#but then i saw how badly their relationship is portrayed sometimes. and said ''i can do better than that.'' spite shipping!

[voltfruits]

hello, i don’t have a tumblr but i am *feasting* on your omori posts and so SO intrigued by that fic 👀 fluff is nice but i am so morbidly hooked on what would happen with the kids after non-truth endings ESP. kel, and post-bad kelbrey Specifically is 🤯 (very, very positive). i am waving cheerleading pompoms at you from the sidelines!!

oh goodness, thank you anon! i'm glad you're excited. the fic in question will be pretty rough indeed. i headcanon kel as having a pretty poor relationship with his parents that gets drastically worse after the endgame, for reasons i'll dive into in the first chapter. add sunny's death on top of that, and he is not having a good time at all. i think he would take sunny's death just as badly as hero and aubrey took mari's. aubrey and hero and basil aren't doing much better, but they stick together the best they can.

also i'm thankful someone else is excited about the shippy aspect of it because... gah. kel and aubrey just have that narrative foil swag. i think their relationship is so misunderstood. they may fight and disagree sometimes but i think they'd lean on each other after the events of the endgame and it would really strengthen their bond. i want them to have difficult conversations and i want them to take care of each other and hug and cry <3

#volt answers #anon #omori #kelbrey #fun fact i didn't ship them for a while at first... #but then i saw how badly their relationship is portrayed sometimes. and said ''i can do better than that.'' spite shipping! #and now i love them for real!! auby ships are very special to me <3

[hanjisick]

yandere! seungmin — as your boyfriend, hcs.

warning. this is not how i portray the members of stray kids or how you should either. this is purely for entertainment purposes.

mentions of murder, toxic and obsessive behavior. she/her pronouns for reader

it would start with you two sharing a class together

and surprisingly, you peaked his interest

unlike anyone had ever before

all of his friends had always nagged him about how he just wasn’t interested in dating

but once he saw you? maybe he wouldn’t mind a relationship

his little crush grew rapidly

everything that he did was based off of hours searching the web

he didn’t know much especially thinking he wouldn’t need a relationship for another few years

seungmin’s google history was filled with questions;

‘how to impress your crush’

‘how to talk to your crush’

‘how to appear more attractive’

‘y/n y/l/n’ was the most recent search in his history

after a spiral of searching, he found your social media accounts.

his smile only grew as he scrolled through your posts, learning more and more about you

to him, you were … nothing short of perfect in his mind

he began a notes app of everything you said that could be useful in the future

whether it was you complaining about running out of mascara, how badly you were craving a certain food, that you lost your headphones, he kept track of everything.

not wanting to lose you, he made fake accounts and turned on notifications for every media that you post on

in the early morning his phone had buzzed, and his first instinct was to grab it and check if it was you

seungmin became uninterested in any texts from his friends, so he muted them, just like everyone else.

everything on his phone had disappeared but you.

‘today sucks already. i forgot my coffee and i have a class at 10 :(‘

his heart dropped at the sad face, immediately jumping out of bed to get ready

to your surprise, when you had arrived to class, your order from your favorite coffee place had been sitting on your desk

looking around the room, you failed to spot seungmin in the corner hiding a large grin with the sleeve of his hoodie

he stole glances at you throughout the lesson, pride welling up in his chest that he was the reason that your day was better

the feeling stuck with him

seungmin became addicted to your happiness

every time he saw you, your coffee waited on your desk, along with anything else he knew that you needed, and sometimes a special treat as well if he had the time

eventually though, you would find out

going to class 10 minutes early was the plan, hoping to catch the person who was doing this

and you did

seungmin stared at you like a deer in headlights

you had never noticed him before now, why was he doing this?

it wasn’t as if you were mad about any of it, who would be?

you just had a lot of questions.

i mean, a cute boy had been making your day better for weeks now

all you wanted to do was figure out why he had been doing it.

“i can explain!”

“let’s just talk after class.”

with a hesitant nod, he left to sit down, his heart beating out of his chest

after, you invited him to your house to talk privately, where he confessed everything to you

you agreed to let him take you on a date

of course, it was nothing short of perfect, with him knowing exactly what you’d like

and you came to find out that seungmin was nothing short of perfect

almost like a puppy

all he wanted to do was please you and be around you

he never fails to show up to your doorstep with flowers

he would also carry around a polaroid camera around his neck to take pictures

your parents would absolutely adore him too

he learned who they are and what they would like

seungmin could easily fall asleep in your arms, especially in your bedroom

yet he’d always wake up hours before you, the position flipped with you buried into his chest

you would never know that he stays awake staring at you, his hands carding through your hair as he wonders how he can make you smile today

one day, you had told him to come over out of the blue

as he always does, he dropped everything to tend to you and showed up at your apartment in no more than five minutes, letting himself in with a spare key

where he found you crying your eyes out on your bed

he had never seen you like this and didn’t know how to react

the first instinct for seungmin was to always figure out how to make you happy, how to get you what you wanted

how to make the pain go away.

his mind was running as he gathered you into his arms, rocking you back and forth as he tried to understand what your problem was and how he could solve it.

but you weren’t out of a product, and you weren’t cold and needed a hoodie.

it was your best friend, the one that he also easily earned the approval of.

you two had a fight.

letting him scroll through the nasty texts she had sent you, his face hardened

it soon became apparent on how to help you feel better.

he needed to get rid of her.

seungmin spent the night at your house after blocking her number from your phone, telling you to ignore her messages for the night.

he cooked you breakfast after you had woken up, kissing you on the forehead and leaving once he was convinced you felt better

later that evening was his first kill.

there was no remorse to him, it was simply as much of a task as buying you new shoes.

you would have to be more careful for what you wish for, especially when it came to people.

even if it was something minor, like a customer at your job being rude, seungmin would find a way to eliminate them.

if it was possible, he would keep his secret from you forever as to not scare you away.

and he was smart about it— you never found out.

he continued to be your perfect boyfriend like he always is.

and in his mind, one day, you two will get married and start a family.

#skz #skz yandere #yandere stray kids #han jisung #stray kids #bang chan #yandere skz #stray kids smut #stray kids fanfiction #stray kids roleplay #stray kids imagines #stray kids oneshot #stray kids blurbs #stray kids seungmin #skz masterlist #skz fanfiction #skz x reader #skz fanfic #skz scenarios

[smokeonshadows]

We need to talk about the Bobbseys

Strap in, kids. This is going to be...a lot.

To put it bluntly, the way the Bobbseys were handled was messy, unnecessary, and probably the worst thing about an otherwise great season.

It's really disappointing because the Nancy Drew writers have already proven themselves to be not only good writers, but also socially conscious writers. They actively and publicly aim to be inclusive in their storytelling, so I think it's fair to hold them to that standard.

There was a lot of potential in the Bobbseys–they're a morally ambiguous brother-sister team of codependent twins from a rough/tragic past who sometimes lie, cheat, and steal in order to make ends meet. This is interesting, this is full of possibilities as to how they could fit in with the Drew Crew, and, most of all, this was a great opportunity to have complex representation of the south asian community that subverts popular stereotypes (model minority, traditional upbringing, perpetual foreigner, etc.). Amanda and Gil would've been great characters in their own rights...but instead they were used as nothing more than cannon fodder for an unnecessary, half-baked love square with low key racist undertones.

Problematic elements

I've already talked about the racist undertones in previous posts, but in a nutshell, Gil is portrayed as being controlling/aggressive/domineering (particularly towards Nancy and Amanda) and it's a stereotype that south asian men (and I'd say black and brown men in general) are misogynistic, aggressive, and otherwise abusive towards women. This portrayal is made even worse because he's meant to be a foil for Ace, a soft/gentle/sensitive/emotionally stable white guy who Nancy is obviously meant to be with. And for Amanda, she's also portrayed in line with the stereotype of asian women being very submissive (particularly to their male counterparts). I don't think any of this was intentional, but it's just not a good look.

This problem could've at least been somewhat alleviated if Gil and Amanda had been written as fully fleshed out characters who were going on their own journeys and were consequential to the story, but that didn't happen.

Stereotypes aside, another problematic aspect of the Bobbseys is that they both fall into the unfortunately common trope of being the character of color that the white character has a superficial relationship with and leads white character to realizing that they should actually be with this other white character who's been there all along.

Even when they have roles in the episode apart from being superficial love interests, oftentimes they don't do much aside from being useful for getting the Crew from point A to point B of a mystery.

Underdeveloped relationships

Was I the only one who found the resolution of the Nancy x Gil relationship in the season finale to be a bit abrupt?

While I appreciate that they showed how seemingly small transgressions within relationships can actually be red flags and that a situation doesn't need to escalate to full-on physical abuse in order to count as domestic violence, I found that the moment when Nancy has this realization and then breaks up with Gil lacked the emotional weight befitting that situation. I think this was the case because Nancy and Gil barely had a relationship. There was attraction and sexual tension, they hooked up a few times, but it was never shown to be a real relationship. It's not just that we didn't often see them together, but with or without him, Nancy didn't think much about Gil or what he thought of her and, more importantly wrt the breakup, we aren't shown all the ways that his treatment of her affected her sense of self or the way she operated. Nancy's relationship with Gil was inconsequential, so the stakes were low.

And yes, casual hookup situations can also turn abusive, but from a narrative standpoint, the way this particular situation was portrayed, it was given both more and less weight than it should've been given. It felt like the writers wanted the breakup to be big and impactful but they not only didn't work for that payoff, they also wanted to resolve it quickly so they could move onto more important plot points (the breakup was at the beginning episode and Nancy never mentions it or even hints at any emotional fallout from it ever again).

(Amanda was done dirty)

Actually, if anything, the big dramatic breakup should've been between Amanda and Gil. Even with her severely limited screentime, almost every time we do see Amanda, we are reminded of how close she is with Gil, how badly he treats her, how much she values his opinion, and how smothered she feels by him. And it sucks that we never actually get to see Amanda make the realization, stand up for herself, and confront Gil. All we see is Ace encouraging her to break away and then cut to her living her best life post-sibling breakup.

In the end, it's as if Amanda's pain and suffering was made to be less about her and more about Nancy/being evidence that Gil is not good for Nancy. Again, not a good look.

And Amanda and Ace's relationship is also underdeveloped compared to the impact that the writers seem to want it to have. Like, I don't understand why Ace would give her a pseudo-ultimatum ("I'll prioritize you if you prioritize me") at this stage of their relationship. Yes, they do seem to be more of a relationship than Nancy x Gil, but it always felt like they were very much in the budding romance stage. While he does talk about her when they're apart, we still rarely saw them interact with each other outside of the context of Ace needing to use Amanda's connection at the hotel or to her father or brother in order to help solve the mystery. And we don't learn more about or see a different side either character through their relationship with each other.

Poorly executed, unnecessary love triangles

The whole point of having a love triangle is to raise the emotional stakes.

It's always been my belief that if you're going to have a love triangle, you need to commit to it. That means making both legs of the triangle equally viable, developing both romantic options and both relationships equally.

As noted in the sections above, this was not the case with either love triangle, which makes the whole thing feel cheap and unsatisfying. Like I said in a previous post, I think it would've been more powerful if Nancy had two really great options, but in the end chose Ace because that’s what her heart really wants no matter how great the other guy is.

Anyone with a healthy understanding of love and relationships would choose Ace over Gil. It's no contest, no real choice, so it adds nothing to the conversation, it says nothing about Nancy or her feelings for Ace. It's inconsequential, the emotional stakes are practically nonexistent.

Literally, I feel like if you took the Bobbsey love triangles out of this season, Ace and Nancy would still end up in pretty much the same place wrt their feelings for each other. I mean, yes, the whole jealousy/green eyed epiphany thing did play a role, but the relationships with the Bobbseys featured so little and were so underdeveloped that it would be more or less the same as one of them flirting with a background character every once in a while.

And Nace still didn't end up together after all that! It's hinted that for some reason, Ace will be stringing Amanda along next season while he pines for Nancy. Which is exhausting.

This is really what we sacrificed two perfectly interesting characters of color for. I'm upset.

#nancy drew cw #gil bobbsey #amanda bobbsey

[i-did]

Ok ok this may be a dumb question but we'll see, what are your thoughts on bdsm + andreil? The vast vast majority of these types of fics have Andrew as the dom (and I get why) BUT theres 1 dom Neil fic and I'm like 99% sure I think I saw u comment on it so I'm assuming ur reading it and enjoying it too. And tbh, I find it much better than pretty much all the dom Andrew stuff, I hadnt realised the potential dom Neil could have until I read it. But anyway, I wanted ur thoughts? 🤲 (this is so badly phrased I apologise)

Lmfaooo being perceived is so weird. I hope I didn't say anything because I remember commenting on that fic and thinking about commenting something about my personal sex life, but I don't remember if I did lmfaooo. Omg okay, all that aside–time to now respond to this seriously.

Okay regarding that specific fic, yeah I read a lot of AFTG fics of all types, I haven't read something NSFW in a while, but when I saw the ‘Dom!Neil’ tag I decided to give it a shot. It’s interesting seeing how other authors go about their ideas and just enjoying their story. It doesn’t align with my personal ideas of everything obviously, but those are my personal HC and that fic is that authors personal HC. I like that they’re exploring something that this fandom doesn’t see explored a lot and is just a fun read, lol. Honestly I give up on most BDSM fandom fics because the depiction of Neil makes me uncomfortable ...almost always. I agree a lot more with this fics concept of how they would explore power vs control in a BDSM sexual sense, than most Dom!Andrew Sub!Neil fics– which I have long ago stopped trying to read.

Okay here are my personal ideas about Andrew and Neil, and how they would explore sex.

Many NSFW HC below the cut:

I personally don’t think canon Andrew and Neil would go into BDSM culture or ascribe to either roll strictly. I feel they wouldn’t like established dynamics like that and would get turned off by that aspect, especially since Andrew both craves control of situations but fears ‘being like them’ and a lot of Dom play is about power dynamics that he wouldn't be comfortable with. Andrew sees power in sex as different as control during sex. He needs a controlled environment, and be in control of the other by having them listen to his boundaries, but he can’t feel he’s overpowering the other person. I don’t think he could do a lot of strictly Sub things either for similar reasons, he would feel like he's giving up control of the situation in a way that could make him very uncomfortable.

