help you.

You laugh off the remark leaning back into your seat as far away as it would be considered a conversation between two new acquaintances, he watched as you did so, apparently everything you did he found humour in, trying to keep a straight face.

“That’s really nice of you Chan, I’ll probably just tell them the truth by tomorrow though” he nods understandingly, a part of you just wants to take the chance to see where this would go but it’s overruled by your mature mindset reminding you there would be no escape if you do.

The mood might have shifted or maybe it’s just the fact that it’s morning and neither of you slept, you watch as he shuffles in his pocket for his phone letting out a loud sigh as soon as it flashes on and there he goes, back on his feet on his way to his room,

“The offer still stands if you change your mind let me know, I’ll gladly do it” the emphasis on gladly made your head spin, “Try get some rest okay? I’ll see you later.”

A couple days would pass, and the solution would become clearer, you tried multiple times to reveal to your friends it was a joke and you had nothing going on with your roommate but somehow your denying only reenforced their suspicions. Your conclusion was to ignore them and hope that with time they’d come through, but their stubbornness was stronger than your patience and so the operation begun, you needed to plan everything out leading up to your inevitable breakup and you had Chan to help through the rollercoaster.

“5 months? I feel like we can get through this in 1” you read his conditions for the arrangement shocked by the absurdity of it all, but the time frame is the most shocking, there’s no way you’re surviving 5 months of fake boyfriend Chan.

“It’s all about the impact” you look at him in disbelief confused as to what that even meant, he just tells you to trust him and you just shrug it off just wanting to get through this. Just like that you were dating your roommate Lee Chan with a long list of conditions signed in a contract.

There are many ways this could have gone, you could act like you were dearly in love with each other when you were around your friends, you could even just share little looks or touches just enough to convince whoever was around that there was at least some affection, but you somehow found a way to be the most awkward pair of people, forget being in a relationship, it was up for debate if you even knew each other.

When Soonyoung first asked you to come along with him and Vernon for the exhibition they were planning on seeing together you had thought it would be the perfect opportunity to formally introduce Chan to your friends, you wouldn’t have to talk too much about anything unrelated to the exhibition and they could see a bit of your “relationship dynamic” but you should have known better since it was coming from Soonyoung,

“You guys are so awkward, what the fuck?” he teased as you sat around the lounge, the famous exhibition lasted about 10 mins guiding you into a room where you could eat and drink for free, so he had taken the opportunity to interrogate you on how your lives work at home and so far, you hadn’t come together on a single answer,

Chan turned to you making sure your eyes met before he leaned closer to meet your ear, “Should we make a run for it?” a soft laugh escaped your lips the smile lingering for a second before bringing your lips to his ear, “On three. One, Two, Three...”

“Oh fuck, we forgot the turkey” he leans back, his eyes widening from the sudden realization his fist covering his mouth as he turns to you, you watch his acting skills play out genuinely amused by the sudden scenario.

“Ah yes, the chick- the turkey, we have to hurry. I can’t believe we forgot.” Shaking your head at your clumsiness, getting up on your feet from the comfortable lounge seats. You let him slide his hand in yours, almost getting used to the quickening of your heart after experiencing it 6 times in the evening.

You take a final look at your friends at the table who are clearly confused by the situation, giving them a sorry smile before turning away to let Chan lead you out the restaurant, you can almost hear their “what the fuck was that?” as you walk out the door.

The whole journey back was just you both echoing laughter back and forth, it felt like you were genuinely enjoying each other’s presence so much so that once you got home you wanted it to continue, you wanted to laugh at his funny impressions and admire the look on his face when he watched you laugh, just for that look you wanted to only laugh for him.

“No seriously you’re so good at acting, I was struggling keeping up” his face brightens up as he watches you dump yourself on the couch, adoring the way your words slur together from the little alcohol you had drank earlier,

“You do know I’m an actor, right?” you prop up from the couch looking at him in utter shock as he grabbed drinks from the fridge, seeing your expression he let out a loud laugh flashing his teeth for a second before covering his mouth in his elbow.

“It’s mostly part time for now but that’s the goal” you nodded attentively genuinely impressed by his aspirations, he handed you a drink sitting beside you, and though he felt close it was a proximity you liked, it didn’t feel forced or rushed it was just right.

