#and also about whether i should get an undercut

[blosssombunnny]

𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓬𝓪𝓷𝓸𝓷𝓼

Height, Dom vs Sub, Sex drive, Fave thing physically about themself, Chest/Thighs/Ass, etc

┆ ┆° ♡ • ➵ ✩ ◛ °

Warnings: nsfw, I’m a tall girl so to make myself feel better I make them all tall af hehe. !Female reader!!!

Lucifer is 7’ tall in my humble opinion. I believe he is a Mean Dom 85% of the time. The other percent is him being a sub-ish switch. He will not hesitate to punish you. Even when subbing. He can switch back to being an asshole really fast.

“Tch… What did you think would happen? You need to learn to stop mouthing off.”

He will make you beg for mercy :) Whether that’s on your knees or on your back. He likes to embarrass you and make you blush and stutter. It makes him feel powerful. He would pay Mammon 1 million Grimm to get you on your knees on his hard wood floor. Staring with crossed arms at the pathetic thing before him.

His sex drive is probably Medium to High. But he tries to ignore that part of himself. So when you two first start fooling around it might be hard for him to hold back that repressed energy. 

His size is 8” and its a little less girthy than a pop can lol. It’s very veiny and cut. His balls are slightly bigger than average. About golf ball sized. He loves having that skin sucked on. He is very very muscular, like Diavolo, but is more of a rectangle build. He’s not quite as big as Dia either but comes close. His hair is a dark raven with a very subtle undercut.

His favorite part of himself… he wouldn’t admit it, but he loves his smirk. He’s knows what it does to you. He’s also loves his hands. He’s sees how you stare and will try to flex them and make the veins pop out. On you however, he’s definitely loves your ass. He wants to smack it ever time you walk past him.

Mammon is 6’8” :) I believe he is about 65% dom and 35% sub and 100% brat. He wants to be a cool mean dom so bad but he really can’t handle it most of the time.

“Come here…. Just… come here ok?!”

He’ll grab your elbows and pull you in close. You don’t miss the quiver he has in his voice. He won’t say what he wants unless you really push him to do it. It’s to embarrassing to admit for him. But he has no problem making you do the same when he’s fully in control.

I think his drive is pretty high. But he gets a lot of that satisfaction from gambling and doing risky things to compensate for not having sex. It takes a special kind of person to understand Mammon and he hasn’t found many people like that. But with you… he’d be willing to go all day. Someone who loves him for him. Someone who can make him feel happy and heard. He can’t resist it.

His dick is 7 1/2” but he’ll tell you it’s 8 ;) it’s about the thickness of a healthy cucumber. Not as thick as Lucifer’s. He is uncut and pretty veiny. But it’s mostly covered by the extra skin. His balls are about the same size as Lucifer’s but the skin feels a bit looser. They smack harder against your ass ;) He is very well built and works out often with Beel. His hair is pure with an iridescent tint. It’s gorgeous and soft.

His favorite part of himself is his torso. He’s jacked and loves to tell people about it. He knows it makes people blush. And for you he loves your chest. He loves to tease you by touching them and flicking your nipples through your shirt. He likes to feel them perk up and see you squirm.

Leviathan is 6’6”. He is 70% sub and 30% soft dom. He can go hard but it’s very rare. He doesn’t want to hurt his precious doll. It’s really hard to get him to initiate. When you do it he gets flustered…

“H-Henry!? What’re you saying?… N-No! I don’t think we should do that…”

-5 seconds of eye contact-

“O-ok… maybe we can.”

If you look. You’ll see him twitching in his pants at this point. If you continue to advance he won’t resist much. He will definitely whine a bit and complain but he’s loving it. His whines and cries make both of you blush. Sometimes, if you’re being to cruel with teasing he will put you back in your place. He still wants to feel like your big strong knight in shining armor. He will flip you over and pound you until he can release all that teasing you have done. It’s your turn to beg and whine. But he won’t have any of it. I think his sex drive is low but he thinks it’s a lot higher. He’s always horny but sex is too draining for him to do too often.

His top dick is 7.5” and the bottom is 8”, both are very thick. A little less than Lucifer’s. He doesn’t shower regularly… His torso is the least built of his brothers. He’s pretty skinny and doesn’t have much muscle or fat. He has a toned body but it’s just quite thin. He is also very pale and has almost blueish skin. His hair is dark blue and slightly wavy. It lays a bit fluffier on his head.

His favorite part about himself are his cocks of course. How could you not be proud of that. They aren’t very veiny and he is uncut. His balls are average size and kind of tight. He lovesssssss your thighs. A close second is your chest. Your thighs are just so plush and perfect. He loves to mark up the skin with hickies and bites.

Satan is 6’10”. He is 90% Dom and 10% little kitten. Every once in a while he will want to play the sub role. But it is not at all common for him to ask for that. He likes to be in control and punish you over little things. He will of course have a safe word (like all the others) in case he goes too far.

“Mmm no not yet. You can take a little more cant you kitten?… Ohh yes you can. Cum once more for me ok?”

His words are so sweet and smooth. It’s impossible to deny him. His drive is pretty low but when you do it he is going to make it count and make you feel good. He prefers other methods of showing intimacy and love.

His cock is 8.5” and an average girth. It is slender compared to most of the others. The only thinner one is Asmo’s by a little. He is cut. He has a very beautiful body. Think Greek marble statue. Not too big, not to thin. Simply a work of art. He has amazingly detailed muscles. Why must he always hide these. His hair is a beautiful blonde. It almost shimmers gold in the sun. You can see it glint at certain angles.

His favorite part of himself is his powerful stare and words. He can make you come undone just by his looks and savory sweet words. He knows exactly what to say and when to say it. He seems like he’d be a thigh man. He loves to place a hand there while reading and working. It’s his favorite place to lay his head when you read to him.

Asmo is 6’ even. Not unusually tall. It looks great on him. He is 70% Switch and Tease, 20% Full Sub, 10% Soft Dom. He loves to do everything. Even all at once. He usually will choose to be a teasing and slightly bratty sub. Name a better power bottom.

“Oh my god MC. You just looked so beautiful in that dress. I’m sorry I dirtied it but I’ll buy you another! I love when you dress up all pretty for me.”

Even if he ruins an outfit with… fluids, you won’t be mad at him for a long period of time. You can’t be mad at that gorgeous, sweet face. He’s too precious. Something about his eyes really draws you in. Sometimes you can sense the warm pink glow emanating from his eyes. His drive is whatever yours is. He can accommodate to anybody. Do you want some space? You got it you want to have sex five times a day OK sounds good to me!  Truly, the best thing about this man is how well he understands emotion and relationships.

His cock varies from person to person. He can slightly change his cock to make it more suitable for the recipient. Normally it is 6.5” and slender. It’s beautiful and pink. It it’s uncut and smells like roses. It tastes phenomenal. Sometimes it’s a little bigger. Sometimes a little smaller. With or without veins and hair. He can change it all. His body is similar to Satans. God statue 2.0. He is slightly more slim and feminine however. He has slightly wider hips and a slim waist. He is slightly tanned too. His hair is also fluffier like Levi’s. It is also a peachy pink.

His favorite part of himself is everything! But if you make him choose he would say his tongue and then start winking and poking you while giggling. His favorite part of you is your neck and shoulder area. He lovesss to mark it up and feel the pretty bones. He sees them as an amazing sculpture of some sort. He loves to massage you as well. Especially your shoulders

Beel is 7’3”. A massive friend, I know. He knows too kind of. He is 60% Soft Dom, 20% Neutral, 15% Hard Dom, and 5% Sub. He loves to feel like he has control and is protecting something cute and small. He loves it. It makes him feel almost feral.

“MC get back please. I’m begin serious when I tell you I will not hold back.”

He is hard to get a read on but once you do it’s often when it’s right on top of you… You’ll quickly realize he is a very good dom. He suddenly finds his words and will speak up and speak often. It’s a bit surprising at first. You don’t listen to his warning, you find out the consequences. His drive is Low to Medium. He doesn’t need a lot of sex to feel good intimately. He finds intimacy in eating together, bathing together, just cuddling too. He is a big teddy bear after all

His cock is big. It’s really big. It is 9.5” and a little less thick than a soda can like Lucifer. His balls are Heavy. They are big and smack you hard when he fucks you like the animal he is. His cock is uncut and has a bit of a musk. It is very clean though. It’s very veiny and heavy. When fully hard it can’t stand very straight. The weight pulls it down. His body is hands down the best in shape. He works out daily and is in peak physical health and has been for the past 300 years. He has a light tan. His hair is dark orange and a bit more dark red at the roots.

His favorite part of himself is his mouth unironically. He loves it because that is his only way to eat. And he also loves it because he can enjoy his favorite meal and pleasure the meal with doing it!

“Ass or Tits Beel?”

“Mmmpussy.” As drool drips from his mouth

He just loves your beautiful pussy so much. It’s gorgeous to look at. It tastes amazing. It feels so good. It smells so sweet. He would do anything for another taste.

Belphegor is 6’2”. He is 100% brat. But other than that he is 50% Dom, 30% Neutral, and 20% Sub. When he’s being dominant it can look and feel pretty cruel. But then he also loves to let you take the reins and fuck him while he lays there and is pleasured like a pillow princess. Sometimes he will like to play the sub role.

“Tch. I’ll bite you if you don’t stop squirming. Just let me lay here for a minute.”

He will try to touch your chest and feel around. He may ever end up jumping your thighs as he lays on top of you. He will always persuade you into doing most of the heavy lifting. His drive is kinda hard to tell. It’s not super high and intense. It’s more like, he doesn’t need sex a lot but will always accept it and enjoy it if you offer. Even if it’s every morning and night. Just don’t expect him to do any crazy positions that are tiring.

His cock is 6.5” and is the smallest of his brothers. Amos’s is slightly bigger. It is uncut and has a strong musk. His balls are average and kind of tight. He has a fair amount of pubic hair. His cock is long and pretty like Satan’s. Just shorter. That doesn’t matter though. It still hits all the right places. For some it might even be the best since they are all so much larger than humans normally. His body is pretty thin and is similar to Asmo’s build. But Belphie has less muscle mass because he doesn’t do much exercise. He has messy and slightly tangled dark bluish grey hair.

His favorite part of himself is his fingers. He is a master with them. That’s all I will say hehe. His favorite thing on you is your chest. He loves holding them, squishing them, licking them, laying on them. Anything to feel the soft skin.

Diavolo is 7’5” and the tallest in my Headcanons! He is a confusing mix of desperate Sub and handsy Dom. He will take the Dom role about 75% of the time. The other 25% is him being a sub and releasing his mommy issues.

“Mmm MC please… Just say it again. Right in my ears, say ‘I love you Diavolo’.”

Touched Starved. Barbatos and Lucifer keep him at such a distance from everyone. He wants nothing more than contact. And when you give him that he will get addicted. He’ll beg you to let him breed you and make you a Queen. But don’t make him wait too long. He’ll get impatient.

His cock is 10” and is the biggest in Devildom. It’s massive and so thick. His balls are so heavy and big, another set of breeder balls. They leave bruises on your ass from how hard he will pound into you. It’s cut and so veiny. He keeps it nice and clean but always seems to have a slight musk. His body is amazing. He isn’t as muscular as Beel but he’s still bigger. He has such a beautiful inverted triangle body shape. His skin is a beautiful and warm medium tan color and his hair is a light wine red.

His favorite part about himself is his thighs. He loves watching you grind in them. He can be a bit mean and humiliating but he always makes it up so good for you. His thighs are so thigh and big. Perfect for sitting on. His favorite thing about you is your ass. He loves grabbing it and watching it move as you do… anything really. It’s so perfect to him. But so is everything else about you.

Barbatos is 6’4” and one hell of a butler. He is comfortable being either role. But his preference is to be Dom 95% of the time. The other 5% is Sub.

“MC please let me take care of you tonight. You have been working so hard. I’ll make you feel so much better.”

He won’t stop till you are completely satisfied. He loves to be in control and please you. He will take orders from you and do what you want but he is always the one who is controlling everything else. The movements, the speed, when you can cum. He can be so mean but will never leave you unsatisfied.