Neil on the other hand is also often portrayed as a very textbook sub, but I don't think he is. I see him written as a brat a lot, but personally I don’t see him doing that since a lot of what playing with a brat is, is giving them what they want and denying them what they want and them ‘defying you’ and stuff. It's like a form of playful miscommunication I don't see Andrew or Neil ever actually doing. Obviously all healthy and proper play is outlined and discussed beforehand, but I see Andrew and Neil as needing the actions themselves to be clear and cut and dry.

Neil also gets off on Andrews pleasure, Andrew is the same about Neil, they're almost like a feedback loop of “the other enjoying themselves is inherently hot.” to me, Neil getting off on other people (Andrew) getting off is a very Dom like quality. In turn, Andrew is very turned on by pleasuring Neil, but from the point of his knees, which is almost sub like, he is turned on by sucking someone else off and seeing how into it they are. Either way, I think they both wouldn’t be into hardcore BDSM or BDSM culture but also aren’t vanilla. I don’t see either of them going to leather clubs instead of Edens and going to Folsom Fair and joining BDSM social groups and stuff.

I also don’t think either would ever use titles for the other, I think they don’t call each other by their names often on a day-to-day basis, since usually the people were talking to already know their name, and we don’t need to use it for clarification. I do think–just like in canon with emotionally charged moments–names will be used with more emphasis, especially Abram which is not used frequently.

Side note about my Jewish Neil HC: Judaism rocks because sex isn’t shamed, but rather considered a blessing and a holy act. In fact, it’s a good thing to have sex on Shabbat, G-d is actively like ‘fuck yeah you little humans, enjoy life’s pleasures and each other's company’ sex was designed to feel good and a way to connect. Shabbat is all about human connection with those important to us, and a day of rest away from work, so sex on Shabbat is actually actively a good thing. I don’t think Neil is ever religiously Jewish, but Andrew making a joke about this once would be peak to me. Which also fits Abram, a very Jewish name I HC to be not just Neil’s middle name but his Jewish name, and is used in said holy context of sex.

I think like a lot of healthy adults who are sexually active, they will explore and will be more adventurous to try new and other things, especially when dealing with issues like waning to get off but having touch aversion and issues like that. I have a lot of sex life HC about them actually, ways they navigate erectile dysfunction, mental health, and what they like in a safe environment. They trust each other, and I like imagining different ways aspects of their relationship would change or evolve in my head in all different types of ways, including sexual. I also enjoy giving them kinks and inclinations I specifically don’t have, because it’s like me exploring the concept of why someone else might like something even though I personally don’t. I’m not imagining things that make me uncomfortable necessarily, just things I'm neutral on or don’t see the appeal of, but know why they appeal to others and try to imagine what these characters might think.

I feel canon Andrew and Neil explore sex and dynamics that make them comfortable, I have HC about Andrew possibly exploring pup play and wearing a collar for Neil partially as a “joke” in the beginning, but discovering they really like it. I also HC Neil is really into athletic stuff sexually, he thinks Andrew half dressed with his padding still on and a jock strap is just peak sex appeal. I also think Neil is very sensory, and makes associations with smells and senses easily, so he develops a sweat kink, which leads into his armpit kink. Neil isn't turned on by ‘the bad smell of sweat’ but rather the fact that when Andrew is sweaty he smells like Andrew a lot, rather than after a shower he smells more like soap, and he can’t smell Andrew as much. Andrew on the other hand prefers cleaner sex. He’s not triggered by dirty sex though– he used to suck guys off at an alt dance club and is used to the smell of sweaty balls, it's just not an active turn on. Neil has ‘nothing is hotter than Andrew wearing running shoes and socks, and only running shoes and socks’ energy to me too. I think Andrew feels good about himself in leather, but isn't going to be a leather daddy and wear the leather assless chaps and the cap, he will wear the leather harness that every gay wears to pride, but he wears it just for Neil. Also, Neil loves Andrews pecs, Neil’s kinda a boob guy, but for Andrew’s pecs specifically.

I personally think Andrew and Neil typically don’t have penetrative sex. They do it sometimes–and when Andrew is ready he will bottom more as a way to prove something to himself than anything–but it’s not their preferred way or their ‘go to’. When they finally do, they don’t see it as ‘finally having sex for the first time’, since all the sex they've been having is real sex, even if its oral, hand jobs, etc. I don’t think Neil is naturally inclined to bottoming, and since even the visual of topping can make Andrew uncomfortable, they enjoy sex in any other ways, thigh fucking, docking, Andrew fucking Neil’s ass cheeks, sucking each other off, mutual masturbation, frottage, etc. and it leads to stronger orgasms when they don’t have to hope ever second will be a cliff edge and turn into a panic attack. Safer waters are simply more comfortable for them to swim in, and they deem all sex as equal in ‘value.’ that being said, Andrew likes his ass being ate, as long as its just Neil’s tongue, while Neil is neutral on his ass being ate, but loves doing it to Andrew.

I also think they would explore toys, but not in the way they're often explored in fics, which is very vibrator and dildo centric. I think they would use jacking off toys, the disposable egg kind or some more long term ones, maybe even something they could use at the same time. I don’t see them ever actually using handcuffs or restraints really either. Andrew would see Neil tied up as an equivalent statement of ‘I don't trust you not to touch me’ when he wants to actively progress past that, and shows he trusts Neil by not holding his arms back or letting him touch him. Andrew had to hold down previous partners, but Neil is different, Neil listens. This isn’t my personal opinion about restraint, but it is what I think Andrew would think.

I have no idea if this is what you meant by ‘my thoughts’ but here they are. *puts something in your open palms,* idk what emoji that would be

#ask #aftg #aftg headcanons #nsft #OSHA violation #mailob

[iron--spider]

I woke up at 3am yesterday to watch The Devil All the Time and I’ve been thinking about it since. I’m gonna put my thoughts and feelings and a review of sorts behind the cut, because I am gonna talk about it freely, so there will be spoilers! So don’t click if you don’t wanna see. I’ll also be discussing the content of the film and I know that might bother people, so that stuff is in here, too! And it’ll be really long because you know I can’t shut up.

So, I loved it. I loved it loved it loved it. I read the book a long time ago when I first found out Tom was gonna be in it, and the only problem I had with the book was that the POVs would change in the middle of a paragraph lmao, but other than that I thought it was pretty perfect. I knew the movie was gonna be pretty brutal, because the book is brutal, so I was prepared.

-BUT I think the critics HIGHLY HIGHLY exaggerated how bad the content was. Like, seriously, they acted as if this was gonna be a Saw movie. I was preparing for blatant, horrific gore, but it didn’t live up to their dramatics at all. There’s blood and nasty situations, but every single episode of Game of Thrones is worse than this movie, as are most episodes of any crime drama on a paid network. I actually thought they were super, super tactful of all their horrific shit. The dog death was off screen and the shot of the body (described by the critics as literally traumatic) was so quick (enough to shut your eyes) and in the dark. I also argue that particular moment is extremely important for Arvin’s journey, because it’s the moment he truly turns on his father and turns on religion entirely, and he carries it with him his whole life (it’s what he flashes back to when he says “I know what my daddy did” because it’s the marker of all Willard’s mistakes) and it winds up being one of the last things he does before he leaves everything behind. Burying Jack’s bones. So, like, I despise dog death or any animal death in my entertainment, but it’s important here and handled well. And all the worst death scenes are either extremely fast (Helen’s and Gary Matthew’s) or shown in negative (all the photos). I think Bodecker’s headshot with Bobo is probably the worst and is also pretty quick. I don’t know if this means I’m a jaded bitch, but God the way they were all whining and crying, I thought it’d be a million times worse. It could have been, with the book’s descriptions, so it was actually pretty tame. Lenora’s death affected me the most and they cut away from that, too. I guess it’ll still bother some people, but there are many, many mainstream things that are far more violent and gory than this was.

-I thought it was a beautiful movie. I never mind films that are slightly slower but I love ones that use their time to lay things out and really show us what’s going on, build the ambiance and the relationships. I loved the narration (which I was worried about), and it really made me feel like we were visiting a moment in time that was important. Like something that was written and should be learned about. Rumors in a town you’re passing through. The ghosts of past trauma and transgressions looming over everyone that’s left.

-I liked the changes they made with Roy and Theodore because I thought that storyline kinda meandered in the book and I’m glad that Roy was actually gone the whole time and not just neglecting to come back to Lenora.

-The only real complaints I can make, I’ll get out of the way here: I wanted a little bit more time with Carl and Sandy. Carl was really creepy, but he could have been much creepier. In the book he was the one looking at the pictures constantly, Not Sandy, and that really showed that he was the one with the sickness, the one pushing them forward and orchestrating it all. I thought they did well with showing how Sandy deteriorated in her efforts with him through the years, but I would have liked to see a bit more of their personal lives together and her fear of him and her genuine feelings about what they’re doing, because the book goes into that a lot more. I also wasn’t a fan of Lee finding the picture early and knowing some about what they were doing, because I liked how it was a surprise to him in the book and yet he still did all he could to cover it up. And lastly, in the book there’s a scene with Arvin after he kills Sandy and Carl where he’s in a motel and he takes like 18 showers because he can’t get the grime of what he’s done off of him, and he looks at the picture and has a nightmare about killing Sandy, and I really would have loved if they’d kept it in. It would have been another ‘acting’ moment for Tom, and it would have been nice for us to see his direct trauma and reaction to everything that’s piling on top of him.

-BUT that’s it. I loved pretty much every single other thing and decision that they made. The cinematography was TOP NOTCH. You could tell they filmed on 35mm film, you could see the grain, and it really, really added to it. Antonio Campos is a very skilled director and I trusted him at the helm of this story. Everything looked so authentic, all the sets and the costumes. The soundtrack and score were AMAZING and enhanced the film. Technically it was just perfect in every regard to me.

-Acting! Acting! God this was like...a massive testament to the casting department and the talent of these people. Everyone was on their A game. Bill Skarsgård has been on my radar since Castle Rock (which I recommend to everybody, both seasons) and he was so natural and great in this role. Haley Bennet was absolutely adorable as Charlotte, I loved her cute face and her sweet relationship with little Arvin. Riley Keough was so great as Sandy with the limited amount of time she had, and Jason Clarke is one of my favorites but he was unrecognizable in this as creepy ass Carl. Harry Melling was a far cry from Dudley Dursley and he did a great job with his screen time, too. Same with Mia Wasikowska, who didn’t have much to do (same as poor Helen in the book) but she was able to garner our sympathy anyway. Seb Stan was slimy and gross but he pulled it off so well. Eliza Scanlen has been one of my favorites since Sharp Objects (another one that’s brutal as hell but I recommend it, she’s so scary) and she was so, so great here. Robert Pattinson was ALRIGHT, everybody talks him up over this but he felt a little hammy to me and a little too over the top, but there’s no denying his talent.

-Now, the reason we’re all here. Tom. My God. As soon as it was over I just didn’t know what the hell to do, I didn’t even know how to....go on, lmfao. We all know he’s talented, that’s why we’re here, that’s why we love him, but his performance in this is just BEYOND all that. Beyond comprehension. The man is only 24 years old and he’s out here outacting people who have been in the industry for longer than he’s been alive. He is SHOCKINGLY good. I knew he’d be perfect for Arvin as soon as I read the book, but he just completely embodied this role in a way that I couldn’t have imagined. He doesn’t show up in the movie until about 45 minutes in (which doesn’t hurt it because of the strength of the leadup, Bill’s performance and the performance of little Arvin’s actor) but God, as soon as he’s there the whole thing comes to life in a way that it hadn’t before. Tom is literally just a shining light, and he draws your eye in every single scene he’s in, and when he’s not there you’re wondering when he’s gonna come back. Arvin, to me, is a very complex character—he has been inherently changed by how his father twisted religion in his childhood, how deeply he betrayed him by his behavior, but he still has a kind heart and a protective streak and the need to be strong despite the pain nearly breaking him apart from moment to moment. Tom is just outrageously good at portraying all Arvin’s little nuances, how he clenches his jaw, how his voice breaks when he’s afraid or trying to convince someone of something or get his point across, how his hands tremble after he’s done something he wishes he didn’t have to do, how his whole body wilts when he realizes he’s emulating his father. And his eyes. Tom can do so, so much with his eyes that it’s unbelievable. He tells you so much with just a simple look, a glance, a wince, a long blink. I’m not exaggerating when I say he’s just an absolute revelation in this, he cements his place in Hollywood with a firm hand and a tender look, and I will not be forgetting what he did here anytime soon. There’s a reason that everyone called him out for being so stunning in this. He is magnificent. He has a gift.

-I wanna say, in particular, how much I love Arvin’s relationship with Lenora. Their lives were both marked by such tragedy and pain and Arvin just took up the torch of protecting her from the moment he said hello as a child. He wants so badly to be tough, and he IS, but there’s just miles and miles of love in this boy’s heart, and it manifests itself for his family—for his uncle, for his grandma, but for Lenora in particular. I loved how he just showed up when she was being harassed and just ran in there without thinking, and it’s purely devastating that he was out taking care of her bullies while a worse predator was cornering her. The scene where she was sick wasn’t in the book but it was a beautiful addition. Tom sometimes wears this very open, unguarded, honest expression, and this is the only scene in which he shows it, and it really expresses the love between them and how much she means to him. Arvin didn’t find Lenora’s body in the book, but it was the right change for them to make. Tom was devastating here, and that pain and that moment truly fuel every second of his journey through the rest of the film. “My Lenora”. The saddest siblings. Both Eliza and Tom did so beautifully with this relationship and I hope they work together again.

-Favorite acting moments for Tom: when he’s in the car in the rain after beating up the bullies, when he’s in the church crowd and realizes Preston is insulting his Grandma (the way his face changes oh my GOD), when he finds Lenora, when the cop comes to tell him Lenora was pregnant (this is just....so damn good), when he was telling his uncle to look after his Grandma, THE ENTIRE CHURCH CONFRONTATION (the way he trembles when he’s trying to get his attention, how he speaks the whole time, how he slowly gathers his strength), when he thinks Sandy has shot him, the moment where he’s over Lee’s body and just....pleading with his eyes for him to listen and realize what he’s done. And the last scene, in the car, all the emphasis on his face....once again, he can do so, so much with a look, with his eyes. Someone called out the beautiful last shot in the film, and of course, it’s Arvin’s sleeping face. And it was so beautiful (and devastating, to think of him enlisting. Tom draws so much sympathy that you just want Arvin to have a normal life so badly. He deserves it, he does, but will he get it?)

