#if you're going to be evil might as well do it right meta

[ineffable-suffering]

Why Aziraphale is an unreliable narrator

Part 2: The Story of wee Morag

This is Part 2 of 3 total metas. Here are:

Part 1, in case you want to read about my analysis of the Story of Job first

and Part 3, in case you're impatient and want to jump ahead.

Fair warning though, for the sake of understanding some of the references, you're probably better off reading this chaptered meta chronologically. However, every part should work just as well as a standalone! I'll do my very best to make it so.

Alright, off or on you go beyond the cutty cut!

I'll start this second part off with a very brief summary of the main take aways and points from Part 1, which go as such:

Memory, as opposed to a third party's narration, is not a factual, objective retelling of a story or event. It's mingled and mangled with emotions, imaginations and exaggerations, projecting both the feelings and impressions you had back then as well as those you might have now in the present time back on whatever it is you are remembering. (Which is why we need to put everything that Aziraphale is remembering into the context of what he might have felt in the past, as well as what he's feeling right now.)

While this doesn't mean his (or anyone's) memories are lies, it does mean they're a very subjective and sometimes factually distorted representation of what actually happened, which, in our case, gives us a lot of subtext and a lot of not-there furniture to figure out and look at.

So, let's continue with S2E3 and the Story of wee Morag. We start our flashback with a scene of Aziraphale writing his diary entry on the 10th of November, 1827. Immediately, it's firmly established that this is once again not an outside-point-of-view narration, but rather what Aziraphale remembers and wrote down.

One thing that immediately stuck out to me here, is how helpful and kind Crowley is to Elspeth, pretty much from the very beginning when they meet her in the graveyard. Not only does he take on a Scottish accent so she won't perceive him as English (as she does with Aziraphale), but he also helps her drag the barrel that has the fresh body in it and, in the end, even pulls it all by himself while Elspeth simply follows behind them. Here's a rather poor-quality picture, for reference:

Now, we know that despite not showing it very often, Crowley has always been very fond of the humans and never really put himself on a pedestal simply because he's an immortal being himself. He likes humans, just like Aziraphale does. But, just like this story will tell us, Crowley knows that on top of liking humans, you can't just put them into boxes of good and evil and expect them to always do what is supposedly the "right" or "divinely good" thing to do. (Which is what differentiates him from Aziraphale in the way he understands and treats them, as we're shown in this minisode).

Him immediately and unspokenly helping Elspeth with dragging the barrel therefore might also be a first sign of a tiny projection from present day Aziraphale, as opposed to what Crowley might have actually done (probably just walked beside her, like Aziraphale) because he has the knowledge that Crowley really was so very kind to her in the end, wasn't he? And that he's kind to humans in general. ("Not kind! Off my head on Laudanum!" Sure, babe.)

Most of this minisode, in my opinion, is actually there to establish how Aziraphale's view of morality and good vs. evil used to be quite flawed and elitist –– and how Crowley has always been there to gently nudge him towards questioning his black and white view of heavenly right and hellishly wrong. That's why I think there's not as many hints in this minisode about Aziraphale's memories not being an accurate portrayal of what happened, as there are in the Story of Job or the magic show in 1941. (And, fear not, the latter will definitely be the most hint-heavy one). Alas, there's still a few bits and bobs in the Story of wee Morag that stuck out to me, that make a brief yet good case of the whole unreliable narration thing.

First of all: The way Aziraphale describes all of it in his diary is so different from the way we see him actually remembering it. It's almost like he tried to write this entry (and possibly all of his diary) as a bit of a thrilling short story, with himself as the main character. Which makes sense, given the fact that he adores books and would certainly be keen on dabbling in the art of capital-w Writing himself. It's yet again hinting at the fact that sometimes people (and angels) try to polish and bedazzle stories (and memories) to make them seem more exciting and adventurous, often to distract from the not-so-fun parts of it.

Like when Aziraphale's diary narrates:

"It was with heavy heart we arrived at Elspeth's destination. I was determined to thwart her monstrous plan!"

... and yet we see Crowley and Elspeth casually walking down the alleyway, very obviously not heavy-hearted in the slightest, while Aziraphale nervously scurries on behind them, very obviously not determined to thwart. (Timestamp-wise, it's around 17:38 in S2E3, in case you want to see for yourself.)

We get another cinematographic/auditory hint at the fact that Aziraphale's memory is heavily influenced by what he's feeling that very moment, when Dr. Mister Dalrymple –– FRCSE, thank you very much –– shows him the tumor he removed from the seven year old boy. You can see the shock and horror on Aziraphale's face once he learns of this child's cruel fate. We then proceed to hear Mr. Dalrymple's voice grow sort of echo-y and far away as the sad music swells up and drowns out his voice almost completely. It's awfully similar to what it feels like when really horrible news are broken to you and you dissociate and drift into a state of shock. Here's the clip of it, so you may listen for yourself:

It's clear that this is a very subjective portrayal of what Aziraphale is going through during this part of the memory. He's deeply horrified and saddened about the little boy having passed away so early in life – and we hear and feel this shock with him. Through him, because this is his memory. Whatever it is he's feeling and thinking, we're feeling and thinking it too because we're seeing it through his lense.

Another (less sad) hint at a possible exaggeration is the abnormally deep hole Crowley makes the two graveyard watch keepers fall into. I'm pretty sure he's very much in charge of his miracles, making this random slip-up seem a little silly – which is why I'm also pretty sure the "Might have slightly overdone it on that hole" is a wee bit of a meta hint at this just being another one of Aziraphale's dramatic bedazzlements of this story. For the *flings feather boa around neck* drama!

You know what else might be exaggerated? Hm, I dunno, maybe Crowley growing into the size of a tree for no apparent reason. Sure, yes, he's pretty high on Laudanum which is making him a bit loopy. But apart from that, it does seem an awfully big cinematographic euphemism for him being the metaphorical (and, once again, for the drama of it) literal bigger person in this scenario. He's the one who ends up saving Elspeth and who manages to secure a safe life without poverty and grave robbing for her. While Aziraphale was so tangled up in his own moral journey and main character-ism, missing that wee Morag was seconds away from death already, Crowley is the one who actually ends up growing stepping up for the human in need and saving them for good (pun intended).

In a way, it might just be Aziraphale's view of/feelings for Crowley in this very moment. Watching the demon outgrow what, according to Aziraphale's heavenly logic, is supposed to be a foul fiend, bestowing evil upon humanity – and growing into someone who does the exact opposite and saves Elspeth instead. Another larger-than-life character development, in Aziraphale's eyes. Literally.

Let's switch back to the topic of the diary entry one last time, so I can make my final point of the this minisode's unreliable and a smidge over-dramatic narration of Dr. McFell. If you pay close attention, Aziraphale starts the entry we're all getting to experience with: "Last month, Crowley and I both happened to be in Edinburgh." Which means it didn't actually happen on the 10th of November, but rather at some point in October, 1827. Once we see Crowley get hydro-pumped back to Hell after rescuing Elspeth, the minisode ends with, presumably, the last sentence of Aziraphale's diary entry: "And that was the last I would see of Crowley for quite some time."

Take my hand and let's look at where the furniture isn't: This very clearly means that Crowley couldn't have been gone for more than a month, at best. Read again: "It happened last month and that was the last I would see of him for quite some time." This, albeit indirectly, clearly implies that when Aziraphale had sat down to write the diary entry, he had already run into Crowley again. Otherwise his phrasing would have probably been more along the lines of "... and I haven't seen Crowley since" or "... and Crowley has yet to return from wherever it is Hell's currently keeping him".

What's the point I'm trying to make? Good question. I guess my main point of storyteller Aziraphale being a bit over-dramatic in his narration is simply backed up by this, since A Single Month would barely pass as "quite some time" for an immortal being like him. And yet that's how he puts it, in his little Confidential Journals of A.Z. Fell, Vol. 603.

And another point that has absolutely nothing to do with the topic of this meta (but I'm still gonna make it 'cause this is my memory post): The meeting at St. Jame's Park in 1862 that so many, post-S2, took to be their first run-in after the Story of wee Morag, actually wasn't that at all. They saw each other at least once only a month later, as Aziraphale's diary lets us know. Which explains why he wasn't very surprised or concerned when he met Crowley in London, 1862. If there really had been 35 years in between those two events, the first one ending with Crowley being sucked back Downstairs to receive more than three decades worth of hellish punishment, wouldn't Aziraphale have been at least a tiny bit worried or more interested than:

Just saying.

Alright, let's string this inflated hot air balloon of a post back together so we can outline some invisible furniture. This time with only two humble points:

Crowley through Aziraphale's lense Backed up by how we are introduced to Bildad the Shuhite in the Job minisode (suave, cheeky, smart, passionate in shoemaking and obstetrics), it's growing quite clear that Aziraphale's memories and impressions of Crowley are very fond and impressed ones. He sees him as someone who's not only witty, funny and cool, but also as someone who has figured out way sooner and faster than him that nothing's ever black and white. Not God's plans and not the human's choices either.

Aziraphale as a bit of an exaggerating adventure author With the direct parallel we get of inkslinger journalist!Aziraphale in the present day, it's quite apparent after this minisode that Aziraphale's memory is not only deeply influenced by his emotions, but that he also tends to have a bit of a dramatic touch to him. Although, you gotta give it to the guy: A month without seeing the love of your life, even if said life is eternal, can indeed seem like "quite some time".

Well, would you lookie here, we've reached the end of Part 2! What a journey it was. I hope you forgive me for the fact that I drifted off-course a few times. I just can't seem to reel in my silly little observations, even if they've got nothing to do with the point I'm trying to make. But hey, doesn't that just make me a little bit like Aziraphale's storytelling, in a way?

I'll let you be the judge of that.

See you in Part 3! And in case you haven't snuck a peak yet: here's Part 1 again.

Ta!

#good omens #good omens season 2 #gos2 #go2 #good omens 2 #good omens meta #ineffable husbands #aziraphale #crowley #good omens analysis #aziraphale is a storyteller #but not a very accurate one #story of wee morag #my own meta #aziraphale the Drama Queen #shakespeare who #unreliable but beloved story teller aziraphale

[vidavalor]

Hello! I trully love your metas ♥️

And I want to believe… but how do you match the fact that they have kissed (even fucked) for so many time with the only kiss we have seen which is so clumsly, so fist-time-type, and so turbovirgin?

Thank you!

Hi @margotmignard-blog Thank you and nice to meet you. :) Ok, this is for you and the few Anons who have sent me more or less the same Ask in the last 2 weeks or so as some of my posts have circulated a bit more so yeah, alright, I'll take it on. All of you please help yourself to hot chocolate and holiday M&Ms, even if you are making me think about Every again to write this lol.