His cock is about 7.5 inches and cut. It’s thickness was pretty average. Enough to give you some stretch but not too much as to hurt you. He always smells fresh and clean. His cum also vaguely tastes like cleaner. His balls are nice and round, tight too. He keeps himself clean shaven down there. He’s slender but surprisingly strong. He must be. What if Diavolo passes out.

His favorite part of himself is his hands. He’s very good with them. Massages are amazing from him. He rarely takes his gloves off but will for you. He would not want to tell you what his favorite part of you was. But if you beg he will break. He loves your beautiful eyes. He loves watching them tear up as you pout.

~~~

A/N wow this took forever to write 🫠 hope you all enjoy

#obey me #lucifer #om #Diavolo #obey me smut #obey me headcanons #hc #headcanon #mammon #Levi #leviathan #Satan #Asmo #Asmodeus #Beelzebub #belphie #belpheghor #om barbatos #barbatos

[transmutationisms]

I would love to hear more of your thoughts on House & its relation to the detective genre ! I think that house (completely accidentally and very badly) stumbles into a good critique of how doctors & medical structures view addicts & disabled people, with house being a horrible hegemonic mr malpractice to his patients frequently yet half is series is unironically just about all the injustice/mistreatment he faces because his doctor colleagues can’t see him as a person but only as a problem to be solved/rehabbed/therapized/institutionalized/treated like a child with stolen candy/treated like a criminal. and then it also randomly takes an incredibly pro MAID stance. which isn’t really part of this but I just remembered how batshit insane that show was. and then chase killed a dictator and I feel like the show was squarely on his side for that one. Anyway. Do you have thoughts? I really like house.

ok here's my house md take. like a lot of medical dramas, the show essentially relies for its dramatic appeal on the construal of patients as gross, weird, and stupid—rubes who are too uneducated and self-serving in their petty lies to solve their own bodies, and thus need the intervention of house to fix them. this is standard for the genre, although slightly meaner on house than on some other examples (cf. grey's or even the older and soapier generation of these shows). i don't even think house committing malpractice is all that new; it's relatively common as a plot point that positions the noble rule-breaking doctor as someone who 'does what needs to be done' and skirts the bureaucratic red tape to follow their own superior judgment. what makes house more interesting is that from the get-go, house himself is both a doctor and an unwilling patient. in itself this isn't a tension that's new to the medical soap (injuring a major character is pretty par for the course) but house's particular interactions with the ruling biomedical epistemology are, as you point out, characterised by hostility and resistance, and the show frequently either sides with house, or at least leaves it somewhat up to the viewer to decide whether house is right to resist the pathologisation that cuddy and wilson try to impose on him.

this is kind of a tricky line to walk for 7 seasons or however long the show is. my recollection is there are episodes, for example, where it's very clear that house's pain is physical, and the writers use this to morally justify his vicodin use. this is obviously not a full-throated defence of opioid users, but it is at least pointing to a position on chronic pain that allows for the possibility that for some people, long-term use of drugs with a high addiction potential and side effects is legitimately the best thing. but, this messaging is also undercut by the fact that it's primetime television, they need to make drama, and there are definitely also episodes where house is framed as potentially lying about his pain, or at least mistaking a somatic problem for a physical one, which the writers often (not always, but often) present as evidence that actually, house shouldn't be trusted to make his own decisions about drug use, and ideally should be 'de-toxed' and probably sent to cbt or whatever. of course all of these considerations are also contextualised by the fact that house is, again, not just a patient but a doctor: his right and ability to make these types of calls for himself is, it's suggested, a result of his having attained medical education and credentials. the patients who come to be treated by him are seldom, if ever, given this same level of consideration or presumed to have sufficient self-awareness to make their own medical decisions. this isn't to say they're portrayed entirely unsympathetically, but ultimately the narrative engine of the show relies on house being the smartest guy in the room (though ofc, sometimes tragically 'held back by his addiction').

so, although there are moments on the show that genuinely transgress some of the norms of the med-drama genre, i have never agreed with people who thought that the show as a whole was presenting any sustained critique of the medical system, the treatment of chronic pain/disability, or the power-imbalanced doctor-patient relationship. ultimately all authority on house md is supposed to emanate from the physician, or the physician's superiors (cuddy as a 'check' on house, though sometimes a failed one! again because of the need to generate drama for like 140 episodes), and at its most radical the show is really only capable of presenting house himself as an out-of-control aberration whose existence strains the existing system rather than being produced by it.

this is where i think the comparison to the cop show genre becomes more clarifying. house md never made a secret of being an interpolation of the detective genre, specifically sherlock holmes. however, i'm not sure i've ever really seen writing on the show that analyses what effect this actually has on house. like police, doctors are tasked with maintaining certain social norms; the dichotomy between policing and medicine isn't even a solid line, as criminality is frequently rhetorically construed as a pathology in itself and medical authorities can and do have recourse to carceral systems in order to discipline and confine recalcitrant patients, the 'criminally insane', addicts, and so forth. (policing has historically also been understood in a more expansive sense than how we use the word today; our understanding of the medical/public health system as separate from police authority is arguably more to do with university credentialling than the actual exercise of social and political power).

so, if we want to be serious about the portrayal of medicine in popular culture (i am always serious about this) then we're necessarily talking about broader systems of power, social control, and discipline, and doubly so on a show like house that is explicitly inspired by detective fiction. this is where house md is most ideologically objectionable to me: as with the trope of the cop who breaks all the rules, house is basically positioned in one of two ways throughout the show. either he's a lone genius who alone is willing to achieve noble ends (cure) through distasteful means (breaking into patients' homes, berating them, performing risky interventions on them, &c), or—and this is rarer on house but does happen—he's portrayed as genuinely crossing an ethical line, in which case he's a kind of monstrous aberration from the normal, ethical functioning of the medical system, often represented metonymously by the objections that cuddy, wilson, or house's underlings raise. in both of these cases, as with copaganda, the function is ultimately to reinforce the idea that doctors, though occasionally capable of human error, are prima facie wiser than their patients, looking out for their patients' best interests, and performing noble social roles as healers. house, ofc, is very rarely willing to admit that he has any underlying ethical motivations, though much of the show is driven by the flashes where he is revealed to 'secretly' care about another person (often wilson) and anyway, the construction of an ethical society in which all individual actors are motivated solely by selfish interests is a very established rhetorical move for those interested in defending liberal capitalist societies (cf. charles darwin, thomas malthus, adam smith, &c).

because of television's need to generate profit via audience engagement, house md always relied on a certain level of shock or at least provocation in order to sustain itself. so, there are certain aberrations from the more overtly doctor-valorising medical dramas, like the suggestion (sometimes tongue-in-cheek) that house was better at his job when he was mildly high on opioids. this was, for the reasons outlined above, never a serious entry into political critique, but it was at least refreshing in a certain way as a departure from, eg, the portrayal of addiction and drug use that we see on grey's, which is completely limited to the medicalised AA narrative of 'recovery' as a battle against the malevolent intervention of an external chemical agent. which is to say that although house md is ultimately reactionary in the way we should expect from an american tv show, it did at least dabble in a certain level of caustic iconoclasm that allowed limited departures from the genre conventions. even with what was ultimately a pretty solid vindication of the anti-opioid narrative, the show does stand out in my mind as one of the few very popular presentations of any kind of alternative stance on chronic drug use. that it's usually put in house's own mouth means it is occasionally legitimated by his epistemological authority as a physician, though ofc ultimately this authority is challenged not through a critique of the medical system, but by presenting house as individually and aberrantly licentious, undisciplined, and insane—and his chronic pain/disability are both a justification for this, and a shorthand for conveying it.

#house md

[freesia-writes]

C-can I pick Howzer for #1, mmmaybe? 👉👈

ANY EXCUSE TO WRITE FOR HOWZER, my love! :D This follower celebration was SO FUN because the variety of prompts and people I have waiting to be written about are just... *chef's kiss*. This one was super fun. It was one of those times where the writing just kind of falls into place as you go along! Hope it's a fun one. <3

#1 - You hear [clone] tell the waitress that they are nervous for their blind date, but no one shows up. So you sit down to act like the date.

Howzer x Fem!Reader Word Count: 3.5k Content Warnings: Kissin and drinkin ;)

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

He caught your eye the moment he walked in. He was immediately recognizable as a clone, but he just had a little extra *somethin* that immediately had your attention. Whether it was the tousled undercut he sported or the curving scars across his cheek and chin, you were thoroughly enjoying the view from your perch at the far end of the bar counter. It was always fun to see clones free of their armor, enjoying their scarce free time.

You’d had to stay late after your shift at the restaurant, covering a baby shower that stretched for hours through the day and into the afternoon, and now the dinner rush was already starting. You were free to leave, of course, but an extra dirty martini and some of the mistaken food orders were too good to pass up. Plus, the bartender was your best friend, so when she had a break between customers, there was always good conversation to be had. 

“Did you see that test tube specimen walk in just now? Right up your alley…” she asked, waggling her eyebrows at you while she shook a steel canister. 

“It’s not ALL clones, Dee…” you said in mock defensiveness. Okay, so you had a type. And there happened to be millions of them. But they weren’t all the same… not that it was worth getting into it with her again. “But yeah,” you admitted, peering over your shoulder again, watching him sit and gently take the menu from his server, “He’s got a sweet vibe.”

“You’ve watched him for fifteen seconds and you already think you can tell his vibe?” Dee challenged, pouring the drink. Without waiting for an answer, she bustled off to deliver it, leaving you to wait for his server to come back to the station next to your seat. As soon as he approached, you were speaking. 

“So what’s the deal with table 44 over there?” you asked, earning an immediate snarky grin from Barnes, who was quite the tall drink of water himself, but he’d made it quickly known that he wasn’t interested in women. 

“Ohh, you noticed, huh?” Barnes laughed, tapping on the register screen to enter a drink order, which you leaned over to peer at, curious what he might like. “Yeah, he’s a treat. All cute and nervous, too. He’s on a blind date.”

“Ahh, damn,” you said, leaning back to your food. “Well let’s see who he got set up with.”

* * * 

You lost track of time, nursing your martini and accepting an extra appetizer that had been ordered and then changed. Dee had been regaling you with a tale from the last party she’d been to, although it was delivered in bits and pieces as she went about her job. It wasn’t until Barnes gave you a tap on the shoulder that you remembered to look for the clone’s hot date. Surprisingly, however, the chair opposite him was still empty, and he was leaning his chin into one hand, elbow on the table, the other hand idly twirling the straw in his drink. He looked so smart in his dark grey uniform, and you noted the way it fit snugly around his chest and arms, tucked neatly in to a belt around his narrow waist.

“Get this,” Barnes said conspiratorially as he tapped on the register again, “He just asked for the check, for just his drink. I think he got stood up. Should I quit and go join him?” he paused, as though he were genuinely asking you, then chuckled. “Ehh, I’m not into the military type. Also, it’s getting busier -- you should get out of here before you get wrangled into serving some tables.”

“Good point,” you said, not really thinking about what he said because you were so surprised and distracted at the fact that Mr. Handsome over there had been stood up. What kind of idiot… Suddenly, an idea popped into your head, as the rest of Barnes’ words finally processed, and you decided to act on it before your rational brain (and cowardly second-guessing) kicked in. “Wait, Barnes, don’t give him the check…” you said, putting a hand on his arm as the receipt printed in front of him. “I’m gonna do it.”

His genuine laugh of delight was infectious, and further fueled your slightly bubbly mood. “Well you’d better come up with a good excuse for making him wait so long… And make it worth his time,” he said, giving you a suggestive wink that earned him a smack on the shoulder. You stuffed your apron into the cabinet below the server stand and rushed to the refresher to see what could be done. The smell of a full day’s work in a restaurant was heavy on your clothes and hair, and the barely-remaining makeup was sparse. Grateful for the little basket of hygiene items kept under the sink, you pulled your hair down, tousling it with your fingers after spraying some refreshing powder through it. You got some paper towels wet and wiped your armpits, laughing at the thought of the clone seeing you now. There was nothing to be done about your outfit -- black button-up shirt and black pants -- but at least you could untuck the shirt now and roll up the sleeves. You made one last stop by the bar, making two rushed requests of Dee. 