-Last thing I’ll say, I really loved how, despite turning his back on religion, that God seems to be protecting Arvin the whole time. He’s terribly afraid confronting the preacher and that could have easily gone badly, especially when he tosses the book, but Arvin was somehow able to get a shot off and get the upper hand. And with Carl and Sandy, he senses something is off immediately once they pull off the road, and he would have absolutely been killed had Carl not switched out Sandy’s bullets for blanks. And in the confrontation with Lee, he once again shoots at the same time as him, shoots without looking, and manages to come out unscathed and on top. A few spoiler reviews pointed out that the last person that picks Arvin up is supposed to be a Jesus-like figure, almost like he’s finally been saved. It hurts that everyone around him that he loved is almost forsaken by God, but he himself is protected. It’s such a complicated commentary on religion throughout the entire piece, but it’s so interesting and engrossing.

So I’d recommend this movie to anyone that loves movies, loves Tom, can deal with a gritty story that takes its time laying out all the chess pieces. It is definitely heavy subject matter but it doesn’t go overboard with the horror as it easily could have. Yes, there are triggers to look for, but the critics hugely over exaggerated how awful it was. I can probably go get time stamps for certain things if people wanna ask me after reading this, but if you can get through a Tarantino film or any HBO drama, you can do this. And Tom’s performance is one for the ages and not one that deserves to be passed over or downplayed. It is beautiful and heart-wrenching—a magnificent turn that displays his monumental ability to reach out and guide you into any world he decides to make his own.

I loved The Devil All the Time.

#tom holland #arvin russell #the devil all the time #text post #LONG #I’M SORRY

[formerprincewille]

Hi, I'm the anon who said they didn't see that chemistry, if you don't feel like post this ask it's fine, but I wanted to clarify my position since I saw so many people complaining. I'm not saying they don't have chemistry at all. They do, and I like Lou. She is caring, sweet, and easy-going. But Ismail seems more into the idea of Lou/of being in a relationship, rather than her. Maybe it would be different if we hadn't seen that whole scene in Sascha's bedroom, when Ismail was like, (1/2)

'yeah, sure, why not? everything is boring now everyone is a couple, I want some gossip'. For now, he seems fully himself with Sascha only. I'm sure I will change my mind if the writers want Ismail and Lou to be in a romant relationship. It's not like I'm against the idea. And although I agree that bias affect our perception, a character's appearance is not always the reason for someone to prefer a different dynamic. You don't know who is expressing that preference (2/2)

Yeah, I agree with you. I don’t deny that Ismail has some kind of feeling for Lou, but I said before that I wonder if their attraction to her is less about genuine romantic longing for her and more about what she represents to them. So like…the way Ismail was drawn to Constantin only this time in a romantic way. Ismail is drawn to things that are exciting and adrenaline pumping and maybe a little dangerous but not necessarily good for them, you know? I think it’s a really fine line because if you say these things it sounds like you are talking badly about Lou as a character, like saying that she is the same as Constantin which obviously she isn’t, or at least doesn’t seem to be. It’s more about the way Ismail is when they are with charismatic people like that. Very much following along, very easily influenced, a tendency to forget about or disregard people important to them or responsibilities/obligations. But a lot of people take that as criticism of Lou which, while I can’t speak for everyone, I don’t mean it that way. I know Ismail is old enough to know better and to make their own decisions, but this also gives us insight into what sort of personality they have. They are not the leader, they are the led. And they end up doing things that are not great. I find Ismail to be a really interesting character. Because unlike Tiff or Kato, Ismail is not let off for the things that they have done. They are not portrayed as actually really great so we can ignore the bad things they are a part of. Sometimes they are lovable but sometimes they really aren’t, and I am fascinated that druck took the risk to make a somewhat problematic character a main and not immediately absolve them of all wrongdoing. Because let’s be real – that would be a much easier way to go. They could have already started the season with Ismail having changed and make them apologize once and that’s it- it’s all cool now. Instead, they are taking the much riskier decision of continuing their unhealthy pattern, only with Lou versus Sascha this time instead of Consti versus Ava. And honestly I give them major props for that. But the big thing here is how will they follow through on it? I think that’s really going to answer the question of has Ismail truly learned? Have they truly changed? Only time will tell. But I have faith. 💛

#druck #druck speculation #anon #my ramblings

[vickyvicarious]

interestingly enough, shu takumi said he wanted to portray an older kind of love with the garridebs in contrast to the beatles who are still in a honeymoon phase. so in his eyes it's all in good nature but i really wish we could just not use the "older couples are allowed to exhibit abusive behaviour towards each other because they've been together for this long so it's only normal" stereotype

then again, this is from the same man who also wrote turnabout big top and recipe for turnabout and considered it humorous (e.g. all those jokes about jean armstrong) and although it's obvious that those cases definitely use dated tropes it doesn't surprise me that this is the case in tgaa too considering that it's, well. written by takumi who likes to go for stereotypical tropes sometimes

See, I actually really love that concept, of having a case that involves multiple married couples in different stages of their relationships. Like, the Beates are absolutely still in the honeymoon phase with their constant flirting and fawning over one another, and grand declarations of affection every two minutes. The kind of hardship they're going through as a couple, where he's super busy with work and they barely get to spend time together, could be prolonging that phase even, and their reactions to it are also still all (literally) starry-eyed devotion even when eventually it might get irritating.

Having the Garridebs as a contrast to that could be great. Especially with the maid-not-wife ruse factored in. They would also have 'work' standing in the way of them expressing their love for one another, only the emphasis is more on the public sphere where they can't dote on one another, as opposed to the Beates not getting enough time alone together. Also, the arrangement the Garridebs have is one they both agree upon for the sake of social standing and to help with their finances (or at least help them appear different than what they are). It's an interesting contrast.

And that wouldn't even be getting into the comfort they have around one another after years or even decades being married. They know how to share their space, they don't feel any need to make these big declarations of love to one another. It actually makes the maid ruse somewhat possible, whereas the younger couple could never pull something like that off. At the same time, there's such a wealth of shared history (jokes, fond memories, hardships, etc.) building a stronger foundation. And with that time, has come a more realistic long-term relationship where there are things that aren't perfect between them. They do feel comfortable enough to squabble or even get into big arguments sometimes, without it being the end of the world for them. They could even still have Joan being more hotheaded, and John more level-headed, and those personality traits bouncing badly off one another sometimes.

I like all that stuff as a concept! And it could be executed really well! But yeah, the way it was done is absolutely just feeding into the "abusive older couples are normal" and "women can't be abusers" tropes. None of what I said above would have to (or ever should!) involve any abuse. But the way it's written, there's no other way I can read it except as Joan Garrideb abusing her husband. Very blatantly, at that.

I don't pay a lot of attention to who the creators are, typically, but. Those two cases you mention had probably some of the grossest relationships/jokes in the original series, so. Yeah, if he found all those funny at the time, and never saw an issue with those tropes being used then I guess this makes sense as well.

#tgaa #tgaa spoilers #joan garrideb #john garrideb #aa spoilers #ace attorney #anonymous #replies #tgaalb

[scammydoesstuff]

So about that 'Blue Bloods' episode…

I recently saw something come across my dash regarding Alex Brightman’s guest appearance on the season 11 episode of 'Blue Bloods' (The Common Good) and it reignited the vehement response I had to the episode as a whole. And, since I have this blog now, I figured…fuck it. I need to rant about it.

So that's what this is.

Take what I say with a grain of salt, of course. This show is so clearly not for me and I acknowledge that, but I went to school for and got my degree in creative writing and so much of this episode pissed me off from a narrative perspective and I just really need to talk about it. Putting it under a Read More, though, so you can ignore me if you’d like while I rage to no one in particular. Apologies in advance if you choose to read on. I'm super long-winded. Luckily I don't have pictures and this is more of just a lot of text, so…it could be longer?

So, to begin, I’ll freely admit that I’d never seen an episode of 'Blue Bloods' before this and I’ve not watched it since. I mean, if the rest of the episodes are as badly written as this one, I have no interest to either, but I digress.

Overall my main problem with the episode was how desperately it avoided ‘showing’ over ‘telling’ and, as a visual medium, that’s kind’ve a big deal. We were told pretty much every detail that was presented to us. These people love to hear themselves talk, but do little to actually show things as they happen and I believe a part of that has to do with the focus of the show itself, which is definitely unique to this brand of television. By that, I just mean that it��s not the format I might’ve expected from a show like this. Most cop shows give a lot of focus to the cases, and the intrigue you get with the characters is how they apply their own skills and knowledge to solve them, with the hi-jinks they get into along the way being more of a bonus.

This is not that kind of show.

No, 'Blue Bloods' as a show is way more interested in the cops and their familial ties than it is about the actual job that they’re doing, as shown prominently with the political plot of this episode which was also very focused on the relationship between Tom Selleck’s character and his daughter and the wholly unrelated dinner scene where they talk about lent for 2 and a half minutes and acknowledge nothing else that happened in the episode. This show doesn’t care about the job of being a cop so much as it cares about the cops themselves.

Which would be fine if I gave a shit about cops, but I don’t.

You could argue that the mentor plot is the exception to that, but that entire situation had no real consequences for the cop in question, Jamie, abusing his power. It was entirely focused on how the situation affected him and how it was fine that he’d nudged this kid to get information which ultimately led to the arrest of Dion's brother, and Dion quitting the program. Hell, if Jamie had, in his final scene with Dion, owned up to his abuse of power and left the program — to then urge Dion to rejoin so that he can have that positive outlet in his life without him there — I would’ve been way more okay with it, but Jamie faces no consequences past ‘I don’t wanna see you anymore’, which I was never convinced he actually cared about in the slightest. There's nothing cathartic about it, it's just shitty and left me feeling frustrated at the lack of consequences for the cop.

But hey, you prolly don’t wanna read me going on and on about those parts. You prolly wanna know why I hate it despite Alex’s plot — which I fully expected to love because he’s perfect and gorgeous even when he’s playing a bad guy and he was just so adorable in his lil suit and they let him keep the scruff this time, and he was all handsome an— I need to stop. That could go on forever.

Anyway, to put it simply; it was bad, but I'll definitely explain why.

Now, I don’t think any of the guests in this episode necessarily did a bad job. They still acted well enough for what they were given. I just think they had a shit script that wasn’t interested in that story line. I mentioned at the top of this that this show cared more about telling than showing and that’s a huge problem when you want me to buy a character being the culprit in your murder plot. I need evidence, not anecdotes. Cuz, yeah, by the end of the episode, I didn’t buy for even a second that Ralph did it. And it’s not because he was played by Alex who is just charisma incarnate. I can believe him playing a bad guy. I also watched his 'Law & Order SVU' episode where he scared the shit outta me. He can play a creepy and violent character very well, he just wasn’t convincing to me as a bad guy in this show.

And here’s why!

First of all, he confessed at knife point. That confession would be thrown away IRL. It’s the same problem with using torture to get information. If a person’s life is threatened or they're being harmed in some way, they’ll usually say whatever it takes to get you to stop threatening them/causing them pain. Same deal here. You can’t convince me with a confession like that.

But they didn't seem to be interested in convincing anyone as far as I could tell. They just expected you to believe it because, ‘no, didn’t you hear? He said he did it, so he did it.’ They had so many opportunities to portray this character as the shitbag that we’re told he is. Hell, great way to really implicate him? Give him a female assistant that Donnie Wahlberg and his partner overhear / walk in on him berating for something small like getting him the wrong coffee or something. Then have them talk to that assistant later on and her mention some weird behavior from him on the night of Andrea’s death. It's cliché, but it's more than what we got.

Or you could have him talk to Meghan in a super condescending voice when he approaches her after her interview later on. Or, hell, have him refer to the murder victim in a condescending way even as he talks about her death. But no. The most we get out of him is that he's maybe a little snarky and smug when talking to the cops, but that’s not enough to convince me he’s a bad dude. Frankly, his producer buddy came off as more of an asshole, if I'm being honest. Just cuz (we’re told) his character did shitty things to her in the past doesn’t mean he’s still shitty. Show me he’s still shitty. I wanna see it and I know Alex is capable of a performance like that.

Second, it’s also just…obvious to make him the culprit if we're to believe everything we're told about him. He and Andrea are described as having had beef a little while before the murder with him being abusive mentally and physically. He’s known in the community to be a misogynist and an abusive person overall. He’s the obvious suspect, but if there’s anything that Scooby-Doo taught me, it’s that it’s never the most obvious person. Like, once in a blue moon, sure — but it’s rare.

So yeah, I don’t believe that Ralph did it. You wanna know who I do think did it?

Meghan.

Alright, so bear with me. This'll prolly sound a little conspiratorial, but hear me out:

She had the motive. She confirms in the beginning of the episode that she’s also a female gamer like the victim, but that she was ‘no Andrea’. Andrea was her competition. They were (supposedly) friends and stuck together as female gamers, but Andrea was still competition. With her out of the way, Meghan’s able to rise in the ranks, if even a little bit.

She had a scapegoat in Ralph — again, the obvious suspect given his tumultuous relationship with Andrea sometime prior — and an obvious grudge against men in their community in general. And, don’t get me wrong, men in gaming can and often are hella toxic — I’m not, in any way, denying that — but she got way more emotional when talking about the men in their community than when she was talking about her supposed friend lying dead in the adjoining room.

Speaking of the adjoining room, how did she not hear the murder happening? It couldn’t have been when she was down in the bar, cuz we see Ralph there too in the crappy CCTV footage that was supposed to show him being an asshole, I think (hard to really see). Was she just fucking around somewhere else when it happened? She doesn’t mention as much that I recall (correct me if I'm wrong on that, of course). And Andrea was strangled to death. I would assume that there would’ve been a struggle with that. Are you seriously telling me she wouldn’t hear that in her adjoining hotel room? Those walls aren’t that thick. I find that kinda hard to believe. And that she wouldn’t have found her till the next morning after that, also strikes me as a little odd.