Why do I think Crowley & Aziraphale are long-time lovers when Every is an awkward kiss? Because you know what looks just like clumsy, first-time kisses?

Old-married argument kisses of desperation when all other communication is failing that then wind up failing, too, that's what.

Two people kissing in distress is clumsy and messy no matter what stage of their relationship they're in and if they're upset and think the other is about to walk out the door and conflicted about opening up to the kiss because of the argument then all of that makes for a truly gut-wrenchingly awkward kiss. It didn't read as a first time kiss to me at all but I can understand how it might to someone.

I actually think that's the insanely evil genius of it lol. This show is such a bastard worth knowing, I tell ya. :) Right now, they have everyone being all "they need to have a better second kiss!" and just well... if you were them, wouldn't you want that? Would seem a good way to bury the surprise of an older kiss, wouldn't it? Would be a good way to sleight of hand some doubt into *checks notes* apparently everybody but me and a handful of others lol and so help to have everyone flailing again but for a better reason when they throw in an older, better kiss.

It's also a bolder move, both story-wise and performance-wise. Sadly, it's still a big deal that they've even kissed at all and it shouldn't be but, thankfully, it's becoming more common. In a way, though, that makes the fact that they made the first kiss you saw less than ideal a better choice and a better story.

Some more thoughts on this under the cut below that is beneath some gifs of these two who haven't apparently ever kissed before moments away from sex in the wall slam scene in S1... which is Every's parallel scene. By design. To illustrate a contrast. The first kiss we saw is a mirror of oh, just the start of some casual public sex that got interrupted by SatanicNun!Nina. Haven't we all had that relationship where we let someone throw us against a wall before we ever kissed? I mean...

Look at Aziraphale and his little 'getting up to some sexy trouble' smile here... does he not look like he knows *exactly* what he's asking for here and does Crowley not know what the request is and give it to him in a way that screams that this is not the first time? The tone here is a bit... You know, Crowley, I've always said I wanted to fuck in an empty broom closet in a former satanic nunnery and luck of the devil, you just kicked in a door and found one so you are sooooo nice throw me against the wall baby let's go... oh terrific of course this is exactly when the damn nun shows up oh well at least I can enjoy you slurring your S's in sexual frustration for now...

Good Omens throws something down and then gives you context for it later on that causes you to revisit what you thought when you initially watched it, right? They do this all the time. The scenes themselves always work fine on first viewing but they change and morph into a different scene when viewed with the added context the show gives you later. If you're writing a show in that way, you absolutely would make Every the first kiss you showed the audience... *especially* if it was in a cliffhanger-y season finale. Your Ask is exactly the reason why. You and I and a bonkers number of others are engaging with one another on the topic and we're engaging with the show as a result. Some of us are apparently willing to fight to the death insisting that Every is their first kiss. Some of us are like how you appear to be from your Ask, where you're willing to keep an open mind but you're leaning towards it was the first kiss. Some of us are like me and are feeling that, when all is said and done, they are building a relationship that is millennia old and that the show will wind up illustrating an entire history of it by its end and the idea that we have scenes out there already like Rome and The Globe Theatre and 1941 and Tadfield Manor but people think that they just kissed for the first time in 2023 is kind of head-scratching to me.

I've had people ask me how an ancient times vavoom would advance the story and I've answered in other meta how I think it would but I have an ask back for you all: how, honestly, would 2.06 being their first kiss advance the story? They've written characters who have had a relationship of some form with one another since before the Garden of Eden and have shown us that story throughout different points in time. S3 is going to be, at best, set a couple of years out from S2 and is probably set a lot sooner than that, so we're going to end their story sometime before 2026 on their timeline, probably... and the first kiss was in 2023? When you have the opportunity to write an entire millennia-old romantic relationship with all of its highs and lows and show it in the flashbacks and how they inform the relationship in the present? Because that story is already there. That's the story I see watching this and have since the first time I watched it. I'm frankly kinda floored by the number of people who insist that it's their first kiss, especially two seasons into the show. The same show that gave you this before it gave you The Blitz, Part 2?

I got accidentally spoiled for Every like a lot of people and when I saw Crowley's glasses on, I had the feeling that it was probably going to be a terrible kiss. I was hoping that it wasn't the only kiss in the season but when 2.05 finished without it showing up yet, it became obvious that it was going to be a big thing in the finale (hahaha oh God, remember when we didn't know? simpler times lol) and that meant that it was likely the only kiss in the season and while it ripped my heart out like it did everyone else, I never saw it as a first kiss for a second.

If you've been with somebody for a long time and, like everyone else, you have your disagreements and your things to work through but you tend to be the kind of couple where you can always or almost always rely on a baseline of physical communication that helps you express what you feel for one another-- which is a wordy way of saying 'when you've been with someone forever and the sex is amazing' lol-- maybe the worst thing that can happen between you is if that feels like it's falling apart, too. That's what I see in that kiss and, in particular, Aziraphale's reaction to it.

It's not 'turbo-virgin', in an unfamiliar with kissing way, imo-- it's a situation causing conflict for Aziraphale over whether or not he wants to give into the kiss. We've all seen it from every damn angle by now lol. We see him unable to not give in, just a little. He kisses Crowley back a bit. He touches his shoulder and his side. He doesn't pull away because he just can't, really, because he never really wants to not be kissing Crowley, but he also can't just give in because that's the situation that Crowley's set up by kissing him the way he did. Crowley wants him to run away with him and that's not a solution to any of this, either, and everything is a total mess and if Aziraphale just gives in and opens up more and really kisses Crowley, he's saying yes to just running off with him and they can't. There's really nowhere to go.

Even with all of that, he still can't resist kissing Crowley a bit and touching him because Crowley and because what he really wants is for them to be literally anywhere else, somewhere safe away from all of it, without having to worry about Heaven & Hell, but they aren't and he can't pretend that they are. That'd be even crueler, really, to really kiss Crowley and then still go to Heaven, right?

It's not a first kiss and at a bad time panic-- it's oh God, I think we broke it. It's the heartbreak of suddenly being in this place together where they aren't communicating well on any level and that going past having a verbal disagreement and into the pain of having an absolutely brutally bad kiss with someone with whom you've had countless passionate ones and the terror that it might be the last one and you're never going to feel any of that again.

That's happened to them before.

It's the brutal 1862 scene. Aziraphale in 1862's comment about The Agreement is the most embittered you won't touch me anymore thing ever. They've gone from The Arrangement in their looser, flirtier Globe Theatre era to now what Aziraphale calls The Agreement in 1862. The difference between an arrangement and an agreement is basically where the future is concerned. An agreement is, well, an agreement lol but it tends to be more formal, more restrained, while an arrangement is an agreement that contains more of a view to the future. It's a plan. You agree to meet up but you arrange how, basically. They don't have The Arrangement in 1862 anymore, they have The Agreement and it sounds like the exact fucking opposite of The Arrangement. The Agreement is "stay out of each other's way. Lend a hand, as needed," according to Aziraphale.

Read that again: "Stay out of each other's way. Lend a hand, as needed." See a problem here? If we're just talking about helping each other out with work assignments then this literally just doesn't make any sense at all as how can you both stay out of each other's way but lend a hand as needed? It's one or the other. It can't be both. It's "stay out of each other's way" when it comes to work assignments. It's "lend a hand, as needed" in their love life and Aziraphale is bitter as all holy fuck about it. They're barely having sex anymore.

That scene in 1862 actually also parallels part of the scene that contains Every. Funny how alike "we have a lot in common, you and me" sounds to what Crowley says in 2.06, isn't it? Dude has got to stop asking for holy water or to run away when they're both a mess-- it not working lol.

The point is that they've been together a long time and they've also both experienced a lot of trauma. They've have times where miscommunications snowballed and it felt broken beyond repair but it's not and it's not because they love each other and they eventually figure it out. That's part of the pain of Every, though, because what happened after Crowley came back from Hell in 1827 was bad and it took a long time to get to a better place with it but they did and better than before and then this kiss that they think could wind up being their last is a complete disaster straight out of the mid-1800s on top of the fact that they're in what feels like in the moment irreversible disagreement.

It's a painful kiss. It hurts to watch. It's supposed to. Not because they've never kissed before but because they've kissed a trillion times and this is by far the worst of the lot.

And these bastards decided it was the first one we should see lol. It's okay, though. These are coming soon, in the past and present:

#ineffable husbands #good omens #crowley #aziraphale #good omens meta #good omens s2 #aziracrow #good omens 2

[thatsnotmygunflash]

Okay @simpledontmeanpeachy this is like a week late but I finally got the inspiration I needed to write prompt 25 "It gave me great joy,"

I really fell in love with this and might add to it honestly (or someone else can if they want) it's set in a world where Barry grew up in the foster system and turned out way differently.

Len was nursing his first drink of the night at Saints and Sinners an hour before his crew was suppose to meet up for their weekly check-in when Hartley came waltzing in the front door. Len didn't bother to turn and look, taking a smooth sip of his beer as the young scientist came up to the empty bar.

"Rathaway, little early, even by your standards." Len said in observation. Hartley Rathaway wasn't the newest addition to his Rouges or even the youngest, but he was by far the smartest and most capable out of the lot. They had worked three big jobs together in the past year and a half and besides his sister, he was the only one Len felt gave it to him straight and pulled his weight enough for it to mean anything to Len. He wouldn't call them friends, but they were friendly. Not friendly enough, however, for Hartley to show up without an agenda.

"I wanted a chance to speak privately before the rest of the crew show up,"

"About?" Len assumed it would be business Hartley wanted to discuss but this must be something he didn't want the rest of the crew to know about yet.

"You heard about the new player in town, right?"

How could he not, when it was all anyone in the city wanted to talk about lately.

"The Chemist?" At Hartley's nod of confirmation Len tilted his chin down in understanding. "I've heard whispers, why?"

"He approached me last night, said he needed a little tech support, willing to pay more than well for my time too."

"Did you take the job?" Len had never cared about Hartley's freelance work before, unless it directly effected Len's own timetable, but they had never had issues with scheduling before. Len made sure of it.

"You're not asking the important questions, Snart."

"If you have something to say, Rathaway, say it." Len didn't enjoy the condescending smirk painted on Hartley's face and he definitely didn't like a single word that came next.

"He's planning on hitting the Federal Reserve, the same one you're planning on hitting in two months. Which wouldn't be a problem for you, if he wasn't planning on making his move next week."

"Next week." Next week. Next. Week. There was no way. The Chemist had just hit First National two weeks ago. He couldn't be that reckless, especially when the cops and the papers had painted him to be some kind of evil-mastermind. Len had been casing the Reserve himself everyday for four months, there was no way he would have missed another thief doing the same.

"Yep. He doesn't even have a crew either. Plans to do it all by himself. Seems like kind of a loner. Pretty though. And smart. Meta too, I think. Full package really."