“Hey -- real quick -- I need that gold necklace from the lost and found drawer, and can you make a dirty martini and another of whatever he had?” 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said, shaking her head fondly as she fetched the necklace that had been left a few weeks ago. “I mean, what the heck. Sounds like fun, and probably nicer for him than going home sad.” Armed with two drinks and as much courage as you could muster, you headed for the table, running through all the possibilities in your mind. 

“Hi! Blind date, right?” you asked, wanting to be careful not to lie. His brown eyes lifted to you, expression unreadable. He’d been patiently waiting, but was he the stiff sort who would be indignant at being made to wait? Or was he a pushover so desperate for attention that he’d put up with anything? It remained to be seen.

“Yeah,” he said in that smooth clone voice you’d heard so many times. “Howzer,” he said, standing to greet you. He awkwardly offered a hand, realizing you had a drink in each of yours, and gave a breathy chuckle of relief as you quickly set the glasses on the table and took his hand, giving it a gentle shake. You froze, unsure of whether to use your name, or if he knew the name of the person he was expecting… 

“And you’re Xena, right? Here, please, sit?” he continued, standing behind your chair and smiling in such a kind way that the guilt settled heavily on your shoulders. He’d been made to wait an awfully long time, and yet here he was, offering a kind and graceful introduction…And it was also way too much work to try to figure out how to continue the deception as further details would be questioned.

“Erm, no…” you admitted, once he’d cordially seated you and taken his place across the table. His furrowed brow and crooked smile made your heart skip a beat, and you blundered on, “I’m sorry… I work here, well, not right now, but I was hanging out, and I heard you were waiting for someone, and I saw it had been a long time, and I was… well, yeah, I was totally creeping on you from over there… And I just didn’t want you left here hanging cause you’re just… Well you seem really nice… And honestly, you’re really cute… Ohhhh man. This is not a good start,” you laughed nervously, burying your face in your hands. What HAD you been thinking?

Howzer put two and two together and leaned back, running a hand over his tousled hair. You grimaced, hoping it wouldn’t all fall to pieces, and gently pushed the drink toward him once you were willing to show your face again, despite its bright red color. “Here… I brought the same thing you ordered, and… you can just enjoy it, if you want… Sorry, I don’t know what I was aiming for here,” you fumbled, starting to rise to your feet.

“No, wait -- it’s alright,” he offered, raising a hand to accompany his words. “I guess Pivot didn’t paint me in the best light to whoever I was supposed to meet here,” he chuckled dryly. “But it was kind of you to take pity on me… I think? Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m starving, so what do you say to some dinner?”

Relief cascaded down at the invitation, and your shoulders dropped a few inches with the release of tension. You smiled, letting out the breath you didn’t know you’d been holding, and nodded. 

“You said you work here?” he continued, opening the menu as if he hadn’t spent the last thirty minutes reading it about eight times over. “What’s the good stuff? Oh, and I suppose I should ask your name too.”

You filled him in, on both points, and had just began sharing about how you got this job when Barnes interrupted you by sliding right up to the table with an air that absolutely demanded attention. “Welllll hellooo again. I see your date showed up?” he said, mock innocence painted all over his face. Howzer gave you a smirk with a raised eyebrow, and you blushed bright red again, chuckling anxiously once again. 

“I told him, Barnes,” you said, holding your hands up in surrender. “I’m not cut out for this sort of thing.”

“And yet you’re still here,” Barnes pointed out, pursing his lips at you before sending Howzer a rather flirty glance. “I mean, I don’t blame you. But you’re not skimping on my tip if you’re gonna make me serve you,” he said, turning back to you. His charisma lightened the mood even further, and you assured him that he would not be slighted in any way. After some discussion about the dishes and a few suggestions, both you and Howzer had the food ordered and were left to stare at each other once again. You were trying to figure out what kind of date this was meant to be, what type he may be looking for (or what type he was himself). But instead of trying to make yourself into something you weren’t, you decided to just be authentic and see where it went. You didn’t really have much to lose, anyway. 

“So. Howzer,” you said, “How’d you get the name?” 

He leaned forward again, stirring his drink again and appearing to be much more relaxed, and began sharing stories from his life so far. It was decidedly different than yours, especially with the fact that he aged twice as fast. You tried not to think about the actual number of years he’d been alive, as that would make you a total pervert by regular human age standards. He told tales of his brothers, their personalities and quirks, and the adventures that his military life had taken him on so far. He shared his thoughts about the world, musing about ideas for the future -- if or when things ever changed. The minutes melted away, punctuated only by Barnes appearing occasionally to refill drinks, bring plates, or clear them away. 

You’d always had a soft spot for the clones, but you loved seeing them open up. The unique complexity of each individual was always a delight, and Howzer seemed to have more depth than most. He was simultaneously ambitious yet reserved, steady yet bold. You were finding yourself more and more enthralled, and in a bit of disbelief at your luck. Somehow you’d chatted away the entire dinner rush, and the restaurant was now growing quiet, filled with only a few lingering guests.

The conversation took a bit of a flirty turn, and you found yourself reaching across the table in a fit of laughter, clapping your hand on top of his. He smiled, still chuckling, and turned his hand over to gently take yours, sending another spark through your body. His gaze darkened a little, taking on a suggestive edge that suddenly made you ready to take him home right then and there. His thumb traced softly across your knuckles, and his eyes dropped to your hands on the table. 

“Well, things didn’t turn out so badly tonight after all, did they…” Howzer mused. His smooth voice and the thrill of the last couple of hours of conversation and connection had you feeling as though you were living a dream. You smiled, giving his hand a little squeeze, and shook your head. 

“Want to get out of here?” you asked, perhaps with more of a seductive tone than you’d intended.

“Oh, ahh, sure… But… well, I mean…” he stuttered, sheepish and hesitant all of a sudden, and you wondered if you’d crossed a line somehow. 

“I just meant for a walk, or glow pops, or something to change the scene,” you offered brightly, and though he tried to hide it, he looked visibly relieved. 

“Sure -- yes -- sorry,” he continued, running a hand through his hair again. “Look, this has been super fun, and I’m so glad you took the initiative to sit down. I’m just… I’m not much of a one-night-stand kind of guy. I know it’s lame, or whatever, but… I guess I just take a while to warm up that way… The guys make fun of me for it all the time.” You felt your heart swell in your chest at his vulnerability. You definitely hadn’t been expecting that, and somehow it made you crave him even more. Respectfully, of course. 

“Don’t apologize!” you insisted, leaning forward and picking your hand up from his to place it on his bicep, emphasizing your words with a smile. “I’ve really enjoyed this. And would like to continue to enjoy it.” 

“I mean, I’m not a total prude,” he said, laughing self-consciously, still with that glint in his eyes that hit you right in the soul. 

“I don’t know,” you said playfully, being careful to keep it lighthearted, “We’ll have to see about that.” You bit your lip, hoping it wasn’t too much of a jab, but he smirked, primly setting his napkin on the table and rising to his feet, extending a hand to you.

“Well let’s start with a walk.”

After fighting over the bill for a few minutes, since you “weren’t the one he asked on a date” but he “had indeed taken you on a date” but “it was where you worked” but “it still needed to be paid” but “you wanted to be fair”… You let him pay with the insistence that you’d be getting the next one, which gave you a little thrill at the thought that there would be a next one. The coat closet was in the middle of a long, narrow hallway that branched away from the host stand at the main entrance, and the hallway included a few other doors that led to the refreshers as well as the kitchen. Howzer leaned in, scanning the hangers for his coat, and suddenly you heard a loud voice as the restaurant door slammed closed behind someone.

“Hello! I need to be seated immediately. Oh, it’s been a ROTTEN evening. The stupid taxi driver got lost twice, and the train was held up by some idiot old lady, and now I’m incredibly late to meet someone here!” a sharp female voice announced, catching the attention of everyone within hearing range. The realization hit you like a gallon of ice water dumped over your head, and as Howzer leaned out of the closet door to peer at the disturbance, you moved without thinking, pushing him back into the coat closet with so much force that both of you lost your balance and tumbled in, kept on your feet (barely) only by the row of jackets hanging up along the back wall. 

Howzer’s arms went out to the sides, hitting the wall with an ungainly thump, and you fell into him, landing against his chest in the most fortuitous way, hands splayed across his shoulders to try to break your fall. You couldn’t help but laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation, and heard him chuckle quietly once the initial surprise had passed. 

“I wasn’t aware I had this effect on women,” he said in a low voice, and you held a finger to your lips with urgency, tilting your head toward the loud voice still ringing outside. 

“What do you MEAN, he left?!” she said shrilly, and you could hear Barnes smoothing things over. “You can’t hold a table longer than two hours? That’s just ridiculous.” You sent up a silent prayer of thanks for his quick thinking and willingness to cover for you. You slowly pushed yourself to your feet, freeing Howzer from beneath you, though you were quite loath to do so, and watched him slowly stand straight as well. His eyebrows raised at what he was hearing, and he looked down at you in amusement.

“I may have dodged a bullet tonight,” he whispered, and you stifled a giggle. 

“Fine, well at least tell me where the refresher is, and I’ll be on my way!” the woman demanded, and the quick click-clack of her heels coming down the hall sent you both into a panic again. There was nowhere to hide except behind all the coats, and you both immediately dove into the row of fabrics, pushing them out in front of you and flattening yourselves against the wall, side by side. Now you were trying really hard not to laugh, at the utter ridiculousness of this turn of events, and you clapped a hand over your mouth to avoid making a sound. 

“You know she doesn’t even know what I look like, right? We’ve never met,” Howzer breathed in your ear, and you gave him a little push. 

“There weren’t any other clones in the restaurant tonight, were there?” you whispered right back, and he tilted his head in concession. 

“Good point.”

The sound of the refresher door closing was a welcome one, and you pushed the line of jackets in front of you apart, taking a deep breath of the fresh air that was a nice change from the stuffiness of your hiding place. You were getting ready to head out when you felt Howzer pull your arm, and you turned back toward him questioningly.

“We don’t want to risk it. Better wait til she leaves,” he said, shrugging as though he had no choice in the matter. But the soft croon of his voice and that little shimmer of a reflection of the dim closet light in his eye took away absolutely any reason you may have to argue, and you leaned back into him, facing him now, as he rested against the wall. Jackets were stuffed all around you, draped over your back and undoubtedly sticking out a bit, but his breath caught in his throat as you drew near and the sound made you forget about everything else. 

“I don’t want to push you past your comfort zone,” you said softly, feeling the tingles growing as he ran his hands up the outsides of your arms, and you brought your hands up to rest on his broad chest. 

“I appreciate that,” he breathed, leaning in a little closer, “But I told you I wasn’t a complete prude.” He was so close now that you could smell him, an intoxicating mix of aftershave, soap, traces of scents from dinner, and the slightest hint of musk underneath it all. His proximity was electrifying, and you lifted your face to take in the fondness in his eyes and the gentleness in his expression. You were hopelessly lost at this point. “Can I kiss you?” he whispered, and your cheeks curved into a smile at his gentlemanly request. 

“Yes please,” you whispered back, and as soon as the last syllable had left your lips, his mouth was against them, arms wrapping you in a firm yet tender embrace. As if the closet weren’t stuffy enough, the sudden heat of the moment, combined with the two of you pressed together, had you completely flushed with warmth. His kiss was unfathomably sweet, and when he pulled away with a soft smack of the lips, he rested his forehead against yours with a small smile on his face. You lifted a hand to his scarred cheek, reveling in the moment. 

The silence was broken by the refresher door opening again, and an aggressive tapping of heels echoed down the hallway as the narrowly-avoided blind date from hell clattered out the front door. You pulled back a little to better meet Howzer’s eyes, though you could have stayed there forever. 

“Now how about that walk?”

#commander howzer #clone trooper howzer #howzer #tbb howzer #captain howzer #howzer x reader #the bad batch howzer #howzer fanfiction #howzer fanfic #howzer one shot #tbb fanfic #tbb fanfiction #fanfiction #star wars fanfiction #fanfic #the bad batch fanfiction #clone simp #clone one shot #clone fanfic #clone fic

[shockwavve]

An Analysis of TF:E Megatron

Spoilers beware!