Going off on some previous points, she shows very little grief over her friend’s death. Not just in the intro scene, either, but later on as well. (Side bar: that intro scene itself was very misleading. Don’t lead with a murder plot if it only takes up less than 10 minutes of the overall runtime, kay?) The show did a pretty bad job at indicating the passage of time, but it’s implied that the convention is still happening when Meghan gets the confession out of Ralph, so it would’ve had to have been the same weekend, or possibly the same week (though most conventions I’m aware of don’t last that long — it’s usually a weekend thing, at most Thursday-Sunday — but it could be similar to AGDQ, which seems to last about a week). So, if this is only a day or so later, why would someone who is supposedly grieving over their dead friend do interviews like nothing is wrong? Wouldn't you, like, reschedule or just politely decline and say you need time to process the shock? Like, when we cut to ol’ Donnie Wahlberg calling her after her interview, she doesn’t look upset — as I imagine she might if they’d likely asked her questions about Andrea / her feelings about the murder — and she seems cool as a cucumber when she asks Ralph to go somewhere private. In fact, the look on her face indicates pretty clearly that she’s planning to do something. Specifically, not that she's scared, that she's angry.

Finally, she’s the one who’s attacking Ralph when Donnie Wahlberg and company arrive on the scene. She doesn’t seem to have any marks on her indicating that he made any move to harm her (again, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember seeing her with any marks / cuts), but he’s got a clear, bleeding cut on his face. She attacked him first and was going in for the kill.

Or…was she? Cuz right before Donnie Wahlberg pulls her into that bear hug to stop her from the attack, she doesn’t do a great job of actually trying to kill Ralph. She was close enough that a quick dart at him would’ve probably been enough to at least injure him pretty significantly — maybe even fatally — and would’ve surely led the cops to pull them apart to secure him, but she kinda just hops around a bit and screams before lunging for him. That’s a really weird way to attack when you actually want to kill someone.

But, then again, I don’t necessarily think she did want to kill him. I’m convinced she wanted that confession, but that she also wanted him in jail and was playing the part of the super sad and hysterical victim who was just so overcome with her grief that she wasn’t in her right mind. I think that’s what they were going for in regards to her character in general, but it came across as less sincere in the performance and more like the character was putting on an act. They then cart Ralph off while comforting her — despite the fact that she disobeyed a direct order from police, which should lead to her being detained as well! — and that plot ends.

So, she gets what she wants in the end. A person she despises is now in police custody, her competition is out of the way, and the publicity she might get for bringing that ‘murderer’ to justice might eventually lead to her own career getting a nice boost. I dunno, it just strikes me as her having a great reason to have initiated this over Ralph just being a misogynist who 'was really trying to kill Meghan and just got the wrong girl'.

So yeah, with what the show presented to us, I believe Meghan’s the real killer. Again, if they’d done more to show me that Ralph was a bad dude or that she was more affected by her supposed friend’s death, or if they'd just given that plot more room to breathe to show those things, I might’ve been more inclined to buy the narrative they were pushing but…as is, I don’t believe it.

That’s pretty much all I wanted to say on the matter. I had a lot of issues with the domestic abuse plot line too, but they barely gave that 5 minutes of the overall runtime, so does it really matter in the long run? This is just…my thought process of the only part of the episode I watched for and how disappointing it was for me. And yes, I timed each section of the episode to figure out how much time was given to each of the 4 plots, plus the dinner scene at the end, but not counting the intro theme, and the murder plot got just over 8 minutes, of which Alex was on screen for half of that time. He got less than 5 minutes of screen time. It was definitely worth it just because he’s wonderful and I just like seeing him on these shows, but from a narrative standpoint, it felt pointless.

Okay, I’m done. Thank you for coming to my TED talk. Unless y’all wanna talk about this some more, cuz I’m so down for that.

#scammy talks too much #scammy rants #blue bloods #the common good #alex brightman #long post is long #I'm long-winded as fuck #obviously I'm not an authority on what makes good tv #this is just all how I felt after watching the episode #It was just so disappointing after the INCREDIBLE performance on Law & Order SVU #if you like it that's cool #I'm not here to tell you you're wrong #or that I'm right about this #like whatcha like #sometimes I just gotta rant and get it outta my brain

[itsonlystrange]

☕️ I find Jonathan to be a little bit annoying (I mostly like him thought, just sometimes...)

Agree and disagree! He definitely can be very one dimensional which I wouldn’t blame on Charlie (who plays Jon) but more so on the writers and how they just completely ignore Jonathan’s character. I feel like if Jonathan had more of a backstory and more of a character arc with personality traits other than being the overprotective photographer brother, I feel like he’d be way more likeable. The thing is, I love Jonathan and he’s such an amazing big brother, but I also find him a bit boring sometimes and also a little bit- - weird? Like he literally photographed Nancy half naked and while she literally lost her virginity to Steve- that’s weird. And it also felt very out of character for him to do that, too? Like everything else about his character would make you think that he wouldn’t even do that or even think about doing that, so when I go back and watch season one, it always baffles me. And also how that was never really touched upon again? It was just glossed over?

Along with this, I feel like Charlie hasn’t been given much to work with. I mean Charlie does great portraying Jonathan with what he’s got but honestly I feel like Jonathan needs way more of a personality. He’s such a good character and on paper, the concept of his character is so good. I just feel like it isn’t as fleshed out and he’s usually side lined and grouped together with the other lead characters. I think Jonathan was his best in season two, and more a minute there, it actually looked like the duffers new what they were doing with him. His plot line was more fleshed out in s2 and you could really see how much he bonded with Will and also how much he cared about everyone around him.

Then in season 3, they gave him basically nothing to do. And what makes it even worse, is that they PAINTED HIM OUT TO BE THE BAD GUY, WHEN HE WAS THE ONLY RATIONAL ONE. For example: during his fight with Nancy, while I also think they both brought up good points and were also BOTH in the wrong, It felt like Nancy got almost no consequence for her actions? I mean Nancy WAS being selfish. And the thing is is that Nancy got this beautiful scene with her mom (which I love - - and I love Nancy so much) and I genuinely thought that arc was going some where and that Nancy was finally going to apologize for being In the wrong, but she didn’t! And instead they just glossed over their whole entire fight and instead Jonathan is the one who apologizes?? Not saying Jonathan also wasn’t being inconsiderate, because he was and sexism was and is still a very real thing that we saw Nancy experience, but it felt so weird for them to have that heartfelt scene with Karen where Nancy acknowledges that she was in the wrong just for her to never apologize ?? And then they painted Jonathan out to be the bad guy when Jonathan was just being rational! He was right! They were interns. And as much as it sucks, Nancy’s optimism about making the top story in a week is what literally ruined their relationship. Jonathan was very supportive of her, even when Nancy just disregarded him and A. Continuously broke into the photo developing room when the light was on, therefore ruining hundreds of photos and B. Got them fired! Because Jonathan is right! He needs this job! And yes, what Nancy experienced is not excused and I as I said before, they both had great points brought up and I am in no way invalidating Nancy’s experience with sexism at all, but my point is: Jonathan was being rational and actually looking at the bigger picture. They DID false identify themselves as reporters. They DID break into someone’s house. Yet all those things were made out to be “okay”?? Like in what world is breaking into someone’s house okay - - I understand it was a plot device but ST really made it look like Jonathan was in the wrong for thinking that breaking and entering, lying to an elderly woman, and literally breaking the law, was a bad thing! Because it is! So why did they portray Jonathan as being the villain here for being rational and for being morally correct? It just baffles me. The whole Jancy fight was very well executed in the beginning but then they just forgot about it (same with the Byler fight) and focused on other things and honestly..that’s bad writing. The scene with Karen was heartfelt and beautiful but it lead to nothing and it only created more problems. Jonathan and Nancy should have had a proper apology scene rather than Nancy getting Jonathan to admit he was wrong in an elevator. Because Nancy needs to own up too! Nancy literally admitted to feeling bad about what she said to Jonathan yet never acted on her guilt? You’re telling me they had time to write in so many unnecessary misogynistic and disgusting jokes in season 3 but couldn’t even write in a good apology for a couple that has been built up since season 1?

Anyways, I went on a tangent here, but yes. He can be annoying at some times. And I really do wish he had more development because some things he has done have been ...questionable. Another thing is: I really love Jancy and I really hope they get better development in season 4. Where they properly apologize. That fight they had was very raw and emotional yet had terrible follow up. We deserved a scene where they both apologized.. because they were both in the wrong.

I love Jonathan, just wish he had more to himself then being the photographer older brother of Will. I mean we barely know nothing about Jonathan. And I want him to be one of my favorite characters so badly!! Please duffers!! Give him development!!

Anyways, thanks for this ask!! :)

#nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #stranger things #stranger things 4 #jancy #st4

[mrs-nate-humphrey]

I’ve never personally been a fan of Derena after s1, but reading your posts made me sympathize a bit. I totally agree that them just being friends would be so nice. I hated the whole Serena pining after Dan in s5, it honestly felt like she only wanted him cause he didn’t want her. What do you make of Serena during the dair arc?

hi!! finally i have been re-united with my laptop and i can get to this ask! ngl, i was so excited to see it in my inbox, because i have a Lot of Thoughts about serena during the dair arc (some of which people have said before me, as some old LJ comments can probably testify, haha.) 

this got very long and very serena centric *raises a mug of tea* cheers!

serena pining after dan and chasing after him like that was... i hated it too, and it made me.. uncomfortable is the best word i have for it, but also really deeply sad? i joke about serena’s ‘evil arc’ but as someone who genuinely loves her character and wanted good things for her, it was so painful to see her hurting so much and, instead of coping with that hurt in a mature way, causing harm to the people around her (two of whom she canonically loved very much; two of her favourite people in the world.)

the way i felt about serena during the dair arc was very much like... her reacting badly and not being sympathetic actually did make sense. i wasn’t a fan of how the show handled it and portrayed it, but given everything that happened with her in s3 and s4, i do think some kind of fallout was warranted and expected. everything that happened with lily, william and the fake cancer plotline was really messed up, and serena had spent majority of her life waiting for her dad to come back, and - i think we can blame lily for not being a particularly good (or present) parent, but i think serena had this very strong feeling that her dad coming back would somehow fix their family, or something like that. instead, his coming back caused a very new level of van der woodsen fuckery, and i think that would’ve been extremely traumatic for serena.

it’s also worth noticing that she doesn’t spend time after breaking up with nate in s3 to work on herself. she recognises that she needs to, recognises that she needs some time to recover and really find herself again. but s4 rolls around and she’s still feeling lost. going to paris with blair is fun for serena, but it’s also an escape - she’s actively not dealing with the stuff that’s happened, which i think is part of why her behaviour in early s4 is so chaotic and messy - leaving dan & nate hanging like that is.... mean. she should’ve been honest with them, she should’ve made a choice, even if that choice was ‘neither of you, i need more time, sorry’ or ‘hey, i’m not really sure yet, you shouldn’t have to wait for me to choose’.  

i’ve said stuff very vaguely, mostly in tags, about serena & dan being very emotionally unintelligent, and i think this is serena’s emotional unintelligence - she wants things to be okay and alright again, but she doesn’t want to face her trauma and her insecurities to get through it (which... trauma is fucked up so i do understand that.) i think that’s what makes her such a sympathetic character to me. like, serena, you can run away from everything, but you can’t run away from  yourself + your issues. you have to face them!! but she doesn’t really know how. nobody’s taught her this.

we’ve already gone into serena’s abandonment issues quite a bit, but i think serena during the dair arc was mostly those issues flaring up + the build-up of a lot of trauma re: the thing with her dad (that she was pretending not to see), serena feeling abandoned & lost because the only two people who she’s really ever thought of as ‘hers’, blair and dan, suddenly care about each other in a way that excludes her. we talk about the “dan and i have a real connection” thing in a dair way all the time, but the first time i saw that i was like “HELL YES” for dan and blair but like “ohhhhh noooo” for serena because the whole ‘we do things together that we could never do with you’ - which, i don’t think blair even meant in a hurtful way, but was probably the worst thing blair could’ve said to serena at the time?? 

it’s also worth noting that serena and dan keep going to each other when they’re at their lowest. serena reaches out to dan over the william thing, even though william majorly fucked over rufus, even though serena was dating nate at the time, it was dan she turned to then. when georgina takes milo away, dan immediately goes to serena, and she’s like, how are you, and he denies feeling bad about it, and serena (who probably knows dan well enough to know that it’s bullshit) humours him and goes “okay, let’s not talk about it” which nobody else was really doing at the time, which is why he went to serena. serena and dan’s high school relationship was very sweet and uncomplicated and i find it interesting (& a little sad, tbh) that when things go bad in either of their lives, both of them sort of immediately reach out for the other, almost like they’re trying to recreate the way their relationship was at the very beginning. gossipgirls has some great meta on this.

there’s probably also some jealousy over like.. dan and blair having found some stability and happiness with each other (without her! she’s no longer the person dan or blair loves the most and that hurts!) - and that they’ve found this stability while she still feels so lost and she’s drifting so much. serena’s gradual evolution into someone who really cared about being a socialite (??) and her reputation (to the extent that she was screwing lola over for her own benefit) felt very... drowning man clutching at straws-ish. like she’s lost everything else, might as well hold on to the one thing that she has.

this made me sad because i feel like... she still had dan. he didn’t want to be her boyfriend, he didn’t have romantic feelings for her, and he didn’t want to have sex with her. but he was still very much her friend. he confided in her!! he spoke to her about blair more openly than he did with anyone else (nate was right there, it’s not like the only person dan had in his corner was serena - serena was just the easiest person for him to talk to) and i really, really feel like if serena had just been like “dan, i want to be happy for you but i feel so lost, i feel like you and blair don’t need me anymore and i feel so lonely” or whatever... he would’ve understood!! he would’ve helped her through it! you know that bit with blair and serena in the elevator in 3x09? i can’t find the gifs right now Unfortunately but you know the scene im talking about - they both open up and talk and serena is finally honest with blair? i wish she’d gotten something like that with dan in s5 because like... this theme of dan trusting her with his heart (in a platonic way, but STILL, he was being soo honest and vulnerable and open with her) and her just being all supportive on the outside and sabotagey on the inside... like.. i didn’t like that for her, and i honestly think the level of evil they dialed it up to was cartoon villainny and very ooc for serena. 

i DO see her having resistance and insecurity to the dair arc, but the sort of dishonesty and antics she was pulling felt so wrong and so un-serena, even in the light of all the trauma and the context to her acting out. the shephard divorce thing especially... serena spends so much of the earlier seasons feeling guilty and hating herself over the shephard wedding and the thing with nate. i don’t think she would do that again in any capacity - forgetting blair for a moment, i don’t think she would do that to herself. she hated the person she’d become back then & i do think serena is more strong-willed than most of us give her credit for (filming dan without his consent like that is a georgina move, it’s not a serena move.) 

as for leaking blair’s diary... i feel like serena and blair have such a complicated and not always healthy friendship (that bit in s2 i think it is where serena says something about ‘im sick of always holding myself back so i don’t outshine you’ and blair is like ‘hey wtf??’ hits very hard because it’s so... understandable from BOTH of their perspectives, like i feel like i can understand how serena’s just been quietly holding onto all this resentment until she can’t be quiet about it anymore and it explodes, and blair’s insecurities make this moment one of her worst fears being actualised. but it’s an impactful moment because it touches upon the complexity of blairena.) serena leaking blair’s diary makes sense - i hate it, but i don’t think it was that ooc, and if that had been her only act of betrayal that would’ve felt a lot more realistic to me, tbh, given the way blair & serena’s relationship is and how often they hurt each other (sometimes even deliberately!!) like i would’ve just been like ‘serena! no!!’ as opposed to ‘that’s not my serena; what is this arc!!!” which is what s5 always makes me feel. 