"You think he can pull it off." Len didn't need the snort of agreement Hartley let out to let him know he was right. Hartley was not an easily impressed man, which meant this Chemist was someone to be on guard with.

"Oh, definitely. Especially with my help covering his tracks, but, because I knew he'd end up iced for fucking with your job, I convinced him to come here tonight to talk to you about joining the Rouges."

Hartley had told a man who enjoyed explosives where his entire crew was meeting tonight. The nerve of this kid.

"And you just expected me to be okay with that?"

"Well, obviously." Hartley scoffed, waving a dismissive hand in the air when he saw Len's icy glare. "I thought you'd agree it couldn't hurt to have other smart and pretty people around to look at. You should have seen his face when I told him I worked for you. It gave me great joy. Watching him go from obnoxiously cocky to painfully desperate just at the sound of your name. I think you have a fan."

A fan. A fan. The Chemist was a fan. Good lord.

"You better pray this works out in our favor, Rathaway, or it's your ass."

"I'm not worried." Hartley shrugged carelessly, his smirk turning into something like delight when the door opened behind them.

"And why's that?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Hartley replied, pointing a finger behind Len's shoulder.

"Wha-" Len turned to see who the new comer was, losing his voice and the ability to move when he caught sight of an unmistakably familiar face. Len couldn't believe what he was seeing. Barry Allen, the flirty barista from the coffee shop Len had been using as cover for his stakeouts of the Reserve was standing just three feet in front of him. The same Barry Allen that he had taken home with him five nights ago. The same Barry Allen that had not taken Len's one night stand policy well.

Barry gave a lazy wave, not bothering to hide the challenge in his eyes or the smugness coating his voice.

"Hey Lenny. Miss me?"

#i will never shut up #about Barry's villain potential #I didn't plan on the ending but I like it a little too much now #but who isn't a sucker for a coffee shop au #even if it is just a cover for the both of them #there's just so much I could do with this #coldflash #captain cold #the rouges #the chemist #writing prompts

[piosplayhouse]

oh my god. I'm sorry for sending all these asks lmao you never have to read or post them I just gotta. I connected my su she thoughts to the interaction in svsss that made me think them initially, so this is about Ming Fan, and not Su She. When Shen yuan is outside of the book, like us, it's fine to look at the cannon fodder characters and to know they are cannon fodder. characters are not people, they can't be mistreated like people, etc. but when he's IN the story, he stops (relatively gradually) interacting with the characters As characters and starts interacting with them as people. Not roles in a narrative, but complex, and with potentiality. (It takes him longer to do it with Lbh but that's something else). Characters, when viewed from the outside, by us, are cogs in a machine that we can project on and play with, but they are cogs and they are fixed. When viewed from the inside, they become moving, living creatures, with an unknown future, agentivity, etc. What Bothers Me Then, about Su She, and was highlighted by Shen Qingqiu having empathy for Ming Fan, is that often times, characters from within the narrative look at him (su she) like they're outside of it. They Know he's cannon fodder. They Know he can be punished without consequences, They Know he's never gonna be good for anything else and never had anything good to say. And they're right, and the story will reward them for knowing. This isn't about Su She or Ming Fan being complex or being more than just evil. (Ming Fan gets to veer of course precisely because that gaze on him changes, which I suppose might be the point of svsss). Su She can be garbage fire if the story requires it. He can be trash man. It's fine. It's about other characters within the same story treating him like they're the readers or the author, and Knowing that he's nothing but bad, or cannon fodder. You can know what's going on in your story, but your characters should not know what's going on in the real world (unless you're being subversive). There, I got it. Now I'm gonna leave your ask box alone, thank you for your patience lmaoo

I AM SO SORRY I DIDNT PUBLISH THIS EARLIER AHH ITS SO GOOD

Do not dare be ashamed of putting this in my askbox the meta girlies are gonna love this one i swear

Personally I think you brought up a lot of good points and really made me think about something I've never considered before. Imo where Ming Fan is positioned as canon fodder from a narrative standpoint, Su She takes on that role less out of necessity and more as a side effect of Wei Wuxian's idrc perspective on life-- wwx doesn't see Su She as canon fodder because he doesn't see him at all, he's neutral in wwx's story because he's non-existent in his memory. Where Ming Fan is static in that he's a trope, Su She is static in that he's sort of one of the classmates you had in high school that you might just barely be able to remember if you heard his name at a class reunion or something. Where your thoughts come in is how this intersects with fandom I think-- because there's all that blank space there, fans fill in the gaps with what they think Su She should be, which defaults more often than not to a character egregious enough to be justifiably disregarded by the main character. Obviously not saying Su She is intended to be good, but I do feel like there is like . An unconscious protagonism atmosphere that makes people eager to assign side characters tropey antagonistic or protagonistic roles in the main character's life that does permeate a lot of mdzs fandom. So full circle back to scum villain and Ming Fan becoming the school bully(tm) and only that of binghe's life! Hahaha this is so fun

Thank you for your thoughts as always wise anon 🥰♥️ everyone feel free to leave your comments as well but remember to be extra nice because I already fucked up posting this like a month after it was sent so we have to make it up to anon!!!!!!

#mdzs meta #svsss meta #long post #long posts #su she #ming fan

[sailorblossoms]

Was Baz actually a bully during the Watford years? Or was he just a posh jerk?

Listen, i've been reading old meta about these series these past days and I can't believe the amount of people that actually believe he was an actual bully like, based on what??

I mean, he absolutely comes from an elitist and conservative family, and that absolutely influenced his worldview during his childhood and early adolescence (quite predictably, hard to see what's outside of your bubble when you're not allowed to at that age). (Adding the actual safety that elitism provides him, as in he wouldn't be as shielded from being outed as a vampire if he wasn't a Pitch, and that it was impossible for kid-Baz to go against whatever the great Natasha Pitch believed in. Even when the conservatism of it all hurts him! Even when he thought his dead mom would want him dead, he still believed she was in the right!! But anyway, it's only after he breaks free from that bubble that he starts to grow as his own person, as a better person, cuz no way you can throw someone as soft hearted and who cares about others into the real world and have him remain a conservative elitist prick)

Being a bully and being a jerk are not the same thing, even if you're a real fucking jerk. Most of these characters are jerks in one way or another, to be quite honest (except Shephard, bless his heart) but the reason there's this perception of Baz, I assume, it's 1) because of the stereotype that he was supposedly casted in and 2) because Simon says he's a bully. The series it's all about calling bullshit to stereotypes so I'm not touching 1. And 2, Simon calling him a bully honestly doesn't mean shit.

A bully, at the very least, has actual victims. At the very least, they create an atmosphere of anxiety and fear. And who the fuck it's actually afraid of Baz in Watford, other than rats and whatever animals they have in the forest? (Actual question, I'm going by memory here). Nothing could more clearly point out how unbothered the student body is about Baz that Simon trying to tell others that he's a vampire and... being laughed off. If someone was being victimized by the dude and they were told "listen, he's actually a dangerous dark creature of the night, we could get the bitch kicked out, free ourselves" the general reaction would not be "Simon what the fuck are you smoking my guy". Agatha "I'm sick and tired of being a Damsel and in danger" wanted to go after Baz. And yeah, I know this was her trying out a rebellion phase by going by the Dark and Misterious Bad Boy(tm), see if that helped her figure out herself, but I honestly don't think she would have been fucking around in the dark waiting for him or wtv she was doing in CO if she seriously thought he would actually hurt or victimize her, as a bully would do. Baz might have had The Vibe, but there was likely the safety of deep down knowing it's just superficial, y'know (ik she later goes he's an Evil vampire!!! when trying to get Simon out of Baz's house for no real reason, which honestly rude, and my point still stands)

And it needs to be extremely clear that Simon and Baz were equals. Even when they were being dumb boys having stupid little fights they took awfully seriously (collateral of an actual war going on) they were still equals. Hell, Baz went out of his way to make sure they were equals, given that he has super-strength, enough to snap a human body like a toothpick, and Simon still tells us that he never even pushed him harder that he could push back. Yes, Baz could be mean and ruthless with his words, and he definitely hurt Simon, but Simon was never his victim. Simon was never afraid of Baz. And Simon definitely hurted Baz as well. Maybe he wasn't as cutting as Baz could be with words (likely the entire reason Simon even called him a bully, the whole "having advantage at being good with words, even to be a little bitch") but he was always good with his fists. He broke his damn nose ffs! (being the whole reason it's permanently crooked iirc)

Even the incident with Phillipa doesn't count (which I think was handled very well in the third book, so I won't get into it) cuz she was never a target, she was unfortunate collateral damage, and an unfortunate victim of Fiona, who was the adult who fully understood what she was doing, and I sustain was the actual responsible here (even if Baz was still wrong for fucking with dangerous things he didn't fully understand) (can't find the quote, but Penny said it best when she talked to Baz about this, they were really just boys being used as pawns by adults in dangerous situations they didn't even fully comprehend, not until actual damage was done here) (pretty fucked up of Fiona to even think of hurting Simon, a kid, that way, and to ask her nephew, another kid, to do it for her. Honestly believe she didn't really give a fuck about the kid who actually got hurt too, and only came around cuz she does love Baz and doesn't want to lose him)

So anyway, I'm not trying to be an apologist or whatever (these characters being flawed and having moments of being jerks or even dickheads it's compelling, honestly). All I'm saying is that Baz might have been a posh prick, and a jerk, and an asshole, and whatever synonyms we can think off, and he definitely had to unlearn quite a few questionable things but... was he actually ever a bully? I honestly don't think so. In fact, if we look at the picture of Baz being wealthy, attractive, smart, part of the football team, among the top of the class... it's actually likely that the general view other students had of him was more positive than negative, especially since he didn't have a reason to lash out at random people like he did with Simon and his friends (and he's not someone who actually wants to hurt others! He's always holding back even in actual fights!). And let's face it, hot rich ppl can get away with more shit in the general perception, so this would probably still apply even if he was generally an ass.