Ok, no, but I feel like there was an incredible amount of thought and care that went into writing Megatron as an Autobot in Earthspark while still trying to keep him true to character and motive, WITHOUT having him come across as a total pushover or an out of character softy.

He's different because he's an Autobot now, yes, but he's still often recognizably Megatron by character alone and I do think that speaks volumes. He certainly has his soft and silly moments - as is expected from what is, for all intents and purposes, a kid's show - but it shows most prominently in moments where he's confronted with the consequences of his own actions and decisions, especially during arguments with Optimus, and I think that's really important to show, and I'm so glad that they didn't just push it off as a "oh well, he's nice now and he and Optimus get along perfectly".

He does actually ARGUE with Optimus, and he does it quite often. He seems to be working with GHOST begrudgingly for the betterment of almost explicitly Cybertronians - his Cybertronians - not because he actually agrees with anything GHOST does or proposes, and almost entirely because he's finally recognized the war as something that was doing more harm to his species than good. GHOST is a means to an end; and I'm partially inclined to think that if it weren't for his good relationship with Dottie that he wouldn't be sticking around as long as he has.

It shows a lot in his interactions with other humans - his interactions with other GHOST operatives are pretty explicitly undercut with disdain and disrespect, and how he talks about them in private he makes it clear he doesn't agree with what the organization is doing outside of keeping the peace; and even then, questions whether the peace is worth the subjugation of his own people: the ONE thing he was explicitly trying to avoid when ending the war in the first place. We don't exactly know Megs' backstory in TF:E, but if it's anything like recent continuities re: miner and/or gladiator turned revolutionary, it just means that GHOST's treatment of his people would sting that much more and he SHOULD have no reason to be working with them if it weren't a truce driven out of absolute necessity. I mean, he even gives Optimus what could be interpreted as a threatening glare during their encounter with Soundwave when he insists that Soundwave will be treated well if he surrenders.

He has absolutely not stopped fighting for what he believes in - not entirely, anyways, and he's not afraid to be vocal about it either, or VISIBLY DISTRESSED when faced with conflict from his own Decepticons - people he clearly cares for. See: his refusal to use his fusion cannon on the casettes. He claims it's "not for squashing bugs", but we've seen Megatron using it on smaller threats already. See: the Arachnemechs; literal bugs that Optimus has been shown to easily crush with his bare hands. If size was truly the issue, he'd be throwing hands with the things not blasting them.

And yet, there's already a degree of character development. At the end of Episode 10 he seems genuinely surprised to see the Terrans and other bots getting along with the humans, and is affected when Optimus says that this is what they're fighting for - not GHOST's agenda. He also apologizes to Optimus in Ep. 8 for being harsh with his words, and seems slightly taken aback when Optimus apologizes back.

I LOVE the writing of Megatron as an admittedly begrudging ally who slowly comes around to his own situation - and yet still unwilling to sacrifice his own morals for a cause; and I LOVE an Optimus that plays into that dynamic with a degree of relent. He is convinced to push against GHOST's authority for the safety of his own Autobots, and extends the same generosity to the casettes at his own risk - and Megs is thankful for it!

This dynamic and writing is SO fucking fascinating so far and I Cannot wait to see more. I can't wait to see how future encounters with Soundwave and STARSCREAM especially will go. I'm curious if Starscream won't bring out the worst in Megatron, and I'm curious how else the show will test his patience and dedication to his cause as a converted Autobot. He already seemed to grapple with his decision when faced with Soundwave - how else will he be pushed, and will that push eventually give way to betrayal? Or will he stick by Optimus and GHOST's side, despite the conflict of interest? Eventually, something is going to give, because in 10 episodes or less Megatron has made it VERY clear that his partnership with GHOST only extends so far.

#earthspark spoilers #earthspark #transformers #transformers earthspark #tfe #tf earthspark #megatron #tf megatron #SORRY LONG ASS POST

[arcadiabaytornado]

What's your opinion on the scene where elliot finds chloe in the amber house? Whether he gets angry or delusionally "nice" about your complacency it always manages to make my skin crawl.

That scene is so well written, but I find it to be genuinely one of the scariest scenes in Life Is Strange for how real the interaction feels.

Life Is Strange is no stranger to dark topics. However, I think the darkroom is much less relatable than a woman having a male friend who decides that he's owed her affection because he's been "kind" to her. It's a very skin-crawling scene because I, and I suspect MANY other women, have experienced something similar before, so the anxiety for Chloe's wellbeing is well understood.

I also really like how Elliot is characterized because even though he keeps trying to make it seem like this confrontation is about Rachel...it's clear that the confrontation isn't really about Rachel. It's about Chloe not being with him after he was there for her, and then him getting set off when she gave Rachel the attention he felt like he was owed.

The scene is also a good characterization of a "nice guy" because he keeps telling Chloe how good he's been to her, and he says this while he throws things at her, shoves her, tries to isolate her from others to get her to rely solely on him, and tells her what she should be thinking. Elliot shows what type of boyfriend he would be if Chloe had returned his feelings. He would be an abusive one. And yet, horrifyingly, he honestly thinks he's her knight in shining armor, and Chloe is an idiot for not giving such a nice guy like him a chance.

More Undercut

I also like it's portrayal of Chloe's "complacency." A lot of times, women are given flake for being kind to unsafe men, or their experience is undermined because why would you be nice to someone you were scared of? This scene shows why you would be nice perfectly. Elliot seemed like the type to escalate, so the safest thing for Chloe to do was try to deescalate until she was safe. Unfortunately, that's also a realistic scenario, and I'm glad the scene was portrayed in a way that conveyed why women sometimes fawn in dangerous situations.

It's a really good scene for it's portrayal of a certain type of guy and how tense it makes the player feel. From the second you realize Elliot stalked Chloe from the hospital you realizes that he's not a safe person, but then he opens his mouth and you can just feel your stomach drop even further down.

#life is strange #lis #before the storm #asks

[kiwikiwii]

Very Big and Very Long AI rant.

After the recent OpenAI stuff I'm gonna be here to share my two cents about the whole very realistic AI stuff, from the perspective of a very anxious and very art oriented person who loves techy stuff.

I very much would understand if this isn't your cup of tea so it's all undercut, thank you for your time anyways <3

Now. Onto the AI stuff.

Recently OpenAI has put out some new technology that's showing off some very nearly realistic videos and they're both creepy and very uncanny. About 2 or 3 years ago, the concerns about AI was already rising with deep fakes and the such and is going to start being a lot worse if this technology isn't properly regulated. This is what is prompting my very long and apparently, 927 word rant.

Going to put this in a few parts so it'll be easier to digest I hope.

About the tech.

We are at a point where the lines of AI generated content and real life are starting to blur. It's to a point where a sentence or a prompt could create scenes that look realistic enough that most people wouldn't even suspect that it's AI.

It is such a powerful and interesting technology that's slowly growing out of control. The people who are supposed to regulate the content and lawmakers has no idea what the fuck is going on and how the content is made in the first place, how are they supposed to make a change when they don't even understand what they're supposed to be tackling. The lack of understanding of how AI functions, how it comes to be, where the data was even gotten from in the first place and how it will impact society as a whole will truly be how we'll lose control of it someday. I'm not saying any of this because I want to be a 'hinderance to the future of technology', I'm saying this because the later we try to do something about it, the harder it is to do anything that is useful and effective for safeguarding artists, creators and everyone else who's using the internet. Not to mention the amount of frauds or scams that will skyrocket, children's safety on the internet being compromised, YOUR safety on the internet being compromised, people faking inappropriate images, videos and more will be a nightmare to deal with.

About art.

Many corporate companies unfortunately don't give a fuck about how the art is made and whether it's good or not but how fast it can be made and how much money can be made off of it. In their eyes, the trade off between quantity and quality is worth it. And that to me is extremely frustrating because where the art comes from should also be a part of the story when talking about art. Who the person who made it was like, how they developed a certain style and so on should be cared about and should be appreciated just like the art piece that was created. It shouldn't just be treated as another piece of thing to be fed to the scanner to be spat out as something else.

About creating.

Art is intrinsically a very human thing. People who make the argument "it's letting more people experience how it's like to create art" doesn't understand what it's like to create art. The entire idea of art is the learning, developing and polishing of the skills that you yourself develop. Taking away the steps that it took to get there in the first place diminishes the point of wanting to make art in the first place. It's degrading the time, energy and effort of the people who've already put effort into creating said art to be put out as a cheap and gross mimic of what it came from.

More emotional stuff that doesn't fit in any of the spaces above.

I saw someone use the word 'amalgamation' to describe what AI is today and that about wraps it all up. It's an amalgamation of dots and data skinned off of what there was and chained together to create an image, a video, an audio sample and more without a shred of humanity, love or emotion put into it.

I barely go on twitter nowadays, when I so, I see people sing high praises about the "the amazing advances of AI" and downplay the part of artists that were stolen for to create the technology they love so much in the first place. This whole ordeal makes me sick. It's depressing to see companies laying people off because they're seen as useless or worse than AI. It's disgusting to see the amount of talented people out there stolen from so that people could churn out heartless work at a faster pace to replace you. It's not a stepping stone for humanity, we're stepping over the ledge blindfolded.

I will never stop creating. It's what makes up a big part of me and will continue to be even if AI starts crumbling humanity to ash. One thing they can never take from us is creativity.

To the people who read this far, thank you. Thank you for spending your time to read over my word vomit that has been cooking in my head for the longest time.

To the artist that are still reading this. Remember you are irreplaceable. Without your art, this technology wouldn't have been here in the first place. Your art is invaluable. Never stop creating. Never give up, never give in.

Have a bear <3

#rant #ai rant #very long post #no beta we die like men #bonus bear #thank you for coming to my ted talk

[forthegothicheroine]

I'm finally reading Mad Love, having seen the cartoon episode, and thinking about the "problematic" part: Harley having slept with her professors to get passing grades. Here, in no order, are my thoughts on this.

You can maybe sleep your way through college, but I don't think you can sleep your way to a PhD. Unless you sleep with the whole dissertation committee.

That sounds like something Harley would claim she had done.

At this point, Harley was a secondary character usually played for comedy. Paul Dini giving this backstory was meant to be fleshing her out and making her more complex, whereas from the perspective of her as a modern day hero it sounds like it's undercutting her.

Dini had no way of knowing she was going to become maybe the most popular character in the whole DCU in thirty years. He might have done it differently in that case, or he might not.

I do like that it establishes why she was completely unprepared to treat the Joker. That's a movie pet peeve of mine- when therapists who work with people on parole get flustered when the guy is just vaguely rude to them, they've presumably been doing this for years.

You could also have her cheat. That would come across as more straightforwardly unethical, as opposed to someone else taking advantage of her.

I'm okay with the retcon that she had an affair with a teacher, foreshadowing her future exploitative relationships. I used that in my Breaking Bad Memes AU.

Ultimately, I'm neutral on whether this specific backstory should still be used. It definitely doesn't fit the modern version of the character as well as it did the original animated one. Still, I disagree with calling it "problematic" or that it was made up by "some fuckboy writer" (her creator!) I think it's a gross, embarrassing, uncomfortable thing in the life of a very morally complicated character. I think that still makes sense, and she still isn't portrayed as having deserved what happened to her. I can take or leave it, but I don't think it's inherently wrong to write.

You can get into a big discussion about whether Harley doing something bad sex-related is worse than her killing lots of people but I don't even know if it's still canon that she killed a lot of people and the less I try to figure out continuity the happier I'll be.

#batman #harley quinn

[thankskenpenders]

In the wake of Frontiers I've been thinking a lot about Sage, so here are some spoilery thoughts on her and the possibilities for further stories with her