#meta #serena #this got VERY long!! #i hope it was worth the wait!! #anon #i got SO into writing this lmaooo i just love svdw very much #long post

[snowflake-of-destruction]

For the ship ask game:

Reki/Langa

NamiKaiXi

Risem

Sephiroth/Cloud

Reki/Langa

Ship it!

What made you ship it?

The heart eyes and obvious adoration. Sometimes, I'm just a sucker for a sweet ship where both adore each other and are not shy on the compliments in the slightest, existing to hype each other up.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

That, alongside the adoration and support, that they have differing opinions/philosophies sometimes, and reconciling those includes compromises and acknowledging where both of them are a bit wrong when they fight.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I don't know the popular and unpopular opinions about Renga, because, while I love them, I haven't felt the urge to seek out other people's headcanons and fic all that much.

 If I had to wager on a less popular reading that I have though...Our sweet boys may live happily ever after, but it's going to be a bumpy road first. Reki has a lot of emotions and is not afraid to show them all, and he's very sensitive, which isn't a bad thing. Our unflappable Langa may seem like a good complement to him--and he is in my opinion--but he's also the type that, even though he has his list of Reki's best qualities handy, doesn't realize that he may need to say them more than once and doesn't read cues enough to know right away when hearing "the obvious" might help reassure Reki. 

Langa is also the type to just agree to things and then quietly do whatever he wants. We see it in canon and we see Reki take it badly, and yet I still think saying they will go through many different versions of the same fight without any change in behavior happening will be an unpopular opinion. Also, while Reki will always be able to make Langa's heart beat faster for his own reasons, Langa has more than a bit of a thing for danger and challenge, and having fun to infinity with Reki, may be what he'd always choose if he had to, but he's going to constantly seek out more challenges, whether it be increasingly dangerous stunts or places and people to race, seeking out the pulse pound until Reki's nerves fray apart. There will be dramatic fights and multiple break ups. They'll work it out though.

Now we read more the rest because of length

NamiKaiXi

An intriguing concept, and they would be cute together, and probably work well as a unit because they would all care for each other's needs and be in tune to each other's emotions, but I'm going to say I lean toward don't ship it. But imagine it said with a question mark. Don't ship it?

You know what, why not? Why should I not ship it? I wrote a long, moralizing thing about not subjecting the girls to a double standard when I've already been clear that I just can't get past/reassess my twins/family type reading on Roxas and Sora. It's hard to work up a deeper feeling than "it could be nice" when there isn't much interaction--and none as a trio--but "I ship it" definitely does not need to be a deep or "forever" declaration (and I am the last person to ask others to justify/moralize what they like) , so just the fact that you said "namikaixi" and my mind can list a series of scenarios I would definitely find cute enough to excitedly chatter about....we say ship, for today at least.

What made you ship it?

This ask. Idk. It’s cute. I like the characters. You saw, I said “why not?” and there it is

What are your favorite things about the ship?

All three have dealt with being left behind, dismissed, and used then discarded. Two out of three have had their personhood questioned. They are not alone in these issues, but I just imagine these three, each finding the other two such an inspiration that it's criminal they could ever be made to feel insecure, going on validating and lavishing praise on each other, and healing together. I also see it as a very even polycule if that makes sense. I tend to dislike fictional polycules that are just "A should be able to date both B and C" in origin--which is personal taste and obviously in real life relationships come in all forms-- and prefer ones where all parties love each other just as much and I could see any 2 within the 3 functioning well as couple as well as the 3 working as a unit without falling into any more pitfalls than any other relationship (The "as well as" being important because, let's take Squall, Rinoa, and Seifer from FF8. Squall/Rinoa? Good. Squall/Seifer? Fantastic! Seifer/Rinoa? Underrated! But the three together, I can only see DISASTER and jealousy longterm. But I digress. This ain't about them).

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I feel that this is too rare to have popular or unpopular opinions, but my uncommon opinion about Namine in relationships in general is once she's comfortable she becomes vocal and dominant and just takes the lead in everything.

Risem

Eh, I'll probably always be ambivalent/just kind of playing along, but, no, no, you got a point when you talk about this one. Ship it.

What made you ship it?

Friends don't let friends ship alone.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

Slow corruption. Voices whispering in ears. Ansem's whole *waves vaguely* deal from voice to wardrobe. Riku's willfulness and the fact that if he ever does give in to something it's because he wants to/that's there's no way for anyone else but Riku to win in any battle [insert "despite game mechanics" joke here]. It's a set up for a good "guilty pleasure" ship

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I don't know. Let me muse on them enough to write something for Risem week and I'm sure I'll come up with something others  disagree with lol.

Sephiroth/Cloud

Ship it. Is there a Cloud ship I wouldn't ship?  Probably, but this particular ship I fell off the slippery slope awhile back

What made you ship it?

The compilation and their appearances elsewhere. Specifically, the directions that it started to move in portraying Cloud and Sephiroth's link, Sephiroth's respect and growing obsession/fascination that Cloud just keeps besting him and has proven to be so much more than he thought at first, and, yes, the fanservice-y "you didn't need to animate it that way, or have them say that line, but you did and now it's everyone's problem" type stuff . Such a short answer for the ship I have thought the most about and shipped the longest, but it's as simple as that---and, of course, moving to the "sometimes the ships that are the most problematic are fun"

What are your favorite things about the ship?

How joyfully Sephiroth approaches it versus how Cloud must loathe himself still being attracted to Sephiroth (Which he is. Don't make me break out gifs from the Remake) and bound to him, or even remembering that this was once his hero and maybe his first crush other than Tifa, in light of how Sephiroth killed his mother and set his hometown on fire and then decided that was only the beginning. Did I just say my favorite part is causing Cloud pain? Yeah, that's problematic too. I'll ring the shame bell now.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Such is the nature of the FF7 fandom, that there is no unpopular opinions. Every conceivable opinion has a large subsect of people about to go rabid defending it.

#cureaesthetic

[rosethornewrites]

Fic: Never Let It Fade Away

Relationship: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

Characters: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

Tags: Sexual Harassment, Light Angst, Talking, difficult conversations, Friendship, Platonic Relationships, Sad Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Honesty, Types of love, actual Very Good Friends Ladybug and Chat Noir, he's her idiot little brother, They’re messes but at least they're messes together, Brother-Sister Relationships, Moving On, Partnership, Salt, Sugar, THEY’RE DOING THEIR BEST, Post-Episode: s03 Miracle Queen (The Battle of the Miraculous Part 2), Adrien salt, but only a tinge

Summary: Ladybug notices Chat seems withdrawn in the weeks following Miracle Queen, and they have a much-needed talk. Directly connected to "Catch a Falling Star."

Notes: Been meaning to write this for a while, as a follow-up to the conversation between Chat and Marinette in “Catch a Falling Star.” This conversation is what Kagami was referencing in “Love Language,” though she doesn’t know everything about it. No, there’s not Adrienette or Ladynoir endgame in this fic series, but Marigami/Kagaminette. There may be more one-shots between this one and “Love Language” that pop up to show the movement toward that.

AO3 link

Part of the Catch a Falling Star series | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

--------

She was embarrassed to admit how long it took her to notice Chat seemed withdrawn, even pensive. Everything had happened all at once—the expulsion, giving up on Adrien, Miracle Queen, the loss of Fu… Chat was her partner and she’d failed to even think about him.

The realization hit her on patrol one night; it felt like he was looking through her, his smile similar to Adrien’s model smile in its falseness.

“Chat, are you doing okay?” she asked when they reached the Eiffel Tower, their last stop of the night.

He started, looking at her wide-eyed for a moment.

“A lot has happened,” she continued, “and I’ve been so focused on the changes, I haven’t checked to see how you’re doing. You seem… withdrawn.”

He looked away, up at the stars winking above them, partly drowned out by the light pollution of the city. The sigh he let out was almost resigned.

“I’ve… been thinking a lot,” he said after nearly thirty seconds of uncomfortable silence had passed between them. “A while back, I had a conversation with Marinette Dupain-Cheng; you know her, right?”

Ladybug nodded, feeling awkward to have him talk about her true self like that.

“I saw her crying on her balcony, stopped to check on her. She was going through some things at school. And one of the things she mentioned was a friend being sexually harassed.”

Her mouth went dry at that; his body language, hunched in slightly, his faux tail curled around his leg… She wasn’t sure where he was going with this. Had he been harassed? As Chat? As his civilian self? Was he hurt?

“I… after what that one Félix kid pulled—the one you punched?—I just…”

He looked up then, and she was startled to see tears in his eyes.

“I’ve harassed you. And I am so so sorry I put you through that. I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable, and if you want to punch me too, I know I deserve it.”

Her mind whirled, relief at the fact that he wasn’t a victim, shock at his belief he’d victimized her. She’d been irritated with his flirting, sure, but she’d never considered it sexual harassment.

When she reached forward, he flinched slightly, as though expecting that punch. Instead she grasped his shoulder.

“Chat, I punched him because he tried to kiss me and I didn’t trust him to stop when I told him no. You’ve always given me time to say no, and you’ve always respected my answer. You’ve never tried to force yourself on me. I trust you.”

His body tremored under her hand.

“I looked up sexual harassment, though,” he said. “And I kept asking, kept bothering you to go out on a date, kept flirting when you when you said to stop, and I keep making you say no when once should be enough. I’m horrible.”

“No, you’re not. Don’t talk about my partner that way.”

She sighed softly when he looked away.

“You… Look, I’ve been irritated at times. Like when you do it while we’re fighting Akumas. And, well, it’s hard. You’re one of my best friends, and I know how you feel, and I wish I felt the same. But I’ve never felt sexually harassed by you. Ever.”

Chat glanced up again, his gaze uncertain. “Really?”

“Really. I won’t deny that it sucks to have to turn you down, because I hate hurting you. I do love you, just not like how you want me to.” She squeezed his shoulder. “I want you to be happy, Chaton. And I worry that being stuck on me, you’ll miss out on someone wonderful.”

He quirked a wry smile, the meaning obvious.

Ladybug sighed softly. “I’m not as wonderful as you think I am, you know. I’m a mess, especially outside the mask. But your friendship has meant so much to me; I’d be a much bigger mess in the mask if not for you.”

She was glad to see his smile turn more genuine at that.

“Until this year, I didn’t really have friends,” she continued. “I was actually bullied pretty badly. And I almost quit being Ladybug in the beginning. I would have, if not for you. You, and this, helped me gain confidence.”

“I didn’t have friends until this year, either.” There was wonderment in Chat’s voice at finding they had this in common. “I don’t have a lot of social experience. It’s really made it hard to make friends—and you were one of my first real ones, too. My only friend before that was… well, she’s pretty awful. I used to watch movies and TV and imagine I was friends with the characters.”

Though that information was new, Ladybug also wasn’t surprised.

“That’s where you got your ideas about romance, isn’t it?”

At his nod, she sighed again. She gestured at the beam they were standing on, and was glad when Chat took a seat, letting one of his legs hang over. She sat beside him, crossing her legs, getting comfortable.

“Chat, so many of the relationships portrayed in TV and movies are super toxic or even abusive.”

His ears flicked back, and he looked chagrined. “Yeah, I learned that when I was looking up sexual harassment.”

It had clearly been an upsetting realization for him. Probably it had really challenged what he thought he knew about the world.

“It’s not really your fault,” she told him. “A lot of people our age don’t know. We’re young and we live in a society that normalizes that stuff. I’ve been… not great myself at it. I’ve engaged in toxic behavior myself. Toward the person I had a crush on.”

“You did? But you’re so professional, LB.”

His surprise made her wince.

“Yeah, but I’m human, too. And we’re both, what? Fourteen? Fifteen? I’ve done things I’m not proud of. Like stalkery things, a lot worse than what you’ve done flirting with me. And I ultimately decided I needed to let my crush go.”

Chat’s mouth opened, then closed. “Why?” he finally asked.

That was a complicated question to answer.

“Well, who’s to say I wouldn’t be just as toxic in a relationship with him, for one,” she said softly. “But also… I’ve been through a lot in my real life lately. And the crush started to fade as a result. A friend was growing closer to him so… I let him go. I don’t even know if I’m ready for a romantic relationship at all right now. Things as a civilian are difficult right now. And maybe I need time to figure myself out first, you know?”

After a short pause, Chat nodded. “I understand. A friend… In my life, a friend of mine has expressed interest in dating me. And I’m just not sure. I don’t know if I feel that way about her, and I’m afraid of hurting her. And…” He glanced at her. “Well, you’re not wrong. I’ve been holding out for you, which hasn’t been fair to you.”

“To either of us,” Ladybug amended. “Chat, you’re one of my first friends, my most important friend, my partner. I’m an only child, and it’s like through you I’ve gained a brother.” She quirked a smile. “A dorky, pun-loving little brother.”

He laughed. “Hey, maybe I’m older than you! You don’t know!”

“You act younger, so my headcanon has you as the little brother,” she retorted with a giggle.