#baz pitch #this is long as fuck and barely comprehensiveble #but its my blog and i do what i want to etc #simon snow #carry on

[blindmagdalena]

First timer yet again! I have so many thoughts and half of them aren’t even coherent bc I haven’t quite??? Grasped what’s a choice vs what might just be a weird coincidence but it’s slowly driving me mad, happy to report! One thing that’s a choice tho for sure is homelander takes his gloves off MORE during s2 than we ever saw in s1. I’ll have to go back and rewatch it ad nauseam when I’m done, develop more concrete ideas about why and when he does it (do you have any thoughts?) But one of them is definitely when he’s just??? Trying to connect with Ryan and him opening up becoming a physical act we can witness does something to my brain!!! Especially because it seems to crop up any time he wants honesty (the Elena scene on 99th with Maeve springs to mind) not necessarily JUST intimacy under any circumstances. And that is sooooo good, it makes me nuts. Makes me abnormal. So far I’ve only seen him trapped in a suit or naked, those are his two options so seeing him willingly trying to shed what was his second skin during s1 in a small way (even if it only shows he’s more and more comfortable with actually associating his bare hands with the violence) I don’t think it’s exclusively an evil thing.

ohhhhh my friend, you are in the CORRECT fandom!

i'm going to have to point you towards @xieyaohuan, who runs hands down the most impressive homelander meta blog out there. specifically, this analysis on when homelander takes off his gloves!

i really don't think i can offer better than that. it's a STELLAR analysis. very in depth, and i think it shows that you're right on the money to have taken note of it. it definitely feels very intentional!

fair warning the analysis goes into s3 as well, so you maaayyy want to hold off until you catch up fully. i would hate for you to get spoiled!

it makes me so happy to hear you're having fun, and that all of homelander's little isms are imbedding themselves in your brain already. with the show currently on seasonal break, we're all chewing through the foundation rewatching and analyzing back on what content we do have, so you're in excellent company in that regard.

#darling anon #ask and you shall receive #first time watcher anon #homelander meta

[razberrypuck]

ep 102 liveblog

jehfjegdg thank you for this intro condi

NO THEYRE LEAVING ALREADY?????

GRYFFON 🙏🙏🙏

JAHSJWUDHSH "chip, I can't lie, tell him he did good out there"

chip flat out lying so hard it made grizz break character

"because the beyond section is actually navy ran" "whaaaaat D:????? noooooo!!!!"

"its government subsidized fucking mystery cave. fucking sure I guess."

"she told her no" "thanks for listening, gryffon" "no problem"

QUEEN 👏👏👏👏

"okay queen is being based right now" YEAHH YOU GET IT GILL

"can I just insight check queen" JWHWHDHAGDY

QUEEN I LOVE YOU <33333

jay: I was right to be angry, right? she was kinda making me feel bad about it

gillion: you reacted more than -- MORE than fairly

chip: I have a lot of opinions, none of them matter. I'm not gonna tell you how to feel.

gill giggling at chip going "I'll show you my hidden darkness" we love visible character development he would've gotten ready to throw down if this were early campaign

"no, it's like a metaphor" "a meta for what?"

gillion quietly trying to comfort jay im not okay..............

gillion: I'm just gonna be straight with you guys, if they fucking....murked a god of the undersea or something, or disrupted the natural order of life, I might be up for a little war."

jay and chip immediately being down to join the war on the side of the undersea hello???? they weren't lying these captains really are ride or die

hey actually I want to talk abt how MUCH having gillion be their moral backbone (whether they like it or not) has changed chip and jay. I don't have the words right now but I want to talk about it. you get it.

GRIZZ DO NOT BRING UP EDYN HOW COULD YOU

OHHH GRIZZ HOW FUCKING COULD YOU

OHHHH ITS AVA'S HANDWRITING ISNT IT

FUCK OFF FUCK OFF FUCK OFF >:[

" 'your face makes it look like a good memory' and I close her hand over the pin" GILLION TIDESTRIDER

gillion's trying so hard to bring jay comfort dude ohh my god. im so emotional over them.

JSJFJSH TAKING A SAFETY SNIFF

"he's not evil. he's just angry." "and a dick." "and a dick."

"we've got an arlin to find" "well, I was thinking first, maybe we could... see what was going on with edyn" OH CHIP. EVERYONES BEEN GOING THROUGH FAMILY SHIT AND HE KNOWS HOW WORRIED GILLS BEEN OHH HE WANTS TO BRING GILL TO HIS SISTER CHIPPPPPPP

hes a little confused but he's got the spirit

oh chip picked up on gill changing the subject 👀

"okay. I'd like that." STOP GILLION YOU'RE GONNA KILL ME. hes forcing himself to be more open gillion I love you

EARLLLL

JAHDHSJD WALKS OUT IMMEDIATELY CALLING OUT DREY LOVE YOU EARL

BEST FRIEND????????

drey earl stole your bestie

chip and gillion suspicious of queen

give me finn please gillion go see your grandpa

FINN TIDESTRIDER

"the g-paw dap is the nose squeeze" AWH

NOOO THEY EXPIDITED IT GRANDPA COME BACK

enza <333

"I dap her up as soon as she comes through the portal" "I give her a refreshing earl juice drink" "I give her a hug and I say hi" enza just join the crew fr they love you

JAHRHEJ CHARLIE

THE FUCKING COMPASS

OHHHH CHIP. HIS DEEPEST DESIRE IN THIS EXACT MOMENT IS TO HELP REUNITE GILL AND EDYN FUCK OFFFFFFF

grizz what are you doing.

PERMANENTLY INCREASE HIS STRENGTH BY ONE??????? HELLO???????

GRIZZ

THE FUCKING SUN DREAM AGAIN

YEAHHHH JAY YES JAY

JAY HETEROCHROMIA POG???????? HOLY SHIT??????????

JAYYYYYYYYY 👏👏👏👏👏👏

"I'd like to go whaling" "gillion just looks at you until you stop having the idea" "okay nevermind I don't want to go whaling"

oh jay wants to call ollie :[

the fact that zero could see the whole fight. dude. that's kinda sick.

"did we take you to the BLOCK?????" "ollie I'm happy you're home." jsjdnsfbfj

"they call me uncle rizz ferin" JDJFJSJFHHSH DREY

"I cast protection of evil and sex on myself"

JAFHSGDHS BIZLY AND CHARLIE FREAKING OUT

oh they really didn't think about their disguised huh

AMANDA RINN???? AMANDA RINN????????

"we're the boobatross"

blonde chip with big pants, pants elemental, and jeay ferin

lionel starr, jortstorm, and gene applebottom

JULIAN!!!!!!!!!!! JULIAN MY BELOVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CAPTAIN AMANDA RINN

GILL DONT GILL DONT GILL DONT

"lionel starr has never been married he doesn't believe in it"

HOW DID THEY FUCK THIS UP SO BAD?????????

NOOO THEY GOT ARRESTED

jahdhdhf amanda I love you

"what do you want me to say to her, I forgot I have the message spell" "move on, he's dead"

gillion head in hands

JAHDHSJD GILL KISSED HIM ON THE FOREHEAD

gillion's better at lying than chip?????

"they don't like you, but you get through"

gill immediately assuming edyn must be mad at him :((((

"happy low-tide to ya"

oh she hasn't come back.

oh she's letting him use her callnch........

please please please

"hiiiiiiii. it's, um... hi, edyn, it's me, gillion. um, just... wanted to give you a call. I know you might've seen the number and thought it was weird. um, but, in case you're by the phone right now and are just letting it ring out or something, 'cuz you thought it was work and are quitting, I'm just gonna scream really loud in case you're somewhere nearby -- [gillion screaming] -- in case you just hear that and you wanna run into the room and pick it up, 'cuz I know you can hear the voice message, um... okay, um, well... I just wanted to tell you that I, um, kinda sorta broke my phone, um... 'cuz I was really scared. and. I know you're okay, but I hope you're okay. um... I know you're out there doing really really big stuff... but... your little brother really misses you, especially lately. and... would give a lot to hear your voice again, um... I hope the gods bring us together soon, and... I just wanted to tell you that chip, jay, and I, and all of the other riptide pirates are sailing into the black sea, and it's, um... it's pretty dangerous stuff. I've got no doubt that we'll come back, and... sooner or later, our paths will cross, I just... I pray that it's sooner. I was... really upset. but. I think I can understand now, if you gave me a chance. And, um... I hope that this is the last message that we leave for each other. love you a medan, edyn. nope. that's nothing. love you a -- love you a m-mu-mi-gh-gu-mm- bye."

his deepest desire is still for gill to see edyn

northern sea. that's where the capital is. she's in the undersea.

"it's like if you found out your plug was a cop, but he's still your plug" I love you gillion tidestrider

"narc to narc" JAHDHWKJF GILLION

"we're the types of characters that would start making noises to comfort each other"

yooo cave song (not normal about how, once again, gillion is the one to start the song stuff)

it's a portal, not an actual gate. interesting.

the black sea is just one massive dead zone isn't it. god.

THE TREE. THE TREE. ITS THE TREE.

FUCKING GOOP BEETLES. GOOP MONSTERS.

#jrwi riptide #jrwi spoilers #jrwi riptide spoilers #jrwilb

[matan4il]

I'm re-watching 911 for the first time ever in prep 6. I just don't usually do that. So I'm laughing because I just finished the S2 finale and I never realized how annoying Ally was in that scene when they are looking at the loft. And the realtor mistakes them for living together.

But then it brilliantly cut to the influencer with the maggot in her face and everyone on the internet shipping Buddie.

All these seasons later I hope that was on purpose for the show runners. Like don't worry we got you. Especially because they knew by the Christmas episode we were all here and gave us the elf!!

Hi lovely Nonnie!

Awww, congrats on your first rewatch! Be forewarned, it might be the first out of many. XD TBH, I was never into Ali, but considering all of Buck's other romantic partners to date, she's the... I guess the least of all evils? Evils feels like a bit of a strong word. But Abby never respected Buck, starting with the way she violated his right to privacy to get his phone number, Taylor was not a particularly good person and she was incapable of placing Buck (or anyone else for that matter) above her work, so in comparison, Ali ends up looking like the best one.

But the truth is, their start was kind of murky with the whole aspect of her being rescued by him (I wrote a little about that in my Buck & consent meta), then she was mostly absent (kinda had that in common with Taylor, who was also partly absent even while they were practically living together), you're right about her being annoying during that scene with the realtor acting like Buck's loft was more for her than for him ("Let's talk closet space") and of course, I do think the way she wanted to break up exactly while he needed support more than ever wasn't great. Though at least it was honest (*cough* Abby *cough*).

Oh, the influencer was for sure intentional. IDK if they ever meant to follow through on it back then. I do think they very much wanted the Buddie shippers, which is why we got that scene as well as the Elf Lady scene in 210. But at the end of the day, sometimes that's how storytelling works. You throw in something small for fun (or to build up the fan base), and you end up realizing it works better than you thought, and eventually your story takes a turn in that direction. So even if they didn't mean to have Buddie go canon back then, if they will go canon, it will def be because of that as well, because so many of us saw those online comments and knew that 911 hit the nail on the head. So if Buddie do go canon? That moment will have been a part of the build up, even if it's the kind of build up that grew gradually along the way.