One of the most interesting things to think about with Sage is where she could go next. And I hope that she does have somewhere to go next and that she doesn't become yet another one-off character who's off limits for the comics and future games. You can't just introduce a character like "Eggman's AI daughter who he actually genuinely likes" and then just memory hole her like she was just created to be a story hook for one game and nothing else. My main worry is just that they would consider her appearing elsewhere a spoiler for the five minutes you spend thinking she died at the end of the game, which I really really hope doesn't mean it'll be 5+ years before we see her again

Really, though, she creates some interesting conundrums if placed outside of the context of Frontiers, and I really wanna see how they tackle this

The thing is, Sage is a sympathetic character. She's nice, once you get to know her. She's level-headed and avoids unnecessary conflict. She encourages Eggman to work with Sonic when she sees it as the best option, and she's kinda friends with Sonic by the end? But... she's also still Eggman's new second-in-command. And they have an adorable father/daughter dynamic, sure, but this still makes her Sonic's enemy in the long run. This isn't a critique - in fact, just the opposite! I think it leaves the door open for a lot of interesting possibilities. They didn't really have to address this much in Frontiers since Eggman isn't the villain of that game, but should Sage come back as a recurring member of Eggman's team, I'm fascinated to think how they square these conflicting sides of her

Do they make her more villainous, supporting Eggman's attempts to conquer the world, playing up the Sage who gleefully reported on her wins against Sonic? Does she try to reign Eggman in more? Hell, how will Sonic feel about her once the truce with Eggman is over? Does Sonic try to get Sage to leave the Eggman Empire? Or do they make her a friendly rival of Sonic's, one who works against him due to her allegiance but still respects his capabilities with no actual animosity between them? I could see this working well with how nonchalant Sonic often is about having to fight Eggman, and "villain who the protagonist just has fun fighting against without really hating them" is a pretty shounen thing to do, but it's not the only route

Should she appear in the comics, the other elephant in the room is Belle. On a BumbleKast a couple months ago, Ian acknowledged the parallels and said that Sage and Belle just happened to be conceived around the same time - and that he felt sorry for potentially undercutting Evan there. But he also said that the possibilities for interactions between them in the comics were fascinating, and BOY do I wanna see that happen now. Belle was created by Eggman when he was Mr. Tinker, and therefore resents him now that he's back to his normal self. She struggles with whether or not he's even the same man now, and how being created by Eggman reflects on her. Sage, though? Sage just loves Eggman, period. She loves him as her father, and she seems to love working with him. The possibilities for the two as foils of each other are endless. Does Belle wish Sage would come over to the Restoration? Does she envy Sage for being loved by Eggman? Is Sage cool with the fact that Eggman technically has another daughter out there who just isn't part of the Eggfam? Does she view Belle as a traitor? There's so much you could do there

And also yes I want to see her interact with Metal Sonic like in all the fanart. Sage is good! We need more Sage!!

#tkp post

[prettysymbiosis]

I’ve been trying to get these thoughts out for days but basically I feel like the unifying theory of s16 (as I see it) is a conscious exploration of the dichotomy between sunny as a classically bold and brash pee pee poo poo comedy and sunny as a thoughtful, nuanced and subtle show about flawed people and also about itself, at times (by that I mean the meta isn’t always about macdennis or the other characters but about sunny itself - win an award, clip show, big mo, etc). the trailer actually captures this dichotomy well through the dialogue clips and animations, as well as the pinned comment which said “get ready for a whole lot of subtlety.” it’s still so baffling to me that sunny can simultaneously read as one of the most loud, obnoxious, unsubtle shows ever on television, OR it can be so subtle and allegorical in the writing of later seasons that most viewers would think people like us are crazy for reading so much into it even though we’re really not. this kind of self-reflective flavor is another product of the rewatch/podcast project which has been almost universally agreed to have had a very positive effect on the writing.

anyway having said that, I want to just share my notes on the first two episodes without trying to edit them too much. I’m bolding the points that I personally haven’t seen anyone else mention yet and putting a 😎 next to ones that evoke a Classic Sunny VibeTM because that’s important to the experiment of this season.

the gang inflates

macden fun/domestic/DUMB again 😎

something something never committing to the couch when it was absurd not to and it ended up costing them so much macdennis blah blah

dennis hanging up on dee was so funny to me oops 😎

and the WHOLE dee (as a character and specifically the female character) thing about being minimized to an absurd degree. I like to think the bog was a turning point for dee and the show is gonna do better by her now hopefully by recognizing her plight in a more serious way, like the way the guys have been doing?

are mac and dennis…… you know…… like for real??? as many have said, it could totally be revealed kind of retroactively to undercut the shock and be like “honestly we’re surprised you didn’t notice sooner” I feel like that is something rcg would do. suggestive clues:

“I don’t wanna talk to you about–” “a TON”

or is dennis like well that’s news to me jealous vibes??

“I figured you were man” ??

“I’m getting a little concerned about our nut”

“you truly have no reason to be sleeping with frank”

they specifically put a lil reaction shot of dennis after mac says “that’s a lotta blowin” a la the lil grin in gets romantic and, well, I just think that’s a choice that was made

“it’s not homophobic” is that so?????

when mac is like “you think we got rid of our furniture too soon/that the business plan won’t work” it’s kinda like no it’s not the committing to what they have, it’s that mac still has big denial problems and dennis can’t work with that… maybe? but so does dennis tbh

in a show-meta sense it’s like, we should be less worried about whether the gay gay-ass love story will alienate people and more worried about how these characters are too ridiculous to even let the love story play out effectively. they need mental health days if we are ever to have nice things

it’s possible mac denying his reaction to the allergy has to do with his body dysmorphia?

also it occurred to me that maybe part of why rob is clean-shaven this season is so they could do those prosthetics more easily?

those handprints though…. I hate everything

oh also just the bed scene. its existence

the zoomed in neck touch of course

“I’m not going to do it!” “..okay” dennis keepin his cool :)

mac’s shirt! COOLER HEADS PREVAIL

just the sheer silliness of inflatable furniture - is there some metaphor here lol?

in a general sense could inflates be taken to mean flanderizes? also maybe it’s just implied but I noticed I hadn’t actually seen anyone mention inflation as a sexual kink and like, that was part of the intention right? if so, 😎

charlie “uhhhhhhhh… yep.” poor charlie :( he doesn’t want to live in a maze (like a rat)

“well then you’re just like being a predator” :( so here for charlie calling out bullshit with frank and mrs. mac and even his own mom so far in these first two eps

charlie just giving up and yelling in frustration which is kinda what bonnie does in ep2 (and ep3 based on trailer)

the gross horny male objectifying thing 😎

rob put his whole pussy into this episode

charlie saying “I don’t get why he doesn’t take me seriously” and dee saying “that’s gotta be maddening” 🙃

cats in the alley my loves 😎

gluing dee a pillow on the wall <3

“consider it an offering” “of war??” this says so much. must everything be a conflict?

charlie’s hair looks so crazy and good in the sleepover scene and also he’s so smart

charlie asks frank to “return everything to the status quo” by the end of the episode, sitcom style. full reset, no progression. except charlie is asking that frank not endlessly take advantage of the fact that mac and den can’t figure their shit out, not totally push dee out just because it’s easy, not make light of the trauma charlie has from what happened to him. all that stuff IS the status quo! so what is he really asking for? this is one of the bits of writing that I think is also about the show as a show, and how they’ve approached these dynamics forever. 

it’s funny that people are saying this season is such a return to form because it is, but it’s also so much more self-aware of what that form is/was and how deeper elements can coexist within it. they’re really walking with a foot in both worlds here and they’re doing it well. love this for them and for us, the people who know what it’s always sunny in philadelphia is REALLY about

“we’ll take you to the hospital, and they’ll have nuts. and you can– you can die there.” hahahah

#sunny #iasip #it's always sunny in philadelphia #S16 #sunny meta #s16 meta #s16 e1 #the gang inflates #macdennis #charlie #dee #I hate this show bc every time I'm like whoa this writing is so complex and then I immediately feel ridiculous for thinking that #even though I KNOW I'm right and you guys get it too..... I still feel like a tinhat :( I blame misogyny #well I'm exhausted goodnight

[taru-haru]

A3!『MY WORST WEDDING』

Banri Settsu's Practise- Mini Chats Translation

!Spoiler warning! : The followings contain contents of A3! act! addict! actors!

The translation is undercut. You have been warned about spoilers.

❁ Flair Chat 1

Banri: "I'm playing the friend of Azami's character who's the son of a president. The guy's the same age as me so I think I'll be able to act quite naturally.

In the play, there are many scenes where I'll need to work with computers and automates so I should think about doing a research and role study.

There's an action scene this time around but I'm just required to either run away, follow up or simply support.

Well, whether as an actor or as an assistant director, I'll just have to think hard about how to be a pillar for the main guys.

Then there's the drone scene and Taichi's quick-change one, there's still lots to discuss. Let's have a meeting later again yeah?"

❁ Flair Chat 2

Banri: "Sothis is similar to what happened in the last summer troupe show but this time too, there's discussions about doing hair arrangements.

It's pretty fun-- looking at the magazines, preparing waxes, and other arrangements.

This other day, I was asked to try out some patterns and I actually did it.

Yep, yep, Azami's also thinking about his hairstyle. Saw him trying out different wigs.

When he tried on the wig we used in past performances, the aura completely changed and it was a bit interesting. Should've taken a picture."

❁ Flair Chat 3

Banri: "The plot is that Ethan is in love with his fiancee but then again, the act of love seems pretty hard.

Do you talk about the goodness and cuteness of your partner or brag proudly about the relationship you two share?

I could talk as much as I want about Director-chan though.

Her hard-working side, the way she seriously faces theatre is very cool.

But she also has a childish side to her, she has this innocence too, and the way she's lost sometimes is really adorable.

I'm her perfect partner with whom she can discuss production together, and we often go out with each other in private- we get along really well.

Right, right, the way she gets shy and red like this is very nice too.

Can you tell me if I'm allowed to talk like this and boast about you proudly in the play too? Just messing.

#need someone to talk abt me the way this mf talks abt izumi i hate this man #a3! #a3! translation #banri settsu #a3! banri #act! addict! actors! #banri translation

[theaceofskulls]

Fixing WoW's Modern Story: BFA

Got stuck the other day thinking about World of Warcraft story fixes and I've got to get it out of my head.

It began with me thinking of how I've come around to how the faction conflict was handled in Legion, where a complete misunderstanding and actions taken led to two specific members being the ones to duke it out and it shifted into an entire rewrite of BFA and SLands with a quick detour at the start to Legion.

Anyways let's start.

There's very little I'd change about the main story of Legion to be honest (but I have opinions on zones and class halls). But I think the major thing I'd change to start out is not killing Vol'jin.

It feels like it was done for parity because that's something that the community and blizzard at the time were obsessed with. If something bad happens to one side, the other has to get an equal black eye. But it was clear that Varian was the focus with getting Sylvanas into the Warchief seat as the other driving force and I feel like it undercuts a lot of potential down the line.

So to change, he still gets stabbed, he still nominates Sylvanas to take over due to Loa whispers, but instead he's now in a coma. And to add to it, the Horde starts trying everything but his condition keeps worsening. This furthers the bad blood between the two factions as rumors about dark magics being practiced by the Orcs, Trolls, Blood Elves (letting them be edgy again), and even the undead are reaching the Alliance. This also gives the other leaders something more tangible to be working on than the assumption that they're just fighting the Legion elsewhere.

We end things mostly the same way, with Azerite being a thing from the wound but we're going to change some stuff. The big stinger though isn't the goblins mining, it's news that Vol'jin has awoken.

Now onto BFA.

First up, I'm doing this as a fix it, not a replace it, meaning I still want this to be a Faction War xpac with a void twist. But we're going to do some massive changes to get there.

Acknowledging fan discussions done to death by this point, everyone is correct and it's the most common items mentioned: Teldrissal burning is too far and the Alliance has to be the ones to strike first in order for it to play out.

However, we're going to make some changes to things.

First up, let's go to Vol'jin who has come back into things. Sylvanas will attempt to hand over the title of Warchief to him, but he declines, saying that she lead them through the Legion invasion and deserves to command the armies of the Horde. Before anyone can say anything, he then states that the Horde must change and that it will no longer be ruled by a Warchief, but by a new leader. Title pending here but let's go with True Chief.

This rankles some people but others want Vol'jin back. Sylvanas steps back, complicated expression on her face. Vol'jin sees the Azerite found and decides it's time to start mining to fix the damage done by the Legion and to empower the horde. It should be noted that there's a little bit of a mystery on whether or not Vol'jin is benevolent on his return or if there's hidden plans. We'll lean into that later.