It was nice to see him laugh. Hangdog looks had no place on a cat. But Ladybug knew there was more that needed to be said, that they needed to get out. None of this was easy, but she’d learned that the necessary conversations rarely were. She was glad it wasn’t a school night, that they had time for it.

“Sometimes… I was worried you didn’t want to be my friend,” she confessed. “Because you wanted more. And I’m not really good with self-confidence.”

“No…” The look on Chat’s face was one of horror. “I absolutely value your friendship, and I’m so glad I met you. It’s…” He looked down for a moment. “This is dumb, but I like this trope in movies and shows and anime, the friends to lovers one?”

He seemed to be struggling for words, but Ladybug knew the one he was talking about.

“Oh, so like superhero partners and friends, like the idea of destiny sort of thing?”

“Yeah, that. Dumb, right?”

She shoved his shoulder with her fist, a fake punch, much different from the one Félix had gotten—and for good reason, as Chat was nothing like that horrible brat.

“Maybe a little, but only because real life is way different from that, you ridiculous weeaboo.”

Chat actually giggle-snorted, sending Ladybug into a giggle-fit that left her wheezing.

When they had recovered, Chat offered a sad smile.

“You know, I wonder if I’m in love with ideas more than anything,” he said softly. “Like… this isn’t how I act in real life. I’d share more, but identity stuff. I’m able to be me as Chat more than anywhere else. And I guess I’m scared people in my real life love the idea of me instead of who I am. But I’ve been doing that to you, too, haven’t I?”

She smiled back. “Probably. As I said, I’m a total spacey mess in my real life. Can’t share more, same reason. And I think I did that to the boy I liked, too. So you’re not alone there, either.”

“We’re both messes, LB. We can be messes together. In, you know, a platonic way.”

“Thanks, minou.”

They sat in companionable silence for a while. Eventually, she lay back on the beam to stargaze, and he mirrored her movement from the other side, until their heads were beside each other.

“Do you really hate it when I call you Bugaboo? And m’lady?” he finally asked.

Ladybug hesitated for a moment. “Well, hate is a strong word… Friends make up nicknames for each other, after all. It just felt like you were calling me those like as a potential girlfriend.”

“Well… kind of. But more because they’re pretty awesome puns on Ladybug.”

She turned and stared at him. He was smirking.

“You know how much I love those, right?”

“Oh my god you are an idiot.”

“But I’m your idiot little brother.”

Ladybug groaned, almost sorry she mentioned that. But at the same time, it seemed they could turn over a new leaf, create the partnership and friendship they both needed.

“Thanks for checking in on me, Bugs. I don’t think I’d have ever gotten the courage to apologize otherwise.”

She snorted at the new nickname, reaching up to awkwardly ruffle his hair. She was rewarded with a purr. “No problem, mon petit frérot. We both needed to talk.”

She relaxed, watching the moon slice across the stars as time passed them by, relieved that at least this part of her life was in the process of being healed.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanfiction #my fanfiction #ladybug #chat noir #adrien salt #but very minor #adrien sugar #post-miracle queen #miraculous salt #ml salt

[bitter-sweet-farmgirl]

Heal the Broken

OC gave her all to Thorin when they were in a relationship together, but when he suddenly moves on from her, she tries to learn to cope with a broken heart.