You spent the rest of the night delving into your thoughts and passions, the things you loved and hated, your goals and expectations of yourselves seeing how they somehow aligned together, how you had similar mindsets, similar hopes, beliefs it made you feel somewhat confused because of the position you put yourself in, it felt like once you were done with this mini phase of your lives you would move on, and all these similarities would mean nothing.

The alcohol in your system was no help in drowning those thoughts but you tried your best to focus on the present moment and how much you were enjoying your newfound friendship,

“Oh wait, there’s this movie,” you watch him reach over you for the remote noticing the subtle hair growth on his jawline as he inched close, your fingers almost reaching up to feel the skin just as he leaned back into his seat, “have you seen it?”

On the screen you read Boogie Nights then turn to him with a confused smile, the moment he saw your face he sighed with a wide smile, “Listen, not everyone has” you shake your head at his misjudgement,

“And I’m everyone?”

A quick apology and you had moved on, deciding on rewatching the adaptation from the comfort of your couch, it was starting to get hard to differentiate real from fake being in this moment watching a comfort movie with him on the couch, slightly intoxicated, you felt more like a couple that you did a few hours ago when you were meant to be. You let yourself relax into the warm embrace of the couch, shoulders brushing, skin touching but keeping your focus on the movie, easing into it more you rest your head on his shoulder.

It felt so natural you hadn’t even realized his arm around you, his fingertips on your skin tracing circular patterns, you liked his soft touch it wasn’t alarming, even though it was distracting it felt nice. You tried to keep your eyes focused on the screen, watching every scene but registering nothing but the images flashing back and forth, that was until the scene came on.

Sex scenes rarely bothered you, if anything you’d just let it pass or just skip though it but now you were bothered, you had forgot how explicit this film got and you didn’t want to seem like a wuss but the way his touch felt on your skin seemed completely different, now it was intimate paired with the images on the screen. The heat burning up in your face as you kept your eyes on the screen while being so close to him, being so touch starved and inexperienced, it was only driving you crazy.

“I’m so tired…” you yawn getting up as you did, he’s already smiling knowingly almost smirking at you, his arms crossed over his chest legs spread open, the images playing on loop in your head, you needed to leave, “I’m gonna sleep bye, good night, enjoy your movie.”

Things would slowly evolve in your play couple, and you would start to feel closer to Chan, it was an inevitable consequence of living together and having planned the whole thing together. Chan would be so kind and patient with you but not wanting to get to attached would brush it off as nothing and it was starting to feel like the roles had reversed and you were now the one avoid him finding refuge in your room.

Your feelings were already getting mixed up in the first week of faking it, so now every hand touch, smile, lingering gaze felt like something more and that felt stupid because you put yourself in this spot in the first place so you couldn’t be the one catching feelings. But there was something in the way he cared, even when no one was there, in the way he’d become so talkative when it was just you two in the room, in the way he voiced his thoughts openly to you, making sure you didn’t feel uncomfortable in any way, you weren’t sure but it brought you some sort of warmth, a feeling of security in whatever it was you had going.

“What a lovely surprise” you felt his arm watching it slide around your waist before looking up at him.

“Shit. Sorry. Reflex.” Pulling his hand away almost as soon as your eyes met, you didn’t actually want him to let go but you supposed it made sense, you were in public but no one here on this random street cared about if you were fucking or not, he clears his throat trying to move past the random awkwardness.

“It’s okay, I was just heading home you too?” he nodded with a soft smile, walking by your side through the quiet street, it was a quiet walk neither of you had much to say, your mind was to focused on the slight brush of your hands against each other at every slight movement, it felt like you would so easily lean in to the yearning and complete your fingers’ puzzle but it wasn’t that easy. He could feel it too, he tried fixing his gaze on the trees, the cars passing but his head would turn, and his eyes would land on you watching you deep in thought, maybe everything you did he found beauty in because he couldn’t just look away.

Amidst all the chaos of unrequited love, you didn’t realize how far the rumours of your relationship had been spread thanks to your small groups of gossip girls, that was until you got a message from one of your closer friends inviting you and Chan to a party the upcoming week, your first reflex was to call Wonwoo.