Meanwhile the Alliance is now confronted with multiple new items. The Horde emerged from Legion strong. Tyrande fumbled the Nightborne who are looking to join the Horde along with the Highmountain, though they have been bolstered by Alleria and Turalyon, both of whom have opinions on the Blood Elves, the Undead, the Orcs (with the Lightforged also taking some particular umbrage), Theramore, and Genn's reports about the Broken Shore and the mysteries of Vol'jin's recovery.

We make a point here to start to address the concept of the Alliance and what it means and whether Anduin should even be the leader of it. The reports of Azerite being mined add to the fire, as do reports of undead activity (more on that later).

Rather than copying Makani's homework here regarding the undead-be-gone (though it's a great option to also stick here), this does eventually lead to a conflict that escalates to Lordaeron after Blight stores are detonated too close to Gilneas during one of the border conflicts.

One thing that players discover that they're unable to share in time for the battle however is that both alliance troops and forsaken involved in a couple of these conflicts seem... wrong. And some of the damage to the surrounding area doesn't seem like it was the Blight.

Before we get to that we're going to rework Before the Storm into here with some minor tweaks because I like Calia and elements of that story enough to keep and because I'm trying not to toss too much here.

However, a couple of important details here. First up, Sylvanas reveals that despite Vol'jin's proclamation, there have been troop movements in the eastern kingdoms that she hasn't been informed of, including some forsaken, so when Calia appears and the council begins forming, she begins to panic. However, before she does anything, someone else kills the Menethal princess with an arrow that disappears in a puff of black smoke. One of the undead in attendance claims Sylvanas planned this all along to complete her revenge on the family that wronged her, but in the aftermath this undead is not among the captured or dead and no one can identify them.

The Battle for Lordaeron happens. On the Alliance side, we see Anduin take to the field to try and solidify his hold on the fracturing Alliance. During the battle, he is overwhelmed by oddly powerful soldiers after being separated. With his sword knocked from his hand, he tries to reach out for the light only for a darker power to answer, obliterating his foes to his horror. The Light still answers him and he tries to push past this as he regroups with his allies.

On the horde side, we fight a losing battle as something is stopping teleportation magic from working. We suspect it to be Jaina when she's revealed, but the times don't match up. Blood Elf reinforcements along with Nightborne who traveled with them show up but it's not enough to turn the tide of the focused Alliance. As those inside prepare for a last stand, not sure that they would be able to surrender, Blight begins to erupt from the ground. Sylvanas denies this to be her fault to Saurfang (who had been sent with an advance force to hold out), but it's clear he doesn't believe her and at this point it's not clear if she's telling the truth. Eagle eyed players noticed some horde soldiers leaving the battle to retreat underground during the middle portion of the battle before a general retreat inside was sounded.

The alliance manages to teleport away to the surprise of the Horde. While they confirm it's working, they'll never be able to get everyone to the silvermoon gate in time. This is when we see the airships of the Horde arrive, allowing escape just in time.

Vol'jin takes the news poorly as Lorthemar and Thalyssra attempt to console Sylvanas who is fuming about losing her home. It's revealed at this point that a shipment of Azerite was raided, with signs pointing towards the draenei and night elves. Vol'jin declares that he won't have enemies in Kalimdor any more, but promises Baine that he will show mercy to them if they surrender after he objects. Baine is given command to ensure this, enraging Sylvanas who should as Warchief and who is still upset over Lorderaon.

We move towards Teldrassil now, though Alliance players are allowed to learn that the shipment raid is suspicious as it seems to have come from Theramore and the Azerite has vanished completely. An investigation was launched but the ships vanished along the way. Something is wrong but the World Tree is in danger and we have to move to save it.

This battle is more solidly in the side of the Horde. Most of the Alliance's attempts to fight back fail unexpectedly. Dwarven and gnomish ammo and machinery is missing or damaged. Darkshore's nature seems to be working against them for some reason. The Vindicaar is experiencing malfunctions. Something is wrong and it's quickly apparent the battle is lost.

Malfurion stays to buy time for an evacuation but is beaten and captured (I'm not killing him in this because while Night Elves won't suffer as much, I'm not doing that after Ysera went down. Nelves still have to take a black eye but don't worry we'll do better by you before the xpac is over). Unfortunately, not everyone gets out.

True to his word at least, Vol'jin spares those left behind, but Teldrassil is occupied by the Horde. We're going to have some small raiding adventures later for the alliance to rescue people, including some smaller named Nelves to give the feeling of fighting back and a little bit of underdog love to it down the line.

At this point though, it's clear, it's open war now.

We still need our navy plot line but we're heading into this with one big change: It's clear to players who have been following along that someone is pulling the strings.

(Quick aside, we're just going to have the allied races be left alone. I'm gonna be typing too much anyways here and I want them in)

So we'll start with the Horde.

We still have Talanji approach the Horde and honestly we still have Rokhan be one of the primary characters there too along with Nathanos. We're going to edit up the leveling story but this is gonna be a long post so I don't have time for that here. We do raise the question of how relationships will work out between Vol'jin and Rasatakhan all things considered but we're mostly keeping some stuff the same.

When we get to the war campaign, we still have Sylvanas raise Deryk and Baine still gets pissy and eventually sends him to Kul Tiras, but Vol'jin shuts down the plan to use him as a hostage but doesn't condemn Sylvanas for raising him. She does it as she feels she's losing control of the military and isn't actually in command in anything but name and wanted to enact a scheme. She's also concerned that several of her soldiers appear to be MIA or have disobeyed commands.

This culminates in her killing Zelling under the belief of him being a traitor when it comes out that he's the one who alerted Baine to her scheme. Baine is disgusted but it's not enough to make him quit the Horde but he demands she face justice. Vol'jin points out that as Warchief it's in her rights but chastises her as well.

Meanwhile this sets up more conflict between her and Saurfang where the players will eventually pick a side but it's less of an obvious "pick the resistance or the clearly evil tyrant".

Meanwhile on the alliance side we're making some more changes this time around. Sure the fact that Sylvanas isn't in charge changes a lot of the war campaign, but for this side we're starting with some immediate stuff.

The first thing of note is that the theme of Kul Tiras is going to be different. It needs to be about the Alliance being a force of building and healing rather than just gathering up the different nations together to fight together. It still does that part but one big thing is to work on how your actions make peoples' lives better.

(Note: I am primarily a horde player but part of my fix-it for this xpac involves examining the alliance and its justification for continuing to exist after the faction conflict is over. This is not a "The Alliance needs to be the good guys" because trust me that's not going to happen)

Most of the zones need just slight tweaking but Drustvar is where I'm setting my sights on fixing things. Drustvar is so disconnected and while I enjoy it, it also could use some extra touch ups.

To do that, the Drust are just flat out going to be pointed out as a result of a flare up of Death magic. We're gonna do better setup for the next xpac and we're not going to have them be a weird afterthought. We could also maybe use a lore character to weave into here to explore that rather than leaving them until the end but again runtime on this post is too long here, let's keep moving. (I'd pick Vereesa to get her into a story about Theramoore here and have her do something a little more relevant for once)

We do need to weave in more Ghuun things into Kul'Tiras for the raid to make sense though. That's important. We'll eventually have Anduin learn about it and task the players with taking care of it as he's concerned about the Void stuff that keeps popping up.

Going to the war campaign, we're going to work on it in a number of ways. First up, the stuff you don't see on the Horde side is going to appear over there. Horde players will learn about the San'layn and the blood elves using Anima (pandaria era). The San'layn are going to hint that they're throwing in with the horde because events in Icecrown are unfolding.

What we're going to add here is Telaamon as a rising star in the Lightforged army and we're going to have him butting heads with Velen who is looking at finally healing in the wake of the victory over the Legion. Since a large amount of Draenei are vindictaars, more and more have been joining the ranks of the Lightforged, and Telaamon is firmly in the hawk faction of the Alliance at this point, having learned more about Draenor and is furious. Velen is worried that his time has come to an end and that he should step down and let another lead.

In both Kul'Tiras and Zandalar, we're going to have some of those Azerite zones not just have people trying to harvest it, but we'll also have some void stuff going on as an attempt to corrupt it. That's just to hammer home for people who have somehow missed it where we're heading.

We have some patch content to go through now.

Calia has her stuff alongside Deryk but Voss is less... admiring (I charitably considered it shippy but it always came off more as "the rightful heir" until they attempted to change course in SL). Xal'atath is still let go but not due to Sylvanas. In fact this is probably the time to actually have some void elf specific content come up.

We have a couple of reports on the alliance side that the Zandalari fleet is sinking ships, but Shaw and Flynn don't find anything true to that after digging but the ships are missing.

With Vol'jin not dead we instead do a little more with Talanji and him as characters as a questline. Vol'jin will by this point have been a little more aggro than players were expecting and will acknowledge that himself, wondering if the stress has gotten to him.

Quick side trip, let's address Arathi. We're still keeping that warzone but we're building it up more. We're pointing out that the hawk faction is supporting the reconstruction and emphasizing the fact that this was where Before the Storm went down. With the Wildhammer Dwarves and the Arathi Kingdom on the rise, Vol'jin authorizes fighting there, while Anduin is concerned about the human kingdoms splitting. He meanwhile tasks you with finding out who killed Calia. Players will discover an undead corpse, thoroughly corrupted by void magic.

Dazaralor still unfolds though during setup we have Telaamon fight against Saurfang and dies facing the orc but not before rattling him about his actions in the past (because I like that one bit of his story). This eventually deepens his feud with Sylvanas but it's also to allow us to air out the scars the factions have against each other.

Rastakhan is killed, Talanji declares vengeance and things seem worse than ever.

Lastly we have Darkshore with the Night Warrior as a rescue mission (and attempted retaking of the tree, and while the latter isn't successful, we do free Malfurion).

We move to the next patch and we've got to address both of the zones.

Mechagon starts up not because "Bwhaha, I will rule the surface world" but because all of the void corruption that has led to the King deciding that the curse of flesh must absolutely be undone right now.

Mostly things unfold the same way but we fix that zone to be vastly more interesting outside of the dungeon or just make it into just the dungeon.

Nazjatar is a lot different however. Well mostly it's the same. Azshara schemes to get our artifact power to fully free N'Zoth and kill him in one blow but we're doing something fun:

Inciting incident is that both sides have received reports of a giant island of azerite and both rush to get there first. We're keeping the boat the same but we're not having Nathanos leave since this isn't a trap set up by him and Sylvanas. However here's where a lot of the characters learn about the void saboteurs that have invaded their armies and been egging on this war.

While Nathanos and Genn both still want to continue the conflict, when both of them realize that the conflicts that started this fight were done by agents of their own nations with Genn realizing that Gilneas is at risk of being consumed consumed by the void and Nathanos realizing that so much of his queen's suffering has been caused by Azshara's meddling, the two are convinced by their allies to parley. For now.

Btw, the raid happens similarly, and Azshara lives in the same way. Because I love her and support women's wrongs.

Meanwhile, since Saurfang isn't in exile (I don't know what to do with Zappy Boi in this fix but I'm not too concerned with sitting down and figuring out what to do with him since his character seems to begin and end with Saurfang), we need someone else to pull Thrall out of Outlands because we might want him down the line.

And here's where I put Anduin, who has been losing control of the Alliance as the hawk side has begun to really take over as the war has gone on. I'm also using this to parallel down the line for the War Within because let's assume we planned that far ahead.

Anduin goes there in part to try and get someone who Vol'jin respects to tell him about the dangers he's discovered. As the conversation unfolds, Anduin questions if he should just give up the High King position. Thrall realizes the parallel with his own decision to give up the Warchief position to Garrosh, looking to the distance in Nagrand at where the duel in the alternate universe took place. He tells Anduin he regrets the pain he allowed to happen by letting the Horde be led by those who only want war and the atrocities committed because he felt he couldn't be the one to lead it. Both of them leave determined to put an end to the Fourth War.