MASTERLIST

OC(s) Used:  Estelle

Word Count:  2,224

Warning(s):  Insinuations

Translation(s):  None

Inspired by 'Scars:  Neon Feather Remix' by TobyMac, Feat. Sarah Reeves.

~~~

Had you on my mind, I

Had a little time, I

Know we kinda overdue

I walked through the gardens, feeling the last rays of the dying sun caress my skin as I stood in it's orange light.  The earth cooled as night fell and the air became chilly, causing me to shiver and wish I had worn something more, substantial as the sun dipped below the horizon.  

All I could think about was the tall, long dark-haired, stony, yet kind-hearted, deep voiced, handsome, and strong dwarf I was in love with.  He was a constant presence on my mind, no matter the hour or activity I was involved in. 

But we hadn't spoken in days.  I had passed by him in the hallways of Erebor, but the royal home of Dwarves had truly lived up to its other name of 'The Lonely Mountain' as Thorin ignored me.  We had been so in love only a few days ago.  But we just stopped talking.  Something happened.  We argued for the first time in several months.    

Turnin' back the pages

To our younger days,

yeah

It made me think of when we had first met, of when we'd first begun courting.  We had been so young and naive then.  We'd thought that all we needed was love, that love solved everything.  We hadn't realized what problems love brought with it when it entered a person's heart and bound them to another person.  

I can still imagine you

Boomin' like the thunder

Chasin' life with wonder

With fire that could light a room

I could still see him, walking into a room where I was.  He had a presence that was unignorable.  His voice rumbled and rolled like the thunder in the rain showers that fell and watered the earth

during the summer.  It was so deep and sexy.  When he was alone with me, his voice grew even lower, into the tone he reserved for those he loved.  

We had chased after life together, exploring everything it offered and trying new things.  I could still see the smirk he'd worn after I'd made my first shirt of mail.  It had been a bit, well, uneven.  I'd been so proud of it until I'd seen what he had made.  It was a silver necklace, inlaid with a blue crystal.  Utterly perfect.

Even though Thorin was sometimes portrayed as unfeeling, I knew otherwise.  He had a fire within him, a passion that never ran dry.  After he came back from extended leaves required by his Kingship, he would come to my apartments and kiss me senseless, longing invading his heart for me.  

And his walk...  My heart would pound as I saw him swagger into the room.  His hips would swing about in the most alluring ways.  

In those days when we both attended court events, he would walk into the room and just stare at me, and I could feel his gaze even when my back was to him.  He brought fire to me, wherever we were, and there were days when I wanted nothing but him.

Bottom kinda fell out

Waited for the rebound

But you never made a move

And then everything changed.  We argued, and grew apart.  Where there had once been an unbreakable bond, there was only fragments that threatened to break at any given moment.  I thought it was just a phase we would go through, that Thorin would miss me and come back.

But he never did.  Months went by and he wouldn't even glance at me.  It hurt, to see him laugh at something someone else said, to know that he didn't even think of me anymore.  That he didn't desire me like he used to.  

When life cuts so deep

Try and remember

So I tried to forget him, but it just cut deeper.  I could never look for another Dwarrow because none were like him.  And I only wanted him.  Everyone else lacked something that Thorin had.  

I tried to be strong and bear it, but there were days when it just became too much, having to watch him flirt with another Dwarrowdame, and see that smile that he'd reserved only for me being given to another woman.  

Then I found an unexpected comfort in someone I'd never dreamed of being able to help.

You, you're not alone

We've all been there

Scars come with livin'

Thranduil saw my hurt when I visited his kingdom one day, and he drew me aside to ask what had happened.  He knew the feelings I tried to hide, and could see hurt in my eyes.  Hurt he'd once felt.

He had scars in the same places as me.  The same parts of his heart had been broken and never mended.  Life had treated us the same, even though we were of two different races.  

You, you're not alone

We've all been there

He told me of the days when his wife had still lived, of how broken he'd been when she'd passed on.  I could see tears in his eyes as he described her, of how she'd laugh over the silliest of things, of how her smile would brighten his darkest days.  

Another unexpected person also offered his help.  Legolas told of the day his wife had miscarried the child they'd so dearly wanted after so many centuries of failure.  

So, lift your head, lift your head

Lift your head to where your help comes from

They helped me bear my burden, and see that someday good would come out of this suffering.  That one day I would look back on this and see the good in it.  Perhaps it was Mahal's way of preparing me for some higher calling, to be able to help others in the same situation.

You, you're are not alone

We've all been there

Scars come with livin'

I would bear the scars as long as I lived, and it still hurt to see Thorin taking another maid out for a walk in the gardens when I had known such love and devotion from him before.  But what was life without heartbreak?  I had known hurt before, when my mother had passed onto the halls of Aule.

Life ain't got no sequel

We all broken people

I would have only one chance here, and I wanted to make the best of it.  I began to see the broken pieces in other people, and tried to help them mend them if I could.  Everyone had some hurt that had never healed, and still burned within them, causing pain.

The only road to found is lost

Oversimplifying

Ain't no shame in trying

As I continued walking my path in life, I found that my heart was healing, that I was overcoming my loss.  That after wandering through the dark for so many years, I finally knew my calling.  I had tried, and I was stronger than before.

Passion never counts the cost

Now you won't take my phone calls

You won't text me back at all

When I'd first fallen for Thorin, I'd never thought about what would happen if we had grown apart.  What would happen if I gave him all, and then he let me down.  My passion for him had overridden my common sense, and I'd gotten hurt, badly.

I just wanna see you

I can't stand to see you gone

I still wanted to see him, to talk with him, and say I still loved him.  It was impossible for me to forget my love for him.  It still hurt that he never came to see me anymore.  It was like there was a massive void in my life.  I had never realized just how big a part he played.

Yesterday I missed you

Yesterday I played your song

Tears fell as I plucked the strings of the harp, deeper tones echoing through the air as I played a song I'd written for Thorin.  There was deep tones, and then a happier, wild tune that compelled the listener to tap their foot and dance along.  It was my way of describing him within my music.  I rarely played the song, it brought up memories that made me miss him even more.

I'm oversimplifying

I'm oversimplifying

I just tried to do small tasks everyday, to pull myself from the hole I kept trying to push myself into so I could just fade away and escape from the hurt I felt constantly.  Everyone told me to push through it, but I couldn't.  I only functioned when I simplified.

But try and remember

You, you're not alone

We've all been there

Scars come with livin'

Thranduil was always trying to console me, even on the days I tried to push him away.  He knew what I felt on a daily basis, knew which scars hurt on what day, after what event.  He knew all too well how easily the scars formed.

You, you're not alone

We've all been there

So, lift your head, lift your head

Lift your head to where your help comes from

Now, more than ever I relied on Mahal for help.  I didn't understand why he had given me this tribulation, but it was for a reason.

There come a day when I felt a tug to be light-hearted through my pain.  I tried, I tried so hard, but it felt so unfamiliar, so wrong that I wanted to shy away.  But there was still that gentle, loving tug on my heart, telling me to cheer up, that I tried again.

You, you're are not alone

We've all been there

Scars come with livin'

Scars come, scars come, oh, scars come

Oh, scars come with livin'

Scars come, scars come, oh, scars come

Oh, scars come with livin'It doesn't matter who you are

I'd learned through it all, that everyone had scars, no matter their age or position, they'd all felt hurt that haunted them, that followed them around and tried to push them down on a daily basis.  

Thranduil had scars, both in physical and emotional form, and there he was, governing a kingdom and raising a son all at the same time.  Although I knew that he still hurt greatly from the death of his wife; she had been his most prized, best loved, and her loss broke him.

This world gon' leave some battle scars

It doesn't matter who you are (who you are)

This world gon' leave some battle scars (battle scars)

It doesn't matter who you are (who you are)

This world gon' leave some battle scars (battle scars)

It doesn't matter who you are (who you are)

This world gon' leave some battle scars (ooh)You, You're not alone

I was a wiser person today than I was yesterday, and the years before.  I knew that everyone had scars from their own personal battles.  No one could say they didn't have scars and not be lying.  I would be lying if I said I had never been hurt by Thorin's leaving.  But I was not alone.  

I had Thranduil, and Mahal.  Mahal cared so deeply for me, and his love was helping me through this battle in my life.  With his help, I would make it through this.  

We've all been there

Scars come with livin'

You, you're not alone, you're not alone

So lift your head up (scars come, scars come) (head up)

To where your help comes from

Lift your head up (scars come, scars come) (head up, head up)

Oh, scars come with livin'

Lift your head up (scars come, scars come) (lift your head, lift your head, lift your hea-hea-head)

To where your help comes from

Lift your head up (scars come,

scars come)(lift your head, lift your head, lift your head)

Every day I would wake up with dread at facing a new day, a new experience.  The unknown.  But Mahal had worked in my heart, and was helping me heal, a little bit at a time.  He was helping me, giving me the strength and fatherly love I needed right now.

Oh, scars come with livin'

Lift your head up (scars come, scars come) (head up, head up)It doesn't matter who you are (who you are)

This world gon' leave some battle scars (battle scars)

Lift your head up (scars come,

scars come) (lift your head, lift your head, lift your head)

It doesn't matter who you are (who you are)

This world gon' leave some battle scars (battle scars)

It doesn't matter who you are (who you are)

This world gon' leave some battle scars

I had become secure with who I was, and it no longer hurt me to see Thorin with his current betrothed.  Mahal was the only one I bowed to, the only one who truly knew my pain and had helped heal it.  I could walk around with a smile on my face, feeling a true joy spark within me.

Watching the orange sphere begin to settle lower on the horizion, I smiled, feeling immense gratitude towards Mahal.  He was my King, the only King I would call mine.  He was my father.  He had such divine power that I never dreamed of.  Power that had helped heal a broken heart and make it whole again.  

He was the true King.

#Thorin #songfic #the hobbit #thranduil #mirkwood #elves #healing the broken #heal the broken #broken heart #thorin x oc #angst #deep angst #fanfic #fanfiction

[riskeith]

good morning love! (or afternoon for you hehe)

deku vs kacchan part 2 is my favorite ep of the entire series actually. i’ve watch that ep so many times as well it’s just perfect. i got into them when i watched that episode actually! the voice acting god..... literally shivers. now that i think about it it might even be my favorite anime ep of all time help. i just love how bakugou lets it all out and we get to see that side of him.. the insecure scared child he tries to hide. god i could ramble about it forever idk just love it. OH YOU WATCHED THE MOVE RIGHT AFTER? a scene with bakugou and todoroki is guaranteed a good time.. and they work so well together. haha that’s such a nice coincidence tho their dynamic is great in that movie even if it’s mostly kiribaku sjsksjk. what do you think about kiribaku btw?

RIGHT!!! at least we have a couple days to decide hihi.... paimon no longer emergency snack.. only seelie. 🥴 oooh? what kind of thing have you envisioned? (if you wanna share ofc!)

i’ve seen so many people mention that!! like one of the worst parts of the game is that in the higher level you get the less there are to do.. ssjksjdk at some point all you can do is grind domains and try to level up shdkdfhdj

LEVEL 40 INTO A LEVEL 70+ FIGHT ok that’s honestly hilariously brave doesn’t she like die right away 😔 oh yeah you’ll be leveling up Again soon *praying for you*... can’t believe they don’t keep the easy bosses anymore sjdkfh that’s so rude. this game is just grind grind grind. WE NEED A BENNY STORY SO BADLY. like imagine a story with him wanting to seek out diluc because he wants to learn how to fight from a master or something like that. i saw it in a comic and i can’t stop thinking about it 😭 all of them deserve stories!!! there’s so many ways they could make it happen pls mihoyo... chongyun x xingqiu story... <333

shfkjdskdjhf nope right now i’m playing with noelle as my main damage dealer, traveller, lisa and barbara actually. so i think i have a pretty good balance atm.. 2 long range 2 short range-ish. i usually trade out barbara for another character if i have to tho, hehe. that’s only combat though ^ benny is with me when we explore. mood is me having a 5 star and not even using her... i still need to think of ways qiqi could fit into the group yk. is your group still looking the same as before? ooooh if you could rank the elements what would your ranking look like?

172!!!!! that’s a bit short though when you said tall i thought like... 190 or something sjksjdxk. wait how tall are You?

oh i just meant like... people bashing others for spending too much money on the game vs those that bash people for not spending money and complaining that they don’t get 5 star etc? idk yt comments can be so ugly though so it’s a good thing that you don’t read them sjdjdjdkd

that’s super smart!!! you just follow along the plan and delete when you come to the part. must feel so satisfying too i imagine. haha, what little notes i have i put in the notes app and just check up on when i need to. sometimes i even forget they’re there shdkdhsks. my notes are filled with half-assed dialogue or random one words notes that don’t make any sense to me anymore.. nskdhddjdj

you’re right!! so you write at night? sometimes i just open docs on my phone and write a bit before i sleep and when i wake up it’s either a grammatical mess or just... super bad hskshd the brain is simply too tired to create anything shakespeareian

nooo i’ll def check these out and let you know what i think. i’ve seen halsey being in pretty much every klance playlist on spotify so i imagine she portrays their vibes pretty nicely. doesn’t she have a song she sings about being blue and red or something... shdjfhdj such a bad description but i see it being used in edits a lot. also now that i think of it melanie has a song called pacify her that i really like!! do you like it?

THATS SO CUTE YOU ARE A CRYBABY. 🥺 same here tbh i actually like crying sometimes... sjskdjdjd like you said it just feels nice to get it all out. i cry to almost movie or series or book i read i’m a super emotional person but i also think it adds to the experience? you feel more immersed in it that way.

RIGHT??? ITS SO BEAUTIFUL!!! and it’s our boys 😭 and they’re cuddling 😭 under the sun 😭 ssjdjdhdjdj 😭

can’t wait to hear from you again <3 yours, ma <3

good night! more like ahhah

:o!! that’s so legendary of them wow.. <33 and yeah honestly the voice acting is phenomenal.. and all the implications behind the fight too? bakugou finally opening up? midoriya understanding that what he needs is to fight him? ugh. kiribaku is fine! fhdsjfks my brain is so full of todobaku that any other ship is really just... in the background hfskjfs but i can appreciate the relationship they have! with kiri being the only one bakugou has really acknowledged and seeing as being on the same level, that iconic hand clasp when bakugou was being rescued... i have a kiribaku fic in my drafts but idk if i can ever get to it ahha. you like them a lot right?

ikkk also i didn’t know we had to wait until the very end to buy? i have more than enough to buy it rn but when i clicked it said ‘must explore area 14 first’ and i was just... bruh. AHAHAH. okay so in my mind it’s like.. chongyun at a funky angle we’re kinda looking up at him and his body is like bent down towards us fhsdkjs idk how to describe it but i can picture it very well but i also cannot put it to paper/screen. and then his clothes are just black instead of white! HAHAH. tho i kinda wanna see if i can draw a xiao first to offer up to the gacha gods hfsdjkfs (and if i can i’ll do a version w a dark outfit too for u hehe)

legitttt im literally just logging in and grinding the talent domains every day fhsdkjfhskfhjd there are some artifacts i want as well but the domain is literally SO difficult for me fuck.

i just go in and use her skill then heal a bit and switch right away fhsdkjfsd it going alright! and then i go ham with my other 3 charas and switch back to her to heal again fhskfjd. OMGGG that’s so cute please... i miss diluc too... come back!! i wish we had a way to replay the old quests even if we get nothing out of them like i just wanna experience it again ya know.

oooo! that’s pretty nice. hfskjd you could switch barbara out for qiqi! since she’s a healer as well. omg wait you have lumine right? so your combat team has no males? legendary 😩 we love fighting queens! ya! traveller, chongyun, xiangling, fischl. and then i switch depending on the domain/boss i’m gonna fight. hmm elements I think would go: anemo, cryo, electro, pyro, hydro, geo, dendro? LMAO i reckon if i had diluc tho pyro would be higher... i also almost forgot to add geo to that list lmaooooooo oops, hbu??

I JUST SAW THE LINK.... AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! the bestest boys look how cute they’re sjdkfjdjjdd i’m obsessed. the picture where benny has his back turned sjdudjdjddnd stop. 🥺 they’re so neat. 🥺 also NO ARE YOU SERIOUS? that’s so upsetting are you gonna try it out nonetheless or do you think it’s too risky?

they’re SO neat!!! and bennett facing the other way was so fhskjfd yeah cute <3333333 I KNOWWW IM SO SAD :((( and no...... im not gonna try 😭😭😭 i told my brother about it too and he asked how many rolls i was at and i said 70 and he was straight up ‘you can’t try then’ and i was like ‘i know 😔😔’. @ xiao... i am giving up xingqiu rate up for you 😤😤😤😤 ugh i hope i can still get xingqiu in xiao’s banner tho even tho the chances will be shit. are you gonna roll ganyu’s banner?

FHSKJFSD NOOOOOO don’t tell me 172 is average for you wtf... (apparently the average male height in japan is 160cm! for reference ahah) and i myself am. one hundred and. fifty something cm hfsdjfhskjdfhskdjfhw9uehdsifhwsdkjfhsdkfhsd 😔 big sighs lmaoooooooo. how tall are you? (im assuming much taller 😔😔😔😔😔)

ooh notes app? nice ahaha. fhdkjfhskfsk hdthat’s the mood tho! if i don’t have my laptop with me i’ll write out everything on notes first then transfer to my laptop~

AHAHAH yeahhh i think mostly i do? bc during school times i’ll only write after i’m done with my work which = night time. for a while Peak writing time for me was like 1am lmfao but i do that in a like half-asleep half-conscious state so when i come back the next day at a “normal” time i run into the same issue as you fshdfkjshfs

she does!!! it’s called colours 😩 but i think the one i related to voltron most is control! there was this really good shiro edit with that song i still remember it to this day <3 yeah i do!!! i like most of melanie’s songs actually ahahah. i think my favourite for a while was show and tell~

it totally does!! like it’s satisfying as well you know... like the characters have gone through so much and you experienced that with them so it’s natural to get emotional about it. that reminds me, what kind of books do/did you read? did you read all Those YA novels ahah talking about crying has reminded me how i cried reading those..

<333 i wanna be there with them 😩 actually no i want to BE them 😩😩😩

eager for your response <33 love, c.r.

#marriage anon #wowclunaanswers #long post

[astharoshebarvon]

Good books

Almost a year later, I finally got Ten Count volume 6. I had to give myself a pep talk that it doesn’t matter if the bitch is part of the volume, just forget about her horrendous self.

In the end, my love for Kurose and Shirotani won and I bought it.

I am just so happy to have it in my hands!!! I love this manga so much! I can’t put into words how much I adore this series.

I also got Ameiro Paradox/ Candy Colour Paradox because I love that too. It’s funny as hell and is a wonderful read.

Did I mention how excited I am for Ten Count anime and Given movie? I can’t tell how thrilled I am that Given is getting a movie. I don’t know how many times I cried seeing Given anime, and the lyrics of the title song— just drive a knife through my heart why don’t you.

Fair warning, I am going to vent now. These are just some things which I don’t like in the slightest in stories and fandoms. If someone does, fine. Just remember, everyone doesn’t.

Let’s start with Ten Count. I saw some comments on a manga site that literally said the bitch ( I am not going to dignify her with a name. The slut doesn’t deserve it )  looked nice standing next to Kurose.

–She is cute even if she is evil.

–Yeah, I get what you mean. They look nice together.

I was shocked. I was so shocked. I was at a loss for words. Just because she is a girl some people are ready to forgive her for what she did and say ridiculous things like these. She ruined Shirotani in every way possible. How can someone even say that? I can’t put into words how disgusted I felt when I read that.

Do people even realise what OCD is? It’s not something to laugh about. What she and Shirotani’s father did, it wasn’t okay. I am glad Shirotani at least got the courage to talk to his father but that doesn’t erase the father was in the wrong too. Wasn’t he fucking a student?