“No seriously I told them not to say anything, it already messy enough as it is” listening as he explained, you sighed falling flat on your bed, you had no intentions of making Chan go to that party just because of your dumb lie, “It’s not that bad, it’ll be mostly friends no one is gonna hang you I swear.”

Somehow you weren’t so sure of that, considering it had already been 3 months of you gaslighting your friends into believing you were very much sexually active with your friendly neighbour. As fun as it was playing the role it felt like your runtime was out and you needed to end the show.

You didn’t expect it to be so nerve racking to just end a simple contract earlier that agreed but as you approached the living room where Chan was sited you just wanted to act like nothing happened and continue acting like a couple forever. The confrontation part of breakup was obviously not your forte.

“Oh hi, y/n” he scanned your face for a second before continuing, “is everything okay?” you didn’t know it was so apparent on your face, now it just felt like you were making a big deal out of nothing, you nod taking a seat beside him on the couch.

“I think we should break up” the confused expression on his face forced you to clarify, “like you know… figuratively?” a soft smile grew across his lips at your sudden shyness,

“Yeah, why though? Did something happen?” he shifts slightly in his seat inching closer to you showing genuine concern, you shake your head reassuring him before explaining the situation to him, he listened attentively, as he always does, before speaking up.

“I don’t mind going, it’s kinda what I agreed to” he nods to himself before looking at you, your eyebrows are furrowed trying to understand why this was harder than you assumed it would be,

“Not really, I didn’t plan for it to go this far out.” You explain and he comforts you once again.

“Why?” the words slip out before you can filter them, “You’re not gaining anything from this, I don’t really get it.”

“I don’t know I just want to see this to the end, I guess” he shrugs, and you can hear the “oh” escape your lips you didn’t even know you had been hoping for a specific answer till it came out, you finally accept it and retrieve to your room.

So you went, you went together holding hands as usual, smiling at the compliments that were thrown at your couple, accepting the little touches of affection with a soft blush on your face. It wasn’t a small party, it was a birthday party almost a time capsule of everyone you had met over the years, it was funny to see them all in one place, but you couldn’t shake off the feeling of deceiving them and at this point it wasn’t even fun to you anymore. You watched Chan grinning amongst the chattering crowd, he got along with everyone so well, somehow made himself a space in your friendships, in your life and now it was screaming at you, how badly you wanted this to be real, his hand fit so perfectly in yours and for what.

After a while of just sucking in the hurt you finally excused yourself to the backyard, to get fresh air you said but you just wanted to escape the feeling. You didn’t expect the tears to flow in with the rush of cool breeze, but it was expected you had been holding back the whole night, you sat there just taking in the night sky trying to distract yourself. You wipe the tears abruptly as you hear the backdoor open, glancing toward the sound and there he was. He had taken off his jacket, the sleeveless shirt he had on hugged his body perfectly, you watched as he approached you with a lazy smile running his fingers through his hair, his arm muscles flexing as he did. You tear your gaze away from him surprised at how quickly your thoughts could evolve.

He took his seat beside you on the bench, placing his finger right on your chin to pull your gaze back to him, his face dropped at the sight of your red eyes, if anyone would have noticed through the waterproof make up of course it would be him. You turn your head back to the grass underneath your feet not expecting him to follow it kneeling on the grass before you. Just seeing his worried face made them rush back in, his soft hands cupping your face while his thumbs wiped off the drops on your cheeks.

“You don’t have to act like this no one is here” you sniffle your eyes dropping from the slight contact unable to face him,

“Hey, hey, hey” trying to grab your attention, wanting your eyes on his before he spoke again, “I’m not doing this for anyone but you.” Why did it hurt even though he was being so nice?

You could see his panic as your tears multiplied “I really think we should end this, I’m sorry I dragged you into all of this” he shakes his head franticly, pulling you into his arms where you let yourself sob some more.