Thank you so much for your ask! I hope you're having a great day, hon! xoxox

(If you’re looking for my ask replies, here is my ask tag! xoxox)

#buddie #buddie meta #911 meta #911meta #911 #eddie diaz #evan buckley #edmundo diaz #evan buck buckley #ali martin #anti-buckali #kinda #not so much anti them as much as knowing buck has a better partner who's been there all along #ask #anon ask #911onabc #911 on abc #911abc #911 abc

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

On The Unwinding Golden Thread, would you spoil some of your ideas about what happens after the end?

What I'm asking is like a meta of the fic where you make your own predictions, from an external perspective. Maybe it's a weird question...

Anon is referring to "The Unwinding Golden Thread", a fic I wrote ages ago. Infamously, I made vague promises of a sequel then never did it.

I guess this is me throwing in the towel and admitting I will very likely never do it. Which is too bad, would have been a great sequel, but my readers would have killed me.

As for the meta of my own fics... that's actually been a growing thing. I dunno man, it's a thing I apparently do now.

The Story You're Not Getting

For those who don't remember, things weren't going so well where we left off.

Nuclear war broke out, Tom was hit by something lethal, and ended up choosing to kill himself so that Harry and his horcrux might be propelled into the future. Harry didn't see that one coming.

And that's where the sequel would have picked up.

What happens to Tom? Who knows. Most likely his undying soul is in agony, still alive as the horcrux is somewhere, but unable to regain a body/with no real self awareness.

He might, perhaps, get himself a body via the philosopher's stone, wherever that is, but then he's immortal living in the zombie apocolypse. Tom gets to live in Mad Max desperately hoping that he can dimension/timeline hop to wherever Harry is which must be a beautiful paradise where everything is right with the world.

Good luck with that, Tom.

But we never find out what happens to him one way or another, his story is over.

Harry's, however, isn't.

Harry finds himself propelled back to 1996 but everything's changed. He's now in his twenties, he gained and lost the best friend he ever had (and did not wish to acknowledge), and now he finds that he doesn't fit into the world he left.

He physically does not look anything like what he used to, to the point where being in Hogwarts is embarrassing (a lie is made up in that Harry has aged so much due to an accident during the Department of Mystery fiasco, which is mostly true).

He finds he's outgrown Hermione and Ron. What they care about seems so pointless to him, they're so young, and everyone's going around talking like they know what war is when they still have their homes, their families, and still feel secure attending Hogwarts.

And Harry knows, a few years ago, he would have been right there with them. He sees the worst of himself in his peers and friends.

He tries all the same, though, because this is everything he ever wanted. He's back! He has his friends! He can defeat Voldemort! ISN'T THIS GREAT?!

People assume he's upset because Sirius died (and he is but... not nearly as much as he should be because he hasn't seen Sirius in years and he doesn't need a father the way he did back then). He hates himself for not being upset that Sirius died.

He speaks sparingly of what happened, no one has any idea that he became friends with Tom, which makes things weird when people talk about him and Harry sits there knowing that Tom Riddle didn't have to become Voldemort. That he could have been a good and shockingly noble person (Harry really romanticizes that suicide).

The only one that understands, the only thing he has left of Tom, is the diary.

Harry starts using it.

Meanwhile, he finds that Dumbledore is very different from how he remembered. Harry is a grown man who has been to war, he doesn't need to go to Hogwarts, but Dumbledore is insisting he does, giving him no information, and instead asking Harry fetch a memory from Slughorn and watch Tom Riddle growing up (which is painful as it is bizarre because these are such shallow looks at Tom Riddle's life). Dumbledore starts saying things Harry flat out doesn't agree with: Tom Riddle was born evil and doomed to be evil. And when Harry argues against it, Dumbledore starts getting weird.

Meanwhile, Harry's getting very weird and very gay about Tom Riddle. He and that diary are getting increasingly homoerotic (Harry, of course, has no idea).

Eventually, the horcrux bomb is dropped and Harry realizes exactly what the diary is. The diary notes Tom's theory that, perhaps, the diary can be used to pull Tom in from the other world.

But the diary would need much more power and a body besides.

Harry realizes he's going to have to murder someone to get Tom back. Further, he's going to have to leave school to destroy this world's Tom Riddle himself.

He tries to decide between Draco Malfoy and Peter Pettigrew. Malfoy's closer at hand and more... personal. Harry remembers the last time there was a spy crawling around that Harry refused to do anything about. He remembers what Tom said to him about it, that Harry blew off, WELL NOW IT'S LOOKING LIKE TOM WAS RIGHT IN RETROSPECT.

Harry will never quietly tolerate someone he knows is a spy ever again.

Harry forces Draco to use the diary

The Diary regains a body and, being quite evil, gloats. Tom Riddle from the other world never returns, the diary reveals that Harry himself is a horcrux and that this was why the other Tom killed himself and the only hope to bring him back, and Harry realizes that something else must be done about this world's Voldemort.

That Harry can never kill him without killing himself and thus leaving Tom in some other world to suffer unending, immortal, agony as a spirit with no body in some hellscape.

Conclusion

Aren't you glad I didn't write it?

#ask #anon #the unwinding golden thread #spoilers

[prpfs]

😏

Tags: m/m, cc/cc, dead dove, dc comics rp, marvel rp, 21+

TW time: Hurt/comfort, torture, noncon, dubcon followed by comfort with their partner possibly upon rescue. 

Howdy, I’m a 30+ year old looking for more RP partners. Not replacing anyone.

I generally tend to write a lot when the mood strikes, but can adjust for those I'm writing with. 3rd person and 3rd person omniscient are the writing styles I regularly use. Will do 1st person upon request but it feels less cooperative to me.

Preferred RP Platform: Discord. Will give discord if we mesh well through tumblr messaging.

Pairings: Preference is M/M

Those who wish to RP with me I’d prefer if you were:

21+

Don't really mind ghosting, but I might just ping you a bit to check if you're okay if a long period of no response happens. Life tends to continually interrupt fun and I understand not having time for things.

No restriction on post length, but would prefer assistance in world building and scene setting. Avoiding one liners as best practice unless it's a conversation between just two people going back and forth. I generally go overboard in some of my posts with length.

Communication: Please let me know if you don't like or have other plans for what's happening. I am perfectly okay going back and modifying my post or rolling back actions if need be. RPing is about both people having fun.

Someone open to doing a lot of plot, not just pwp

Info about RP's I'm open to at the moment:

Main pairing(s) CC x CC

At times having OC's thrown in as villains and antagonists, or random background characters by both of us.

Fandoms searching for right now:

DC - Batfam mainly. I would like to play as one of the Robins. Mainly Jason or Dick. Pairings: JayDick, but honestly I prefer to call it BlueJay, Tim/Kon, Tim/Jason, Jason or Dick / Roy Harper, Batman / insert super powered person or one of the older not blood related robin’s here. 

Marvel - I mostly play as Gambit when using the comic universe, but can do MCU characters.

Crossovers between DC & Marvel are also good in my opinion. Down for some AU’s as well.

Willing to do: a/b/o, and playing a switch and not just a bottom  

Prefer not to do: Me playing the only top.

Some slice of life fluff and cuteness here and there would also be sweet. Not everything can be awful and dreary the entire RP after all. I enjoy a happy ending.

A couple of the ideas / possible plot points / specific scenes. None of these are a must, but if any tickle your fancy please let me know. These can also be mixed and mashed together or not used at all. Just thoughts. . 

- Happy vanilla pair who love each other and are doing their super hero thing and now and then they need to give each other stitches or help change bandages because heroeing is dangerous. - Character gets captured while investigating and gets put into a show in an underground sex club.

- a/b/o batfam with either Jason or Dick covering up that they’re an omega.

- Cadmus captures someone and tries to get information out of them or get DNA so they can possibly make mutant clones and such as Cadmus do.

- Aliens and evil meta humans.  

- Prince / Knight AU.

- Knight or king / concubine.

- Trapped in a wall

You can either like or send a message to @blue-bird-grayson on tumblr. Thank you mods!

Leave a like, and anon will get back to you!

And/Or

DM @blue-bird-grayson if interested!

#dc roleplay #dc rp #marvel roleplay #marvel rp #fandom roleplay #fandom rp #cc x cc #m/m #dead dove #21+ rp

[blindrapture]

SO YOU'RE ASKING YOURSELF, "hm! VR has been around for a little bit of time now, it seems like it's teetering on the edge of my Circle Of Interests, I might not get into it yet, but I wonder how one could get into it? I know basically nothing about it and what it requires!"

I CAN HELP A LITTLE

See, there's two main concepts to keep in mind: PC VR, and standalone headsets. - PC VR is the "real" experience; you upgrade your computer to be super expensive and powerful, then you buy a headset and plug it in, and you can play whatever you want. Your PC is the actual "game console" here, and this is the ideal way to do it because it's... it's a PC, you can do what you want. Half-Life: Alyx is PC VR only. (I do not have PC VR yet. I rely on my brothers for that.) - Standalone headsets are the entry point. They do not require a PC, as the "game console" is built into the headset. Just put the headset on, and you're going. These are analogous to a smartphone, in fact the best and cheapest option on the market literally runs on Android. As a result, they are walled gardens; they aren't nearly powerful enough to run proper VR games, so instead they have their own app stores with downgraded ports (and some mixed exclusive content).

That aforementioned "best and cheapest option" is the Meta Quest 2. I have a Meta Quest 2, my dad has one, my brother Nathan has one. We keep seeing them sold in secondhand shops, the price is analogous to a Nintendo Switch. And the thing about the Quest is it's.. actually.. really decent. Like. You are required to connect it to your Facebook account, which is gross. But it is easily hackable, and one of the things you can do is hack it to no longer be stuck to your Facebook. Then you can put Half-Life 1 on there, and Doom 3, and Minecraft. There's plenty enough storage space for it all. And once they're on there, boom, you have them on a standalone headset. Pick up and play. (and, frankly, the base capabilities of the Quest 2 are fine enough too! browse the internet? check! YouTube in VR? check! Resident Evil 4 in first-person VR? somehow, check! fucking Myst? check! VR Chat, for chatting to your friends as cute anime girls in video game levels? check!!! you will get the substantial Wow experience of VR as a medium just from a Quest 2. you will also get bored of it within a week. and that's fine too. that's how it goes.)

BUT THEN, here's the clincher: a standalone headset, Definitely Including Quest, can be plugged into/synced with a PC. So, rather than invest in the 1000-dollar Valve Index for marginally better immersion, seriously, consider the Quest, it is considerably cheaper and functions perfectly fine as a PC VR headset. All you'll need then is just to upgrade your PC.