The Horde players get to have a Saurfang vs Sylvanas questline here as Sylvanas begins executing various people very publicly all of a sudden and the players are asked to pick a side.

Saurfang's side uncovers that Sylvanas has been deteriorating over the course of the war, egged on by the factions own hawk faction such as Gallywix (who has decided to encourage the Warchief in order to help sell more weapons and keep the azerite profits coming), Talanji (mourning her father), Geya'rah (since we don't edit the allied quests too much she's still convinced the alliance is outright evil), and a couple of the sub leaders. Moreover, he learns the Vol'jin isn't blind to the various plots and schemes we see throughout the war campaign and that he's allowing the executions. Saurfang realizes at this point that the Horde will always be at war and feels that the very position of Warchief is to blame, with some shots of him seeing Sylvanas in the same light as the Lich King and shots of his dead son scattered throughout it.

He comes to a decision: he must eliminate the Warchief position somehow if they are to break free from this and finally find peace, with his talk about how honor is a lie being given to someone other than Anduin.

(Sorry I'm robbing anduin of a dad, but he collects those like pokemon)

Sylvanas supporters meanwhile get to see the full nature of how everything was manipulated by the void and learn her executions are targeting void agents. However we also get to learn that there's movements in Icecrown and Sylvanas has been receiving psychic messages from what she believes to be the Lich King, terrifying her. She confides in the player that she has seen the other side and can't die or be enslaved again. We see hints of the death magic radiating off her.

Both of these quests end with Saurfang publicly challenging Sylvanas to Mak'Gora for the position of Warchief with the duel taking place later.

Swapping to the Alliance side, Anduin summons his council. We frame the shot to very clearly show the hawk side is in the majority by this point. Notably, Genn is still among this side. Anduin reveals his findings that the war has been manipulated by agents of the void and Azshara. This is going to be one of those "hard to place if it comes before the raid" type cutscenes so we don't mention Nzoth being freed by this point.

Night Warrior Tyrande points out that while the war may have started under false pretenses, the Horde still hold Teldrassil and still threaten the Alliance as well as how much losses have been incurred by all up to this point. Jaina is the one to break the silence that follows, speaking of her experience back in her home and stating that the scars we gain don't define us, but how we choose to move forward. That continuing to suffer helps no one. She stands by Anduin but most of the hawk faction continues to hold their ground.

Tyrande asks if this want for peace is an order from the High King, asks directly if she and her people, and gestures towards the others, if their people should heed his commands because of his lineage. Another silence follows.

Anduin speaks up sorrowfully and asks "What is the Alliance for? Is it a weapon to strike back against those that wronged us? Is it a shield we only turn to when there are enemies before us? Are we united only by hate, strangers to each other when that is gone? Are we just soldiers who fight alongside each other? Was I a fool to think we were friends and family".

We show several members of the hawks looking to one another. Moira gazes away from the meeting, towards Magni who is waiting a bit away, watching apprehensively. We see a bandaged Mekkatorque looking towards the other members of the three hammers. We see Genn look at Anduin, squeeze his eyes shut before opening them again and striding forward to put a hand on his shoulder.

"We are here for one another when they need us."

Moira comes forth joined by the other two, "We move forward together."

Malfurion looks at his wife and daughter and moves over to Anduin, a look of small surprise on their faces before saying "Together, we protect this world and those that live in it"

Shandris looks at her mother and joins the rest of the others as the slowly drift towards the other side. Squeezing her eyes shut for a second, she opens them and moves forward herself, asking "well then, what path would you have us follow?"

Anduin shakes his head, "Not follow." He gestures to those around him and says "We shall lead our people forward. For the Alliance. For Azeroth."

A smile crosses Tyrande's face only to be interrupted by a messenger bursting into the room with a message, from Vol'jin. The gathered members turn together to hear what he has to say.

(Unfortunately I'm working still within WoW story constraints here so we can't actually sit down and plan what the new direction of the Alliance would be and we still have to have grand but vague gestures to illustrate that everyone is now on the same page but that it's from a position of strength. The forums will still hate it but I don't respect them enough to care).

The duel arrives, and we see a gathered crowd. The horde leadership is seated on a small platform, watching the empty arena apprehensively. As we cut to shots of Sylvanas and Saurfang preparing, a figure approaches the leadership from the side, making his way past the seated leaders, those noticing him showing their surprise on their face. Vol'jin fails to notice as he's observing the arena too closely until the voice shakes him from it.

"Mind if I sit here?" Thrall asks, depositing a chair next to the stunned but slightly gladdened troll.

The two exchange some words but Thrall becomes serious and says "We need to talk. About the Horde."

Their conversation is interrupted by the duel's start. During the battle, which is less one sided but not as much as you'd expect, Saurfang declares to Sylvanas that these wars must end, that the Horde must change. From Sylvanas's side we hear whispers that we can't make out. She blocks one of Saurfang's overhanded blows with her daggers easily and begins to push an advantage, stating that all she's ever done is to protect everyone and that they don't understand the true danger out there. (I'm sorry to those of you scarred by this from the actual story but we're going to have to still keep some vague gesturing right now)

Saurfang rallies, and if we somehow kept Zappy Boi, we'll have the two of them exchange looks before he manages a solid blow and gives her that stupidly small scar. She's knocked to the ground and Saurfang tells her to give up and that she can still serve the horde, but not as Warchief.

We're gonna copy paste the "Serve" bit from the Sanctum of Domination cutscene here, with Sylvanas rising up, whisps of dark energy gathering on her arms. Saurfang closes his eyes regretfully and prepares to charge for the killing blow as the undead elf extends her hand with the expected line of "I will never serve!"

"For the Hord-" We have our blast and Saurfang is dead to the shock and horror of everyone including Sylvanas though she's the quickest to shake it off, loudly proclaiming those in attendance to be blind and that she will be the one to save them before taking off.

Thrall questions if it was void magic only for Vol'jin to say it was something else. Something familiar.

After Saurfang's funeral, Thrall approaches Vol'jin to tell him he needs to end this war, to focus on the true enemy, N'zoth. Vol'jin gets angry with Thrall and during the conversation we see evidence that Vol'jin has a little bit of that void in him, though in a moment of realization, he loudly shouts that this isn't him, and it is expelled by a wave of force. The shadowy figure that emerges from the discarded void energies remarks it's a pity but that all will serve soon enough anyways.

Thrall asks if his friend is alright, and Vol'jin states that he's got one last enemy to fight but afterwards, things need to change. The two nod and say their "For Azeroth"s together before Vol'jin summons a messenger and says he needs to tell something to the Alliance.

Anduin still punches Wrathion cause we gotta though we show the king trying to manage the void corruption with some light magic. Unfortunately 8.3 plays out mostly the same but I'll have N'zoth trapped in the dagger rather than killed outright with the dagger taken by the Light or something at the end.

God that's a massive post. We'll get a part 2 for Shadowlands.

#world of warcraft #god this is massive and the shadowlands one is going to start with me locking you all in a box to talk about zovaal so i'm sorry in advance #look if you hit expand know that it's gonna go on for awhile #battle for azeroth

[zalrb]

Oppenheimer Review

OK let’s start with things I didn’t quite care for:

1. The exclusion of Indigenous and Japanese people, which has been a well-detailed criticism on Twitter and in articles:  

“The Pajarito Plateau, where Los Alamos is located, was indigenous homeland for multiple villages of Pueblo people, as well as more than 30 Mexican American families who owned ranches and farms[...]”

We can get into a discussion about which movies are made and how studios would rather fund movie after movie about the ‘tortured white male genius’ than a movie about the Pueblo people or the effects of the bomb on Japan. We can talk about the general boredom of seeing these movies over and over again. But I think that’s a larger conversation. That’s a conversation about which stories TPTB determine get told, that’s a conversation about the systemic racism and barriers in Hollywood and filmmaking because it’s not surprising that a Nolan film didn’t feature BIPOC or nuanced depictions of BIPOC. Nolan is going to Nolan. Dunkirk is an entirely whitewashed film. It is so typical of a Nolan film that I was surprised John David Washington was in Tenet (which I have not seen) and this isn’t to defend him or to let him off the hook, this is just to say that conversation is about the systems in place that allow for Oppenheimer to be a movie while not showcasing other stories, which this person has also indicated

The defense for Nolan’s omission has been Oppenheimer is about Oppenheimer but I don’t think that defense holds.

Considering that it is first and foremost a character study about a man with conflicting morals, a man who “famously” told Truman that he feels like he has blood on his hands. Considering the movie is meant to take us into the mind of this man, we’re supposed to see what tortures him, what lies heavy on him, considering that there is a scene where he is confronted with the carnage and the destruction of his invention, considering  that in the movie Oppenheimer told Truman they should give the land back to the Indigenous peoples, glossing over the injustices and the atrocities undercuts the fact that this is supposed to be deep dive character study, because Oppenheimer helped cause these things. That’s the point. A pivotal point in the movie comes when Oppenheimer is being asked over and over again when he had moral qualms about the H bomb considering that he made the atomic bomb and whether or not he had quandaries then and the fact that there was a history of people suffering because of this bomb before it dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki would emphasize that question. It’s not a full character study.

Another defense has been that the omission was purposeful as a condemnation of what they did and how they didn’t think about the consequences or thought about the consequences and ignored them/didn’t care about them but there are ways to do that. We can see people being displaced from the land and then afterwards Oppenheimer going to Los Alamos declaring there’s nothing around. If this movie is also about his ego and his tunnel vision and about the dangers of building weapons of mass destruction and their consequences, we can see what the testing of the bomb did to communities while they celebrate the success of the test, it would simply drive the point the movie is making home, it would make it more poignant and complete. When Oppenheimer gives that victory speech after the bomb was dropped, he keeps seeing the people around him burned or dead or crying, there’s no reason why his speech couldn’t at least be intercut with the realities happening in Japan at the time.

Outside of it is simply right for these stories to be showcased and acknowledged, there are too many reasons why Oppenheimer could’ve and should’ve shown these aspects for me to really find any defense viable.

2. I also don’t expect nuanced depictions of women in a Nolan movie but the female characters in this movie are so laughably one-dimensional that I feel like it would’ve been less offensive for him to just not include women at all. Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh do as much as they can with the material they’re given but they’re really not given much and when we’re meant to gain insight into Kitty’s (Emily Blunt) emotional state and to see what the hearing of Robert is doing to her, it’s when he admits on record to sleeping with his ex-wife Jean (Florence Pugh) when he was with Kitty so it’s Kitty imagining him having sex with Jean in a very uncomfortable and entirely unnecessary sex scene. So it’s actually quite funny talking about Oppenheimer and Barbie at the same time because Oppenheimer proves one of Barbie’s points about the way women are perceived and treated through the way the Kens are portrayed in the first 30 minutes of the movie because Kitty and Jean are around to serve Oppenheimer’s plot and Jean actually dies, she commits suicide, and the implication is that while she was suffering from mental health issues, Oppenheimer cutting ties with her led to her death so in the movie anyway, a female character literally dies because the male protagonist is no longer in her life.

Alright, things I liked.

1. Cillian Murphy. Cillian was magnetic onscreen. The beauty of what he can convey with his eyes, it was mesmerizing and he does such a good job playing the charismatic womanizing egocentric asshole but does an equally good job portraying depth, portraying vulnerability and betrayal and guilt and remorse. He inhabited this role, it was great watching.

2. RDJ! RDJ is indeed an actor so watching him in the few Marvel movies that I did watch just always had me like *sigh* they’ve flattened you so it was really fun seeing him really dig his teeth into a role and also seeing the way he changes throughout the movie, particularly the third act when you realize his personal vendetta against Oppenheimer and how his true colours kind of start bleeding through, it was very well done.

3. It was surprisingly funny? Like not laugh out loud funny even though there were moments where I did indeed LOL i.e. “I’m a self-made man.” “I can relate to that.” “Really?” “Yes, my father was one.” the wit and the back and forth and the riffing I quite enjoyed. Seeing all the scientists place bets and get into arguments, I quite enjoyed that.