“You barely dragged me, I did it ‘cause I wanted to help you,” his soft caresses on the back of your head soothe your cries as his whisper flutter against your ears, “’cause I wanted to know you”

You found yourself wanting to stay in his arms forever, so you pulled away, wiping your tears and apologizing for making a mess on his top, you finally force a smile through the heartache, he returns the smile letting his fingers slip back around yours, gentle rubs back and forth from his thumb to your knuckles. “I guess you know me now… what’s the final review?”

His eyes are fixed on your hands glued together, nibbling anxiously on his bottom lip before looking up at you, “I think I love you.”

“What?” you could have stopped breathing from the shock, his gaze trails off, taking a deep breath before facing you again.

“Fuck— I’m sorry”

“Do you really?” you lean in closer to him hopefully, he looks up at you hesitantly, breathing out a quiet “More than you know.”

#seventeen fluff #seventeen #seventeen x reader #svt #svt fluff #svt fanfic #svt imagines #svt x reader #svt dino #lee chan #chan x reader #dino x reader #chan fluff #chan fanfic #kpop fluff

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poppitron360 · 2 days

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I’d like to dive deeper into my thoughts on Caleo, bc they have been taking up most of my brainpower rn:

I get where Rick was going with it. I really do. They started off hating each other, Calypso thinking Leo was really annoying and just generally being like “why is this tiny human talking to me?”, but then they grew closer, realised they misunderstood each other, and bonded over common ground. It’s sweet. But the thing is, Rick? You’ve already got a character that did all that with Leo in the previous book!

And his name is Frank.

1. You’ve already set up that dynamic! Why not spend more time focusing on fleshing out that existing arc instead of creating a new one?

2. There’s SO MUCH more potential with angst- Frank being afraid of Leo bc of his fire, Leo being afraid of Frank because he’s twice his size and could easily crush his tiny body under his foot. Leo’s had to learn to survive on his brains and quick-wits in order to protect himself from bullies, and instantly gets defensive when he sees Frank. Frank is very insecure and sensitive, so immediately falls victim to Leo’s jokes. It takes a while for both of them to take those walls down, put aside their differences, and learn to trust each other.

3. It’s just hilarious how got-off-on-the-wrong-foot they were. A reminder that when Frank first met Leo, Leo had just destroyed half of New Rome. They both immediately judged each other completely based on looks- like it’s seriously funny how much you could compare these two to “Pride and Prejudice”. Also, the awkward misunderstanding that was the whole Sammy thing-

4. But they also have a lot more in common that Leo and Calypso ever did- similar trauma with losing their moms, and actually Leo is just as afraid of fire as Frank is. Both are incredibly insecure, and they both feel like they don’t belong among the other Seven.

5. You’ve also got that fun opposites-attract thing- Frank is big and muscular, Leo is built like a twig. Frank is big soft pookie bear, Leo is an absolute menace to society. Frank can turn into animals, Leo is a machines guy. Frank is Roman, Leo is Greek. You get the idea. They were written to juxtapose each other beautifully. They are the Yin to each other’s Yang.

6. They get so much more time together to establish a meaningful relationship. Their arc carries over three books, and we get to form connections as a reader to BOTH Leo AND Frank separately beforehand, so the payoff is a lot more satisfying. It takes time for them to open up to each other, and when they do it feels like they earned it. Calypso and Leo got a couple of chapters, that’s it.

It doesn’t have to be romantic! Leo can heal his trauma with friends and found family, learning to love and accept himself, learning that he doesn’t actually need the attention of a hot girl to be valid. He can find his place among his brethren with the help of all his friends, even Frank- the most unlikely of friends.

I wish Rick had put more effort into fleshing out the platonic relationships instead of just conforming to romance-centric ideals of “love fixes everything!” It’s lazy, and boring, and has been done to death. Platonic friendships make up 95% of our relationships, yet they are SERIOUSLY underrepresented in media. I’m calling for more interesting platonic dynamics. Leo and Frank could’ve been so much more, if Rick had actually taken the time to build on their relationship, and focused less on “Leo Needs a Girlfriend”!

So, when I say “Everything Caleo did, Valzhang could do better”- THAT is what I meant.

Also, Jason is so much better for Leo than Calypso, but that’s a whole other post.