"But Jordan! The Quest is a Meta thing! I don't want anything to do with Zuckerberg's creepy Metaverse!" Y'know what, you're right. That is a very difficult thing to stomach. That's why I hacked into my Quest on day 1, and that's why whenever I do go on my headset I spend a lot of time rolling my eyes at the dumb milquetoast Corporate Entertainment vibes much of the UI gives off. This is one reason I do not use my headset much. Like, once every several months. And I can afford to have a piece of tech lying around I'll rarely use. I grew up like this, I am used to this and know how to work with it. That's why I'm not telling you you should definitely do any of this. And if you really do want VR but refuse to touch Meta with a ten-foot pole, well, Valve is working on a sorta Super Deck that is built for standalone VR, so keep an eye out for that in the next few years!!! Just. Y'know? For the VR scene right now, and this is a sentence that amazes me, Meta legitimately do present the most affordable and accessible option on the market. I actually have something like respect for this; they prioritized getting the tech out there and getting it cheap, because that is what VR needed. And, really, it's Oculus that did all the work; Meta just bought them, is all.

So. So yeah. That's my loose little guide. Best option is to wait for VR to get cheaper. For the impatient, best option is to get a Quest 2 for the price of a Switch. You can play it standalone, and it will also function as a perfectly fine PC VR headsset when the opportunity presents itself.

I ain't gonna pressure anybody to jump into this. I like VR being a lonely thing. It feels right. But there's the information for you.

"Wait, so if I do want to upgrade my computer for PC VR, what then?" Seek out a blogger who knows computer hardware. :D

#vr

[communication-break-down]

freeze freeze its the panther its coming to get you

pyramids aren't round they're funny triangle shaped squares

Ever seen a crab eat?

crab snacking

Sometimes you just gotta yeet the diddler until you have no more fiddles.

little larva crawling along my arms up the trees and down the grass leaves

no one wants to be mean so we dont rightfully criticize

you should look inside yourself you might see a skeleton or an empty husk because in this economy lets be real the wasps are merciless.

No one ever told me bones weren't supposed to try and escape.

Everyone always says I'm weird and maybe a little strange my expressions don't match my words and I smile too much when I'm angry.

we dance the tango in Ferrari shoes because my Bugatti was colored in camouflage and now I cant fucking find it.

There isn't a right way for things to be because if there was surely we'd all agree on it right?

I will cheat steal and slander but I will never lie and you can believe that because that's the truth.

Cue the evil smile

I don't want to go too hell when I die so maybe I should live a lie

Convince myself God didn't commit genocide.

Slimes are funny little creatures no brains to think no eyes to wink I bet they just sit around thinking puddle thoughts.

Rain makes me happy because I FUCKING HATE THE SUN, it stings my eyes and makes it hard too see roasts my skin and makes it hard to be me.

But rain is cold and wet and nice useful for cooking rice just put on your boots and jacket and pants. the looks don't matter if you're having fun.

Ever seen an ugly guy thought wow that's an ugly guy and then just fucking go on with your day because it doesn't actually really matter how other people look.

I read a lot of books sitting in nooks hoping I'm dead to the world at least until I'm ready for it

Bring me out of that bubble and you better be prepared for my autism stare I'll stare and stare because I just don't care.

It would be nice if God came down to earth and fucking explained himself to me so I wouldn't have to hear Christians say 'well God is incomprehensible so there must be some reason for our suffering that we just cant conceive of'.

Justifying every evil for the greater good feels to demonic and diabolical to be right.

I feel electric like my limbs are machines straining against my seams trying to move past the limiters transferring into the 4th dimension.

I'm thinking meta physical the funny turtle man told me gravity might stop tomorrow that someday we might just find talking kills rainbows and makes shrimp intelligent like people.

We purchasing tickets for the train to hell thinking for ourselves you all describe the devil like my eccentric uncle so I don't think it'll be too bad.

I'm drinking cola by the milliliter sometimes you just need an excuse for sugar.

Square laws tell Godzilla he cant be real but I don't Think Godzilla really gives a fuck about what us silly mortals think.

Minions were a mistake

My armpits feel like spark plugs no one really understands the Danish language.

Some people think me threatening to rail people has something to do with the trolley problem

Walter White was just a paid actor smh my head

No mom being edgy has nothing to do with cliffhangers

My dad is based

I don't like soft pretzels.

I'm surrounded from only 2 sides they forgor I was 3 dimensional

Sometimes I get really angry about people who refuse to think about my objectively funny hypotheticals.

But its chill I'm too autistic to complain.

please don't eat the prion disease.

We get a little silly

#This is literally just words from my brain vommited on to my screen #Maybe a tiny bit of religious trauma #Don't worry it made me objectively funnier

[dontcallmecarrie]

Can I get your thoughts on Sam Wilson? I really like the guy, since the only time mental health is brought up in a vaguely healthy way is when he's around, and I'm a little bummed he's not on Team Tony, despite canon. So can I get your thoughts?

Fun fact: when it comes to the MCU, I have a love-hate relationship with the movies. I love the characters, love the potential shown with banter and snark and hints of team-as-family feels— and I despise the way they inevitably get shafted one or two movies later.

The MCU has a thing for very strong and compelling introductions, is great at getting the audience to quickly warm up to new characters, and for me, Sam Wilson was no exception. 

Because you’re right: of the Avengers, he’s definitely the guy closest to an even keel, as far as mental health goes. Not 100%, mind— I mean, his troll of a jogging partner shows up on his doorstep and goes ‘hey so I need help taking down this government agency’ and he doesn’t even bat an eye— but compared to everyone else? Compared to Steve ‘Man Out of Time’ Rogers, Bucky ‘Former Brainwashed POW’ Barnes, Natasha ‘Red In My Ledger’ Romanov, or Tony ‘PTSD? Sounds Festive’ Stark, not to mention everyone else?

Yeah, Sam’s got it together.

…and then the inevitable nerf came around and the writers butchered his character alongside everyone else.

I reiterate, my issue lies in the writing, rather than the characters. Even though my biggest WIP at the moment may not show it, I genuinely liked just about every character in the lineup, once upon a time [yes, that means Wanda too. I did a piece about it a while back]. 

Pre-nerf, I could’ve easily seen Sam Wilson as the mom friend. The one who looks at the walking tire fires around him and is just screaming internally because he tripped over part of Natasha’s knife stash while Tony’s waving off a panic attack and Steve’s been really really quiet and Bucky may or may not be dissociating on them and geez he is so not qualified for this. 

He could’ve been the guy who buckles down, rolls up his sleeves, and teams up with JARVIS to drag the entire damn team into therapy, kicking and screaming. 

Could’ve been the guy who finally gets Tony to realize that yes, what he’s experiencing is textbook PTSD please get help and used his mom’s recipe for chocolate chip cookies to convince Bucky to explore his interests and trauma in a health manner. Could’ve continued being Steve’s running partner, and dragging him to VA meetings to make sure he doesn’t backslide from his slow recovery from the whole ‘still getting used to the modern age’ thing. Could’ve had physics nerdery and even more inside jokes over the comms during missions, could’ve had attempts at movie nights and his trying to explain the meaning of the term ‘trigger warning’ to Thor while Tony’s face just screams ‘so that’s what it was!’ and Sam’s trying not to facepalm at it all.

[We could’ve had it all.]

But no, instead the writers took a blowtorch to his agency and a woodchipper to his IQ.

He makes a cameo in AoU, which in retrospect might’ve been one of the kindest things that could’ve happened to his character in that movie, considering the character assassination that happened that round. 

…unfortunately, however, Sam didn’t escape the axe that was the writing for Civil War.

Ignoring the train wreck that was the plot and narrative […that was the reason I even started writing fic for the MCU, but I digress], Sam’s character got off relatively lightly compared to others [cough, cough, Steve, cough]. 

He still kept a degree of his characteristic empathy from previous appearances, as seen with how he asked after Rhodey in the Raft, but…since I try to take a step back when I approach things, and try to pay attention to obscure things like character continuity [no, that definitely wasn’t a crack at Steve’s character arc, nope], I find it hard to believe that Sam would’ve done some of the things he ended up doing. 

I mean, if you squint then sure it makes sense that the guy who helped topple a government organization [SHIELD] wouldn’t hesitate to help Steve again. 

If you squint. And ignore that circumstances have changed drastically, that things’ve escalated and— cutting it off there to avoid a rant, but the short version is that nobody looked good in Civil War. Nobody. 

Characterization got nerfed badly, some scenes were contrived, the less said about suspension of disbelief the better, and my props to the actors for pulling it off because geez that was one doozy of a train wreck.

Anyway.

tl;dr: I liked Sam Wilson’s character early on, so if I’m not writing a passive-aggressive spitefic about the writing in the MCU, odds are you’ll see him as the mom friend whenever he shows up. 

#I got an ask! #replies #Naught replies #meta #if you're going to be evil might as well do it right meta #behind the scenes #Sam Wilson #Naught rambles #well...kinda #The War is Far From Over Now #character study of sorts

[fedzkun]

Villain Hunt Arc Meta: All For One’s Horrific Guide to Methodically Breaking Down Your Local OFA Holder

Ft. Turning the ‘Overpoweredness’ of OFA into a Setback, and AFO’s Successful Manipulations Of Midoriya Izuku

In which I also give AFO too much credit for all the pain he’s probably caused, and theorize that his plans to break Izuku actually started getting enacted even before he’d escaped Tartarus.

(A.k.a. me loving the angst because this is really good angst writing, but also hating it because the manga doesn’t come with a Angst with A Happy Ending tag unless you count Izuku’s ‘this is the story of how I became the greatest hero’ which isn’t really a guarantee of happiness )

So. What an arc! In the span of ten chapters (starting from the end of the War arc) Hori delivered a full-on Villain-looking, Vigilante Midoriya Izuku. Congratulations, Horikoshi, for finally introducing Akatani Mikumo!

The fast pacing and lack of breather panels are so fitting for this arc truly. AFO never gave them a moment’s rest. Yes, from henceforth as he’d promised... It’s always going to be his turn.

Izuku is making amazing progress with unlocking the full power of One For All. In his words, his abilities might as well already be on par with what a healthier All Might could do, and with no recoil to boot. Plus, there’s only one last quirk to unlock. For villain fights, I don’t think we need to worry about him losing, or him breaking anymore bones at this time.

Which, some might argue, makes Izuku too ‘OP.’

To start with, I want to talk first about the ‘overpoweredness’ of the One For All quirk. It’s a wonderful quirk truly, having inspired and amazed so many because of its sheer power. Used well, it could grant instant victories and restore the people’s wavering faith to the heroes. Because with a quirk like that on your side, everything’s going to be alright, right? There’s always gonna be that bit of hope that something is still strong enough to stand against the looming evil...right?

Yeah. That’s what the people who’d lived under All Might’s Era of Peace thought so too. History repeats.

OFA’s ‘OP-ness’ is both a great blessing and a great burden.

Here are some points on how the narrative has made OFA's 'overpoweredness' a setback:

1. All For One—that bastard—exploits the urge that comes with OFA. Just as ‘AFO the quirk’s’ goal is to steal OFA, OFA’s job is to defeat AFO, and Izuku is sacrificing himself to its cause.