4. I don’t care for Matt Damon, he annoys me, so when I saw him in the trailer I rolled my eyes and when I saw his introduction to the movie I also rolled my eyes but he and Cillian had a good chemistry so over the course of the movie, I ended up enjoying his scenes with Cillian because they worked so well together and they establish a lot of about that dynamic and they feel comfortable with each other. Although I think my favourite dynamic was Oppenheimer and Isidor. I don’t like Casey Affleck though so that “reveal” just had me like ugh, why.

5. The score. The SCORE. Ludwig Göransson did a beautiful job with the music, giving the movie a sense of scale and tension, it was fantastic.

6. It felt like three hours but it felt like a three hours well spent.

[old-people-like-avatar]

Netflix Avatar the Last Airbender S1E5: Spirited Away Review [SPOILERS]

Overall, a strong and creepy episode. With its titular callback to Miyazaki, this one had a very different sensibility from the prior episodes, but I liked it. I wasn't so sure about bringing Katara and Sokka into the spirit world, but we got some really important scenes there.

THE GOOD

Katara and Sokka flashbacks in the Spirit World: I was initially skeptical when Katara and Sokka went along with the spirit world journey. But there was a strong emotional character-building payoff with seeing both of those painful flashbacks. The trauma of Katara witnessing her mother's death, and the emotional pain of Sokka's barely passed ice dodging trials -- a new memory of Hakoda that added something to Sokka's character.

Koh the Face Stealer/Fog of Lost Souls: Man, Koh was creepy. The Fog was creepy.

Better placed fan service: The callbacks to the cartoon in this episode were much more organically placed than "my cabbages" and the minstrels from earlier episodes. Sokka referencing Pippin Paddleopsicopolis. The men in the tavern talking about the canyon crawlers ("Great Divide") or battling the volcano ("Fortuneteller"). They were little easter eggs that didn't draw too much attention to themselves. Even the Knowledge Owl ("The Library") had a story-driven purpose, more or less.

THE I-APPRECIATED-WHAT-THEY-WERE-DOING-BUT-NOT-SURE-THEY-PULLED-IT-OFF

Gyatso in the Spirit World: I wanted to like the concept of Aang finding Gyatso in the Spirit World. I liked Gyatso "cheating" at Pai Sho and the warmth that showed. I even kind of liked Gyatso's slightly awful "we do it for the ones you love" exposition speech at the end of the episode, corny as it was. But I felt cheated out of that warmth in the Episode One, when that would have made a difference in emotional heft when Aang discovered his body. Now it just seems... cheap? Because he's back? And it undercuts the weight of the Aang's loss of his entire nation and people.

The thinness of the spirit world barrier: Ultimately, the show had to get these characters into the spirit world, so I don't fault the show for pulling a little "oh I can just feel it" Jedi Knight/Avatar once-over on the audience. On the one hand, this show keeps telling us (not showing us) that Aang 'doesn't know what he's doing.' And then on the other hand, it dumps spirit world mumbo jumbo exposition on us through Aang clearly kind of knowing what he's doing by referencing what "the monks told me." It's kind of jarring. It at once makes him seem wise while undercutting the message they're trying to convey about him not knowing what he's doing.

THE BAD

Clunky dialogue continues: "I also need to help these people..." "The avatar has to do the impossible..." Every time Aang talks about how he should have been there, should have protected the forest, needing to help people, it just feels so forced. Just show him helping people. You don't need to have him announce that he wants to help people.

Talking exposition fox: What the heck?

THE UNKNOWN

Narratively tying Aang, Zuko, and Azula together/Azula: The close of this episode, narrated by Gyatso in corny fashion, drew explicit parallels between the stories of Aang, Zuko, and, surprisingly, Azula. I am not sure whether this is going to pay off yet, as Azula's arc in this show has yet to be fully realized, but it does seem they are taking her in a different direction from the prodigal, "born lucky" daughter from the show. It shows her vulnerable, desperate for her father's approval. I am interested in this take -- and in how Ozai masterfully plays his children against one another -- and want to see more of where it goes.

#avatar the last airbender #atla #avatar: the last airbender #netflix atla #netflix avatar #live action avatar #live action atla #natla #spoilers

[coraniaid]

hater alphabet ask! F!

Obviously my first instinct is to respond with a post about Faith but (I guess thanks to choosing who I follow on here carefully?) I don't think I actually have any unpopular opinions about Faith?

Or rather, I suppose, I know there are lots of takes on Faith I would strongly disagree with -- that she's genuinely cool, that she honestly doesn't care about killing Allan Finch at all, that she spends so long being jealous of Buffy because she really wants to sleep with Xander/Angel/Riley, that she's too "streetwise" to have been won over by the Mayor, that she isn't one of the most interesting and ultimately sympathetic characters on the show -- but I just can't bring myself to believe that any of these positions are actually popular.

So I'm going to talk about Season 5's Family instead.

I think Family is a very good episode -- it's actually one of the Season 5 episodes I've rewatched most -- but I think it would work a lot better (both in its own right and as a metaphor) without it being proved unequivocally at the end that Tara definitely isn't any sort of demon.

Firstly because ... well, I kind of hate the whole magic demon-detecting chip plot to start with -- it's one of the show's worst bits of world-building, I'd argue, and I'm aware that's saying a lot -- but at least most of the time I can tell myself it's something that only affects Spike's brain, using his own knowledge of what he's about to do and who he's about to hurt. Giving it the power to actually detect with perfect accuracy whether Spike is hurting a human or not -- even when he wouldn't know himself -- is a little bit much for me. (And yes, there's at least one other famous example of it doing that, and yes, I really hate that one too.)

But second -- and much more importantly -- isn't the point of everyone rallying around Tara at the end even when they think she might be something strange or monstrous kind of undercut by the script immediately going "oh, nevermind, she's not a demon, she's definitely completely safe and normal"? Doesn't that undermine the metaphor here pretty badly? What exactly is the show trying to say?

What would the Scoobies have done if Spike had hit Tara and it hadn't hurt him? Immediately changed tune and let her biological family drag her away forever? Is the fact her father is obviously a bullying asshole not reason enough to hate him? Does he have to be deliberately lying about Tara's demonic nature too? Can families only be abusive if they are knowingly, consciously dishonest in the justifications they provide for their actions? Is it not enough that Tara really didn't want to go?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the show should have said flat out that Tara was a demon. I'm not sure whether I'd have liked that either. I just don't think being definitive about it either way adds to the episode. I think it works much better if it's left a little ambiguous.

I do think that Buffy -- and spin-off show Angel especially -- slightly loses its way by having so many demons and vampires become sympathetic as the seasons progress (while never really having Buffy question the fact she kills so many of them), but it is still part of the episode's context and contunity that this is a direction the two shows have both been heading in for a while. Anya is an ex-demon (and will briefly become a demon again) and while this causes some tension it never outright prevents her being welcomed into the group. Her friend and fellow vengeance demon Halfrek is consistently treated as a sympathetic character and not as a monster. Spike and Angel and Harmony are vampires but the two shows have been treating them all as people for a while and will only continue to do so. On Angel, Doyle was part-demon and Cordelia will also become part-demon less than a year after this episode airs. Lorne exists.

I mean, reading this answer over again I'm not sure I've done a great job of articulating why this bothers me (which is part of why I've been so slow in answering this, sorry) but I think this implicit use of 'demon' to mean 'definitely a bad person' just feels weirdly out of place by Season 5. And again, I just go back to the question: what are we supposed to think Buffy and Willow would have done if Spike had unwittingly proved that Tara really wasn't fully human? And if the answer isn't anything different, why is that part of the scene at all?

#btvs #asks #thanks!

[atundratoadstool]

Is the count's speech about his history and lineage accurate?

I had another post queued and ready to go when your question landed in my inbox, and that post should give an exhaustive overview of where everything in that monster of a speech comes from. A lot of the history the Count is describing matches with real world events. It's very hodge podge though, and Stoker does not have a great grasp on the regional history of the area and has a very poor understanding regarding the history of and tensions between Hungarians and Romanians in Transylvania. The one big thing that registers as inaccurate is Dracula's attempts to place himself as both A) a descendant of the Drăculeşti bloodline and B) a member of the Székely ethnic group. The Drăculeşti were rulers of Wallachia/Romania. The Székelys are a Hungarian-speaking group who claim descent from Attila the Hun.

While it is not inconceivable that Dracula the fictional character could have Székely blood (there were intermarriages between ennobled Romanians and Székelys, and Vlad III's maternal grandmother is unknown), Stoker doesn't seem to have a great grasp on whether the Count is fundamentally Hungarian or Romanian. Dracula expresses disdain, for example, for the "Hungarian yoke," which would have been a view aligning him with a Romanian outlook, especially after the revolutions of 1848 and with the increased Magyarization policies that would be in place towards the end of the nineteenth-century. However, he also appears to be a native Hungarian speaker (his flub of "Harker Jonathan" is a structure that Stoker specifically took down in his notes as a characteristic of Hungarian language) and segments omitted from the manuscript indicate that some of the surrounding locals were originally written as identifying him as Hungarian.

This is all something that is--in my opinion--ties into the tradition of literary vampires being Hungarian that persisted throughout the nineteenth century. I would bet that Stoker chose Transylvania as a location for his novel as it was part of Austria-Hungary at the time Dracula was written and he (erroneously) thought that vampires were a Hungarian myth. When he did his research, he was confronted with the fact that Transylvania was a region with a majority Romanian populace and a rich Romanian history and gave Dracula the same lineage as a famous Romanian historical figure without really considering how that undercut his portrayal as an archetypal Hungarian vampire.

And before we get all too far... vampires are honestly neither Hungarian or Romanian originally. I made a very long post about that a few years back here, and it's a wild ride.

[As always, I'll offer a disclaimer that my expertise on these subjects comes from being a massive vampire nerd and does not come from any lived experience as somebody who is living in or connected to these regions in question. People with better knowledge of these subjects should feel free to correct me if I get anything wrong.]

#Bram Stoker #Dracula #Dracula Daily #Transylvania #Hungary #Romania #history #Vlad III #Dracula Daily asks

[tozettastone]

tell me what's up with shisui/karin 👀

For the "send me the rarest pair you can think of and I'll tell you if I ship it and how I think it can work" ask meme

Do I personally ship it? Not rrreallly. I am not like vibing with it in my heart. But it's an interesting pairing to pose.

How it could work: I think this ask is asked in the context of the scenario I previously posedwhere he's haunting Karin either because he's her soulmate or because she's the only one who can see him for some reason (Her ability to sense his chakra is so sensitive that it extends to unusually powerful ghosts? Who knows) and using that concept it would be interesting to think about how they might interact with one another while she's a kid growing up in Grass. Shisui is young but he basically has his head screwed on straight, is the vibe I got from canon.

I can't decide how he'd feel about Karin's role in her village, really. On the one hand, I think he wouldn't be very concerned by her being used to heal other people, as long as the relationship with her village was a reciprocal one where they arguably took as good care of her as they did of any other of their ninja. After all, from his pragmatic point of view, a ninja puts her life on the line for her village every day no matter how she does it. On the other hand, he might think about it more like, hey, Karin is an Uzumaki, and they belong in—well, alright, they belong in Whirlpool, but since there's nobody there anymore, they belong in Leaf. I can see Shisui convincing himself that her relationship with Leaf would be less transactional and exploitative because it would be better for his village, which, you know, could also be her village, by blood. Win win. (Also, tbf, Shisui is a ghost who VERY MUCH has unfinished business in Leaf. I don't think he'd want to share much of that with someone he was trying to convince to live there though—at least not until he'd got her there. ;) )

The Shisui-mediated story of Karin's defection, not to Orochimaru, but to gallivant across the continent to the carcass of Whirlpool and then back to Leaf could be fun?

As for how they'd get on, I think Shisui would enjoy poking fun at Karin but he's not as relentless about it as someone like Suigetsu. ...She can't strangle him, either, though. And I think Karin would enjoy looking at Shisui, and perhaps if he was relentless in his company and good advice may come to trust him (about the important things. not about whether or not her undercut is cute). But I think she'd need a brief arc where she lost contact with him in order to discover her feelings aren't as shallow as she takes for granted.

Also, she should be the key to getting him a new body with her massive Uzumaki vitality. And then:

a) she could act wild about him having a body and all the physicality that implies, and

b) he's still a ghost he's just in his body now, so sometimes she goes to talk to him and he's. fucking. dead. She's like: YOU FOOL YOU HAVE 4 MINUTES UNTIL YOUR BRAIN STARTS TO DIE. GET BACK HERE! YOU'RE NOT BITING ME AGAIN!!

but she'll always do it anyway.

#ask #exemplarybehaviour #ask meme #naruto #shisukarin #uchiha shisui #uzumaki karin