[Edit: And I have made that post! You can find it here]

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pocketgalaxies · 23 hours

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hi! seeing you during all this ep95 mess has been a breath of fresh air. you seem to have a really firm grasp of canon so I wanted to ask what you think of the recent discord message from Liam where he says Orym didn't know that Laudna was under Delilah's influence when she killed Bor'dor? I watched the clip from 4SD, & it's pretty clear that Liam says Orym understood Laudna was opening the door for Delilah when he encouraged her to kill Bor'dor & even says "we'll need that." But the Discord message seems to walk that back. It's been super frustrating being accused of vilifying Orym or infantilizing Laudna for repeating what Liam himself said. I just don't really know how to reconcile these two statements from Liam & it has me a bit confused on Orym's character.

hi anon, thank you!

this turned into a much longer one than i was expecting dfksjdkfs

so last week i posted this Really Long Ask about the whole discussion, if you want to take a look. but i intentionally didn't bring up liam's discord message because you're right! it seemed contradictory to something that was stated in the past, which was confusing

honestly i think the most realistic answer is that liam probably didn't mean for what he said on 4SD to be understood as such a strong and maybe even polarizing character choice. i think a lot of us heard it as "orym sees delilah as a useful/necessary asset that outweighs what might happen to laudna afterward." particularly because he framed it as something that made the whole situation "even creepier," and during that same convo, marisha was emphasizing the psychological impact that killing bor'dor had on laudna. it's a strong stance and it reflects what orym is doing to himself (handing his endgame over to the questionably fickle nana morri to increase their chances of success against ludinus)

but i suppose liam's clarification suggests that he meant it in a softer, more practically level-headed way, like "orym knew he couldn't do a whole lot about delilah's return but he also thought it could have benefits," or something along those lines. they're obviously two hugely different interpretations with pretty big implications on how we understand orym's relationship with laudna

i'm not a connoisseur of orym's character by ANY means so i can't confidently tell you what the change might mean from a narrative perspective, but i personally still prefer the former stronger stance. because i think it raises interesting questions about how orym views his own place in this war and whether or not it's valid for him to (intentionally or subconsciously) project that placement onto the other party members. is it okay for orym to expect the same level of personal sacrifice from laudna, or imogen with predathos (a whole separate can of worms), or anyone else? is it safe? etc etc. but maybe liam doesn't want to go in that direction, or maybe he does but just not in the way we expect, i don't know! only time will tell!

also regardless of what he meant, i think it's important to acknowledge that it's really easy and completely understandable to feel like he was walking something back. that episode of 4SD was almost a whole year ago! many of us built that statement into our perception and understanding of orym's character for a long time, so it's totally valid to go "wait what the fuck???" when liam suddenly pops into the discord to say that's not what he meant. those feelings are valid and real! especially when discourse can already make you question your own intelligence and your personal interpretations of a story, having that pillar, as big or small as it might've been in your mind, knocked over can be really jarring. you are very much not alone in that, and it's okay!!

#hope this helps?#anonymous #ask #answered #critical role #cr fandom #cr negativity #cr meta #nova shh #for the record i think the wording of his discord message is super flimsy compared to what he said on 4SD #which only made it easier for me to feel like he was just sticking his nose in discourse to try and defend his character #which - during what was very clearly taking shape as an orym vs. laudna argument - made me feel like liam was shitting on my feelings #i'm OBVIOUSLY not saying that's what his intentions were but i can't logic my way out of my initial rage reaction to a discord screenshot #and it just illustrates the dangers of cast members directly involving themselves in fandom discourse #which i kinda thought the cast maybe wasn't ever ever gonna do again....after c1 reddit....after bowlgate.......etc.......#saying vaguely defensive stuff when two parts of a fandom are at each other's throats only adds fuel to the fire. it clears up fuck all #and it gives people more reasons to agree or disagree with each other and point to your vague-ass message as evidence #so really. not that you asked but. i really think he shouldn't have said it lmao. bc ppl got Even Nastier after he did #¯\_(ツ)_/¯ it's out there now! what can you do!

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compassionatereminders · 1 day

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At 18, I left my home immediately due to my abusive and toxic parents. I stayed with my boyfriend's family from 18 to 22, who were incredibly kind, and my boyfriend was truly amazing. We've been living on our own for two years now, and everything was going well until I lost my job.