My main problem is, why can’t people accept that some female characters are horrible?  What’s with this crap of not calling bad fem characters bad? And she wasn’t even good looking, she was creepy.

The girlfriend of Halstead in Kyou Koi wo Hajimemasu, she was a monster. She actually said Kyouta tried to force himself on her when he didn’t do shit. She was the one coming onto him like some slag. She destroyed two boys friendship and what, we shouldn’t say she was bad because she is a girl. She was horrible.

I adore Hinohara Meguru’s works, I really do. I love love love Secret XXX and I am definitely going to buy it next April when it’s released. I adore Itsuki and Shouhei so much !!!

I will buy Therapy Game too because I love it. I am hoping Kamisama will be licensed soon. I really want to buy it. Rin is so darn nice, he has to be with Chiharu.

But whatever nonsense that was shown between Yuka and Shizuma—it’s unrealistic.

People don’t even look at people like Yuka after they break up with them. Regardless of the fact they are in same college or work at a same place.

It’s pathetic at best the way Shizuma says he is weak to her voice.

Not to mention she was a fucking stalker and what? They are friends? Even after what she did?

She was sleeping with someone else and they are still friends. She cheated on him, hurt him emotionally, hurt his feelings and he still talks to her.

Wow.

That’s not how the world works for any relationship.

Get out of here.

She was a bitch and I have a very bad feeling she and Shizuma’s other coworkers will create problems for him and Minato in the sequel being serialised now. Minato was so uncomfortable in the first chapter.

I don’t understand why no one said this is not reality. This is stupid.

If you want to defend female characters even if they are horrible and bad, fine.

But then, you shouldn’t write things like these :  “This shows reality of gay couples.”

Pick up any tragic yaoi/shonen ai where one half of a couple marries a woman and the other is left alone. The reviews of the story have this line.

Those works are praised and applauded. Why? Is that really the reality of all same sex couples? Or are you just happy that one male got to be with a female.

If some people like reality so much, they should just go and see the news.

This reality factor isn’t present when female characters do horrendous shit (Yuka’s case). I didn’t see people saying, this is bull. Why does he even talk to her? And what the fuck does he mean by he is weak to her voice?

Dude, seriously. She cheated on you and you are weak to her voice????

This nonsense is present everywhere. Movies, books, novels, anime, manga.

Take Vampire knight for example. 

The author should have been honest and said somewhere along the line she started shipping Zero and Kaname, but since Yuuki is the main girl she couldn’t put the two boys together. Zero/Kaname is a far better ship than Zeki or whatever Airen thing the author is trying to show now. It’s laughable at best, both Zeki and Airen.

I don’t like Ai, she loved Zero and now she is after his daughter. It’s weird.

Just because Ai is yume’s daughter doesn’t mean she is wonderful. I don’t like her or Ren.

You know what, it’s not even about like. I feel nothing for them. When I saw the new cover, I was like, yeah, it’s very pretty, and it’s very sweet. I am going to save the larger version when it becomes available.

That’s it.  I could care less whether they are together or not. 

 Maybe there is a reason for Ai’s stupidity. She was raised among losers like Ruka and Aidou. Is it any wonder she ended up being weird as hell?

Ruka Souen was a horrible character, she was disgusting and I don’t understand why her husband, Akatsuki always threatened Kaname instead of talking to his oh so great love.

Dude, tell your girl to stop trying to get another woman’s man’s attention. Kaname doesn’t give a fuck about anyone except Yuuki Kuran, his love of life.

Ruka and Aidou were pathetic. The fucker even encouraged Zero to take Yuuki from Kaname, and this was supposed to be Kaname’s friend.

Yeah right. Hell, all of Kaname’s so called friends told Zero and Yuuki to get together, except, Takuma.

Have I mentioned how much I love the guy? He is the only real friend of Kaname. He had guts to say to both Zero and Yuuki what would they do if he said he had some reservations about their relationship. He brushed it off later though but at least he said it.

Except for Yuuki, Takuma and Seiren, Kaname held no feelings for anyone in this whole goddamn manga.

The only reason I am still reading this series is because I want my Yume happy ending.

Canon is shitty many times. Don’t force people to like a story or a movie. Or everything that happens in a story. Sometimes one just doesn’t like some things.

Whatever nonsense that was shown in avengers endgame (Steve–Peggy ). That was disgusting. It made my mother and me so uncomfortable that we didn’t even bother going and seeing the movie again. I saw infinity war twice but endgame – it was a horror fest.

If the movie makers wanted to show Steve with a woman that badly, well, Sharon and Natasha were right there. Why Peggy? It didn’t make sense and came off as creepy and gross. We get it, they became so scared of Stucky’s popularity that they had to show Steve with a woman. We get it.

For all three CA movies, Steve was all Bucky, Bucky, and Bucky. That’s it.

And he didn’t even talk to him in endgame. Right.

Steve/Nat was a good ship, they could have been together but what we got was some gross uncle - aunt - niece shit. Steve kissed Sharon right after Peggy’s funeral, that’s a fact. Where did his love go then?

Then again, this is the same character (Steve Rogers) who married female Tony Stark in one universe but otherwise fights with all male Tony’s.

God, could the writers get any more homophobic? Or maybe Steve saw Natasha Stark as a replacement for Peggy Carter too. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. Brunettes, women.

Yeah, that does make sense.

That’s why I hate when people genderbent one half of a slash couple. It’s inherently homophobic. Stop trying to justify your reasons. Don’t give ridiculous excuses like you wanted diversity and all that crap. You are only making yourself look stupid and dumb.

This rubbish need for diversity never arose with FM couples. So, please don’t.

Where are Female Tony and Male Pepper fics, where are Female Clint and Male Natasha fics? Oh, sorry, they don’t exist. Neither do female Tony and Pepper.

If they do, they aren’t that popular. And I am sure female Clint and Natasha doesn’t exist.

But one can find plenty female Bilbo, female Harry, female Tony fics. All these OC females paired with males. They are OFC. They aren’t real.

Some people just can’t accept them (Thorin/Bilbo, Steve/ Tony) as an MM slash ship so they change their gender.

It’s MM Slash. No matter how many times you write in fics, this is Fem Harry, this is Fem Tony, Harry is a girl. This is not slash in capitals.

Stop.

You are only coming off as desperate, nothing more.

Stop trying to undermine the MM slash ship. It’s a slash ship, it will always be slash.

Is there any female Ron and male Hermione story? Yeah, Granger wouldn’t look like a God now would she if Male Hermione attacked female Ron because Ron didn’t want to date him?

Another example.

Let’s turn Merope Gaunt into a man and have him rape Tom Riddle Sr who is a female. No one would give a fuck if Merope was abused then. Merope raped Tom Riddle Sr and I am still astounded by the fact she was portrayed as a tragic figure while Tom Riddle Sr was shown as arrogant.

Excuse me?

Nobody cared about him in the books. Did he deserve to get raped for months by Merope because he was what? A man? Arrogant? Fuck off.

Since she was abused that gave her the freedom to douse the man with Amortentia for months to make herself happy. What rubbish excuse is that?

He owed her nothing. If she was abused, that doesn’t mean he was obligated to like her or care for her. And after what she did to him, he made a wise decision to run away from her.

Merope Gaunt traumatized Tom Riddle Sr. The man never married, even after escaping from her. His fate was even worse than Merope’s.

I can’t believe that this was completely swept under the rug. No one felt sorry for the man. All sympathies were for Merope.

Many things in HP don’t make sense. Couples, characters, their decisions etc.

Its fine if many people love it but there are many who don’t like it too. Stop trying to tell everyone what they should like or not. If someone doesn’t, respect that.

Genderbending one half of a slash couple is annoying and irritating. It’s homophobic and will remain that. All the dominant male keeps on saying in those dumb fics is how much they want to fuck the female/genderment male or are enamored with her chest and body. It’s revolting to even read that.

And of course they want lots of babies. That’s a must. Hetero sex and babies. That’s the crux of almost all gender bent fics. The dominant male wants to see the OFC with his babies.

Great!

Slash haters don’t hate this, do they? Isn’t this fetishizing female anatomy? Or have you actually deluded yourself into thinking female Bilbo and female Harry exists. 

They don’t.

Harry Potter is a boy, so is Bilbo Baggins. Hell, Tony Stark is a man except for in one universe.

Steve can’t fall in love with Tony if he is a male. What did he fell for then? Fem Tony’s body?

Gender bent isn’t even crack, its worse than crack. Either these original character females are docile and nice or are BAMF’s like anything.

And don’t say don’t read if you don’t like it. Why not? Why shouldn’t we make fun of these stories?

These same people have the audacity to whine about slash ships on many platforms. Even in FM stories MM is not shown as something normal. I’ve come across many FM stories which literally made me want to throw something at the screen. Some were blatantly insulting to same sex relationships.

And let’s not forget genderbent FM stories which have this rubbish line: we are okay with fem slash, but not with MM slash.

Okay, fine. Good.

What the hell does that even mean?

Hmm, maybe that’s why genderbent FF couples don’t exist. This change is only meant for MM.

Right. Wonderful.

Yikes !

This ridiculous sentence is written on many fic writers profile and these same people changed one half of a MM slash couple into a female, with this lovely sentence at the beginning of their stories: This is not slash. It’s not SLASH. We can’t stress enough, it’s not slash!

How many times do these people  have to tell themselves that it’s not slash?

It’s MM slash and will always be that.

#ten count #given #Ameiro paradox #shoujo

[bubbleweirdo]

Alegría

RE-UPLOAD

Chapters: 1/?

Next chapter

Summary: After her parents death, Joy Collins must take care of her brother and the small farm they live in. However this is not always easy and one night their lives change drastically.

Words: 2035

Main relationship: Javier Escuella/OC

Other relationships: Charles Smith/OC, Arthur Morgan/OC

Characters: Van der Linde gang, OCs

 A/N: I’ve translated this writing from spanish to english because that’s my first language, so I’m sorry if there are grammatical errors. This is my first fic since I was like... Fourteen... And... Welp, it’s probably really cringey but I’ve been trying my best to write in a coherent way (some of my OCs in this fic are PoC -they don’t appear in this chapter tho- and I’m insecure because I want to treat them in the most respectful way I can, so if I portray them badly please, tell me) And well I’m basically PANICKING right now because I want to do everything RIGHT. So... yeah. Have fun with this if you can :’)

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1898

           Everything started when Cyrus, her ex lover, showed up at her house.

           It was already a couple years since the siblings Joy and Tommy Collins lived alone. Their parents passed away from tuberculosis leaving their older daughter in the care of their small farm and her younger brother.

           Joy had no choice but to become a mother for Tommy, doing everything possible so that they both would survive. Thomas' birth was welcome but unexpected news for the Collins. Joy was fourteen years old when the little one came into the world and even though in the moment it was already a reason for joy, now, nine years later she couldn’t imagine her life without helping him get on her mare every morning, fighting in the mud after a day of rain or singing him a lullaby at bedtime while stroking his copper curls.

           The girl occasionally went to Valentine to sell or buy provisions and have a drink at the saloon, even spending a night with some attractive man every now and then. Sometimes she even yearned for some of the women who were hanging around, but she had never dared to speak to any of them. However, since the death of her parents, those night escapes had ended.

           Her most recent lover had been Cyrus Kimble, the man who had knocked on her door that night. He was a tall fellow with sharp features and light blue eyes. His gaze had been kind at first but as soon as Joy started cutting her relationship with him, -partly because of her duties with the farm and Tommy, partly because she had begun to notice a certain possessiveness that she didn't like at all-, Cyrus started to show his true nature. When he saw her in Valentine he followed her, sometimes crying, other times demanding. Occasionally, like this time, he would show up at her farm begging her to come back with him.

           However this night he didn’t beg. He pounded on the door, yelling for her to open it. Tommy had just finished braiding her long reddish hair when the banging began. With a tired grunt, Joy got up and opened the door reluctantly.

           “What do you want, Cyrus? I’ve already told you-” A heavy silence formed as she realized she was being pointed at by a revolver. She looked him in the eye and he just stared back at her with an emotion she couldn’t identify. She swallowed hard. “What are you doing?”

           “I’m going to free you, Joy. You won’t have to take care of your farm or your brother. You can stay with me, nothing will stop you.” A smile formed on the man's face, more to himself than to her. He tugged on her arm and pulled her away from the door. “Guys!” he yelled, without letting go or stop aiming at her. Two men appeared in the dark and began to tie her hands. She didn't try to resist but took advantage of Cyrus's confidence at the moment to ram him with her shoulder, causing him to lose his balance and shoot up. Without losing time, she bit his ear. Quickly, Kimble's men pulled her away from him and pinned her to the ground, using the opportunity to tie her legs. Joy spat out Cyrus' blood as he gasped, being assisted by a third man.

           “Damn whore!”

           “Tommy! Tommy! Take Berry and run!” she screeched, trying to turn to look at her house, but a blow knocked her unconscious.

           “Fuck… I'll carry her on my horse… Elijah, James, burn down the house and the barn, Jasper, be sure to kill the boy.”

           Tommy had seen everything from the window of the house and as soon as he heard that he didn’t hesitate to run to the back door and go for Berry, his sister's mare.

           “He ain’t here!” he heard Jasper say. “Of course he’s not idiot, he just ran out to the barn!” his partner replied. The boy didn’t even think about saddling, he climbed onto a stool, mounted Berry without any hesitation and left the barn riding at a gallop. He looked back and saw that at least one of them was following him. Panicking, he spurred the mare and got a little more ground, but it wasn’t long before his pursuer closed the distance and started shooting. Approaching the Little Creek river he could see a small camp on the other side.

           “Help!” he yelled. “Help!” Four figures rose in alarm and at that moment a force outside him caused him to fall from the mount. A throbbing pain shot through his shoulder and his vision blurred as he watched Berry run away.

           A few more shots and he heard a scream and a splash in the water. Someone in the distance managed to grab the mare by the bridles and reassure her. A man with slicked back black hair applied pressure to the wound.

           “He’s a kid!” he exclaimed, without really addressing him. “"Hold on boy, you're going to get out of this. The bullet...” At that moment Tommy lost consciousness.

  The light of dawn woke him up. Little by little the memories of that night came back to him and he sat up suddenly, disorientated. A scream escaped his lips as he felt a puncture in his left shoulder. Alarmed, he looked down to find it bandaged. Increasingly confused, he looked around, looking for any signs of the men who raided his house.

“Ah, you’re awake.” Commented a large man with a thick beard. “Dutch, the boy has woken up!” he exclaimed turning. A man dressed in an elegant red and black vest with gold chains hanging over it approached the bonfire where his enormous companion and another fellow –a guy with a scar on his chin that wouldn’t let his beard grow at that spot- were sitting around. Tommy recognized him then, he was the man who had picked him up when he fell from Berry. The memory of his mare made him react.

“Berry! Joy!” he tried to get up but the pain was too much.

“Easy, boy.” The man hurried over to him and helped him lie down again. “If you are worried about your mare: she is here, don’t worry. She didn’t go far and Javier managed to reassure her.” He put his hand to his forehead to take his temperature. “Dammit, he’s burning Arthur!”, the guy with the disparate beard nodded. “I’m on it.” He said as he got up with a cloth and approached the river. Dutch gestured to the one standing by the fire and he passed him a canteen for the boy to drink.

Tommy drank the water, grateful. It seemed like weeks since the last time he drank something.

“My… My sister…” he managed to say. “They took her. The men who were chasing me took my sister. It was Cyrus Kimble, he was always after her to go with him but Joy always rejected him. Last night he burned our house and ordered to kill me. I must find her sir, I don’t know what I will do without her.” A sob escaped his throat at the thought of what might have happened to his sister. The man scratched his chin with his hand, rings adorning his fingers.

“Boy, you’re in no condition to do that… you’re not even armed.”

“Help me sir, I beg you…” At that moment Arthur approached with the soaked cloth and placed it on the boy’s forehead. Meanwhile Dutch had fallen into a reflective silence. “Alright.” He answered at last. “Any idea where they may have taken her?”

“Thank you very much sir! I think Joy mentioned that he lived in a cabin around Wallace Station.”

“Arthur, go find Mr. Cyrus Kimbler. Take Javier with you. Bill and I will take the boy to camp, Miss Grimshaw will take better care of him than we do.”

The man got up and called Javier, a latino man who was standing guarda round the small camp where they had settled. They both got on their horses -a amber champagne Missouri Fox Trotter and a grey overo American Paint- and they went downriver.

  Joy had woken up nauseated and with a metallic taste in the mouth. She still had the aftertaste of Cyrus's blood on her tongue, and the blow to her temple had taken its toll. Furthermore, it seemed that that bite had not been very funny for her captor, since he had gagged her while she was unconscious. When he realized she had woken up, the man approached her.

“Oh, Joy. Why did you have to make everything so difficult? You didn't want to speak… ” As he spoke, the girl analyzed where she was. She recognized Cyrus's room, in the cabin in which he lived. She was sitting on the bed. There was a candle on the nightstand, maybe if she got close she could burn the ropes.

He grabbed her neck and pulled up, forcing her to her feet awkwardly. The other hand caressed her cheek. “This could all have been different, honey. We could have been happy... But your brother had to meddle. Luckily, he won't bother us anymore.”

Anger boiled Joy's blood. She wanted to head butt him, but the movement only served to unbalance her and Cyrus's hand tightened on her throat.

It was then when they hard screams and gunshots. They both looked towards the door of the room, startled. Soon they stopped hearing it.

“Elijah! James! What happened?”

Silence.

“Elijah…?”

The door burst open and two men pointed their revolvers at them.

“Who are you?” he exclaimed furiously as he took out his own, pointing it alternately at each one. "What have you done to Elijah and James?"

"Your little friends have run away as soon as we've started shooting... Cyrus." replied the one closer, with brown hair and blue eyes.

“How do you know my name?”

“We only want the girl, her brother is looking for her. You can choose: you let her go or you die here.”

“What…? No! No, no, no! Never! Joy and I will be together forever! Forev-! What's that smell?” he turned, following the burning smell. The girl had taken advantage of the fact that he had released her neck to walk discreetly to small steps towards the nightstand and to burn enough the cords that tied her wrists so that they would break when trying to separate them. “No! Nooo!” he roared desperately, pouncing on her.

Without wasting time and trying not to lose her balance, she picked up the candle and stabbed it into his eye, pulling him back between squeals. The two men lowered their weapons, the latino whistled in surprise. She hastily removed the rag from her mouth and untied the ankle ties. She stepped over Cyrus and stood in front of her rescuers.

“It seems like you didn't need our help.” commented the brunette.

“Of course not.” the other agreed.

“Don't be silly, if you hadn't appeared he would have-”

“Watch out!” one of them exclaimed, while the other shot in her direction. Frightened, Joy closed her eyes expecting pain but instead she heard a body falling to the ground. She turned and saw Cyrus lying on the ground with a hole in his head. A chill ran down her spine, not because of his death, but because of what he could have done to her if he were still alive.

“It seems he didn't want to let you go, ese malnacido…” The latino pointed, putting his gun back.

“Miss…” his partner started, not knowing how to continue. She looked back at the corpse, still wondering what that man would have been able to do, before breathing in relief and responding.

“Joy Collins.”

“Miss Joy, I'm Arthur Morgan, this is Javier Escuella.” The man greeted with a nod. “We found your brother being chased by one of Mr. Kimble's friends on the banks of the Little Creek river. We managed to save him but a bullet hit him in the shoulder. We believe he will survive, but we have moved him to... our camp.”

"It's okay. I will go with you.”

#Javier Escuella/Reader #Javier Escuella x Reader #Javier Escuella/OC #Javier Escuella x OC #Red Dead Redemption 2 #RDR2 #Fanfic #My writing