Here’s another thing I want to point out: The conclusion that the heroes drew about AFO planning to capture Midoriya Izuku alive? In rereading, I’m starting to believe it’s nothing but a mere assumption of his plans. Aside from the deal made with Lady Nagant—of which I think AFO didn’t take seriously anyway and set her up for failure— (and while we as readers are already aware of his true intentions to wear Izuku down) it’s weird that nowhere had AFO directly mentioned to Izuku that he’s going to kidnap him and take his quirk from him.

2. OFA made Izuku so brilliant (e.g. Pros and former Pros alike going “This kid...”) that they really can't help but place all their hopes on him. Sighs. In an ideal world, this would be a dream come true of Izuku getting his due credit for all his heroic achievements Pro heroes have started to do to Izuku what they’ve done all their lives to All Might--which is to put him on the pedestal, while they fall back to cover him like guards/safety net. Hence, falling back to the One Pillar Model mindset.

3. OFA makes Izuku untouchable, not only to the villains, but also to his allies. Prime material to reinforce isolation. And if Izuku doesn't want to be caught, he won't make it easy for either side.

4. OFA IS SUS AF, OKAY? What are the Holders doing?! While gaining access to them makes it easier and convenient to have personal trainers in handling OFA, the vestiges prove to add a lot to Izuku’s mental load. If they’d allowed Izuku to come to the point of being caked with blood and filth, they’re not doing very well at guiding him. Realize that most of their arc interactions with Izuku is Quirk Talk. They, of all people, should know how AFO’s machinations work! Hey First, for the love of god, warn Izuku! He’s showing so many signs of being manipulated that you should be picking up on. please /sobs ;;

Tbf, like, I’m pretty sure that the Holders haven’t been as mentally okay either, which would feed into Izuku’s current mindset.

Now that the setbacks have been listed, let’s dive in to AFO’s plans to toy with Midoriya Izuku.

PHASE 1: Pre-Tartarus Breakout

Speaking of OFA being sus, there’s something that has been niggling at the back of my mind.

All For One basically tells Izuku: “You were my main interest that entire time I was in prison”. So, to pass the time in Tartarus (since he can’t use any(?) of his quirks), AFO has been doing nothing but apparently daydreaming and designing a personal hell for the Ninth Holder during that entire period. HOWEVER, it also made me wonder…

…Even before he’d broken out, had AFO made any moves at all in enacting his plans to break Izuku?

Yeah?

And here’s the kicker: he says that before Blackwhip bursted out.

AFO is a master manipulator. Assuming that Izuku doesn’t have any latent AFO quirk (for whatever reason *coughs* maybe dfo if you're a believer) or that Quirk Singularity has anything to do with it, what is the trigger to Izuku suddenly having access to Blackwhip?

I’d argue that it is All For One himself.

Why? What’s his goal? If you notice during the Joint Training arc, Izuku is feeling pretty confident about his progress. He’s rather happy and feeling blessed, and he is making leaps and bounds with base power OFA.

AFO can’t have that. He can’t allow the Ninth Holder to become too emotionally stable, or else he’d have a stronger will. So by somehow activating Blackwhip, AFO makes Izuku feel like he hasn’t made any progress with his quirk at all. During the evaluations, Izuku mentions that he still needs a lot to work on, and while not all of it is visible, with the way he behaves, it’s pretty evident that his self-confidence has taken a rather large hit.

But, wait! If AFO had tampered with OFA during the JT arc, paving the way to unlocking the rest (like he’d also done during the War arc when he tried to ‘steal’ it then), then wouldn’t AFO be sabotaging himself since he’d be making Izuku a more formidable opponent?

Sure. Except that the quirks inside OFA are mostly useless when it comes to the mental part of the fighting. The only thing they’re useful for is for the current Holder to be able to play keep-away in the physical realm. And AFO could easily just find counters for those through his work on Tomura.

You know how else the situation becomes advantageous for AFO? With every quirk unlocked, Izuku’s goalposts keep on getting away from him, and Izuku will always feel like he isn’t ready or prepared enough. Izuku will push and push himself to master OFA to its fullest, to become more powerful, at the cost of his mental/emotional stability and physical wellbeing as he wears himself down.

And every time Izuku grew more powerful, and became more ‘OP,’ he is burdened with all the aforementioned setbacks that came with it. He could be the most powerful person in the world, but it’s all for naught if he doesn’t take care of himself. This plan is both a high risk and high reward on AFO’s part, and as of the moment, with a bloody Izuku staggering all over, AFO is visibly reaping these high rewards.

PHASE 2: Post-Tartarus Breakout

He’s going to toy with Izuku until Izuku fucking breaks. What follows is his series of actions that instills the desired responses from Midoriya Izuku. Let’s see how the master manipulator plays this game of chess, shall we?

Izuku’s plan: Reach out to villains and try to save them.

AFO’s counter: Kill off those who turn their back against villainy and/or acknowledge Izuku as a true hero.

Izuku’s resulting response: Stop reaching out to villains. Gain an instant victory and move on.

After all, what do you get when you block a hero from showing sympathy? You get an unfeeling living weapon.

---

Izuku’s plan: Work with the top pro heroes to bring down AFO.

AFO’s counter: Make plans that will serve to highlight how the top pros are just slowing Izuku down. (e.g. Making moves while it’s raining, so as to divide them, but also to bring out No. 1 Hero Endeavor’s "slowness" in the rain. Nope, I don’t think that’s a throwaway line at all.)

Izuku’s resulting response: Grows more reckless, often leading the charge.

---

Izuku’s plan: Track AFO down.

AFO’s counter: Lead them to dead-ends. Or when they do supposedly reach something, endanger them.

Izuku’s resulting response: His tunnel vision worsens, as he grows more desperate.

---

Izuku’s plan: All Might following him around is okay since it would help All Might from worrying so much, and Izuku could simultaneously keep an eye on and protect All Might.

AFO’s counters: There are a lot to really fuck with this bond, damn you AFO.

Taint that passing the torch memory of ‘You’re Next.’

Declare that All Might no longer interests him. Liar. He outright stated before that he’s one for keeping a grudge

Send another assassin to Izuku [Underlying Message: You yourself are a walking danger zone to those whom you dearly care for.]

Izuku’s resulting response:

Interpret that memory of ‘You’re Next’ as taking up the position of being AFO’s shiny new plaything, and therefore supposedly sparing All Might from the torment (Unfortunately, making Izuku push AM away is just part of the torment ;A;)

Think that AM is no longer in the direct line of fire as long as AFO focuses on Izuku

Finally, push his last line of morale support away, and completely isolate himself.

Btw, I wonder how All Might feels about Izuku using Nana's quirk to get away from him.

---

The suffering doesn’t end.

Izuku’s plan: Save people.

AFO’s counters: (possibly offscreen) Send more villains and assassins to torment Izuku some more with the knowledge that he can’t save them. Sending villains out also puts innocents in danger.

Izuku’s resulting response: He won’t stop for anything. He won’t sleep, won’t eat, won’t slow down. He will always do his best to save as long as someone is in danger.

His body will keep on moving and moving and MOVING on its own.

--- All For One is very effective as a supervillain. He has managed to make the heroes think that his only goal is to capture Izuku alive for his quirk. He has Izuku right where he wants him: dancing to his tune at the palm of his hand, utterly toyed with, left with no escape in sight.

Psychologically vaulted.

.

.

.

PHASE 3

And so, if Izuku is being manipulated to drive himself further and further into self-destruction, what then is there left for All For One to do?

So much more. Because, my god, I think AFO has mastered the art of traumatizing the OFA Holders.

All For One once told All Might, “I will destroy all that you’ve protected.” And boy, is he delivering. He's definitely not done with AM btw.

First, he destroys All Might's image. And he is manipulating Izuku to drive himself to that point. To looking into his absolute worst.

And when that point arrives, AFO will hammer the final nail home.

Something like...

BEHOLD

JAPAN’S SYMBOL OF PEACE.

And oh, how it'll hurt. To see All Might's pride and joy be flaunted about as looking nothing like a hero to the masses, for him to be so utterly humiliated.

"See what I did to All Might's successor."

AFO will be banking upon the possibility that the angry masses will not want to be saved by whom they're tricked into viewing as someone that's the cause of all the pain. Izuku might have the willpower to stay true to his resolve, but with him on the verge of total breakdown, what would happen when he is shunned by the very people he is trying to help?

I once wrote a post about how the current events seem to be a bastardization of Izuku's wildest fantasies: he's working with the top pros, he has the most powerful quirk, and he's working with All Might (whom technically acts as a sidekick to him rn).

AFO has warped all that into a never-ending nightmare. And Izuku...

Izuku is really in need of saving.

Last thoughts:

Let me just say that it shouldn't be a competition about who gets to get through to Izuku. Right now, he’s gonna need all the help he can get, and it can’t be delivered by only one or two people. Saving Izuku is going to be a team effort, a solid support system that sees Izuku as their classmate/friend/student/actual person that they care about. And there’s sufficient space for that.

More hands reaching out means more chances to catch him if he falls.

#bnha #bnha 317 #bnha manga #bnha analysis #bnha meta #all for one #afo #midoriya izuku #all might #toshinori yagi

[post-it-notes7]

Can you tell us more about your Dragato and Falspar dynamic :0?

oh you poor soul, of course I will :)

(rambling under keep reading)

So, to begin! A lot of this will make the most sense if you read dumb luck first, the Dragato oneshot (also a part of the Heart and Soul timeline, just set in the past before MK was separated from the GSA) I wrote that dives much further into my interpretations of this borb and his idiot friend that have a grand total of 10 second of screen time. If you're caught up on In Your Dreams, then you'll have a vague idea of Dragato and Falspar's characters, but neither have had a chance for their personalities to really shine (they're also both... kinda upset too, so only one side of them has been shown)! You’ll even catch a glimpse of other GSA members (cough cough Jecra and Garlude cough cough) if you give “dumb luck” a look :0!

That said, I’ll still summarize what I can of Dragato and Falspar’s personalities and dynamic here! So, Dragato--outwardly, he appears very stict, very cold, and very no-nonsense. He glowers a lot, he’ll snap at those who spread around rumors and try to start fights, and he tries hard to keep the peace, even if it’s strained and you can tell things are two seconds from exploding into all-out chaos. 

To quote my own fic, “he’s the unofficial mediator of the GSA—he’s the one who listens to complaints and makes the changes needed to keep them in check, the one who kills off rumors that take on a malicious edge, the one who breaks up fights that go too far—and he has no idea if anyone ever even seems to realize it. Afterall, his technical role is only that of a pilot and an instructor. One of Arthur’s close confidantes. His domain is starships and space travel.” 