Ever since I lost my job, my boyfriend seems oddly unfazed by it. He even makes peculiar comments about how great it is that I don't work anymore, since he always finds lunch ready on the table when he returns home. Before I lost my job, we used to share the cooking responsibilities. However, now that I'm unemployed, he only cooks on weekends, but that didn't last very long. Whenever it was his turn to cook, he would conveniently act like he wasn't hungry yet, never actually starting to prepare a meal. As a result, I ended up doing all the cooking.

He used to wash the dishes, but now he doesn't bother anymore. The cup he used for his drink? It just sits in the sink. The plate from his sandwich snack? Also left in the sink. He always says he'll do it later, but later never seems to arrive. With a weekday office job, he's free on weekends.

He's creating an even larger disaster now. His eating habits are messy, and he never bothers to tidy up the table. Occasionally, there are bread crumbs scattered on the floor, and he simply ignores them. We used to split all the chores evenly, but now he acts as if he's exempt from any responsibilities. What's concerning is that he even expressed his wish for me not to get the job. After my interview last week, he mentioned that he prefers me being at home.

Is this really who he is? Or did he suddenly change overnight? I can't believe I fell for it. He seemed like such a nice guy... was it all an act? He used to get a little jealous, but it wasn't anything major... just normal jealousy, right? He even mentioned having a child together. I do want kids someday, but now I'm worried he's trying to manipulate me with that idea. I know it sounds crazy, but he's treating me so differently now. I'm afraid that if I have a child and no job, I'll be stuck. Am I losing my mind? I don't have any close friends to talk to about this...

I have another job interview next week. It's a fast food place... which I don't really see as a good job but right now I don't care if it's a good job. I just want a job so I can save up some money.

I don't think your discomfort is crazy, and I agree that his recent behavior is a giant red flag. Because it definitely doesn't sound like he has shown much interest in what YOU want. How YOU actually feel about doing all the housework, losing your job and potentially not working. Because if he was a decent partner, that would be more important to him than whether he himself prefers this new situation for whatever reason. Because in the end, it isn't up to him to define your needs and ambitions in life, and it's very worrying to me that he's trying to do that instead of having a genuine conversation about what outcome is best for BOTH of you

#chat with kat #sexism tw

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jayz4dayz · 3 days

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RWBY Volume 9 Was A Total Missed Opportunity:

Putting this out there right now. Volume 9 is by far my favorite volume of RWBY for many reasons which I will not be addressing in this post, but there are a few things that have been on my mind since it's been released where I feel the storyline went wrong and could have been something so much more meaningful for the character's story arcs and development.

Starting off with our main man or should I say our old man Jaune Arc. His presence throughout Vol. 9 felt out of place not just for his character, but also the way his development was handled didn't feel right in the slightest. Becoming a crazy old crackpot because he foolishly made bad decision after bad decision, completely altering and undoing a lot of his character's timeline, and turning into this sort of secondary antagonist for Team RWBY made no sense to me. The way he said so many out of pocket things throughout the different episodes, including completely crossing a line with Ruby and being insensitive towards her mental and emotional condition instead of showing genuine concern like he normally would have, made me cringe to where I wasn't enjoying what I was watching anymore. Not in a good way!

Here's how I would have done it:

Going back to the very end of volume 8 where we see Jaune running towards the portal and barely missing it by mere inches, followed by seeing him fall into the dark abyss and joining the same fate as Team RWBY and Neo. Instead of that, we see him jumping through the portal at the very last second and making it to Vacuo by the skin of his teeth. The others see him and question why he's alone and where Team RWBY was, only for him to go "Uh..." and then the screen cuts to black and the credits start rolling.

We're gonna skip the three year hiatus and jump right into the beginning of Vol. 9 where only Team RWBY and Neo have fallen into the Ever After. For the first few episodes leading up to the reveal of the Rusted Knight, I don't think much needs to change except for the fact that they won't ever encounter Jaune, but they will still encounter the Rusted Knight who, in this version, is someone that would have had the entire fandom shook to their core when the big reveal of the Rusted Knight's identity happened: Pyrrha.

Now, how would she get to this point, you might ask? Well, remember when she got pierced by Cinder's Arrow and her body seemed to disintegrate? This scene:

This death compared to all the other characters who were killed off was unique in the fact that there was no body left behind and it almost appeared her energy was transported to another place. Hmm, perhaps another realm such as the In Between or the Ever After? Why this happened, in my opinion, was because of the use of someone else's semblance. We know very little about Pyrrha's family and have only seen her mother on screen once, so we don't know much about her backstory or semblance either. However, if her semblance worked anything like Raven's to where she needed to be attached to someone in order for her semblance to work and transfer her loved ones to a safer location to escape a deadly threat, now we have something. What if her mom's semblance transported the body to another realm of her choice right before the moment of death? (I like to call it a "divine intervention" semblance.) If that's the case, then why wouldn't it make sense for a mother's love to send her daughter somewhere familiar and (relatively) safe and still accessible to Remnant? The Ever After was based on a children's tale that everyone knew growing up and Pyrrha being as smart as she is would instantly recognize where she was transported to. Maybe she had knowledge of her mother's semblance and knew this might have happened one day, or maybe not. I find the one scene her mother is in to be very interesting because while she was talking to Jaune, she had a very bitter-sweet attitude about it and almost talked as if she knew more than she let on, but I digress.

In the story's timeline, when Team RWBY arrives in the Ever After, Pyrrha would have been there already for a couple of years. That would have given her enough time to establish herself and explore the different acres because let's be real here, Pyrrha wouldn't have stumbled upon the time travel fruit and messed around with it like Jaune did, nor would she have focused all her energy into the people of the land even though she would protect them with her life if she had to, but at the end of the day, she was just trying to figure out a way home. Once she stumbles across Team RWBY, it would all make sense why the Tree didn't let her return to Remnant yet. By this point, I'm sure she would have encountered Alyx, Lewis, and the Curious cat, probably handled the situation a lot better than Jaune did, and give Team RWBY a cautionary tale about the Curious Cat in a way that wasn't bitter or vengeful. The bee's having their special moment still would have happened, the team's fallout with the Curious Cat still would have gone down, and then we get to the scene with Neo's Jabber Walker clones and Ruby has her mental breakdown and identity crisis. I don't see Pyrrha blaming Ruby for what happened to the Paper Pleasers despite her immense sorrow for the loss of her only friends she had during her time in the Ever After. Her experiences with the Paper Pleasers would have been way different too because there's no way she'd be a gold-hearted tyrant like Jaune was painted out to be. I do see Ruby blaming herself and still running off anyway because she feels like a burden and a failure as a leader. I didn't enjoy the way Jaune was the center of focus when Ruby was very clearly in a dangerous state of mind and I'm positive Pyrrha would have picked up on it right away and address it to Ruby's team after the fact and not go off on her for not doing enough.

Team RWPY would go on the search for Ruby and still find her in Neo's torture dungeon, which would have been just as painful to watch, especially from Pyrrha's point of view. Ruby having to watch Pyrrha die in Vol.3 and now she had to witness Ruby "die" in Vol. 9 is kind of a trippy coincidence that fits so well. The only difference being Pyrrha immediately taking the initiative to find Ruby before the cat does and the final battle being way more epic. Jaune certainly gained a lot of battle experience throughout the series, but Pyrrha was always ahead of him in that respect and without a doubt would have sharpened her skills to perfection while she was on her own in the Ever After. Ruby emerges as a new version of herself, they defeat the Curious Cat, Neo ascends, and all of the girls finally get to go home together, hand in hand.

I can even go as far as to say this would have made Vol. 9 Beyond so much better too. Picture it, Team RWBY and Pyrrha leaving the portal and the first person to see them is Jaune. The potential for Arkos here is so strong it kills me inside! They'd have a raw moment between each other, there'd be lots of crying on Jaune and maybe even Pyrrha's part too, a long hug, and most definitely a romantic kiss that would have tied their relationship arc together in such a perfect way. It would have brought Pyrrha back and that's honestly all I want.

Of course, this is all just for shits and giggles, but I'd love to hear what y'all think or if you have something else to add! ^-^

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