Basically, he does plenty of work from behind the scenes, and he overworks himself a lot. He shares a lot of similarities to Meta Knight, but while MK can and will push himself to the brink and somehow just keep going anyway--Dragato will pass out from the strain, even if he argues otherwise. He has a lot of grievances with what his nature as a star warrior demands of him, and what he’s actually physically capable of.

Important sidenote! *In the H&S series, star warriors are born as star warriors, it’s in their nature! You cannot become one (at least not through normal means) you simply are or you aren’t.* However--Dragato’s true personality is very different from what he purposely portrays to 90% of the GSA and for what has been shown in IYD. First and foremost, on the inside, he’s complete nerd and an honorary idiot in disguise. He has sass, he has attitude, and he wants nothing more than to show someone how capable he is by challenging them to a brawl at 2am and going absolute feral. Even though he’s constantly trying to put out fights and mediate, he’s a conflict gremlin and he absolutely wants to do nothing more than join in and start tearing things apart alongside everyone else. You might notice in dumb luck that he gets an evil little grin right before charging into a fight, too, and that he despises that. 

Once more I’ll steal a line from my fic, “he doesn’t crave bloodshed, but he revels in knowing that he can protect something.” Dragato cares way way too much (in a good way) for everyone in the GSA, and he’ll lay down his life for each of them any day. To him, the most important thing in any situation is that everyone makes it out alive (is his stand-point in IYD starting to make a little more sense :)?) and as you might imagine, constantly fighting with his personality and his nature to act like something he’s not 24/7 makes him very irritable and prone to spiraling over little things when he’s stressed. Star warriors are supposed to fight until their last breath, and Dragato has spent years in the GSA balancing that deep-seated need alongside the constant pressure he put on himself to maintain peace. Fun times. 

Does he every actually relax? How is he possibly still sane? Well--enter Falspar: the redeemable idiot.  

Falspar is, well, a redeemable idiot. He says stupid things, he does stupid things, he can be incredibly obvious, but he has a heart of gold beneath it all and you won’t find anyone who’s more stupidly loyal as friend. He wants to cheer others up and he’ll do increasingly impulsive things to do it. He’s the social one, he’s friendly, but beware, he knows how to fight and he won’t always just sit there and take it. Also, he has a knack for getting out of tricky situations by complete and utter dumb luck. Yes this relevant to the fic title.

(Another sidenote--this has not been mentioned in IYD and only lightly touched on in dumb luck, but physically, Falspar is incredibly strong. He has a form of high natural strength, which is kinda how he managed to break a mask visor with in a single punch, and he can lift heavy stuff somewhat easily. I straight up yoinked this idea from somewhere in the anime where they call him “the strong one” (possibly in sub of the snack attack episode maybe? I’m not entirely sure it’s been a while) but yeah. If he punched you it would hurt. It would probably break something and then some. Because of this, he also has to keep a close grip on how much strength he puts behind each of his actions, which has the potential to spawn its own kind of trouble) 

Falspar and Dragato have been friends for quite a while, Falspar most often addresses him by the nickname “Drago”, and Falspar was there to witness Dragato change from minor troublemaker and local star warrior menace to the overworked pilot instuctor and strict mediator he is now. He knows about how much of a nerd Dragato, is as well as how hard he’s constantly pushing himself to keep up a front--and to Dragato, that’s a lifeline to find comfort in. 

The two of them still clash over plenty of little things; Falspar tends to say pretty stupid stuff (some things that are just flat out nonsense arguments or that contradict each other) and Dragato, who’s stuck being constantly irritable almost all the time, tends to react to it all the same--but! They admit when they’re wrong at the end of the day, and they apologize, especially when they know they’ve messed up bad and that it’s hurt the other. “dumb luck” provides a prime example.

Falspar gets Dragato to open up and admit he needs a break every once in a while, and Dragato tends to defend Falspar in the bad situations he gets himself easily wound up in. They work well as a team once they get past any nonsense disagreements, and though it’s not explicitly stated in “dumb luck”, Dragato tends to meet with Falspar on random nights to de-stress and ramble on about one thing or another. They talk, they do little things for each other to make life just a bit easier, and they stick together. They’re close friends who are also idiots that roughhouse and call each other names all the time, but they care.

As a little bonus, I’ll go on to talk about how they are both currently doing in In Your Dreams, too.

It’s not great :)

As you might recall, Falspar was the one to first suggest the rumor of MK secretly being corrupted. Yep. That’s what started this. Now, Falspar is oblivious and does stupid things that he really shouldn’t all the time. That includes telling the overly-paranoid commander of the GSA who just won a war mere weeks ago something that coincidentally is very plausible because MK did a lot of things that could be marked as suspicious in the past and no one has seen him face to face in 10 years. Arthur is certainly still to blame for taking that idea and running with it, but Falspar also is not helping the situation by shrugging his shoulders and going “yeah MK is ambitions enough to do something like this” and then going about his day like that’s no big deal. 

Dragato on the other hand, is immediately distrustful of rumors to begin with. He didn’t take this news well. He wants solid evidence before he believes an accusation as harsh as MK (someone he thought was dead for a long time after the GSA was separated in the past and is secretly greatly relieved to learn isn't) could be a traitor, though he’s kept his mouth shut, and he’s been going through it now that the war is finally over. 

Dragato cared very strongly for those in the GSA and reaching their goal--he would have die for them and their cause--and now they’ve actually achieved it, but only a mere fraction of the entire GSA remains. He’s sick of losing people. He’s sick of hearing about Nightmare. Honestly, he really needs a break, and he knows that if MK is labeled a traitor with the potential to bring ruin to the galaxy again, then Arthur will stop at nothing to make sure that threat is destroyed for the greater good. 

Dragato feels like he’s the only one who still has faith in MK, aside from Sirica and Knuckle Joe, his only consolations, and he refuses to condemn him without blatant proof saying otherwise. The most important thing right now is that MK is alive. The most important thing is that he doesn’t turn his back on that.

Falspar is very contradictory in Ch23 when he argues that “MK would totally do this, but he totally wouldn’t lie about it.” Basically, he's doing a terrible job of saying “this is believable and really incriminating but I still have faith that MK is doing what’s best.” He wants to acknowledge the worst, but deep down, he doesn’t really think MK is trying to do anything that would put the galaxy at stake. He won't go against Arthur so easily, but he’s in a gray area between distrusting MK and still believing in him, and he bounces around it at random. 

Where does that put them both? well:

“That’s just your innate ability to test everyone’s patience,” Dragato muttered under his breath, still focused on the controls.

“Ay, what’s your problem today?” Falspar edged back, turning a bit snappish. “What’s gotten you so hung up over this ‘delusional’ myth?”

Unfortunately, when Dragato is very stressed and snaps at Falspar, Falspar’s first instinct is almost always to snap back, for better or for worse. They break into fights easily--and right now is a bad time to be fighting. There’s no time to resolving anything, and they’re seemingly on opposite sides. 

Falspar wants to support Dragato, but he thinks Dragato isn’t seeing the fact that no matter what, there’s still a chance MK could be corrupted, and they need to be prepared to accept that. He knows Dragato takes losing people badly, and he sees it as cushioning the blow ahead of time.

Dragato sees it as a betrayal of trust, and no matter how much he doesn’t want to be at odds with Falspar and the others and that despises in-fighting, he’ll chose the option that he believes will keep everyone alive until the end.

WOW that was long, well, hope that gave some insight! Thank you thank you for the ask anon, hope you all enjoyed my rambles <3

#post's rambles #sir dragato #sir falspar #really just went absolutely bananas and rambled about two borbs who don't even have speaking roles #told you the GSA brainrot was bad #IYD spoilers #kinda

[ruinedsam]

So I’m confused why are people bent out of shape over the incest undertones meant to be horrific in supernatural but not the fact that Dean canonically would and wants to fuck underage/teenage girls, which is portrayed in a humorous and light manner?

I basically wrote an essay, so you better appreciate this anon 💀

I'm not an expert on how these people think (I am, in fact, often very baffled), but I think in the end this all boils down to purity culture.

Purity culture is characterized by black/white thinking and the belief that there should be nothing "problematic" in fiction: Regardless of how it is framed, or what its intentions are, problematic subject matters like abuse, incest, non con, underage etc. should not be featured or explored in fiction in any way, not even if it functions as critique or is meant to be distrubing - murder seems to be fine with a lot of these people though, even though they claim that fiction has a direct 1:1 effect on reality, their main argument for the abolishment of these contents. Hypocrisy is a core aspect of purity culture, because at the end of the day it boils down to wanting to eradicate things that make them personally uncomfortable, using morality and wokeism as justification to feel morally superior an put other people down. So certain people see the incest undertones in spn, are disgusted/uncomfy whatever and throw a tantrum because incest = bad and should therefore not exist in fiction, and depicting it in any way is wrong and sick and a sign of moral degeneration. How purity culture has managed to become such a dominant force in the fandom of spn, a horror show, a genre that is literally about confronting you with dark subject matter (often incest might I add) and aiming to disturb you, I do not get in the slightest.

Now you may say, but wouldn't these people find Dean problematic too, and you're right, logically they should. But, as I said, hypocrisy. Of course they can't stan a character that is problematic in any way, so they have to find ways to make them unproblematic, e.g. creating brainrot meta about this character, painting them as flawless and blameless or woobyfying them in order to blame any problematic things they did on other characters. (The reverse of this being villanizing characters they don't like because they're morally upright, if they don't like someone they have to be evil.)

This is something I see in fandom general, but Dean's case is the most extreme by far. There is a (horrifyingly large) subset of Dean stans that have a very strange relationship to his character, namely, they love a version of him that does literally not exist and is in fact in many aspects the opposite of who he is. They prescribe to the performativity theory, which is that Dean's macho personality is only a performance, i.e. it's not what he's really like, it's just a front he copied from John/was forced to put on by evil John who didn't want him to be who Dean really is. So when Dean is being a creep, sexualizing teenage girls, then (in their mind), that's not really Dean, he doesn't mean any of these things, he just feels pressured to say these things. Or they make it even easier for themselves and say that this is not the character but the writers 💀I kid you not, I have seen countless of posts that are like, well that was not really Dean, in my heart I know he's not like that 🥺 the writers are just sexist/homophobic/racist or the writers don't get him. The Dean stan brainrot is real.

I feel like I haven't mentioned the lack of media literacy enough, because being upset by a horror show containting dark content matter is insane, but I think that's connected to fandom purity culture in general. But I think it's time to come to an end, I babbled long enough. Also my brain is empty now and I'm going to bed 😆 I hope I was clear?

#obviously this just my take blabla #but i'm convinced i'm right so #ask #fandom wank #discourse #anti purity culture